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Each Man Conceals The Place Where
His Heart Beats
Germany and Spain Must Take the Initiative for the
Reconciliation of Israelis and Palestinians
I have always been opposed to targeted assassinations out of principle.
First, they are immoral, second they are irresponsible, and third,
they do not serve Israel's long-term interests. Focusing only on extremists
and hate cannot be the way! Hate consumes more energy than reason,
let alone love. Hate agitates people, is extremely dangerous—and
violates all principles of Judaism.
The wealth of the Jewish people rests on one thing alone: morality.
And Israel is giving it away. If we do not hold on to this capital,
then we will have little to say in the world. The fact that George
Bush is participating in this demonstrates his short-sightedness.
And it once again shows that the American government is not capable
of using reason to solve the Middle East conflict.
Most politicians have neither an own opinion nor an individual position.
So too Bush, whose naivete is dangerous. And the problem with Israeli
prime minister Sharon is that while he does have his own position,
he is unwilling to accept that other people have other viewpoints.
Everyone's problem is that usually, a war is followed by the establishment
of a new order. But after the Cold War, when the balance of power
was lost, nothing replaced it. Terrorism is only one result of this.
Today, I can only say that I yearn for the America of the Marshall
Plan, when the vision of a new world order served European as well
as American interests.
Now, a new peace initiative must follow. And the equality of both
parties must be established. Up until the founding of Israel in 1948,
everyone was Palestinian: Jews, Christians and Muslims lived as equals
in one country. All the rights achieved by the Jewish population since
then should also apply to Palestinians. But they have not been granted
these equal rights. This is a question of responsibility, not culpability.
And the greater responsibility lies with Israel, as it is both state
and nation—the Palestinians are neither. Israelis dream that
one day the Palestinians will be gone, and the Palestinians dream
vice versa. Of course that will not happen, realities are still more
powerful than dreams. Only after a non-violent and just reality has
been established will political dreams become free and safe.
I have never believed in a military solution of the conflict, as violence
hurts every thinking and feeling Israeli.
Basically, there are two issues here: the historical developments
and the pragmatic reality. Use of weapons only reveals the lack of
a long-term vision for the next 20 or 30 years. There will be no ideological
end of the conflict; the solution can only be a pragmatic one with
which we can all live. Israel's government, and therein lies the current
paradox, is politically democratic but psychologically, it is perceived
as totalitarian.
Europe needs to take the initiative, and it should come from Germany
and Spain, considering the histories of those two countries. Especially
in Spain and in Germany, Jews have experienced both beauty and horror.
Both countries entertain healthy relations with the Arab world and
thus have the obligation, and also the moral authority, to inaugurate
a new peace initiative. Indeed, one should not forget the etymology
of the terms for the two segments of the Jewish population: ashkenazy
means "German", sephardic "Spanish." Now that Spain has recently elected
a new government, the way has been paved for future cooperation. In
any case, we should ask ourselves: Aren't we all too passive? Each
and everybody is hiding, each is concealing the place where his heart
beats.
Conductor and pianist Daniel Barenboim will perform in public in Ramallah
and Jerusalem in early May before accepting, together with Mstislaw
Rostropowitsch, the "Wolf Foundation Prize in the Arts" in the Knesset.
Source: Süddeutsche Zeitung No.92, Wednesday, April 21, 2004 , pg.
13.
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