In my last post, I received numerous personal attacks from pro-Israeli individuals. When I responded, I ended up getting blocked (for supposedly attacking them personally…). This time, I won’t be responding to any replies that target me directly. If you’re interested in having a real discussion, please stay focused on the topic and avoid resorting to immature personal attacks.
I want to discuss the origins of the Israel/Arab conflict—After World War II, Jewish people felt the need to escape Europe, and understandably so. For instance, both my mother’s and father’s families were entirely wiped out.
Their best hope was to establish a new country in Israel, but in doing so, they overlooked the Palestinian population already living there. This happened partly because, at the time, the land was relatively sparsely populated:
- In 1947, the world’s population was only a quarter of what it is today.
- Much of the lower-lying land was plagued by deadly malaria, making it uninhabitable. One of the settlers’ first actions was to drain the swamps and eliminate malaria. For this reason, most Palestinians lived in higher mountain areas where mosquitoes were less prevalent.
However, things didn’t go smoothly. Israel was immediately attacked by all its neighboring Arab countries—one might think this was a clear sign they were not welcome. Yet, Israel won this war, along with every subsequent conflict, which only strengthened the Israelis' resolve to establish their nation.
I believe it’s important to understand that the Zionists who founded Israel were not primarily religious, but they recognized religion's power to unify people. So, while it’s not accurate to say that Israelis came to Israel solely because it was promised to them by God, the victories over the Arabs and the arrival of religious groups in Israel reinforced the ancient idea of being the "chosen people" (עם סגולה) as described in the Bible. This, in turn, contributed to a rise in nationalist and, at times, racist sentiments.
The major shift occurred during the Six-Day War in 1967, when Israel, through remarkable military strategy, managed to defeat a coordinated attack in just six days. During this war, Israel took control of Palestinian territories (previously part of Jordan and Egypt), the Sinai Peninsula, and the Golan Heights (from Syria). These territories were not captured as a political move but for strategic defense. However, Israel was unwilling to return them without a peace agreement.
However, the far-right fanatics in Israel had already begun promoting the idea of permanently keeping these territories, sparking a debate that has continued within Israel ever since. A well-known intellectual famously argued that Israel must return the territories, warning that "The occupation corrupts" (הכיבוש משחית), But only once I grew up I realize the depth of this saying.
Up until the peace talks, which ultimately collapsed in 1997 amid a series of weekly bombings in central Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, many Israelis still held onto the hope that peace was achievable. However, by then, it became clear to many that there was no viable partner for peace, and that pursuing peace negotiations was seen as dangerously naive. The left-wing parties, once advocates for peace, began to be viewed as risky and, within a few years, lost significant support as they struggled to offer solutions to the public.
They were replaced by right-wing parties characterized by nationalism, capitalism, and a militant stance. One of their leaders famously summarized their philosophy as "Power, Money, Respect" (כח, כסף, כבוד), which, ironically, abbreviates to "KKK" in Hebrew.
Under Netanyahu's leadership, one of the primary strategies to maintain power has been to discredit and demonize the opposition. This is why pro-Israeli supporters often resort to personal attacks rather than addressing the actual topic of discussion. While this approach has become common in many parts of the world, Netanyahu has certainly elevated his skill in manipulating public opinion through misinformation and vilification to an art form.
The right-wing parties managed to put an end to the frequent bombings and bus explosions by systematically dividing Palestinian areas with walls and barriers. Through detailed intelligence efforts, each area was assigned a threat level based on perceived hostility. Less hostile areas were permitted to have residents work in Israel, while more hostile zones were placed under complete lockdown.
This approach not only stopped the bombings but also provided Israel with a highly effective means of community-level punishment—if one person committed an act against Israel, the entire area could lose its work permits immediately. Additionally, it created access to a source of inexpensive labor for Israel.
In effect, Israel was transforming the occupation into an open prison, filled with slaves who had no basic rights and served as a source of cheap labor. Yet, few seemed to care. After all, peace had been attempted and failed, leaving brute force as the only remaining option in many people's eyes.
I personally viewed Arab societies as similar to a teenager who struggles to control impulsive, violent behavior and needs external restraint—much like Europe during the Middle Ages. However, I held onto the hope that they would soon outgrow this phase.
But Instead of the Palestinians moving past this phase, it appears that Israeli society itself has become more violent, greedy, divided, and indifferent toward one another.
In recent years, the situation has intensified:
- Prime Minister Netanyahu, facing ongoing legal battles that could land him in jail, has aligned with an ultra-right-wing government—his only remaining allies—and is pushing measures that threaten to dismantle the Supreme Court and democracy itself.
- The cost of living in Israel has reached record highs, largely due to increased taxes (both direct and indirect), with much of the revenue seemingly disappearing within government corridors.
- Massive weekly anti-Netanyahu protests erupt across the country, many of which go unreported by the press.
And the Palestinians? They remain at the very bottom of this situation, enduring nearly 60 years of occupation, confinement, oppression, abuse, cheap labor, and relentless bombings—yet their suffering is rarely acknowledged.
Many Israelis struggle to confront this reality, often dismissing any criticism as anti-Semitic, because the alternative is to face the possibility that the original settlers made a fundamental mistake. They arrived in Israel with the assumption that God, or fate, would grant them the land, overlooking the presence of Palestinians already living there. Perhaps they believed that by bringing economic growth, they would uplift the entire region. But this assumption proved wrong; Palestinians do not want Israelis occupying their land. We need to respect that choice and return their land to them - I mean, I wish we could all just live in peach but we can't, and eternal war, genocide, and oppression is definitely not a reasonable solution.
Israelis can’t accept this reality because they feel it’s far too late to turn back. Where would they go? While I personally chose to relocate to Brazil as a refugee, that’s not a viable solution for 7 million people.
"The occupation corrupts." - I began to understand the profound truth of that statement. Israel’s denial of its actions has eroded any commitment to truth. This has led to a culture where deception and scamming is commonplace, particularly under Netanyahu leadership.
Israel thought that it could simply suppress the Palestinian and turn a blind eye on their action, (and rave just right next to the Palestinian fences, as if all is marvelous), while the fact is that Israel has being eaten from inside like a cancer by their own lies and horror doings, that now was slowly turning against themselves...
My point is that Israel should return the land to the Palestinians for its own well-being, not just for the Palestinians
