Why I Like Israel

I'm used to being on the unpopular side of political arguments. And while sometimes I do this on purpose just because talking the bigger half of a crowd around is more fun then plain stamping on minority opinion, Israel is one of those topics where I really think one side is getting a raw deal as far as public relations go.

First a couple of facts; Israel was founded on May the 14th, 1948. The first Arab-Israeli war started May the 15th, 1948. Today roughly half of the world's 11 million Palestinians remain displaced from their traditional homeland. About 70% of Israel's Jewish population were born in Israel.

Let me be real clear about this, I don't endorse the Israeli policy in Gaza. In fact if we're going down that road I don't endorse the existence  of nation-states full stop. But since dismantling the political infrastructure of the entire world isn't usually an option in these discussions I'm going to stick to why I think Israel is the best of a bad bunch and how I think they might improve their strategy.

Discussions of why I like Israel usually come down to 3 points, first being the alternatives. Israel is a functioning democracy and Palestine isn't. Palestine's politics are still revolutionary, like Ireland's were and still kind of are in the North. When Palestine first gained the legitimacy to bestow political power they gave it to the political branch (Fatah) of the military organisation that fought for their independence (the Palestinian Liberation Organisation or PLO). Unfortunately Fatah was rife with corruption and incompetence and lost out in a more recent election against Hamas, an Islamist group for whom the destruction of Israel is part of their founding charter. And this is the grim choice that Palestinians face today; kleptocratic secularists or anti-semitic fundamentalists. Israel's politicians are no saints but you can't build a Government there without talking to your fellow political parties and this is something that isn't done in the Palestinian territories.

My second argument is against anyone who believes that Gaza and the West Bank would be the happiest places on earth if Israel just left them alone. Anti-Israel sentiment may have given the region's Arab states a common enemy but they were formally and to a degree still are a fractious brotherhood at best. A small state at the crux of Egypt, Jordan and Syria was never going to be free of foreign influence. Even a casual glance at the political history of the Lebanon will tell you that. Usually when people think of failed states their thoughts turn to Africa, they think of Somalia and the Congo, of warlords and guerilla fighters visiting arbitrary destruction on rural villages or lopping limbs off voters. But the African Union actually has a better record when it comes to the peaceful hand-over of democratic power then the Arab League. Maybe if Israel weren't around the citizens of Palestine would live charmed lives of peace and plenty with their democratic rights endorsed and upheld by their Government, but I doubt it. I think a harsh and authoritarian rule by a neighbouring power or one of their own invention would be the most lightly scenario.

My final pro-Israel argument and the one that I feel most passionately about is the savage double standards that Gaza supporters seem to have. Israel's siege of Gaza is inhumane and results in civilian deaths. But there are worse offenders. If you exclude the January Wars then India's stewardship of Kashmir is far more brutal, with 48 civilian deaths this summer alone. Yet when I ask friends who have protested outside the Israeli embassy if they have ever protested outside the Indian one the answer is a uniform no.

So what could Israel do better? I'm a fan of the One-State Solution. Israel and Palestine havn't been at each other's throats constantly for the past 60 years, there have been lulls of peace. And what you find in these lulls is commerce. Palestinians crossing the boarder in search of work and sending remittances home to the benefit of all. Raise the Palestinian's standard of living and watch the extremist support base melt away. Dismantle internal barriers (both physical and bureaucratic) and watch trade and inter-marriages flourish. Prosecute any remaining extremists as domestic criminals. Reorganise the Israeli political system so that it has an upper house (a senate or Seanad) where the elected senators from the Palestinian territories would wield a veto. These suggestions aren't a miracle cure to world's ills, but I think each is a step in a positive direction for a region sorely lacking in positivity.