For anyone hungry for a solution; one must walk a mile in the other’s shoes to see the world through their eyes. Only then will something, a spark with the faintest glow of resemblance to a solution, begin to manifest.
I will present a singular historic timeline, however I will proceed to tell each part of the timeline from the other side’s shoes, perhaps so in the process as a reader you will be inspired to think up how to get to peace. I’ve purposely omitted religious viewpoints supporting each sides’ claim to the land, because that’s just a rabbit-hole with no winner and no peace. Maybe such plain nihilism is justified and appears the only way in the minds of extremist camps in both sides, but we should be better.
It’s the early 1900’s. Jews fleeing the wars in Europe become the subject of anti-colonial sentiment in the eyes of their fellow settler Arabs. Small conflicts start forming until the Arabs finally (according to the Jewish recounting of events) decide to leave their homes to go to the territories free of Jews, i.e. Gaza, East Jerusalem.. to await the fate of the Arab-Israeli war. Later some of these Arabs seek asylum back in what is now Israel, but with borders closed and no way of knowing friendly Arab-settler from covert enemy spy, many Palestinians who want to return are estranged and cannot go back to their original lands.
This is how it all starts.
Now, recounting history as it unfolds from an Arab perspective. The Israelis who appear as post-colonial colonialists decide that isn’t enough, they proceed to put enmity between the Palestinian refugees in Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem. How? By destabilizing any political gatherings such as the PLO, Hamas, which later becomes more violent prone. Now finally the Palestinians are united, but not in peaceful pursuit of coexistence, but in mutual desire for total Israeli destruction. The Lebanese, Iraqis — now Iranian regime shares their plight, which means the Quds prayers are answered in the form of a King Saladin, leader of a Modern Jihadi movement, but who has abandoned monarchial elements, stripping him of his class division, embracing an almost Leninist style of rule with the face of a Pope, now enters the age of the Ayatollahs — created through the pursuit of freedom against the US puppet-leader, the Shah, which they thought they’d use against the very own people of Iran. Here are two peoples, Iranians and Palestinians, the last who have successfully stood up to the West — or should I more correctly say the two most advanced and powerful nations in the West. Victory seems eminent especially if God wills it.
I’ll continue from a Jewish perspective. But does God really will it? That you should fight never-ending wars of attrition? To wear us down you’ll have to wait until you are many more in number perhaps in Europe where most of our allies might have the resources to undermine our strength, or control the Democratic process in the American courts. But we have more money and power in terms of lobbying groups. The Saudis are beginning to learn our strategies and are slowly applying pressure on the U.S. to pit them against us, like we did to pit the Americans against the Quds, but we still have the upperhand in terms of our aerial defenses and unswerving military might. Our will is ultimately our biggest weapon. We will do anything to survive, attack whomever to ensure our destruction is delayed for as long as possibly can, and though we may not wage wars out in the open with nations like Iran, we will find a way to utterly destabilize their leadership, one chess-move at a time.
God will never will the destruction of a people whose only crime is wanting to exist.
Palestinian perspective. Existence at what cost? That those of us born this side of the wall should suffer to pay the price for your Jewish homeland? Or are we not people too, who should exercise the same rights you enjoy?
The Jew would probably not know what to answer here, because a part of every human being feels sorry for those “most” affected by wars, and in this case that happens to be the Palestinians trapped in fights engaged between the IDF and Hamas, not unlike how the whole world felt the plight of the millions of Jews trapped during the second World War.
There isn’t a right and wrong answer to the conflict. If everyone were to strive towards peace we’d get there, but that also means removing extreme elements from each side. Elements such as IDF units killing Palestinians who are already captured for “fun,” and elements such as Palestinians ready to blow up school buses packed with Jewish children who know nothing of the war, in the name of peace. The less we give the enemy reasons to continue the conflict longer, the faster we’ll arrive to peace, the only price to pay will be how much self-control we can exercise so as not to give in to hate when we clearly have the upper hand in an attack. To choose not to kill when killing is within reach, and to avoid ever touching the innocent.
I figure for Israel this would be hardest cause they have the upper hand in alot of things, such as dronestrikes, where civilian casualties are an unfortunate consequence. The Palestinians resort to guerilla-styled warfare much like did the Vietnamese in successful coordinated attacks against the Americans at one point. It can be very brutal, so ultimately I guess my message though intended to whomever has the upperhand, is a message to both parties, that love need only be exercised three times in your life, when you’re born and as a baby you choose to love unconsciously whomever is available to receive it, when you’re old when you are making peace with all humankind before you die, but most importantly when holding a trigger with your enemy in sights and you have the power to give and take life. Learning to exercise it before it is too late will not only clear a bloody conscience and a generational bloodthirst, but will open one’s way of understanding to come into terms with the fact that perhaps war is not the only way to peace. To the defense of both sides, there are people in both camps actively working towards peace, who want nothing but to end the war once and for all. There are Palestinians who are Combatants For Peace, and Israelis who are Tomorrow’s Women [and men].
I believe very strongly that to change the deep-ingrained mindsets of extremism is possible on both sides in our lifetime. I use the words Arab, Jew and Palestinian not to pit the two against the one, for there are such things as Israeli Palestinian Arabs, and such things as Palestinian Jews too.
This analysis is naive at its best so any supplementary material you know of or can find will be great! Feel free to leave it all in the comments section so we can share our ideas of what true peace and unity would look like from a world where Israeli Hasidic Jews and Palestinian Hamas members can live without hating each other.
