Israel, Palestine and Alexander the Great

Israel and Palestine. A topic of fiendish complexity, which takes up an extraordinary number of column inches the world over. A problem that seems intractable: and one which is set to grow more intricate still. As Iran seems to be pressing on with its plans to build an atomic bomb, Israel’s leadership considering a pre-emptive strike against its nuclear facilities, in the style of that against Iraq in 1981. The argument for such a strike is that Iran’s possession of a nuke represents an existential threat to the state of Israel.

I thought about this argument against the backdrop of Palestine’s recent attempt to gain statehood from the UN. Then I thought a bit further back, to a wonderful visit that I made to Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, which immediately preceded Operation Cast Lead in 2008. Then I thought about the reading I’d done about the War of Independence, the Holocaust, and then, finally, I thought about Alexander the Great.

Thousands of years ago, in the town of Gordium, there was a knot fashioned from twine. The knot had been fused so tightly that it was near-impossible to untangle. This was no ordinary knot, though. It was prophesied that whoever untied the knot would go on to conquer the whole of Asia. Of course, with a prize that spectacular, people came from far and wide to try to undo the Gordian knot. They came to the courtyard and sat and studied the conundrum for hours. All of them went away defeated.

Until, that is, a young man turned up from Macedonia. Alexander looked carefully at the knot, before deciding what to do. (Perhaps he even paused for dramatic effect.) And then, he drew out his sword, and with a swift downward stroke cut through the heart of the knot. He then went on to conquer the whole of Asia.

Reading about Israel and Palestine, watching the YouTube videos, the feature films and the documentaries, I am reminded more and more of the Gordian knot. A situation of such finely-woven delicacy that maybe the only way to address it is to slice straight through its heart.

And so I wonder whether the way to cut this Gordian knot isn’t just to integrate Israel and Palestine. The whole thing. No two-state solution, but a one-state solution. Maybe Israel and Palestine can be a Jewish state and a Palestinian state too.

I wonder whether integration might defuse, rather than increase tension. If Iran truly is building a bomb to annihilate Israel, then how could they threaten with nukes a country that had welcomed Palestinians into every street?

Of course, I don’t suggest that this would be a straightforward process. Maybe they could do it town by town, over a matter of years (or, more likely, decades). But it might make Israelis and Palestinians happier about their lot than they are now. It’s a simple thought. But right now, maybe simple is what is needed.

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• mmkio

  But, Mr Okwonga.. great idea! what appened in the pluralist Israel in the independence days and first 40 years of the plural state??? before Mr. Arafat and all his entourage terrorist? What is today Israel? Who don’t want to live together?

• mmkio

  In another vein, what you’ll do with the difference in population growth?

• DrMikeH49

  Israel was founded to be the nation state of the Jewish people. The Arabs rejected the right if the Jews to exercise national self determination in the Jewish homeland before 1947, tried to eliminate the Hews in 1947-8, and continue to reject that right today.
  Jews are not going to return to the dhimmi status they were subjected to in Arab lands.

  Here’s a different simple solution: the Palestinians agree to live in peace in a Palestinian Arab state alongside a Jewish state of Israel.

• evasmagacz

  Israelis would welcome the opportunity to show Palestinians a better way: Palestinians did not welcome the immigrants from far away European Continent in 1920ties, 1930ties and 1940ties – and they should have, according to Zionist hasbara, been more gracious and allow the state of Israel to be formed. It is this unreasonable un-graciousness that is at the core of Occupation and Refugee crisis. 
  Lets ask Israel to welcome immigrants from their immediate vacinity and support the creation of One State – Palestine-Israel Federation (PIF for short). Let them show how easy it is for those who are generous in heart. It will kill any criticism of Colonialism and Land theft. 
  Truly wonderful  chance to show how Jews are much more reasonable than those Arabs.

• Guest

  it’s not that complex an issue..

  The original ‘exodus’ of the Jews from Ancient Egypt went to Petra in modern day Jordan and Moses never walked in or even saw The Holy Land.

  There has never been any ‘kingdom of david’ searching for it has proved that there was a Philistine Kingdom during the period claimed by the zionists. If david ever did exist he was little more than a farmer. (research disgraced israeli historians and archaeologists planting ‘evidence’ – see Udin)

  The original inhabitants (of an organised working state) were the Canaanites. The Canaanites are the forefathers of the modern day Palestinians.

  Most Sephardic Jews (Jews from the middle east) either converted to Islam or left during the Islamic conquests. The Jews who stayed lived in peace with the Muslims.

  Ashkenazi Jews (nearly all American Jews) come from religious converts who came to Judaism much later and have nothing to do with the Holy Land.

  The Palestinians are Jews ,Christians and Muslims directly descended from the 1st inhabitants.

  … but your right, dirty US lobby MONEY makes things  a bit more complicated

• jakewallissimons

  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One-state_solution

• http://www.facebook.com/spelejon Jon Nordström

  You’re a wise man Musa!

• TalkbackZionism

  So basically, Israel will cease to exist and be overrun by Palestinians.  It’s hard to see how your “solution” is any different than the Final Solution that the Palestinians want.

  Here’s a simple solution:  Hold free and fair democratic elections in Jordan.  The population there is almost 80% Palestinian.  They would vote out the Hashemites and Bedouins and declare Palestine (something they tried to do in 1970).  Then all the Palestinians in the West Bank can go home to Palestine (Jordan was part of the original Palestine Mandate and constitutes 77% of it before being illegally severed by the British in 1921).  

  Surely no one would be opposed to free and fair elections.  

• TalkbackZionism

  Looks to me like you are fixin’ for a fisking:

  1.  Moses never walked or saw the Holy Land – True, but since you are basing this on Scripture, maybe you should keep reading a few pages because the Bible that you cite as your source has reams and reams of pages wherein the Jewish people do take a few walks in the Holy Land.  Remember Joshua and how he led them into the land? (Oh, and according to Scripture Moses did see all of the Holy Land from Mount Nebo.)
  2.  Never has been a David – I guess there was never a Jesus or a Mohammed either.  In fact, I guess the Torah, New Testament and Koran are all wrong on this point. (Even a Muslim would not make such an obtuse argument.)  Besides, as anyone who has any logic knows, absence of evidence is not evidence of absence (See Wikipedia for a discussion of the existing evidence of King David that is out there.)
  3.  Palestinians = Canaanites – The Palestinians are the descendants of the Philistines if anything (notice that the words are the same and from the same root).  Palestinian comes from the Semitic root P-L-Sh (meaning foreigner or invader).  Hardly the name of an indigenous people.  Besides, we know that the Crusaders kicked everyone out of the land eight hundred years ago, so the people who call themselves Palestinians today can’t be the indigenous people.  Indeed, until the early 1960s they called themselves Arabs (or Syrians) and the Jews were known as Palestinians!
  4.  Sephardic Jews – Some may have converted and many stayed.  They were categorized as dhimmis and made to pay excess taxes and had numerous restrictions placed, but apart from some pogroms they lived better than in Europe.  This changed after Muslim intellectuals and religious leaders warmly embraced Nazi ideologies of eliminationism in the 1930s.
  5.  Ashkenazis are recent converts to Judaism – This was definitively debunked recently through genetic testing that showed there was no significant genetic contribution from European haplotypes. See the Atzmon and Ostrer (2010).
  6.  Palestinians are Jews, Christians, etc – I thought you said the Palestinians were Canaanites!  Seriously, can’t you even be consistent in one talkback post? (Refer to my point about the Crusaders noted above.)

• compagnero

  Musa is most probably right. A two state settlement would be continually destabilised by the ultras in both states. A one state settlement would be very hard to achieve of course but  it would have the benefit of excluding from power the destructive ultra elements in the contested region.