The Nation of Abraham

Begin here: What do Israelis and Palestinians have in common? They both want to exist in peace as a sovereign nation. Easy to say, difficult to accomplish, but absolutely necessary for world-wide economic, religious, and political stability

It is far easier to describe how they are different and why they are antagonists. Palestine was once part of the British Mandate, instituted in 1916 as part of the Sykes-Picot Agreement. Sykes-Picot was a secret understanding between Great Britain and France, with consultations with Russia, for the dismemberment of the Ottoman Empire after World War I. That empire, now known as the Middle East from the Mediterranean to the Persian Gulf, was carved up by the British and the French to gain control of ports and trading rights. They also held power over the settling of boundaries of new Arab states. Although some Arab leaders became rulers of what were to become Iraq, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia, others in the region found this agreement an arrogant abrogation of their rights. They resented European hegemony in their own countries.

In 1922 the British split its mandate into two parts. Everything west of the Jordan River was Palestine; to the east was TransJordan.

Then came November 29, 1947, when United Nation Resolution 181 called for the division of Palestine into a Jewish State and an Arab State. At that time, Palestine, which was controlled by the British, had a population of about 1, 237,000 Arabs and about 608,000 Jews. Resolution 181 mandated that the Jewish State would cover 56.47% of Palestine; and the Arab State, 43.53%. Jerusalem would become an international trusteeship.

The UN also proposed a five-country commission which comprised Bolivia, Denmark, Panama, the Philippines, and Czechoslovakia. The commission was in charge of the administration of the regions evacuated by the British. It was also charged with establishing the borders of the two states and with setting up a provisional council of government in each country.

David Ben Gurion, the first Israeli Prime Minister, opposed the plan, because Israel wanted the Jewish state to take over the entire territory of the British mandate in Palestine. The Palestinians claimed that the plan was yet another European affront to their rights, because they were the majority population in the region. The claim was not unjustified, for the UN at that time was Euro-centric; two of the five commission members were European, as were four out of the five UN Security Council’s permanent members. Three of those, Great Britain, France, and USSR had started all this with their Sykes-Picot Agreement.

The Resolution was carried out in 1948. The borders of Israel were established, but the partition left Palestinians without a country, and inter-tribal hatreds kept them from getting one. (In his history, Revolt in the Desert, T. E. Lawrence mentions 20 clans and 16 tribes in the region.) King Hussein barred from Jordan all Palestinians who were not Hashemite. Israel could have allowed Palestinians to become citizens, but they kept them out, even those who had lived in those areas before Israel was established.

To send the Jews back to Europe, Palestinians raised volunteer armies to destroy Israel, and failed. The UAR, under Gamel Nasser, attacked Israel and was soundly defeated. Jordan attacked and was defeated. Meanwhile, Israel’s population grew from large scale immigrations of not only European refugees whose homes had been destroyed by World War II, but others who wished to live in a Jewish homeland. Israeli settlements began to spring up in territories recognized as Palestinian land but occupied by Israeli soldiers. More bloodshed on both sides.

Intelligent and well-informed friends of mine maintain that anti-Semitism is at the heart of the attacks on Israel. Certainly, when Israel was created, Europe was anti-Semitic, and large numbers of Europeans and Americans still are. There were anti-Jewish feelings in many parts of the Middle East before World War II, but Jews had always been an important part of the populations of Jerusalem, Baghdad, Damascus, and other important Arab cities. They had lived in these cities for centuries, and they had thrived.

Nevertheless, Palestinians attacked Israelis, and Israelis retaliated against Palestinians who, in turn, retaliated against Israelis. Innocent Israelis and innocent Palestinians have been killed since the founding of Israel, and they will continue to do so as long they believe that retaliation solves all international problems. Retaliation comes from a self-righteous, they-hit-us-first politics, which began in this region with the founding of Israel in 1948, not in the Middle Ages.

Adding to the conflict are American Christian evangelicals and fundamentalists who support Israel financially and politically. They also pray and preach that Israel will win and destroy Palestinian Muslims. These Christians believe that 14,000 days after Jerusalem returns to the total control of the Jews, Jesus will return to Earth. Then all born-again Christians will ascend to Paradise, and Jesus will judge—harshly judge—all those people who are not born-again. Ironically, this includes the Jews and the Muslims who are doing the fighting and dying. In blunter, but no less accurate, language, these Christians hope that Israelis wipe out all Palestinians so that righteous born-again Evangelicals can go to Heaven.

Both Palestinians and Israelis believe that God is on their side, which is why both sides refuse to compromise. And both sides use God as the instrument of recruitment for their armies and militias. But I believe that behind the religious fanaticism and prejudice is a strong nationalism that use religion as a propaganda tool. Hamas, which was founded in 1987, and Hezbollah, a Lebanese organization founded in 1985, are not copying Nazis; they are trying to destroy the nation of Israel so they can take the land and start their own country.

Recently, Jeffrey Goldberg reported in an op-ed piece for The New York Times (January 14, 2009), "Hamas and Hezbollah also share the view that the solution for Palestine lies in Europe. A spokesman for Hezbollah, Hassan Izzedine, once told me that the Jews who survive the Muslim 'liberation' of Palestine "can go back to Germany, or wherever they came from.' "

Israelis, quite rightfully, are not going to return to Germany, Russia, or any other place in Europe, America, Africa, and Asia. Palestinians, quite rightfully, want a homeland. Both believe that they will achieve success by continuing the very actions that have proven, time and again, to be futile. How do they stop killing each other and get what they want?

As I see it, Palestinians and Israelis have so much in common that they should join together in a new nation called The Nation of Abraham. Both Jews and Muslims are descended from the same prophet. Both Jews and Muslims have suffered from the arrogance of prejudiced occupiers, and both have shown strength and determination in the face of their enemies. Both have shown a love of family. Israelis and Palestinians have too. Their shared values and experiences could provide the glue that would bind them together into a peaceful and prosperous country.

The constitution of The Nation of Abraham would recognize its citizens’ right to their own religious practices, as long as they did not interfere with the rights of other citizens. It would recognize all citizens’ rights to own property, live where they want, run for political office, vote for the candidates of their choice, attend schools, and practice all the other freedoms that democracies have to offer.

Together they would form a new national assembly, representing the populations of the various regions. Together, they would learn the art of negotiation and compromise for their mutual benefit. Together they would pass laws that benefit all citizens, not just one religious group or political interest. Together, they would do business with one another, and their goods and services would compete in the world market place. Together they would create a tax base to build schools and hospitals, which are far cheaper to maintain than armies and militias. Together, to protect themselves from their enemies, they would form a military service of formidable skill and courage. Together, they would form a reconciliation commission to air grievances and begin the healing process. Together, they would show the world a practical way out of the morass that their current antagonism has created.

Did I say practical? Yes. Despite the emotional satisfactions it affords, hatred is most un-practical. Which would Israelis and Palestinians actually prefer? Implacable enemies or a stable market for their goods and services? Bomb shelters and burning tires in disease-ridden slums or peaceful streets in prosperous neighborhoods? Children being trained for suicide-bomb attacks or schoolkids playing soccer?

There will always be different religions and religious differences, but they do not have to cause wars. Jews will never be able to become Muslims. Muslims will never be able to become Jews. However, in The Nation of Abraham they can become countrymen and, hopefully, friends.

Eyeless in Gaza: The March of Folly II

Ask for this great deliverer now, and find him
Eyeless in Gaza at the mill
with slaves ……
O impotence of mind in body strong!
But what is strength
without a double share
Of wisdom…
John Milton, Samson Agonistes, 1671

Like Samson, deliverers in Gaza have little wisdom and no vision. Both Israel and Hamas knew that they would retaliate against one another if attacked or limited in any way. Thus, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert knew that when he stopped all shipments of food and medical supplies into Gaza, Hamas would react violently. Khaled Meshal, leader of Hamas, knew that when he ordered rockets fired into Israel, Gaza would be invaded. Both knew that civilians would be killed.

They also knew that the news media would be flooded with images of bloody corpses and overworked paramedics in underequipped hospitals. Which would be followed by pictures of wailing mourners at funerals and protests outside embassies. Then Israelis shouting "This is total war!" followed by videos of masked militiamen and women shouting "We welcome Jew-invaders to Gaza with death!" Then a UN statement, acknowledging a nation’s right to defend itself, yet condemning both sides for their reckless attacks.

This is followed by Israelis condemning Hamas for its smuggling arms and rockets into Gaza though tunnels whose southern terminus is in Egypt. Which is followed by Palestinians slapping their chests and waving infants’ corpses above their heads like battle flags. Then interviews with Israeli and Arab moderates calling for a cease fire. Then more Hamas rocket attacks from Gaza, then Israeli airstrikes, and finally an Israeli invasion of Gaza.

Followed by other spokespersons for various groups restating the accusations which simply restate the banal words, "They started it." Political leaders acting like kids who tell their parents, "Well he hit me first!"

By now adults would have asked Hamas, "Instead of arms and rockets, why didn’t you smuggle food and medical supplies into Gaza through those tunnels?" They would have asked Israel, "Why didn’t you call on Egypt to block the smuggling of arms from Sinai, which is the southern terminus of the tunnels?"

Adults would have also asked the Bush administration, "If Israel is our major ally in the Middle East, why don’t you obtain permission to send troops into Sinai to close down the tunnel?" They also would have asked, "Why don’t Israel and the US ship food and medicine into Gaza?"

No one, particularly the leaders of Hamas, Israel, and the US, asked these questions because they are politicians who seek power, not the resolution of conflict. The energizer of power is hate, which is easier to achieve than respect. The leaders tell us to hate the enemy, the enemy’s religion and culture. They want us to ignore the enemy’s needs, and ignore the enemy’s accomplishments. We can shoot, stab or bomb our enemy easily, if we know nothing except that the enemy is the enemy. As Orwell put it, "Ignorance is strength."

As a result, Hamas, Israel and the US do not care about food and medicine, because they do not care about the health and welfare of the people in Gaza. They seek control over the land that is a vital strategic interest in the international game of hegemony. Israel and Hamas each want the other to yield to their demands, and the US wants to control the winner of the conflict. Do the Israeli leaders believe that by killing members of Hamas, they will attract the love of the Palestinian people? Do Hamas leaders believe that rocket attacks will force Israel to relent and give Palestinians everything they want? Do Americans believe that they can gain control the Middle East? Yes, they do. And they are all wrong.

Time for more adult questions: Why doesn’t the government of Israel grant all Palestinians full citizenship of Israel with all rights and privileges of other Israelis? The reasons for not doing so are founded on the childish principle: "They hit us first."

Why don’t Israeli and Palestinian businessmen form partnerships and build factories to make products that will bring economic well-being to the region. They won’t because, "They (the other) hit us first."

Will it eliminate the hatred between Jewish and Islamic citizens and turn them into peace-loving citizens ready to live in harmony with their fellow Israelis? Not immediately. But eventually, businessmen learn they need each other to make profits and compete in the world market. Parents learn that watching their children play on the same soccer team is better than training them to be suicide bombers.

We know that Samson did not regain his sight, but we can hope that wisdom among Israelis and Palestinians grows before their blindness pulls down the pillars of life.