Dear TRS,
I am writing to share my views about the recent Israeli-Palestinian conflict. I am concerned that the news shared by your website was lop-sided. Most people by nature, root for the underdog. It gives us hope that if an underdog can win in spite of the odds, then perhaps so can we over our own problems.
I would want to state some facts about the Israeli-Arab conflict.
Did you know that Israel was once the underdog? In its war of Independence in 1948, Israel was outnumbered and outgunned by her Arab neighbours, who were determined to kill all the Israelis and destroy the nation? The Arab armies were better trained. They also most of the heavy weapons and military aircraft. Israel had none. That was why when Israel agreed to a land partition, the Arabs did not. The Arabs had a huge military advantage and wanted a war. They didn't expect they would lose.
No Arab or Muslim country said anything about unfairness back then. Yet today, they are all complaining about Israel having all the weapons. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1948_Arab%E2%80%93Israeli_War#Initial_line-...
East Jerusalem was conquered by the modern kingdom of Jordan after the 1948 war. It was ruled by Jordan from 1948 to 1967. During that time, the Jordanians destroyed the Jewish Quarter and all ancient synagogues. 38,000 Jewish graves in ancient cemeteries in the Mount of Olives were destroyed and Jews were no longer allowed to be buried there. They tried to erase all signs of the Jewish history in East Jerusalem.
Islam was made the official religion of East Jerusalem. Students, even if they were non-Muslims, were forced to study the Koran. Churches were also barred from funding hospitals and other social services. While churches were not destroyed, Christians faced a lot of discrimination. In the end, many Christians moved out of East Jerusalem. No Arab or Muslim leader said anything against these discrimination either.
Israel has ruled East Jerusalem since 1967. Did Israel force the Muslims to study the Torah? Did Israel destroy the mosques or Muslim graves? While there are extremist Jewish settlers who commit crimes against Arabs, these are treated as crime.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jordanian_occupation_of_the_West_Bank
If Israel handed back East Jerusalem to the Arabs, how long do you think the Jewish and Christian shrines would last under Muslim rule? Which Middle East country does not have an established culture of treating non-Muslims as second or third-class citizens? In contrast, Israel has enough religious freedom that a non-Abrahamic religion, the Bahai faith founded in Iran, can have its headquarters in Israel for the past few decades.
'Genocide' is a word we keep hearing about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Genocide is defined as the deliberate killing of a large group of people, especially those of a particular nation or ethnic group. Today, there are about 4.5 million Palestinians, a lot higher than their population in 1948 when Israel was founded. Their population growth rate is about 3.4%. What sort of genocide is that?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palestinian_people
On the other hand, hardly anyone says anything about the Arab leaders or Hamas who wish to carry about genocide of Israel. They routinely make such speeches and aspire to carry out a real genocide of the Israelis. Till today, many Arabs admire Hitler and want to continue his legacy of the 'Final Solution'.
Here is an example of ethnic and religious cleansing, not necessarily by bloodshed, but includes methods such as persecution and refugees. In 1951, when Pakistan gained independence, 22% of its population was Hindu. Today, it is down to just 1.7%. Do the Israelis treat the Arabs that bad by comparison? Again, where are the Muslim voices, the same one that keep crying out against 'racism', 'genocide' and 'human rights'?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hinduism_in_Pakistan
So, who is the one really bent on carrying out genocide and ethnic/religious cleansing?
The Arabs keep saying Palestine is Arab land because they were there before the Jews, who were mostly modern settlers. How about Egypt? Wasn't Egypt once a Coptic Christian country? Today, the Copts are now a minority in their own land, and face daily persecution by the Arab Muslim majority. And before Coptic Egypt, wasn't Egypt a land that worshiped other gods. Would the Arabs and Muslims leave Egypt just as they demand the Jews leave Palestine? Would the Turks return back Anatolia to the Greeks? Should all migrants in the Americas - Europeans, Blacks, Asians, Hispanics, all return back to their original land? Or should Palestine follow our neighbour and create an 'indigneous race' with special privileges and a state religion, where followers of the state religion enjoy special privileges over and above other religions?
It is sad to see civilians die in the crossfire of war, be it Arab or Israeli. You already can see for yourself how the Sunni and Shiites treat POWs in their sectarian conflict in Syria and Iraq. But if the roles were reversed, and the Arabs were winning, what fate do you think awaits the Israelis?
The lopsided casualty rate on both sides is because Israel invested money in defensive technology to shoot down hostile missiles. When was the last time you read of Arab or Muslim nations investing billions to develop technology that defends civilians?
I write this not to stir up hate between the various races and religion, but rather to provide an objective view to this emotional topic. People should learn to see both sides of the story, rather than to take sides due to shocking graphic images or simply because they share the same religion.
May there be peace in the Holy Land, and people of all faiths and race are treated as equal before the law.
Ms. X
TRS Contributor