Israel and Palestine: The World's Hardest Problem
North Star Writers Group
December 31, 2008
By Rob Kall
The blame game has started again.
Hamas fires, in one day, 80 Ketyusha rockets into Israel. Israel responds with massive attacks.
This revenge and retribution has been going on for a very long time, but it is, sadly, not so simple.
Bad leaders on both sides keep it going. The Israeli leadership, in the middle of an election and power struggle, faced two choices – although in a press conference on Tuesday, political considerations were denied. Candidates faced a choice: Either respond as they did, and remain a viable player in the election, or oppose a military response and lose to the hawk, Benjamin Netanyahu.
Hamas leaders knew the Israelis would respond to the firing of 80 Ketyushas into Israel in just one day. Now, we learn that Hamas is benefitting from the Israeli attacks. Polls before this conflict had shown that Hamas was less popular than George W. Bush. Gaza elections were coming up. Hamas needed a popularity booster. What better than to fire scores of missiles at Israel?
The Egyptians told Hamas not to do it. And there were plenty of Israelis who opposed this outrageously non-proportionate attack.
But there are also the Americans and others who suggest that Hamas was justified, in light of the blockade the Israelis had maintained, and besides, these defenders argue, Katyushas don't do much damage, so we shouldn't count them as being – what – deadly? Tell that to the family members mourning the four dead Israelis, killed by Hamas fired rocket bombs. These supporters of the Palestinians see things in black and white – Israelis are bad and evil; Palestinians are poor, helpless victims. The Palestinian people may very well be poor helpless victims, but as one Palestinian suggested to me, when they get exposed to enough of this kind of horror they go crazy. That's why kids strap on bomb vests and become suicide bombers.
I think the leaders of Hamas are as bad as George W. Bush and Dick Cheney and George Custer and the neocons who plot and plan to capture power. The leaders of Hamas knew their rocket firings would produce a strong response from Israel. They fired them fully aware of the deaths that would follow. Then again, Hamas now calls for people to become suicide bombers. They are ready to sacrifice the lives of Palestinians to further their political goals. And it seems to have worked. A growing number of observers now believe that, shall we say, Israel was "punked" by Hamas and that their response actually helped Hamas. And let's not forget that there were definite political power considerations in the Israeli side of this.
I've left out the fact that Egypt and Saudi Arabia don't like Hamas and they sort of signed off on the Israeli response. Egypt even helped block its Gaza border.
The multiplicity of factors proves there are so many layers of influence and complications within the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, it is impossible to tease them apart. That's what makes the conflict the hardest problem in the world. There are many who believe there can be no solution.
If there is one, it would require the major players pulling back and insisting that both sides stop the violence and work out a political solution. It's the only way.
Here's hoping that when Barack Obama takes office, he'll work more closely, through Hillary Clinton, with the region, and that he'll pay attention to not only AIPAC, Israel's top advocacy PAC, but also to J-street, the new, progressive Jewish PAC, which calls for less violence and a political solution. George W. Bush curried the favor of a small minority of Jews, mostly the Orthodox, who liked his hands-off approach. I think this was very bad for Israel and the Jews worldwide. Israel took many more extreme actions that engendered the enmity and hatred from much of the Arab world
Israel needs tough love – strong, firm guidance from the U.S. – which drastically cuts back on the abuse of the Palestinians. They need more of a Three Cups of Tea approach – helping them with education and health care. They need to work with Israelis who are not toxic bigots and haters like the settlers who break Israeli laws. The U.S. should put its foot down on further settlement by fundamentalist extremists in Israel.
The only way the Israeli and Palestinian people have a shot at peace is for outsiders to put pressure on both sides to make it happen and to stop the violence. It can be done. It will take time. There will be times when progress made slides backward. But violence is not the answer. The answer lies in the direction of Ghandi and Martin Luther King. Anything else is simply incontinent emotional or political impulse. The world needs to come together to find a better way.
2008 North Star Writers Group. May not be republished without permission.
The blame game has started again.
Hamas fires, in one day, 80 Ketyusha rockets into Israel. Israel responds with massive attacks.
This revenge and retribution has been going on for a very long time, but it is, sadly, not so simple.
Bad leaders on both sides keep it going. The Israeli leadership, in the middle of an election and power struggle, faced two choices – although in a press conference on Tuesday, political considerations were denied. Candidates faced a choice: Either respond as they did, and remain a viable player in the election, or oppose a military response and lose to the hawk, Benjamin Netanyahu.
Hamas leaders knew the Israelis would respond to the firing of 80 Ketyushas into Israel in just one day. Now, we learn that Hamas is benefitting from the Israeli attacks. Polls before this conflict had shown that Hamas was less popular than George W. Bush. Gaza elections were coming up. Hamas needed a popularity booster. What better than to fire scores of missiles at Israel?
The Egyptians told Hamas not to do it. And there were plenty of Israelis who opposed this outrageously non-proportionate attack.
But there are also the Americans and others who suggest that Hamas was justified, in light of the blockade the Israelis had maintained, and besides, these defenders argue, Katyushas don't do much damage, so we shouldn't count them as being – what – deadly? Tell that to the family members mourning the four dead Israelis, killed by Hamas fired rocket bombs. These supporters of the Palestinians see things in black and white – Israelis are bad and evil; Palestinians are poor, helpless victims. The Palestinian people may very well be poor helpless victims, but as one Palestinian suggested to me, when they get exposed to enough of this kind of horror they go crazy. That's why kids strap on bomb vests and become suicide bombers.
I think the leaders of Hamas are as bad as George W. Bush and Dick Cheney and George Custer and the neocons who plot and plan to capture power. The leaders of Hamas knew their rocket firings would produce a strong response from Israel. They fired them fully aware of the deaths that would follow. Then again, Hamas now calls for people to become suicide bombers. They are ready to sacrifice the lives of Palestinians to further their political goals. And it seems to have worked. A growing number of observers now believe that, shall we say, Israel was "punked" by Hamas and that their response actually helped Hamas. And let's not forget that there were definite political power considerations in the Israeli side of this.
I've left out the fact that Egypt and Saudi Arabia don't like Hamas and they sort of signed off on the Israeli response. Egypt even helped block its Gaza border.
The multiplicity of factors proves there are so many layers of influence and complications within the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, it is impossible to tease them apart. That's what makes the conflict the hardest problem in the world. There are many who believe there can be no solution.
If there is one, it would require the major players pulling back and insisting that both sides stop the violence and work out a political solution. It's the only way.
Here's hoping that when Barack Obama takes office, he'll work more closely, through Hillary Clinton, with the region, and that he'll pay attention to not only AIPAC, Israel's top advocacy PAC, but also to J-street, the new, progressive Jewish PAC, which calls for less violence and a political solution. George W. Bush curried the favor of a small minority of Jews, mostly the Orthodox, who liked his hands-off approach. I think this was very bad for Israel and the Jews worldwide. Israel took many more extreme actions that engendered the enmity and hatred from much of the Arab world
Israel needs tough love – strong, firm guidance from the U.S. – which drastically cuts back on the abuse of the Palestinians. They need more of a Three Cups of Tea approach – helping them with education and health care. They need to work with Israelis who are not toxic bigots and haters like the settlers who break Israeli laws. The U.S. should put its foot down on further settlement by fundamentalist extremists in Israel.
The only way the Israeli and Palestinian people have a shot at peace is for outsiders to put pressure on both sides to make it happen and to stop the violence. It can be done. It will take time. There will be times when progress made slides backward. But violence is not the answer. The answer lies in the direction of Ghandi and Martin Luther King. Anything else is simply incontinent emotional or political impulse. The world needs to come together to find a better way.
2008 North Star Writers Group. May not be republished without permission.
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