I was watching Dane Cook’s HBO “Vicious Circle” special on Comedy Central a few nights ago, and he had a skit about lying—how once he started lying every lie that covered up his initial one became even more ridiculous than the one that preceded it. The absurdity of lies was like a snowball effect. Watch:
While what is going on in the Occupied Territories is far from funny, Dane Cook’s piece actually helps conceptualize some Israeli policies as I have come across an article in the Ha’aretz on punitive house demolitions and collective punishment. Initially, I found it to be sad and ridiculous that we still debate whether collective punishment is a “useful tool” in deterring violence. Still, the arguments are worth noting as most Israelis who oppose this policy (or crime) contend that it perpetuates a “vicious cycle” of violence and vengeance. However, calling the violence between Israelis and Palestinians a “vicious cycle” assumes the two are equal and mutually exclusive counterparts—as if they are fighting on equal keels. We would never call violence between a class of black slaves fighting for their freedom and their white masters a “vicious cycle” because one has clearly wronged the other, and one exercises direct power over the other. The power relation between Israelis and Palestinians is that of an occupier and occupied, respectively, and not two independently powerful entities (one of them is not even allowed to become its own state). Thus, the cycle of violence does not in fact lie between the Israelis and Palestinians, but rather within the state of Israel itself—in the perpetual act of occupation.
This brings me back to Dane Cook’s piece. Cook’s original lie of not wanting to go to the party snowballed into outrageous stories of cars flipping, seatbelts melting, and eventually a strange story of holograms—all because he was unwilling to admit the truth. Even when his “friend” sees through his lies, Cook becomes more absurd. Similarly, when I read articles that contemplate whether house demolition is a sensible policy or not, I find that what had started out as a racist occupation (a wrong) has developed into a series of absurd policies to cover up and sustain the initial wrongdoing. Surely, this is the vicious cycle.
Some critics of house demolitions like Amnon Straschnov who writes in the Ha’aretz article, “House demolition, both as a punitive gesture aimed at the perpetrators of acts of terror, as well as for military needs and deterrence, are based on fairly firm legal foundations, such as regulation (1)119 of the defense regulations in times of emergency, 1945, and the Fourth Geneva Convention,” indeed see an absurd policy (though Straschnov justifies it), but they fail to realize a larger point when they cite the Geneva Convention. For instance, since when does Israel follow human rights regulations or Geneva Conventions when it tortures prisoners and murders civilians? Since when does it abide by UN Resolutions to end its occupation? Or are these documents only used conveniently?
Source: The Electronic Intifada
Nevertheless, house demolitions in the Occupied Territories “as punishment, for alleged military purposes, or for houses built without permits” are crimes that every sensible person should oppose. Instead, they exist with the tacit approval (if not donated equipment—see Volvo’s participation) of the self-proclaimed “enlightened” civilization. According to B’Tselem, house demolitions (specifically complete demolitions) have persisted over the years—especially with the illegal expansion of settlements—leaving thousands of Palestinians both landless and homeless. See here and here for data. The Israeli Committee Against Home Demolitions (ICAHD) has also worked fervently to campaign against this policy, and has even recruited volunteers to rebuild some homes. Testimonies like that of the Hamdan family’s are documented and published on the ICAHD site but never make it to the (tabloid) news; certainly not in the US.
In sum, acknowledging that the “vicious circles” of violence are in fact the manifestations of perpetual occupation illuminates the most effective deterrent to violence: End the Occupation!
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