Since the beginning of human civilization in Mesopotamia, or modern-day Iraq, Turkey, Kuwait, and Syria, the region, and the greater Middle East as a whole, has been a hotbed for conflict. From battles in the ancient civilizations of Mesopotamia, to the conquests by the Persians, Romans, and Ottomans, to World War I and today's Israel-Palestine conflict, the region has arguably seen the most armed conflict in history. This hotbed of conflict still exists today and dramatically impacts United States foreign policy. The main conflict: the Israel-Palestine conflict, which stems over a simple question: Who has the rightful claim to the land that contains the lands of Israel and the Gaza Strip? The answer is Israel. However, Arabs in Palestine claim the same area as Israel. Here is why Israel’s claims are the rightful ones, and why the Arab claims are invalid.
The main stems of the contention stem from an important question: who is the land promised too? During World War I, and the years after it, the British, who controlled Palestine after the fall of the Ottoman Empire, promised the land to the Jewish people with the famous Balfour Declaration. The UK Secretary of Foreign affairs at the time wrote to Lord Rothschild, leader of the Jewish community inside of Britain, that “His Majesty's Government view with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people,” (Stein). However, the British being the British, also promised the land to Palestinians in the region. This led to the United Nations to divide the land between the Israelis and the Palestinians. This gave half the land to each country, with Jerusalem being divided between the two peoples. Israel accepted the plan, and Palestine rejected it. Israel declared its independence on May 14, 1948. Promptly, a coalition of Arab-Israeli forces, featuring Egypt, Transjordan, Iraq, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, and Palestinian Arabs, declared war and invaded Israel. Israel signed several armistice agreements after the war, giving them around three/fourths of Palestine, and importantly, all of Jerusalem. Thus, Israel now had the full legal right and sovereignty of the land she had conquered. Because of these peace agreements, the conquest of this land was not in violation of UN law. When the Arab League as a whole attempted to further conquer Israel, Israel repeatedly won. Israel ended up gaining all of the land she holds today, along with the Sinai Peninsula, which was returned to Egypt in 1979. Under international law then, Israel had rightful possession to the lands she now owned, however there are some disputes.
Another reason why Israel should own Palestine regards their treatment abroad. Anti-Semitism is still widespread, and violence against Jews is common. A Jewish state is arguably the best way to escape these dangers. Throughout history, Jews have been discriminated against and attacked for being Jewish. It happened when the Romans banished all Jews in 70 AD. When they sought refuge in Rome and the rest of Europe, they were turned away and attacked. After the devastation of the Napoleonic Wars, Jews flocked to America to escape newfound anti-semitism there, specifically German Jews. “German Jews who came to America in significant numbers between 1820 and 1870 did so because of persecution, scarcity of land, restrictive laws, economic hardship, and the failure of reform movements in Germany.” (Williams, 87). However, Jews found no escape from discrimination there. There are several examples of widespread anti-Semitism, which include: “the implementation of racial quotas in college and university admissions, and persecution of Jews within the American judicial system.” (Williams, 97). Sadly, the worst was yet to come, with the worst example of anti-Semitism in world history coming during the reign of Adolf Hitler and Nazi Germany, the Holocaust; Anti-Semitism is still a problem today. Israel may end up being the only place Jewish people can go and not be discriminated against or attacked for their heritage. While the world has made great progress in the last several decades in equality, there is still much work to be done. In 2019, of all hate crime victims according to the FBI Hate Crime Database, “60.2 percent were victims of crimes motivated by offenders’ anti-Jewish bias.” (“Victims”). These attacks include an anti-semetic tirade at an Arizona school board meeting, where she blamed things like rising gas prices and food shortages on Jews (Raz), and several anti-semetic attacks in Travis County, Texas, where “a series of antisemitic banners were seen hanging from an Austin overpass and a small fire was lit outside of a Central Austin synagogue,” (“Call out Hate: Travis County Asking for Community’s Help after Several Antisemitic Acts in Austin”). These all happened in October of 2021. But even worse, the leader of Britain's Labour Party, Jeremy Corbyn, was accused of several anti-semetic remarks and acts, and was suspended (and later reinstated) “after a watchdog report found that the party failed to properly take action against allegations of anti-Semitism during his time in charge.” (Savitsky). There are countless other examples. If anti-semitism is so widespread that the political extremes of both the right and the left partake in it, then where are Jews to go? The answer lies in Israel. When a people are routinely discriminated against because of factors outside of their control (race, sex, etc), they leave for a land where they won’t be discriminated against, whether they have to create it or join their fellow members of their racial or religous group. For example, when the Puritans traveled to the Americas, they did so because of pressure put on them by the Church of England and the British crown, thus, “certain groups of Puritans migrated to Northern English colonies in the New World in the 1620s and 1630s,” (History.com editors). The pilgrims of the Mayflower are very similar to the Jewish people. They both are escaping discrimination from their homes, they both were coming to a new land to establish their own governments. We support the plight of William Bradford and the Mayflower, why not the plight of Jews escaping discrimination?
Finally, Jewish people should be able to return to their homeland if they choose to do so. Amidst growing cries at home to allow Native Americans to reclaim their land. Native Americans and activists have been actively encouraging the government to give back the Native Americans the land they were on for centuries before Americans settled their land. The U.S government has taken notice and took action to return these lands back to Native Americans. The federal government, in a bill sponsored by Tina Smith (D-MN) and Betty McCoullum (D-MN), passed a law where “The Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe in Minnesota saw land returned in December 2020.” (Sneve). The same standard applies for Jews. To understand this, a brief history must be given: In ancient times, the Israelites lived in the land currently occupied by Israel, however foreign powers eventually took over the land, including, in the “following order: Babylonian, Persian, Greek Hellenistic, Roman and Byzantine Empires, Islamic and Christian crusaders, Ottoman Empire, and the British Empire.” (“Brief History of the Jewish People”). This information thus leads an important question to be asked: if we would advocate to return land taken by the United States, Spain (later Mexico), Britain, and France to the Native Americans that once controlled that land, then why not the Jewish people who lived in ancient Israel for thousands of years, up until the Babylonian exile in 586 BCE (The Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica)?
However, there is a strong argument presented by the side for the Palestinians. People claim that Israel partakes in an Apartheid-like system against Arabs. However this is false. “Apartheid is typically defined as a social and political policy of segregation and discrimination against a minority.” (Ellis). Israel is nothing like this. In Apartheid South Africa, for example, every aspect of life was controlled, from “the school you attended, the work you did, where you lived, which hospital and ambulance you used, whom you could marry, right down to which park bench you could sit on” (Porgund). Israel does none of that. In Israel, an Arab can sit next to a Jew on a bus. An Arab can go to the same school as a Jew. There is no segregation. In fact Israel has repeatedly given concessions to the Arabs. They gave the Gaza Strip to Palestine in 2005 (“Israel’s Disengagement from Gaza and North Samaria (2005)”), and they have given Arabs citizenship and the ability to visit holy sites in Jerusalem. There is no real evidence to Israel being an apartheid state.
So, in conclusion, Israel has the rightful claim to the land of Palestine. They have claimed the land granted to them by the UN in the 1940’s and expanded it after being attacked by the Arab countries that surround them. They also have shown how much they need a refuge from the still prevalent danger of anti-semitism in the world. And they are the original inhabitants of the land, owning it for thousands of years, and deserve to have it back. In short, Israel is the rightful owner of Palestine and should be recognized as such.
Thank you for reading! If you enjoyed please consider subscribing, it helps me out alot. If you would like to see more, check out how life affects politics. Or the importance of the ideals of the West. Thank you once again, and have a great rest of your day.
Works Cited “Brief History of Israel and the Jewish People.” Science.co.il, 2018, www.science.co.il/israel-history/. Ellis, Donald. “Apartheid.” Israel Studies, vol. 24, no. 2, Summer 2019, pp. 63–72. EBSCOhost, doi:10.2979/israelstudies.24.2.0 History.com Editors. “Puritans.” HISTORY, 21 Aug. 2018, www.history.com/topics/colonial-america/puritanism. Israel’s Disengagement from Gaza and North Samaria (2005) Mfa.gov.il, 2019, mfa.gov.il/MFA/AboutIsrael/Maps/Pages/Israels%20Disengagement%20Plan-%202005.a spx. Pogrund, Benjamin. “Opinion | Why Israel Is Nothing like Apartheid South Africa.” The New York Times, 31 Mar. 2017, www.nytimes.com/2017/03/31/opinion/why-israel-is-nothing-like-apartheid-south-africa. html. Raz, Nicole. “‘It’s the Jews’: Antisemitic Tirade Unchallenged at Arizona School Board Meeting.” Www.timesofisrael.com, www.timesofisrael.com/its-the-jews-antisemitic-tirade-at-an-arizona-school-board-meeting/. Accessed 3 Nov. 2021. Savitsky, Shane. “Jeremy Corbyn Suspended by U.K. Labour Party over Anti-Semitism Report.” Axios, Axios, 29 Oct. 2020, Sneve, Shirley. “Tribes Reclaiming Lands ‘Actually Happening.’” Indian Country Today, indiancountrytoday.com/news/tribes-reclaiming-lands-actually-happening. Accessed 4 Nov. 2021. Stein, Leonard. The Balfour Declaration. Jerusalem: Magnes Press, Hebrew University, 1983. Print. The Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica. “Diaspora | Judaism.” Encyclopædia Britannica, 22 Jan. 2014, www.britannica.com/topic/Diaspora-Judaism. “Victims.” FBI, ucr.fbi.gov/hate-crime/2019/topic-pages/victims. Williams, John P. “Exodus from Europe: Jewish Diaspora Immigration from Central and Eastern Europe to the United States (1820-1914).” Perspectives on Global Development & Technology, vol. 16, no. 1–3, Jan. 2017, pp. 85–102. EBSCOhost,\ doi:10.1163/15691497-12341422.