No justice, no peace

As the son of American Jews, I denounce Israel’s attacks on the Palestinian people. Criticism of Israeli policy should not be confused with being anti-Jewish. Yet ignoring the “why” of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict creates confusion. The “why” is Palestinians’ opposition to Israel’s military occupation, backed by the U.S government.

Israel’s control over the Palestinian people takes different forms in different places. One example is the bulldozing of Palestinians’ homes for Jewish settlements. An obedient American media calls the Palestinians’ land “disputed territory.” Such brutal crimes happened all the time during the “peace process.” Confused?

Well, “peace” by definition is what the U.S. government says it is in the Middle East. Both U.S. political parties agree on this.

What are the economics of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict? They are U.S. corporate control over the region’s oil. This keeps the oil wealth flowing away from the Arab majority. U.S. energy corporations and their global competitors have billions of reasons to continue this control.

For the Arab majority of the Middle East, however, the United States-backed government of Israel is the regional thug. Its might regularly enforces U.S. power. And the American taxpayer pays daily for Israel’s military might. The profits flow to Pentagon corporations such as Boeing and Westinghouse.

Pigs will fly before the United States and such Arab “leaders” create peace between the Israelis and Palestinians. Why? Without justice, there can be no peace.

Consider Palestinian children. They die, “caught in the crossfire,” in clashes with Israelis. This is one cliché that suggests an equality of military power between the Israelis and Palestinians.

Palestinians have firebombs, rifles and rocks. Israelis have air-to-surface missiles, helicopter gunships and tanks. The Palestinians are stateless with no armed forces. Israel is a legal state with an army and an air force.

Palestinians have refugee camps. Jews have a homeland in Israel. Israelis are humanized with distinct personalities. Some are American Jews who arrived in nuclear-armed Israel to become citizens. Dehumanized Palestinians are one-dimensional. This is a public relations ploy to weaken the American people’s solidarity with and sympathy for the Palestinian people living under Israeli occupation.

In the meantime, Israeli-Palestinian violence has sparked demonstrations throughout the Middle East. Israeli and U.S. support for the U.N. sanctions that have degraded and humiliated Iraq has also caused big resentment among Arab people of the Middle East.

Can there be an Israeli-Palestinian peace? Yes, but only when there’s justice for all.