Israel and Palestine: The Middle East Question.

 

Whilst walking down Peterborough high-street I noticed two (interesting looking) men with a table camped next to the Labour tent. Upon reflection, this seems a tactical manoeuvre, asking for money for a cause next to the attracted attention of the left-wing. Clearly, this tactic to draw my interest into the issue worked, as through the culmination of my own knowledge, some external research and some leaflets I gained, which can be described as no less than propagandic, led me to write an article on the issue they were advertising.

The issues in the middle east are countless due to a variety of reasons, yet one that seemed to resonate with me was the issues surrounding Israel and Palestine.  In 2012 I had the chance to visit Israel and even as a person who had very little knowledge at the time of the situation I was seriously aware of the issue, from small things such as a high military presence in busy places ranging to the hulking war-ship that was placed in the sea between the two countries. I can say upon reflection the later stuck in the head of a boy in his early teens far more than the first. The majority of the general public would probably be unsure as to the cause of the conflict and the most straightforward place to start in 1948, the year Israel was founded. Jews who had fled persecution in Europe during the Second World war felt that they needed a homeland and scripturally this homeland was Israel. Israel and that area, however, is not just important in the Judeo-Christian faith but is also a place of great importance to the Islamic belief. Due to a poorly arranged plan for splitting the land the Palestinians fought back when the deal was made as well as an extensive war being fought for the nation in 1967. The war in 1967 led to a substantial change in the land owned by Palestine. If you feel like looking for Palestine on a map it will probably be a struggle, the original agreement with the UN giving Israel 56% of what was British-Palestine, the percentage after the war being 77% as well as the rough region of Palestine now being recognisable as ‘the West Bank’.

Back to the issue at hand, why was I given a stack of leaflets cursing the name of Israel? A quote from one of Israel’s first Prime Ministers as used in one of my booklets states ‘It is impossible to imagine general evacuation without compulsion, and brutal compulsion’. The article written then goes on to accuse Zionists (those who support the Jewish state) of ‘ethnic cleansing’, aiming for a purely Jewish state without the Arabic population. Now while this seems a scathing thing to say there are always two sides and I am going to try and present a relatively unbiased article. The label of anti-Semitism is often placed on this issue, so I feel it is essential to start with a Jewish perspective. Throughout history the Jewish population has been treated poorly, ranging back hundreds of years. The Second World War saw a pinnacle to this anti-Semitism with the genocide committed by the Nazi’s.  The Zionist movement called for the creation of a homeland for the Jews, God and the scripture referencing Israel as any of those who go to chapel will doubtlessly have sung. To place the Jewish population anywhere else would be wrong, suggestions of Africa not seeming appropriate. Thus, the Jews were placed in their homeland of Israel. This homeland was agreed upon internationally and has been legitimised around the world so to have what can be seen as terrorists supported by neighbouring nations as well as specific groups around the world. With my visit to the country hosted by an Israeli (and an educated non-Jewish German with strong opinions ), it was clear to see the problems presented by the friction between the two nations. There was an embedded hatred for those on the other side; however, there is also a fear which neither will admit. Our hosts owned a panic room for fear of severe attack as well as having sons conscripted into the Israeli military, yet this was not something they seemed to shy away from, in fact, quite the opposite. Israel is surrounded by Arabic countries, all of which seem to share this contempt for the young nation, yet they seem to take pride as a community in defending the state they built. The Israelites are clearly socially different from there surroundings, something the Jewish people have appeared to grow used to hence it seems obvious there would be a problem.

Many of the problems cited by pressure groups in the modern day are to do with the actions of the Israeli army, hence the leaflets. The leaflets made reference to multiple human rights violations as well as Amnesty International having written a large number of articles on the issues. One of the most shocking things read is the treatment of children by the military. The Palestinian Solidarity Campaign states ‘Under Israeli military detention, Palestinian children as young as 12 are routinely: Taken from their home at gunpoint in night-time raids by soldiers’ ‘Blindfolded, bound and shackled.’ ‘Interrogated without a lawyer or relative being present and with no audio-visual recording.’ ‘Put into solitary confinement.’ ‘Forced to sign confessions (often in Hebrew- a language they do not understand).’. The international age of adulthood is 18, and it’s clear that Israel has committed infringements on a multitude of occasions, and yet most nations have stayed silent on the issue. A troubling prospect is the fact that the UK is one of the leading sellers of arms to Israel, bringing into question the responsibility our nation has in the crimes committed. The weapons sold by the UK lead to deaths and injury of a severe amount of innocent people so the question of responsibility is one that needs answering, without the support of nations like ours the actions committed may have never occurred.

The issues often mixed are the ideas of anti-Zionism, anti-Semitism and the human rights breaches by the Israeli army. All three of these concepts are entirely separate, those being against the state of Israel not necessarily being opposed to Judaism itself. The issue is one without an easy solution, but it is evident that our part as a supplier is one of at least partial responsibility. While the total villainisation of Israel seems unfair, to ignore the violations committed would be a betrayal of the people of Palestine.