"Us and Them"... not the Pink Floyd song

[eumelia]

Maybe it's the fact that I'm the daughter of immigrants.
Maybe it's the fact that I find hypocrisy distasteful.
Maybe it's because I really am *shudder* a statist at heart.

Perhaps this is simply because this is the reality of the situation and no matter how humanist I am in my philosophy, I'm not the one who runs the current socio-political paradigm that creates that huge divide between Israelis and Palestinians.

It's no secret that I sympathize and empathize with Palestinians and Palestinian national self-determination... this is because it is the basic human and civil right of every nation on earth to live in a territory as a home-land. It is what I was taught (and understood) Zionism to be for the Jews; what Zionism actually was and is in praxis is not what I want to write about.

Because of the Zionist movement, Jews did create a home-land in historical Palestine (now Israel and the Palestinian Authority).
The problem is that Israel is a colonial remnant with all the baggage that goes with it.
Israel is different that other colonial remnants, is that it came late in the game and it has now based itself and isn't going anywhere.
Nor do I believe it should.

The history that we all go back to - 1948, 1967, 1987, 2000 etc. It doesn't do any good.
It doesn't matter anymore who started what and when.
Only that we finish it.
By communication, by stopping the usurpation of land, by shifting the status quo even if it pains those involved.
By agreeing, not on a Hudna, but an actual two sided agreement and not a unilateral decision.

It's not in Israel's best interests to keep the people of Gaza under siege and/or attack or keep building settlements in the West Bank. On the other hand it's not in Hamas' best interests to keep bombarding Sderot, the West Negev and beyond, and for Abu-Mazen to start flashing sabers.

Intifada #3 is in no ones interest.

Except the USA.
They get money.

BTW, you can call me naive all you like, but other than what I suggested, there really is only the annihilation of one or both of the Nations in question, which I don't think anyone wants.

Comments

[roga.livejournal.com]

which I don't think anyone wants

Um, I think you meant to insert "rational and calm-headed and of the same mindset as myself" in there :-)

Also, where did this notion that the US wants a third intifada come from? What are you basing that on?

[eumelia.livejournal.com]

lolz... true that :)

Not a #3 Intifada as such, more like keeping the region in turmoil, because when other people are fighting the economy of other countries boom.
Israel buys weapons from the USA... Egypt also gets funds from USA as does Saudi Arabia... you get my drift.
Hopefully the next Prez (whoever that maybe) will shake up the region into stop fighting.
But I'm not optimistic about that.

[roga.livejournal.com]

Well, I know that, I just truly don't think that's the USA's אינטרס in our region. I think they'd much rather have things calm down here, especially given that with Iran up and coming, the mideast situation isn't disconnected from the US itself, and with their troops still in Iraq... I think that real peace here really will have a chance of calming down the entire region.

Besides, Israel will continue "buying" weapons from the US either way. And also, the more wars there are, the more aid money the US gives out to different countries as well (real aid money, not just military). I don't see them as war opportunists... if anything, any president would love to take credit for peace treaties signed during his(/her!) terms.

[eumelia.livejournal.com]

I don't see them as war opportunists...
Their track record works against them on that one.

What I think Israel needs to get is that it can't keep going the Occupation going because we can't keep a people as prisoners, beyond it being highly immoral and unethical, resources and money that would go to education and welfare are being spend on security and making soldiers policemen and jailers.

And what I think the Arab and Muslim nations must realize is that Israel isn't going anywhere and that they may as well create economic ties with Israel so that they can have some kind of security blanket when the oil runs out and they have no more leverage over the West when it comes to oil.

And lastly, the world is much too focused on what Israel does "wrong" and not on the fact that Israel really is surrounded by enemies.
I personally think that the Occupation and siege makes us look like the "Bad Guys" and thus less likely to get any sympathy and/or empathy.

Okay I rambled. Sorry about that.

[hemlock-sholes.livejournal.com]

Why is Israel a colonial remnant?
It was never part of any European Empire, unless you count Turkey.

The USA doesn't gain that much money, most of the money Israel spends on US arms is money that the USA gives to Israel as aid money.

There are three ways of breaking the status-quo.
1. What you said.
2. Protest marches of thousands of Palestinians - buy only women and children. I doubt that even the most ferocious soldiers will use the more extreme forms of crowd dispersal on a crowd which is obviously and blatantly unarmed.
3. Israel invents an alternative fuel. Once Europe no longer needs to pander to Arab oil and Hamas/Hizb. no longer get easy access to funds/weapons, they will be forced to change direction.

[hemlock-sholes.livejournal.com]

two edits:

buy only => but only

fuel => fuel for cars, solar/wind/non-locomotive fuel does not matter