Timestamp: Monday morning.

I included a timestamp because the current situation in Israel is dynamic but I really want to discuss the root problems which are decades and in some cases centuries old.

Israel was created as a Jewish homeland in the aftermath of World War II. The problem is that other people (the Palestinians) lived there and they were displaced in the process. Keep in mind that Israel is a bit older than me, a senior citizen, and the situation in that part of the world is far from resolved. In large part this illustrates Western arrogance. In atonement for their various “involvements” in The Holocaust the World War II victors gave the Jews a refuge of option or in a future worst-case scenario (which they weren’t prepared to rule out – which itself speaks volumes). The fact that a large number of non-white people would be displaced in the process didn’t really concern them. Yes, there is some racism at play here.

This region of the world has been a powder keg just waiting for a spark to ignite it for all of my life and I’m certain before that. Basically, herding the Palestinians into displaced people’s camps for decades is certainly not the answer. Recently the region has been relatively (and I stress that word!) peaceful. The Palestinians have, for the most part, explored diplomatic and political avenues for a better and more acceptable permanent solution. These efforts have failed and Israel has elected arguably its furthest right wing government ever in the interim. Doomed to failure as it may be, is it any surprise that the Palestinians have resorted to military aggression?

Now let’s look at the Jewish-Israeli motivation for a moment. Studying history, and with good cause, many Jews fear that another discriminatory period is inevitable and they need to protect their only refuge (Israel) to the death if necessary. The other root cause of the current problem is the centuries old hatred of Jews. Perhaps it is because I graduated from a school that at that time (I have no idea about now) was disproportionately Jewish in both student body and faculty that I feel no animosity toward Jews. These people were my friends and teachers who provided me with a world class education. Later in life I dealt with many Jewish people in both my personal and business lives and found them to be like any other group – to be honest perhaps a bit better.

In the current crisis -and it is a crisis! – Israel is cutting off the supplies of among other things, food, water and fuel from the Palestinian areas. I understand why they did this but it will only further exacerbate the situation along with possibly being a war crime. These moves play right into the hands of the rabble rousers looking to inflame the Palestinian masses.

I don’t have any magic solution to the current problem. But this much I know; expecting a solution while ignoring the root causes of the problem is foolish and destined to failure.

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