Letter to Amos Oz

A new blog found its way into being after Cecilia Cissell Lucas wrote an open letter to Amos Oz, a prominant Israeli writer, novelist, and journalist who's always advocated a two-state solution. Until recent. The open letter to Amos Oz by Cecilia was in response to an opinion piece he wrote on July 19, 2006. Excerpt:

Last Wednesday, Hezbollah launched a vicious, unprovoked attack into Israeli territory. This was also an attack on the authority and integrity of the elected Lebanese government, as Hezbollah has, by attacking Israel, hijacked the prerogative of the Lebanese government to control its territory and to make decisions on war and peace.

AND

The Israeli peace movement objects to the occupation and colonization of the West Bank. It objected to the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982 because the invasion was aimed at distracting world attention from the Palestinian problem. This time, Israel is not invading Lebanon. It is defending itself from daily harassment and bombardment of dozens of our towns and villages by attempting to smash Hezbollah wherever it lurks.

Click on the excerpt for the full article.
This is an excerpt of the open letter Cecilia wrote;

While it may be true that some participants in “the Israeli peace movement” have become less vocal in their criticisms of Israel over the past 8 days, it is certainly not the case, as the title of your July 19 LA Times article declares, that “Hezbollah Attacks Unite Israelis.” Yes, “this time,” too, there are voices of outrage by Israeli peace activists desperately trying to be heard. But I am not writing this to quibble with you over that point. We should not only be looking to voices of Israelis to bolster up our protest of Israel’s indescribably horrific, criminal acts.

Beginnings are a tricky matter. Where you choose to start your tale can drastically change the story, even without changing any of the other established facts. Much happened between 1982 and 2006 that neither you nor the Israeli government are talking about as you try to hold on to waning world support while the violence continues to escalate and hundreds of thousands of people are made homeless refugees. (I have to ask again, is this not yet “bogged down” enough for you?) South Lebanon was illegally occupied from 1982 to 2000, enabling Israel to exploit Lebanese resources, most notably water. (In 1987, you wrote about your friend A. who in 1982 suggested that “maybe we should keep everything up to the Litani, so we’ll have enough water for our country.”) To this day there are hundreds of thousands of land mines planted by Israel in Lebanese soil, the locations of which they refuse to disclose so that they might be deactivated. In 2004, there was a prisoner exchange. There could have been one in 2006. Do you really think, Amos Oz, that in the absence of the trigger event being pointed to for justification of Israel’s terrifying acts another one would not have been found?

The full letter can be found on the Osterly Times' blog and click on the excerpt for a the letter in full.
Through encouragement, Cecilia decided to start her own blog Mariposa Rythms
Welcome her into the blogosphere with a hi and a hello. Her words are thoughtful and worthy of discourse, regardless of one' stance. Don't shy away.