Desperate Measures

(Picture of the Israel-West Bank barrier by Justin McIntosh, August 2004; licensed under Creative Commons.)

So, the anti-Semitic card has been played at last: McCain and his spokespeople have accused Obama of being anti-Israel and consorting with "Arab extremists" by virtue of his association with Rashid Khalidi, who is Edward Said Professor of Arab Studies at Columbia, and Director of the Middle East Institute.

You know, I have tried to not to write about politics during this interminable campaign; my views are clear, and there's already enough rhetoric on the internet to clog the neuro-pathways of every one of us who signs on. But this has really put me over the edge.

I heard Khalidi speak at Dartmouth a number of years ago, during the Palestinian intifada and before 9/11. He was brilliant. Like Edward Said himself, who was still alive then, and many other highly educated expatriate Palestinian intellectuals - many of whom are Christians, and nearly all of whom are very respected by Christians and Muslims alike - Khalidi has worked and worked to explain the reality of the Middle Eastern situation to a largely clueless North American audience. Though he - and every other truly knowledgeable person,  Arab or Jew, Palestinian or Israeli -  articulates and argues for the necessity of a just settlement for the Palestinians, he has never condoned violence, suicide bombing or terrorism. In Europe and nearly every other part of the world besides the U.S., politicians and ordinary people have a much clearer, fact-based understanding of the complexities of the Middle East. Only in America would someone like Khalidi be criticized for even using the word "occupied" in conjunction with the Palestinian territories we know as the West Bank and Gaza strip -- apparently Americans are supposed to think they've always been parts of Israel.

Khalidi comes from an influential and important family of Palestinian intellectuals. The Khalidi Library in Jerusalem, started during the Ottoman era in 1900, is one of the most important and extensive libraries in the Middle East. Located in the family house and endowed by a waqf, or religious trust, it is one of the few Palestinian-owned buildings in the Old City that has not been expropriated by Israel, though there have been numerous attempts.

Yes, Khalidi has been an outspoken critic of the recent years of failed and misguided American "policy" in the Middle East, both toward Israel/Palestine and in Iraq. Yes, he has criticized 'Campus Watch" and other attempts by the right-wing Jewish lobby to discredit, intimidate, and silence anyone in academia who is not explicitly pro-Israeli - why wouldn't he? Why shouldn't we all?

At McCain campaign stops, Samuel Wurzelbacher, aka "Joe the Plumber," has actually used the slogan, "a vote for Obama is a vote for the death of Israel." What an outrageous lie. The truth is that if American politicians during the last eight years had truly listened to both sides, and particularly to rational and compassionate thinkers like Edward Said and Rashid Khalidi, Israel and the Palestinian people alike might be closer to peace today. We wouldn't have waged an insane war in Iraq that has cost hundreds of thousands of lives and billions and billions of dollars, irreparably damaged the credibility and integrity of our country, further polarized the Muslim and Christian world, and made the world much less secure for all of us -- including Israel.

It's to Barack Obama's credit that he has spoken with Rashid Khalidi. Thank God we may soon have a president who is aware that nuance, complexity, and history actually have a place in foreign affairs and decision-making.

But to those who sigh and say with relief, like many commentators on this most recent incident, "in four days it will all be over" -- I beg to differ. The racism and ugliness in American society that has been exploited by the McCain campaign is deplorable but it cannot be blamed on them, nor will it disappear when Sarah and John have gone back to their former jobs. It is a deep vein running just beneath the surface of American life. As someone who lived through the race riots and civil rights movement of the 1960s and remembers well the assassinations of Martin Luther King, Robert Kennedy, and Malcolm X, I am actually glad that the truth about race in America has been exposed in 2008. I'm tired of hearing platitudes about "how far we've come," especially among well-meaning white liberals who point to Obama with pride. The hate speech about blacks, Muslims, and Arabs, and the equating of anyone belonging to those groups with "terrorism" is not a "lingering echo" of a former time: it reflects the current and firmly-held views of a large number of Americans. Better to have that out in the open so we, and a new administration, are forced to see it and deal with it.

Just try for a moment to imagine what it feels like to be an Arab or a Muslim in America right now (and no, they aren't the same thing.) I've been married to an Arab-American for 30 years. Our family has much in common with the Saids and Khalidis, and yes, I am deeply sympathetic with both Rashid Khalidi and Barack Obama for what they are enduring because of their names and their family origins. And I will not be silent about it, either now or after the election.

The crime here is not what Khalidi thinks or says, it's that Barack Obama has associated with someone who is a Palestinian, which in George Bush and John McCain's America is equated with "terrorist."

Another Palestinian, a devout Jew named Jesus of Nazareth, who also lived during a time of oppression, empire, poverty, and militarism, once said "blessed are the peacemakers." History will certainly reveal who the real peacemakers of our time have been.

Comments

[Rana]

But to those who sigh and say with relief, like many commentors on this most recent incident, "in four days it will all be over" -- I beg to differ. The racism and ugliness in American society that has been exploited by the McCain campaign is deplorable but it cannot be blamed on them, nor will it disappear when Sarah and John have gone back to their former jobs.

Yes. I don't believe much of anything, other than the race, will be "over" after Election Day.

It says something of my own priorities that when I saw that picture, before I read the caption, I assumed that it was showing a Hispanic child looking at the US border with Mexico - another issue that would really benefit from a leader able to appreciate nuance and complexity.

[Dave]

"Mr. Gorbachev, TEAR... DOWN... THIS... WALL!"

[marja-leena]

Thank you for this powerful, eloquent message of sad truths, Beth.

[dale]

Yes.

[Kaycie]

Ah, Beth, well said. I honestly cannot think on these things for long without wanting to weep.

[peggy]

I have never read Rashid Khalidi or heard him speak, but in the early 90s I worked at a community radio station with a man who interviewed Edward Said several times. I loved those interviews. They were the most thoughtful, articulate discussions of Palestine and the Middle East (and literature and life) I have ever heard.

It's heartbreaking and frightening to me that so many Americans loathe intellectuals and mistrust anyone who is capable of grappling with complexities and nuance. "Largely clueless" doesn't even begin to describe it. It's very Orwellian here, and you're right, Beth, the racist ugliness we've seen in this campaign is not a "lingering echo" but a reflection of current belief. We have so very far to go.

[Robb]

Kia ora Beth,
Thank you for these words. We do have so far to go, so much to overcome, we need to start now. The world awaits.
Aroha,
Robb

[Kasturi]

I'm glad you have spoken up, Beth. Your words have power because they come from your core. ~ kasturi

[Natalie d'Arbeloff]

Bravo, Beth, never stop speaking up! From this side of the pond, it's hard to understand some Americans'ignorance of the world beyond their boundaries. I think that a lot of it is simply a lack of accurate information, an overload of misinformation, an apathy about finding out the truth for one's self, or all three combined.