Once again the U.S. is trying to get a peace settlement between Israel and Palestine. Israel was granted statehood by the League of Nations (which became the U.N.) after World War II which saw the death of more than half the Jewish population of the world. The general region referred to as the Palestine was under British rule at the time. The Palestine has been under many rules, but never has had self rule. Israel had been the home of the Jewish people since the time of Abraham, the father of Judaism, Christianity and of Islam, more than 4,000 years ago. The word Israel is in almost every Jewish prayer. The Jews believe that the land was given to their people by G-d.
The 1948 agreement gave statehood to Israel with the boundaries limiting it to about 8,000 square miles. Israel is surrounded by Arab countries which have approximately 8.6 million square miles (1000 times the size of Israel) in 21 countries with a current population of more than 360 million Arabs. Israel has a current Jewish population of 5.3 million about the same number as those who reside in the U.S. The number of countries with majority Muslim populations including non-Arab countries like Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran and Indonesia, is 47.
When Israel was recognized as a state so were several other countries in the world and in the region. Lebanon, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Libya and Iraq were some of the newly formed and recognized countries created during that time as were Pakistan, Bangladesh, Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia, to name a few. Boundary lines were also moved after World War I in other countries like Hungary, Poland, Germany and Romania and for the entire Middle East after the defeat of the Ottoman Empire.
Now, in 2011, the world has watched the "Arab Spring." Arabs in Northern African countries are revolting against their dictators who have ruled them almost since many of the nations were first created. The Arabs claim that after all these years they want democracy and freedom from oppression. But these same young, brave freedom fighters do not want the same for their own women nor for the Jewish people.
It isn’t enough that this ancient people who have done so much for the world in science, philosophy, art, and literature should be restricted to a mere 8,000 square miles of what had been arid waste land, the reborn Arabs do not want Israel to exist, at all.
And yet, seeing all this some in America side with the Arabs. These people consider the Arabs the underdogs because 63 years ago some Arabs living in Israel were displaced. At the same time Jews living in what became Jordan were also displaced. But they cannot see Israel as the underdog even though it has one 68th the number of people and one 1000th the land mass that the Arabs do.
Some people feel that the Jews should not have a homeland because no country should be religion-oriented. They must concede that Muslims have 47 countries. They say that is wrong too. They must be reminded that the Jews are not only a religion, they are also a people, a nationality like Arabs or Italians or Mexicans. And like all the other nationalities, they deserve a homeland, Israel. The Arab people have 21 homelands, why can’t the Israelites have one the size of New Jersey?
So what is the solution to their situation? Our President and their Prime Minister said it differently, but clearly. Israel must go back to its pre 1967 borders plus swaps to ensure Israeli security. The swaps would be that Israel keeps East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights, which they took in 1967 after all the surrounding Arab nations attacked Israel and were soundly defeated by this small struggling nation. In exchange the Israelis would return the West Bank and all the Israeli settlements there which now accommodate 300,000 Israelis. (They have already returned the Sinai to Egypt and the Gaza to Palestine as prior peace gestures.) Under this plan, Israel with its 6.5 million people (including 1.2 million Arabs) would have 8000 square miles while 4 million Palestinians in the West Bank and the Gaza would have 10,000 square miles or twice as much space per person than Israel would have.
The land in the West bank and homes for 300,000 would be given to the Palestinians who could house the descendants of those Arabs displaced from Israel in the late 1940s. These “refugees” have been mostly kept in refugee camps in neighboring Arab countries for the past 63 years. Refugees, not welcomed and integrated into their new home’s society, for 63 years!
This agreement would end the problem. Everyone involved knows that this is the deal. But the Palestinians are a divided camp. The residents of Gaza given their independence by Israel voted in Hamas to lead them. Hamas is a terrorist organization whose goal is the elimination of the Israeli state. They have now formed a coalition with Fatah, the governing power of the West Bank. Even if Fatah wants to accept this deal, their partner can’t and at the same time say that Israel cannot exist.
I think that it’s high time that we realize who the true underdog is in this drama. It is Israel, the little country, one tenth of one percent the size of its hostile neighbors.
If the Arab states said that they would not longer use any weapons to attack others or even to defend themselves, there would be peace in the Middle East. If Israel said that it would disarm completely and not fight even to defend itself, it would be destroyed in days.
Now who’s the underdog?
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