I’ve been struggling with commentary on the current Gaza apocalypse and finally discovered my truth about it. Taking sides is dumb and totally misses both history and possible solutions.
This endless terrifying conflict is no one’s fault and everyone’s fault. No one in the sense that blame cannot be placed with one party. That would really simplify solutions if that singular blame could be found. It belongs to all of us: Palestinians, Israelis and the international community.
I find the latest round of rallies for one side or another,including right here in Delaware, utterly pointless and unproductive. Front page of the DL on 07/25. They just exacerbate the tragedy and rage.
In the blame sphere, let’s start with the international community. The 1947 partitioning, taking the region out of the hands of colonial Britain and putting it in the hands of the neophyte U.N. was stupid. Stupidity driven by international guilt for permitting the holocaust and abandoning European Jews. The U.N. then was simply unprepared to properly consult with the existing Palestinian people in preparing for the Partitioning, if it was to make sense at all. Unprepared to support the relocation and settlement of the European and Middle Eastern Jews relocating to the region, and protect the existing residents from destabilization of their communities and provide appropriate international funding to help create a peaceful transformation of the area. The result? Jews had to fight their way in and in doing so displaced 700,000 Arabs relegated to refugee camps still existing today and housing 7 million Arabs in not so hospitable neighboring Arab countries.
Now for blame within the Palestinian and Arab communities. The remaining residents simply failed to secure or provide the resources necessary to build a viable economy to sustain its people to provide a hopeful future and create a government which could provide adequate services. This led to generations of frustrated and angry Palestinians who spent their energies building hostility and ultimately many rounds of armed conflict with an emerging, supported and prospering Israel. Their main focus became destroying Israel rather than building a sustainable society. Palestinian support for right wing, theocratic war makers making their policy undermined their society building needs. And failing to recognize that their hostility only energized the worldwide Jewish community to “never again” endure the apocalypse brought upon them by Fascists and the Catholic Church.
As for blame for Israel? Plenty too. a 47 year occupation, initially justified right after the war of 1967, just was totally counterproductive. It bred antagonism, hatred and distrust, not security from attack. It created attack after endless attack. To add insult to injury, the Zionist settlements, populated by people thinking they had some kind of divine right to be squatters in Palestine. And these squatters bred more generations of haters whose abuse and resulting dysfunction created a continuing security threat, not a peaceful neighbor. Israelis forgot their own history of abuse at the hands of Europeans and their need to escape. They had a place to which to escape at the expense of the indigenous Palestinians; the Palestinians had no escape routes. These are really smart people. Why didn’t they get that?
So, how then can we expect two highly dysfunctional societies to solve their own problem and make peace? One a huge, prosperous, fear filled bully. The other a smaller, raging victim with no leverage or options. I think the answer may be that this is an impossible expectation. The solution lies in some form of international peace making intervention.
Maybe the U.N. is not up to the task. Perhaps some kind of task force of diplomats from the Arab League and NATO, with U.N. Peacekeepers on the ground. What are your ideas?