A Day Climbing in Palestine
I took this photo at a crag in Palestine while on a trip to the Middle East in February of 2020. I had just spent nearly a month traveling and climbing in Israel and Jordan and the day before my flight to Barcelona, a friend of a friend who I had never met, picked up my buddy and I from a hostel in Jerusalem for a day of climbing. We jumped in their car quite early in the morning and drove through a guarded boarder into the West Bank (Palestine), down a highway, and then into an Israeli settlement. We parked the car, walked through a hole in a fence back onto Palestinian land and then down into a beautiful valley filled with hundreds of bolted limestone sport climbing routes. The valley sat in between a Palestinian city and an Israeli settlement but appeared to be primarily inhabited by Bediun shepherds who grazed sheep among us as we climbed. I would define my experience that day as geopolitically and culturally wild. I had spent much of my past month conversing with Israelis, Arabs, Palestinians, Bedouins, Jews, Muslims, Christians, and Druids who live in the area about how they feel regarding their respective geographic and political situations and this day was the perfect cap to my culture shock. My time in the Middle East provided me with a perspective that cannot be found through a news source and as someone who has numerous Israeli and Palestinian friends, and empathizes with both sides of the conflict, I felt it would be worth sharing my opinion. I typically try to stay away from discussing politics on social media, it has been quite difficult for me to see what is going on and not say something. What has gone down the past month in Israel and Gaza is a tragedy and I write this post to promote a ceasefire, the return of hostages, an end to the war, and a two-state solution.
When Hamas attacked Israel on October 7th, I was devastated to hear the scale of this atrocity aimed at civilians. Anyone reading the news could clearly see why Hamas is labeled a terrorist organization and it saddened me further to read and watch the full scale of brutality through the social media of Israeli friends that depicted countless scenes of rape and indiscriminate murder. Those first few days after the attack brought chills to my spine. And when free Palestine rallies entered the streets that first day or two after the initial attack, I felt they were inappropriately timed and disrespectful. I very much believe that Palestine should be a free and independent self-governed nation and believe that Israeli occupation/resettlement of the West Bank needs to end but, the timing of those initial protests and social media posts of people somewhat justifying Hamas’ existence or actions, hurt me.
However, as someone who has closely followed Israeli-Palestinian politics for decades, and has seen the unbalanced scale of retaliation, I had a feeling those rallies would soon be justified. Sadly, my hunch was right as day after day, I watched the death toll in Gaza increase, eventually to over 10,000 people, nearly half whom are children. I 100% believe Israel has a right to defend itself and retaliate in order to remove Hamas, and it is very much necessary to acknowledge that Hamas does shield itself behind civilians, but Israeli tactics need to change. The death of so many civilians is unacceptable and has no doubt already contributed to a very justified feeling of animosity towards Israel among Palestinians. While antisemitism is no doubt on the rise, I think it is quite important for Israelis to recognize that people can protest the Israeli occupation of Palestine without being antisemitic.
My biggest fear for this region is that extremism appears to be gaining momentum on both sides. The 1990s saw a moment of near peace with a potential two state solution but at this moment, I don’t see how things could go back there again. Israeli politics are trending rightward as settlements blossom throughout the West Bank further stifling the possibility of that land going back to Palestinians. Ultraorthodox Jews who believe they have religious justification for settling Palestinian land are booming in population, pushing politics to the right, and it is clear that some in Israel have no desire to allow Palestinians to have a sovereign nation or be treated with respect.
I find this very disheartening and sad, particularly as a Jew. I am not religious, and I do not feel a deep connection to the state of Israel, but I do feel a bond with Jewish culture and believe in the importance of the existence of a Jewish state. The persecution and eventual genocide of Jews during the latter half of the 19th century and first half of the 20th certainly justified the call for a Jewish state in my opinion, but was the land in between the West Bank of the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea the correct place for one? I’ve thought about this question a lot and while I honestly remain uncertain, I also can’t think of a better option. The creation of the state of Israel in 1948 was done so in a way that forced the relocation of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians and created a trauma known as the Nakba or “Disaster”.
Both populations today very much justify their actions based off generational trauma that the other side tends to be unable to empathize with. I write this post today to urge my friends on both sides of the aisle to try to empathize just a little more with the other side. After spending a month in that part of the world, the single most prominent takeaway I learned was that the vast majority of people in that region want peace. I hope that one day, Palestinians will have there own sovereign nation without Israeli occupation and both sides will be able to cohabitate that small strip of land in peace. I don’t know how we can get there, but I hope for it, and I do know that the only way for it to happen is to end the violence on both sides.
If anyone is interested in learning more about the history of the conflict, there is a 20 hour podcast titled Fear & Loathing in the New Jerusalem that provides an unbiases account of the history of the creation of Israel. I highly recommend it to everyone but particularly to those who like me, grew up without learning of the Nakba and also to those who may not understand why a Jewish state is warranted.
I am well aware that I will be getting flack for writing this post and ironically, it will likely be coming from both sides who probably think my middle of the road opinion is unjust. I don’t have a particular goal in writing this other than raising awareness and promoting peace, but I’ve been quite upset over the past month as it has been challenging to see so many one-sided posts from both sides.
