First I apologize for the length of this post Second if you dont like political discussion on facebook ignore it. I dont often get political on facebook because really facebook is for stuff like talking about how awesome The Cardinals are, making funny comments and sharing pictures. For the most part it is an escape, butover the last few weeks I have seen many many friends posting pictures, articles, political cartoons, etc. about the ongoing violence in Israel. (I have seen friends/family posting on both sides of this conflict too.) Many feel the media is bias and isnt giving a fair shake to one side or the other. I have news for you the media has always been and will always be biased and skewed thats because the media is created by people and people are by their very nature not completely impartial. We all have preconceived notions that influence how we see the world and in turn how we do our jobs. This is true for the people in the media as well, although many do make a good faith effort to put their bias aside it is often a fools errand. I realize people make these posts to inform and to some degree educate, but really they dont do much of either. They get people who agree with you to nod and agree they get people who disagree to lash out/unfriend/or make one sided posts of their own. So what is the truth of the matter? Who is in the right and who is in the wrong? Is there even a right and wrong? Children are being bombed? Surely this cannot be right? Who are the bad guys and who are the good guys? Unfortunately this isnt Hollywood so the bad guy/good guy line is quite blurred. It is important however to understand the history of the situation before even beginning to figure out where we are at today and what if anything can be done to remedy the matter. Below are two links that help explain the history and for the most part stick to the facts. Here is a brief synopsis. The history of Jewish people obviously dates back thousands of years, but the Nation of Israel came about in 1948. The Jews who live in israel many thousands of years ago had been displaced and were a small minority in the land in the early 20th century. The land that is today Israel has been under the control of many groups (Byzantine, Ottoman, British, etc) In early 20th century it was a British controlled land known as Palestine with about a 90% Arab population. It was never an independent nation of Palestine, but after WWI was controlled by the British who referred to it as Palestine. Since the late 19th century Jews in a movement known as Zionism had been pushing for a Jewish State. After WWII the British decided to allow the UN to decide on a resolution. It was decided by the UN that seperate Jewish and Palestinian states would be created. This was a decision accepted by many Jews but rejected by much of the Arab community. The borders of these two states were going to be determined by the UN. The Jews for the most part accepted this but there was disagreement, further the threat of violence by their new Arab neighbors led many to declare should a war erupt and land be taken over that the land would become part of Israel. Originally by the Jerusalem was outside of the new Jewish state (To be named Israel). This was all taking place in 1947-48. Upon the declaration of a Jewish state a war commenced between neighboring Arabs and their new Jewish neighbors. In the meantime around 700,000 Jews moved to Israel in the 3 years following the creating. The UN and the US both recognized and financially supported the new country of Israel as young democracy in the middle of a region of the world where democracy did not exist. While 700,000 Jews moved in many Arabs fled, and how or why is a source of much contention. Some were forcibly removed, others opted to flee, and of course with the violence happening some were killed. Either way the Arab population shrank and the new nation fo israel proved a mighty force especially with the help of the Western World (Mainly the US). Jerusalem was claimed first as a part of Israel as a result of the Arab-Israeli wars of 1948. The 50s and early 60s were for the most part a peaceful time for Israel and a period of growth. A strong army was raised with mandatory service of all citizens. There were attacks but no major military conflicts at least like had been seen in the early days, but tensions existed and nothing was done to quell those. Many in the Israel community disputed the right of Israel to exist and many felt the new nation should be invaded and dismantled. In the mid 60s a group known as the PLO (Palestinian Liberation Organization) came into existence. There goal was the liberation of lands they considered Palestinian territory through armed conflict. At its onset the PLO did not recognize the right of Israel to even exist, and felt all lands occupied by Israel should become the nation of Palestine. In 1967 tensions boiled over into what is known as The Six Days War. Israel won a decisive victory over its attacking neighbors and took control of the land we know as The Gaza Strip, The West Bank, The Golan Heights, and even the Sinai Peninsula. Of course after capturing these lands it only increased the tensions that existed and 6 years later another major military conflict ensued the 1973 War also known as The Yom Kippur War. Again Israel won a decisive victory. Over the years the disputed lands won in the 6 days war have been a source of even more contention and the growing Palestinian Liberation Movement. gained momentum. In the late 70s President Jimmy Carter initiated the Camp David Accords between Israel and Egypt. Left out of the conversation were the UN and any representation for the Palestinian people. As such while the accords settled some dispute between Israel/Egypt (Sinai went back to Egypt). It did little to quell the tension between Israel and many of its Arab neighbors. Tensions grew and in the late 80s a group emerged out of the existing Muslim Brotherhood organization. That group was known as Hamas and it led a series of revolts or uprising in Israeli controlled lands that 40 years earlier had been intended as part of a Palestinian state but were over the years controlled by Israel. Some refer to these as occupied territories others feel the land should be considered Israeli soil as it was taken over in a series of armed conflicts (This is how many countries by the way have increased their borders over the years). By the early 90s Hamas had grown in might and the PLO had softened its stance at least publicly on Israel. In the early 90s the PLO actually recognized the right of the state of Israel to exist. This was a major step and led to a memorable White House Handshake between Yitzhak Rabin and Yassir Arafat. Peace looked possible, but many extremists on both sides feared what the other side would do if any concessions were made. Hamas became increasingly violent (Bus bombings and other attacks became almost routine.) Rabin was assassinated (By an extremist Jew by the way) and the road to peace became muddled. In 2000 a peace agreement was nearly reached between Israeli Prime Minister at the time Ehud Barak and Arafat. In the agreement a Palestinian state would be created out of much of the disputed territory in the West Bank and Gaza strip and about 3/4 of the old city of Jerusalem would be under Palestinian control, but the rest of the city would remain Israeli. Arafat turned down this deal. Attacks continued and 9/11 happened war in Iraq/Afghanistan distracted us from much of the violence of the Arab/Israeli conflict. Today no resolution has been reached and the conflict is raging out of control. This latest conflict started when 3 Israeli boys were hitchhiking and got picked up by the wrong people. They were kidnapped and killed. In retaliation an Arab boy was slain by Israelis. Hamas launched a series of attack against Israel and Israel fired back. Israel has an excellent missile defense system that has allowed it to fend off about 90% of the Hamas missiles before they hit their target. The Palestinians do not have such a system and as such they suffer the brunt of the damage. Im not sure where it will go or how it will be resolved, but I have a lot of family in Israel and I wish them well. Sigal Ron JoAnn Cahnmann Hertshten James Revital Frydman Dina Rovner Hadid Jacob Max The nation of Israel was I also know many people here with strong views on the issue and encourage a healthy debate. I dont like the political cartoons that boil this down to simple little quips because it is so much more than that. Linda Napikoski Andrew Bard Epstein Rebecca Simon Chris Lipe Benjamin Bloom and anybody else feel free to chime in with thoughts. huffingtonpost.co.uk/dave-cohen/israel-palestine-gaza_b_2169928.html historyguy/israeli-palestinian_conflict.html#.U8QJdrHrw1I
Posted on: Mon, 14 Jul 2014 17:49:49 +0000
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