As I write this morning another Israeli assault into Gaza is in progress, triggered by the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel six months ago, marking yet another chapter in history following the creation of the state of Israel in 1948. I was just four years old at the time so I have no memory of that, but by the time I was in sixth grade the "Gaza strip" was already in the news. That was the place where the indigenous populations went as formerly Palestinian towns and farms were taken over by Jewish newcomers to form a "Jewish homeland" in the aftermath of World War Two.
This part of the world has been newsworthy as long as I can remember. When I first started blogging almost twenty years ago I made note of something that happened when I was in grade school.
In the Fifties I was in elementary school. I was lucky enough to have a teacher whose mother had taught my father when he was in elementary school. I don't think many people can say that. Anyway, she was an old maid type who had an old-fashioned way of teaching that helps you remember what she said. I recall once she got after another kid with "If you don't sit down and straighten up, I'm gonna hit you on your Gaza Strip! You know what that is, don't you? It's a Very. Critical. Area..." That was half a century ago and what she said is still correct. Gaza is still a very critical area.
Much of what I have read about how Palestinians are treated by Israel and the IDF reminds me of how black people were treated by white people when our family moved from Kentucky to Georgia in 1956, The social structure is called apartheid by most of the world, but to me it is just old-fashioned segregation.
Jews and Palestinians have a kind of symbiotic relationship. Palestinians living inside Israel where they have lived for generations, some of whom are Christians, are legal Israeli citizens. They come and go more or less freely, operate businesses and even have separate court systems.
Most Americans have no idea there are Sharia courts in Israel, although their judges are selected by the Knesset. But I get the sense that Palestinian Israelis "know their place" and rarely stray where they are unwelcome.
I still recall how surprised I was to see white men driving thru town with a black woman in the back seat. They were transporting maids to and from their homes for the day because lots of white homemakers had black service workers to cook, keep house, help with the laundry, child-care, etc. In many cases there was (and still is for some) a genuine affection for "the help". That movie "Driving Miss Daisy" was really quite accurate.
These are the flashbacks I have when I think of how Palestinians and Israelis live together.
