The Eternal Torching of A Land Belonging

A view on Israel-Palestine conflict.

It is obvious that when one ethnic group aims to form a state of its own then it plans to remove all other ethnicities from the state to further the proliferation of its own ethnic demography. But what happens when this state is formed on a land where people have already been living? They are subjugated. The Israel-Palestine conflict is a schism of ownership of land caused by the mismanagement and ignorance of the Allied forces of WW2 who disregarded the right of home and livelihood of Palestinians and shifted the Jews of Europe to Jerusalem to form Israel. The history of Jerusalem is as old as that of Bethlehem, more than 1000 years old, but the history of this conflict is approximately 100 years old. It all begins from the spark of Theodor Herzl who way back in 1896 envisioned a singular Jewish state for the safe haven of all the Jews facing rising anti-Semitism in Europe and sought to create a homeland for Jews around the city of Jerusalem. 

But why Jerusalem? The city has religious significance in the three Abrahamic faiths: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Judaism is a religion built around the faith that Jews are the chosen people of God, Jesus Christ was not to be worshipped as the Messiah, and that Jerusalem is the center of the world, where God resided (Korb). In Christianity, the city is considered as the cradle of the religion (Beckles Willson) where Lord Jesus had spent a lot of time active, and in Islam Jerusalem is known as the city where Prophet Muhammad was transported during his Night Journey and also the city of the first Qibla towards where the Prophet directed prayers until the 16th or 17th month of his migration from Mecca to Medina when Allah directed him to instead turn towards the Kaaba in Mecca (Buchanan).

Jerusalem has frequently seen change of ethnicities when the bloody hands of war come in conquest to "retake the land of God". From the Babylonians, the Greeks, and the Romans to the Muslim conquests and Christian crusades, the city has consistently witnessed violence towards its inhabitants ("Jerusalem: 4000 Years in 5 Minutes" 0:01:00). The Jews have time and time again been exiled from the place they have originated from by foreign invaders. One can argue that the Jews are now doing what has been done to them throughout history, by the means of a militarily invigorated nation of Israel. But is this far-lengthened-historical approach truly the right, humane attitude to the region's present dwellers? Does it not discount the Palestinians who were born there, raised there, prayed there and found their connection with God there, sprouted their roots of livelihood in that land and built their identity as Palestinian? How would you feel if someone invaded your home and told you that their ancestors had 2000 years ago lived on the very land your home stands on; that you must now be exiled from this very city that you raised, that raised you? 

The Jews have a right to pray in their holy site. The Muslims have a right to pray in their holy site. Both their holy sites occupy the same land. Both of them have the right to pray on that land. Who is one to deny the other human being his spirituality?

I believe the main reason for a lack of peace in the region is actual the influence of foreign interests. USA is a staunch supporter of Israel, obviously because it in some way benefits US interests. Israel stands as a strong ally which can assert USA's foreign policy and military tenacity onto the oil rich Gulf countries. Who stands with Palestine? Primarily Iran. Why? Religion.

Filmmaking is a huge factor in this conflict. The Zionist movement has gained such huge support primarily because of the dramatization of Jewish subjugation in Europe, especially during the Holocaust. From Life is Beautiful, the Adrien Brody starrer The Pianist, and Spielberg's Schinder's List representing the Jewish struggle for survival in Nazi Germany to Taika Waititi's Jojo Rabbit and Tarantino's Inglorious Basterds dramatically satirising the asinine cruelty of the Nazis that the Jews had to deal with, there has been no stone unturned to tell the stories from the Jewish perspective. This same has to be done for the Palestinians, though it would be difficult to achieve because Palestine's primary supporter Iran's government condemns filmmakers (Mouriquand).

As for the Hamas, I believe it is to be noted that this terrorist organisation is different from the likes of ISIS because Hamas is entrenched within the Palestinian people and enjoys support abroad whereas ISIS was imposed upon the people of Iraq and Syria and did not enjoy internal support (Al-Hroub). I think it would be humane to understand that when you colonise a region's people and harass them consistently through political and military violence, someday the people are bound to rise up and resist. This will lead to formation of extremist organisations; one may call them as terrorists and other as freedom fighters, it depends on whose perspective you're looking through. I personally believe Hamas is a deterrent to filmmakers intending to give voice to the Palestinian struggle because Hamas are a far-right organisation who have strictly imposed Islamic rules of conduct such as polygamy, hijab wearing, and segregation of women, and have reportedly harassed those who do not adhere to these rules (Rubenberg). The existence of Hamas and the support to them given by Palestinian brotherhood-charities and social institutions (Higgins) should not excuse the mass killings of Palestinian people by the Israel Defense Force. War is sometimes necessary, but it should be conducted only as a last resort, without loss of innocent lives.

Who does this land belong to? The people; no, that is such a vague and insensitive answer. There are nuances to this conflict that I may never know because I am not there on ground zero. What I do know is who this land certainly does not belong to is the dead.

I wish such a conflict never arises in my country. There is possibility of it because of the broad cultural and religious diversity in it and the strife arising from it, but rather this diversity is actually to our own advantage, because being so divided in culture and ethnicity we are united by the common denominator among us: we're all humans, and citizens of India; before being given a name we're given a nationality.

"Remember that howsoever you are played or by whom, your soul is in your keeping alone, even though those who presume to play you be kings or men of power. When you stand before God, you cannot say, "But I was told by others to do thus," or that virtue was not convenient at the time. This will not suffice. Remember that." ~King Baldwin IV (Kingdom Of Heaven).

Works Cited: 

Al-Hroub, Khaled. "A Looming Invasion: Implications for Gaza, Hamas, Palestinian Cause." The Indian Express, 18 Oct. 2023, p. 13.

Beckles Willson, Rachel (2013). Orientalism and Musical Mission: Palestine and the West. Cambridge University Press. p. 146. ISBN 9781107036567 

Buchanan, Allen (2004). States, Nations, and Borders: The Ethics of Making Boundaries. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-52575-6.

Higgins, Andrew (January 24, 2009). "How Israel Helped to Spawn Hamas". Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on September 26, 2009. Retrieved August 24, 2010.

"Jerusalem: 4000 Years in 5 Minutes." YouTube, uploaded by TheJerusalemCenter, 23 May 2011, youtu.be/2mR2W43t6tI?si=5cSvhmckf0Q5wQtJ.

Korb, Scott. Life in Year One. New York: Riverhead books, 2010. print, 155. ISBN 978-1-59448-899-3.

Kingdom of Heaven. Directed by Ridley Scott, 20th Century Fox, 2005.

Mouriquand, David. "Outcry As Several Iranian Filmmakers Arrested by Authorities." Euronews, 18 Jul. 2022, www.euronews.com/2022/07/15/outcry-as-several-iranian-filmmakers-arrested-by-authorities. Accessed 22 Oct. 2023.

Rubenberg, C., Palestinian Women: Patriarchy and Resistance in the West Bank (USA, 2001) p.230–231

~Reven Mhadgut