There are a few loose ends to tie before closing. I may be accused of embellishing the NPR story about the man’s olive grove. Indeed, I do not know the full details of the situation, and the emotional recreation is fully made up. It may be different in the particular case, but in the greater scheme of things, that is entirely irrelevant. If the story did not happen exactly this way at this time, then it happened almost this way some other time, or may yet happen this way in the future.
Finally, there is the issue of what the (hypothetical or real) Palestinian man could do in response to the Israeli aggression of grabbing his land. Besides violent retaliation, is there any response that is possible or consistent with one’s true self? The answer is yes, and Gandhi has shown the way. The greatest tragedy of the Palestinians is that they do not have a Gandhi or a Martin Luther King to inspire them towards a non-violent and truly effective course of action. If they had such a leader, and if they were willing to be led and inspired by such a person, they would have already turned world opinion (and possibly even American opinion) completely to their cause. Unfortunately, such a person is not to be seen anywhere, although a darker possibility to contemplate is whether s/he would be allowed to live long enough to have an impact, or whether the violence advocates from both sides would immediately recognize in her or him the real threat to their evil schemes and ways. After all, those who preach peace tend to be crucified, stabbed, or shot sooner or later; and with the efficiency that characterizes these modern times, it may be sooner.
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