Generic Reframing of the 12 Tribes of Israel

Cognitive implications of references to the 12 Tribes of Israel

Prepared on the occasion of the visit of Pope Benedict XVI to Jerusalem and of
the visit of Benjamin Netanyahu to Barack Obama

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Introduction

This exploration follows from a conclusion of the experiment Towards a Generic Global Issue Statement: evoking an instructive pattern of unquestionable responses (2009) of which it is effectively an Annex.

The question raised by that experiment was:

Arguably most people identify with some pattern of behaviour which they consider their fundamental right, potentially functioning like "Zionists"... according to others who challenge that right -- given its problematic implications for others who suffer as a consequence. This leads to the question for whom is one a "Zionist" and for whom is one "Mahmoud Ahmadinejad"?

Given the central strategic importance of Zionism and Israel to global security, notably in the Middle East, the concern here is whether the implications of that question offer further insights of any value in understanding the divisiveness that undermines coherent approaches to future challenges.

The subtitle is an adaptation of the famous Pogo cartoon by Walt Kelly (We have met the enemy...).

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