The escalation of hostilities between Palestinians and Israelis is being met with complete indifference in Europe. Indeed, it is something beyond indifference, “this is so stupid”; almost amusement, “is this possible?”; definite disbelief, “how can this be happening again?” and some sardonic sceptics ask with a wry smile, “will this ever end?”
As if a rolling of the eyes were not a bad enough reaction to the death of youngsters on either side of the conflict, there is now a perplexed raising of the eyebrows with regard to the United Nations General Assembly decision to elect Israel as vice-chair of the Decolonisation Committee. Really? Does the UN not know that Israel continues to colonise parts of Palestine? Perhaps precisely due to the Jewish colonisation efforts currently underway around Greater Jerusalem did the United Nations consider that Israel is in a particularly good position to talk and decide about what is best when it comes to the politics of decolonisation. But no, that would be too contorted, too absurd even within the arena of the Arab-Israeli conflict.
The Arab Group within the UN obviously lobbied with the General Assembly members to not vote for Israel. Tel Aviv’s representative, Mordehai Amihai, stated in typical Israeli fashion that “the hate-filled politics of a small group of nations” had provided “fictitious and unfounded” claims. Where is the fiction in the fact that Israel is a coloniser? What is unfounded about the fact that Israel has continued to grow its Jewish colonies on Palestinian land? This is not about Arab states hating Israel. A majority of Arab states have already made clear that they would make peace with Israel if it were to end its military occupation and colonisation of what remains of Palestine. Look up the Arab Peace Initiative.
Hatred is the burning alive of a Palestinian youth in retaliation for the deaths of three Jewish colonists. Hatred is the bombing of the Gaza Strip with phosphorus and other chemicals killing more than a thousand civilians. It is so ironic that Israel always turns the tables on Arabs and accuses them of advancing the “hate-filled” rhetoric, when so many of Israel’s actions could instigate more brutal responses.
What is absolutely mind-boggling is that the United Nations – the same international institution that has been overseeing and paying for the Arab-Israeli conflict by acting as a para-state structure for the Palestinians – would actually vote in favour of having Israel not only on the Decolonisation Committee but as vice-chair! There is something fundamentally wrong with this decision.
Historical recurrence
And here we go again: Another sad cycle begins for Israelis and Palestinians alike. An Israeli analyst once said this conflict goes with the seasons. Similar to the lull in warfare in the mountains of Afghanistan during the winter season, when summer starts and the heat picks up, emotions rise and the war of attrition gathers momentum. Most of the “wars” between Israel and its neighbours occurred during the summer, except for the occasional aerial bombardment of Gaza that does not depend on good weather or rising emotions. Israel bombs Gaza whenever it feels like it, whenever it wants to slap Hamas on the wrist or send a signal to its population that they are doing something to contain the “terrorists”.
There is a certain dread and despair that accompanies these cycles of hostility. A feeling of futility and exasperation, Nietzsche’s “ressentiment” comes to mind — the existential emptiness of wondering where this came from and what the point is. This is far beyond Karl Marx’s maxim of “history repeating it once is a tragedy, twice is a farce”. This is simply a disaster. Reminiscent of climate change, the international community knows what needs to be done: Human activity is emitting too much carbon dioxide that cannot be digested fast enough by nature causing temperatures to rise in the atmosphere; the international community knows Israel is occupying Palestine and that the military occupation is an anomaly to the ethics of politics.
Liberty, freedom, self-determination, all the dreams of democracy that the international community espouses are denied by Israel’s colonisation of Palestine. It is like sitting in traffic with your engine running and rolling down your window to salute the neighbouring car by saying: “It’s a great day!” while choosing to ignore that you are all contributing to climate change.
We watch Israel get away with murder, quite literally, and we wonder when this will end. We hear it on the radio and see it on television. We write reports and articles and the story goes on and on. Ladies and gentlemen, this is about meeting basic human rights, the most basic standards of human dignity. Until then, the sad tit-for-tat cycle of retaliation and useless death will continue.
Stuart Reigeluth is the founder of Revolve.
