Middle East

The Middle East

Should the United States be taking sides? Let’s see now…

The Arabs, descendents of Abraham’s son Ishmael, occupy more than 99% of the Middle East (and Northern Africa). In fact, they control almost 700 times as much land as the Jews, descendents of Isaac and Jacob. There are 22 Arab states and only one tiny Jewish state. The Jewish state is the only democracy in the area.

Somehow, it’s been accepted that it is the Jewish state’s responsibility to make territorial compromises for peace. Yet, Israel is roughly the size of New Jersey, while the Arab states occupy the equivalent of Canada and the U.S. It is conveniently forgotten by Israel’s detractors that she has already returned (twice) the Sinai Peninsula, an area 3 times its own size.

But not only do Arab states occupy a huge landmass, many sit atop the only known oil reserves in the area. And yet, despite the unimaginable wealth of some of their rulers, it has somehow become the West’s responsibility to aid the “poor Palestinians”.

And how did the “poor Palestinians” achieve their ignoble status? After all, sixty years ago they were known simply as Arabs. In fact, after World War I, British-controlled Palestine was to become a homeland for Jews, not Arabs. So where did the name Palestinian come from and how is it that it was suddenly applied to Arabs instead of Jews?

Well, two thousand years ago, when the Romans conquered the Biblical land of Israel, they renamed it Palestine. As was their custom, they wanted to eradicate all traces of the original inhabitants of the lands they conquered. So it was a clever attempt by the Romans to ascribe the land to the Philistines, despite the fact that Goliath and his cousins were long gone by then, thanks to David and his successors.

The name stuck. And by the end of World War I, when the League of Nations gave the British control over what is now Israel, the West Bank and Jordan, it was called the Palestine Mandate. The intent was to create a Jewish state in this relatively small area of the Middle East. The British, however, created yet another Arab state in the land east of the Jordan River and called it Jordan, leaving for the Jews a tiny strip between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea.

But even this sliver of land was more than the Arabs would tolerate. The Jordanians illegally seized the West Bank of the Jordan River (Judea and Samaria) and it remained in their hands until Israel’s miraculous victory in 1967 against 5 invading Arab armies. After Israel's victory, the Arabs on the West Bank expected the worse. Knowing what they would have done to the Jews had the Arabs won, they expected Israel to do the same. At best, they hoped to flee with some of their belongings.

But Israel, as it had done since its birth in 1948, showed no desire to kill nor expel its neighbors. It just wants to live in peace. And thus was born the “Palestinian Problem”. The same Arabs who lived in dire straits under Jordanian rule, the same Arabs who received no aid from their oil-rich Arab brothers, the same Arabs who lived in abject poverty for generations, suddenly became an Israeli problem. Rather than being applauded for its benevolence, Israel was suddenly given sole responsibility for bringing about an unachievable peace.

And while Israeli researchers help find cures for cancer and diabetes, and Israeli agricultural experts help developing nations maximize farm production, and Israeli software engineers help Israeli-based companies like Intel, Microsoft and Siemens develop their latest products, what do their neighbors do?

Well, let’s see… the Palestinians have introduced airplane hijacking to the world. The "moderate" Yasser Arafat was the first to target schools and school buses. They violated all international norms by killing innocent athletes in the Olympics. They routinely kidnap civilians. They blow up coffee shops and shopping malls. And their Iranian co-religionists were the first to seize an embassy; something that was unthinkable prior to their dastardly deed.

Boy, it’s really tough to decide whose side to be on…

So while we patiently wait for the followers of Islam to emerge from the Middle Ages, we tolerate a double standard that is laughable. While Arabs come to the West and insist on respect and equality, no other religion is allowed on their land. You will find very few churches or synagogues in the Middle East. While Arabs in America walked about freely in their attire even right after 9/11, don’t expect to wear your crucifix or Jewish Star in their countries. And while their terrorists routinely commit the most grotesque and heinous crimes (beheadings, hangings, dismembering of bodies, inhumane torture), the press gleefully dwells on every minor infraction committed by our forces.

It’s time to put an end to this shameless acceptance of unacceptable behavior. It’s time to stop waiting for the more moderate of two evils. It’s time to insist on the complete cessation of terrorist activities. Today, not tomorrow. And if we need to take action and innocent people get killed, the blood will be on the terrorists’ hands. Let them not hide out among civilians. The longer we play this little game with the terrorists on their terms, the more innocent people will die in the long run.

If Israel had, in fact, expelled all Arabs from its territory after being repeatedly attacked, far fewer Arabs and Jews would have died in the years since. Japan today is one of our best friends. We had to show overwhelming force to bring about their surrender. We then helped them rebuild. And today, Japan is a thriving democracy. Something for us to keep in mind in Iraq. And something for Israel to keep in mind in its quest for survival against the more "moderate" Syrian-based Hamas, Gaza-based Hamas, Islamic Jihad, Hizbolla, Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade... The Arabs are very good at this game. Only fools would keep playing with them.

And finally, if you are an Arab and you are offended by this article, reflect for a moment on who is really to blame. The West is perfectly capable of destroying and conquering the Arab world. What was done to Japan could easily be done to Iraq, Syria and Iran. Israel could obliterate the town of Ramalla in a day or two. The fact that Western nations do not use their power, should convince you of their decency. Your outrage should be directed at many of your coreligionists who are an embarrassment to your people and their formerly proud traditions.

For the rest of us, it should be pretty clear whose side we should be on. Now all we have to do is convince the press…