Well, let’s just drink a cool glass of water and get some perspective.

Here’s what we know:

1. There will NOT be a vote Tuesday night in the Park Slope Food Coop to ban Israeli products. That’s because, despite the rumors, the proposed ban is not on the agenda. And, as many have pointed out (like Ben Harris at JTA) the Park Slope Food Coop loves equally organic food AND process (not processed food) so if it’s going to be voted on, it’s got to be on the Agenda. This of course gives me a chance to dust off one of my favorite Rabbi Arthur Hertzberg quotes (deliver with disdain if you’re trying this at home): “My generation worships the Master of the Universe; your generation worships the God of Process.” My generation also convinced its philanthropists to let us spend their money on “cool Jew” parties, but that’s another matter. Anyhow…

2. If the resolution ever comes up, it’s likely to fail, which doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be opposed when it does (because it should for its inconsistency, hypocrisy, and general ineffectiveness at ending a deeply challenging religio-national battle–”Hey Hey, Ho Ho, Israeli Persimmons have to go!”) It just means it’s one of those “wrong” symbolic votes that detracts us from the real issues and people of intelligence and reason have to focus on what can really effect people’s lives, facts on the ground, as it were.

3. Every day, every hour, every minute, Israelis and Palestinians of good will are struggling with all their hearts and souls to end this horrifying conflict. There are a very large number of organizations in Israel and Palestine dedicated to the very cause of peace. And there are several members of the Knesset and the nascent Palestinian self-governance organizations that are striving to find in-roads of mutual recognition and understanding. Those need strengthening and support.

4. A boycott of Israeli products to End the Occupation is not the Montgomery Bus Boycott or Divestment from South Africa. Why? Because each historical situation is unique unto itself. And while it may be true that the boycotts in the South or threats of divestment from South Africa helped shift political fortunes, it’s also true that great leadership–both internal and external–brought along the necessary changes to each society. King-Kennedy-Johnson or Mandela-FW De Clerk–all of whom made monumentally brave choices to bring transformation to their societies–must be remembered as critical to the endeavor. Banning Sabra Hummus (and let’s face it, Abraham’s is too chunky) just isn’t going to do the trick.

5. Isn’t it interesting that Bibi isn’t rushing to form this supposedly mandated “Right Wing” government? Isn’t it interesting that we are reading, each day, very real negotiations for the release of Gilead Shalit, the release of known terrorists, peace talks with Syria, sanctioned talks with Iran? What’s going on exactly? Leadership, despite it’s generally debased state in the Middle East, is trying in its own weird way, to do what’s true and just? Will it succeed? We don’t know–but we should help it along, not distract it from the meaningless and symbolic gestures of neighborhood self-satisfaction.

6. The kumquats. Yes. I end with the kumquats. One time Rachel and I took a trip up to the Galilee with my friend Jeffrey ( a Jewish travel writer), his cousin Larry ( a doctor from Long Island ) and their friend Hussein ( a Palestinian student from Jerusalem ). Rachel, Larry and I squeezed into the back of our car and Jeffrey and Hussein navigated from the front. We headed due North, through Ramallah, the West Bank, past checkpoints, and eventually up to the Galilee and Golan Heights, where we spent a few days checking out restaurants, archaeological sites, hostels, and beaches. It was a good time. Every half hour or so, Jeffrey offered us kumquats, which he had proudly purveyed from a roadside vendor. The cultures we represented in the car were, in no particular order, Russian, Polish, German, Egyptian, Armenian, Jerusalemite, and American. The cultures and religious traditions we moved in and around throughout our journey North were: Jewish, Christian, Muslim, Druse, and a remarkably inhospitable Scotsman. We swam in history and tradition while trading stories of growing up in Baltimore, Milwaukee, Long Island, and Jerusalem. And by the end of the weekend, our place of origin was not what we thought it was but more like, I don’t know, the car.

We came from the car.

The car was where we moved in and out of space and time, over and across borders, through and around checkpoints, Jews and a Muslim, faithful and skeptical, but bound by friendship and yes, Larry’s goddamn kumquats.

I don’t remember if they were Israeli kumquats or Palestinian kumquats but I remember that they were bright orange and sour and bitter and still had green leaves attached and that we made someone happy by spending a few shekels on them.

And I’d like to think that we made the tree happy too. And the earth that nurtured the tree. And the water that fed the earth. And the God–who gave the land to all the people–to eat, to be satisfied, and to bless.

Which brings me back to the Park Slope Food Coop.

And its good food: like apples and peppers and persimmons and hummus.

Made by people of good will who are making food, not war.

Peace, in other words, begins and ends with people. Great people.

“My generation worships the Master of the Universe; yours worships the God of Process.”

How true.

To lament the lack of heroes in the time of the Bible, the authors once said, “How the mighty have fallen!”

We should demand great leadership from Israelis and great leadership from Palestinians. We should demand courage from Israelis and courage from Palestinians. We should demand great risk from Israelis and great risk from Palestinians.

But we should leave the kumquats out of it.

This entry was posted on Monday, February 23rd, 2009 at 11:08 pm and is filed under Politics, Israel, Brooklyn. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.