Semsem
08-08-2004, 09:55 PM
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1091936105148
Aug. 8, 2004 22:39 | Updated Aug. 8, 2004 22:43
Marek Halter: 'The wall makes things clear'
By ASSOCIATED PRESS
PARIS
Marek Halter hates the new fence dividing Israel from the Palestinian Authority – but he believes it just might force both sides to face reality and find a solution that works.
And if something does not work soon, he says, new anti-Semitism will grow more virulent among young Muslims whose passions are inflamed by the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Halter, a French Jewish writer, philosopher, and best-selling author, departs from widespread condemnation of the West Bank barrier. He believes that without it, vague hatreds can only grow worse.
"The wall makes things clear," Halter told The Associated Press. "Without it, Palestinians dream of taking back their orange trees in Jaffa. Jews think Hebron belongs to them. That's over."
He recently said as much to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon at breakfast in Jerusalem and, hours later, to Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat at lunch in Ramallah. He has had frank talks with both sides for decades.
Now Halter is delivering the message in America, where he is largely unknown, with his Biblical epic, the Canaan Trilogy. It is already a European bestseller.
The first novel, Sarah, focuses on roots shared by Christianity and Islam as well as Judaism. All three religions trace back to Abraham and Sarah, to whom God gave a son late in their lives.
"We are basically the same people, and if we don't teach this to our children the future will be catastrophic," he said. "We are all responsible, and we all must find a way to understanding."
Halter, at 68, is an archetypal wandering Jew and an all-purpose prophet. He fled Warsaw's wartime ghetto with his parents to Uzbekistan and roamed four continents before settling in France.
He is one of those philosopher-intellectuals whom the French revere like rock stars. And this unsettles him. He flashes wit in a dozen languages, but he never went to school, not even grade school.
"Sometimes I feel like Zelig," he said, evoking Woody Allen's classic nebbish who repeatedly manages to show up at center stage of world events. He is on television almost every night somewhere in Europe.
"I grew up on the streets as a thieving kid," he said, "which is why I understand how racist ideas like anti-Semitism can spread so rapidly among the poor and badly educated."
After studying mime with Marcel Marceau and a brief career as a painter, Halter turned to statecraft. He founded the International Committee for a Negotiated Peace Agreement in the Near East in 1967.
He started writing in 1970, but his passion is still finding common ground. "We have to find what unites us, not what separate us," he said.
On a recent tour of the United States, Halter said he found goodwill but, for the most part, only vague notions about world realities.
"I like Americans," he said. "They take what you say at face value. The French call this naive. They expect you to lie, and they measure their cleverness at how quickly they can learn the truth."
He said his impression was that many Americans thought that France was the most anti-Semitic nation in Europe, if not the world.
"This is wrong," he said, detailing government measures to crack down on all racial crimes. Many prominent Jews live high-profile lives without feeling a hint of antagonism.
Proportionally, hate crimes against Jews in France may be no more common than in Britain or other countries which face less scrutiny.
French authorities counted 135 anti-Semitic acts in the first half of 2004, compared to 127 for all of 2003. Jewish groups report a sharp rise in hostility that cannot be reflected by statistics.
"The situation in France illustrates the bigger threat," Halter said. "Even a small virus, left untreated, can kill a man. We all have to act now, Jews, Muslims and Christians."
France has more than five million Muslims and 600,000 Jews, and many of the former are impoverished youths in sprawling slums around Paris and other cities.
Halter says young Muslims target Jews to strike a blow for Palestinians, whom many see as victims of Israel and America. Turmoil in Iraq helps extremists exploit this and incite violence.
"These kids don't know geography, and some think Ramallah is a suburb of Paris," he said. "That sort of shallow thinking can spread quickly, but you can also counter it if you take action."
But even as incidents grow more common, Halter said, too many French and other Europeans remain apathetic. Some call it an understandable response to frustration and poverty.
He said Sharon told him he was surprised at the strong reaction in France to his recent call for French Jews to emigrate to Israel.
After a sharp rebuke from President Jacques Chirac, he apologized.
"In the end, this provoked a lot of debate, and that's not bad," Halter said. "We have to learn to say these things out loud. If we don't know the name of the sickness, how can we cure it?"
He often meets with gang leaders in the rough neighborhoods around Paris. Mostly, he finds, anti-Jewish feelings are not deep-seated and often based on a simple lack of knowledge.
"I speak their language because I was one of them," he said. "When a kid tells me he wants to avenge Palestinians, I offer to help him go there and fight. No one accepts. Instead, they start to think."
Aug. 8, 2004 22:39 | Updated Aug. 8, 2004 22:43
Marek Halter: 'The wall makes things clear'
By ASSOCIATED PRESS
PARIS
Marek Halter hates the new fence dividing Israel from the Palestinian Authority – but he believes it just might force both sides to face reality and find a solution that works.
And if something does not work soon, he says, new anti-Semitism will grow more virulent among young Muslims whose passions are inflamed by the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Halter, a French Jewish writer, philosopher, and best-selling author, departs from widespread condemnation of the West Bank barrier. He believes that without it, vague hatreds can only grow worse.
"The wall makes things clear," Halter told The Associated Press. "Without it, Palestinians dream of taking back their orange trees in Jaffa. Jews think Hebron belongs to them. That's over."
He recently said as much to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon at breakfast in Jerusalem and, hours later, to Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat at lunch in Ramallah. He has had frank talks with both sides for decades.
Now Halter is delivering the message in America, where he is largely unknown, with his Biblical epic, the Canaan Trilogy. It is already a European bestseller.
The first novel, Sarah, focuses on roots shared by Christianity and Islam as well as Judaism. All three religions trace back to Abraham and Sarah, to whom God gave a son late in their lives.
"We are basically the same people, and if we don't teach this to our children the future will be catastrophic," he said. "We are all responsible, and we all must find a way to understanding."
Halter, at 68, is an archetypal wandering Jew and an all-purpose prophet. He fled Warsaw's wartime ghetto with his parents to Uzbekistan and roamed four continents before settling in France.
He is one of those philosopher-intellectuals whom the French revere like rock stars. And this unsettles him. He flashes wit in a dozen languages, but he never went to school, not even grade school.
"Sometimes I feel like Zelig," he said, evoking Woody Allen's classic nebbish who repeatedly manages to show up at center stage of world events. He is on television almost every night somewhere in Europe.
"I grew up on the streets as a thieving kid," he said, "which is why I understand how racist ideas like anti-Semitism can spread so rapidly among the poor and badly educated."
After studying mime with Marcel Marceau and a brief career as a painter, Halter turned to statecraft. He founded the International Committee for a Negotiated Peace Agreement in the Near East in 1967.
He started writing in 1970, but his passion is still finding common ground. "We have to find what unites us, not what separate us," he said.
On a recent tour of the United States, Halter said he found goodwill but, for the most part, only vague notions about world realities.
"I like Americans," he said. "They take what you say at face value. The French call this naive. They expect you to lie, and they measure their cleverness at how quickly they can learn the truth."
He said his impression was that many Americans thought that France was the most anti-Semitic nation in Europe, if not the world.
"This is wrong," he said, detailing government measures to crack down on all racial crimes. Many prominent Jews live high-profile lives without feeling a hint of antagonism.
Proportionally, hate crimes against Jews in France may be no more common than in Britain or other countries which face less scrutiny.
French authorities counted 135 anti-Semitic acts in the first half of 2004, compared to 127 for all of 2003. Jewish groups report a sharp rise in hostility that cannot be reflected by statistics.
"The situation in France illustrates the bigger threat," Halter said. "Even a small virus, left untreated, can kill a man. We all have to act now, Jews, Muslims and Christians."
France has more than five million Muslims and 600,000 Jews, and many of the former are impoverished youths in sprawling slums around Paris and other cities.
Halter says young Muslims target Jews to strike a blow for Palestinians, whom many see as victims of Israel and America. Turmoil in Iraq helps extremists exploit this and incite violence.
"These kids don't know geography, and some think Ramallah is a suburb of Paris," he said. "That sort of shallow thinking can spread quickly, but you can also counter it if you take action."
But even as incidents grow more common, Halter said, too many French and other Europeans remain apathetic. Some call it an understandable response to frustration and poverty.
He said Sharon told him he was surprised at the strong reaction in France to his recent call for French Jews to emigrate to Israel.
After a sharp rebuke from President Jacques Chirac, he apologized.
"In the end, this provoked a lot of debate, and that's not bad," Halter said. "We have to learn to say these things out loud. If we don't know the name of the sickness, how can we cure it?"
He often meets with gang leaders in the rough neighborhoods around Paris. Mostly, he finds, anti-Jewish feelings are not deep-seated and often based on a simple lack of knowledge.
"I speak their language because I was one of them," he said. "When a kid tells me he wants to avenge Palestinians, I offer to help him go there and fight. No one accepts. Instead, they start to think."