Palestine, Israel, and the United Nations

, by Danny Blinderman, Class of 2014

In the past few weeks, a diplomatic crisis of the first magnitude has reached its climax. After months of threats, ultimatums, and heated rhetoric from all sides, the Palestinian Authority (P.A.) is poised to ask the United Nations to unilaterally recognize Palestine as a member of the community of nations. Mahmoud Abbas and the P.A. have decided to go for broke by asking not only for a symbolic General Assembly vote but also for the United Nations Security Council to confer formal international recognition of statehood on Palestine.

The Palestinians’ anger is understandable. The government of Israel has dragged its feet on peace negotiations ever since Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu first took office. Netanyahu’s right-wing heavy coalition has refused to budge on the issue of illegal settlements or borders. Pushed by his comically undiplomatic Foreign Affairs Minister Avigdor Lieberman, Netanyahu has even insisted that the P.A. recognize Israel as the “nation state of the Jewish people.” Apparently, the fact that the P.A. recognizes Israel as a state at all isn’t enough for Lieberman or Netanyahu; they insist on imposing these new demands on the Palestinians as a way to stave off the hard choices real peace will certainly and rightfully demand.

However, the U.N. is not being asked to critique the missteps or policies of one particular Israeli government, rather it is being asked to unilaterally confer recognition on a Palestinian state. The questions that need to be asked are these: does the fundamental character of this nation-to-be warrant this extraordinary action by the United Nations?  Will this bring the peace process closer to a conclusion? That answer is brought swiftly and sharply into relief by two statements by high-ranking Palestinian figures. The first is by Hamas strongman Ismail Haniyeh. He has announced that he does not support the initiative by the P.A. to obtain recognition from the U.N. because such a move recognizes Israel’s right to exist and Hamas does not support conceding “one inch” of historical Palestine to Israel. Such announcements are to be expected by Hamas but that does not make them any less deplorable. Hamas, despite its budding unity government with the P.A., still refuses to acknowledge the right of Israel and its 7.6 million inhabitants to exist in peace and security. Furthermore, it still holds that firing Katyusha rockets into Israeli nursery schools is an appropriate way to make that opinion known. The silence on the part of the United Nations to such pronouncements is unsettling.

You might object to my quoting from a Hamas leader. Hamas is a terrorist organization, you might say; no reasonable person supports them or their methods. The P.A. is the organization leading Palestine, argued by many to be moderate and resonable. But are they? You might be surprised to learn what the Palestinian “ambassador” to the United States said when asked about the fate of Jews whose homes will fall within the borders of a future Palestinian state.  The question was posed, that, if Jews were willing to become loyal citizens of Palestine, would they be allowed to continue to live in their homes? The official replied that it is in the interests of both people to “be separated” and that any future Palestinian state will not include a Jewish minority.

There is scarcely any sentiment that is more repugnant to those values of mutual tolerance that the U.N. and the international community hold dear. The P.A. would expel tens of thousands of Jews from Palestine for no other reason than that they are Jews. This is a despicable act of anti-Semitism and in no way compatible with the policies of a modern nation. Israel has 1.4 million Muslim citizens. If Michael Oren, Israeli ambassador to the United States, were to advocate for their expulsion he would be rightly condemned as holding values antithetical to liberal democracy.

Israel regularly shows its ironclad commitment to values of tolerance and equality. The Israeli Supreme Court recently ordered a Galilee town to accept the application of an Arab-Israeli couple to build a house there after a six-year struggle. Numerous organizations in Israel supported their effort, affirming that equality is not only the law of the land in Israel, but also the norm. It is clear the Palestinian Authority, for all of its pretense, still holds values that are more in keeping with the 15th century than the 21st. The United Nations should not reward the P.A. for these types of stances, nor should it isolate Israel, the nation that continues to defend the values of the U.N., by inserting itself into these negotiations.

Taking the extraordinary action of unilaterally recognizing Palestine will confirm the double standard that the U.N. has, where every action by Israel is scrutinized for fault but the troubling policies and pronouncements by the P.A. are glossed over. It will also not move the peace process one inch closer to a conclusion. The U.N. should instead throw its weight behind getting both Israel and the P.A. back to the negotiating room. That, in the end, is how peace will be achieved.

  • Stymie311

    you are an idiot

  • Marklevy

    Danny Blinderman is probably another racist zionist to write such an article. His opinion is biased, this guy is not a journalist but a racist/angry zionist…!
    I am a jew but my opinion is very different from this Danny guy.
    Palestine deserves a state, this is long overdue! the Israeli government totally mis-managed these negotiations.

    • Pplrdumb5634

      your honestly stupid

  • I’m smart

    If we were ever to give the Palestinians there own state they would send rockets of to Israel on a daily basis, then run away and hide behind their women and children. So when israel sends one back it hits a school where the actual bad people are hiding, leaving CNN no choice but to publicize what Israel is doing and not showing what Hamas and the rest of the radicals are doing to the people of Israel.
    Oh and my favorite part is that if Palestine ever where to become and independent nation, the second one rocket or bullet enters Israel from palestinian territory israel can officially declare war and enter there land! Honestly I dare them to send a rocket over the border, but sadly no one is stupid enough to give them an independent nation. It would tarnish most ties between the American/Israeli allies. Especially if the US votes for a Palestinian state. Meaning this will ruin the Americans pretty good relationship with Israelis and the US would ulltimately lose the allies in the middle east.

    • xm

      Just like Jewish Settlers who grab land from Palestinians and hide behind the Israeli Army while it attacks women and children too.

  • XM

    Regarding Hamas and Katyusha rockets. Could u remind the reader as to who helped form Hamas ? Oh wait that would be Dear Israel, in one of its many ultra bright schemes to screw the Palestinians off their land.

    “The PA would expel tens of thousands of Jews from Palestine” — this my friends diplays the very deceit of Danny Boy. Well Danny, which passport do these settler Jews hold ? Palestinian passports. Of course not. They are nothing more than illegal grabbers who squat, with Israeli assistance, on Palestinian land. Yet u pretend as if they are some kind of refugees. Could we have a bit more honesty here ?

    Israels’ tolerance and equality are mainly for show. If Israel is so equal how come Arabs cannot immigrate like Jews to Israel. Oh wait, equal does not really mean equal.

    • Im smart

      As for your 3rd part the reason why they cant immigrate to Israel is because the flight risk they have become when they immigrate in masses look at the riots in france and england for example. Israel also wont be able to control the radical islamist that enter israel and will be extremely dangerous for all the people in israel not just for the palestinians already in Israel. I would nothing more for all the Jews and muslims and islamic people to coincide, but until that can happen the israeli nation needs all the safety and protection it can get.

  • Anonymous

    Could someone explain this conundrum for me?

    Why is it Muslims are free to violently conquer lands anywhere and everywhere without a word of protest from American Muslims, or any Muslims for that matter, but if Jews have a legally established homeland Muslims will never stop protesting against it? Why is this do you suppose? What explanation can be given other than as the Qur’an states repeatedly that Islam’s goal is to establish a worldwide caliphate in which all non-Muslims are subjugated.

    For instance, Mohammed was born around 571 AD thousands and thousands of years after Hinduism, Buddhism and Judaism existed. But within a few centuries of Mohammed’s birth Islam had violently conquered vast sections of Asia, all of North Africa and smaller sections of Southern Europe.

    Now Muslims tell us that all this land belongs to them even though, for instance, in Afghanistan they killed every last Buddhist who once lived there. According to Muslim logic per Israel shouldn’t this land belong to the Buddhists?

    Or in North Africa all the Berbers have been forcibly converted to Islam or have been killed and now we’re told all this vast landmass belongs to Islam. That’s interesting, if not completely hypocritical. And what about Southern Thailand. Did anyone know that in the last several years something like 5,000 Buddhists have been killed by Muslims because, or so we’re told, the land the Buddhists are on belongs to Islam. And Southern Russia? Muslims are relentlessly waging a slow reign of terror in Russia because, you guessed it, Russians are treating Muslims poorly and they should give up the Southern section of that country to Muslims.

    Or, let’s take Sudan as another example. How many millions have been killed in Sudan? How many babies and children have starved in Sudan while Islamists steal the food from aid compounds? How many women have Muslims gang-raped in Sudan all because that land belongs to Muslims and only Muslims. All other people can go somewhere else to live, I guess.

    And Kashmir? The same. Despite Hindus having lived there for 5,000 years – something like 4,000+ years before Mohammed was born – Muslims tell us Kashmir belongs to them. Amazing logic isn’t it?

    And that brings us to Israel. Israel also belongs to Islam. Did you know that? It’s true. Even though it’s no bigger than a small pimple on the caliphate’s ass it is still their land and they will fight to the death to prove their point.

    Doesn’t the logic here make a lot of sense. Isn’t it as clear as day? Of course it is. The world belongs to Islam and we’re mere players on their stage.

  • Cesar Chavez

    The author mentions that Palestine, if granted statehood, might kick off jewish civilians. Well if we put in a historical concept wasn’t that what the early Israeli leaders did when they arrived at Palestine, they begun to displace Palestinean civilians simply because they were arab. They kept the best land for themselves, meanwhile Palestineans where kick into the West Bank and Gaza. Not only that the article says that Israel wants peace however they attack innocent civilians who have nothing to do with Hamas and terrorize them. Most of the Israeli colonies within the West Bank and Gaza were once Palestinian settlements that were stolen from their residents are the Israeli population grew. Given these facts it wouldn’t surprise me that a Palestinian offical would want to kick out they settlers once Palestine is granted statehood. However, I do not justfy this since it would be unable and only hamper peace efforts. What Israel must do is first recognize that Palestinians are human beingsand they deserve rights, second allow for a constutional provision that would allow both countris to become one nation (if two nations are formed they would still be in conflict since both would compete for land and resources as their populations grow), it must disarm its settlers and citizens, separate the jewish religion from its government and allow Palestinians to attend Israeli schools and join the arms forces. Also they should allow Palestinian representatives in their government. However, I don’t see this happening any time soon given the fact that the U.S. wants to keep Israek as its middle east ally to control the balance of power and given the fact that Israeli citizens have been brainwashed into thinking that they are the dominant race in the people and it is their right to be there.

  • Cesar Chavez

    Also if the UN is an advocate of world peace why does it still have to vow its head to the U.S. shouldn’t it look after the interests of the abused. The problem isn’t that Israel isn’t doing anything, the fact is that the UN is runned by the world powers who happen to support the Israel. The UN is simply a tool of the U.S. to keep its status quo in the world, I don’t think that if the UN is able to grant Palestine statehood it would matter since the one who can change the rules is the U.S. and not nation will challenge that. They will simply stand back and do nothing as the U.S. changes things to its benefit and that of its allies.

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