Israeli journalist Gideon Levy: Israeli society has surrounded itself with shields, walls, not only physical, but also mental. I will simply give three principles that allow us Israelis to live easily in this harsh reality.
First. Most, if not all, Israelis deeply believe that we are the chosen people. And if we are the chosen people, we have the right to do whatever we want.
Second. There have been more brutal occupations in history. There have been longer occupations in history. But never in history has there been an occupation in which the occupier presented himself as a victim. The other day Professor Falk spoke about this double strategy of Israel: to be a victim on the one hand and to manipulate on the other.
And finally, I come to the third set of values that allow us Israelis to live in peace with occupation. This is perhaps the most important and worst of them. And this is the systematic dehumanization of Palestinians.
Because if they are not like us, then there can be no talk of human rights. And if you scratch every Israeli, you will find it there. Almost no one will treat the Palestinians as equal people, as themselves. After all, how many Israelis have ever tried to put themselves even for a moment in the shoes of the Palestinians, for a moment, for a day?