Conflict
When I review the history of the Palestinian Israeli Conflict, I see aspects of it that, I believe, have been swept under the carpet by doctors of spin from distant places. The first thing I see is that this conflict is nothing new. It has been brewing, simmering, burning and exploding for several thousand years.
It is not the direct result of the actions of any one person. It started about the time that the first books of the Bible were being written and was pushed in various ways for various reasons, more recently by the Ottomans, Faisal, Balfour, T.E. Lawrence, and the League of Nations and the United Nations.
It is the result of an accretion of cultures, crowded and confused by dogmatic religions and some dogmatic religious leaders. Differing languages and the very meanings of words exasperate an already explosive atmosphere.
The second thing I see, is that modern warfare calls for high level technology and it is very costly. It costs far more to kill a person today than it did 500 years or even 100 years ago. So now technology and money from people in distant places can keep a battle going long after the contestants are exhausted and broke and ready to call it quits.
I don’t know who is right and who is wrong. I don’t favor one side or the other. I do regret the loss of life, the suffering and the cruelty. I fear the possibility that the conflict might spread. So what should I, and like minded people who are not living right there, do? I would start by following the money.
Anyone elsewhere in the world who wants to stop the conflict should stop supporting the warring parties. This is the fuel that supports the fire. Witness the various jihads and crusades that drew technology and money and foreign fighters for a thousand years. Without the help and encouragement of people from elsewhere, this bloody conflict cannot afford to proceed. What is going on in Palestine and Israel will grind to a halt if it is not supported by enablers from elsewhere. If both sides are deprived of funding to fight a modern war, they will have to reach an accommodation – or at worst case be limited to stones and sling shots.
One successful, howbeit slow step, which I witnessed in Thailand and in Kerala, South India is to educate all the children of all faiths in the same school. Another would be to teach only one language at school. This is an ancient conflict. I believe there is no quick fix.
M F Roberts