Stop Playing Like Children
Maybe in a perfect world, for some, Arabs would live in Arabia, Jews in Judea, Italians in Italy, and Chinese in China. But that’s not the world in which we live. In the real world, nationalities spread across boundaries long ago, forcing us humans to have to learn to live together and to realize the many characteristics which we share.
The original Zionist dream was to recreate the Kingdom of Israel in the ancient territories of Judea and Samaria, within the region the Romans named Palestine to spite the Jews who refused to meekly adhere to Roman ways. Later maps show the region retained this name and so it was named when the League of Nations granted the British a mandate to create new countries from this section of the former Ottoman empire.
Even though this region was the Kingdom of Israel, ages had passed since, and not all the people living there were going to be Jews. Some, like Mahmoud Abbas, the current unelected president of the Palestinian Authority, came from Syria, whereas Yasir Arafat, his predecessor, came from Egypt. My family traces its roots to an ancient village right in the heart of modern Israel.
The children’s game, “Musical Chairs,” ends when two kids try to sit on the same chair. One winds up bumping the other onto the floor, the loser. This outcome works for children, but adults can do better.
The League of Nations assigned the British the task of carving states out of the Ottoman Empire. The British stuck its World War I ally, the Hashemite family, onto thrones governing Iraq and one ruling over 80% of Palestine. They never resolved what to do with the remaining 20% of Mandatory Palestine, so they threw their hands up in disgust and walked away. Seventy years later, the struggle over this last piece of land -- the last chair -- goes on.
With each generation, this struggle not only leads to violence and death, but it transforms people into monsters. It deprives the world of any potential gifts they may offer. While the struggle provides a livelihood for a few, it impoverishes many more.
How do we make this stop?
I believe the first step is for all the players to understand that for two people to occupy the same chair, both must settle for less than the whole. Both sides must acknowledge the others are not interlopers. Stop with the childish name-calling. This group did not come to colonize, that group did not come to invade. Both sides were here for centuries trying to survive under Ottoman Rule. Both sides increased their numbers during British rule. Both sides suffered incredible hardships during the Second World War and its aftermath. After seventy years, both sides must agree there is no turning back. Abbas is not going back to Syria. Bennet is not going to Russia. Netanyahu is not moving back to Cheltenham (he lived there only during high school.) One day you wake up and that is where you are.
Children do not use politics to settle on who wins a game; adults do. Adults often follow the wishes of the most extreme of their constituencies, the people less likely to compromise, the ones driven by other-worldly concerns. And yet, what do most people want, Arab and Jew, Israeli and Palestinian? Most want the chance to live their lives in peace, to take part in the exciting world of technology and discovery, to learn, to raise their families, and to enjoy life. For these people to move their societies forward, they must have the chance to throw off the yoke of the old hate-filled past. This is where the world community can help:
1. We need the external world to put an end to the teaching of hate in our schools, the preaching of hate in our houses of worship, and the broadcasting of hate in our media. Submit textbooks and curriculum to an unbiased world body. Any society that refuses to do this cut off their money. Stop funding hate.
2. End the internal political dysfunction. Adopt international laws regarding corruption, accounting, justice reform, and elections. Without a free and independent press and judiciary, holding elections alone will not result in democracy. It is time for the international community to ensure the foundations for democracy are put back into place. If not, no money.
3. Hold elections where different voices can be heard and continue to allow those voices to be heard in your parliaments. Build on the strength of your people, for a top-down country has no mandate for doing anything. If you refuse to set a timetable for elections, then no money.
Until all sides respect each other and support the freedom of their people, there will never be peace. There will always be a need for money, so world community, don’t waste the opportunity to make a difference. Enough with the past. Let’s step into the future.