Hi Lisa, I'm a lebanse blogger and i've just discovered your website via "In Lebanon"..I admire your attitude and will be back often.

Do you ever comment on Arab blogs? What kind of reactions do you get?

I ask because I too read Arab blogs, mostly from Iraq, Oman, Kuwat, and Saudi Arabia. The Israeli question is something that I just don't raise--it seems like a quagmire that would likely make talking impossible. But I do wonder what they would say if an Israel showed up and just started commenting, "Here in Tel Aviv it's a beautiful day...", etc.

Hi Jeff,

I read and comment on a number of Arab blogs, but I have to admit, they are primarily blogs that have shown themselves to be liberal, where the bloggers are welcoming of Israeli commenters (and if I decide to leave a comment, I'll often mention that I'm Israeli, and definitely include a link to my own blog, which would clue people in straight away). Some of the Arab blogs out there leave no room for such exchanges and dialog, and I feel that it would be a waste of both my time and energy to comment as an Israeli. There has to be some common ground in order for it to work. There's no point in being an Israeli voice on blogs that are against the very existence of Israel, against a two-state solution, etc. On the other hand, I've had some wonderful exchanges with a number of Arab bloggers. We don't see everything eye-to-eye, but if there's a mutual respect there, and a mutual desire for peace and dialog, it's great.

Jeff, all I can say is that you would be surprised.
We are all open to the idea of dialogue and are hungry for first-hand contact. When the sun shines in Tel Aviv, usually it's shining in Beirut, Ramallah and Damascus as well.

Anonymous, I wish that were so. I read and comment on a number of Jordanian blogs, and while the bloggers themselves are quite liberal and welcoming (knowing that I am Israeli), I'm often shocked by some of the anti-Israel rhetoric left by commenters, frequently with no connection to the topic at hand. The comments are usually left in a casual manner, as though seizing any possible opportunity to bash Israel is a perfectly ordinary, acceptable activity.

I think there are definitely a lot of Arabs out there who are very interested in getting to know us, but there's still a lot of ignorant hatred out there as well.

Ooops. That comment should have been addressed to PerpetualRefugee, and not Anonymous. Sorry!

I read many of the English language Arab blogs too. Their 'planets' tend to be very good, such as Jordan Planet, representing an interesting cross section of opinion, none of it that extreme and you get a much more subtle range of opinions than from the MSM. Interestingly, Israeli blog aggregation sites tend to be rather ropey affairs and tend to be populated by more religiously informed opinion. If anyone has a link to a secular aggregation site, let me know.

What would be interesting is a central site for both Arab and Israeli bloggers to write on together...

N

I think dialogue and personal friendships are good, but there is a limit to how far they can go while the conflict continues to go on.

You discuss the good relations of Israelis with the bedouins of Sinai in the link to Michael Totten blog. But can good relations last when the extensions of those tribes who live in the Negev and serve in the Israeli army get kicked off their traditional grazing lands by that same army? and when they have their lands plowed over every time they try to plant something to make sure that they never start to imagine that they just might have some rights to this "eternally Jewish land" that they will have to vacate once some Jewish "super citizens" of Israel find some use for it?

I don't want to be negative here. And I know that if a majority of Israelis shared your voting habits, Israel wouldn't behave in this way. But it's impossible to completely isolate ourselves from what's happening "on the ground" (on both sides, I'm sure).

You know that I support dialogue and personal contacts and even friendships. But a regional peace settlement, and an equality statute for Arab Israelis, are absolutely needed before Arabs and Jewish Israelis can truly interact as friendly neighbors.

Actually Ziad, I think the exact opposite: I think that only through grassroots dialogue will the conflict be resolved - i.e., from the bottom up. As long as we let politicians play power games and decide for us how the "conflict" should be played out (and resolved or not resolved), it will continue.

More about Michael's post soon. I think it's a great post, but there are a few points I'd like to clarify.

I understand the importance of grassroots dialogue dear Lisa. But it's the politicians who command the army and the bulldozers (and the suicide bombers). And it's very easy to interrupt a human conversation with a bullet, an F-16, or a bomb!

Anyway, my point is NOT that we shouldn't encourage grassroots dialogue, just that that dialogue will suffocate if the political reality doesn't move along as well.

Peace

No, but don't you see? The point I'm trying to make is that we have to control the politicians and the generals!

"People shouldn't be afraid of Governments; Governments should be afraid of people." V for Vendetta.
Personally, it is those grass root initiatives that make me believe that peace is possible.

I like your optimism, good luck with that :)

Ziad,

I have to agree with Lisa. I don't think we can dismiss the power of grass roots movements. It's not immediate change, but it's movement in the right direction. At least it's a start.

I am not optimistic about the present but sure as hell hope that the future has more to offer. I find it ridiculous that as a citizen of Lebanon I need to use an anonymous blog name otherwise risk being labeled a traitor, even though I know I haven't done anything wrong (on the contrary).

It is a great idea to set up a joint Arab-Israeli planet on the web. I would just hope that it doesn't disintegrate into a typical session on ynetnews or any Arab shisha cafe.

Lisa,

Thank you so much for the kind post. I'm surprised at the online conversation this has begun. I hope it continues.

Grassroots movements are important on the ground in order to overcome the mutual fear and dislike between "regular" Israelis and Arabs (after all, what good is peace between two governments if nothing is being done to bring the people closer together somehow, Egypt being a case in point), but when you have bonehead governments on both sides who are talking out both sides of their mouths and engaging in, shall we say, questionable activities, how can we truly get anywhere? It's great to be able to have joint Israeli-Palestinian activities, but if the Palestinians are being humiliated and degraded at checkpoints based on the whims of a few young soldiers, it's certainly going to detract from what you are trying to achieve.

The question is (or at least one of the many), how do we, as an unofficial grassroots community (for isn't that what we bloggers from all sides are, those of us trying to get to know "the other"?), control the upper echelons?

I think I have to agree to some extent with Ziad here. Dialogue is just lovely, and God knows I've done my share, but at some point, you stop and wonder, to what end? It can be exhausting , especially being here in Gaza. Because you feel so isolated and no one understands your plight-not Arabs, not Israelis.

Dialogue is great when discussing where the sun is shining today and how we are all human beings-and by virtue of our work as journalists we have to engae in forms of it-but when we are talking about the more crucial issues-when I ask- what do you say to my husband, whose family was forced out of his home in Haifa, whose grandmother lived and died in Baalbeck refugee camp, whose parents are still there, living and dying, to him, who can't even go visit his native home in Haifa (let alone come join me in Gaza), because he HAS and as far as Israel is concerned will NEVER HAVE a right to return, while any Jew in the world, even who have no native connection to the land, can go become citizens? Suddenly the dialogue stops. And is it muted by cries of "existential threat" and "you have plenty of Arab lands to live in".

As Edward Said said, recognizing the holocaust is crucial, but so is recognizing the Nakba and the Palestinian right of return-and only then can true dialogue take place.

Great blog Lisa

Has anyone thought of establishing an Israeli equivalent of itoot and jordanplanet?