There have been several questions that have been haunting me about the Israeli/Palestinian crisis. The questions I keep asking myself are, "How do people of widely different religious and political views live with such relative harmony in the United States and yet live with such discord in the Middle East?" And, "Why is there any problem between two peoples at all?"
As violence used as a response to violence pushes Israelis and Palestinians deeper into despair. Both sides wondering if they will ever find a solution to their conflict, we have to ask ourselves, "How did this problem begin?" The fundamentals of the situation do not date back to World War II, as one would think, but actually date back to 586-539 BC, during the Babylonian Captivity of the Jews.
The prophets Ezra and Nehemiah reasoned that God had not protected the Jews from conquest and exile because they had failed to follow the rules handed to them by God through Moses. They resolved to codify their national traditions into strict religious ritual strictness. Though it was done for religious purposes, the net effect was to create a national and religious culture that could withstand occupation and exile. The goal of Ezra and Nehemiah and therefore the Jews captive in Babylon, was to preserve their religion, foods, clothing and language until the time when God, pleased with their obedience, would grant them a return to their homeland, Israel.
For Jews, homeland, is much more than the place where their ancestors came from, but a place which was at the end of the journey for being good Jews. A place to aspire to. If they were good enough they would be granted Israel. In this light Israel was more then a country it was a place where they would be protected. Where the state, their identity and religion were one and the same thing. This tradition helped Jews preserve themselves as a people and culture again and again through a myriad of occupations. The final occupation was by the Roman Empire who ended the Jewish state by crushing Israel and sacking the Temple in Jerusalem. An event so heinous in the minds of Jews that it is still marked today, almost 2000 years later, by prayers and weeping at the last remnant of the Temple, the Wailing Wall. The sacking of Israel resulted in Jews being scattered across the globe, however, their culture and religion survived in large part due to the work of Ezra and Nehemiah.
Over the intervening centuries Jerusalem has become a holy place for Christians and Muslims as well as Jews. In the early twentieth century the land formerly known as Israel was largely occupied by Palestinians. The horrors of the Holocaust and World War II displaced a great number of Jews from Germany and Europe. The feeling among Jews was that they should return to their homeland were once again they would be protected by a state, an identity and a religion that would be one and the same, and theirs. Unfortunately this idea of a homeland, free from the pain of persecution, sanctified by God and preserved for them alone, was born more out of a longing created by culture and exile rather than by reality. The realities were that it had been a homeland for other people for centuries, that these people were tied to the countries and communities around them by religion, that their ties to the land had become as important to them as it was to the Jews and that the treatment of the Palestinians would have repercussions that would spread throughout the region and the world. Although I would have hoped for success in the Jews returning to their homeland, the end result has been never ending bloodshed and violence. So, how do we reconcile the problem?
The only way that I see to establish a lasting peace between in Israel and Palestine is to think of the problem in a new way. To think of Israel not as envisioned by a people exiled in Babylon, but as a state in a modern context. In recent centuries states have put in place, as a written principle that freedom to practice religion as an individual sees fit, is a right of the highest order. That governments can not favor one religion over another and that people should not be discriminated against for their beliefs. These revolutionary ideas first took root in North America over 200 years ago and have evolved to where they are today. Today, Americans have developed an easy tolerance for different peoples and religions. However, this view is a personal view of religion and not a state view which is the make up of Israel.
In a television interview with Charlie Rose, Ehud Barak stated that the final sticking point were the Israeli Palestinian peace talks, conducted in the waning days of the Clinton administration, broke down were at the allowing for immigration or repatriation of Palestinians to Israel. Why was this where talks broke down? To Americans, living with people of other religions and cultures has become common. We have a grand statue awarded to us by France praising us for our willingness to take in those rejected by other countries. It seems to us so little a price to pay for peace and harmony since we know that we have benefited far more from allowing people to come in rather then by keeping them out. Yet it was too grand a concept for Prime Minister Ehud Barak to accept. The idealistic imaginings of an Israel solely for Jews was to greatly ingrained in him to let go. Given the history of the Jews it is, however, understandable. Unfortunately it leaves Israel with an unsettled conflict and no end in sight.
Israelis and the Palestinians must change their thinking about what makes a nation and further more, what makes a nation great. In the modern world it is not religion that make nations great but the God fearing citizens with in them. It is not the purity of race but the content of the character of its individuals. It is not military power, but the ability to wield military power justly. Modern nations are great because they derive power from the consent of its people, because they do not oppress, because they empower the least of its citizens, because they create a space where work at peace can be done. We now know that no nation on earth today can solely be for one race. We also know that this also applies to religion and national origin.
One possible solution is for Israel and Palestine to be conjoined into one country. That religion and state be clearly separated. That the new nation accept all current inhabitants as full citizens. That former inhabitants be granted citizenship through a review process. That preference for or discrimination against individuals wishing to immigrate not be based on religion. That settlements be changed to developments and those who wish to live in them be given equal opportunity to do so regardless of religion or national origin. That unlawful actions perpetrated by citizens be a mater for the police and the justice system. That individuals and not ethnic segments be held accountable for their personal actions. That human rights be upheld for all citizens. That the military's roll be that of protecting the new state from outside threats of war and terrorism and not internal unrest. That a bill of rights be added to the constitution and that these rights be upheld by the courts and the justice system for all citizens equally. That the rights of free speech, religion and assembly be paramount in this bill.
For Israelis this may seem to great a change to their vision of the nation spoken to them by their parents and grand parents for millennia. Unfortunately, the alternative is never ending war and terror. Those of us who have lived with peace know that sacrificing intolerance and inequality for it is little sacrifice at all. And those who know the Jewish spirit know that tolerance and equality will not kill the dream of Israel. Israel as the shining nation envisioned by Ezra and Nehemiah will exist, in fact, it will be enhanced. Yes, the idea of Israel for Jews alone will be gone, but Israel will survive. It will survive Palestinian repatriation. It will survive the separation of church and state. It will survive as a country, a people, a religion. The new state of Israel will be, in the end, a better Zion. A Zion for all and a place for peace and deep religious reflection for Jews, Christians and Muslims alike.