Israel home? It would be logical to conclude that both could call Israel home, but extremist on
both sides condemn that action and now that an extremist is in power in Israel, peace seems to be
a distant memory.
If PM Netanyahu continues on his hard line stance as many outside observers believe
will happen, he will be the cause of a major holy war. The new PM has insisted that the highest
priority must be to protect the Jewish people, but is not peace the most absolute security? He has
the backing of ultra-orthodox, right winged Jews, the same group who assassinated Rabin. The
PM stance has outraged not only Palestinians but other Jews, who are bent on securing peace.
These Jews who are sympathetic to the Palestinians, recognize that they have been oppressed and
displaced as they were at the hands of the Nazis. This feeling is growing among Jews in Israel
and in the rest of the world. The conflict now in the Middle East has turned away from Jews
against Palestinians, to those who want peace against those who do not.
Douglas McArthur once wrote:
‘ Last but by no means least – moral courage, the courage of one’s convictions, the courage to see
things through. The world is in a constant conspiracy against the brave. It’s the age-old struggle
– the roar of the crowd on one side and the voice of your conscience on the other’ ( Webster,
1987, 59 ).
Courage that is what is needed to achieve peace in the Middle East. The courage to follow
through with peace in spite of danger, in spite of religious principle, in spite of electorate
platforms. Peace must be achieved in order for Israel and Palestine to survive. Israel must grant
the displaced Palestinians its own land for settlement, just as the UN granted the displaced
Israelis land for settlement after W.W.II. Once Palestine has achieved it own state and Jews and
Arabs co-exist peacefully. Peace because of courage, courage because of insistence, insistence
because of two men’s dream as they shook hands on the White House lawn. One chief Palestinian
negotiator was once quoted as saying ‘ Unless a miracle happens, the agreement between us will
collapse ‘ (Globe&Mail, 1993, 1). A miracle must happen, it should happen and will happen
because the two have gone too far already to abruptly stop. Peace at all costs.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Newspapers
- ” Paper Pact Makes For Cold Reality “. Christian Science Monitor, Wednesday September
15th 1993: page 3.
- ” Five Years Later, Uneasy Stability in Middle East “. Chronicle – Herald, Thursday May 5th,
1994: page 1
- ” History Signing Brings Down Wall “. Globe & Mail, Tuesday September 14 1993: front page
- ” Clinton Fails to Sway Israeli PM “. Toronto Star, Wednesday July 10, 1996: page 1 and 4
- ” Jericho Test of Palestine Self-Rule “. Toronto Star, September 5, 1993 : pages 1 and 2
-Facts on File, Volume 55, No. 2861, September 28, 1995
-Facts on File, Volume 55, No. 2863, October 12, 1995
-Facts on File, Volume 56, No. 2895, May 30, 1996
-Facts on File, Volume 56, No. 2896, June 6, 1996
Books
- Omran, Abdel R. The Middle East Population Puzzle. Washington: Population Reference
Bureau Inc., 1993.
- Tiger Books Concise Dictionary of Quotations. Slovenia: Geddes & Grosset Ltd., 1993.
- Webster Library of Practical Information. New York: Career Institute., 1987.
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