So many things have been happening between these two groups of folks, I figured I’d take time to weigh in a bit…

A little history before we get started:

First, there was Palestine, mostly Muslim, with a minority Jewish population.  Both regard Jerusalem as their religious “home base.”  Things went pretty normal, with some tension sporadically until the British took over after WWI and the Ottoman Empire lost the war.  Britain wanted to separate the Palestinians & the Jews and create two countries- the Palestinians refused.  They didn’t eject the Jews, but absolutely didn’t agree to “carve out” their country for this purpose.

Welp, before/during/after the WWII era- many Jews started settling in the area due to persecution from Germany, etc.  This slowly changed the population and the power structure.  

The Jews decided to name the country, Israel.  Palestinians rejected this, since they felt their country already had a name. The self-declared country of Israel made powerful friends in the US, UK, and other 1st world countries, who in turn gave (now Israel) huge financial backing.  Israel’s benefactors supported efforts to remove Palestinians from their homes through evictions & violence- all while creating a powerful military force (for such a small country).  

Many Palestinians live in what folks call the West Bank/Gaza area.  As the now minority group in the sector- they are under-manned, under-militarized, and pretty vulnerable to the whims of Israel.  They have no representation in the Israeli government.  There have been (more than 50) international/UN reprimands of Israel regarding their poor treatment and outright attempts at genocide against the Palestinians- all falling on deaf ears.  Palestinians have resorted to random, small scale attacks while up against a pretty well formed military on the Israeli side, boasting a compliment of missiles, air strike weapons, and militias.  

The fighting between the two factions has gone on for at least 50 years.  Generations of families have “dug in” in terms of which side of the fence they land.  It’s impossible to change the minds of those embroiled in the conflict.

It’s important to note that none of this has to do with religion.  Yeah, I know you hear that a lot- but nope- this entire conversation is about power.  Who has it, and who doesn’t.  What those in power are willing to do to keep it, and what those with no power are willing to do to hold on to any piece of normalcy they can.

So, yeah.  Palestine (now Israel) is now a Jewish majority country and the Jews want the Palestinians gone.  So what you’ve lived here for thousands of years.  You may be excused.

Ya know, I bet the Palestinians are kicking their own butts about ignoring the Jews when Jews were in the minority.  One thing that’s strikingly clear to me is – the Palestinians didn’t forcibly remove Jews when they moved to Palestine- they didn’t like what was going on, but conversely, didn’t abuse them or take their homes.  

And… that’s a fact that the media and 1st world countries don’t want you to synthesize.  Who’s the bully?  Why is the US backing one?  Oh, I forgot- the US is the biggest bully of them all- particularly in the Middle East.  The US was founded on genocide, trickery, and violence- it’s not surprising the behavior continues to flourish.  We keep hearing phraseology surrounding the word “terrorist” or “terrorist acts” in regards to the Palestinians.  Terrorism is defined (loosely) as violence & intimidation for political gains.  Seems like the Palestinians aren’t the only ones needing the gold star for terrorism.  We’ll need to add the Israelis, UK, US, and all other 1st world countries involved in this mess…  But alas, the victor writes the history- and right now, Israel is winning & controlling the narrative…

How does it get resolved?  Honestly, I don’t know.  You have little kids in Gaza with missing legs (and parents) due to missile attacks on PBS documentaries.  You have folks in Israel going on TV talking about a family member killed while on duty.  Everyone is equating their trauma as the absolute worst thing ever.  Death is horrible and final.  How to get past all the foolishness and create peace?  I’m at a loss…