On Narratives, Power, and Peace: A Note from a Palestinian Activist

62 T I K K U N W W W. T I K K U N . O R G W I N T E R 2 0 1 1 25 YEARS OF TIKKUN 25 YEARS OF TIKKUN Professor Mazin Qumsiyeh, Ph.D., teaches and does research at Bethlehem and Birzeit Universities in occupied Palestine. His latest book is Popular ResistanceinPalestine:AHistoryofHopeandEmpowerment(PlutoPress,2010). A s a social species, humans build narratives tosustainandstrengthengroupbondageandidentity .Likeallhumanconstructs,narrativescanbring positiveornegativeresults.Weshouldgenerallyrespect different philosophies and narratives, but there are some narratives we simply cannot accept—for example, anarrativelikethatofawhiteEuropeanwhobelievesAryanwhite culture is superior to others and acts on this idea like fascists and Nazisdidinthetwentiethcentury. WhyshouldweacceptnotionsofChristiansuperiorityheldby some Catholics who supported massacres committed during the crusades, or similar notions among some Orthodox Christians who supported massacres committed during the crusades and during the civil war in Lebanon? Why should we accept the notions of an Islamic “Umma” as articulated by Osama Bin Laden that all Muslims should stand as one and justify mass killing of “the others”? And why should we accept the political Zionist narrativeof “theJewishnation”thatresultsindisplacementofnative peoplewhohappentobeChristiansandMuslims? Narratives based on mythologies can of course be harmless when believed by people living their ordinary lives in a multicultural and multireligious society. But they can be highly destructive when practiced via state power. That is why the founding fathers of the United States were adamant about the separation of religion from state power. Thomas Jefferson wrote to Rabbi Mordecai Noah on May 28, 1818: I thank you for the Discourse on the consecration of the Synagogue in your city, with which you have been pleased to favor me. I have read it with pleasure and instruction, having learnt from it some valuable facts in Jewish history which I did not know before. Your sect by its sufferings has furnished a remarkable proof of the universal spirit of religious intolerance inherent in every sect, disclaimed by all while feeble, and practiced by all when in power. Our laws have applied the only antidote to this vice, protecting OnNarratives,Power,andPeace ANotefromaPalestinianActivist byMazinQumsiyeh by72percent,demonstrating that the extreme food price spike in 2008 was not a one-time aberration. The Dodd-Frank financial reform bill that passed Congress in July does create a framework for effectively regulating commodities futures markets. However this new law is weak on details, leaving these decisions to the day-to-day regulators at the CFTC. The Dodd-Frank law includes a prohibition on any sort of agricultural swap trading—the single most active area for speculative gambling on food products. But Dodd-Frank also allows the CFTC to consider exemptions from this prohibition. Not surprisingly, large numbers of Wall Street lawyers have drafted letters explaining why these exemptions should be granted generously. Dodd-Frank will be rendered toothless if Wall Street prevails on this and related issues. Speculators will again be permitted to gamble on hunger. So let’s keep up the fight for social justice on all terrains, including the Commodities Futures Trading Commission. ■ W I N T E R 2 0 1 1 W W W. T I K K U N . O R G T I K K U N 63 T rue healing rarely conforms to ideological preconceptions. Itisimportanttolisten.Mymostfrequentmistake istryingtoimposemypointofvieworotherpersonal expectation on a multifaceted world. When we set outtoimprovelifeforotherswithoutafundamentalunderstanding of their point of view and quality of experience, we do more harm than good. Often, little more is required than to listen. The best change is one that enables those with plugged ears to hear what the so-called “voiceless” have been voicing all along. When we do set out to actively change systems, it is important that we implement the changes people request of us, or that we at leasttrytoapproximatethosechanges.Sometimesoureffortsare imperfect. It is better to implement an imperfect change that our religious, as they do our civil rights, by putting all on anequalfooting.Butmoreremainstobedone,foralthough wearefreebythelaw,wearenotsoinpractice. Here in Palestine, we unfortunately face a unique narrative that acquired tremendous power and resulted in a large population of refugees after World War II. The question many Jews are struggling with is how to separate this Zionist narrative from the rich and wonderful history of Jewish contributions to humanity. The way forward...