Several weeks ago, the neutrality of new sources came up in class for the first time. We talked about how even the most benign media outlets operate under some agenda, but also how as individuals, we seek out that which we want to hear-- we look for information to confirm beliefs we already hold, and disregard opposing opinions as illegitimate. The agenda, then, is relative: if we as humans seek out biased sources already, it shouldn't much matter whether a source is "neutral". We will keep searching until we find one that is not.
I realize I am being a bit overdramatic, of course. Many people seek to find an opinion different or even opposite their own so they will be forced to reconsider what they assume is true. But when the idea of hearing what you want to came up again in class today, I found it particularly relevant to this week's theme: minority groups.
I, as an American, had always assumed that Israel was one, united, Zionist front of Jews. I had a vague idea that there were different levels of religiousness, but otherwise, it never occurred to me that there was any rift besides that between the Israeli community and the Palestinian one. Even when I learned more about the differences between Haredim and secular and Ashkenazim and Sephardim, to name a few groups, the internal conflict didn't really click-- because I didn't want to hear it.
It is so much easier to assume that the conflict between Israel and Palestine is the region's only issue. When we talked to Galit Hasan Rokem on Tuesday, I asked her whether or not she found some of the struggles in Israel-Palestine more important than others, with my gut reaction being that nothing usurped the bigger political disaster. I have been routinely horrified throughout the semester at the direct effects of the occupation on the people involved-- so much so, I now realize, that I did not want to hear about anyone else's problems.
Regardless of my own opinions, ignoring people calling out for help will not do anyone any good. A solution will come only when everyone is listened to. The conflict in Israel-Palestine is now one of people who have grown up in this land. They are people who come from wildly different backgrounds and ideologies and schools of thought on the seemingly endless issues with racism, class warfare, religious discrimination, sexism-- but they all have one thing in common. They love their home. Selective hearing will not speed up the peace process because a peace without a people-- and these people have a multitude of concerns that must be considered-- is not a peace.
Thanks for this post--I enjoyed it a lot. I, like you, previously assumed that Israel was full of Jews that are all ethnically homogeneous with the same degree of religiosity. Before taking this class and doing my own reading, I didn't even know what Zionism is. Slowly, my understanding of Israel and Israeli society is changing, but I must admit that I do engage in the sort of selective reading that you talk about in your post. From my understanding of what you wrote, for you the issue seemed to be that you did not want to acknowledge that there are other issues pertaining to the region besides the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. I think I'm a bit different in that I don't think I assumed that the I-P conflict was the only issue in the region (but it wasone that I focused on because of my interested in it). However, with regard to the I-P conflict, I do tend to look at sources that are in line with my general political views (which you could say is left-leaning). While there are certainly more center and right-leaning individuals out there who make cogent and defensible arguments that I might not agree with, I think one reason I don't bother to seek out right-wing news sources on the I-P conflict is because I expect to read a lot of racist or patronizing language divorced from the "facts" on the ground. But this again is probably me rationalizing my decision not to seek out those news sources in the first place. Good points to think about and keep in mind when approaching a particular issue.
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