On Palestine “Entity”
By Dr Ghulam M Haniff
St Cloud, Minnesota
After suffering reversal after reversal for 65 years the Palestine entity finally got a break. The United Nations voted in favor of elevating its status from that of an “entity” to a “non-member state.” It was an overwhelming show of support mostly by the Third World nations to the beleaguered Palestinian people.
The vote in the 193-member world council, the General Assembly, was 138 in favor to and 9 against and 41 abstentions. The United States and Israel had vigorously championed the case for voting down the resolution.
The sentiment in the world body was that the power is shifting in the international arena. Having gone out on the limb the vote was a major defeat for the United States. It had lobbied very hard against the passage of the resolution and was going to show the Jewish state that it was decisively on its side.
Just about every American political personality involved with the United Nations took a very strong position on the issue of the change of status. The American position has been to kick the can down the road until the issue disappears. No one had lobbied as strongly for Israel as the United States and had hoped that America would emerge triumphant in the end.
When Mahmud Abbas returned home several days later the headline in the American media was “Palestinian president returns to hero’s welcome” but the picture published to accompany the article was that of Benjamin Netanyahu. It was a king sized full portrait. Such an insult to deride the Arabs is quite common.
The Palestinians were put on the butcher block ever since Britain conquered their country during the First World War. At the same time Britain declared that Palestine would be the “national home” for the Jewish people. On the issue the Palestinians were not even consulted. They were not viewed as a people with land.
When those “colonized” found out that Britain had made a deal with the Jews for the state in exchange for “intelligence on the war” the world was aghast. This sellout came to be known as the “Balfour Declaration” and is considered to be one of the worst calumnies in colonial history.
The subterfuge occurred during the height of colonialism, and at that time the white man would do anything to collect colonies. The UN vote last Thursday was an exercise in “colonial power” though that practice is on the losing side of history. Colonization began at the time of Christopher Columbus and it is ending just now while we are alive. It has been around for almost 500 years.
The great colonial power, Britain, apparently recognized that fact. It did not vote either for or against the United Nation’s resolution. It wisely abstained, but the US did not.
One day after its defeat Benjamin Netanyahu announced plans for a new settlement in the West Bank. According to the Jewish interpretation of the Bible, all of Palestine, indeed much of that area from Egypt to Iraq is claimed for the Jews. Building a settlement in that area under the new status given would be harder now than before. However, Netanyahu has the firepower while the Palestinians do not.
The Palestinians issue has been festering since that time when Britain defeated the Turks and made Palestine into a colony of its own. That was way back in 1917 and Palestine as an issue began to fester.
The Jews declared a state in 1948 and since then they have become a major regional power. Their economy is quite strong, at the same level as the developed countries and has established a technological-scientific industry. They are much more powerful in military infrastructure than all the Arab countries combined, or perhaps all the Muslim countries taken together.
Two of their universities are considered to be at the top of the educational heap. In comparison the Arabs are at the bottom of the world with nary an achievement in educational sector, or anywhere else.
