The Jewish Question: Part Three

In 30 years from 7% to 33%

One hundred years ago, through the Balfour declaration, the British declared Palestine to be the national home for Jews. At that time, 93% of the population were Arabs and only 7% were Jews. Following the announcement, 40,000 Jews migrated to Palestine from Eastern Europe (1919-23). Another 82,000 Jews came from Poland and Hungary following the introduction of Jew immigration quotas by the USA (1924-1929). In the following fifteen years, 250,000 more Jews (including 174,000 illegal immigrants) moved to Palestine to save themselves from the Nazi atrocities. They were mainly from Poland, Germany, Austria and Czechoslovakia. The proportion of Jews in Palestine had rapidly grown from 7% in 1918 to 33% in 1947.

The local Arabs, stunned by this development, had revolted (1936-39), but they were no match for the British army and Jewish police. During the revolt, the British and Jews lost fewer than 500 soldiers whereas Arab casualties were high: 5000 Arabs died and 15,000 wounded.

The story of two partitions

After the Second World War, the weakened British Empire decided to finally leave the colonies. In 1947, two parallel processes were taking place. One was the formation of a new Jewish nation on Palestinian land, and a new Muslim nation on the Indian continent. Both India and Palestine would gain independence from Britain, but each would be partitioned on the same day while becoming independent.

I am always baffled by this “Rule and Divide” interpretation by the British. You first rule an area for a long time, and then break it up when leaving. Create a mess and let someone else manage it. Like a dying father, through his will, breaking up his family house for each of his two sons to lead an independent but bellicose existence.

India’s last viceroy Mountbatten, when asked about the safety of the Indian division, answered:

“At least on this question I shall give you complete assurance. I shall see to it that there is no bloodshed and riot. I am a soldier and not a civilian. Once partition is accepted in principle, I shall issue orders to see that there are no communal disturbances anywhere in the country. If there should be the slightest agitation, I shall adopt the sternest measures to nip the trouble in the bud.”

Following this assurance, the Indian continent witnessed Hindu-Muslim clashes on an unprecedented scale, an estimated 14.5 million were displaced, 1.5 million died, more than 100,000 women were abducted and raped.

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While announcing the Palestine partition between an Arab state and a Jew state, the UN Special committee on Palestine (UNSCOP) said the fundamental objective in the solution of the Palestine problem was to achieve a reasonable prospect for the preservation of peaceful relations in the Middle East.

Following this, in November 1947, a civil war started between the Jews and Arabs of Palestine. Some 5000 people died.

This was followed by a nine-month long Arab-Israel War in which Egypt, Iraq, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and Yemen joined hands to fight against Israel. More than 25,000 people were killed. More than 700,000 Palestinian Arabs fled or were expelled from their homes. 900,000 Jews were expelled from Arab countries.

The Partition formula

The partition experiment was conducted earlier with Ireland. In 1921, the British had partitioned Ireland into Catholic (Republic of Ireland) and Protestant (Northern Ireland) while granting independence.

In all three cases; Ireland, India and Palestine, partition was ostensibly done to ensure peace. All three were followed by huge civil wars. All three partitions created chronic, violent conflicts. Divisions on religious or ethnic grounds don’t work, because free movement between the partitioned States stops. ‘Us’ and ‘them’ are created, giving rise to hatred and violence; minorities are displaced or killed.

Despite the three case studies, Britain has now initiated Brexit, a 21^st century partition. If free movement of people between EU and UK is stopped as its result, Brexit will inevitably create another international conflict, more than 4 million people are likely to be expelled, Scotland may leave the UK, Good Friday agreement may go bad by IRA becoming violent again. Why is it so difficult to learn from history?

But then, I am digressing. Let me return to the history of the Palestine land.

Arabs reject the partition

The 1947 partition of Palestine proposed (a) A Jewish state (b) an Arab state and (c) Jerusalem, governed by a special international trusteeship. For the Jewish state, the name Israel didn’t yet exist, it was conceived in 1948.

The Jew state was given 56% of the Palestine land, and the Arab State 44%. Only thirty years before this proposal, this land had 93% Arabs.

Reminds me of a joke where a robber holds a millionaire at gunpoint. I am a gentleman, the robber says, I would like to strike an ethical deal with you. Let us split all your money 50:50 between you and me.

Partitions of India and Palestine were both illogical, but the partition of Palestine was far more absurd.

India had 25% Muslims before the creation of Pakistan, and Palestine had 33% Jews before the creation of Israel. Just imagine if Pakistan were given 56% of the Indian continent (instead of the 25% actually given), and Muslims from all over the world were authorised to migrate to Pakistan. Hindus would have been horrified. Well, the Arabs were horrified, and rejected the partition plan. Paradoxically, the state of Israel was formed. The Palestinians are still waiting for their full-fledged UN membership, proposed 70 years ago.

Jerusalem: Holy land of three religions  

Currently, three areas constitute the unofficial State of Palestine. (1) East Jerusalem (2) West Bank (3) Gaza strip.

Let’s first look at the city of Jerusalem, one of the world’s most historic and fascinating places. Jerusalem is the Holy city for all three: Jews, Christians and Muslims. I don’t know of any other such place.

Judaism was born seven centuries before Christ and Islam founded seven centuries after Christ. Though all three religions have violently fought one another, they have much in common. The Hebrew bible (Tanakh), Bible and Quran contain surprisingly similar stories. Abraham (Ibrahim), Moses (Musa), John the Baptist (Yahya ibn Zakariya) and Jesus (Isa) appear in all three scriptures. Broadly speaking, the Old Testament is a copy-paste of the Hebrew bible, whereas the New Testament has stories from the AD era. Since Islam was formed seven centuries after Jesus, Quran had even more material available to copy from.

Jerusalem is the holiest city and spiritual centre for the Jews. Like Muslims face Mecca, Jews face Jerusalem while praying. The historical Holy Temple in the old city was the birthplace of Adam, the first man. The altar in that temple was rebuilt by Noah after the floods. It was here that Abraham was asked to sacrifice his son, and was instead allowed to kill a ram. [Note: My short story BaqriId: Open diary week 50 (2008) was set in a Muslim household and referred to the Quran. I later learnt the same story exists in the Bible and Hebrew bible]. If justification must be found for Jews to establish a Jew State on Arab lands, the holy land of Jerusalem is that justification.

For Christians, Jerusalem is equally important. Jesus was brought here as a child to be presented to the same Holy temple. He preached, healed in the temple courts of this city. The famous Last Supper was in a room in a Jerusalem building. Crusades were Holy Wars sanctioned by the Christian church to recover Jerusalem from Islamic rule.

For Muslims, Jerusalem is the third holiest place after Mecca and Medina. Temple Mount, a hill located in Jerusalem’s old city is known to Muslims as the Haram esh-Sharif. The Quran tells a story about a flying horse taking Prophet Muhammad to a mosque in Jerusalem, where he prayed. After that he was flown to heaven, the entire journey to Jerusalem and from there to heaven happening in a single night.

Christians don’t appear to have political ambitions on Jerusalem any more. 1917 was the last year, when the British forces captured it by defeating the Ottoman Empire. Since the time the British left the territory in 1948, Jews and Arabs have fought over it.

In the 1948-49 Arab-Israeli war, Israel captured the West Jerusalem and Arabs held on to the East Jerusalem. In the June 1967 Six Day War, fought on a grander scale, between the same parties, Israel occupied East Jerusalem, and in 1980 annexed it. The world community condemned it, but condemnation rarely changes the ground realities.

Jerusalem (West and East combined) is the capital of Israel, according to Israel. However, because it is a disputed geography, Jerusalem doesn’t have any embassies. (Embassies are in Tel Aviv).

East Jerusalem is the purported capital of the State of Palestine. However, when the status of the state itself is ambiguous, who will recognise its capital? East Jerusalem is considered an Israeli occupied territory.

Donald Trump now wishes to make a statement by moving the USA embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. That endorsement, when it happens, is likely to ignite another Israel-Arab confrontation.

West Bank

West bank lies on the western bank of the Jordan river. In the 1948-49 war, Jordan annexed it and ruled over it until 1967. In the 1967 Six Day War, Israel won it back and established its military control. Since the 1993 Oslo peace accords, only 11% of the West Bank is officially controlled by the Palestinian Authority (with periodic Israeli incursions). In the first part of this article, I talked about the film five broken cameras. That film is a Palestinian narrative from the West Bank. Israel incessantly attempts to capture more land from West Bank to establish new settlements. Palestinian villages struggle to get enough water for their basic domestic needs. Next door, the unlawful Israeli settlements have swimming pools, well watered lush lawns and large irrigated farms. 

The population of the West Bank is nearly 3 million including 2.6 million Palestinians and 400,000 Israeli settlers. For economic reasons, many Palestinians work in Israel, legally or illegally. Many construction workers who build Israeli settlements are Palestinians. Israel offers them higher wages and more opportunities than the West Bank.

Gaza strip

West Bank and Jerusalem are adjoining areas. Geographically, if not politically, Jerusalem is part of the West Bank. Gaza Strip is away from it, on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, to Egypt’s north. Its area is 365 sq kms, with a 51 km border with Israel and an 11 km border with Egypt.

Since 1959, Egypt had occupied the Gaza strip and administered it through its military governor. In the 1967 war, Israel captured it from Egypt. Israel military administered Gaza until 1994. After the Oslo peace accords, it was handed over to PLO, the Palestine Liberation Organisation. (Remember Yasser Arafat? He was its chairman for 35 years. His headquarters were in Gaza city).

Hamas, a fundamentalist organisation founded in 1987, makes PLO look like secular and saintly.  In the 2000 Second Intifada (uprising against Israel), Hamas used suicide bombing and rocket attacks. Hamas had a capacity to launch rockets to attack Tel Aviv and other Israeli cities. Sick of the Hamas terrorism, Israel evacuated all Jews from the Gaza strip and withdrew its military troops in 2005. In 2006, Hamas won the elections and threw off whatever remained of the PLO. Hamas continued the rocket attacks. Israel sealed the borders, and launched a massive air, land, naval coordinated counterattack in 2008-9.  Some 1400 Palestinians and 13 Israelis were killed in that war.

2014 saw another war between Israel and Hamas. Hamas was joined by Islamic Jihad, and received armaments from Iran. Some 2300 Palestinians and 73 Israelis were killed.

Israel and Egypt have both created a blockade of the Gaza strip. Land, sea borders and air space are strictly controlled by Israel. On land, on both sides, there is a no-man buffer zone. Israel decides the quantities of food, fuel and medicines that can go in. Electricity supply (from Israel) is interrupted for seven hours a day on average. The sea blockade has significantly damaged Gaza’s fishing industry. The Gaza strip is variously described as a concentration camp, a crime against humanity, a collective punishment.

The Gaza strip has about 1.9 million residents, ever growing with a fertility rate of 4.4 children per woman. More than half the residents are UN-registered refugees, descendents of Palestinians driven out of their homes in the 1948 war.

The State of Palestine

The State of Palestine, therefore, consists of (a) East Jerusalem, occupied by Israel, (b) West Bank, occupied by Israel which builds settlements there. And (c) Gaza strip blocked on all but one sides by Israel. On the other border, Egypt has created a blockade.

The world, certainly the Muslim world, wants this 70-year old conflict to end. Two solutions, with not so innovative names, have been debated over the years. A one-state solution and a two-state solution. Next week, I will discuss what they mean.

Ravi