Zionism in the Middle East - Essay Example

ZINONISM IN THE MIDDLE EAST Contents Overview................………………………………………………………………..2 2. Introduction………………………………………………………………...………3 3. KeyIssues…………………………………………………………………………..4 4. Discussion & Analysis……………………………………………………………6 5. Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………8 6. References……………………………………………………………………….10 1. Overview The term – ‘Zionism’, which has been derived from the Hebrew word Zion, is representative of an international political movement, which strongly propagated the cause of re-establishing a homeland for the Jews in Palestine. In Judaism, the term Zion symbolizes a land promised to the Jews by God, according to the Bible. Apart from the constant presence of Jews in Israel, the community has largely lived in exile ever since the first century CE and was expelled from Palestine following the second century. The early history of Zionism reveals that several proposals were made to help the settlement of Jews outside Europe, but did not emerge. This led to several debates and discussions over the issue and serious concerns were raised regarding the settlement of Jews and establishing a homeland for them, which ultimately resulted in the formation and definition of the status of current Zionism. However, by the nineteenth century, a group in support of the return of the Jews to their homeland grew in popularity which was later popularized as Zionism. In the year 1947, the United Nations Special Committee on Palestine (UNSOP), proposed a solution that required the division of territories around Jerusalem into Jewish state, Arab states and a U.N controlled territory. This resolution was, however, rejected by the Arabs who demanded an Arab majority state in the area, which ultimately led to an eruption of violence between the Jews and the Arabs whereby Israel was invaded by the Arabs. In the ensuing battle that followed, Israel defended their territories and expanded it by conquering more than 78% of the Arab land. Even after the war ended, the Arabs continued their rejection of existence of Israel which is the base of their constant internal conflicts. The following essay discusses the various aspects of Zionism and the Zionists movement, its implications on the Arab world, the issues and concerns of the Palestinians and the gradual laying of a foundation based on conflicts and discontentment that has led to the mounting tension between the warring states. 2. Introduction Zionism started as a nationalist movement supporting the re-establishment of Jews, and is often perceived as an activity dominated by violence. The movement gained acceleration especially after the break up of the Ottoman Empire and the British Balfour Declaration, which guaranteed a homeland for the Jews in exchange of certain services to the British Empire. The proposed Jewish homeland was authorized and created after the end of World War II, with a precondition that it would not be created at the expense of the majority Arab population of Palestine. The subsequent policies adopted by the United Nations have been severely criticized for its anti humanistic treatment of the Palestinian Arabs, the large scale destruction of their houses and property, and several other incidents that clearly violated and disregarded the international law1. Post the infamous holocaust, at the hands of the Nazis, the Jews gained widespread support and sympathy and were then forced to flee their homes in Eastern Europe to settle in Palestine, where they remained a minority community. Alarmed by such large scale influx of foreign residents, the Palestinian Arabs showed resistance in lending their support to these refugees. Soon they were overcome by the power of the Zionist armed forces, which used their powers and arms to “cleanse” the land of Arabs and create a homeland for themselves. The Zionists executed a skillfully created plan, whereby the Palestinian Arabs were eradicated from the landscape. Thus, what began as a struggle for survival soon became translated as a despicable act of terrorism that gripped the Middle East in the years to come. The issues and conflicts caused by Zionism forms the basis of some of the ongoing problems in the Middle East. 3. Key Issues Some of the dominant Islamic countries have been very vocal recently, in displaying their displeasure over Israel and its leaders. There have been occasional occurrences such as the recent incident whereby, Esfandiar Rahim Mashae – the Tourism Minister of Iran, while voicing support and “friendship” with Israel, was quoted as saying: “Today Iran is friends with the American and Israeli people. No nation in the world is our enemy”2. However, the situation is not so positive in their attitudes regarding the country. The “World without Zionism” summit hosted by the Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, in 2005, openly denounced all attempts to recognize Israel or commence a friendly dialogue with the country to restore peaceful and cordial relationship with the country. While, as recently as current year, the Iranian president, in his address to the United Nations General Assembly, expressed his concerns over the current financial disaster that has swept the world by blaming the Zionists for the cause and accused the European nations of succumbing to the threats of the Zionist network by spending their dignities and resources3. The International Conference on Constructive Interaction Among Religions, held in 2006 aimed on discussing political, legal, cultural, historical, and religious topics was apparently the first such attempt on the part of the Muslim world to help unite religious leaders. The discussions included the growing trends in the religious and spiritual spheres causing obstacles and problems in their quest to attain peace and harmony worldwide. The Vienna based Rabbi, Friedman expressed his plan: “to do everything possible in practical terms to bring Zionist world domination in the media, economy, etc, to an end as it can have even worse effects than a mere military occupation”4. Thus, the conflict between the Islamic countries and Israel – Zionist movements continues to grow and refuses to melt down, eliminating all attempts towards a hope for a peaceful dialog. This concern was raised by the rabbi owing to the growing image and myth that the world media is “controlled” by the Jews and is one of the prominent reasons for their closeness to America, since they are found in supposedly influential positions in the news media. However, it if often argued that if this allegation is to be believed, it would also lend to support the myth that the media is controlled and dominated by people with blue eyes, or women since they are found in large numbers in this medium of communication. In conclusion, some liberal experts and critics observed that, this could and might be used by a certain section of the Arab groups who are trying to capitalize on this issue by tarnishing the image of one particular country and gain favorable press and political mileage, in the Israel – Palestine conflict issue. Thus, there is an urgent need to control and prevent this increasingly disturbing trend: that of the politics of hatred, that threatens to alienate a group of people and deny them a chance of proposing a fair counterview. 4. Discussion & Analysis This section includes various research articles on Zionism and their views, analysis, and depiction as perceived in the world media as a whole. According to Joe Stark & Sharon Rose5, the future of the Middle East depends largely on the American perception of Zionism particularly because of its relationship to American foreign Policy. The questions that the authors seek to raise concern the spread of Zionism in the twentieth century, the causes as well as reasons and the overall effect of Zionism on the political behavior among the American Jewish community. They also seek to understand the Zionist movement which is imperative in solving the problems in the Middle East, for which, it is necessary to conquer certain myths and misconceptions for instance By destroying certain myths surrounding the Zionists as well as the anti – Zionist struggle of the Palestinian Arabs for instance, the fact that Zionists did not win the American alliance / support by using misleading propaganda or hidden alliances the fact that Zionism is a political movement, not necessarily to advocate creation of a separate state for the Jews as is widely publicized but more so to unite the Jewish people, secure and protect their legally recognized homeland and seeks to revive the Jewish culture, language and national life. It is not just about expanding their borders and taking away things by force, since the Zionists primary objective was to seek permission to ‘buy’ a piece of land in Palestine and seek peaceful settlement of their brothers. It is also not a religious movement, as the founders were not religious and contrary to the history of Jewish forceful settlement in Palestine, Zionism is not about militarism. Hence for the betterment of both the warring nations and for the world community at large, it would be in the best interest of all those remotely involved and affected by the conflict to seek peace and resolve the conflict by not only initiating a process of peaceful dialog but categorically and systematically work towards it to ensure its success. The United Nations too has identified Zionism as one of the most significant issues of all times. According to a resolution passed by the U.N., at the General Assembly, Zionism was equaled to a form of racism, which was apparently supported by the African and Asian states. It was argued that the Zionist visionaries who settled in Palestine went there, not out of an urge to disperse knowledge and culture, but to capture their land and establish their dominance over the territory. Also doubts and concerns were raised about the Zionist movement whereby Zionist racism was construed as a not being of political parlance alone since its literature was full of phrases and terms that symbolized barbarism that led to a trend of violent destruction6. According to Alan Taylor, the basic idea of finding an establishment for themselves catapulted into a major movement that disrupted the lives of thousands of Palestinian Arabs and the aftermath of the Zionist revolution was recorded as one of the most barbaric acts of violence and dominance in the history of the world. The manner in which the Zionist issue has been blown in the media world wide is however, amusing, since the movement is not linked with the troubled past of the Jews, the holocaust and the sufferings they underwent which actually fuelled their desire to search for their own land, a habitation of their own, but the role of Zionism in the world diaspora has been a constant source of controversy and debate7. The basic idea behind the drive to establish a separate homeland for the Jews originated from their troubled pasts, such as the holocaust for instance and the subsequent suffering of the Jews, and was a major driving force that fuelled their drive and resolve in confirming a safe haven for their community that clearly justified their longing for redemption. The sufferings of the Jews in Europe and their increasing political dissentment gave way to mass migration to the land of Palestine while the rest of them continued to live in minority in rest of the world, especially in U.S, South Africa, South America and Western Europe8. The sufferings of the Jews and their subsequent migration and insistence on creating a separate homeland was glorified in the world media as an act of terrorism and racism, which although might be a one sided view of the affair, undoubtedly needs to be comprehended in the broader sense of the term to achieve any remote success in resolving the ongoing conflict and hope to put an end to the warring nations. This is attributed to the movement taking place in the midst of a highly controversial system of power and rivalry. The author suggests that although discussions and debates on such world issues is a commonplace in political parlance, assessing it from a singular perspective by considering all the supposed speculations surrounding the issue at face value, should be avoided, since it symbolizes not only a global movement with far reaching effects on the world, but is also representative and symbolic of a cultural transition which confronts all modernizing societies of the world. It is thus, just and fair to analyze the issue considering its symbolic significance and psychological origins. 5. Conclusion The world today is caught in a maze of political power, social, and cultural restructuring owing to globalization and expanding economies. At a time when natural and environmental factors such as global warming and the impending doom in the absence of timely corrective measures, is causing alarm world wide, issues such as these, arising out of domineering instincts and quest for power and land, should be resolved at its earliest. The magnanimity and dimensions of global confrontations caused by the war of the resources, and immense oil resources in the Arab nations is presumable. The world has witnessed the disturbing consequences caused by the nuclear, military and political might of certain nations and the devastating effects of two world wars. The Zionist movement and the conflicts faced by the Arab nation and their apparent animosity with Israel are some of the current issues that need to be resolved considering their probable impact in uprooting the world harmony especially in the light of Iran’s frequent nuclear tests and Israel’s military dominance. References: Escobar, Pepe. "Message of Hope from Iran." Asia Times Online. 28 Mar. 2006. 4 Nov. 2008 . Julian, Hana L. "Ahmadinejad: Blame the Zionists for World Problems." Israel National News. 24 Sept. 2008. 11 Nov. 2008 . Leyne, Jon. "Iranian row on Zionism breaks out." BBC News/Middle East. 22 Sept. 2008. 26 Oct. 2008 . "The UN Resolution on Zionism." Journal of Palestine Studies 5 (1975-76): 252-54. Taylor, Alan R. "Zionism and Jewish History." Journal of Palestine Studies 1 (1972): 35-51. Stork, Joe, and Sharon Rose. "Zionism and American Jewry." Journal of Palestine Studies 3 (1974): 39-57. Said, Edward W. The War for Palestine : Rewriting the History of 1948. Ed. Eugene L. Rogan and Avi Shlaim. New York: Cambridge UP, 2001. 101-24. Read More