Interesting scene on "Homeland" last night: "Saul Berenson" (Mandy Patinkin) visits his sister, who lives in a "settlement" in the "Occupied Territory" of - shall we say - Palestine.
Saul tells his sister that she is living where she should not be living, that her community is an obstacle to peace, and that her community's very existence is an incitement to hate by the indigenous Arab population (my words, not Saul's).
Mandy P is a proud and outspoken American Jew. I don't think he would have allowed his character to speak these words if he didn't himself believe them. I say that because the stars are basically running the show now, which has strayed worlds away from the original concept, which was borrowed from a real Israeli television series.
So Saul's remarks, in character, are different from the position of the Israeli government, and at variance with the official position of the U.S. government, which is that the settlements are negotiable, and not an obstacle to peace.
All in all, I think that was a pretty interesting and significant bit of dialog. This particular Jew thinks the governments of the US and Israel are wrong in what they are doing.
Or should I not attribute those thoughts to Patinkin?
Saul tells his sister that she is living where she should not be living, that her community is an obstacle to peace, and that her community's very existence is an incitement to hate by the indigenous Arab population (my words, not Saul's).
Mandy P is a proud and outspoken American Jew. I don't think he would have allowed his character to speak these words if he didn't himself believe them. I say that because the stars are basically running the show now, which has strayed worlds away from the original concept, which was borrowed from a real Israeli television series.
So Saul's remarks, in character, are different from the position of the Israeli government, and at variance with the official position of the U.S. government, which is that the settlements are negotiable, and not an obstacle to peace.
All in all, I think that was a pretty interesting and significant bit of dialog. This particular Jew thinks the governments of the US and Israel are wrong in what they are doing.
Or should I not attribute those thoughts to Patinkin?
