There has been much tension lately between the United States and Israel.  While the tension between the right leaning-Bibi and the left-seeming Obama seems to center around the peace process and controversial building in Israel, I’ve found there to be a certain attitude present in Israel that is very anti-Obama.  Throughout the years the United States has continually been a big player in Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations, but this time around there is a growing hostility toward this interference. 
While many US presidents have looked the other way while Israel has been building in the settlements, I think that  the clash between a government in Israel supporting more settlements and a government that understands their threat to peace is creating tension.  Yet here in Israel there is a growing atmosphere of “finger-pointing” at Obama.  It’s his fault that tensions are high, and he is forcing Israel to make concessions it shouldn’t have to make.  I’ve read articles accusing him of purposely creating stress in order to force a Kadima government, to strengthen his ties with Arab countries, or simply because he’s an antisemite.  It seems as though Israel is innocent of guilt, and the problem lies solely with the U.S and the Obama administration.  The “other” is the problem, not “us.”
Where is this atmosphere coming from? I think it has something to do with what I’ve been feeling lately, this “syndrome” I’ve received since living in Israel–the feeling that there are only two types of people in this world: Jews and everyone else.  The Jewish bubble creates the illusion of dominance and even isolation.  It affords us the thought that our decisions affect only us, and therefore are only ours to make.  If we want to keep building in Jerusalem and in the West  Bank… well, why can’t we?  Why should the U.S dictate our destiny? After all, Israel is a democratic and free country like anywhere else and therefore our problems are our problems and no one else’s.
It’s incredibly easy to get sucked into this viewpoint and to see the United States sticking its hands in our cookie jar or in our dirty laundry.  While on the surface this idea is empowering, it misses and even undermines the entire concept of peace.  In order to reach for peace, we much dance with the other and welcome them in in an effort to understand them fully and completely. This is especially true in a place like the Middle East, where all actions and political decisions reverberate throughout the entire area and to the entire world.
While of course we can’t undermine our own democratic political system, we must also understand that the world is not split into us’s and them’s.  Our peace is Palestinian peace and in the end will be a step closer to world peace.  We can’t see the United States or Palestinians as enemies or even allies.  At the end of the day, Jew or not, we are all still people and the villain isn’t shut out of this equation.  There are no Dr. Evils  in this world because we are all so much deeper. Human nature is much more complex.
Perhaps I am naive in my love of peace.  Perhaps I am silly for placing peace as my ultimate good.  If this is so, however, I’d rather be naive than fail to see the real duplicity of the world. When we see the situation in black and white, Jews and others or Israelis and Palestinians, we lose touch with what is real and drive ourselves into deep potholes.  To simply scratch the surface and allow stereotypes to dictate us is safer than full understanding, but makes peace look impossible.  Someone once told me that when they see places like Ramla or areas in Jerusalem where coexcitance is present, they feel as though they have stepped into a possible future.  It’s only when we put ourselves in boxes and bubbles that peace seems so unobtainable.
Hailey Dilman is a MASA participant, participating in Oranim’s Community Involvement Program, one of Masa Israel’s 160 programs.
