And Here We Are, 1 Year Later
This week, I am reflecting on change and disruption. One year ago last week, Hamas (a Palestinian group categorized as a Foreign Terrorist Organization), kidnapped 254 people, including American citizens, and over 1,200 people were killed. The attack was launched from Gaza, and hostages who have not already been killed are still held there. Israel pushed back, responding with air strikes and a full scale invasion of the Gaza Strip. The conflict has now raged for one long, horrifying year.
While the attack was shocking, it is certainly not unprecedented in the violent history between Israel and Palestine, and the reaction around the world is the factor that most often takes center stage when we think of the conflict now. The reaction in the U.S., particularly among younger generations and first-time voters has continued to shock and make headlines nationwide.
Possibly because I was in college at the time, what struck me most was the escalation of protesting on college campuses, though protests were certainly happening everywhere. States made public declarations commenting on foreign policy, challenging the presidential administration and the building blocks in our history that reignited the conflict. Washington DC has not been untouched by these protests- there was a March on Washington in January of this year, and just a few months ago, in July, protesters rose up once more due to a visit to our Capital City from Benjamin Netanyahu. Protests arose around Europe, and are still ongoing.
And yet, my mind still returns to the college campuses. From Cal Poly Humboldt in California to Columbia University in New York, protests were arising, and disrupting campus life. I think I keep getting stuck on this form of protest because I am thinking, often, of young voters as we approach the election. As students come back to campus and settle into the semester, it is my humble suggestion that the focus in the classroom, not just the quads, or the barricaded buildings (looking at you Humboldt), turns to this conflict before the responses to this foreign war from young people with no education on the area but a lot of rage about it, leaves a lasting scar. Let me explain.
I see, almost daily, the increase in social media posts denouncing the Democratic party, not in favor of the Republican platform, but rather expressing anger at the lack of action in aid of Palestine. People say in these posts that the Democratic party is no longer the lesser of two evils, and that they are responsible for what is happening in the Middle East. They demand a cessation of all support for Israel, immediately, in exchange for their support. They blame Joe Biden for the conflict, and claim Harris will be no better. Ordinarily I’d use more caution, firstly by not citing what I see on Social Media in the first place, and then secondly by verifying what I see by looking at polling, but Jill Stein pulling ahead by running on a platform that heavily features a cease-fire in Gaza. The third-party candidate is targeting key swing states ahead of the November election, and many voters have responded to her demilitarized foreign policy plans.
What supporters of Stein forget, and what college-aged protestors probably don’t know, is the rich history of the US trying to solve this problem. It is the elephant in the room, the fly in the ointment, the contaminate in the fuel (this one is almost not a metaphor). Beginning with the Balfour declaration in 1917, establishing a national home for the Jewish people in Palestine, which was done partly in an effort to sway American jewish voices in favor of the allied powers during the first world war. For the British foreign secretaries writing the declaration, their sights were firmly set on protecting access to the Suez Canal. While the declaration made mention of protecting civil and religious rights of the existing religious communities in Palestine, it didn’t mention political consequences, and the protection for Palestinian people was very weak. The protection was further weakened when the State of Israel was established in 1948 following the second World War. As they say on race day, Gentlemen, start your engines.
From there, attempts were made to fix it. Carter tried, in an (at the time) unprecedented Hail Mary for peace. Egypt and Israel had come together to overcome conflicts between them, and the stickiest points of the talks quickly proved to be Palestinian autonomy. While the talks ended on a note of progress and a feeling that change was within reach, Palestinian representatives were absent for subsequent talks, and Egypt and Israel could not bridge their wide gap in beliefs regarding Palestinian self government, and Israel’s presence in Gaza and the West Bank in particular.
Clinton tried in 2000, bringing Yasser Arafat, the chairman of the Palestinian Liberation Organization and President of the Palestinian National Authority, and the Prime Minister of Israel, Ehud Barak, to Camp David in hopes of ending the conflict. Arafat was not willing to make concessions, and Barak made none either, and the second Camp David Summit was just as fruitless as the first, although the lasting blame for the outcome in 2000 rested, in many eyes, on Arafat’s shoulders.
Lingering tensions that fuel the US role in this conflict are doubtlessly fueled by the Iraq war. One of Israel’s strongest and fiercest enemies is Iran, a country for whom power in the region has only grown since the US invasion of Iraq. It is widely acknowledged that we made critical errors in that conflict, indeed in the act of invading there in the first place. So before this turns into the world’s worst history paper, let me ask the question behind my writing: Do you know all of this?
When you barricaded the doors of that campus building, did you know two presidents had tried before and failed? Did you know that the creation of this conflict sprung up from building tensions and an inciting incident, just like what we see today, and that the final nail in the coffin was a too-little-too-late symbol of hope to a displaced and slaughtered people who didn’t know how to go home after a fascist war? Did you know that it was a Republican administration who lost us our final leg to stand on in the Middle East, especially when it comes to those likely to be victimized by Iran and Hezbollah? In the words of Hilary Clinton, “Do you know who Yasser Arafat is?”
And when you make protests, and post for everyone to see, do you remember the war at home? Do you remember the tales of antisemitism and anti Islamic sentiments that are sweeping the country, particularly institutions of higher learning? Do you remember, when you influence your circle to vote a certain way or not vote at all, do you remember book banning, book burning, and the Dobs Decision?
To wrap this up, I will leave you with this. It may be short-sighted of me, but foreign wars interest me far less than the version of us we become in the background while we wait it out or join the fray. I completely understand the compassion behind the outrage and the idea that nothing else matters while innocents die. I understand reading everything I just wrote and being angry that I didn’t mention the amount of people who have died. The graves are too many, and the streets of heaven are too crowded, but I argue that in the face of such massive bloodshed, the context I just outlined matters all the more, in order to understand the stakeholders, thus drawing a map how we might bring the violence to an end.
The US identity in this conflict is torn and driven by embedded systems, and youthful rage. And I get it. It’s a lot to take in, and what’s happening over there is horrible. It is also complicated, and older than many of us. But when speaking about these issues, think about asking a question instead. Learn something about how we got here, before firmly declaring a side. Before camping out, be very clear about why you are camping out, and ponder awhile if there might just be a better way to protest than inconveniencing yourself and many others.
Maybe the way forward is for all of you to pick up a book, go to class, listen to foreign radio, or go to someone you trust and ask the question. I realize this may be hypocritical as I have just written in great length on the topic, but I always say, those who know, don’t speak, those who don’t know shout the loudest. Consider this long winded, but quiet, reminder that against the unknown, against the powerful, against the most horrible parts of being human, the very best suit of armor is learning.
Let me know if you emphatically disagree with every word that I wrote.
Until next time…
-Jane Elizabeth (Birdy)
