Grace Alfar and Bobby W. at a protest!
| The Hidden Struggle to Live Essay written by Grace Al-far |
For centuries the Middle East was a peaceful land and Palestine was inhabited by Muslims, Christians, and Jews who all lived happily together. Now conflicts rage between Muslims and Jews who are fighting over the Holy land and can't share it. Both groups have caused numerous deaths to each other. 1,072 Israelis and at least 6,348 Palestinians have been killed since September 29th, 2000 according to If Americans Knew dot Org. These deaths would have never occurred if tragedies such as the Holocaust and consequently the European Zionists had never plagued the peace. The history of that land goes like this- Zionist from Europe came over to colonize the land and they sought to set up a Jewish homeland. At first there were no problems with the new colonies, but then many Zionists started to make the native Palestinians move out. Fights started then many waves of violence took away the peace. After the Holocaust happened even more Jews fled from Germany, many of them decided that there was nowhere better to go than Palestine; the conflict only grew. The US tried to stave off conflicts by dividing the land so that conflicts over who owned what would stop. 55% of Palestinian land was given up for a Jewish state. During the 1947-1949 war Zionist forces outnumbered Arab and Palestinian ones, but none of the Arab armies invaded Israel. Instead the battles were fought on Palestinian soil. By the end of the war Israel conquered 78% of Palestinian land, many became refugees and the towns were destroyed in the war. After the Six Days War, Israel occupied the additional 22% of Palestine. That includes the West bank and the Gaza Strip. Today there is a large 35 foot wall that surrounds and captures Palestine from escape. It often curves around and many parts are completely closed off causing the people living inside to die, other parts only have one exit that is heavily guarded by Israeli soldiers and checkpoints making it hard to get food and supplies to those living inside. Also during the Six Days War, it is reported by If Americans Knew dot Org that Israel attacked a US Navy Ship, killing and injuring over 200 American servicemen. Admiral Thomas Moorer, former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff called this an act of war against the United States, however few news media reported it.
Sometimes I just wonder how some people could go on living without knowing anything about what is going on in Palestine. And it is amazing that most Americans don't know that the United States of America sends at least 7 million dollars per day to Israel alone. I just think about how I'd rather be sad knowing the truth then happily ignorant to the things that are happening. Whenever I talk to people at my school about the problems there I only get either of the three reactions: One reaction I see a lot is they believe me about what I reveal to them because they don't know anything about it anyway and then they just change the subject because they aren't that interested. Another reaction is that they will agree with me with a difference; for example they'll know that things are bad for the Palestinians in Gaza and the West bank but they'll also have a little American propaganda mixed in. For example they might add how they didn't really see much of the turmoil I was talking about when they went to Israel the summer before. Another reaction would be total rejection because they totally reject the idea that what the Arabs are reporting is true. They just believe that Arabs are like terrorist and especially Palestinians. Those people are usually Jewish but not necessarily; all they have to be is fed full of American lies. I know very well that the first reactions of many of you will be that I am wrong and don't know what I am talking about. But I beg to differ; I have done a lot of research on this topic and not just for this research paper. I have been researching and exploring this issue for almost two years on and off. I feel I deserve some credibility. I started a long time ago by frequenting If Americans Knew dot Org and reading the news about Palestine. In fact every time I went to Google News I typed in Palestine to see if they had anything interesting to read about the current crisis. Lately I have subscribe to Palestinian Mothers which is a site you can become a member of and they will send you fast relevant news on specifically the Palestinian vs. Israeli conflict. Yesterday (11/1/09) I got a video fresh in from them by Aljazeera news agency on the issue of Palestinian homes being bulldozed because of the residents' lack of permits. The video featured a father consoling his son who hadn't had the time to remove his prized possessions from his house before the bulldozers came. The father explained how they were bulldozing the houses because the civilians didn't have permits. But he told us that he had been working for 15 years to get a permit and finally gave up.
Another current issue is that Israelis are taking young Palestinian men who are throwing rocks at the soldiers and shooting their legs so they can't run away, then they remove all their organs for sale in Israel and all over the world. An article I saw actually had a picture of one of these unfortunate men returned to his parents all stitched up; his family was devastated and mourned his death. The organ issue has actually been going on for quite a while, but Palestinians weren't the only victims. Israelis have also done this to their own people; specifically those who rebel from the Israeli laws. It is quite sad that not so many people have heard of these horror stories here in the US.
Richard J. Goldstone is a former South African Constitutional Court judge and served as the chief prosecutor of the United Nations International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and for Rwanda, he researched the war crimes in Gaza and the West Bank and reported on the un-humanitarian crimes that were committed. He wants Israel and Palestine to own up for their war crimes and he put his research in to what is now called The Report of the United Nations Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict or The Goldstone Report. It includes details of crimes the Israelis did and even some that Palestine did. (Since they are both in this war together and both sides have done something against the other.) Goldstone stated that the focus of the Goldstone Report Investigation would be on "an objective and impartial analysis of compliance of the parties to the conflict with their obligations under international human rights and humanitarian law, especially their responsibility to ensure the protection of civilians and non-combatants," adding "I believe that an objective assessment of the issues is in the interests of all parties, will promote a culture of accountability and could serve to promote greater peace and security in the region." The sad part is however, that Israel's Netanyahu will not agree to the Goldstone report and neither would Mahmoud Abbas (the Palestinian President). The reason Palestine's president won't agree is because he is not the proper representation of the Palestinian people. He was put in power by the US and Israel; the Palestinian people did not vote for him. Tuesday (11/3/09) is when congress will vote on a bill called H.R. 867, this bill is designed to reject the findings of the United Nations-commissioned Goldstone Report on Israel's military offensive against Gaza. The resolution also calls on President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to urge U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice to veto the report in the UN Security Council. The bill ignores the conclusions of the Goldstone Report and simply parrots Israeli government denial. Judge Richard Goldstone has challenged the U.S. to substantiate its claim that his report is "flawed." President Obama and Secretary of State Clinton have made no response. The carefully researched and documented report deserves a response, not a veto. The people of Gaza, who were brutally attacked, deserve a hearing. What message are we sending to the rest of the wold when we grand Israel complete impunity? It is not in the U.S. Interest to disregard war crimes. It is not in the U.S. Interest to rewrite international law. It is not possible to grant Israel impunity while demanding other nations respect human rights. I believe something needs to be done and quick. Calling our congress men would be a good start.
In conclusion, I believe that Israel is the only one who can restore peace to the region of Palestine; peace will only happen when Israel and Palestine both admit their mistakes and agree to stop fighting wholeheartedly. I hope that it will not be long before peace comes to that region but, at the rate it is now I can only hope the US will realize how supporting Israel is like feeding a growing flame.