Prior to reading Saree Makdisi’s book, Palestine Inside Out: An Everyday Occupation (2010), my understanding of the Israeli-Palestine conflict was very limited. Before reading the book, I only knew that Palestine was a place which faced oppression by the Israeli government and its military. This is in large part due to the media’s portrayal of the Israeli-Palestine conflict, while the media does give the conflict attention, it places too much emphasis on the generalizations of Israeli’s fending of Palestinian terrorists rather than looking at it as an everyday struggle of survival within the borders of these subjugated people. Nevertheless, upon closely reading and examining the book I learned far more about the unjust intricacies that are faced by the Palestinian people. The fundamental principle that guides the narrative of the book revolves around the elimination of the Palestinian demographic via systematic exile.
The process by which the Palestinian population is forced out is complex and requires those who wish to re-enter their land to undergo a sequence of troublesome obstacles, including having to prove ownership of land. As mentioned in the book, the Middle East peace process has only served as a deceptive course of action to systematically seize Palestinian land. The former head of the American Jewish Congress even goes as far as to say that it, “[May] well be the most spectacular deception in modern diplomatic history” (Makdisi, P. 92). To understand how and why these injustices still persist, we must look at the larger picture, and that larger picture includes the economic and political ties the U.S. holds with Israel. The U.S. is responsible for aiding Israel with billions of dollars every year and so, it is logical for both parties to try and mask the truth or simply blame the victim, in this case the Palestinian people. As I mentioned before, this spread of information is facilitated by the media and its excessive and focused attention upon Palestinian attacks and crimes.
The origins of this contemporary conflict emerge from the creation of the Jewish state. The Western powers thought it would be beneficial for both themselves and the Jews if a state were created for them, however this came at the expense of the Palestinians. As a result, the struggle for Israeli’s fight to cleanse their new given land and the Palestinians’ resistance to live and survive began. The prolonged occupation of Palestine by Israel is a prime example of injustice and disparity, especially as it pertains to its relation to global inequalities. Everyday standards in Palestine have made life extremely difficult; the constant change of rules and regulations and the ability of any Israeli to do whatever they’d like to a Palestinian and bear no penalty for that act are just some of the things that are to be expected.
The power that the perpetrating governments of the U.S. and Israel utilize in its policies and military serve as a disastrous example of how and why the subservient class remains subservient. When a conflict arises the military/police force of these rich and powerful individuals will consequently protect their interests and continue implementing polices that legitimize its system and create a form of structural power. For example, as stated in the lectures and class readings the surplus of food and other vital resources are the initial pathway toward inequality, thus it follows that if the Israeli government controls and limits these resources, they can maintain power over the people. Furthermore, as William Robison stated, “Those who control labor and production are those with the power to influence global actions” (Lecture 1/31). It just so happens that this is exactly what occurs, many Palestinians rely on their land for crops and so Israel develops the deliberate destruction of these crops and thus gains control of their source of food/surplus. Even if they didn’t manage to destroy the people’s resources, they would make it extremely difficult for Palestinians to access them. These methods ranged from constructing walls in Palestine, designing fences/gates that prohibited or limited entry, and assigning land permits. As the book states, these permits were often ignored or turned down (Makdisi, P.21). This control of resources allows for the further exertion of power and exploitation over the people.
The exertion of power takes the form of many injustices and absolute inhumane behavior. While maintaining this power, the Israeli’s are unrestricted and able to promote their own interests and resume their actions of ideological, cultural inequality. This is especially obvious with the way that Jews actively invite other Jews from other places to settle and occupy land. While the permits that are distributed to Palestinian individuals are often revoked and enforced by military force. The permits are often rescinded for no feasible reason and these individuals are left with no option but to leave or suffer verbal or physical abuse. All of these underlying problems create great disparity between the peoples of Israel and as such many Palestinians aren’t given the same opportunities for economic and societal progress. These patterns of inequality can be traced back several centuries and when looked at holistically, it can be compared to the colonial conquest of the Americas and other nations. The motive for this could be understood as the basic profit of land, the land that holds much value to Israel’s Jewish population just as gold and other resources held major value for the Spanish and other colonial powers.
The daily struggles of life under occupation are vast. Simple things like attending school, producing crops, tending fields, marital celebration, visiting family, starting a business, constructing a hospital, and even traveling, are completely under the code of stringent/unclear procedures and regulations. All the while, being subject to taunts and humiliating verbal and physical acts of abuse by IDF soldiers and other officials. There seems to be no absence of conflict within these borders, as raids, designated curfews, harassment, home invasions, legal torture, imprisonment, beatings, destruction of property and agriculture all further cement the subjugation of these people. Palestinians will continue to be subjected to some form of degradation, dispossession, and brutality from the Israeli occupiers as long as there is no consensus for equality or concept of egalitarianism of some sort.
The continued divide among these groups will not only result in violence and death but will also continue to set precedent for fundamental social and economic discrepancies as well as future acts of inequality and oppression. The real question that should be asked, is why our country who entertains the concepts of equality and justice just sit idly by? Are profits and international market/relations more important than basic human rights and liberties? Why aren’t more people concerned about this tragic crisis? I, for one have learned a great deal about this conflict and now better understand the inequities that continue to plague our society. Reflecting upon these events have made me much more critical and skeptic about the information that is shoved into popular media and perception, learning to understand and pick apart these false pieces of information is important for capturing the true works of our current globalized institutions and the inequalities that are caused by them.