Jews, Zionism and the European Right of Blood Part II
David Kessel
February 18, 2006
Conflicting Partial Cultural Perspectives Greatly Complicate the Situation.
A great deal of confusion has been caused by the misunderstanding resulting from how different cultural groups view what is happening in the Middle East and the consequent controversies that result from such differences. Let us examine how they view the situation and how it affects their attitudes and opinions towards the Arab- Israeli conflict:
I will roughly repeat what I have heard on TV and the radio, and read in various US, Saudi Arabian, Israeli, British and American press over many years:
Arabs and Muslims themselves: Rich Europeans of Jewish faith, with the help of American and British Imperialists, conspired to take place in the colonization of the Arab world by the West by establishing a non- Muslim stronghold from which the destruction and the exploitation of the Muslim world can be continued. Their goal is to bring into the Middle East all kinds of other Europeans who have nothing to do with the Semites living in the Middle East, including Russians, Hungarians, Germans and other such Khawajas. They want to become rich at the expense of Arabs, expand Israel, destroy the Arab Nation and Islam, and take possessions of the resources of the region. Zionists are greedy, rich Western imperialists who have no pity for the poor Palestinian people whom they expelled from their native homes, and on whose villages they built an illegal and evil so-called State of Israel. Palestinians who were expelled from their land should continue fighting against that evil colonial pseudo-country that should not be there in the first place.
Jews from Europe: Jewish people are a separate nation and nationality that has it own language and religion but did not have a country-they (the Jews) were expelled from their homeland, Judea, by the Romans and had to wonder around various countries in which they were not accepted. They ended up in Europe where they underwent horrendous persecutions because they were seen as an alien tribe that could never be assimilated. They were told to go back to their country repeatedly by the Europeans, as they could never obtain full nationality anywhere in Europe, and were almost completely annihilated. They suffered from anti-Semitism which was hatred against Jews as a racially-ethnic group, a foreign nationality. Europeans hated them and left them no choice but to form a Zionist movement to rebuild their ancient homeland. They started buying land in Palestine but the Arabs would not accept them even though the land was purchased legally. They attacked the Jews. The Arabs were not driven from their land but left it on their own free volition because other Arab countries were urging them to do so, so that they could invade Israel and kill all the Jews living there.
Jews from the Americas (and other immigrant societies): Israel is a place where Israeli people live. People born and raised in Israel are Israelis. It is a place where people can practice Jewish religion in peace. There are two types of Israelis- Arabs and Jews. There are also Arab people in the lands that have to be allotted for Israelis of Jewish faith, but heck, if the Muslim Arabs want to live there and no Arab state should take them, and then maybe there should be a state for them. Israel was built by Russians, Germans and Hungarians and other nationals whose religion was Jewish. They had to go to Israel because they were persecuted in Europe, and many died in the Holocaust because of their religion. Muslims do not like for anyone to practice Jewish religion in that part of the world, so they are attacking Israelis and putting bombs on buses, at markets and other public places. Israel is legal and should stay there because it was recognized by the UN. If they want to give land back for peace, they may; if they don't , they don't have to. It does not concern us too much because we are just Americans and Canadians and we are comfortable living in our countries. Some of us are against Zionism primarily because we see it as something unnecessary as Jews can live well in America, Canada and other countries as their citizens of Jewish faith. Some of us who are truly religious and believe in Zionism sometimes like to go to live in Israel so that we could fulfill our religious aspirations. The rest of us can attend services occasionally but most of us enjoy living in the countries of our birth.
Other Americans: Jews are just a religion. Most are white people. Jews and Arabs have been fighting since the beginning of time (actually, this is not true). Arabs are fanatical Muslims and they hate the West. They hate Americans and they hate anybody who is not Muslim, including the Israelis who are Middle Easterners of Jewish faith. Where do Israelis come from? From Israel, of course. People who were born in Israel are Israelis. America is supporting Israel because we have many Jews in the government and they want to support their own. .That is why Arabs come here and bomb our buildings and kill our civilians. America should support Israel less and take better care of its people at home. Let those people in the Middle East sort it out among themselves.
Europeans (non-British): Jews and Arabs are two Semitic nationalities who cannot get along in some small country called Israel/Palestine or whatever. Palestinians are Arabs, too, but for some reason they want another state near the Jews. They keep killing each other there but it is so far from us, it really does not concern us. Nazis have killed many Jews that is why they went to live in Israel. We guess Jews have to have their country so it is all right for Israel to be there, but, maybe Palestinians should have their country, too.
Jews from Israel: We were born here so we are Israelis. We are surrounded by Arabs who want to kill us all. They hate us because we are smarter than they are and because we are not Arabs or Muslims. Palestinians are Arabs, too. Arabs have twenty-two countries but they are basically are nation. They all belong to one Arab nationality. There is no such thing as a Palestinian nationality or an Egyptian nationality. They are all just Arabs and they want to kill us all. They are crazy fanatics whose only thought is to kill, bomb and maim Israelis or anyone who is not a Muslim. They like building states of their own but having twenty-two states and so much land is not enough for them - they want a twenty-third one on the land of Israel. They are greedy and cruel. We did not take their land. There weren’t any Arabs here before. They keep making babies and these want more land and jobs and other resources. Why can't they go and live with other Arabs? - there is plenty of land out there. They need to ask Saudi Arabia or Jordan for more land. Maybe one day, we can allow them to have a state but they will still want to kill us because they are all just crazy killers- they can't help it- it's their nature.
The British: this is our former colony and it is populated by Jews and some Arabs. Jews used to be a race but now they are a religion only. The people living in our Palestine used to be our colonials but they are now called Israelis. Palestinians are not a proper nationality as they do not have an independent state. So, they are a stateless people without a nationality. Jews in our country are as British as anyone else. The race thing is long gone. Anyway, some Jews from Europe went to Palestine and we let them settle there. We divided our colony into an Arab and Jewish state and then, we left them alone. They started fighting between themselves and they still keep on fighting. All they need to do is divide the land again just as we have told them to do. No wonder they cannot get along- we should have never left the place to begin with. Those bloody w-gs!
Palestinians: We are Palestinians by nationality and we want to have our independent state. Some people who wish us evil say that we are just Arabs. However, there is no such thing as an Arab nationality. Arabs are divided into Egyptians, Syrians, Jordanians, Moroccans, etc. Arabs are a nation in the cultural sense, but different Arab countries have their own nationality. There was a Palestinian nation in the country and we all lived happily and were struggling to become independent from the Turks and the British, until all these weird people from Europe started coming. They were Khawajas- white people. Most were pale and many had blue eyes. They claimed to be Jews- same people that had lived here thousands of years ago. How preposterous! These were just Europeans, actually. They were Western Imperialists that called themselves Zionists who just wanted our land. Then, in 1940ies, huge numbers of new Westerners started coming and taking our land by force. These were just like the British and the French before. New foreign colonialists. The only difference is that the other Europeans were Christians but these Europeans had synagogues. They were of Jewish faith. What right did they have to come to our country and settle? Jews are just a religion, same as Catholics. It is like saying that all Catholics have the right to settle in the area of the Vatican and build a country there. These evil occupiers should go back to their own countries- they should go to Poland and Russia or wherever. It was the British and the Americans who brought them here so that they could have a military presence in our country and exploit the Middle East from here. These people are not Semites. They are Khawajas. What are they doing here? They are not supposed to be here. We will fight until our country is liberated. Well, maybe we can let them keep Tel Aviv and other such small areas, but only because we do not want any trouble with the United States. We need to have our own state just like Egyptians have their own state. We cannot get land from other Arab countries because they do not see us as their nationals. They are Jordanians and the see us as Palestinians. Even if we are born in other Arab countries, it is not easy for us to get citizenship there now. Plus why should we even try? We want to have our own citizenship.
As you can see from the above examples each party has its own, perfectly logical view of the conflict, but each view is severely slanted by each party's own unique cultural perspective. Where is the truth? That is the toughest question of them all.
A great deal of confusion has been caused by the misunderstanding resulting from how different cultural groups view what is happening in the Middle East and the consequent controversies that result from such differences. Let us examine how they view the situation and how it affects their attitudes and opinions towards the Arab- Israeli conflict:
I will roughly repeat what I have heard on TV and the radio, and read in various US, Saudi Arabian, Israeli, British and American press over many years:
Arabs and Muslims themselves: Rich Europeans of Jewish faith, with the help of American and British Imperialists, conspired to take place in the colonization of the Arab world by the West by establishing a non- Muslim stronghold from which the destruction and the exploitation of the Muslim world can be continued. Their goal is to bring into the Middle East all kinds of other Europeans who have nothing to do with the Semites living in the Middle East, including Russians, Hungarians, Germans and other such Khawajas. They want to become rich at the expense of Arabs, expand Israel, destroy the Arab Nation and Islam, and take possessions of the resources of the region. Zionists are greedy, rich Western imperialists who have no pity for the poor Palestinian people whom they expelled from their native homes, and on whose villages they built an illegal and evil so-called State of Israel. Palestinians who were expelled from their land should continue fighting against that evil colonial pseudo-country that should not be there in the first place.
Jews from Europe: Jewish people are a separate nation and nationality that has it own language and religion but did not have a country-they (the Jews) were expelled from their homeland, Judea, by the Romans and had to wonder around various countries in which they were not accepted. They ended up in Europe where they underwent horrendous persecutions because they were seen as an alien tribe that could never be assimilated. They were told to go back to their country repeatedly by the Europeans, as they could never obtain full nationality anywhere in Europe, and were almost completely annihilated. They suffered from anti-Semitism which was hatred against Jews as a racially-ethnic group, a foreign nationality. Europeans hated them and left them no choice but to form a Zionist movement to rebuild their ancient homeland. They started buying land in Palestine but the Arabs would not accept them even though the land was purchased legally. They attacked the Jews. The Arabs were not driven from their land but left it on their own free volition because other Arab countries were urging them to do so, so that they could invade Israel and kill all the Jews living there.
Jews from the Americas (and other immigrant societies): Israel is a place where Israeli people live. People born and raised in Israel are Israelis. It is a place where people can practice Jewish religion in peace. There are two types of Israelis- Arabs and Jews. There are also Arab people in the lands that have to be allotted for Israelis of Jewish faith, but heck, if the Muslim Arabs want to live there and no Arab state should take them, and then maybe there should be a state for them. Israel was built by Russians, Germans and Hungarians and other nationals whose religion was Jewish. They had to go to Israel because they were persecuted in Europe, and many died in the Holocaust because of their religion. Muslims do not like for anyone to practice Jewish religion in that part of the world, so they are attacking Israelis and putting bombs on buses, at markets and other public places. Israel is legal and should stay there because it was recognized by the UN. If they want to give land back for peace, they may; if they don't , they don't have to. It does not concern us too much because we are just Americans and Canadians and we are comfortable living in our countries. Some of us are against Zionism primarily because we see it as something unnecessary as Jews can live well in America, Canada and other countries as their citizens of Jewish faith. Some of us who are truly religious and believe in Zionism sometimes like to go to live in Israel so that we could fulfill our religious aspirations. The rest of us can attend services occasionally but most of us enjoy living in the countries of our birth.
Other Americans: Jews are just a religion. Most are white people. Jews and Arabs have been fighting since the beginning of time (actually, this is not true). Arabs are fanatical Muslims and they hate the West. They hate Americans and they hate anybody who is not Muslim, including the Israelis who are Middle Easterners of Jewish faith. Where do Israelis come from? From Israel, of course. People who were born in Israel are Israelis. America is supporting Israel because we have many Jews in the government and they want to support their own. .That is why Arabs come here and bomb our buildings and kill our civilians. America should support Israel less and take better care of its people at home. Let those people in the Middle East sort it out among themselves.
Europeans (non-British): Jews and Arabs are two Semitic nationalities who cannot get along in some small country called Israel/Palestine or whatever. Palestinians are Arabs, too, but for some reason they want another state near the Jews. They keep killing each other there but it is so far from us, it really does not concern us. Nazis have killed many Jews that is why they went to live in Israel. We guess Jews have to have their country so it is all right for Israel to be there, but, maybe Palestinians should have their country, too.
Jews from Israel: We were born here so we are Israelis. We are surrounded by Arabs who want to kill us all. They hate us because we are smarter than they are and because we are not Arabs or Muslims. Palestinians are Arabs, too. Arabs have twenty-two countries but they are basically are nation. They all belong to one Arab nationality. There is no such thing as a Palestinian nationality or an Egyptian nationality. They are all just Arabs and they want to kill us all. They are crazy fanatics whose only thought is to kill, bomb and maim Israelis or anyone who is not a Muslim. They like building states of their own but having twenty-two states and so much land is not enough for them - they want a twenty-third one on the land of Israel. They are greedy and cruel. We did not take their land. There weren’t any Arabs here before. They keep making babies and these want more land and jobs and other resources. Why can't they go and live with other Arabs? - there is plenty of land out there. They need to ask Saudi Arabia or Jordan for more land. Maybe one day, we can allow them to have a state but they will still want to kill us because they are all just crazy killers- they can't help it- it's their nature.
The British: this is our former colony and it is populated by Jews and some Arabs. Jews used to be a race but now they are a religion only. The people living in our Palestine used to be our colonials but they are now called Israelis. Palestinians are not a proper nationality as they do not have an independent state. So, they are a stateless people without a nationality. Jews in our country are as British as anyone else. The race thing is long gone. Anyway, some Jews from Europe went to Palestine and we let them settle there. We divided our colony into an Arab and Jewish state and then, we left them alone. They started fighting between themselves and they still keep on fighting. All they need to do is divide the land again just as we have told them to do. No wonder they cannot get along- we should have never left the place to begin with. Those bloody w-gs!
Palestinians: We are Palestinians by nationality and we want to have our independent state. Some people who wish us evil say that we are just Arabs. However, there is no such thing as an Arab nationality. Arabs are divided into Egyptians, Syrians, Jordanians, Moroccans, etc. Arabs are a nation in the cultural sense, but different Arab countries have their own nationality. There was a Palestinian nation in the country and we all lived happily and were struggling to become independent from the Turks and the British, until all these weird people from Europe started coming. They were Khawajas- white people. Most were pale and many had blue eyes. They claimed to be Jews- same people that had lived here thousands of years ago. How preposterous! These were just Europeans, actually. They were Western Imperialists that called themselves Zionists who just wanted our land. Then, in 1940ies, huge numbers of new Westerners started coming and taking our land by force. These were just like the British and the French before. New foreign colonialists. The only difference is that the other Europeans were Christians but these Europeans had synagogues. They were of Jewish faith. What right did they have to come to our country and settle? Jews are just a religion, same as Catholics. It is like saying that all Catholics have the right to settle in the area of the Vatican and build a country there. These evil occupiers should go back to their own countries- they should go to Poland and Russia or wherever. It was the British and the Americans who brought them here so that they could have a military presence in our country and exploit the Middle East from here. These people are not Semites. They are Khawajas. What are they doing here? They are not supposed to be here. We will fight until our country is liberated. Well, maybe we can let them keep Tel Aviv and other such small areas, but only because we do not want any trouble with the United States. We need to have our own state just like Egyptians have their own state. We cannot get land from other Arab countries because they do not see us as their nationals. They are Jordanians and the see us as Palestinians. Even if we are born in other Arab countries, it is not easy for us to get citizenship there now. Plus why should we even try? We want to have our own citizenship.
As you can see from the above examples each party has its own, perfectly logical view of the conflict, but each view is severely slanted by each party's own unique cultural perspective. Where is the truth? That is the toughest question of them all.
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