my comment over at the New York Times
Two rival nationalisms have been struggling to control the same "Holy Land" territory since it fell out of the Ottoman Empire after the Ottomans lost WWI. There have been atrocities on both sides, and repeated attempts to broker a lasting peace, yet neither side is currently satisfied with the status quo. And now they're fighting again.
I don't see it as my role to pick sides.
Does a nation state have the "right" to exist within its current borders? If you look at history with a long enough timescope ... not really ... nations usually arise by force, as Israel did, and defend their borders via force, as Israel has, and expand (or shrink) their borders via force, as Israel has. Does it matter whether I think Israel has the right to do these things? Israel will defend itself no matter what I think, as does every nation that survives the competitive forces arrayed against it.
Both of these rival nationalisms want my buy-in, either to take their side against the other, or to secure my support for a two-state solution, or ... ...
It's a tiny part of the planet on the other side of the world, I've never visited, I speak neither Arabic nor Hebrew, I don't need to pick a side. I do wish they'd stop shooting and bombing each other. Ultimately I wish the human race would transcend nationalism and find a way to treat each other fairly without arbitrary divisions. But the long timescope of history tells me this probably won't happen.
[Published]
I don't see it as my role to pick sides.
Does a nation state have the "right" to exist within its current borders? If you look at history with a long enough timescope ... not really ... nations usually arise by force, as Israel did, and defend their borders via force, as Israel has, and expand (or shrink) their borders via force, as Israel has. Does it matter whether I think Israel has the right to do these things? Israel will defend itself no matter what I think, as does every nation that survives the competitive forces arrayed against it.
Both of these rival nationalisms want my buy-in, either to take their side against the other, or to secure my support for a two-state solution, or ... ...
It's a tiny part of the planet on the other side of the world, I've never visited, I speak neither Arabic nor Hebrew, I don't need to pick a side. I do wish they'd stop shooting and bombing each other. Ultimately I wish the human race would transcend nationalism and find a way to treat each other fairly without arbitrary divisions. But the long timescope of history tells me this probably won't happen.
[Published]