A couple of weeks ago, I attended Slope Day at the good old Alma Mater. We were standing around our friend’s apartment. Me and a couple of people from the frat. Somehow, we managed to swing the conversation on the topic of Tibet. One of us was vehemently anti-Tibet. It was not so much a dislike for Tibet, but more for a dislike of insubordination and protesting. Of course things don’t always stay uncontroversial – the conversation wildly swings onto the topic of the Iraqi Kurds – then the mother of all country controversies – Israel.
Israel is a hot button subject. If I say, “I love Israel” infront of a random group of people – someone will have a problem with it (they’ll most likely respond – so you like state imposed genocide?). If I say, “I hate Israel” in front of the same group – someone will definitely have a problem with it (so you support rebel imposed genocide?), The issue is out of control. There are facts that are not clearly being addressed – and the argument “Well Israel is there now” isn’t really cutting the bread.
1 – The state of Israel had not existed independently for thousands of years before the Second World War – when Britain under the influence of Zionists, carved out an Israeli state. I am not anti-semetic – seriously, but the notion that there was a Jewish state in the Middle East thousands of years ago – isn’t a good reason to set up a new Jewish state – in currently inhabited land. Especially when that land is not yours to give away. Britain had occupied part of the Middle East – it was not exactly a colony and was under direct British control for far less than any other British “property”. Even the US was under British control longer than Palestine!
I guess there’s a direct comparison between the conquest of the United States and the take over of Palestine by Israel. The only difference is that the American Indians were not able to fend off British encroachment. The Palestinians on the other hand have refused to go quietly and are currently still claiming the rights to the land.
2 – Terrorist attacks were used on both sides – though most recently more so by the Palestinians. The King David Hotel incident was an Zionist move. It seems inappropriate to condemn attacks when an establishment has used the same tactics against another ruling force (the British).
3 – The idea of a Jewish State is hard for Arabs to swallow. That would be like imposing a Wiccan state on Americans – assuming there were enough Wiccans where that would pass in the Senate, the House and the President. With about 75% of the population as Jewish, the government does not accurately represent the population it serves. The whole idea of a religious government does not work in Israel because it’s exclusive to those who are Jewish. There is an unwelcoming air for someone attempting to break into the government when they will be viewed as different. Hebrew and Arabic are both official languages – but they do not weigh the same. Hebrew is used almost everywhere except Arabic Sectors – and with Arabs being the distinct minority – there is a great opportunity for discrimination.
There has to be a better way to have these discussions. Ultimately, both sides have at some point done atrocious things. If the Canaanites wanted to return to Israel (after God told the Israelites to expel them) should they be given an independent Canaan? If I wanted to lead a conquest of Peru and reestablish the Incan Empire – do I have a right? There is no cut and dry answer – but there should be concessions on both sides. No one is winning this battle – and there are displaced people who are unhappy and suffering at the hands of Palestinian rebels and a Jewish state – along with the help of International forces assisting both sides.
JJRC
