As a nation, Israel has a victim complex. While history may support this, the physical and cultural destruction is now being carried out by Israel and not against it.
When the state of Israel was formed, the Holocaust was a catalyst. However, Israel as we know it was the result of a nationalist movement dating back to the early 20th century. When Israel began expanding into surrounding Palestinian land, it was fueled by a Zionist nationalist ideology. When helicopter gunships and US-built F-16 fighter jets are deployed to fire on Palestinian insurgents, it is justified by the Israeli government as a means of protecting itself from the actions of terrorists.
What then differentiates assassination attempts in the name of Israeli nationalism from those in the name of Palestinian nationalism? Apparently, that difference is superior firepower and the willingness of the global community to repeatedly turn a blind eye.
Palestinian calls for national recognition and a political homeland are not unlike those heard from early Jewish lobbyists. The words of Mahmoud Darwish, a Palestinian nationalist poet, speak of "human tragedy," "resistance" and "the only homeland we have."
As a people who are intimately aware of their own history, Israelis are shockingly quick to dismiss the Palestinian plight.
Palestinians are currently ostracized, marginalized and discriminated against, much like the Jews themselves once were.
The state of Israel was instituted at the expense of Palestine. Territory was taken from people who had no major connection to the atrocities of centuries past, with no justifiable reason to have their lands confiscated and–most importantly–no say in the matter whatsoever. The decision was made in London and Washington that those of Jewish faith would be perpetually persecuted if they remained in the minority. They therefore needed to be granted a homeland to call their own. Massacred and displaced, they suffered enough.
Ironically, what are the Palestinians if not displaced by increased occupation and increased settlement by Israeli citizens? What are they if not massacred by state-sanctioned military activities and attacks from fighter jets?
If we are returning homelands to people massacred and displaced, should we not also return New Zealand to the Maori, North and South America to the various indigenous groups that preceded European dominance or Palestine to the Palestinians?
There is a dangerous double standard at work that must be addressed. One can only hope it won’t take another cultural or racial massacre for the world to stand up and take notice. The cries of the Palestinian people are justified.