Haaretz:
The conflict is a clash of ideologies, and such a conflict can’t be solved by drawing lines on a map.
Anyone who has ever suffered from a sore throat and fever and didn’t get well within two days surely went to see a doctor. The doctor took a light and tongue depressor, saw a pair of red, swollen tonsils with white dots, and concluded that the patient had a throat infection. And even though such infections are usually viral rather than bacterial, the doctor prescribed antibiotics to be on the safe side. The patient took them (or didn’t), and usually got well in a few days.
If not, the doctor could try a different antibiotic, and then a third and a fourth, until the patient died of old age. But any reasonable doctor would stop and ask himself: What’s wrong here? Why is the patient not getting any better despite my wonderful treatment?
The answer is logical: a mistaken diagnosis. That would explain the lack of response to the treatment, and the frustration.
I wouldn’t have bothered you with this introduction about bacterial throat infections (somewhat anachronistic, I know, since nowadays there are throat cultures) if we didn’t find ourselves in this very situation in the diplomatic sphere. The war between Jews and Arabs in the Land of Israel has been going on for more than 100 years, and most onlookers, analysts and mediators are convinced that it’s a territorial conflict: Jews and Arabs are fighting over the same piece of land, so the logical solution is to divide the land.
This is a reasonable assumption, and therefore (and also for other colonialist reasons), Churchill came to the Land of Israel/Palestine in 1922 and divided the land. He gave the three-fourths of it east of the Jordan River to the Arabs, while the rest remained a British Mandate for establishing a Jewish national home.
The Arabs weren’t enthusiastic, and their response has gone down in history as the 1929 Arab riots. After that, the British sent additional committees that proposed additional divisions of the land, based on various maps. But every effort ended in a bloodbath: waves of terrorism, “incidents” (aka riots), wars and intifadas. Some 23,000 Jews were killed and more than 100,000 Arabs, but no statesman ever stopped and asked himself why every attempt at dividing the land merely increased the war and bloodshed. The answer, of course, is a mistaken diagnosis.
The conflict isn’t territorial (even though it has many territorial symptoms, and we fight over every acre and every house), but a war of religion, a clash of ideologies. And such a conflict can’t be solved by drawing lines on a map. To Muslims, the Land of Israel will forever be waqf land – land that is part of a Muslim religious trust. And even David Ben-Gurion, who wasn’t “religious,” appeared before the Peel Commission in 1937 and brandished a Bible as the source of our absolute right to the Land of Israel.
But despite this, all the “peacemakers” among us keep prescribing the same medicine of “dividing the land” for the wrong disease. Even today, the only diplomatic plan on the table is negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, yet this is the one that has failed time and again.
Next week, a plan called “Two states for two peoples on two sides of the Jordan – is this alternative feasible?” will be placed on the negotiating table. Granted, this will happen only at a conference organized by Professors for a Strong Israel, which will take place at the Menachem Begin Heritage Center in Jerusalem. But the conference will hold an in-depth discussion on the following topic: When the “Arab Spring” reaches Jordan, that country will become a Palestinian nation-state. Thus even if the conflict isn’t solved, at least a new factor will have entered the diplomatic equation, which is currently stuck in a blind alley.
Reference:
http://www.haaretz.com/opinion/.premium-1.542196
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Categories: Arab World, Asia, Israel, Middle East
This is the height of mis-information! Of course the conflict in Palestine / Israel is of territory and not religion. Just look at the map! The Israelis are / used to be very efficient in mis-information, however, more and more the world is no longer fooled.
Being Jewish is their identity
and has kept them together for centuries
and that’s not going to change
Israel l’ll live forever
so is Jerusalem.
Yes, being Jewish is a ‘double identity’, one is religion and the other is ethnicity (whether real or imagined). Therefore even when the person is not religious he/she still identifies him/herself as Jewish.
Doesn’t this have a link to the biblical historical notion of the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt to the ‘promised’ land….which may happen to have even occupied by the Arabs?.
Alternatively, the biblical separation between Abrabam ‘ sons, Ishmael( born of Hagar the maid)and Isaac( born from Sarah the actual but ‘barren’ wife)
Whatever is the root cause of this conflict. Palitinian and Israelis must understand that they cannot annihilate its other. The world is to nice to live in. They must turn their eyes to Singapore, Hongkong, New York, Paris or London where people live in we might say a happy and contedted life.They must go back to the drawing board and talk as warriors not as politicians. The great Indian war chief Crazy Horse said ” Only those who fought wars appreciate the valie of PEACE”.
First of all, I come from country with not much security, a member of United nation. However, Israel is a country supported by iiall Christians all around the clobe through reading the history from Adam and eve until now. I supported Israel but using human being as human shield is not acceptable. You want to fight come out clear don’t be coward.
this map shows that how Jews dominated pallastain and took it illegally into it’s control
Lawrence Zitha, yes it has very old links. The Jews had migrated to Egypt and lived there for a long time, initially as a very happy community but after few hundred years they were spoiled and oppressed and enslaved by the Egyptians.
When Moses a.s. successfully took the Jews out of Egypt, yet they misbehaved and rebelled against God many times.
The followers of Moses a.s. disturbed and troubled Moses a.s. many times so that he had complaints about them.
We do not know if the Palestinians in those times were Arabs. But there was a great struggle for long time to win the land. It continued till the time of King David a.s. He killed many Palestinians.
So it is an age old war. The Jews, after having been punished and dispersed all over the world for thousands years had no home land. Now they have the home land, in Israel. It is necessary for them to do justice and politics of peace and reconciliation. They are very powerful and the Arabs cannot defeat the Israelis.
The Palestinians should try to make peace with Israel with good faith and true commitments. They are wasting their time and losing lives and property.
The two nations should compromise for peace. The Israelis have enough land. They should give vast piece of land with sea outlet to the Palestinians so they establish their own government. That government should recognize the state of Israel.
The Palestinian state should never cause any harm to the Israelis. It should be a firm commitment.
Arab or non-Arab, treaty should be firm.
When so many Arab states have recognized the State of Israel then why the Palestine state or people are not ready to recognize the state of Israel. They are wasting their time and losing much life. The Palestinians should give up terrorism and opt for peace with Israel.
Losers can’t be choosers. Israel should give a good offer to the Palestinians. But the question arises. Are the Palestinians under any one command? Are they united to work for peace? Muslim states should not misguide the Palestinians that they will help them. The help should not be to cause harm to Israel.
Judaism, like Christianity and Islam, bases its spirituality in human compassion:
the internaational community should wade in now to resolve this issue of genocide attacks. let the historians come up with facts that will explain the original or rightful owner of the disputed territories.if un stands for world peace let them act quickly
I thought the Palestinians lost land because they made war on Israel and lost. Israel owns the land by right of conquest in a defensive war! I’m not sure what a Palestinian is. I thought the tribes that occupied that area were just different tribes of Arabs. What is a Palestinian? How long does someone have to live in the Palestine area to be declared a Palestinian?
“the British sent additional committees that proposed additional divisions of the land, based on various maps.”
As Denis Wood argues in his REthinking the Power of Maps (with a Chapter on Palestinian/Israeli maps) … maps are about creating statehood. The drawing of the map sets the state and its territories.
The lands so identified are in given an identity and a soverignty that reflects one or another theology. Some Israelis insist upon a contractual right to historical lands based upon a theological contract. The “new settlements” are justified on this basis. Palestinians insist upon the same land on the basis of long-term residence … and religion.
In the late 1940’s I.F. Stone was the first North American journalist to visit Israel in the days before its statehood. He believed a two-state solution would never work. Only a one-state solution acknowledging the relations between long-time residents and Jewish Israeli’s to be would work. ANything else, well, would land us in the eternal struggle we have today.
Israel … kills childrens and womens and unarmed palestinians on the basis of religion
India like Egypt has recognised Israel and India has many economical cultural and military agreements to mutual benefits. Next to Russia , Israel plays a dominant role in our Ministry of Defence. Indian Army and Air Force is rich with Israel weapons. YoGA system of India is very popular in Israel. Morethan 3000 Yoga Teachers are spreading Yoga practices all over Israel. India has strong reasons to play cool. Arab countries are now engaged in infightings
SLM,bros&sis!
These times hippie principles must be observe..no religion,no violence,no hate….only love,humanity and rock n roll peace all to us brothers
God the owner of the whole earth,thought it wise to reveal Himself by choosing one race among all races in the world ie,the Jews/ Israelists.So that the whole world knows that there is ‘ONE LIVING GOD’who can take care of His people even in times of troubles.So,the very same God,gave that piece of land to the Israelis as a heritance from their ancestors.If God,the owner of everything,ie the globe,its people & everything in it,says this,who else can oppose?Who is man to judge Him?What is needed here,is just clear understanding both spiritually & physically.Then TOLERANCE and ADHERE to what God the owner of everything said.
Whoever will solve this war will be the anti christ. He will only do it on short term basis.
We have nothing to say, only God should see them trough.