Hitchens on Israel

Hitchens, no friend of religion, takes on what he describes as the rising religious zealotry in the Israeli army: http://www.slate.com/id/2214440/. Allegedly, extremist rabbis attached to the army are exhorting young soldiers in distinctly Old Testament fashion to the shock of more secular members of both the military and Israeli society. This has gone on for a while with settlements of extremist Israelis in distinctly Arab parts of the West Bank--sort of modern day Keraks in Saracen country and a source of additional fury by ever-grievanced Palestenians. Now that the military is taking on an increasingly uber Zionist mode, according to Hitchens, he worries of increased vitriol there--if such a thing is possible. When it comes to that part of the world, they're never short of spite, flat out hatred, and a reverential dedication to vengeance.

I spent some time in Israel and Jordan long ago while on an archaeological dig in college. I can recall thinking before I left that there was no reason the peoples there couldn't get along and resolved to do my part to make it so. After experiencing the place, my conclusion was that there was in fact no solution to the conflict and it will forever be a question of who is stronger, both militarily and as a society. Still, I'd like to go back for a visit before the first nuke goes off in Tel Aviv. When I was there, not a single footprint of American commercialism was to be seen--no golden arches or KFCs or Nikes. In fact, never really found a hamburger there although one little joint in Jerusalem attempted it, using lamb and infusing mint into the creation. Didn't really cut it. I didn't miss burgers as much as I missed the feeling of walking into a convenience store and buying a cold six pack and then climbing into my car and getting on the open road to join the wide open spaces. Over there, the world is smaller and when you swing your elbows out, you hit people. In that regard, when your country is about ten miles wide in its narrowest point, you tend to get a little proactive in protecting yourself when it comes to knowing your neighbor is dedicated to your demise.

Back to the dig--if you're a young guy with little archaeological experience, your duties on a dig consist in large part of hauling rocks and sifted dirt to disposal sites. Grunt work. Our site was a bronze age "city" of around 5,000 b.c.e. Regularly, we'd stand on top of a hill and hurl unearthed pottery shards down below, remarking "There goes another five thousand years of history down the drain!" or something equally clever. That said, during the last couple of weeks, they assigned me the task of digging a "probe trench" which is roughly a coffin sized hole that you dig rather quickly in relation to the work on the rest of the site with the idea that what you discover in the trench will in large part explain what may be found throughout the rest of the complex. Thrilling work. Mostly shards of pottery but I did also find a part of a human femur and also a fertility goddess. She was highly unattractive. No gold, no ark, and no Nazis. Spielberg would have passed.