The Rejection of Israel

The establishment of Israel was a momentous occassion for Zionists, who succeeded to find a homeland for the Jews. After the atrocities of the Holocaust, Jews were a displaced population even more so than before. Many Jews did flee to America, but many also sought to return to their roots when they were able to do so.

While Israel itself is not a "bad" country, it was conceived by bad politics and a complete insensitivity to the social landscape of the region. Much like what was to occur in the India-Pakistan partition, the splitting of a diverse area into two homogeneous countries by patchwork boundaries led to nothing but violence.

I am under the firm belief that the establishment of Israel violated the UN Charter and should be dissolved and reconsolidated into a single republic within the Palestine region. While this is just as impractical as the current situation, too much time has passed to reverse the decision.

For those of you who think that I am anti-Semitic, the answer is no. I'm playing devil's advocate by simply using the United Nations Charter against them.

Essentially, the United Nations violated Article 1, Sections 2 and 3 of their own charter. To be clear, these are...

• To develop friendly relations among nations based on respect for the principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples, and to take other appropriate measures to strengthen universal peace;
• To achieve international co-operation in solving international problems of an economic, social, cultural, or humanitarian character, and in promoting and encouraging respect for human rights and for fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language, or religion;¹

The principle of equal rights was completely disregarded because there was absolutely nothing that the Arab residents in Palestine could do about it. Now that an international community was in place to enforce such a policy, any kind of armed resistance would be quickly snuffed out. The forced displacement of Palestinians from within Jerusalem and other parts of the new Israel left a very bitter taste in the Muslim world. It would also explain why Israel has been attacked repeatedly since its founding; these attacks could be interpreted as Jihads, in order to regain territory taken from Muslim hands. This is the proper form of militant Jihad known as Jihad bil Saif, used to defend Islamic territories. 

The implication that their lands were stolen from them may not be true in a legal sense since Britain did control the region, but realistically the residents were the real owners.

Also, the partition of Palestine established unsustainable borders for peace between Jews and Arabs. There was not a clear border or connection between each particular region, rather a jigsaw puzzle placed rather randomly and expected to work. In some parts of the new Palestine, regions for each faction were not linked together. This deliberate action of separating the territories, just like what happened to Pakistan, was made to further divide the Muslims in the area, and likely thwart a sense of unity. However, religion has been a major driving force in the "Eastern World", and remains a vital link between the past and present.

Since the partition was designed not to work by only outlining the territories by ethnic makeup, one could infer that Civil War was inevitable. This has happened, but terrorism is probably a more accurate desciptor. Terrorist groups for both parties have caused serious damage to each other and to innocent lives caught in the crossfire. Since Israeli independence, it has turned from impractical to messy to tragic due to all the fighting. There has been a small reprieve recently but a conflict like this is on a hair trigger, just waiting to go off at any moment.

I don't want to project that all the blame is on non-Arab entities; there is plenty to go around in this predicament. The PLO, headed for a long time by Yasser Arafat, caused a lot of instability in the 80's and 90's and seemed to do more harm than good for their cause. Hezbollah has also done irreparable harm to Lebanese-Israeli relations, and their prevalence near the border between the two nations requires a constant watch from both Israel and the international community.

I see only one possible solution, and that is the establishment of the Holy Republic of Palestine, a coalition between both Israelis and Palestinians. They would have equal representation in government legislatures and in the executive branch.

The problem would be how to establish a secular sense national unity, and I do not think it is feasible unless both parties are willing to sacrifice a lot to make it work.

Congressional Body: A coalition of three divisions would have to be made. The legislative branch would have to consist of 45% Muslims, 45% Jews, and the remaining 10% be of any other religious affiliation (including atheists). Each bill would have to pass a "Secular Review Board", which would be designed to ensure the impartiality of government actions.

Executive Body: The President would have to have a vice-president and Secretary of State that were not of his religious affiliation. The Cabinet would also have to be equal opportunity positions; the best qualified get the jobs. To ensure this, Cabinet appointments must be approved by the Secular Review Board.

Judicial Body: A Supreme Court would be required to have equal representation of Muslims and Jews, but appointments could be made to anyone of any faith. Appointees must be approved by the Secular Review Board.

The Secular Review Board: A group of fifty elected officials sworn to an oath of secular judgement under penalty of law. They are arguably the keystone to stability of the nation.

 No conflict of this magnitude to ever easy to solve, but with enough commitment and drive anything is possible. Even Palestine-Israeli relations can be saved through good governance. The status quo cannot go on for much longer; the time to act is now.

¹ United Nations. Charter of the United Nations and Statue of the International Court of Justice. San Francisco: UN, 1945. Web. 27 Apr 2011.