The Tripod

Happy 60th birthday, Israel!

Make a wish!

The year 2008 marks the sixth decade of systematic oppression, atrocious human rights violations and brutal occupation. For Palestinians and supporters around the world, this is a painful reminder of al nakbha, literally, "the catastrophe." Instead of categorically listing depressing economic statistics, numbers of refugees, or stories of the many lives taken in this conflict, I want to call into question what exactly Israel is celebrating and if this will become a platform to address the country's violent and oppressive history.

I went to Israel two years ago. When I arrived in the Tel Aviv airport I felt a strange sense of calmness masking the precarious realities on the ground. I was only questioned for five hours by an officer my own age, in comparison to friends who have been at the airport for eight hours and completely strip-searched. When I left the airport, I went to meet my father for lunch in the city. Beautiful people, great food, big buildings! Wow! Maybe I had given Israel an unfair rap. Perhaps I had only read, listened to and legitimized only one perspective in this complex struggle, right?

My illusions of Israel as a relatively innocuous occupying state (paradoxical, I know) were quickly burned away the next day when we went to the West Bank. Our Palestinian driver insisted we come to his home for tea and meet his family. Of course we obliged and took the long route to Hebron. Check points after road blocks after more check points we arduously reached his home. The neighborhood was dilapidated and crumbling behind the impermeable "security" wall separating the Palestinian territory from Israel. I was directly confronted with the grim reality of Israeli occupation.

Israel currently wages an insidious war in Palestine through massive detainments (more than 6,650 last year), imposed curfews, road blocks, and economic sanctions that, according to top aide to Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon Dov Weisglass, "put the Palestinians on a diet but [do] not make them die of hunger." With one of the strongest militaries in the world, Israel acts through state sanctioned violence against Palestinian people. Labeling Hamas a terrorist organization ignores the very fact that without a state, Palestinians do not have a nationally-legitimized army or government. When talking about "terrorism" by militant Palestinians, why are the 31 Gaza children who were killed in 2006 not mentioned? This double standard is ubiquitous in the media, academics, and popular discourse on the conflict. Issues of statehood, legitimized governances, unequal economies, and racism are also conveniently ignored when talking about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The 1.3 million Palestinians who are Israeli citizens are treated like second class citizens as Israel has no other basic law guaranteeing equal rights to all citizens regardless of religion, race, ethnicity or national origin.

On Monday, March 24, Dick Cheney noted, "There is evidence that Hamas is supported by Iran and Syria and they are doing everything they can to torpedo the peace process." Interestingly enough, Israel's support from the United States and Britain (both economic and military) is not seen as an impediment in the peace process. It is also ironic for Cheney to talk about torpedoes in a peace process when, since 1976, Israel has been the largest annual recipient of U.S. foreign assistance. Israel is also one of the United States' largest arms importers. In the last decade, the United States has sold Israel $7.2 billion in weaponry and military equipment. The rhetoric of the "peace process" is also highly precarious. Who delineates this peace process? Whose true interests does it serve?

Israeli supporters believe it is always the Palestinians who are to blame for missing any "opportunities" for sustainable peace. At the failed Camp David Summit in 2000, Yasser Arafat was cast as the violent leader who did not want peace when presented with a deal that was much more favorable to Israel than to Palestine.

The proposed Palestinian areas would have been cut from East to West and from North to South. The Palestinian state would have consisted of a group of islands, each surrounded by Israeli settlers and soldiers. This would heighten the already large military presence in the territories. The future Palestinian state would also have been completely demilitarized and its economic, social, and political relations with its neighboring Arab states would have been severely scrutinized by Israel as well. This "benevolent" offer was really just an implicit way for Israel and the United States to maintain political, military and economic hegemony in the region.

So, blow out your candles Israel! They are probably in the form of U.S. purchased Sparrow and Sidewinder missiles, so you better blow hard! Celebrate your 60 years that have caused pain, death, and displacement to the Palestinian people around the world. I hope your birthday party will serve as a place for people to critically assess the conflict and not just enjoy the cake.

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