Ambivalence: Crossing The Israel Palestine Divide

by Jonathan Garfinkel

Jonathan Garfinkel hears a curious, touching story about a house in Jerusalem that is shared by a Palestinian and a Jew. As he starts to question the assumptions of his faith and Zionist teachings of his youth, he is impelled to make his first-ever trip to Israel—and the West Bank—and to confront the truths and myths of his upbringing. This provocative, deeply compassionate memoir is about connections and separations—about the perils of what links us and the distortions in what divides us. Vivid and dramatic in style, with unexpected moments of both comedy and pathos, Ambivalence is as much a portrait of life as it is of the Middle East.

Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir, Israel, Middle East

368 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2008

Reviews

[Jennifer Abdo · Rating 3 out of 5]

He may be ambivalent about his faith and he may have been ambivalent about his girlfriend before he got dumped, but about Israel I'm not so sure. He's definitely proud of himself for making a Palestinian friend and for eventually asking and answering questions most Jews manage to suppress and ignore- even the ones living in Israel. He finds out his view of history learned at his Canadian Zionist school was a lie (propaganda, indoctrination, IMO). He's haunted continually by this composite character representing the school like a true victim of serious semi-successful brainwashing. He's got several composite characters and dead people or those not in the country speaking to him. It was creative and kind of fun, but in a memoir, I'm not sure I liked it.

He does have some breakthroughs. There were in fact people on the land (Israel) before them (Israeli Jews) and Palestinians didn't leave of their own free will and did in fact want to come back. Also, he learns that not everyone hates Jews and there is such thing as Palestinians and the map of Israel he had burned in his brain as a child was wrong. I think he still holds onto the lie that it was the Jews who made the desert bloom, though. What is shocking is how I hear people constantly bemoan the fact that Palestinians are being indoctrinated to hate Jews in textbooks and schools, while there is nothing about this propaganda Jews learn in school, not just in Israel, but all over the world (and the fact that for Palestinians it is illegal to learn about their own history or literature, etc).

Interestingly, at Jonathan's home synagogue, the men and women are separate and the women can't touch the Torah and men and women can't touch each other. I found it kind of funny given the fact that there has been so much press lately about mosques and how people believe Islam is the problem, after all, look how they treat women- separate to pray. Callers to radio shows justify their ill feelings for the mosque in NY due to this separation which doubtless many Jews in NY (and all over the world) also practice!

When he talks to other Jews about his questioning of what he's been taught, he seems to oppose them, but does so as though he tossed a coin and he doesn't know why he's saying what he's saying. When he talks about his orthodox friends, he longs for the faith they have and admires them greatly, which is not so bad. What they say about Palestinians bothers him (also good), but not in the way Rana's acceptance of suicide bombing does- he's ready to end that friendship.

The fact that his friend, Rana, supports suicide bombing as a general concept shocks him. Funny when you think of his heroes in Israeli history who were responsible for some pretty horrible things, but such is the contradiction that is Israel. When he finds out about this, he wonders why he can question his faith and position, but she can't. He also says at some point that they both have had to question their Israeli educations and she found it almost as hard as he did to criticize and question her education and (for her) Israeliness. I wonder if he thinks the Jews could have won their state with non-violence. Does he regret that they used violence so that he can freely (and cheaply if he'd taken one of Israel's many offers to Jews) travel at the expense of so many lives long gone and so many under occupation?

He visits a community, Oasis of Peace, where Israelis and Palestinians live together equally, but he calls this fabricated peace rather than a choice or an alternative, as they consider it. He goes with an activist whose group is intent on posting signs telling of the state's real history, or at least a sanitized version letting people know of the Palestinian villages that Israel tried to erase. He's not terribly critical of them, but it is clear that while he seems glad he knows the truth, he doesn't really want to get involved in educating others and seems on the fence about the whole thing- he may not be as happy to know the truth as I thought.

The real peace, is the one in the Shimon-Abu Dalo residence, he thinks. I disagree. They hate each other, but they don't kill each other. It's the reason for his trip to Israel. He wants to write a play about it and goes to do research and to find out about the nagging questions relating to what he learned in school. He inexplicably goes to see Divine Intervention at the Toronto Film Festival, meets Rana who tells him about this house. I hope he made a great play because I don't think his trip was too enlightening for him otherwise. When Palestinians would talk history with him, he wouldn't be able to concentrate either because the IDF was shooting or low blood sugar or whatever. He did seem to conclude that his Zionist education was a bit biased and maybe not factually correct. But he wants it to be. He wants the faith of those people and to not ask questions. He admires his "War of Independence" heroes (maybe just remembering as a child?) and how kibbutzim were instrumental in the war. He can't let go of the Jewish state idea, which precludes equality and democracy, even though he kind of understands that implication.

He does less analysis and more general reporting of Israeli attitudes than some memoirs. One such experience that sticks out is how in his visit to the kibbutz, I and apparently he, expected pretty liberal attitudes about Palestinians and was surprised. He asked them if they would let Palestinians live in the kibbutz, given their values and claims of interacting with Palestinians. They weren't forthcoming. When they bragged about going to the West Bank, it was not really in a Palestinian village as they had said and it was owned by Palestinians serving Jewish patrons.

I've been able to get my hands on far more Jewish memoirs than Palestinian ones. This one was pretty good. It didn't make me nearly as mad as Prisoners by Jeffery Goldberg. I was only mildly disappointed with the evolution in this book. He was able to reverse some of his Zionist brainwashing and begin thinking for himself. He was ashamed of himself for doing this, though, and seemed to want to want the faith of people who thought Palestinians were dogs. He made some Palestinian friends and asked some questions, but he still seems to think they are guilty or responsible for the mess they are in. He does seem to be for cooperation and peace and not so obsessed with the Holocaust (like American Jews) and manufactured victimhood that it causes moral myopia.

Maybe we'll have to wait for Israel to allow Palestinians freedom of movement and to study their history and write about it without it being illegal for Palestinian memoirs to become more widely available.

[Sam · Rating 2 out of 5]

Self indulgent and true to the title, ultimately refusing to come to a conclusion

[Yaffa Shira · Rating 4 out of 5]

He wrote with a very similar background to mine!!!! I know the Abu Dalo family!!!

[Steve Cran]

Jonathan is an Ashkenazi Jew who lives in Toronto, Canada . Sporadically he attends the local temple along with his long time girlfriend Judith. Despite having been schooled in Bialik school, a Zionist school, Jonathan has never been to Israel and he is close to thirty years old. He is playwright and a struggling one at that. He is looking to write a play about Israel. He hears about it when he sees a movie called “Divine Intervention” which is directed by a Palestinian director. While at this screening he meets a Palestinian woman named Rana who hails from the village called Tamra. Tamra is located in Northern Israel. While going to school in Jerusalem Rana stayed at a house that was owned by an Arab and a Jew and they lived on the same land together. To Jonathan this is a perfect opportunity. He jets off to Israel.



Israel is nothing like what he thought it would be, hard working pioneers and holymen. His first encounter is with a an Israeli madman with long blond hair and blue eyes. He is drinking Jack Daniel on the Cab ride to Jerusalem. Jonathan hangs with him the night and the next day he bikes into Bethlehem. He is stopped by soldiers an Palestinians . He has to buy a Palestinian flag to adorn his bike as it has an Israeli one. The flag costs him 60 dollars. In Jerusalem he meets Orthodox Jewish relative who have views that Jonathan cannot quite stomach. He often questions why Joshua was commanded to wipe out all of the Canaanite, just so Israelites could take the land. He is given answers that does not satisfy his curiosity. After all he is a bit of a rebel. He meets a Palestinian soldier named Samer. He is quite ready to live in peace with the Israelis save that he feels like he lives in a prison with ll the check points. He also explains to Jonathan why the second intifada is more violent than the first intifada. Israel arrested al the intellectuals and just left the rowdy ones. Later when he meets Samer’s father who is 105 years old he learns that prior to the arrival of the British Jews and Arabs got on real well. The British pitted both sides against each other.



Finding the house and talking to the people is a challenge. Both Shimom .the Israeli, and Abu Delia,the Palestinian are n ot so keen on talking. Abu Delia talks first. He fled during the six day war and came back to find Shimon living there. He had to sneak back to his own property. He fought the matter in court and retrieved ownership of his land. Shimon could still live there as long as he paid the lease to Abu Delia. On the other half Abu Delia built another house.



Jonathan goes back home only too return to Israel several months later this time with Rana who is divorcing her husband. Together they visit many Israelis interest in peace, join demonstration and hook up with two organization promoting peace. Two such organizations are Zochrot and Neveh Shalom. Zochrot is dedicated to preserving the memory of the villages that were destroyed and Palestinians forced to flee. While Nevveh Shalom is a join n village of Jewish and Palestinian Israelis.



Over all great book that has the author probe into Israel’s history from a variety of different angles. He is not happy with what he finds and he finds that the Palestinian cause is just. Jonathan empathizes with the Palestinians at the end of the book.

[Fiona Robinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chosen for discussion by our book club, this was a very interesting read. It didn't start out so well, I was rather put off by the attitude of the protagonist, but it really grew on me as he matured and became a more interesting person. I was unaware that it was a memoir and not fictional, until my friends enlightened me, and that did make a difference to how I read it. It's a massively difficult topic, but he put a very personal, individual face on it, if a very particular one. I understand that this book says a lot about the Jewish community in Toronto, and it also caused considerable controversy in that same community. I found some of the dialogue a bit contrived, which is not surprising considering that he was trying to squeeze a lot of history and background into something written like a story. This is very much one point of view in a very complex discussion, but it was very educational to read, it really made me think about things that I have sort of avoided and it has changed the way that I hear the news from Israel/Palestine. There are a few more human faces and real lives in my mind when I hear the headlines. Some passages are much better written than others, and as one of our book club members mentioned - it is no surprise that he is also a poet. I do recommend reading this book, but be prepared for other people to have strong opinions about its content.

[Diana · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this in tandem with David Grossman's "The Yellow Wind". Both books are described on the cover, as the author exploring Israel and Palestine by talking to ordinary people, not politicians or leaders. They are published almost 19 years apart, but the problems are the same: how did the 'situation' occur, what impact has it had on the lives of ordinary/local/native people, what does this particular intense look at these issues tell us, North American Jews?

This book is much more surreal, with elements of the fantastical occasionally interspersed with the real observations, while Grossman writes in a much more reportorial style. Garfinkel is an easier read, as it reads more like a novel or a memoir, although it is filed in the history section of the library.

[Austin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed Garfinkel's interesting, often humorous, and sometimes shocking impressions of life in Israel and Palestine. He does a great job of weaving viewpoints from various groups of people from all sides of the debate in his quest for understanding and an example of both Jews and Palestinians living in peace with one another. This book is a very enjoyable, emotional, and eye-opening way for those of us searching to really understand the situation in this part of the world - it won't answer all of your questions, but it is a good way to start learning.

[Ruth]

Garfinkel is a poet and playwright. This is his first work of non-fiction. So, it's a bit self-conscious, but he's funny. And while he takes himself seriously, he's also able to poke fun at himself.
So, so far, I'm enjoying it.

[Elina Bravve · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book over Thanksgiving break when I probably should have been doing all my work instead, but my mom recommended it and I could not put it down as it was one of the most honest reflections on the whole Israel/Palestine conflict I've read recently from someone who is right around my age.

[O.C. · Rating 4 out of 5]

If only there were easy answers...

[Mar · Rating 2 out of 5]

Had moments of decency and gave some of the complexity of the situation in the Middle East, but a lot was his trying to figure himself out as well and was weird. Not a lot of hope here.

[Courtney Byrne-Mitchell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I highly recommend this book! Very well written and really captures the reader's attention.