The Middle East history reflects well on nobody: the establishment of Israel – a Jewish state – derived in part from sympathy about the Holocaust. Jews needed a safe place.
However the Palestinians paid a huge price for this.
Ongoing enmity is no surprise. Jews feel insecure – Arabs feel robbed.
The Palestinians and supporters really need to accept the existence of Israel, and it’s borders.
It is difficult to separate the concept of ‘the Jewish people in Israel’ and the Israeli government. It is not a ‘secular state’ – albeit different Israeli political participate in their democracy – it is a Jewish religious state, it could not be otherwise. So when the Isreali Government acts, it is acting as a ‘Jewish government’.
A diversion is to observe that Jewish people in other countries should not be automatically included in blame for actions of the Israeli government.
Some might be ‘hard line’ supporters of the Israeli government, others may well be more liberal and critical.
We need peace in the Middle East, and international guarantees and pressure to that effect. Both Israel and Palestinians need to live at peace with each other.
I believe however that there is a key issue that needs to be addressed. Israel is trying to expand it’s borders by stealth. It claims that Palestine, Gaza and the West Bank, is not an independent country, but under Israeli ‘protectorate’ control. Or something like that.
As such it is allowing settlement of Isreali people on land on the West Bank. It feels that the Arab people are getting treated rather like Black people in South Africa under apartheid.
We should immediately confront Israel, tell them to ‘reverse’ the settlements – leave the West Bank – such accommodation could be used for people displaced from Gaza.
We should start to put in place a boycott of all things Israeli – exports from Isreal, travel, supplies to Isreal of military goods, and so on. We should encourage all countries to join us in this action.
This should continue until Israel withdraws from the settlements, and recognises Palestine and it’s boundaries
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