JTA: The Global News Service of the Jewish People

10/29/09 12:34 PM

Writings by Anna Baltzer ["a graduate of Columbia University, Fulbright scholar, and three-time volunteer with the International Women s Peace Service in the West Bank, where she documents human rights abuses and supports the nonviolent resistance movement to the occupation"] include her book:  Witness in Palestine: A Jewish American Woman in the Occupied Territories by Anna Baltzer (Paperback - Aug 30, 2007).  “Anna Baltzer, a young Jewish American, went to the West Bank to discover the realities of daily life for Palestinians under the occupation. What she found would change her outlook on the conflict forever. She wrote this book to give voice to the stories of the people who welcomed her with open arms as their lives crumbled around them. For eight months, Baltzer lived and worked with farmers, Palestinian and Israeli activists, and the families of political prisoners, traveling with them across endless checkpoints and roadblocks to reach hospitals, universities, and olive groves. Baltzer witnessed first hand the environmental devastation brought on by expanding settlements and outposts and the destruction wrought by Israel’s separation barrier, which separates many families from each other, their communities, their land, and basic human services. What emerges from Baltzer’s account is not a sensationalist tale of suicide bombers and conspiracies, but a compelling and inspiring description of the trials of daily life under the occupation. “ [quotes from Amazon]

10/29/09 01:23 PM

Too bad Baltzer hasn’t used her brain power to learn some of the actual history of the region, the division of the area’s land by the British, the promise of a Jewish homeland much much larger than the State of Israel, etc.  Not to mention the fact that most of the problems of the Palestinians are self-inflicted:  failure to build an infrastructure during times of peace, misuse of massive aid monies, 10 children per family, focus on incitement and hatred instead of nation-building. 
As far as “disproportionate concern” by American citizens about what’s happening with US weapons and money, why is she ignoring Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia, which receive money and/or weapons, not to mention various other countries around the globe?  Those and other Arab countries routinely oppress the Palestinians, even worse than their own citizens.

10/29/09 01:25 PM

I’ve seen Anna Baltzer speak. She clearly enjoy going around and slandering her own people. In the future, psychologists will write books about the mental disorders of Baltzer, Noam Chomsky, Norman Finkelstein and their ilk. That she looks on the very existence of a state for her own people as a sin put her beyond the pale. In a real sense she is worse than the kapos, who at least were trying to save their own lives.

10/29/09 02:48 PM

It is not necessary to attack Ms. Balzer’s character as per some of above comments.It is better to refute her opinions with actual facts. For example,it is untrue-as Jon Stewart- already pointed out-that Jews living in Arab countries enjoyed some sort of golden age as those countries have a rich tradition of anti Jewish acts e.g. forced conversions in Iran over many centuries,pogroms in Iraq during and after World war II,ritual murder trials in Syria in 19th century and finally forced exile for well over 700,000 Jews in period 1948 down to the present with the few Jews remaining in Yemen being the most recent forced to leave. One need not support the mistaken settlement enterprise and still be a friend of Israel.Ms Baltzer instead takes some actions undertaken by some Israelis as a way to discredit a nation’s right to exist. This kind of thinking is extremely selective as being only applied to one country in the world,Israel and thus illustrates her mistaken beliefs. She is wrong,but she is not “sick”.

10/29/09 03:26 PM

An important point is that no Arab/ Palestinian would return the favor by defending any rights for either Israelis or Jews anywhere, much less in the Middle East.  Not only is this woman probably the subject of disrespect by Arabs/Palestinians(she is Jewish but anti-Jewish) but of ridicule also! 
This is my reaction to her!

10/29/09 06:16 PM

True victims of misinformation and Arab myths. Ms. Balzer rightfully shows concern for humanitarian issues raised by the unfortunate side effects of Israel’s life saving security measures. Predictably her response would be that Arab terrorism was the response to the occupation and the settlements. Then I would respectfully ask for an explanation for the targeting of Jewish civilians before any of these proposed causes occurred. The Arab narrative and justification for violence against Jews is that a historically unique and distinct people called Palestinians are resisting the occupation of their country. According to numerous instances of official Arab testimony before international bodies before 1948, there have never been a Palestinian people. Evidence of their true intentions is clearly displayed by Arab words, deeds, foundation documents, and what they teach and preach to their children, ie. religious apartheid and a world without Israel. This is documented historical evidence and not opinion or spin. Balzer’s naïve stance demonstrates she is either a victim of Arab deception or stupid.

10/29/09 07:13 PM

Anna and Mustafa spoke a heartening language and represented an enlightened school of thought that are music to the ears of those who want peace, justice and security to both Palestinians and Israelis, but are, sadly, at the same time, disturbing, scary, confusing and most of all troubling to those who choose to live in denial and are scared to face up to the heavy and painful truth and reality of what’s truly going on in that conflict.

Palestinians, whose horrific plight is recognized and acknowledged the world over, even by many of Israel’s supporters in the US and in Israel itself, but the sad reality of the dominance of the ultra-conservative and extremist groups, in Israel and the US, who are blinded by their narrow, extremist ideology, be it religious, political or nationalistic, are making it extremely difficult to make room for peace, in the only way it can be achieved, which is to recognize the rights of Palestinian people to have a real viable and coherent state on their own land, and not the joke of a disjointed pieces of scattered ghetto-like enclaves here and there.

Peace is as much in Israel’s interest as it is in the Palestinians’ interest, and pursuing the present policy, championed by Israel’s most extremist groups, who I believe don’t truly represent the aspirations of most Israelis, who also yearn for peace as much as the Palestinians do, will lead nowhere except for more death and destruction on both sides of this conflict. Israel needs to be smart enough to realize that its superior military power can’t be maintained forever, and it would be most prudent and wise for it to seek and achieve peace while it’s strong, and by that it will not only be able to get better terms, but will be accepted and respected by the world over, while looking magnanimous and gracious, not to mention that it would redeem its soul that’s been tarnished badly by all the injustice and misery it has inflicted on the Palestinians for so long.

10/29/09 09:04 PM

Perhaps Ms. Balzer should’ve spent time in a Sderot bomb shelter.

10/29/09 11:30 PM

To Walid Maaytah: 

What “better terms” could you possibly mean?  Both Hamas and Fatah continue to say they are committed to the destruction of Israel, no matter the borders.  The PLO was started BEFORE the 1967 war.  The most Israel could get now is a truce, while Hamas and the PA build up their forces, continue the indoctrination of the youth, and do their part to maintain mediocre conditions.

And what “horriffc” conditions?  True, some parts of Gaza are in poor shape, but some areas, and some people there are doing quite well.  There is no mass starvation, no mass dying, just inflammatory rhetoric about “ethnic cleansing” and “genocide.”

And it’s just inaccurate to blame Israel for anything and everything that’s gone wrong?  What about Hamas’ violent coup in Gaza?  What about its repression of free speech?  Its refusal to build any kind of economy?  When Israel left Gaza, it left behind a beautiful greenhouse.  Hamas destroyed it.

So blaming Israel and mischaracterizing the government as “extremists” is no path to peace.

10/30/09 10:03 AM

a balanced panel like having hitler and then having goebels give a more moderate view