For a few days I have been inspired to write this post.
However, the mess around me demanded my attention and stole my time (my partner
and I have recently moved apartment). Nevertheless, it has given me a lot of
time to reflect and I am now certain of the thoughts I want to utter, albeit at
this moment they remain abstract creatures in my mind.
Before I proceed I must admit that I have an emotional
reason to favor one side over the other, but in line with my education, both
with regards to how I was raised and what I have learned throughout my academic
career, I recognize that there are always at
least two sides to a conflict. Pointing fingers at each other is therefore
useless and it is not going to solve anything.
I studied the Arab-Israeli Conflict for 3 years and while it
is often described as being one of the most complex conflicts of our time, it’s
actually not. What makes it a hard nut to crack is the emotional aspect of it
and the fact that both Jews and Muslims walk backwards towards the future and never lose sight of the past. They never forget. It's a cultural thing. Christians, on the other hand, face the future.
The Palestinians want recognition, for their suffering and
as a nation. They want compensation. They want a state. This is all very
legitimate and I see no reason for why the Palestinian people should be denied
the right to self-determination.
Though, with Hamas it's a different story and they lose a lot of legitimacy, not only in the eyes of the Israelis, but also in the eyes of big parts of the world that recognize Hamas as a terror organization (i.e. the EU and the US). Hamas wants an Islamic-Palestinian state in Israel.
They don’t believe in a two-state solution. They want to kill the Jews. I’m not
making propaganda here, but merely listing some of the main points from the Charter of Hamas.
Since 1967 Israel has often being portrayed as being Goliath
in a disproportionate battle against the Palestinians. Hamas calls the Israelis
“Merchants of War” (also from the
Charter). And it is true that the Israeli military is among the most advanced
armies in the world and so is its technology. Yet, despite the message that
such a strong military may convey I can honestly say (I’m half Israeli, born in
Israel and I have lived in Israel for 6 years) that the majority of the Israelis
wants peace.
The other day my fb-friend, Natalie Golan, wrote why she is
so certain of this argument. She framed it with education. According to an OECD report made this year, Israel is the 2ndmost educated country in the world (Canada is number 1) in terms of 25-64 year-olds that have a higher education, and it has the highest PhD per
capita. These Israelis do not want to close down schools indefinitely and
jeopardize the future of their children. What they really want is peace.
If you were a little bit skeptical from the beginning now
you probably wonder why the Palestinians shouldn't also have the right to
education and you probably think that this right has been taken from them by
the Israelis. Yet, it isn’t so. While Israel provides humanitarian aid to Gaza,
Hamas preaches destruction over the Jews. While the Israeli children go to
school with dreams of becoming firemen, astronauts and journalists, the
Palestinian children are denied these dreams. Instead Hamas’ agenda is being
imposed on them.
I must disappoint all the people that thought this post
would be concluded with a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict. I don’t
think that peace can be achieved, at least not right now. Not as long as the
government of Gaza wants to see the destruction of Israel and all the Jews
residing therein. And not as long as the children are taught to hate. In the
past couple of days I have seen a quote from the former Prime Minister of
Israel, Golda Meir, posted on fb more than once. She said that “peace will come when the
Arabs will love their children more than they hate us [the Israelis]”. I have
always believed that this quote should be applied to both parties, but having
lived in Israel recently I can now say that hate is not on the curriculum of
public schools in Israel. So this quote, word for word, has gained validity over the years.
Yes, what is going on in this area, not only now that it is
in the news but every day, is really sad. I recommend not supporting a side
because it seems to be the weaker one, but to think about the main objective
here: Peace. I can think of a few ways to achieve this objective and none of
them involve condemning Israel.
I love this song - "od yavo shalom aleinu" means "peace will come to us". In the end there will be peace.
Shalom, Salaam!
