Weighing in the Current Round of Middle East Violence

 The Israeli-Palestinian conflict has once again boiled over. As of this writing, there has just been a cease-fire announced, and hopefully it will hold. Be that as it may, the internet has been ablaze with many loud proclamations. Being Jewish, it would be wrong to stay silent, considering how much is at stake. But I refuse to reduce it to simplistic slogans. To explain the conflict would take something much longer than a blog post. But a few bullet points follow to at least get my thoughts on the current situation down.

·         I’ll start with the easy part. There has been an increase in anti-Semitic incidents in the United States. While this is not exactly surprising, it never ceases to shock. Must it be said? Never! Attacking or harassing anyone for their ethnicity, religion, creed, or any other group one belongs to is never acceptable. Period. No exceptions. The rise of white supremacy is disturbing enough, but it never ceases to amaze me when these attacks come from those who purport to support the rights of minorities. So did you mean all minorities except Jews?

·         This is a complex conflict, and accepting one side’s narratives uncritically helps nothing. Israel is neither the light unto the nations nor the Nazi colonialist apartheid pariah of either narrative. It’s a country in the real world with a government (like all others) run by politicians who look after their own self interests. For that matter, Palestine is neither a blameless captive of apartheid colonialists nor an instrument of anti-Semitic terror. It’s also a place with many different actors with conflicting interests.

·         I should also state in very general terms on my position on the Israel-Palestine conflict, though it doesn’t provide a whole lot of clarity on the specifics of the recent events. But as the solution I advocate, ideally I’m for the two state solution. What makes this incredibly difficult is that this is not ultimately about a portion of the land but all of it. All of it is Israel and all of it is Palestine. If you don’t understand that, you don’t understand the conflict. If this thing is ever going to be resolved, both sides are going to have to deal with the harsh reality that they aren’t getting all of their country, and that the other side is never going to buy their narrative. That might not seem so bad here in the west, but to either people, it’s a tremendously hard pill to swallow. Still, there is no better way to solve this. These two peoples need a divorce! 

·         Be that as it may, this tells little about the current round of violence. Firstly there is East Jerusalem and the neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah. Now it’s worth understanding that the properties under dispute have claims by Jews dating from before 1949, when Jordan occupied the eastern half of Jerusalem and expelled all the Jews. These may be legitimate, but I urge caution. Are we pulling that card now? This is far from the only place where either side can pull out a title deed. The first modern Israeli settlers of Hebron arrived in 1967 on the claim of their ancestors, who were massacred in 1929, a legitimate grievance, but one that helped to spawn the radical settler movement. More to the point, there’s also the 700,000 or so Palestinians who lost their homes in Israel’s War of Independence, which they call the Nakba. Pulling out old land claims is no way to solve this conflict! Let’s concern ourselves instead with facts on the ground, the Palestinians who face eviction, and the Israelis and Palestinians who now face daily violence. 

·         Enter Hamas. Not for one second do I believe that they are acting in the interest of the residents of Sheikh Jarrah by firing rockets into Israel. Their stated goal is to destroy Israel completely. They believe that Jews—all Jews—are evil, subhuman devils. Be that as it may, I suspect that their main goal is simply to perpetuate the conflict. They need it to survive. An ugly confrontation in the heart of Jerusalem is just the opportunity they need. There’s another thing though. There is a particular Israeli enemy whom I believe Hamas finds useful, and would hate to see go. That brings me to someone else…

·         Benjamin “Bibi” Netanyahu. Oh yes. Now the longest serving Israeli prime minister, though “serving” is a word I use loosely. Palestinians call him a butcher, but he is also a curse on Israel. This man is corrupt as hell. He has been indicted—not just suspected, but indicted--on fraud, bribery, and breach of trust, and was forced to resign all of his ministerial positions except (so far, but amazingly nonetheless) Prime Minister. Meanwhile, he has all-but completely upended Israeli democracy, gaming the system to keep himself in power seemingly indefinitely. This seemed to be coming to an end in the recent spat of elections. Likud and its allies did not secure enough seats to secure a governing coalition. This last month though, a national unity government was formed led by Likud and Kakhol ve-Lavon (Blue and White,) with Netanyahu holding on to the Premiership until October. There were a number of factors here, but it can hardly be doubted that the current violence has helped him.

Anyway, you see why this is a tangle. It’s dangerous to speak out. Gal Gadot came out with what had to be the most harmless “Peace for All” statement, and was lambasted for it, by Yair Netanyahu (Bibi’s son) for being allegedly “Swiss” then by the pro-Palestinian side for not despising her own country. In fact, her Wonder Woman ’84 costar Pedro Pascal was harassed just for hitting the like button on her social media post!

Still, it’s worse to say nothing.

I ask anyone who does speak though to try and be informed. Accepting one side’s narrative uncritically is not productive. This conflict is a nightmare of complications, and no less tragic for it. There’s plenty of blame to go around. Both Israel and Palestine are also places and peoples who deserve better. And Jews and Arabs in the west are not to blame.

 

x

New Ms. Infinity book coming soon: Infinite Moon

I can now report that I have been hard at work at the third Ms. Infinity book, titled Infinite Moon. I expect to have it out in the summer. The newest addition to Ms. Infinity's rogues gallery is a werewolf named Ellen Wahia. Expect to hear more about it in the weeks to come!

Wonder Woman Movie--All Woman Showings

I just wanted to put my two cents in about the all women-showings. Look, in an ideal world, we would all be equal. Among other things, Wonder Woman represents equality, but also (crucially) women's rights. Here's what I think needs to be understood. Despite the best efforts of feminists--female and male, the fact remains that the culture we live in is still very much a patriarchy. There are many consequences to this, but one of them is simply that the world generally isn't safe for women as it is for men.

This movie is a big deal to me--and I am a man who doesn't only love Wonder Woman, heck I created my own female superhero and wrote a novel about her. But for women who love Wonder Woman, there is often a certain personal relationship to the character that I think needs to be respected and understood.

For those relatively few who feel the need to see her without men present, there is something personal that I think is best experienced that way. It's not even that most men are going to be disrespectful--though often indeed the few ruin it for the many. It's that from a female perspective, well a lot of things are different, and I think it's best to see this without the prying eyes of those who don't have the same perspective.

Honestly, I don't even see a reason to be angry. It would only affect me personally if I were actually prevented from seeing the movie. I can tell you, finding a general showing was hardly a problem. In fact, I brought my sons!

Ms. Infinity

Hello all. I am Andrew Kirschner. I am the proud author of the novel Ms. Infinity, and as such, the creator of the character Ms. Infinity/Bonnie Boring.  Here is the Kindle version. And here is the Nook version.

There is a lot to say about this work. As a superhero novel there is natural a lot of action. Yet I believe its greatest strength lies with the characters.

So to introduce the character to the uninitiated: Ms. Infinity is Earth's Greatest Hero, an extremely powerful superhero from a distant world. In her alter-ego, she is Bonnie Boring of Woodside, Queens, a customer service associate from The Big Box, a (fictional) superstore.

So how powerful is Ms. Infinity? Besides the usual super strength/speed/flight package, she also can shape shift, create and transform objects, manipulate time and space, and create illusions. Ms. Infinity has many thrilling scenes where she demonstrates her powers. And sometimes she is pushed to the limit. She stops an asteroid that is seconds from hitting the Earth. She saves her boyfriend, Hal Holstein from his kidnapper. She reroutes an entire meteor shower. And there is an epic confrontation with Misery, her enemy from her native world who threatens the Earth. This barely scratches the surface. 

But there is much more to the book than action. Behind the hero is the woman herself, Bonnie Boring, a refugee from another world. And she brings with her an excellent supporting cast: her mother Betty Boring, her best friend Lisa Lin, and her boyfriend Hal Holstein.

For Bonnie, I felt it was important that you sense her blood pumping. Of course as the hero, she's a wonderful person with a good heart and genuinely noble motives. However she isn't particularly naive for someone her age. She has seen many things in her life, and her experiences help to lend her wisdom. She also has human flaws--even mundane flaws. She's a slob. She has a short temper. She interrupts people. She's rude to her mother. These are things that make her real, and more accessible.

Bonnie's relationships also break the traditional modes. Her romance with Hal Holstein challenges the expectations of gender roles across the board, from power structure down to division of labor. There is love, conflict, anxiety, and surprise. With it all comes romance.

Meanwhile, Bonnie's friendship with Lisa Lin explores the consequences of a superhero trying to carry on normal friendships while keeping a dual identity. There are strains in their friendship. They struggle to be "equal" even in the face of some cruel realities. However if anything Lisa is a step ahead of Bonnie rather than the other way around.

Finally there is Bonnie relationship with her mother, Betty Boring. Aliens they may be, but in their mother-daughter relationship they are unmistakably human. They argue. Bonnie gives her mother attitude. Betty struggles to control her daughter. Yet behind it all is a deep and abiding love and respect that underpins the entire story. Betty Boring's loving example is the heart of Ms. Infinity and her work as Earth's Greatest Hero.

And what is Ms. Infinity about? Above all she represents empowerment. In her own life, she escaped a cruel world where she was persecuted for her own abilities. Now safe and free on Earth, she vows to remember to the power and importance of the people around her. Her superheroic feats only go so far unless she also helps others to see the heroes they have within. As she herself says in her tag line: "Never forget the power you have inside you!"