Some Perspective
By Dylan Matthews - Nov 11th, 2008 at 4:45 pmI’ve been groping for the right international analogy for the historical significance of Obama’s election, and it’s been tough, given the sui generis nature of the African-American experience. But Bradley Burston at Ha’aretz seems to have found the right comparison :
I have been trying in the last few days to make clear to Israelis the enormity of the meaning of the presidential election in the United States.
Only one thing works.
"Imagine," I tell them, "that Israel elected an Arab prime minister."
At first there is, without exception, a stunned silence. Then something dawns. Something unformed. And, in general - even with leftists - something deep inside that seems unable to wrap the head around the thought.
It’s a worthwhile reminder not just of the enormity of this moment, but of the long way we have to go globally if race and ethnicity are to no longer be barriers to political participation.
Huh? Try again. First, to talk about “Israelis” and “Arabs” is to talk about two different ways of assigning identity. Israeli is term that refers to the country of origin–Israel which is also made up of Arabs or as they may or may not like to be referred to as– “Palestinian.”
Second, this comparison decides to completely throw out the historical experiences of these two regions (Middle East and the U.S.) and all the culture and religion that goes with it. The only similarity would be that the African-American experience in the United States has been largely characterized by oppression similar, but also very, very, very, different, to the experience of Arabs or Palestinian or non-Jewish individuals living within Israel.
November 11th, 2008 at 6:59 pmI would compare it with Nelson Mandela being elected in South Africa.
November 11th, 2008 at 8:03 pm