PLAYING FAVORITES

(Sometimes we need to talk about other things than Orange County, California).

The news this morning from the Middle East is deeply distressing, with dozens of Palestinians killed by the Israeli military as they attempt to cross the border to protest the opening of the American embassy in Jerusalem. This was a purposefully provocative act by the American "president"--I refuse to honor this dishonorable man by juxtaposing his name with the title, and will continue to place the honorific in quotation marks until we have a new one--in a submissive gesture to the bellicose Benjamin Netanyahu. It is an act of undisguised favoritism of Israel over the Palestinians.

I wonder, this morning, what my late father-in-law would have had to say about the current situation. He was a strong supporter of the new state of Israel, when it was born, and throughout the period of its growth as a nation. He was proud when one of his daughters married and settled in a kibbutz, and proud that his grandchildren were sabras, Israel-born. At the same time, he was a great humanitarian, a left-leaning writer with roots in the socialism that was rife in New York in the 1930s. He cared about human rights, and equality, and justice, and toward the end of his life became, uncomfortably, critical of the land whose origins he so passionately supported in his writing. I could be wrong, but I believe that he would be appalled, today, by the actions of both the American and Israeli governments.

America used to be an honest broker. No longer. Our current "president" lacks the understanding of historical knowledge and perspective. A weak man himself behind the bluster, he is easily swayed by men, like Netanyahu, who project the image of strength. He is intemperate, opinionated in his ignorance, and prone to engage in drama rather than wise, thoughtful action. By favoring Israel over the Palestinians and other Arab neighbors, as well as by dangerously shredding the internationally supported nuclear deal with Iran, he is poking a senseless stick into the hornets' nest that is the Middle East. I very much fear this current violence could have far wider consequences. It could very easily lead to war.