Religion, Nationalism, and Terror

Munson: Condoleeza Rice did not foresee that invading Iraq would strengthen the very Islamists the invasion was supposed to weaken and for years she ignored the critical importance of resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Even now that she has begin focusing on this issue, the Annapolis conference she organized was poorly timed and unproductive. Moreover, her statement that “like the Israelis,” she knows what it is like to be “afraid to go to your church,” was remarkably naive. All of this notwithstanding, however, it is clear that Rice understands the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in a way that President Bush never has.

Rice, Israeli Official Share Perspectives - washingtonpost.com, November 29, 2007

Rice began by saying she did not want to draw historical parallels or be too self-reflective, but as a young girl she grew up in Birmingham, Ala., “at a time of separation and tension.”

She noted that a local church was bombed by white separatists, killing four girls, including a classmate of hers.

“Like the Israelis, I know what it is like to go to sleep at night, not knowing if you will be bombed, of being afraid to be in your own neighborhood, of being afraid to go to your church,” she said.

But, she added, as a black child in the South, being told she could not use certain water fountains or eat in certain restaurants, she also understood the feelings and emotions of the Palestinians.

“I know what it is like to hear to that you cannot go on a road or through a checkpoint because you are Palestinian,” she said. “I understand the feeling of humiliation and powerlessness.”