"Dealing with the Devil"

EgyDiva's Post on June 12th, 2008 on Palestine/Israel voiced a concern I think most of us like to voice these days: where to start, what to say, are there sides, are we gravitating towards side and making them seem more fixed than they really are, is that dogmatic attitude at times more harmful than useful?

I think a useful strategy with these issues is to start small. If an article is written somewhere that is imprecise or it doesn't make sense to you completely, then questions it through writing a letter to the Editors in charge of allowing this content to be printed, broadcasted, etc.

I think it's the ability to sustain a series of inter-related critiques on Palestinian-Israeli dynamics that help us remain comfortable with the critiques that we offer. This is what's currently going on in my mind when I read "Dealing with the Devil," an article in Newsweek's June 16, 2008 issue on Israeli prisoner swaps with Palestinians and Lebanese.

Some of the things you could "take action" with on this article might be:

• Emailing the "Experts" they choose to interview in their article, questioning their view; disputing their points, opening their dialogue (and make these emails public through your blog--Yes, it's coming soon.)
• Research the facts they present; there are always going to be different contentions about facts and presenting a "fact" and a semi-contradicting "fact" (yes, they exist) also gives you a clear picture of the Editorial line of the article
• Write to the Editors of Newsweek (which in the same issue, you had a great response from someone in the UK on Palestine.)
• Make more people you respect as "experts" read the articles, and document their opinions and comments (maybe use your blog to publicizie them.)

I think it's the creativity of responding to the article that needs to be assessed properly. Anger politics seems to be losing its steam (yes, it's a play on words).

NOTE: The article in full-length is available at http://www.newsweek.com/id/140427