The 'Report from Gaza and Roundtable Discussion' hosted by the Brecht Forum left me seething with questions that had to be internalised because of the lack of supposed open discussion.
Five speakers, each have just returned from the Gaza region in Palestine, each representative of their own committee, group, alliance or delegation - essentially pro Palestine and anti blockade.
All doing good and all congratulating each other on their capacity and capability to do good.
The audience was made up - as one speaker adoringly put it of "old faces".
But from what I could see and hear this translated as reformed middle aged left wing activist Jews.
Reformed in the sense of; recently made a 360 in their opinion of those damn, dirty, hating, fundamentalist Arabs, always committing acts of unspeakable terror on poor Israel.
And have, thankfully, realised that Israel's tired old tag line of "we need to defend our country" is perhaps not what it claims to be.
But Kelly, I hear you cry, what could possibly be wrong with a coalition and discussion group made up of active left wing middle class New Yorker Jews that are anti Zionist ?
And I answer: from one perspective nothing.
If we accept that their self congratulatory enlightenment is far too late and also comes with the added condition that their collective epiphany seem to involve persuading the general public that those damn Arabs are actually really lovely people and therefore don't deserve what is happening to them.
In fact quote "they are the warmest, most welcoming and kind nation of people I have ever met".
So our support comes with the condition that you are good and essentially like us.
Part of the report from Gaza was basically an expose on how normal Palestinians actually are, with the additional reaction of surprise from the audience.
Showing us that they posses the dimension to retain real dreams, desires, ambitions, pain, responsibilities, growing pains, awkwardness - you know like we do.
Thankfully I felt proud to come from a country where discussion and action regarding Palestine is a little more complex and intelligent.
Where persuading the most progressively thinking people of the characteristic normalcy of a nation of people has developed somewhat.
I must admit in my cynicism this post is only one aspect of what bothered me, I should reserve an entire blog for my criticisms of the validity of marching, protesting, petition signing and boycotting in 2009.
Day ten - facile Brechtian space.
