Monday, September 13, 2010

Alan: Are You for Real Israel?

This past weekend, Israel made some concessions in the efforts to stride towards peace talks with Palestinians. They graciously agreed to not bulldoze areas where thousands currently live in order to build apartments and other housing structures. They have acknowledged that this moratorium on construction is what their Palestinian neighbors are searching for. They have also acknowledged that this moratorium on construction will only be temporary.

Let me preface the rest of this post by saying that I in no way believe that I have the answers to the problems in the Middle East, and don't pretend to understand everything and all aspects of the historical and cultural contexts in the area. I am not an expert on Jewish-Muslim relations in the area, and am only giving my opinion based on the knowledge that I have.

Israel certainly seems to be an un-welcomed presence in the Middle East especially to some of their regional neighbors such as Iran, whose official position is a desire to wipe the country and its people from the pace of the earth. Several of the surrounding countries in the region have engaged in actual wars (the Seven Day War, etc.) against Israel in attempts to run the small country out of existence.

That being said, Israel, you are not helping yourself. Israel is the only country in the region with nuclear capabilities and has no problem reminding the other countries in the area of that fact. More importantly, they have completely bullied and dehumanized the Palestinian people within the region. They have ghettoized these people and treat them as lesser humans. They have destroyed their homes, bombed their citizens, and refused to really engage in compromises in peace talks.

Sure, some might say that the Palestinians have had their fair share of suicide bombers in Israel, and that certainly is true. There have absolutely been Palestinian extremists who have violently attacked Israel. Unfortunately, these attacks seem to be highlighted above and beyond the Israeli attacks on Palestine.

I suppose my real issue with this whole situation is the United States' unwavering support for Israel in all things. The U.S. has time and again backed our ally in the Middle East on the basis that they are the oppressed people in the region. This, I believe, is largely untrue. Israel is very much the bully and is also an incredible oppressor in the region that we have blindly supported and aided in weapons technology, financial support, and diplomatic unity.

It is my hope that we may take a step back and look at all sides to the conflict so that all opinions may be at least heard and taken into consideration. Simply pushing for one voice to be recognized is no way to carry out diplomacy. Hopefully, with better knowledge and understanding comes less hate. Hopefully future discussions can be taken from all sides of the matter and move forward. In that way, those discussions can be a symbol for the rest of the world. A symbol for peace.

13 comments:

  1. are you suggesting we switch to whatever side is the current underdog?

    Just because Palestine is the present oppressed doesn't mean we should just jump ship, help them until they are strong enough then switch back over to the new underdog that would be Israel.

    the middle East will always fight no matter what. Since the beginning of the earth until long after we are worm food.

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  2. The Obama administration has been better about putting pressure on Israel and Hillary seems committed to making something happen.

    However, I don't see the U.S. really taking Israel to task soon because both parties have a vested interest in full support of Israel.

    The right-wing evangelicals believe that the Jews ruling Israel with hasten the eschaton and thus the return of Christ.

    The left recognize that the Jewish lobby is a powerful and are scared of pissing off a traditionally Democratice voter base.

    Add to that the fact that Israel is basically our nuclear shield in the region. If Iran gets too close to being an imminent threat Israel will strike and we can wag our finger at them and play the indignant older brother.

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  3. I don't think he's suggesting to switch sides but maybe we could not give quite so much support to Israel, or maybe not support either side with military enforcement and focus more on helping with peace agreements and trying to help them stick to agreements they've already made.
    There is a lot of lobbying support in DC to continue the support of Israel we just need to get some people up there to show the Palestine side as well.

    Just throwing that out there.
    Love Susan and her friend Abby :)

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  4. Oh and also, the right wing is Islamaphobic. I think they see the Israel/Palestine conflict as a sort of "This is SPARTA!" type situation. A small country of fair-skinned, Biblical people holding off the great, brown, Pagan hordes.

    boom. roasted.

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  5. Adam,
    I think you over simplified the argument a little bit. I'm not arguing for the complete compliance with Palestinian ideals, I'm advocating for a change to be made by making their voice in the matter be heard and respected by the U.S.

    Ryan,
    You are absolutely right, although the Obama administration and Hillary have been making greater efforts, we largely continue to support Israel because it is convenient for us.

    What I'm saying is that our support of Israel combined with Israel's policies seems to be hurting Israel's long term future in the region. If they decide to be more diplomatic with their choices and try and use their position to aid the other countries in the region, they could (in time) be seen as less of a threat to their Islamic neighbors.

    Additionally, should we bend our ears to the other powers in the region a little bit more, our standing in the Middle East might also be held in higher esteem.

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  6. Shocking that Liberals bring race into any logical conversation. Just Shocking.

    Conservatives support Israel as they are our Country's ALLY and the only beacon of Democracy in the Middle East. But not for those reasons. It's because they hate Islam and like fair-skinned, Biblical people holding off the great, brown, Pagan hordes.

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  7. interesting thoughts...i've struggled with the Israel-Palestine thing for awhile. I'm with Adam that Arabs and Jews will fight until Jesus returns...they're cut from the same cloth, or in Abraham's case, loins...and nobody fights like family.

    I'm convinced that America doesn't get involved in ANYTHING that isn't self-serving. There's no altruism here. If Serbians and Bosnians want to kill each other, Clinton to the rescue. However, if ten times the bloodshed and genocide happens deep in Rwanda (in the same year, mind you)...ah, they're just a bunch of savages anyway.

    I'm not a fan of Iran, the PLO, carbombs, jihad, etc., but, at the same time, Israel isn't helping me at the gas pump.

    We're stuck...if we help, we hate Arabs, if we back off and Israel gets smoked, it's our fault for not intervening.

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  8. Alan, A well written article!

    Well it guess it is time for me to chyme in on this argument. I would like to preface my stance by saying that I have spent quite a bit of time studying the middle east and its peoples so that has helped me formulate this idea. i totally agree with this stance:

    "We're stuck...if we help, we hate Arabs, if we back off and Israel gets smoked, it's our fault for not intervening.'

    As i agree with this I feel that this does over simplify the argument. Firstly when does a nation of significant world standing let go of a monster that it has created.

    Israel was founded by a group of refugees ( sound familiar?) that were misplaced by Nazi Germany as well as the Stalinist Purges. These Jewish "immigrants" were forced from their homes and through a series of tragic events created a strong nationalist and racial identity. As these people congregated the identity spread. Der Juden Mensch ideal is formed. A jewish man for Judaism. This new formed identity created a calling for a land known only in myth known as Arats Israel (the Land of Israel) which was located in Palestine. As the nations of the world pushed Israelites out they migrated to this wonderful land. Push came to shove and Great Britain and the U.N. spoke and the flood gates open. Millions of displaced refugees created millions of refugees. This action sated the Israeli people and a nation was formed. This is the short version of course but you get the jist.

    Now formally the history tells us that this was for the good of the Jewish people as they now had a home but what it fails to tell us is what about the Palestinians? Where did they go? The moved them to camps! Away from resources of their own state!

    As the Israelite population grew many more Palestinians were removed and the camps grew and grew. Thus the PLO was founded out of the misery of displacement.

    Both sides formed coalitions Israel with the West and the PLO with the Middle East and other sympathizers.

    Yes the U.S. is guilty of building modern Israel in government, finance and military. It was also the goal of the U.S. to have a western power in the Middle East. Does it exist? Why yes it does. Is it hurting the U.S.? Of course.

    The solution lies in hands off foreign policy. Yes, Adam you are correct in saying there will be more blood however it is not going to last until we are all worm food. Political Statehood comes with natural boundaries. Do other spiritual, national or financial entities die? yes they do.

    The level that this action from what seems to be a million foreign policy decisions gone awry. It is simply not the responsibility of the Western Powers to intervene in the affairs of Israel. Israel has simply become the thing that it was displaced by. Eventually the Palestinians will fade away unless a stance is taken. Viva Palestine!

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  9. Brandon, I get what you are saying about Conservatives supporting Israel because they are our ally and because they support democracy. But what makes them our ally over Egypt? They certainly are a democracy. Why do we so blindly focus our efforts on appeasing the Israeli nation, although it may hurt us and Israel in the long run?

    Also to Anonymous, sorry about Israel not helping you at the gas pump. Glad to know that is what really burns you up as a counter to the PLO, car bombs, and jihadist sentiments.

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  10. Also, I got this message sent to me on facebook:

    I don't kinow how I saw it on my facebook thing and I have no idea how to comment on the page itself, but Ryan Turner and you are right and your friend is absolutely wrong. The idea that people in the middle east will always fight because that is what they do is dehumanizing and that attitude is as wrong applied to them as it was when applied to blacks and white during the civil rights movement.

    Matt

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  11. Alan,
    Nice job on the article! I was fortunate enough to travel to Palestine and Israel for three weeks this past summer, and it was an experience I will never forget.
    I must say I agree with you on that it seems as though the U.S. unwaveringly supports Israel, no matter its actions. Though, to be fair, we did help create Israel despite all the Middle Eastern objections, so there's somewhat of a historical obligation to stand by that nation. But this does not really excuse our behavior in any way.
    I think what I found particularly interesting in your article was how you mentioned that Palestinian attacks on Israel are always highly publicized, yet Israeli attacks and human rights violations are rarely mentioned. And I have come to believe that the Western media portrayal of the conflict is a core issue. Our media does not accurately portray what is really going on over there, I saw and heard somethings that you cannot find anywhere here, unless you know where to look.
    There is a large and growing non-violent movement in Palestine. Most Palestinians consistenly and fervently denounce suicide bombings, yet we never hear about these things in the West. Palestinians not only suffer at the hands of Israelis, they suffer at the hands of our media because they are stereotypically portrayed in a negative way.
    The way to fix this is to call or write your newspaper, magazine, etc. Let them know that you will not stand for this. Use Twitter and Facebook and other social medias to spread the word. Instead of posting a CNN article, go to Al-Jazeera (a major news source in the Middle East) and see what they have to say.
    Peace can come to the Middle East, hopefully in our lifetimes. Salaam.

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  12. The only thing better than this article are the looks of its author.

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  13. I agree with the last anonymous-the media is definitely an issue, not only through its lack of coverage in the Israel-Palestine conflict but in other conflicts as well like the current genocides in Darfur, the Congo or Burma. Part of the problem is that America is not nearly educated enough regarding foreign affairs, and I include myself in that generalization. We need to stop being so naive about Israel. I apologize if this is offensive, but the settlers are not simply poor, mistreated war refugees anymore. This in no way is meant to undermine the cruelty and suffering of the Holocaust, but an observer can see that the settlers are now repressing and mistreating the Palestinians, who, let's face it, owned the land before the Western powers decided it was the most convenient area for the new Jewish state. The Palestinians are now the displaced, mistreated group of the middle east-where is their help, their voice? We need to educate ourselves and be aware of what is happening so that we can speak out against this kind of injustice.

    By the way this is Audrey-Susan I want my cookie :)

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