In response to the issues regarding listening to "opponents" that were raised in the 10/2/13 blog on shutdown/civility, the following article was sent to me. This is a different perspective from that of my post and yet has important points regarding practice in the world of "disagreement."
The article begins,
"As a young Israeli who had just completed five years of service in the IDF, I looked forward to my new job educating people in the Pacific Northwest about Israel. I was shocked, however, by the anti-Israel bigotry and hostility I encountered, especially in the greater Seattle area, Oregon, and Berkeley. I had been very liberal, a member of the leftist Zionist party, Meretz, but the anti-Semitism and hatred for Israel that I have seen in the U.S. has changed my outlook personally and politically....."
The rest of this article is at:
http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/an-israeli-soldiers-call-to-american-jews/#.Ula-HYWldYc.email
