Introduction
Greetings loyal readers! This month’s column is essentially a rant, with some metaphysics mixed in. Since the mainstream media is totally lacking in outrage over the recent events on the Temple Mount, I have decided to pick up the slack and say what needs to be said on this subject.
American Jews Need to Speak Out
Several years ago I attended a family seder. At the end of the meal I looked at my parents, my sister and my cousins and informed them that there was something on my mind that I wanted their opinion about. There was a stunned silence. Here is what I told them.
“Every year,” I began “we sit here on Passover and we read from the haguddah [the text for the traditional Passover service]. And as we read the haguddah we say ‘We were slaves in Israel.’ We do not say ‘Our forefathers were slaves in Israel.’ The haguddah tells us that the reason we read this statement about slavery in the first person instead of in the third person is so that we as Jews will remember the experience of slavery. The reason the haguddah tells us to remember this experience is so that we do not ever treat others the way our forefathers were treated as slaves in Egypt.” My family looked at me with wide eyes.
“And every year,” I went on “whenever we read the phrase ‘We were slaves in Israel’ I think about the Palestinians on the West Bank who were thrown out of their houses by Jews. And I think of the Palestinians in Israel who have had their crops and houses destroyed by Israeli settlers, and have had their pets killed by the Israeli army, and who have been subjected to oppression and discrimination by Israeli Jews and it makes my blood boil! And I just want to know how all of you feel about this.”
The faces around the table looked at me in shocked silence. Then something happened that I had never in a million years anticipated. It turns out that everyone at that table felt the way I did. We then began to talk in small groups around the table about our feelings of shock and horror regarding the way the Palestinian people have been treated by Israeli Jews. So if everyone in my family feels this way, then why do they get together every year and go through the motions of observing Jewish traditions while ignoring the haguddah’s dictates to remember what oppression feels like and to not visit oppression on any other people? And if everyone in my family feels this way, how many other American Jews feel the same way, yet mindlessly go through the motions of observing Jewish rituals without a heartfelt appreciation for or dedication to the ideals underlying those rituals?
The fact is that the reactionary forces in the Jewish community, both in the United States and abroad, garner the most publicity. They are also incredibly abusive toward people who don’t agree with them. (Consider the incidents of Orthodox Jews at the Kotel in Jerusalem – the last remaining wall of the Temple of Solomon and one of the holiest of the ancient Jewish sites – throwing stones at Conservative Jews praying there because the Conservative Jews allow men and women to pray together. Think about this. These are all people who participate in organized religions (albeit of slightly different flavors) that required them to engage in numerous daily and weekly rituals, all of which are supposedly designed to remind them to be conscious of God and to appreciate God's creation. What could be more blasphemous toward a holy site and toward the creator than for God’s beloved children (for we are all God’s beloved children, not just Jews – no matter how much they misinterpret ancient scriptures to give themselves an elevated status with respect to other peoples) to be killing and injuring one another in a holy place, and doing so over a disagreement as to how people are supposed to pray to the Most High.
Seen in this light, this behavior is completely psychotic. Yet the Orthodox Jews in Israel have an unreasonable amount of control over the Israeli government, and over Israeli government policy toward the Palestinians and the access to and governance of sites that are holy to both Jews and Arabs. Ergo, this psychotic consciousness is Israel’s official government policy! And it is a policy that is fully aided and abetted by the United States, which bullies the rest of the world into not only accepting it, but thinking that this kind of behavior is right and normal. The simple fact is that Jews and Arabs have a common ancestry. As such, Jews and Arabs should be treating each other as siblings. Yet how can this occur when certain factions of Jews are willing to do violence against their fellow Jews as well as against their Palestinian brothers and sisters?
And How About That Racist Press Coverage?
Have you noticed the shocking and disturbing press coverage of the recent violence in Israel? Let us all collectively vomit over the horrifying image of a Palestinian father and his young son caught in the crossfire, where the father called out to the Israeli soldiers that he and his son were both unarmed. He pleaded with the Israeli soldiers to watch out for his boy and to stop shooting. The Israeli army’s response was to kill both father and son. What in the world is that all about?
Have you listened carefully to the blatant racism in the press coverage? As of this writing (early October) over 50 people have been killed in the violence, most of them Palestinians. Yet two days ago I heard a news item on National Public Radio (which should change its name to National Police Radio, since that’s what it is these days) saying that one Israeli had been killed in the violence. Repeat! One innocent Israeli has been killed in the violence. This was mentioned over and over, with the deaths of over 50 Palestinians mentioned in passing, as if these deaths were of no import. Is this coverage intended to suggest that the Palestinian children killed in cold blood were somehow deserving of being gunned down? Granted, some of the children were throwing stones at the soldiers. Does this mean they deserved to be killed? And let’s talk about why Palestinians were throwing stones at Israeli soldiers, shall we?
Ariel Sharon, the former Israeli general and genocidal fascist racist murderous pig (euphemistically referred to in the press as a “hawk”), deliberately provoked this entire situation by choosing to give a speech on the Temple Mount and bringing scores of Israeli soldiers with him. His speech was a deliberate provocation to the Palestinians. The Temple Mount is one of the world’s holiest sites to both Jews and Palestinians, yet here was Ariel Sharon boldly proclaiming that Palestinians will never get control of it because the Israelis will dominate it forever. Is there a thinking person alive in the world today who does not think the timing of this outrageous act was purposefully designed to sabotage the peace process? Ariel Sharon and his fellow racists in the Israeli government are hell-bent on extermination of the Palestinians and every other Arab race, all in the name of “security.” Does it ever occur to these people that the Israeli Jews would be much more secure if they would try peacefully to co-exist with their neighbors instead of dreaming up pretexts to commit genocide against them?
The time has come for all thinking and feeling people to stand up and register their horror, shock and outrage regarding the atrocities the Israeli government has committed and continues to commit against the Palestinian people. The time has come to challenge the news media for their biased reporting. The time has come for us to take to the streets and demonstrate against the expenditure of our tax dollars to fund the fascist, genocidal police state known as Israel.
The Tarot Speaks
Now that I have treated you to my diatribe on this subject, it is time to let another voice speak. Last month’s column examined the tarot – what it is, where is came from and how to use it. As some of you may recall, I had used a computerized tarot program to ask the tarot to explain itself. Let us continue the experiment by asking the tarot about the situation in the Middle East. I will do a standard three-card reading from http://www.tarotmagic.com. Here goes:
What can be done to bring peace to the Middle East? The first card that the program chooses represents the Self. In this situation, I am interpreting the “Self” card to describe the essence of the question. The card I selected in the “Self” position was the seven of wands. Sevens are about inner work. Wands represent fire, which symbolizes the spirit and human creativity. The program describes the subject of the reading as follows:
A positive attitude and a strong potential will prime you to achieve your “personal best.” The card in the Self position reflects an aspect of who you are right now, as you present yourself to the tarot experience. The Seven of Wands in this position indicates you are getting ready for a moment of triumph. You have trained for it and are at the peak of your potential; you are clearly a winner even if you haven’t yet proved it. With such a positive attitude and obviously strong potentials so carefully cultivated, you are bound to make a strong showing.
I interpret this as saying that human determination is what is required to achieve peace in the Middle East.
The next card is the Situation position. The card I selected was the Six of Cups. Sixes are about balance, harmony and beauty. Cups represent water, which symbolizes human emotions. The program described the Situation as follows:
The past holds clues to your immediate situation. Evaluate past feelings and compare them to what you feel now. The card in the Situation position reflects the issues, people and forces shaping the circumstances around your concern. When the Six of Cups is in this position, the immediate circumstance may be powerfully reminiscent of the past. Your mind and heart hearken back to long forgotten places, faces and feelings. Much information is stored within these memories, and something about the present circumstance is triggering them. It’s worthwhile to compare what you feel now to what you felt so long ago. We can never be sure what memory will bring back, but we can trust it to connect things through emotional resonance, not logic. Asking yourself what is familiar in this situation will help you evaluate and understand the significance of your immediate experience.
Clearly the events in the Middle East are karmic, and old memories of past hurts are perennially triggered. This card is telling us that the way to achieve peace in the Middle East is to heal old emotional wounds from the past.
The last card is the Opportunities position. The card I selected was the Empress, a Major Arcana card. The Major Arcana symbolizes higher spiritual forces at work, forces beyond human understanding and control We can understand our own thoughts and feelings, but we cannot penetrate the workings of divine consciousness. The program described the Opportunities as follows:
When using your power to please, be careful about boundaries. The card in the Opportunities position reflects how you can use creativity and skill to turn a challenge into success. The Empress in this position challenges you to avoid using seduction as a way of achieving harmony or agreement. The Empress makes better use of the drawing power of attraction. Because of her regal attractiveness, everyone likes her and feels comfortable with her. She can pretty much get what she wants. You now have an opportunity to influence others through sheer personal magnetism. There’s no need to overstep boundaries or promise more than you truly want to deliver.
This interpretation reminds me of a prophecy my old friend Singh Modi has been making for years. (By the way, Singh Modi is the person who taught me to read palms, so those of you who have had a palm reading from me can blame him.) Mr. Singh says there will be a female messiah coming from the Middle East who will bring peace to the region. Since the men have failed over and over again in their peace negotiations, perhaps the tarot is telling us that it is indeed time for women to take control, and that only by respecting each other’s boundaries can we hope to achieve lasting peace.
Copyright 2000 Marcy J. Gordon. All rights reserved. The author wants you to know you are free to copy and distribute this article for noncommercial purposes, provided you reproduce it in its entirety and credit the author. For quotation permission, please contact the author at mgordon@pipeline.com.