---
[ ARCHIVE ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/archive)
# Middle East Issues in Mid-Wilshire
June 22 2015
Written by Leonard Isenberg.
[](https://www.addtoany.com/share)
FILMS AND POLITICS-Happened to catch a preview showing the other night at the [Levantine Cultural Center](http://www.levantinecenter.org/ "http://www.levantinecenter.org/") of director Ben Loeterman's well researched and insightful documentary film [Seeds of Conflict](http://1913seedsofconflict.com/ "http://1913seedsofconflict.com/"). It carefully examines the origins of the Arab-Israeli conflict circa 1913 by reenacting the actual statements made by members of the various factions at the time, while showing rare footage recently discovered from the period.
At the end of the film, I don't think I was alone in the ethnically diverse audience in thinking things in the Middle East might have been resolved in a much more positive and equitable manner for all sides in Israeli-Palestine and the rest of the Levant.
Looking at what was to become the end of the 400 year Ottoman Turkish empire in Palestine and elsewhere at a time when initial ethnic harmony was the rule, one cannot help but wonder if the present conflict might have been avoided, if a less exclusive and excluding form of Zionism had prevailed. It's one thing to have a homeland. It's something else to have it at someone else's expense.
While one clearly has empathy and understanding for Jews who had suffered 2000 years of Diaspora and the incessant discrimination ending in pogroms and the Nazi final solution that cost 6 million human beings their lives, I have always had trouble with a brand of Zionism that seems to view Palestinians as *unter menschen* and rationalizes depriving Palestinians of their own Zionist dream of a homeland by referring to Palestine as "a country without a people for a people \[the Jews\] without a country."
There is a certain irony to a Jewish Zionist dream that unnecessarily becomes the cause of a Palestinian Diaspora. One would think that a people who had suffered so much for 2000 years might have come up with a more amiable solution.
Seeds of Conflict premieres on June 30th at 9 pm on your local PBS station.
*(Leonard Isenberg is a Los Angeles observer and a contributor to CityWatch. He’s a second generation teacher at LAUSD and blogs at perdaily.com. Leonard can be reached at )*
*-cw*
*CityWatch*
*Vol 13 Issue 51*
*Pub: Jun 23, 2015*
[  ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/component/banners/click/107 "LA DWP | Save $4K, Green | Priority Ad")
[  ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/component/banners/click/98 "Donna Tryfman - HS1-1")
[  ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/component/banners/click/82 "LA DWP #2 (Power Savers)")
[  ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/component/banners/click/111 "David DeJute Campaign")
[  ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/component/banners/click/97 "Home - LA DWP #2 (Pay Water Bill Help)")
[  ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/component/banners/click/112 "Anna Reitano Vertical R. Col")
## Get The News In Your Email Inbox Mondays & Thursdays
Phone
---
## Featured CityWatch Stories
[  ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/los-angeles/33349-l-a-county-faces-a-government-shake-up)
### [L.A. County Faces a Government Shake-Up](https://mail.citywatchla.com/los-angeles/33349-l-a-county-faces-a-government-shake-up)
WESTSIDE - Currently larger than 40 states in terms of population with roughly 10 million residents, Los Angeles County…
[  ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/voices/33346-before-we-ask-god-to-judge-us-the-jewish-people-must-judge-ourselves)
### [Before We Ask God to Judge Us, the Jewish People Must Judge Ourselves](https://mail.citywatchla.com/voices/33346-before-we-ask-god-to-judge-us-the-jewish-people-must-judge-ourselves)
Yom Kippur demands more than personal repentance. At a defining moment for Jews everywhere, it asks whether we have tru…
[  ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/voices/33372-the-greater-israel-delusion-may-undo-israel)
### [The Greater Israel Delusion May Undo Israel](https://mail.citywatchla.com/voices/33372-the-greater-israel-delusion-may-undo-israel)
ANNEXATION - The vision of “Greater Israel” draws on maximalist readings of biblical verses, especially Genesis 15:18–2…
[  ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/world-watch/33366-israels-political-map-is-being-redrawn)
### [Israel’s Political Map Is Being Redrawn](https://mail.citywatchla.com/world-watch/33366-israels-political-map-is-being-redrawn)
NETANYAHUISM - The next Israeli election may be about something larger than Benjamin Netanyahu. For the first time in a…
[  ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/los-angeles/33347-la-stop-the-war-on-cars-they-arent-going-away)
### [LA, Stop the War on Cars. They Aren’t Going Away](https://mail.citywatchla.com/los-angeles/33347-la-stop-the-war-on-cars-they-arent-going-away)
LA TRANSPO - For anyone traversing the San Fernando Valley, one thing is becoming increasingly clear: Los Angeles is sp…
---
## [ ARCHIVE ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/archive)
[  ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/archive/15339-early-intervention-and-jobs-are-key-to-stemming-chronic-homelessness-in-los-angeles)### [Early Intervention and Jobs are Key to Stemming Chronic Homelessness in Los Angeles](https://mail.citywatchla.com/archive/15339-early-intervention-and-jobs-are-key-to-stemming-chronic-homelessness-in-los-angeles)
### [Tucker Carlson and Gay Rightwinger Blame California Wildfires On Hiring LGBTQ People](https://mail.citywatchla.com/archive/18755-tucker-carlson-and-gay-rightwinger-blame-california-wildfires-on-hiring-lgbtq-people)
### [Anti-LGBTQ Veep Just Can’t Stop Talking about Mayor Pete](https://mail.citywatchla.com/archive/17690-anti-lgbtq-veep-just-can-t-stop-talking-about-mayor-pete)
[  ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/archive/15316-news-pulse-corrupt-system-reason-for-not-voting-in-2018-majority-wants-more-than-two-parties)### [NEWS PULSE: ‘Corrupt System’ Reason for Not Voting in 2018 … Majority Wants More Than Two Parties](https://mail.citywatchla.com/archive/15316-news-pulse-corrupt-system-reason-for-not-voting-in-2018-majority-wants-more-than-two-parties)
[  ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/archive/10245-dead-dog-set-on-fire-sparks-fears-for-strays-in-los-angeles)### [Dead Dog Set on Fire … Sparks Fears for Strays in Los Angeles](https://mail.citywatchla.com/archive/10245-dead-dog-set-on-fire-sparks-fears-for-strays-in-los-angeles)