Donna Nevel, a founding member of Jews Say No, highlights the historical context of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
In conversations about Gaza, I have heard many thoughtful people in the Jewish community lament the loss of Palestinian lives in Gaza but then say, “But Hamas…” as if that were the heart of the problem. I’d like to suggest that, when we have these conversations about Hamas and Israel’s bombing campaign, we begin with the necessary context and historical perspective.
The Nakba
To create the Jewish state, the Zionist movement destroyed more than 400 Palestinian villages and expelled 700,000 Palestinians from their homes and land. Palestinians who remained in what became Israel were relegated to second-class citizenship, had much of their property confiscated and, to this day, have fewer rights than Jewish Israeli citizens.
The 1967 Occupation
In 1967, Israel occupied the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem, and still occupies them until this day.
Settlement Expansion, the Apartheid Wall and Gaza
Over the past 47 years of occupation, Israel has illegally confiscated more and more Palestinian land; built an apartheid wall; systematically denied Palestinians basic human and civil rights, and engaged in state-sponsored violence; and forced the Palestinians in Gaza to live in appalling conditions that make it increasingly impossible to survive.
Israel’s latest bombing campaign, Operation Protective Edge, has killed over 2,000 Palestinians, at least 450 of whom are children, and has displaced hundreds of thousands more.
If those of us in the Jewish community who are committed to justice begin from these facts, I think it would become clearer — regardless of who the Palestinian leadership is — that the underlying problem really is the denial of freedom and basic human rights to millions of people, for decades.
And, as a community, it should also become clearer where priorities need to be in order to have any integrity on this issue: addressing the Nakba of 1948 and the responsibility for the Nakba head-on, including the right of return for refugees; ending the occupation; ending the siege on Gaza; and recognizing the right to full equality for Palestinian citizens of Israel.
*[This article was originally published by Tikkun Daily.]
The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Fair Observer’s editorial policy.
Your article is full with lies and disinformation. I am not going to argue with it here. I am only asking you to compare the daily life of a palestinian in the West Bank to the life
of a palestinian in Gaza. It is so drasticly different. Why ? Would’nt it be better for Gaza if Hamaz was not there ?
What can expect when you vote for fanatic religious merderous cynical people to govern Gaza ? Don’t blame Israel. Isreal is not the cause for the suffering
of the Gaza citizens. Blame the Hamas. Would you like your house to be bombarded by missiles for years ? Israel had no choice.
I am really sory for the suffering of the Gaza people. You shoud rebel against Hamas. They are the cuase of all this tragedy.
Your Jewish cousin. Avraham
Please do you math homework: 360 sq km = 360000000 sq m ! Hence it is 0.005 people per sq m or 5000 people per sq km! (which is still high)
1: So living under Israeli occupation and a corrupt PA constitutes a better way of life? Having your land stolen by illegal settlers makes it all better in the West Bank? Hamas is certainly no group of angels, but don’t bring your propaganda and claim that living in the Occupied West Bank or East Jerusalem is heaven.
2: Blame Israel for its breach of international law of numerous occasions. Settlements are illegal under international law and that is a fact. Israel cannot dispute this by claiming that a book from thousands of years ago gives them the right to claim land. Religion has no place in international law, be it Jewish, Christian or Islamic. We do not live in a theocratic world; it is by and large secular. There is no Israeli exceptionalism to law. What Israel’s policy is built on land grabs and theft. It should be held to account for crimes at the ICC.
Israelis should rebel against Netanyahu, the extremist Lieberman, et al.
Your Arab Christian cousin, Mona