Quote Reaction #6

The Lemon Tree, by Sandy Tolan

‘Bashir and his siblings breathed in the atmosphere of humiliation and defeat, and for Ahmad’s firstborn son, avenging the loss of Palestine became a singular goal, even in play. His siblings and neighborhood children would find pieces of wood to fashion as guns and play “Arabs and Jews,” like cowboys and Indians, in the dirt streets. “He insisted that he always play the Arab,” Khanom remembered. “He would be very angry if anyone would try to get him to play the Jew.”’ (Tolan 98-99)

I have just begun a new novel, a ‘non-fiction narrative’ as the author describes it, on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It presents the deeply rooted histories of two families, an Arab and a Jew, battling over the same ‘homeland’ at the height of the war. This quote gets to the heart of the inbred prejudices that even the youngest members of society are subject to. It caused me to pause, and reflect inwardly on those beliefs that I have accepted as an individual. Being submissive to another’s way of thinking grants them a power over you that can be dangerous and limiting. That frightens me, and I hope to always maintain a broad scope that is not ignorant, but liberating.