Don’t point your finger at the Israelis…
And say how horrible they are until you.…
Look around…It’s likely you live on stolen land.
Where I live in Northern New Mexico, the land was first stolen from the Native Americans by Spanish settlers and, a few centuries later, stolen from the Spanish by Anglo (white American) settlers. Elsewhere, it was the Pilgrims who settled the Northeast or the Scandinavians who settled the Midwest or the endless wagon trains which exterminated the buffalo and took charge of the West.
Everywhere in the United States (and most countries in the world) land has been stolen by whoever was stronger and more forceful at the time. And the acquisition of land was rarely peaceful or just — it was usually bloody and unjust. See the recent film KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON as an example.
The Israelis have more justification for settling on the land in Israel than most because in ancient times, it belonged to the Hebrews (ancestors of the Israelis). The Hebrews were forced out in the first or 2nd century A.D. by the Romans (this forced emigration was called the Diaspora) and the Hebrews, now called Jews, have always longed for a return to this sacred land — or at least they have in their prayers, if not in reality.
Also, numerous Jews were forced out of homes where they’d lived for centuries in Middle Eastern countries (Tunisia, Syria, Jordan, etc.) when Israel was recognized as a country. These refugees were re-settled in the new state of Israel. And that’s not to mention, the unfriendly attitudes of countries like Poland and Hungary when Jews returned to claim their homes, businesses and possessions after WWII and the Holocaust. Those Jews were also rendered homeless — and welcomed in Israel.
Does that justify the Naqba — the forced displacment of Palistinians from their pre-1948 homes in Palestine? No, it doesn’t. But it puts it in historical perspective. And what made that particular displacement much worse is that the surrounding Arab nations did not welcome Palestinian refugees and attempt to assimilate them — they didn’t invite them to create new homes, shops or farms, quite the opposite. Many Palestinians became part of a permanent refugee colony existing tenuously in the West Bank or Gaza.
For years in Israel, there was a vision of a two-state solution and efforts to stem the incursion of West Bank Israeli settlers. Moreover Gaza was entirely evacuated in 2004 by the Israelis who’d once owned farms and factories on that land with the hope that the Gazans could create a viable state there. But since the government of Bibi Netanyahu, this vision has faded and these efforts have gradually ceased. Often, the Palestinians have been (and continue to be) grossly mistreated by the growing number of Israeli settlers. The friction between Israelis, Palestinians and Gazans has increased and increased.
In past times, even recent the recent past, the power struggles between those in power and those wanting power, however, has not been televised or pictured in horrifying detail on social media. It’s appalling to view — the number of deaths are outrageous — no matter who’s responsible for what.
Yet for those Palestinian advocates who self-righteously point their fingers at the Israelis and act as if the Israelis (and they alone) are demonic evil-doers who should be destroyed “from the river to the sea” — look around. Would you be willing to walk out of your house and hand the deed over to the next Native American you see?
I know that isn’t happening where I live. Or anywhere else on the globe that I know about. Even minor attempts at restitution largely fail. Fortunately (or I should say conveniently) for us, the land grabs that benefit us happened a century or several centuries back — un-televised. So we’re sitting pretty, so to speak. Comfortable in our home and land ownership. Think about this when you’re feeling overcome with anger and hatred for Israel — are we truly better than them? Or even very different? Maybe just luckier. ##
