The unjust war in the Middle East - From the Cluttered Desk with Keith Roulston
While yesterday, June 6, marked the 80th anniversary of the invasion of Normandy during the Second World War, we’re currently witnessing thousands die in a war in the Middle East that also owes its origins to another war.
A recent article in The Globe and Mail by Raja G. Khouri, co-author of The Wall Between: What Jews and Palestinians Don’t Want To Know About Each Other, explained that the roots of the current war lie in a decision made far back - on Nov. 2, 1917 - when Lord Arthur Balfour, then the British foreign minister, issued a declaration that stated, “His Majesty’s Government view with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people.” At this time, Jews made up 10 per cent of the Middle Eastern population. The British would soon begin facilitating the transfer of European Jews to Palestine, and, between 1922 and 1935, grew the Jewish population in Palestine to nearly 27 per cent of the total.
Most of us know the horrid tragedy of the Jewish people under the frightening rule of Adolf Hitler, as six million were executed in the gas chambers he set up for exactly that purpose. After Hitler was defeated, what was the fate of the surviving Jewish population? Thousands moved to what is now Israel.
But why had they left Israel in the first place? If you’re familiar with the Bible, you’ll understand that the long history of the Jewish people has seen them exiled before, and returned to their native land, such as under the Egyptians. The land of the Jewish people often seemed to be occupied by one world power or another. After they rebelled against the Roman Empire, they were cast out again in the second Jewish exile. Since the Roman Empire was so large, the Jews were scattered across the whole western world.
And so they were in countries from Russia to Holland when World War II broke out. But those who survived the war, when they moved to what is now Israel, dislodged the native Palestinian population which, in turn, many generations earlier, had inherited the land when the Jews were expelled. In the war of 1947, the first of the (recent) bitter conflicts in the Middle East, Israel won independence and 750,000 Palestinians fled or were forced out by Jewish militias, and none were allowed to return.
Israel further established itself in wars in 1956, 1967, 1973, 1982 and 2006. As well, Israel has widened its control, establishing settlements in Israeli-controlled Palestinian territory.
The Gaza Strip has been governed since 2007 by Hamas, a radical Islamist militant group. Hamas began the current conflict with a surprise attack on Israel, killing hundreds of innocent civilians. Israel struck back with the Palestinian death toll recently standing at 37,000. Much of Gaza’s infrastructure - hospitals, schools and universities - has been demolished, and more than 70 per cent of homes have been destroyed.
The harsh toll on Palestinians has led to student protests at campuses across North America, demanding our governments do something to stop the harsh war. As of this week, U.S. President Joe Biden proposed a new ceasefire. As this is written, right wing cabinet members have been threatening to quit Israel’s government if it agrees. Hamas’s reaction is unknown.
I was a student once, though long ago (as in four Middle Eastern wars). On one hand, I understand where our students come from. They want to save the Palestinian people, and so blame Israel. They see things simply, and so forget the Hamas killing of all those Israeli civilians that started the war.
While generally our government stood with Israel at the beginning, there’s no doubt they’ve had critical second thoughts as Israel’s counter attack killed thousands.
Canada’s support of Israel is relatively new. Author Allan Levine, in his book Seeking the Fabled City, writes about how antisemitism was part of Canada’s cultural fabric. “During the period from the early 1880s to the early 1960s, anti‐Semitism was ingrained in the fabric of Canadian society, imposed and practised openly, usually without hesitation, qualifications or shame. Shopping at a Jewish‐owned store or using the services of a Jewish tailor was tolerable for most gentile Canadians. But it was not acceptable to have Jewish work colleagues, Jewish neighbours or, worst of all, Jewish members at private sports and social clubs. That was just the way it was.”
Yet today Canada has the fourth largest Jewish community in the world, with a population of over 390,000. On the other hand, we also are home to 1.8 million Muslims.
It’s impossible to find a “right” side to support in the Middle East. Somebody is going to lose. All we can hope for is some sort of peaceful resolution, quickly.