Israel, Palestine, and the path to peace

Let me begin with something radical:

I am both pro-Israel and pro-Palestine. I believe Israeli children and Palestinian children deserve to grow up free from fear of bombardment and terrorism. I believe that both peoples have a right to exist, and a right to self-determination.

If you’re unfamiliar with the conflict, that may not sound radical to you. But for some of those with strong feelings on both sides, what I said above is nothing short of heresy.

From the radically pro-Israel side you have people who want to annex the remaining Palestinian territories in the West Bank and Gaza and displace millions of people. This movement, once fringe, has gained momentum in Israeli society over the past decade or so, especially since Israel unilaterally pulled out of Gaza in 2005, and was rewarded by more conflict and war after the people of Gaza democratically elected Hamas, a group whose charter calls for a genocide of Jews. The resources given by Egyptians and Israelis to rebuild Gaza were instead used to construct different, increasingly perverse ways to kill Israeli civilians. Many Israelis increasingly feel that there is no chance of peace, and are willing to vote for politicians who will do unconscionable things in the name of self-defense.

From the radically pro-Palestine side, you have people who see the Israeli’s as colonialists, who have stolen land that rightfully belongs to the Palestinians. And they’re not just talking about the West Bank and Gaza — they believe Israel in any way, shape, or form in the Middle East has no right to exist at all. They cite the 700,000+ Palestinians displaced during the Nakba in 1948 (conveniently ignoring the 900,000+ Jews who were thrown out of Arab countries around the same time) and say the Israelis should pack up and leave the region entirely. While some people with this viewpoint just think the Israelis should leave, others think they should be massacred.

Both these narratives are troubling in different ways and counter-productive.

For the pro-Israeli radicals, their viewpoint is justified by their desire to keep Jews and Israelis safe. This is not a point that can, or should, be dismissed. Since its inception, there have been multiple attempts to wipe it off the map by countries throughout the Middle East, and nearly every time the Israelis have offered the olive branch they’ve been greeted with violence and vitriol. That doesn’t even consider the facts that global anti-semitism is on the rise, Israel is in a region of the world where their people would be subject to genocide if they didn’t have the IDF to defend them, and Jews have been persecuted for their entire existence. I lost dozens of relatives in the Holocaust, and understand the importance of a bastion for Jews seek refuge if need be. So let me be clear: the existence of Israel as a majority-Jewish state and the ability for her to defend herself must not be compromised.

However, this cannot come at the cost of destroying another people. While, by and large, Israel has shown restraint — especially when you consider what Hamas (and many Palestinians) would do to the Israeli population if the tables were turned—they have also committed some terrible crimes and are increasingly supporting an ultranationalistic far-right government that has no qualms with committing more. Their government is subsidizing settlement building in the West Bank, and just recently forced out a defense minister who cares about holding the IDF accountable for war crimes—only to replace him with a far-right bigot who applauded an Israeli medic who shot a detained and wounded Palestinian terrorist in the head.

If this continues, I, and millions of American Jews, will be unable to support the Jewish State. And Israel cannot afford to lose the support of America.

For the pro-Palestine radicals, their viewpoint is justified by their desire to see justice for the Palestinian people who they believe were forced out by invading colonialists. The history on this is contentious and complicated, but there is no doubt that the Palestinians suffered greatly when the State of Israel was created, and that must be recognized.

The problem with this viewpoint though, even if you subscribe to the colonialist narrative (which, in my opinion, is flawed as both peoples have roots in Israel/Palestine spanning generations), the Israelis aren’t going anywhere. That’s not rhetoric. That’s a practical fact. They have nowhere else to go, and, if faced with expulsion, will fight and kill and die before they leave. This is not French Algeria, where after there was enough violence and bloodshed the French packed up and left. As mentioned above, for many Jews and Israelis, the survival of Israel is an existential issue.

So where does this leave us? At a branch in the road with two choices in front of us.

We can continue debating the specifics of which side wronged the other more, of which side is more responsible for the breakdown of the peace process, of which side has more of a right to the land and to exist. We can continue hurling insults and missiles at one another and continue raising generation after generation steeped in hatred for the other side.

Or, we can take a step back and realize that both peoples have and continue to suffer greatly. We can agree that both people have a right to exist. We can forge a mutual respect for each other and work toward a future where Palestinian and Israeli children don’t have to grow up in a state of perpetual fear and hatred.

The choice is ours.