The Only Way to End the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
Since, contrary to the conventional wisdom, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is not really about land but essentially about tribalistic religious discrimination and hatred deriving from the Old Testament and the Koran, the only way to end the conflict is to discard religious taboos and directly address the fundamental problem of the holy books of monotheism.
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is at its heart a war of Islam against Israel’s very existence and its attachment to a biblical promise regarding ancient Judea and Samaria. The conflict has been exacerbated in recent years by Israeli settlers strictly adhering to that biblical promise by occupying parts of the West Bank which have been selected by the League of Nations and its successor the United Nations, to be part of a future Palestinian state, one key to a sustainable peace. Various past Israeli governments have agreed to the “Partition Plan”, but not the current one dominated by religious extremists, and not the Palestinians and their Muslim nation allies who have rejected it for being against the spirit of uncompromising Islam.
Although practically no one wants to admit it (because it is taboo or at least politically incorrect to point the finger at religions), both sides are refusing to reach a fair and just compromise only because of religious discrimination deriving from their ancient holy books. Religious discrimination, in violation of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights which all member nations have undersigned and pledged to uphold, is the sole obstacle to sustained peace and prosperity between the Israelis and the Palestinians, because they are still choosing divisive religions over human rights. Who can reasonably deny that the conflict would not exist if the Israelis were Muslim or the Palestinians were Jewish or they were all atheists?
Before suggesting how to overcome religious obstacles on both sides, the historical record must be set straight publicly, as the media worldwide are ignoring it, focusing instead on the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza caused by Israel’s extreme reaction to the shockingly gruesome and perverse Hamas October 7 attack. In fact, the media are promoting the historically incorrect Palestinian “Nakba” claim of being unjustly displaced during the 1948 Arab war against the Jews in British Mandate Palestine, the war’s goal being to prevent the creation of the state of Israel and to drive the Jews out of the entire territory. The historical fact is that the “Nakba” displacement of Palestinians was not due to unjust displacement during times of peace, but to a full-out war initiated by the Palestinians and their Arab nation allies against the Jews legally living in Mandate Palestine. Many Palestinians, encouraged by Arab leadership, decided to leave their homes and wait out the war in neighboring Lebanon and Jordan, with the intent of returning to their homes after winning the war. But, inevitably, the losing side of the war was going to be permanently displaced, as happens especially to defeated aggressors in most wars. Nazi Germany lost territory after losing World War II, and having been the aggressor, Germany accepted its losses and never tried to recoup its lost lands. Much world opinion misguidedly adheres to the Palestinians’ “Nakba” grievance, because it ignores history and falls for anti-Israel propaganda. That historical misunderstanding must be corrected, otherwise widespread anti-Israel sentiment and anti-Semitism will persist.
In addition to promoting the historically false narrative of the Palestinian “Nakba”, what the media worldwide keeps overlooking, while lamenting the overcrowding of Palestinians in Gaza and the Israeli military control over the West Bank, is that the Palestinians are to blame for their plight, having attacked the Jews of Israel multiple times, the wars of 1948, 1967 and 1973, in addition to various intifadas and terrorist attacks. Instead of choosing war, the Palestinians could have chosen the path of fair compromise, peace and reconciliation, and of economic and social development. The media should remind everyone that Israel was not the aggressor in any of the wars with the Palestinians and their Arab nation allies.
A crucially important detail: there has never been a Palestinian state. In fact, before coming under the British Mandate at the end of World War I with the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, Palestine was a Turkish province for centuries, which the Palestinians readily accepted because the Turks were Muslims. So, the Palestinians were never stripped of nationhood, which they never had, while aspiring to have their own sovereign state after World War II just like the Jews. Another crucially important detail: the Palestinians never had any property expropriated under the British Mandate. All real estate (land and buildings) acquired by Jewish immigrants in Mandate Palestine was through legal, voluntary sales by Palestinian, Turkish, Syrian, Lebanese, and Egyptian property owners.
Once the true historical record is accepted, meaning that the “Nakba” grievance is fully discredited as Palestinian propaganda, then the only issue remaining to be resolved between the Israelis and the Palestinians is the one of religious discrimination. Are the Israelis and Palestinians going to continue to put monotheistic religious discrimination ahead of human rights, and ahead of sustained peace, prosperity and friendship between them? Would that be rational? Would that be moral? Is the ancient morality of the Bible and the Koran superior to modern morality, to the morality of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights? The choice is theirs.
Hopefully, both sides will finally understand that modern morality is the only rational solution. Are the commands and promises of the Bible and the Koran to be always strictly followed and believed, particularly when they violate human rights? What proof do both sides have that their holy books were properly transcribed and are valid? How logical and praiseworthy is it that the god of monotheism indulges in religious discrimination and incites it? What to make of that god changing his favorite religion and favorite people, creating confusion and strife? Is it not obvious the Old Testament was written by Jews for Jews, the New Testament written by Christians for Christians, and the Koran written by Muslims for Muslims, a recipe for bias? At a certain point, if people stubbornly adhere to religious discrimination, it’s their moral choice, they cannot reasonably complain about adverse consequences. The Jews and the Palestinians have been fighting due to religious discrimination since the biblical times of Samson and Delilah, and of David and Goliath, over 3,000 years ago. Will they ever stop? (To be kept in mind: After its devastating and humiliating World War II defeat, no one expected Germany, which reacted to its WW I defeat by becoming a Nazi monster, to completely reform and repent, becoming a full-fledged democracy respectful of human rights, a leading cooperating member of the European Union. Eventually, even the most problematic nations come to their senses.)
The real test to be passed by both the Israelis and the Palestinians is to pledge their commitment to respect and uphold the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights and its Charter, and to teach both texts in all their high schools, along with the world history of human rights violations. Teaching the Universal Declaration to all their citizens is required of all United Nations members. Unfortunately, not one member nation, not even the United States, does so, and tragic consequences are inevitable when citizens are not educated on the Universal Declaration and the fact that their nation has pledged to uphold human rights. The same goes for not teaching the U.N.’s Charter. The Israeli and Palestinian political leaders should read the Universal Declaration on live monthly prime-time television broadcasts in order to show their good faith and resolve to finally end their interminable religious conflict. Furthermore, the United Nations should finally enforce its rules, expel member nations not teaching the U.N.’s Universal Declaration and its Charter to all their citizens, and require the political leaders of all member nations to read and discuss them both on prime-time television annually, on a designated “United Nations Human Rights and World Peace Day”.
© Edward Sonnino 2023
November 25, 2023
