Muse – Israel and Palestine

I’ve been reading a new book.. well, not too new. I bought it a few months ago and only just started to really crack it open. Unashamedly, it’s the Complete Idiot’s Guide to the Middle East Conflict. Considering I don’t know the whole back, I wanted to get a solid explanation of what has come to pass and this book has done well so far.

Overall it seems to be more or less center, not really promoting any one side, while disclosing dirty secrets from all angles of the situation. I’ve gotten up to the 1930s in the timeline, page 111 in a 426 page book and I think I have a handle on how this all got started.

To summarize the start of the modern conflict, Zionism was formed as a political movement to secure a homeland, as that was believed to be a way to escape anti-Semitism. After they got the go ahead from Britain to start up in Palestine, the leaders of the new Jewish settlements ignored their Arab neighbors at first, despite their open dislike of the rising numbers of Jews emigrating. And later a wish to stay on Britain’s good side precluded real diplomacy to try and make nice with the Arabs. The Arabs, despite the improvements of the area by Jewish presence(increased living conditions and general prosperity), remained largely hostile despite many shamelessly pandering attempts by Britain to appease them(the eventual desire of the Arabs coalesced into wanting the whole of Palestine rejoined with Syria, rather than Palestinian independence), while inconveniencing the Jews constantly. Britain only made moves to keep its promises when it suited them, they did little to nothing to stop Arab violence against the Jews and generally allowed the situation to heat up.

I expect that, as I read along, it will continue in this vein up to the present day, with no solid attempts to bring peace and the old conflict continuing to be fought simply because someone in the past started it for some reason that the people today likely only half remember.

I was shaking my head constantly at all sides as I read as far as I have. It is a typical display of humanity and the way mistakes and understandings can build from a molehill of distrust into a mountain of hate.

I can empathize with the desire of the Jews to have their homeland on a small level. In the way I can understand why humanity in general has a need to cling to religious belief. But I don’t see why the early founders of the Zionist political movement thought building a Jewish nation in the middle of a collection of Arab states would make them any more safe than being scattered amongst the rest of the world. All it would do, really, is put all of them in one place to be generally looked down upon by those who are inclined toward anti-Semitism.

If anything, Israel’s acts have likely only fed the hate that some feel and generally spread distrust. Personally, I recognize that Israel’s acts have nothing to do with individual Jews and everything to do with the ones that lead the country. Into ruin, in my opinion.

But all of this is largely irrelevant to the current situation, as it becomes a matter not of what has come before, but what do we do now to fix what was previously screwed up?

It isn’t an easy question with no easy answer. There are lots of nice things that could be done to resolve matters, but they’re locked into a catch 22. Israel needs to stop expanding into Palestinian land and Palestine needs to stop the terrorists in their country. But Israel won’t stop until Palestine stops the terrorism. And Palestine won’t make moves against the terrorists until Israel stops the encroachment and they can believe that they’ll be fairly handled.

With the ‘mediator’ of this despite being the US, one can see where the Palestinians would feel like they’re on their own. The US government has an obvious and improper bias toward Israel. That much, on the part of Bush, was evident. In his little interview, I noted the only blame he laid for the general trouncing of his peace roadmap was on Arafat. Yup, Arafat is guilty but he has a partner in crime, yet Bush said not one word about him.

Though I’m not one to advocate military action, I’m slowly coming to the conclusion that the only way to solve the problem here(and this likely won’t do it either) is to go in, draw a line straight down the middle of the country and say ‘You Israeli’s stay on this side of the line and you Palestinians stay on this side of the line. Anyone that crosses it gets shot.

Or something like that. If the children can’t play nice, its time for them to both stand in their corners and think about what they’ve done.

Of course, that would only stir the pot, more likely than not. So, failing that, let them fight. Perhaps in a century, after the number of dead has risen into the hundreds of thousands they will have had their fill of blood and be ready to talk. Likely not, but one can hope.

Both people have a claim on the land as far as I’m concerned. They need to learn to live together or split the land and live separated. Either way, the fighting needs to stop. Both peoples need to think of their children and the future of their country, rather than their petty little hatreds and needs for just a little more dirt on which to settle at the expense of their neighbor.

Enough is enough.

Don’t make me come over there.