Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Fighting Occupation with Oppression?

As an Israeli who believes in the right of Palestine to self-determination and the need to end Israeli occupation - what should I think about the way Palestinians are handling human rights and that's effect on the political struggle?

First, I want to put one thing aside - many people talk about human rights (especially and their implementation in the Muslim world) and actually mean Western concepts of human rights. Some of those who protest against the Muslim practice of women veiling themselves in public often fail to see that the Western concepts of women sexuality tend to be as objectifying and may be as oppressive towards those who suffer from them.
But even being aware of my (and everyone's) tendency of conflating what I know and what is proper, there's an inherit problem with supporting a national aspiration of a social-national group that does not believe in personal freedom.

Those who are familiar with political activism in Israel-Palestine have probably heard of Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood in East Jerusalem. I've written a little about the legal/political situation that is the source of the legal and political disputes of ownership in that part of Jerusalem (here) but did not mention the weekly demonstrations taking place in the neighborhood. These demonstrations are organized by a joint Israeli-Palestinian private initiative, that involves left-wing Israelis (who are mostly secular Jews) and the local residents of the neighborhood (who are mainly religious Muslims). Lately, the organizers of these demonstrations have issued a request addressed at the Jewish women-protesters to show-up at the demonstrations only in clothes that would respect the local traditional population - no short trousers, no tank-tops (here, in Hebrew). Apparently, the Palestinian women who took part in the demonstrations did not feel comfortable being associated with women who are immodest according to the rules of their own culture. What's more of a problem, as it turns out, is that Muslim young men see such 'immodest' clothes as an invitation to sexual harassment of the Israeli participants in the struggle (here, in Hebrew, is an opening to the many blog entries about the subject).

By giving this example I'm trying to avoid the problem of conflating Western concepts with human rights concepts. This is not about Muslim society controlling the dress code within its borders, but a clear declaration across the board that even the women who do not adhere to Muslim values must follow Muslim modesty codes - not only when they visit East Jerusalem as tourists but when they are there on a mission of joining in with local population of fighting for what is just.
Can a women, a gay person, or any liberal person fight for a just national cause at the expense of her/his personal freedom? On one hand, those sensitive to oppression should be the first to fight it when it burdens others. On the other hand, the oppressed can be just as oppressing towards other, weaker populations. Demanding those women who do not believe in the need to cover their arms to do so when they arrive at East Jerusalem is an oppressive act merely because it enforces cultural practices on those who are not members of the relevant cultural group. It is, in a sense, a cultural occupation of the neighborhood, perhaps in response to the actual Israeli occupation. I do not claim that one is as bad as the other although, if the claim that Israeli protesters are being sexually harassed in demonstrations is true - we're getting pretty close. I'm willing to assume that not every occupation is the same and that, as some say, it is wise to finish fighting one before fighting the other. But as a supporter of liberty in all forms - what can be my excuse of ignoring one kind of oppression while I'm fighting the other?

2 comments:

  1. I saw this post on legalbump.com, thanks.

    I understand the message of this article, and I appreciate the dilemma of supporting the freedom of an oppressive group. Still, I don't see anything wrong with issuing a request for secular women to dress more modestly. Cultural "dress codes" are common in Israel. For example, I wouldn't walk around Jerusalem's ultra orthodox neighborhood of Meah Shearim in a skimpy outfit. Or, a man might wear a kippah to an orthodox wedding out of respect for the hosts. Similarly, issuing a request to dress more modestly is not oppressive, it's just a request to respect the local residents on their own turf. What's wrong with that? I don't see how anyone's freedom is being restricted here. Were the secular women raped or beaten?

    Also, what does it mean that a cultural occupation of the neighborhood is in response to the actual Israeli occupation?

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  2. I posted the same reply in Legalbump.com, but just in case I'm posting it here as well. Anyway, thanks for replying.


    Hey Yael,
    I appreciate the fact that you don't agree, and think that there is definitely not one clear answer to these kinds of questions.
    More to the point that you raised, I think that if the struggle in Sheikh Jarrah is subjected to Muslim dress code, it makes it into Muslim people's struggle to which others are invited, when I see it as being a joint Jewish-Arab effort. This dress code bothers me the same way wearing a Kippah to the Western Wall bothers me - some places and some events should be inclusive in their nature, without making pre-requisites. The status of a Jewish woman in the protests is not the same as her status in Meah Searim, because she is not a guest or a tourist in those protests. She is an integral part of them, and therefore her views on what's acceptable to wear should be counted.
    I guess you're right, that if a request is just a request, there's nothing wrong with it. But if a request sets the tone of what is and what isn't acceptable, or if it's accompanied with harassment (which I heard rumors of but cannot say I personally know of), then it becomes more problematic.

    What I meant by that sentence you quoted is that the way some (but more than few) Palestinian men speak to and about Israeli-Jewish women as being 'easy', and the way it affects the ability of Palestinian and Israeli women to join the demonstrations freely, seems to me as a way of controlling the public sphere in a way I find violent. I also think that this might come from a desperate (and completely understandable) need to feel some sense of control over the neighborhood that is slowly being stolen from its Palestinian residents. I suggest that as an explanation after a few conversations I had, but absolutely not as a known fact. Much more as a personal opinion or an option of analysis. Would be willing to admit I'm wrong at any time.

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