West Bank Wish-Wash

Photo: West Bank barrier gate at Bil'in.

Alright, everybody – prepare yourselves for a bit of a rant.

The last thing I would ever want to encourage among our age group is apathy – let me say that right now. In fact, I would hope that over the past year, this blog has done the opposite; I believe that young people are hugely capable of making an impact in current affairs. The first step can be the toughest hurdle: learning to take an interest in things that may be happening hundreds of thousands of miles away.

However, lately I’ve gotten frustrated with some friends who are staking their passionate claims on a particular issue – and that issue would be the eternally-confusing, eternally-frustrating, swirling ball of fire and brimstone known as the Israel-Palestine conflict. It’s a blogger’s worst nightmare: a dispute that is rooted thousands of years in the past, and is defined by the grab bag of countless riots, revolts and civil wars that have happened ever since.

I’ve been doing a whole shwack-load of reading lately, and to be honest, I still can’t make up my mind about the whole thing. Every time I read a new batch of editorials, I go back and forth as to who’s responsible for all the death and destruction, and what should be done. The only thing I’m really certain of is that this issue is NOT cut and dry – which is why it’s surprising that some of my friends see it so simply.

There’s a very strong Jewish population at my high school, and mentioning the word “Palestine” to many of them will get you an earful. I know people who “donate” their Facebook statuses to counting the number of rockets fired into Israeli cities. Conversely, other statuses document the carnage in Gaza and the West Bank. Back in the spring, my newsfeed was filled with links posted by both Jewish and Muslim friends of mine, which described the “real” story behind Israel’s raid of a Gaza-bound flotilla.

In an ideal world, the first goal would be peace – not bragging rights. It may just be me, but having heard stories about the senseless deaths, which happen on both sides, I’d be reluctant to pledge my allegiance to either of them.

Looking to get a better understanding of the whole thing, I ran across a few really interesting articles. Take a look at this one by Robert Fulford of the National Post, who argues that Palestinians are addicted to their decades-standing “refugee” status.

Editorials arguing every possible side of the issue aren’t hard to find. And when it comes to the Israel-Palestine conflict, if you think you’ve made up your mind or found an easy solution, my only advice is this – keep reading.