Life’s a Beach
If I were to choose the polar opposite of Nablus, it would be the Israeli city of Eilat. Located on the Red Sea, this city is like an alternate universe of skimpy clothing, techno/house music, too much shopping, and a fundamental oblivion to the real issues facing the country. Audrey and I found a cheap but nice place to stay and felt bizarre yet again being able to take normal showers and have air conditioning. We basically sat on the beach for two days, watching the Israelis around us flirt and get drunk and listen to crazy clubbing music thumping from huge speakers set up all across the beach. Eilat isn’t close to Palestinian territory, and it doesn’t take any effort to completely ignore the fact that people other than Israeli Jews live in the region. It was really nice to relax and get some sun, but it was extremely strange to be 100% removed from reality. We watched soldiers in bathing suits wade up to their waists with their guns hanging around their shoulders, since technically they’re not allowed to put their guns down when they’re on duty.
I talked to a border police soldier on a bus and we began talking about the conflict. He was saying that even though Israel is strong militarily, it’s still weak financially and needs US aid. I argued that due to our financial crisis, a lot of Americans need that money domestically. He flat-out disagreed, saying we don’t need that money at home. We talked about Gaza and he described how terrifying it is for the Israeli children of Sderot to face bombings at any second. I agreed, saying it must be difficult for children on both sides. He then informed me that Palestinian children aren’t innocent, that they’re trained from birth how to detonate explosives and that they’re all terrorists. How can a Jew whose religion and ethnicity have been the target of racism and false stereotypes throughout their history be so incredibly racist and blinded? He also doesn’t think Palestine exists, that actually all the land is Israeli and the Palestinians want some of Israel to make an Islamic state.
Me: Really? They want an Islamic state? I just thought they wanted their own land.
Soldier: No. All the Muslims in the world want an Islamic state here. If we give them a state, all the Muslims will move here and take over.
Me: Wow, really? I thought there were already a lot of Arab states… I’m pretty sure they all want to live in their own states, and not move here.
Soldier: No, they want this land because of Jerusalem.
Me: Huh. I thought in Islam that Mecca and Medina were pretty important.
Soldier: No, it’s Jerusalem they want.
He then discussed Israel’s water shortage, saying that the US ships over water for them. In reality, Israel takes their water directly from the Occupied Palestinian Territories, and when Israel is running short, they just don’t give any water to Palestinians. When I asked him where the rest of the water comes from, he just said “Israel”. I kept asking where else the water might come from, but he refused to acknowledge that their water is taken from the OPT. When the government and the media willfully allow their citizens to remain so completely and utterly ignorant about the real situation in their own country, there’s absolutely no chance for anything to improve.
