Today it is snowing in Madrid. It must have been 20 years since I last saw snow in my back yard. it makes one wonder about climate change and global warming. Maybe one of these days I will come back to the subject. The fact is that the city is completely collapsed, all the radio shows recommend people to stay at home. That is exactly what I have done.
From the nice, warm, peace and quiet of my home, as I watch the snow falling from my window, I am reflecting on the tragedy going on in the Gaza strip, in Palestine, while I wait for the Israeli ambassador to Spain, Raphael Schutz, to come up on the web for a live chat on the situation in the Middle East.
According to press reports, the death toll is over 700 people. It is easy to assume that most people in the United States back Israel regardless of reason; and that most people in Europe sympathize with the Palestinians, also regardless of reason. This has long been the tendency of the majority of the people on both sides of the Atlantic.
However, listening to a number of talk shows in Spain lately, one can think that, perhaps, some things are changing in European public opinion.
Most of the listeners who bothered to come forward with an opinion, understand Israel’s position towards terrorism, and point out that most of the Palestinian or Arab public figures have not come out to support Hamas this time round.
Some also mention that both Jordan and Egypt never fulfilled their promise to turn over Palestinian land to the Palestinians when they could do so, before 1967. That year, Israel occupied the territories which they then took a long time to hand over to the Palestinian authorities. But the fact remains, that Israel and only Israel, has provided the Palestinian people with land of their own, even if they have not been very forthcoming about it or even generous.
I was very impressed on January 1st when listening to the New Year concert from Vienna on TV. The Argentinian conductor, Daniel Barenboim, himself Jewish, expressed the wish to see human justice come to be in 2009 in Palestine. I agree fully with that sentiment. I believe Israel could do a lot more politically, socially, and economically. I also believe that after thousands of years of conflict, it is the day to day living together, working together, and having the same economic interests, the only chance that we might see a bright future in the area.
At the end of the day it is slightly over 6 million Israelis, and a similar number of Palestinians ( of which only 3 million actually live in Palestine) holding the whole world hostage in its quest for peace.
Finally the Ambassador is up on line and he has put forward an interesting thought which I will share with you. He points out that in the last 60 years, Israel has managed to grow into a modern and democratic society, with economic progress for all living there. In those same 60 years, the Palestinians have received total aid exceeding the amount of the Marshall plan for Europe after the Second World War, but their economy and infrastructure continue to be in shambles. He puts the blame on the corruption of Palestinian officials.
I don’t think anybody could argue with that. Corruption has been and is a fact of daily life in Palestine. However, I think that part of the responsibility lies within Israel itself. Israel has consistently taken advantage of economic and trade benefits given to the Palestinians by the European Union among others, and has profited from Palestine’s agriculture and small industrial base.
I will never forget many years ago in the 90s, when Europe decided to increase the quota for oranges coming from Palestine. Israel’s immediate reaction was to close the border for agricultural exports through their territory, and they then proceeded to sell the entire Palestinian contingent through their own commercial channels. There are many other stories of abuse in fisheries and other sectors. They therefore share part of the responsibility and they should acknowledge this fact sooner rather than later.
But the fact remains that Hamas was elected into power mainly because of corruption issues and that they have decided to use their resources against Israel, instead of working for the betterment of the Palestinian society in the Gaza strip. It is really amazing to see that there seems to be no shortage of ammunition on the Palestinian side, while they complain that the closing of the border by Israel is forcing people into starvation and the deprivation of medical care. It would be far more reasonable to see the resources, both economical and human, dedicated to the supply of weapons and ammunition to the militia in Palestine, change their efforts to supply food and medicines to the general population.
And here in Madrid, snow keeps falling....
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