Real Talk: Israel - Gaza - Palestine
The situation between Israel and Palestine has been around since long before my birth, long enough that much of the urgency inherent to such a violent face-off has faded in the minds of most people. Yet another mentioning of Hamas or Gaza or Israel's militant posturing or Palestine's seemingly whiny complaints about human rights makes us roll our eyes and shake our heads. If we're a Zionist sympathizer or a bleeding heart liberal we may experience a pang, a sense of injustice, for our respective causes. But over the last 65 years, all the ups and downs of the Israeli-Palestinian saga has immured us to astonishment over new developments. THIS IS A PROBLEM.
Israel was created in 1947, and given protection by the United States and Great Britain almost immediately. It came under attack by neighboring Arab countries in less than a year. A sense of guilt and shame over the revelations of mass brutality during the Holocaust; added to the US' harboring of Nazi scientists; added to a desire to garner political expediency from pro-Zion lobbyists and private powers in the US and Great Britain after WWII; plus a need for a military foothold in the oil-rich Middle East has led to intense military and financial support of the State of Israel by the US for over 50 years. Due to this long-held investment, the United States has turned a blind eye to Israel's many infractions of civil rights, human rights, and property rights. We ignore the whole-sale brainwashing of Israeli school children with an anti-Arab, militant ideology, which has made cold hearted little monsters out of many young Israelis, who mock the deaths of Palestinian children on Facebook. We ignore the underhanded way in which Israeli companies allow international investors to develop land in Gaza while forbidding Palestinian residents to rebuild their own homes. We ignore the way that Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu has over-exaggerated the threat from Iran and Hamas, using scare tactics as a way to give him an edge in the upcoming Israeli election while undermining global security. And we ignore the way that the Israeli military take matters into their own hands, disregarding international protocol and diplomacy. Such was the case most recently when Israel assassinated Hamas' leader, Ahmad Jabari, even though he had agreed to a ceasefire and gave every indication of holding to his word.
Emboldened by the unflinching support that the US has given them (including the most recent 'Iron Dome' anti-missile air defense system sold as a deterrent against a possible, if unlikely, Iranian attack), they champ at the bit that the international community holds, smugly satisfied that they will not be reined in. But what more can we expect? We created a country with the express purpose of establishing a nation of singular ethnic and religious character...in effect, allowing Israel to treat non-Jews as second-class citizens...which is what they are doing. It is becoming increasingly common to refer to the Gaza Strip and the treatment of Palestinians in Israel as 'apartheid,' because, in effect, it is. This should have been understood from the very beginning.
The author of this article is clearly angry, as he has a right to be. The quotes he gives and the analysis he puts forth highlight the untenable actions of an increasingly dictatorial, militant, and potentially-dangerous country with unlimited military support and huge financial resources. So far, President Obama has adhered to the status quo with regards to Israel. Realistically, how can he not? There is huge support for Israel in the US. The Zionist lobby is extremely influential, and the Jewish community is outspoken and widespread. In terms of foreign policy, the United States has supported Israel for so long - and it provides such a crucial foothold in the region - that we cannot abandon them. Moreover, the US is the only nation that can truly hold Israel in check. If we leave them to their own devices, we would be risking conflagration throughout the whole Middle East.
Yet, this prolonged stand-off over Gaza and the lack of productive diplomacy between Israel and Palestine has gone on long enough. Most recently, the new housing development planned for the West Bank, 'ok-ed' as a not-so-subtle revenge tactic for the UN approval of Palestinian observation status, demonstrates an astonishing lack of sincerity in Israel's willingness to make peace. Instead of taking sides and allowing such thwarting of international peace efforts to continue, President Obama must take the lead to resolve this issue. It will be a blow to the pride of Israel and Hamas, but now, while they stand aloof and angry, hundreds of people are living in a continuous war zone, unable to rebuild their homes, their families, their businesses, forced to rely on stingy charity from the Israeli state, and unable to take advantage of even the most basic freedoms. The establishment of the State of Israel was based upon international guilt over allowing one out-of-control ideology to overrun the rights and personal freedoms of another. Now, in attempting to make up for such an event, we are allowing a similar situation to develop again, except the victims are now the perpetrators.
Note: The original article is unavailable. Please find a recent opinion piece from Al Jazeera here.
