Mondoweiss: Gaza is alive

Philip Weiss, the American journalist, is in Gaza and has filed a report that sounds like something I would say. He gets it. He is now looking at signs of hope - amid the rubble, yes. Hope always lives.

Mondoweiss: Gaza is alive.

I remember during the Gaza slaughter that some tried to stop commentators from comparing Gaza to the Warsaw ghetto. Now I am here and I find the analogy helpful. In the Warsaw ghetto, and in slavery in the south, or in Jim Crow 100 years later--in any of these historical episodes of persecution that had a racist component--it wasn't as if the victimized people laid down and died. No, the blacks of the south created a rich culture on whatever terms were afforded to them. And the books my mother gave me of the Warsaw ghetto conveyed the treasure of Jewish life and culture that persisted even under the most humiliating circumstances. So in Gaza, with Israeli jeeps creeping up one border and gunboats cruising along the other, and bomb craters everywhere, and no one allowed to pursue their dreams, Palestinians are still leading engaged, serious, and even at-time joyous lives. Last night I watched the European Cup finals with about 100 of them in a crowded restaurant. The cruelty of the fact that a global festival that calls on talent from across the world is in no real way open to the people in the place was lost for an hour or two amid the shouts for Messi and Barcelona.

Mondoweiss, the blog, has been on fire lately. It is a must-read for information on Palestine, Israel, and organizing to change the status quo. Today there's a post about Einstein's view of Zionism and Israel (it wasn't fond). Weiss' thesis is that Judaism does not equal Zionism, and being a good Jew does not mean you automatically support the state of Israel and all of its actions and works. He is also outraged at the way coverage of Palestine has been suppressed in this country.