Survival and Hope
Land sale agreement; Beersheba, Palestine (1931)
Photo: The Bseiso Family Archive
by Jonathan Kuttab
Dr. Viktor Frankl, in his epic work, “Man’s Search for Meaning,” speaking out of the depths of the concentration camps during the holocaust, wrote that the one thing the Nazis could not dictate despite all their power and control over the lives of the inhabitants of the concentration camps, was how each individual reacted to their suffering. That element remained firmly in their own hands. The commanders of the concentration camps could kill, torture, starve, dehumanize, subvert, and crush, but they cannot determine how each person would react to the evil and oppression inflicted upon them.
Indeed, many brave Jews who survived became world-class champions in working against racism and discrimination and for justice, human rights, international law, and philanthropy throughout the world. They became agents of light against the forces of darkness. Others, unfortunately, were so filled with understandable bitterness and anger that they lost their faith in humanity, and turned their awesome energy into ensuring the victory of their own tribe even if it caused immeasurable suffering to others. They felt their own massive suffering, and the failure of the international community to prevent it, gave them license to ignore international law or the rights or feelings of others, and that it gave them permission to do whatever they felt necessary in order to ensure their own survival and empowerment. After what they suffered, they felt no one had any right to question them.
I often think that the most amazing thing about Palestinians in their current situation is their resilience and ability to withstand unimaginable suffering, to not give up as they experience their own genocide and the relative silence of the international community. I just spoke to a Gazan whose grandfather, Mahroos Mustapha Bseiso, was a prominent and wealthy Palestinian who owned much land in Beersheba. His family had lost all their considerable possessions during the Nakba in 1948. Adel Bseiso first contacted me to help him prepare full documentation of the properties his family had lost and organize a digital history showing their properties and their current state. (That information is now compiled into a Digital Library housed at Columbia University which can be accessed at https://dlc.library.columbia.edu/bseiso). He informed me that he has recently, during the current genocide, lost tens of the members of his Bseiso family, who are living as refugees in Gaza. Yet, he was still determined not to give up. He still believed in a better future and wanted to dedicate his life’s work, current possessions, and any compensation he may eventually get in the future for his family’s properties to alleviating suffering and ensuring a better future for surviving Palestinians. He did not talk of vengeance or violence or destruction, but of how we can stop the current ongoing atrocities and build a better future for Palestinians.
It may be difficult in the midst of an ongoing genocide, where every day brings news of further massacres, deliberate starvation, denial of medical services, and yet more and more bombardments for people to even think of the day after, or for victims to think of anything other than vengeance. A ceasefire, after all, is only the equivalent of saying “get your knee off my neck.” Calling for unimpeded access to food and water and medical supply is only an immediate response to “I cannot breathe,” as Israel is choking the population. Beyond putting an end to these outrages, we need to seriously think of the day after. Justice requires a thoughtful response to Palestinian and Israeli demands and needs, and that continues to be a vital task if we are ever to see a lasting and effective end to the ongoing injustices. It is also necessary to address the traumas being currently inflicted, as well as the past traumas plaguing both communities. It is my firm hope that any resolution allows for a process of healing, just arrangements, including reparations, but also a different outlook that is not based on power, violence, revenge and bitterness, but on justice, reconciliation and ultimately coexistence with one’s present enemies.
For those who live outside the area, it is imperative that we throw our weight into actions that lead to life, and not death; that lead to healing, and not further suffering; that not only end the ongoing nightmare, but that also boldly declare that violence is not the answer. What is needed is a process that truly turns swords into plowshares and outlines a better future for all concerned. This may sound idealistic and utopian, but it is a vision that is both necessary and possible. In fact, one can argue that it is the only possibility that has any chance of working out.
Violence has shown that while it can inflict huge damage on an enemy, it has singularly failed to achieve its objectives. It neither yields security to Israelis or liberation for Palestinians. It can only yield the infliction of pain on the other side and the assurance of continued hatred and enmity. It may still be difficult for those immediately involved in the ongoing fighting to contemplate this, but for those who are looking in, and who have any concern for the parties involved, this should be our foremost priority: not total victory over our enemies, not achieving our goals through massive military might that creates a “deterrence,” but through empathy, caring, win-win solutions and a commitment to justice and an end to violence on all sides.