The year was 1945. Europe lay in ruins, shattered by six years of dvastating conflict. World War 2 was the most costly in terms of human lives and monetary damage in the course of human history. At the heart of the tragedy in Europe lay the holocaust, the brain child of the Nazi's final solution to the Jewish question. More than 6 million innocent people lay dead in concentration adn extermination camps across German-occupied Europe. The destruction was so horrible that Europe's Jewish population was nearly wiped out. The prosecutors at Nurmenburg had to come up with new legal terminology to decribe the seemingly endless depths of the evil Nazi atrocities. Thus the term "crimes against humanity" was born.
The remaining Jews in Europe wanted a safe place that they could call their own. The zionist movement was born and thousands of Jews from acoss the world flocked to the newly created state of Israel to find a frest start. America protected this new country and provided it with economic and military assistance until it became a regional superpower, crushing its surrounding Arab enemies in war after war until it was stronger than all its enemies combined. Once external threats had been subdued, Israel turned to domestic problems in its newly conquered territories. Palestinians were the majority in captured ares like Gaza and the West Bank. These areas were policed by the Israeli military with an iron fist. Israeli settlers invaded the area and established homes and cites in territory that was already the home of Arab Palestinians. This led to uprisings called the intifadas adn ultimately to terrorist organizations like the Palestinian Liberation Organization and Hamas that continue to threaten Israeli civilians and disrupt any hopes of establishing a lasting peace in the area.
The obvious answer is a two state solution. The Palestinians were there before the Israelis however neither side is going away. Allowing the Palestinians to govern themselves from a capital in East-Jerusalem is not only fair, but it would make things easier on Israel as well. The occupation and blockade of the Palistinain areas must end immediately. All checkpoints and fences must be taken down, the Palestinians are people, not animals that need to be locked up and controlled like dogs. It is basically then a live and let live situation. Israel stays out of Palestine and Palestine stays out of Israel. It's sort of like OSU and Michigan the week before the big football game. OSU fans in Ann Arbor keep a low profile while Michigan fans in Columbus exist under pain of death. We don't have to like each other, but we also don't fight. And despite all the trash talking and cheers when OSU inevitably wins, it all resets for the next year, with little to no violence occuring.
Its obvious that Israelis and Arabs don't really like each other. But that doesn't mean that justice can't still be served. However some hard-liners in the current Israeli administration are totally against a two state solution. Bibi Netanyahu, the current leader of the majority political party in Israel, has said repeatedly that he does not support a separate and independent Palestinian state. Under his plan the status quo would continue. Militants would keep making terrorist attacks on Jews, the Israeli military would continue to oppress Palestinians, hard line Islamic extremeist would contune to gain a propaganda victory by dispaying this as a broader effort by the Democratic west to launch a crusade on Islam, and there would be no peace in the Middle East.
However there is a second solution that is being seriously considered by some people in Israel. The Meir Kahane Solution calls for the expulsion of all Palestinians from the occupied territories. Not in a friendly way either. This view was first put forth by a late rabbi who lends his name to the proposal. Jews of all people should know the horrors of genocide. How could anyone in good conscience make such a recommendation and be serious about it? I am convinced that this stupid Rabbi has a seat right next to Hitler and Stalin in hell.
source:http://news.yahoo.com/s/uc/20090519/cm_uc_crpbux/op_3310027
So there really are three options for Israel. Genocide, status quo, or moral courage. Moral courage would suggest the obvious, that a two state solution is not only the right thing to do, but from a selfish point of view would be beneficial to Israel in the long run. The Obama administration has committed itself to brokering a lasting peace between the two sides. Israel is going to have to come to the table willing to make some concessions. Otherwise they no longer deserve the American and Nato support that has made them militarily superior to their Arab enemies. I will not accept my tax dollars being used to oppress civilians in an unfair political and ethnically charged battleground. Its time to either put up or shutup. Israel has one more chance to get it right, otherwise more innocents on both sides will die. There blood will be on Netanyahu's hands.
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