Orthodox Anarquestion: Alternatives to Violence

In the vein of Edge.org’s Annual Question, I’ve decided to do a semi-regular feature here on Orthodox Anarchist asking some of the most creative thinkers I know a challenging topical question.

In this, the first edition, I’ve asked a number of friends and colleagues to propose a creative alternative to the use of extreme force by Israel in deterrence of Palestinian rocket fire. I asked them, specifically, “What kind of creative approach can be taken by Israel as an alternative to its current military actions that can help bring about a sustainable cessation of hostilities between Israel and the Palestinians?” I requested that respondents not offer typical political solutions, but rather unusual and previously unexplored ideas that will inspire others to think creatively about employing alternatives to violence in the resolution of conflicts.

Here are three unusual answers from three quite unusual thinkers: Rabbi Arthur Waskow, author Douglas Rushkoff and Rick Doblin, a psychedelics researcher. I may also have a few other answers in the next couple of days from others who haven’t had a chance yet to respond.

Arthur Waskow
Rabbi, The Shalom Center

It is pretty clear that Hamas in Gaza is not just a “terrorist gang” but is deeply interwoven with the fabric of Gazan society, through its social-welfare and religious networks. That means influence goes in both directions.

Step 1: Israel announces it will withdraw ground troops from Gaza and halt the present air attacks, and will (a) unconditionally and permanently halt all assassinations; and (b) for every month of no rockets (or practically no; say under ten a month, the number that seem to have been fired during the six-month cease-fire by underground terror groups despite Hamas’ orders), reciprocate with a month of massive easing of the blockade and embargo, allowing & encouraging European traffic/aid of food, fuel, medicine, and commercial/industrial goods for civilian production; will open Gaza ports to traffic from abroad (while boarding incoming vessels to prevent transmission of arms); and will ask the Europeans, Americans, and other Muslim countries to supply schoolbooks and other school supplies in math, biology, and other non-political areas.

After any month in which the rockets rose above ten, this commerce would be halted for a month and Israel would be free for a month to attack specific sites (and only those) from which it had evidence that rockets were being fired. Then if rocket attacks dropped below ten in the ensuing month, the bargain would resume for a month.

That if this regime worked for three months in a row and if Gilad Shalit were released, Israel would halt all home demolitions in East Jerusalem and the West Bank and would release from its prisons all members of Hamas who had been elected to the Palestinian parliament.

That if this regime worked for six months in a row and if Gilad Shalit had been released, Israel would compensate up to half their value owners of homes and other civilian properties destroyed or damaged after December 26; would release from its prisons all women Palestinians from Gaza and the West Bank, and all Palestinians under 16 and over 60; and would begin direct meetings between high Israeli and Hamas officials.

That Israel commit itself that if this regime worked for one year, Israel would formally recognize and negotiate with Hamas as the de facto government of Gaza; would support and agree to recognize a national government freely elected by the people of the West Bank and Gaza; and would enter into a region-wide negotiation seeking full peace among Israel; a Palestinian state including the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Gaza; all Arab states; and Iran.

That if the regime failed for three months in a row, Israel would undertake on-the-ground Special Forces attacks limited to weapons productions and rocket-firing sites, NOT including air attacks of the present sort.

All this would be an attempt to engage the Gazan and broader Palestinian civil society in having a stake in peacemaking, as well as the Hamas elites, and to mix carrots and sticks.

Douglas Rushkoff
Media theorist, Rushkoff.com

I think the ongoing Israel crisis merely exposes the obsolescence of the nation-state model. It may have been an interesting idea back during the Renaissance, but nations just don’t work today. They generate false notions of solidarity and, worse, false notions of competition and difference. Besides – as corporations continue to transcend nation state boundaries, conglomerates become the true power brokers on the world stage. Thinking of oneself as living in a nation deludes one into thinking that nation has some authority over anything but weapons.

So, my creative solution to the Israel crisis would be to transition the region from nation states to city states. The interests of cities are much more aligned to the people actually living inside them than are the interests of more abstracted nations. Garbage pickup and water supply takes precedence over national identity, whatever that might mean. This makes city law less susceptible to religious and racial specificity.

If a standing army is required, then let this be a shared resource of the city-states, and even operated by NATO or the UN or some other international body that people trust. Or let the US and NATO and the Arab League accept responsibility for the area’s security from more distant attack.

So yeah, I’d bag the two-nation or three-nation solution, and go with the NO nation solution. This does not mean the Jews need to stop thinking of themselves as the chosen people if they want to, or that they need to stop thinking of Israel as the God-sanctioned land mass for Jewish residence.

Further, the no-state solution could help the rest of the world move beyond the Balkanization crisis with which it is currently obsessed.

Rick Doblin
Psychedelics researcher, MAPS

In addition to being cousins, another thing that Jews and Palestinians share in common is a depth of suffering. We can forge a bond of healing across cultural and religious divides by working together to treat the trauma caused by war between our societies, and violence within our own societies, often sexual abuse or assault.

My organization MAPS is sponsoring research in Israel into the use of MDMA-assisted psychotherapy in people with treatment-resistant posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). We’re working towards obtaining permission to sponsor MDMA/PTSD research in Jordan. We envision shared training sessions in MDMA-assisted psychotherapy and collaborative exchange on information and data. Eventually, research results in prescription use of MDMA and other psychedelics and the growth of psychedelic psychotherapy as a new specialty, with networks of psychedelic clinics.

Society is likely to eventually see the wisdom in ending the prohibition of drugs and developing a regulated system of access. Collective celebrations such as all-night dances in nature such as raves can be an exhilarating way for young and old Jews and Arabs to celebrate life together, to explore and appreciate differences between people and find common ground. Psychedelics can add a depth and vividness that can equal the power and vividness of war and death, and can counter those impulses with the zest for life, for an appreciation of diversity deeper than zealotry, anchored in love. Raves can help refocus our societies away from the fury of destruction toward the deliciate and refined thrill of cooperating with tolerance and appreciation.

Tags: gaza, israel, palestine, psychedelics, violence, War