Ali 1

Mallak Ali

Ms.Gardner

English 10H, Period 5

26 April 2018

The People or the Manipulators: ‫ اﻟﻨﺎس‬or ‫המניפולטורים‬

According to ​Pakistan Defence​, in the time between 1948 and 2016, nearly 5 million

Palestinians have been killed in the conflict with Israel (“Palestinian Genocide”) . The ongoing

dispute between Palestine and Israel is about who is entitled to the land of the Gaza Strip, West

Bank, and the holy city of Jerusalem. Furthermore, ​Human Rights Watch​ advances the definition

by clarifying that, “Its [Israel] 50-year occupation of the West Bank and Gaza involves

systematic rights abuses, including collective punishment, routine use of excessive lethal force,

and prolonged administrative detention without charge or trial for hundreds” (“Israel/Palestine”)

Although this conflict doesn’t directly impact the American society, the citizens should be aware

of which position their country supports, rather than blindlessly following their leader.

Additionally, the nobility of the United States’ principles can be questioned. Moreover, the land

in the Middle East should certainly not be governed by the Israelis because they are

manipulative, too stubborn to co-exist with the Palestinians, and most importantly, the Israel’s

forbidden love of censorship will ultimately blind everyone.

The overwhelming majority of Israelis claim that the Palestinian land was, and will

continue to be, rightfully theirs, even without the rest of the world’s consent. Shmuel Rosner, a

New York Times ​journalist, declares, “This [Donald Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s

capital] was an important achievement for the Zionist movement, a​ ​cause for celebration [...].
 Ali 2

But the resolution was not the decisive factor in Israel’s birth” (Rosner). To summarize, Rosner

is basically stating that Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel did not have that

large of an impact to the Zionists. From this authoritative statement, it can be assumed that the

Zionists believe the Israelis have already seized and secured their territory. However, the

acceptance of the holy city as Israel’s capital was ill-advised. Mark Lander and Julie Hirschfeld

Davis, two ​New York Times ​journalists, report,

In June, Mr. Trump deferred a decision to move it [the United States Embassy] to

Jerusalem, under pressure from Arab leaders, who warned that it would ignite protests,

and from advisers, including his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, who worried that it could

strangle the administration’s attempt to foster peace in the generations-long dispute

(Lander and Davis)

Equally important, Trump also has many Jewish sponsors, whom were in favor of

Trump’s pledge of moving the American Embassy to Jerusalem. Due to this information, it is

safe to assume that Trump’s motivation for this melancholic action is perhaps more to please his

sponsors and less in helping his country and others.

Admittedly, there is a third category for some to fall under: the two-state solution. The

two-state solution is a self-explanatory term: those who fall under this category believe that there

is a way for Israelis and Palestinians to, essentially, co-exist peacefully. However, even though

this solution is the “fairest” and the best way to resolve the conflict, it is too optimistic in

thinking two groups, who have been at war with each other for nearly 100 years, would

peacefully come to terms with this type of solution. Each group (Palestine and Israel) believes

that all of the land is justifiably their own, and honestly, each one is too stubborn to accept the
 Ali 3

other. The Palestinians declare they have controlled the land before the Israelis were there which

leads to Palestinian civilians retaliating against the Israeli government, which occupies their land.

The Israelis claim that since the land belonged to them long ago, it is still theirs, thus justifying

their cruel acts towards the Palestinians; however, the Palestinians have rocks whereas the

Israelis have guns, and the Palestinians have protests whereas the Israelis have shooting games.

From this, it can be seen that the Israelis would surely not agree to the two-state solution because

they are, admittedly, more “powerful” in terms of ammunition. According to ​Christian Science

Monitor​, Virginia Tilley, an American political science professor, reveals,​ "The longer

everybody keeps going along with the idea of a two-state solution, the longer Israel can keep

building settlements, which is a full-fledged state project to effectively annex the entire country"

(qtd. in Epstein). From this, it is suggested that the two-state solution is simply a distraction for

some to dwell on while others choose a position and fight.

Furthermore, the Israelis are constantly rewriting history, implementing their own bias

wherever they are able to. Ayman Odeh, an Op-Ed contributor to the ​New York Times​, proves

this by describing the Nakba, which occured 70 years ago, with great sadness and sorrow. He

speaks of Israel passing a law claiming that any establishment that receives funds can, and most

likely will be, financially punished if they mourn Nakba while others simultaneously celebrate

Independence Day (of Israel). Odeh expresses, “​This law is intended to erase the painful truth of

the Nakba, which is an inseparable part of the story of the founding of the state of Israel. It is

also a point of proof that the Nakba — the erasure of Palestinians, along with our history,

language and stories — is not a single historical event” (Odeh). In addition to this, children of

Israeli public schools learn nothing about the Palestinians before 1948 - as if they, the
 Ali 4

Palestinians, hadn’t existed before then- but they do however learn in great detail about

Theodore Herzl, an Austrian Jewish Journalists who is responsible for starting the Zionist

movement. Now, some may think that the disregarding or altering of the past while teaching

those children is a horrendous thing, but the bias doesn’t affect them, their concerns are

unfounded in the American education system​. They are vulnerable these alterations, also, and

have most likely already been exposed to them. For instance, ​The Israel Lobby Archive ​reports

that national Israel advocacy groups have requested multiple changes to history textbooks (in

Virginia), including the annihilation of all references to “Palestinian territory” (Institute for

Research). In addition, subtle portions of bias against the Palestinians has already been woven

into Modern World History textbooks (in California). Clearly, the Israelis are wishing to rewrite

history in their favor, which ultimately leads to an educational crisis waiting to happen.

To address those who assume that Palestine is now a lost cause and that Israel has

ultimately won in terms of the Israel-Palestine conflict, they are incorrect. The Palestinian fight

has grown stronger with continuous protests and rebellions. Rima Najjar, a researcher of ​The

Palestinian Chronicle, ​concludes, “​In Palestine, the assault by activists on the legitimacy of

Israel’s existence as a Jewish state is now in the open as never before” (Najjar).​ This

demonstrates that the Israelis are constantly losing their justification of taking over Palestine

when more and more information, hidden by Israelis most likely, becomes available for people to

see. Therefore, now especially, is the time fight against the Israelis and call them out on what

they have truly done.

In conclusion, Palestine should be the governing state of the Gaza Strip, West Bank, and

Jerusalem because not only have they controlled the territory before the Israelis, but the Israelis
 Ali 5

are evidently incapable of governing Palestine. Also, in regards to Palestinians, it would truly be

shameful to destroy a population consistent of Christians, Jews, and Muslims just as easily as the

Israelis destroyed Umm al-Hiran. In recognizing Palestine, people worldwide will be revealed to

the resilient culture and history of the Palestinian people rather than the image of villainous and

demonic beings constructed by the Zionists and people will come to see the true reality of the

conflict.
 Ali 6

Work Cited

Duss, Matthew, and Michael A. Cohen. "The U.S. should Recognize Palestine."

Washington Post​, 29 Mar, 2015, pp. B.1. ​SIRS Issues Researcher​, ​https://sks.sirs.com​.

Epstein, Nadine. "The Two-State Solution for Israel and Palestinians Needs a Big Boost."

Christian Science Monitor​, 27 Jun, 2013​. SIRS Issues Researcher​,​https://sks.sirs.com​.

Institute for Research. “Israel Advocacy Groups Demand Questionable Changes to Virginia

Textbooks, Reports IRmep.” ​PR Newswire: News Distribution, Targeting and

Monitoring​, 16 Apr. 2018,

www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/israel-advocacy-groups-demand-questionable-chan

ges-to-virginia-textbooks-reports-irmep-300630430.html.

“Israel/Palestine.” ​Human Rights Watch​, www.hrw.org/middle-east/n-africa/israel/palestine.

Landler, Mark, and Julie Hirschfeld Davis. “Trump to Keep Embassy in Tel Aviv, but Recognize

Jerusalem as Capital.” ​The New York Times​, The New York Times, 2 Dec. 2017,

www.nytimes.com/2017/12/01/us/politics/trump-embassy-israel-jerusalem.html.

Najjar, Rima. “Palestine Is Not a Lost Cause - and This Is Why.” ​Palestine Chronicle​, 14 Apr.

2018, www.palestinechronicle.com/palestine-not-lost-cause/.

Odeh, Ayman. “Israel Celebrates Its Independence, We Mourn Our Loss.” ​The New York Times​,

The New York Times, 18 Apr. 2018,

www.nytimes.com/2018/04/18/opinion/israel-independence-palestine-nakba.html?rref=c

ollection%2Ftimestopic%2FNetanyahu%2C%2BBenjamin&action=click&contentCollec
 Ali 7

tion=timestopics®ion=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=

2&pgtype=collection.

“PALESTINIAN GENOCIDE: 5,100,000 Palestinians Have Been Killed since 1948.” ​Pakistan

Defence​,

defence.pk/pdf/threads/palestinian-genocide-5-100-000-palestinians-have-been-killed-sin

ce-1948.416222/.

Rosner, Shmuel. "Of Course Jerusalem is Israel's Capital." ​New York Times​, 07

Dec, 2017. ​SIRS Issues Researcher​, ​https://sks.sirs.

“The Institute for Curriculum Services (ICS) Formally Requests Changes to Virginia Textbooks

and Teacher Guides in Coordination with Jewish Community Relations Councils

(JCRCs).” ​The Institute for Curriculum Services in Coordination with Local Jewish

Community Relations Councils Formally Requests Changes to Virginia Textbooks​,

www.israellobby.org/ics/.