Roots & Solutions to The Middle East Conflict

The Israel-Arab/Palestinian crisis is a very complex problem that poses the biggest risk of a geopolitical war. However, I disagree with the various naive proposals offered by many people across the blogs who say that the solution is to reduce the power of the extremists from both sides, ignore the religious perspectives, talk peace and disarm.

What we are dealing here is a political conflict that emanates from an ancient family trauma (the rejection of the surrogate son and the concubine wife from the Abraham family) which, over the centuries, manifested into controversial texts that incite warmongering against the other half-blood tribe.

Nonetheless, there are several ways to approach the problem and achieve a real solution. A complicated problem requires a complicated analysis from various perspectives with a simple but profound solution.

1. Reexamine the simplicity of the political solution: a two-state solution simply requires that each state recognises and respects the existence of the other. All other tactics to obstruct the recognition of this fundamental right of existence reflects an indirect denial of real peace. For example, if Singapore/Indonesia refuses to recognise Malaysia as a legitimate country and threatens to wipe it off the sea, why bother talking about a truce or lasting peace with them? Wiser to prepare secretly for the coming attack.

2.The diplomatic solution is now offered by President Barack Hussein Obama. He is likely to convince Iran and all the proxy elements of the Arab world to lay down their arms for peace. But this peace won’t hold because it is merely diplomacy laced with great rhetoric from an ambitious world leader. Read his inaugural speech:

“To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history, but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.”

This means a voluntary disarmament which will eventually be a prelude to rearmament. An unclenched fist can easily become clenched with a nuclear bomb later on.

3. On the question of who is right or wrong. I suggest we heed Jesus’s advice to judge a tree by its fruits. How many Jewish and Arab friends do we personally know from both sides of the issue to be able to know the truth of their lives in this region?

We should learn to see the problems of the Middle East from the perspective of a Martian who has no vested interest. Which party in this conflict is unreasonable, barbaric, illogical and religiously extremist? By their acts and their behaviour, you shall know the wolf behind the sheep.

Maybe, the Martian will conclude that both parties are equally guilty. But ask him further, show him the history of this conflict which extends to Abraham’s relationship with his two sons Isaac and Ishmael and you may arrive at a truly objective view.

4. The spiritual solution is the most effective one: both the Arabs and the Israelis must look deep into their intertwined past as half-brothers and truly repent of their hate crimes and forgive each other.

They must be made to see that the alternative is more bloodshed and perhaps a geopolitical war. Just remember that the last world war was tainted by the tragedy of the Holocaust (the genocide where about six million European Jews died.)

Unfortunately, human nature can only learn to repent after a great tragedy has happened. And the tragedy of lost lives stemming from the wars fought between Israel and the Arabs since the formation of the former on May 14, 1948 is perhaps not sufficiently painful for sane, citizens of the world to turn their backs on the insanity of war and the drive for political power in the Middle East.