Yesterday, former republic house leader Newt Gingrich who may possibly be Obama’s opponent next year for the U.S Presidency made a calculated but ignorant and racist remark about the Palestinians. Newt's remark that Palestinians are terrorists and invented people is a political strategy by his camp to further bolster his lead in the polls in his bid to become the republican candidate and to further add spice to the popular ignorance of Americans in regards to the Palestinian/Israeli Issue. Gingrich’s perspective on the history of Palestine and Israel is simply based on the fact that Gingrich like George Bush, is a stupid man. A man like Newt should not even be allowed to run a zoo, let alone a civilized and advanced nation like America.
However, instead of focusing on Newt’s character, let’s talk about the issue(s) he raised with the racist remark that he is now calling historical truth. I am not a historian, but unlike Newt, I am guided by common sense which tells me that all nations were invented including America. The people of Palestine like the Israelis are the original inhabitants of what is today called Israel and Palestine. People like Newt who claim that Palestine is an invention ought to know that anyone who was born in today’s Israel/Palestine before the land grabbing was known as a Palestinian. Religion, political and cultural orientation had no bearing as to who was a Palestinian, even Jesus Christ was a Palestinian. History books until recently used to refer to that area as Palestine. Palestine was part of what used to be called Great Syria, which includes Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and Palestine (today’s Israel/Palestine).
If Newt is actually interested in the history of the people of Palestine and Israel, maybe he could have reminded the Jews he is trying to appease that the only place they suffered racism and hatred which is the recipe for today’s conflict was in the West. But today, for rental politicians like Newt, they back Israel not based on principle, but for political expediency, so that portion of history is no longer relevant. That should however not take away from the fact that the only place the Jews did not suffer racism and hatred was in the Muslim world.
In fact, George Galloway made a good point when he correctly explained that during the Muslim crusade in Europe, the Jews packed up and left alongside the Muslims because they (the Jews) were under the protection of the Muslims in spain and feared the European anti-semitism that was to be unleashed by the Europeans after the muslims left Spain.
Galloway went further by saying - "the presence of most Jews in North Africa is not by coincidence, but a result of Jews following the Muslims when they migrated from Europe. In fact, Palestinians and Jews lived side by side for 1000s of years without any of the problems we are seeing today. What happened is that Christian anti-semistism sentiments in Europe got to a point where 6 million Jews were massacred (possibly the greatest crime in history). The price for the blood of those 6 million Jews are today being paid by the very people that lived peacefully and are innocent of the discrimination and prosecution meted to the Jews in Europe.
And since racist Europe could not also entertain the idea of living with the Jews at that time, they coined a new idea with the backing of a biblical text that suggest that European Jews own both Israel and Palestine so they must take it back. To do this, British Prime Minister Balfour promised Israel to a bunch of Atheist Jews who have never spent a second in a synagogue."
How can people who do not understand or know God claim that the right to a land in a foreign country is their God given right? Since when did God start working for Fannie and Freddie as a real estate agent? Balfour’s act made way for a Zionist idea and to make sure this idea became successful, the atheist European Zionists started moving to Israel/Palestine with the soul intention of terrorizing and occupying the area. The Zionists went as far as planting bombs in synagogues all over the Middle East and accusing the Arabs of the act in order to force the native Jews to move to the occupied territories they were calling “the safe zone.” If you ever happen to visit Israel or talk to a Zionist, ask them how come a lot of Palestinians still hold title deeds (which predates the occupation) to the land the Zionists say was sold to them. In which part of the world does one sell a land and still hold on to the original title deed?
If Newt is really a historian and really wants to take historical truth into account, he ought to tell his base that the real terrorists in this Palestinian/Israeli war are the Europeans that touted themselves as the superior race and the atheist Zionists with no biblical title that extracted the promise of a British man to give someone’s land to another person at all cost and without due process. The problem is the West continues to disrespect people that look and sound different from them. A lot of westerners still see themselves as the superior race and this is the problem Arabs and Africans continue to suffer. To a lot of westerners, we are simply sub-humans and from an inferior civilization, so we have to be at their mercy.
Solution:
The solution to this Palestinian/Israeli conflict is definitely no simple task. Years of bad blood, propaganda and biased western policies have all further complicated the issue. In my amateur mind however, I think the US needs to take a stronger and honest stance on Israel. For more than 4 decades, all we’ve been hearing is lip service to the real solution to this conflict. With the fall of Saddam Hussein, Iran has become the top dog in the Middle East and will do everything in its power to sabotage US interests in the region. To further compound US’ problems, Arabs are now rising against their puppet kings and dictators that were in America’s pocket. US’ longtime political ally and puppet, Hosni Mubarak, has been kicked out of power by his people. He is about to be replaced with the Muslim brotherhood; a group US politicians have labeled as terrorists for decades. This may potentially cause the US a big headache concerning Israel. For decades, the US has paid off Egypt in the form of foreign aid (biggest recipient after Israel) just so that Egypt will stay out of Palestine/Israeli politics. Will this trend continue when the Muslim brotherhood get elected?
America’s main problem with Arabs continue to be America’s stance on Israel. America must know that its foreign policy in the Middle East will not be realized if they continue to give Israel a free pass. For the interest of the United States, they must avoid giving into biased policies against the Palestinian people. If they are able to achieve being able to balance telling Israel to stop the land grabbing and then in return ask the Palestinians to accept that Israel will never go away, maybe a compromise might be reached sooner than most anticipate. If not, American news casters will not end the business of reporting “terrorist attacks” against Israel for centuries to come. Palestinians will continue to fight for their freedom till the end.
For Newt, I am not surprised. After all, the statement about Palestine being an invented state is coming from an American; an invented people by all accounts. And Newt also happens to be the kind of person Harry Frankfurt described in his book – On Bullshit. He does not care much about the truth nor does he care about something that is false. His aim is to impress and persuade the people that hold true power in the US so that they can help him win the presidency next year. If successful, Newt can then finally put the final nail in America’s coffin as a super power.
