Conflict in Gaza : Brothers at war

At the outset I must confirm that I am an Orthodox Jew who firmly believes in the Torah and the practices of my religion. This does not mean that I am in any way qualified to give the Jewish point of view on this issue as I’m sure that most rabbis who read this article will find glaring errors in my approach if reference is had to a strict reading of our laws. Accordingly, this is a personal point of view and represents only what I perceive to be the situation and the way forward.

In today’s Parshah (Genesis 47:28-50:26) Joseph, the son of Jacob with the full backing of Pharoah and accompanied by all of Pharoah’s household servants, the Egyptian elders of the house and the elders of Egypt went forth to bury Jacob in the cave in the field of Machpelah. And the mourning of the Egyptians for Jacob was so intense that the Canaanites who witnessed it styled the place Abel Mizraim (Egypt mourns).

To my mind this is hardly surprising as Abraham, the son of Terah, is the patriarch of Judaism and Islam; the father of Ishmael and Isaac.

Regardless, the descendants of these brothers/half-brothers have taken it upon themselves to wage an on-and-off war against each other down the centuries and in respect of which conflicts it appears neither side is ever wrong.

This relationship together with the Jewish role of being a “light unto nations” ie an example, is why I have tried to bring Muslims and Jews together and why I have slammed Islamaphobia wherever I have encountered it.

To begin with I’d like to make a few observations.

I do believe that Israel’s response has been disproportionate but that she had a right to retaliate is without question. Firing rockets intentionally at civilians is wholly unacceptable as is the scale of civilian casualties that have been inflicted on the Palestinians. Before I get to the military theory please understand that I believe that Jews do not fire at school buildings even if there are mortars coming from there. Avoiding a target is just as relevant as extinguishing it in most cases.

In terms of the media created perception that Israel is a giant and the Palestinians are a tiny minority group, I think it best to put that into perspective. Muslims constitute about 1 500 000 000 or just on 25% of the world’s population, while Jews number 13 000 000 or just on 0,002%. Israel cannot be seen on most maps while just in the region alone there are 22 Arab countries covering an enormous amount of territory. In terms of wealth, Saudi Arabia alone exceeds the combined Jewish wealth on the planet. Incredibly the media somehow manage to paint Israel as Goliath and still wonder in light of those logistics why Jews feel persecuted.

By way of background we need to understand that Jews have been the victims of pogroms, inquisitions and a holocaust since time immemorial. As a result there is understandably a deep sense of mistrust and insecurity concerning the conduct of humanity. It would be extraordinary if it were otherwise.

The state of Israel was founded and located where it is for primarily — but certainly not limited to — the following reasons. Firstly as a result of continuing anti-Semitism which translated into events like the pogroms in Russia and the holocaust in Germany which left the inescapable impression that only through a country of their own would Jews ever be able to feel secure. Leaving it to the goodwill of the international community had resulted in some very devastating examples of what placing their faith in humanity could realise.

Secondly Israel is biblically the home of the Jews and in religious terms the reason why an alternative location was considered unsuitable.

The Palestinians on the other hand are made up of predominantly Sunni Muslims with a significant Christian minority and the odd smattering of other religions thrown in. Self serving arguments that their being distinct from other Arab communities is a recent phenomena are not only unhelpful but quite frankly irrelevant. There are about 11-million people on the planet who consider themselves to be Palestinians and desirous of nationhood.

Many Palestinians were displaced during the two major exoduses of 1948 and 1967 and while there are two views, namely that they were ordered by other Arabs to leave prior to the war against Israel as opposed to being forced out at gunpoint, what remains is the fact that there are millions of people caught up in the middle of a political and physical battlefield wherein the vast majority of them have very little or no say.

In terms of the Gaza Strip, Hamas was democratically elected as the Palestinian leadership primarily because of corruption and neglect on the part of Fatah. While their actions with regard to the presidency may have been unlawful the fact remains that to Gazans they represent the current leadership. In the West Bank Mahmoud Abbas is the president and currently the generally internationally recognised leader of the Palestinian Authority. Regardless of the internal dispute, Israel must step up to the plate and offer to negotiate with both, even though Hamas does not recognise the right of Israel to exist.

“Hamas, as its charter and political literature make clear, does not want an end to Israeli occupation. It wants the end of Israel. That is because Hamas is part of a pan-Islamist movement with global messianic ambitions. Creating a Palestinian state in Gaza and the West Bank is not its aim. A branch of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas dreams of world dominion for its version of Islam rather than a mini-state in 5 000 square kilometres of barren land in a geopolitical backyard.

“Although officially created in 1987, Hamas’s roots go back to the 1930s when Haj Amin al-Hussaini, the Grand Mufti of Palestine under the British Mandate, allied himself with Hitler and dreamt of reviving the Islamic Caliphate with himself as Caliph.

That Hamas cares little about Palestine as a would-be nation state is clear from its name and charter. Hamas is the Arab acronym for “Islamic Resistance Movement”, making it clear that the movement regards Palestine not as a nation in its own right but as a small part of the ummah, the community of believers. Hamas is the only significant party in Palestine whose name does not include the words Palestine or Palestinian.” (Amir Taheri)

By agreeing to negotiate with Hamas and Fatah the agendas of all stakeholders in the region will become apparent. The role of Islamists in using the Palestinians to further their aims, the ineptitude of Fatah as well as the intransigence of the Israelis. Nobody is blameless. What is clear is that building settlements must stop and that the Palestinians need to promote a leadership that wants a Palestinian state. Hamas is not that leadership — they want to be part of a larger Islamic entity.

What is happening in Gaza is not the illness merely another symptom of the ongoing war of attrition. What needs to happen now is that the Israelis and the Palestinians themselves have to show that they are tired of being manipulated and take their future into their own hands.

Currently there are basically two schools of thought in respect of a long term solution ; the “two-state solution” and the “single-state solution”. The former envisages the two nations living side by side within boundaries which are yet to be finalised while the latter is a single home for both. For my part I would prefer the two-state solution with the Palestinians being afforded the West Bank, Gaza and such other territory as may be agreed as to make it a viable state. That said, the Palestinian government must then have full control of its territory without any external interference from Israel.

I am fully aware of the reluctance of some Islamic countries to recognise Israel just as I am aware of Israel’s fear of what might happen if it lets its guard down. Yet both the Israelis and Palestinian people need a long-term solution and by passing it on to the next generation all they are doing is exacerbating the problem.

Currently demographically a two state solution is feasible — twenty years from now it might not be.

It is not in the interest of Isreal to continue to allow a final agreement to drag it passed the point where demographically a two-state solution is no longer feasible while the Palestinians are in danger of allowing themselves to be used for goals which have nothing to do with their realising their place in the sun as a people.

Both must insist that negotiations for the permanent solution begin immediately and that those that don’t recognise it be excluded.

Now that the UN has called a ceasefire it must be respected immediately by both sides. While I am fully aware of the courage that it takes for leaders on both sides to try and call for a compromise — some have even been assassinated — that is what it is going to take to bring this issue to a head. Israel’s real long term security lies in reaching a compromise with her neighbours and not by having a bodyguard — no matter how tough that country might be.

Of course people in Israel will be shaking their heads and telling me it can’t be done. Just as South African whites told us that if apartheid ended that would be the end of them. South African whites were hopelessly in the minority in South Africa, surrounded on all sides by hostile neighbours and being sanctioned by the world community.

Jews in Israel are the majority, they have reached a compromise with Egypt and Jordan and if this issue is resolved at the same table as Lebanon and Syria then they will be a long way down the road towards a lasting peace.

Of course there will still be those Muslims who for religious reasons do not believe that Israel should exist just as there are Jews who believe that Israel must be the home for the Jews. I am one of those Jews. I also recognise the fact that the Palestinians need a viable country in the area that they consider their home. This means that like South Africa a deal has to be reached.

It’s not impossible, walking to Mars is impossible, what it takes is everyone going home a little unhappy by giving up something and a compromise is reached. What we cannot do is allow those who don’t want to give up anything and the destroyers to dictate the way forward.

Twenty years ago South Africa under black rule, USSR collapsed, peace in Northern Ireland, perhaps capitalism itself being bailed out by governments rather than letting free market principles dictate — impossible! In 1980, if someone had dared to suggest any of that they would have been declared insane.

There are two sets of people within a geographical area who both need to find an overall solution to their problems. Not every problem each one has but the problem between them. If they achieve that single goal then an enormous amount of pressure will be released from both. Of course there will be problems but nothing along the lines we have witnessed over the past 60 years. It’s time for all the posturing, militancy and threats to be set aside and the outsiders ignored.

Like South Africa, they will have to deal with each problem as it arises but they won’t live with the day-to-day regret that comes with ongoing hatred and attrition. Of course that won’t dissipate overnight but it will reduce dramatically almost immediately agreement is reached.

The Israelis and Palestinians need to get together and forge their own future and leave those who want to test their weapons and their ideologies to find another place to play. The time has come for them to realise that it would be far nicer to turn on their televisions and watch other people killing each other for a change. After all is said and done they are the ones who have to live there together.

As I said, I’m not the expert and I don’t live in the region. These are just my thoughts.