Mi Gaza, Su Gaza

From yesterday's post, it should be pretty obvious that I follow politics. Local, state, national, foreign, robot, interdimensional, whatevs. So, one thing that I find fascinating is how both sides make a point of saying how proud they are to support and fund Israel. I understand that everyone wants peace on Earth, as long as they don't work for the military-industrial complex, and "Peace in the Middle East" makes for a swell catchphrase. But do most people even know what the Israel-Palestine conflict is? It bothers me that Israel became the good guys from the very beginning, and the majority of the public just follows whatever they are told in the matter. Sure, we've been lead astray by political leaders many times before, but this is the only topic I know of where every administration in the last 60 years agrees.

A brief history: The first scientific documented reference (ie. not the bible) to an area known as Palestine was in 5th century BCE. The land stretched from the Gaza Strip to the Dead Sea. It was part of the Persian Empire, Arabs and Jews lived together, everything was cool. Then the Romans took over. Jews and Muslims were OK, the upstart Christians were fed to the lions. Then came the Byzantine Empire. Christians and Muslims were OK, but Jews got fed to the lions. Then Arabs took over. Everybody's cool. Everything remained relatively cool for a thousand years. Muslims, Jews and Christians all lived together, and if anyone persecuted anyone else, it was generally an outside Christian ruler. For all of this time, Israel did not exist. In every incarnation, it was always Palestine.

Everything changed when the Nazis tried to kill all the Jews. After the war, and probably influenced by some misplaced sense of guilt, the freshly minted United Nations bent over for the Zionists, who said that there should be a Jewish state, and that it should be where Palestine has stood for 2,000 years. Never mind that Jews, Christians and Muslims had lived there for two millenia in reasonably perfect harmony, it needs to be for Jews, by Jews, and about Jews. Only Jews. Now.

Imagine if you will, being a child who doesn't understand why there are tanks and soldiers outside the front door, and why the family has to move out of the only house you've ever known. Imagine growing up under an unjustified occupation supported by the most advanced and sophisticated military the world has ever known. Did you know that, unlike every other country in the world, a financial contribution by a US citizen to the Israeli government is tax deductible? I put myself in the shoes of a young Palestinian, who has known nothing but an occupied and marginalized homeland, and I understand making random acts of senseless violence. I don't agree with it, but I also can live anywhere I choose. I haven't seen my home get bulldozed so someone else can build their own house. I've never had friends or family killed for being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

I expect that the CIA will be creating a file for me after writing this post, because it sounds like I support the turrists, and this is Amurca, and if it's not Amurkin, we don't support it. Well I don't support terrorism or any use of violence, but I see their point.