Salman Rushdie at breakfast with David Saranga in 2008.
David Saranga was a fixture in New York City’s social and media circles when he was Consul for Media and Public Affairs at the Consulate General of Israel. We first met when I was invited on a press junket to Israel in 2007, and we have remained friends. I credit him for so much valuable first-hand knowledge into the region and some extraordinary experiences.
The other day I read his piece on Huffington Post about traveling to Morocco–one of the few Arab countries that Israelis can visit–and I was moved:
For the first time in 15 years, I arrived in a country without the Diplomatic passport I carry and without the sense of demonstrative pride which says “I am Israeli”. Since I wanted to have as many interactions with locals as possible I had an internal debate regarding the way I should behave: to identify myself as an Israeli or to identify myself as a New Yorker.
From this trip, Saranga had several epiphanies:
In retrospect, we Israelis ask ourselves repeatedly what the reason is for the failure of the peace process with the Palestinians. “We agreed to withdraw from 97% of the territories, divide Jerusalem and find a solution agreeable to both sides on the refugee issue – and still, that was not enough for the Palestinians,” we often say. The answer might be simple: we do not understand our neighbors, their culture and their language. Their tradition of negotiation, for instance, the fact that when they say yes, they mean maybe, when they say maybe, they mean no, and when they say no, they don’t always mean no – depending on whether it was said publicly or behind closed doors.
We need to internalize the understanding that the culture and language of the other starts at home. It starts with the Israeli school system, which unwisely didn’t teach Israelis the Arab language. It continues through dialogue with the Arab Israeli minority, which, as opposed to its vocal leaders — who represent 10% of the Israeli parliament — can provide a bridge to understanding our neighbors. We have not yet learned to build this bridge with the Arab Israeli minority, and with each passing day we are more distant from our neighbors and from segments of Israeli society.
Part travel essay, part personal journey, Saranga’s essay is insight into our common humanity. Click here to read it.
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Twitter: peteforsyth
says:
Thanks for the link, David. I’ve always thought the Israeli government was pretty insanely rigid — I’m eager to read your friend’s explorations of a different perspective.