The last thread on Israel and Palestine took less than 24 hours to get to anti-Semitic comments, which is surprising because I predicted it would take at least 32 hours. To provide some comic relief to all of us, here is a beautiful video demonstrating why the “this land originally belonged to X” argument is futile.
If you think about it, you will realize that the same kind of video can be made for any territory on this planet, except maybe the South Pole.
Clarissa's Blog 
Where are the persians
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I think I saw Persians. Has anybody seen Persians?
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Or the bottom of the oceans, perhaps.
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Wikipedia doesn’t even have an entry for that battle. Strangely I can find the song everywhere. A very disconcerting song in this day and age.
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The bravest of the brave wasn’t strong enough for our machine gun. That notion expressed in the song at least tells the truth, although it glorifies modern weaponry.
The notion that war should be fair is an interesting one.
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When war is grievously unfair, people stop calling it “war.”
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If it’s nobody’s land then I suppose no country from now on should ever be criticized for attacking any other country and taking all its resources.
As for the argument that Americans shouldn’t criticize Israel because of its own history of killing and displacing Native America, I say fine, then, if you’re equating Israel of now with the America (or any other colonial power) of the past, just come out and complete the argument. Acknowledge that this is nothing but a colonialist land grab, backed by superior military power.
The problem is that the Israeli supporters don’t even acknowledge that. They’re not happy with just the occupation, they want to steal the tears of the oppressed population too!
‘Our poor country, don’t you see we’re forced by those evil Palestinians to occupy their land, bulldoze their homes, bomb their water sources, kill innocent children, humiliate people at checkpoints, cripple their economy, prevent access to civilian supplies? Why does nobody think of us?’
One can either have land or moral high ground. Choose one. Don’t be shameless and demand both!
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…Native Americans…
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“If it’s nobody’s land then I suppose no country from now on should ever be criticized for attacking any other country and taking all its resources.”
– What a strange conclusion to draw. But, of course, everybody is entitled to their own reading.
“As for the argument that Americans shouldn’t criticize Israel because of its own history of killing and displacing Native America”
– I never made such an argument. I made an argument that Americans ranting about who is “indigenous to the land” sound silly.
“Acknowledge that this is nothing but a colonialist land grab, backed by superior military power.”
– Depending on what “this” is supposed to stand for.
“One can either have land or moral high ground. Choose one. Don’t be shameless and demand both!”
– This sounds like it’s addressed to me but I want neither. It’s interesting that you have chosen to see this post as a defense of Israel when “this was our land originally” is the favorite argument of the Israelis.
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None of it is addressed to you, clarissa. I don’t even know your position. I don’t have a blog of my own so yours is the only place where I write my thoughts down. Some of my comments might be misplaced, as a result. Sorry!
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OK, I need to stop grading and step away from the computer then. 🙂
The argument of the land’s “original” ownership is advanced on both sides. I find it useless because it always leads all the way back to 5,000 years ago and biblical mythology. I also don’t feel comfortable with it since I don’t live where I was born and don’t consider myself inferior as a result.
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What an excellent video. I must say, I don’t feel a lot of sympathy for the ‘this land is ancestrally mine’ argument, but what was done in Palestine/Israel at the beginning of the 20th century by the Brits is done and there’s no going back.
Pity there seems to be no going forward either. The end of the video is pretty graphic as to what could happen if neither side is prepared to compromise, especially with the current situation where tension is building daily.
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// “Acknowledge that this is nothing but a colonialist land grab, backed by superior military power.”
Depends on how you define being colonialist, it may be or not be so.
I feel the associations of the word “colonialism” in the West don’t describe the best the reality of Israel’s case. F.e. British colonialism was stealing resources, exploiting other countries, while knowing you do it for your home country, Britain. In Israel’s case Jews didn’t have a home country and wanted to create it.
Unlike British colonizers, many didn’t have a home to return too. For example, after WW2 in Poland the few returning Jews, usually the only ones left from their communities, were still fearing for their lives because of Polish antisemitism and very believable death threats. So, the Polish government half-officially let them exit the country immediately after the war’s end.
All around Europe Jews in refugee camps (that’s how Nazis’ camps were renamed) didn’t have a place to return to that would accept them, didn’t want to return to the place of death and virulent antisemitism or both.
Calling it “nothing but a colonialist land grab” belies the complex situation.
Btw, in Israel Jews don’t present, are careful not to present the Shoa as a “justification” for Israel’s existence, instead stressing the historical, Biblical right for the land, and Jewish people’s inherent right for national independence.
Also, you’re wrong about “backed by superior military power”. At first, Jews fought the British colonizers themselves and won, without US help. Only later, after Israel proved itself in numerous, hardest, bloodiest wars, US became our chief alley.
That’s why I feel sad, but don’t believe even slightly, when I read US blogs prophesying the destruction of Israel in the next 50 years or/and when US leaves it after oil stops being so important. Of course, US’s help, well, helps (f.e. Iron Dome project), but without it Israel wouldn’t stop to exist.
– el
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I like that your only objection to my statement was the alleged misuse of the word colonial. Alright, alright, I’m sorry, lets call it an old fashioned land grab then.
Also, there are multiple ways in which a country can be backed. If the US didn’t veto every single UN resolution, we could see the possibility of sanctions against Israel, which would’ve caused it to reexamine its policies. But no, it continues to do whatever it wants, knowing that it will never face any consequences for its actions. How’s that for ‘backed’?
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“I like that your only objection to my statement was the alleged misuse of the word colonial. Alright, alright, I’m sorry, lets call it an old fashioned land grab then.”
– I don’t think anybody on the planet would deny that this is a conflict over land.
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Btw, rather than providing comic relief, this video seemed very bloody and depressing to me.
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Wanted to inform that just now an explosion happened in the bus in Tel Aviv. ~ 7-15 injured.
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Disappointed in only two crusades. There where at least 4 major ones and 9 in total.
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Yeah, except only three of them actually resulted in Jerusalem changing hands, and the outcome of the sixth crusade (Frederick II peacefully negotiating the hand-over of Jerusalem) didn’t fit with the overall narrative of bloodshed, bloodshed, bloodshed.
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I suppose the lesson is that history is just too complex to explain in a two minute long cartoon.
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Reblogged this on Oyia Brown.
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