Back in the late 19th century European Jews sought a homeland to call their own. The obvious choice was Palestine with their historical ties to the Levant dating back the End of the Exodus and an existing community of 10,000 in Jerusalem and three other cities. By 1918 the Jewish population in Palestine had expanded to 70,000 versus 320000 Muslims. Arab ownership amounted to 94% of Land.
The collapse of the Ottoman Empire allowed Britain and France to redraw the Middle East without regard to previous provincial boundaries. Straight lines defined the borders of the new nations. Not so Palestine which the British ruled under a mandate as the French oversaw Syria, whose frontier with Iraq ran as straight as a crow’s flight.
Seeking to end the Diaspora Jews from Europe emigrated to their ancient kingdom in hopes of creating a homeland far from the eternal programs and antisemitism of Christians.
Jews migrated everywhere. Mostly to the Americas, but for better or worse many stayed where they were. It was home for a landless tribe.
The Holocaust visited on the Ashkenazi by the Third Reich reinforced that reality that the Jewish people were not safe in foreign countries and in 1948 the United Nations voted to create Israel, giving the Jews 60% of the land.
Over the next seventy-five years Israel practiced apartheid tactics to evict the original inhabitants from their traditional homes citing the millenia old Bible as their lease to a kingdom extinct for nearly two thousand years.
Last week Hamas said enough and struck Israel without warning from their highly vaulted Mossad and multi-million dollar security systems. Hamas launched thousands of missiles at settlements and cities across the Jewish state and over 15,000 fighters easily breached the border wall to spread death to settlers and soldiers across the desert as if this was their Tet Offensive. More like the Mongol Horde. No one was spared. Not soldiers. Not civilians nor men, women or children. The dead number over 1400 with thousands wounded, and hundreds taken hostages. The IDF was nowhere, Shin Bet having trained conscripts to be an army of occupation instead of soldiers.
The assault was finally stemmed three days later. The attackers fought to the last bullet. There were no prisoners. Hamas had nothing to lose.
Stunned Neyhayahu promised retaliation and Israel has ruthlessly adopted the Nazi tactic of leveling the Warsaw Ghetto or the push them into the sea strategy.
The world awaits worse. Young Israeli soldiers are amassing outside of Gaza. War seems to be the only course between two people who no longer believe in peace. The West Bank is also under assault by the IDF. The Two-State Plan is dead. It always has been an illusion.
There is only one sane course.
It is not war.
It is peace.
Peace between two people who don’t speak.
Who believe extermination as the only answer, but the next step to peace will be a peace convoy from Jerusalem and Gaza to act as a human shield from Armageddon, but like Hamas the vast majority of Jews see red and I can’t blame them, but fighting in Gaza could become Israel’s Stalingrad. I hope for peace.
As Winston Churchill said, “It’s better to jaw jaw than war war.”