I was asked my views on the situation in the Gaza; so just remember, you asked for it. Let me first state unequivocally that Israel both has a right to exist (given the facts on the ground, which I will explain) and to defend itself. That being said, I also feel that the Palestinians also have a right to exist and to defend theirselves. I refuse to play the zero-sum game where to support one party is to be against the other. It is so unfortunate that the media in the US only gives one side of the story; and the vast majority of people do not know the true history of this conflict – and it has not been going on for thousands of years. (Please forgive that I’m about to write this off the top of me head – I can’t find any of me books which would give accurate info) After WWI, Palestine was carved out of the defeated Ottoman-Turk Empire and controlled by the British. However, long before this (1870’s or 80’s) diaspora Jews longed to create a “homeland” for the Jewish people (this became known as the Zionist movement). After WWII, as the Allies began resettling survivors of the Holocaust, Zionists seized the opportunity to make their dream a reality. They began a guerrilla campaign against the British (Karen Armstrong in her book, “Jerusalem” actually refers to this as terrorism; and the persons like Menachem Begin and Yitzhak Rabin as terrorists) who were eventually defeated (actually more like just gave up and left). They declared the new State of Israel, and this new state was immediately recognized by the Truman administration. It is what happened next which is conveniently either forgotten nor not known. The soldiers of the new State of Israel began to round up the millions of Palestinians, evicting them from their homes and land resettling them in refugee camps. And as more survivors immigrated from Europe, they were settled in the former homes of the evicted Palestinians. Ralph Bunche, who was the 1st African American to win the Nobel Peace Prize, won for negotiating a peace and working with the UN to establish borders between to two peoples; which, of course Israel violated. In 1967, Israel defeated Egypt in the 6 day war; overran E. Jerusalem and the “Old City;” and occupied the West Bank and Gaza. Again, Israel began to evict Palestinians from their homes and land and to resettle Jews there. The UN Security Council immediately passed UN Resolution 247, calling for immediate withdrawal from occupied territories. Israel has remained in violation of this resolution since its passage. Since ’67, Israel has engaged in a land grab, better known in the media as “Settlements.” These Settlements are being built on Palestinian land(s) (and they are also in violation of several UN Resolutions). The simple truth is this: there are more Palestinians living in Israel than there are Jews. These Palestinians, although born in Israel, do not possess the rights of citizenship; they cannot vote or participate in government. This is just one reason why Jimmy Carter in his book called Israel an Apartheid government. Now, with all of that being said; the situation in Gaza is this: with the way Israel has treated the Palestinians over the past 70yrs, they have created the conditions for a Hamas to exist. Now again, let me be clear, I’m not agreeing with Hamas, but I do understand their grievance. And as long as Israel continues to act violently against the Palestinians (taking their land, occupying their territories, denying them rights of citizenship), groups will rise up in defense of the Palestinians and act violently towards Israel.
Posted on: Fri, 01 Aug 2014 22:47:55 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015