I’m sorry that my brief comment on this blog hurt you. I did not say more about my visit to Ben Ami, which I very much appreciated, because saying more would have meant describing your own views and also my own disagreements. I didn’t think it fair to do that because the visit wasn’t designed as a formal interview and I didn’t want to criticize what you had to say in a way that could identify you. I do think the views of Israelis across the political spectrum are important to understand, and my intention was to write a longer piece about that spectrum later in my visit, in a way that doesn’t identify or personally criticize any particular individuals. Now that you’ve raised the issue, maybe I’ll try to get to it sooner.

This blog is not an objective journalistic or social scientific account of my visit to Israel and Palestine. It’s not an effort to present facts about both sides in some even-handed, impartial way, an approach I’ve strongly criticized on this blog and in related academic articles. It is instead an impressionistic account of whatever seems relevant to my primary concerns or attracts my interest for other reasons. Even with that restricted focus, I don’t have the time or energy to touch on everything I’d like to.

My guess is that while most readers of this blog, as you say, “are eager for a just solution and for peace,” they would stongly disagree about what that entails, just as you and I disagree. Since you’ve identified yourself here, I’ll say that I have a great deal of respect for your important work against the Occupation. I also think I have a good understanding of your views as a left-Zionist, views I used to share but have come to consider inherently flawed. My effort to sort this out over the past few years has been reflected in this blog as well as in other things I’ve written.

I should also say that I don’t think anything I write will promote peace, because I don’t think peace is likely no matter what I do, or what anyone else does.

I’d like to comment on something you said in reference to Moshav Ben Ami a while back, which I found by chance in a web search while looking for something else. You mentioned: The Moshav was built on the site of a destroyed Arab Village. A lot of rockets fell here during the last war.

During the time that you stayed here, you were treated with hospitality despite our differences in opinion. You were also treated to a good two days of listening to one Israeli who is an ardent Zionist but expressed deep regret over what is happening and a true desire to end the occupation, a just solution to the conflict, and a Palestinian State.

I was therefore hurt and deeply disappointed that you chose to point out that Ben Ami was built on the ruins of an Arab village (Um el Faraj) yet you found no room to relate to your readers what you encountered here in our discussions together. You also chose to mention the rockets that landed here (about 45) only in passing, and to gloss over hardships such as these that are experienced by Israelis whose lives are also affected by the conflict.

I think that your choice to omit these important issues was a disservice to me (your hostess in Ben Ami) as well as to your readers who I hope are also eager for a just solution and for peace here. A little acknowledgment of the fact that there is more than one side to any conflict would be welcome in your detailed accounts of your travels and would do a lot to promote peace.

Please see: http://www.ismargad.com/daily

Bracha