As the Israeli moratorium on settlements in the West Bank ended in September, so did hopes of peace. Despite urgings from President Barack Obama, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu refused to extend the freeze on building new Israeli settlements, which prompted Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to halt any direct peace talks between the two leaders. Without reaching a viable solution on the issue, one must wonder if this generation will ever see peaceful resolution to the Arab-Israeli conflict.
The roots of the problem runs much deeper than the issue of new Israeli settlements on the West Bank. The United States insists that addressing the settlement issue is key in restoring peace. While construction of Jewish settlements has constantly been an issue shaping Israeli politics and Palestinian life, a solution would hardly produce long lasting, peace-instilling results.
Obama is almost naïve in pressuring Netanyahu to extend the building ban if he believes it will lead to peace. Undoubtedly the United States has too much invested in Israel and the Middle East to stand idly by, but all sides must take a new approach in addressing the problem. The Israeli and US government’s stance on a two-state solution to the conflict is easy enough in theory, but extremists on both sides prevent this from happening.
Both leaders face intense internal political pressure — stemming from the people they represent — which impedes any progress towards peace. The Palestinians face an even bigger challenge. They must find a way to unite two authorities with radically different ideas and visions of the future for Palestinians. Until then, it appears the Israelis don’t have partners in peace.
The current generation living within Israel’s borders must wonder if they’ll ever see an end to the problems that engulf them every day. Neither leader seems ready to make the sacrifices necessary for peace.
The current world leaders will not bring an end to the Arab-Israeli conflict. Each seems too fixated in appealing to the small, specific group of people they represent, causing them to neglect the needs and desires of the majority.
A new leader must emerge and win the heart and voice of the young people. A charismatic leader who truly wants change — and recognizes peace is the missing link.
Until future generations come of age, and both Palestinians and Israelis are ready to accept responsibility and elect leaders truly committed to peace, a resolution will not be found.
Zeke Barrera is a communications sophomore and may be reached at [email protected].
Part I.
Zeke,
Thanks for writing this, although I differ with your opinion on some issues, I think we agree on more issues than not.
In my opinion the root cause of the conflict is Islam. Islam is not simply a religion, as people continue to suggest, it is instead an entire approach to life. Islam controls religion, politics, social behavior, judiciary, freedoms (total lack of), etc…
In addition to this, Islam's history of supremacism and conquest goes back to its birth, i.e., to Mohammed.
Part II.
Mohammed was a warrior for whom conquest and forced conversion of non-Muslims was an essential ingredient to Islam. In fact, Mohammed and his men beheaded 800 Jewish men and boys in Medina simply because they refused to convert to Islam. The days when Jews were the dominant religion of Medina came to a swift end soon after Mohammed moved to that village. What motivated Mohammed and his men to kill off the Jews of Medina is no different than what Hamas, Hezbollah, and what was once known as the PLO are motivated by: Islam must be supreme over all.
The problem with the Middle East has nothing to with the “occupation”, the “settlements”, or anything else. Israel is a tiny sliver of land that Muslims have turned into a problem that makes their murderous genocide in Sudan look trivial, their murderous rampages in Somalia, Thailand, southern Russia, NW China, Kashmir, Nigeria, Pakistan, Afghanistan all appear trivial.
Part III.
Israel’s problems are all about Islam. It defines Islam. It defines the inherent aggressiveness that is Islam. Until the world starts looking at Islam for what it is, we will continue to be wrong about the root cause of the Israeli problem; and for that matter the problems in Sudan, Somalia, Afghanistan, Kashmir, southern Thailand, Turkey, etc…