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March 28, 2003
Not what was expected
Letters
Editor: Last week, Deborah Campbell gave a talk at the Jewish Community
Centre of Greater Vancouver (JCC) entitled Popular Media and Counter
Culture.
What we had hoped for and perhaps this was too much to expect
in these dark times was a message of peace. What we got was
a narrative that focused largely on the sufferings of the Palestinian
people and the role of the Israeli military in creating and prolonging
this suffering. And while many of the facts she presented are undeniably
true, I felt that her approach to the material was decidedly judgmental
and critical of Israel. Little light was shed on the prospects of
peace.
She characterized the mainstream media's axiom of "If it bleeds
it leads" and illustrated how emotionally charged words like
"curfew" and "checkpoint" are the adhesive for
piecing together simplified stories for television news coverage.
Then, for the rest of the talk, we heard a great deal about curfews
and checkpoints and how, in her personal experiences, the Arab population
bleeds under occupation of the Israelis.
We had asked Deborah to talk about organizations seeking alternatives
to the current paradigm of punishment and retribution, and to focus
on grassroots movements working to support peace and reconciliation
in communities. And, to be fair, she did devote some of her talk
to recognizing groups like Rabbis for Human Rights, B'tselem and
Ta'ayush that are documenting and educating the public about human
rights violations in the occupied territories. These organizations
perform a valuable role in promoting "harm reduction"
in places of conflict, but are ultimately political organizations
seeking to change government policy.
The Peace Walker Society is a nonpolitical organization that aims
to further the dialogue on concepts of peace and coexistence. In
dialogue, we open the door to allow people to speak freely and be
heard. And although we may not always agree with what is being said,
the important thing is that the dialogue takes place.
Next Thursday, the director of the Compassionate Listening Project,
Andrea Cohen, will be at the JCC to talk about her film Children
of Abraham. Compassionate listening is a practice that contributes
to healing for those who have been hurt and helps foster peaceful
relations between people with deep disagreements. Visit their Web
site at www.mideastdiplomacy.org.
Thanks to Deborah Campbell for her talk, in that it raised the level
of awareness of the complexity of the situation in Israel and the
occupied territories. Peace.
Alan Woodland
Peace Walker Society
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