Nomadic Richard's Blog

My good friend, who goes by the alias 'The Cat', advised me not to write this and offend "the choosen people." I cannot not write this. I was working on a post about Somalian Pirates and another about Cricket, but this weekend kind of changed all that and my focus.

I am a fan of the underdog. I love the NCAA basketball tournament each March where almost annually, a small unknown school beats a roster full of future NBA players. I enjoy the world cup in soccer/football when a small team from a smaller country defeats a larger country like Senegal (defeating France) in 2002. In baseball, I root for the Toronto Blue Jays, against the New York Yankees, and for the team with the smaller payroll in the World Series. I can't stand Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal, or Liverpool. I root for the team in England with the most English players on its roster, so this year, I'm a Hull supporter. I root against Brazil in football, Australia in cricket, and New Zealand in rugby. Thus, it's probably natural that I would support the Palestinians against Israel.

If this were a sporting event, I would be supporting the young Hebrew boy, armed with a slingshot who fearlessly walked out into battle against the giant aggressor. In this case, I would be supporting the Palestinians since they use the modern version of the proverbial slingshot against one of the most technologically advanced miltaries in the world. The only problem is that this is not a sporting event. This is real life. These are real people being murdered (over 300 as of this writing). Where is the humanity?

I will freely admit that I have many mixed emotions when it comes to Israel (and to the Palestinian cause to which feelings about Israel are inextricably linked.) First, history shows that during the years leading up to World War II, the United States did nothing to help the plight of Jews in Europe. Ships carrying Jewish refugees were refused entry into US waters and Jews onboard sent back into the clutches of Hitler's maniacal regime. Jewish leaders repeatedly asked military leaders to bomb railroad lines, which the Germans used to transport Jews to their deaths in concentration camps. Had these lines been bombed, which they could have easily been, thousands of lives would have saved. Roosevelt refused. Thus, it was perhaps understandable that American leaders, supported the creation of Israel after World War II. As an American now, probably as a result of a smidgen of collective guilt, I do think that the state of Israel has a right to exist. Secondly, if a people do not have rights to govern themselves, then often they are persecuted. History is fraught with examples of this, which further supports my belief that a Jewish state should exist.

Over the years, I have had one particularly good relationship with a Jewish carpenter (no...not Jesus), who really taught me a lot about life and helped me get to where I am now. For this, I will be eternally greatful. In South Africa, two of my closest friends are Jewish. I love celebrating Jewish holidays with them, just as I now enjoy celebrating Islamic holidays with Muslim friends, particularly now that I reside in the Persian Gulf. This is one side of the coin.

However, as I sat in front of the television this past weekend, watching Al-Jazeera do it

's best to be neutral, and CNN and BBC make no effort to do the same, I was aghast on many levels. Where is the humanity? There is something inherently unfair about attacking buildings and positions with F-16 fighters when the opposition is either unarmed or has mortar rounds and rocket-propelled grenades. Why now? Is this just politics before an Israeli election. Historically, Isreaeli politicians have acted as though bombs exploding in the West Bank and Palestine were euphonious and could help them convince the Israeli public to vote for them. Sadly, they have normally been correct and their policies have won them the plaudits of Israeli voters.

Israeli politicians were repeatedly paraded in front of cameras over the weekend. They were beseeched with questions about why this was happening. Their only explanation for the actions of the government and military was that Hamas started this latest conflagration. This argument is not valid. We can go back to 1948 and engage in a vicious cycle of who started what. In the end, this was started by the dispossession of Palestinians from their land by the Israelis.

Regardless of who began this latest sordid episode, the Israeli reaction is akin to a child being hit with a pebble on a playground and turning around and shooting everyone on the school ground with an uzi. What defines "starting the fight" anyway? There was a 6-month cease fire, which was largely honored by both sides. However, during the past several months, Gaza was cut off by an Israeli blockade. It is arguable as to whether the blockade prevented arms from getting into Gaza but it is quite clear that food, medicine, and essential staples necessary to survive, were cut off. Hospitals have been bombed. Hospitals don't have medicine. An overwhelming percentage of Palestinians living in Gaza receive food aid. This has been cut off. In short, the world has abandoned Gaza.

As I watched this weekend, I remembered why I long ago had a poster of Yasser Arafat in my house and a Palestinian flag hanging next to it. Regardless of the circumstances that led us here, Gaza and the West Bank are occupied territories. They are occupied by an alien invading force. If my country was similarly occupied, I would fight for it with all resources at my disposal. I too, would fight the Israelis.

If one examines George Bush over the past eight years, one can see a microcosm of the Israeli state. After 9/11, Bush had the highest approval ratings in history, the sympathy of the world, and could do whatever he wanted (within reason.) He squandered this in a mis-guided war, obstensibly (according reports on what Condoleza Rice stated at the time) to establish a democracy in the Middle East. More on this in a moment. The Jewish community, post-1945, had the sympathy of the world and leveraged this to establish Israel. This sympathy has been squandered. I cannot sympathize with a nation that drops bombs from F-16s on hospitals. To do so would also be to sympathize with my own leader, who has done the same thing. Morally, I cannot do that. Israel is as wrong as Bush and their actions have only served to radicalize many segments of the populations in Palestine, Iraq, and Afghanistan.

According to reports, Bush's team had different reasons for wanting to invade Iraq. Condoleza Rice wanted to set up a stable democracy in one of the most un-democratic regions in the world. In case nobody understands this, the occupied territories are democratic. Hamas has been elected! Gaza and the West Bank are (with all due respect to Lebanon) the only truly functioning democracies in the Middle East. Israel denies citizens within it's territory the right to vote (since both of the occupied territories are presently within the country of Israel). People do not generally vote for organizations and parties that will lead them to self-annihiliation unless they see no alternative. The fact that Hamas was voted into power illustrates just how desparate the plight of Palestinians in Gaza has become. The West Bank, where things are more stable, has not voted for Hamas. Despite the fact that there are over 600 Israeli Army checkpoints, a wall that encroaches on Palestinian land and divides it's people further, and the daily harassment meted out by the Israeli occupying army, West Bank residents still have hope and have not voted for a radical organization like Hamas. Clearly, Israel has destroyed this hope in Gaza and the people have voted for an alternative. Has nobody posed the question: what caused this to happen?

As a student of African history, the liberation movement that most strongly correlates to the Palestinian cause is the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa. Mandela, Tambo, Govan Mbeki, Steve Biko, Chris Hani, Joe Slovo, etc., were all viewed as terrorists because they were fighting for freedom against an oppressive and sinister force. So too are the Palestinians. The Israeli government has lost it's touch with reality and has completely misprized the will of the people of Gaza to fight on. Furthermore, it has completely lost the ability to think of Palestinians as fellow humans and continues to pursue an otiose and outdated policy bent on beating Gaza into submission. Lastly, it has recklessly murdered over 300 people in 48 hours (35% of whom are women and children). This is very similar to apartheid government policy, which ultimately proved futile.

On another level, the Arab governments in this region have demonstrated that they truly do not care about Palestine. Postponing the Arab League meeting until Wednesday illustrates this. How can the Arab world not issue a cohesive statement for at least five days after something as monstrous as this. These governments are not democratic and do not reflect the will of the people in this region any more than Stalin reflected the will of the Russian people.

One can only hope that the Israeli citizens realize emerge from their chthonic state, realize their mistake, and elect a new government before it is too late and world opinion has seriously weakened the ability of the Israelis to negotiate. This is not the place where I want to place too much faith at this point. This would be similar to placing faith in the white South African electorate between 1948-1994.

The peace process lingers at the edge of a staircase devoid of a balustrade. If it fails, more lives will be lost. The time is now! Free Palestine. End the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza. Remove the Jewish settlements from these areas. Get a solution to the city of Jerusalem. Get a peace deal now before more innocent lives are lost.