Rockets are firing once again between Israel and Gaza, and
the prolonged Arab-Israeli conflict is getting fiercer, with no signs of
stopping any time soon. This time, the
Western powers, including the United States, seem more sympathetic to the
Gazans than Israel, and the pressure for more concessions has never been
stronger.
the prolonged Arab-Israeli conflict is getting fiercer, with no signs of
stopping any time soon. This time, the
Western powers, including the United States, seem more sympathetic to the
Gazans than Israel, and the pressure for more concessions has never been
stronger.
![]("http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a2/Hebron062.JPG") |
| Pro-Israel Graffitti |
What is the basis for this moral myopia about the Middle
East? Consider the conflicting values raging in the region. Western thought,
including liberal democracy, is founded on the grace that two sides can
disagree agreeably, meaning that aside from views on the proper expanses of
government, or the proper balance between individual liberty and national
security, the two sides in fractious debate recognize at their core the values
of a shared political culture and moral legacies. The modern state of Israel is
a by-product of this secular, Western political mindset, influenced by the
modern Enlightenment.
Hamas, Fatah, and the West Bank Palestinian Authorities take
their direction from the militant zealotry of Islam, a political and religious
amalgam incompatible with Western thought. With a fractured basis in Sharia
law, Islamic militants have no regard for any discussion regarding the
definitions of the individual and the state. According the uncompromised tenets
of Islam, mankind must submit to one government, one rule under Sharia, with a
Caliphate demanding total obedience and instituting not just enforcement but
the final interpretation of the Koran. Those in the world who do not live
within that system must submit to it or die. Without nuances, with no room for
disagreement, with fundamental values so stark in their severity, the tolerance
and human rights legacy of Western democracy cannot coexist with militant
Islam.
their direction from the militant zealotry of Islam, a political and religious
amalgam incompatible with Western thought. With a fractured basis in Sharia
law, Islamic militants have no regard for any discussion regarding the
definitions of the individual and the state. According the uncompromised tenets
of Islam, mankind must submit to one government, one rule under Sharia, with a
Caliphate demanding total obedience and instituting not just enforcement but
the final interpretation of the Koran. Those in the world who do not live
within that system must submit to it or die. Without nuances, with no room for
disagreement, with fundamental values so stark in their severity, the tolerance
and human rights legacy of Western democracy cannot coexist with militant
Islam.
![]("http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7c/Nablus_Graffiti_Free_Palestine_Victor_Grigas_2011_-1-80.jpg/640px-Nablus_Graffiti_Free_Palestine_Victor_Grigas_2011_-1-80.jpg") |
| Pro-Palestinian Image |
Now the Arab-Israeli conflict takes on a clear, yet sinister
hue. From its inception as a political entity, Hamas has enshrined in its
charter a distinct mission: the destruction of the Jewish State. In contrast,
the Jewish State seeks to maintain its evident ethnic identity, yet at the same
time accommodate diverse values within her borders.
With this framework in mind, the world’s frustrating
ignorance about the Arab-Israeli conflict takes on a manifold clarity. The two sides can never
settle for peace because one side, the terrorists and the Arabs, believe that
Israel does not have a right to exist in the region at all, while Israel wants
to remain in the region and prosper. There is no reconciling these two
diametrically opposed stances. None. Either the Arabs will push the Jews into
the sea, or the Islamic terror which animates radical violence will be
extinguished for good.
ignorance about the Arab-Israeli conflict takes on a manifold clarity. The two sides can never
settle for peace because one side, the terrorists and the Arabs, believe that
Israel does not have a right to exist in the region at all, while Israel wants
to remain in the region and prosper. There is no reconciling these two
diametrically opposed stances. None. Either the Arabs will push the Jews into
the sea, or the Islamic terror which animates radical violence will be
extinguished for good.
Either Israel will be a Jewish state or a secular state.
Either Israel remains or it does not. Either Israel will exist, or it won’t. There
is no debating this issue. The Arab-Israeli conflict cannot be resolved with
compromise and concessions no more than a College’s Department of Mathematics
can honor faculty who differ on whether 2 + 2 = 4 or 2 + 2 = 5, or more flippantly
whether we can our cake and eat it, too, or not. Western thinkers must
recognize that shared values must precede conflict over interpretation or
implementation of those values. Political leaders cannot lead if there is no
final stability, and president and prime ministers cannot say they support
peace in the Middle East if they believe that Islamic terrorism can coexist in the
region with a safe and secure Israel.
Either Israel remains or it does not. Either Israel will exist, or it won’t. There
is no debating this issue. The Arab-Israeli conflict cannot be resolved with
compromise and concessions no more than a College’s Department of Mathematics
can honor faculty who differ on whether 2 + 2 = 4 or 2 + 2 = 5, or more flippantly
whether we can our cake and eat it, too, or not. Western thinkers must
recognize that shared values must precede conflict over interpretation or
implementation of those values. Political leaders cannot lead if there is no
final stability, and president and prime ministers cannot say they support
peace in the Middle East if they believe that Islamic terrorism can coexist in the
region with a safe and secure Israel.
![]("http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5d/Vandalized_grave.jpg/1024px-Vandalized_grave.jpg") |
| Desecrated Grave With Arab Graffitti |
What modern liberal academics and unpacificied partisan
activists do not understand, what secular progressives can never accept, is
that the Arab-Israeli conflict is not a matter of political disagreement, but a
fundamental clash of world views, one where tolerance is either accepted or
averted, where men and women with diverse backgrounds can share the same
standing before one God, or where everyone must submit to the one total
conception of God administered by the state.
activists do not understand, what secular progressives can never accept, is
that the Arab-Israeli conflict is not a matter of political disagreement, but a
fundamental clash of world views, one where tolerance is either accepted or
averted, where men and women with diverse backgrounds can share the same
standing before one God, or where everyone must submit to the one total
conception of God administered by the state.
This conflict is a religious conflict, one which the Marxists
had foolishly and incorrectly dismissed decades ago, as they were convinced
that material conflicts would dominate future generations. This conflict is an
ethnic conflict, more than a mere changing of minds, but driven by the identity
and legacy of two different peoples as well as world views. The Arabs claim
Palestine for themselves, while the Jews and the Christians who have received
the full revelation of the Scriptures recognize that Israel is the land of
Promise for all peoples.
had foolishly and incorrectly dismissed decades ago, as they were convinced
that material conflicts would dominate future generations. This conflict is an
ethnic conflict, more than a mere changing of minds, but driven by the identity
and legacy of two different peoples as well as world views. The Arabs claim
Palestine for themselves, while the Jews and the Christians who have received
the full revelation of the Scriptures recognize that Israel is the land of
Promise for all peoples.
This conflict is an eternal conflict, one in which the
forces of good, which honor life, not power, which honor God who is Good, not
man who wants to make God in his own image. Violence as a limited means is
meeting its final end in the battle between Israel and the Islamic militants on
her borders, as well as the hostile Arab state surrounding her. While the
Western world no struggles to reconcile that its values are not shared by
Islamic militants, and while Western leaders seek moral equivalence in the
hopes of a vain and fleeting peace, the Jewish State is fighting back, refusing
to play by one set of standards which imperil her right to exist.
forces of good, which honor life, not power, which honor God who is Good, not
man who wants to make God in his own image. Violence as a limited means is
meeting its final end in the battle between Israel and the Islamic militants on
her borders, as well as the hostile Arab state surrounding her. While the
Western world no struggles to reconcile that its values are not shared by
Islamic militants, and while Western leaders seek moral equivalence in the
hopes of a vain and fleeting peace, the Jewish State is fighting back, refusing
to play by one set of standards which imperil her right to exist.