JUSTICE and The Middle East Conflict

The Great Dictator Full version

JUSTICE

Justice is generally understood to mean what is fight, fair, appropriate and deserved.

Justice is achieved when any unjust act is redressed and the victim feels whole again.

Justice also means the offender is held accountable for their behaviour.

All societies have systems to establish justice, although these are very diverse.

Different culture have very different ideas of justice based on their culture and history.

Historically our ideas around justice have been rooted in religion

All societies have some version of what Christians call the “GOLDEN RULE” ◦ Treat others the way you want them to treat you.

◦ (Do unto others what you would have them do unto you in Biblical language)

The Evolution of Justice in WESTERN societies

Divine Law (prehistory to 1600s) ◦ King/Emperor got his powers from God and whatever he defined law and justice in his kingdom

Late 1700s/Founding of the US ◦ Common Law: Justice should apply equally to all people

◦ Secular Law: Justice should be separated from religion

Post WW2 ◦ International Justice and Human Rights: There are universal world wide human rights that should apply in every country

Justice Issues around the world are rooted in prejudice and discrimination based on ◦ Racism: visible differences ◦ Religion ◦ Gender and Sexuality

Justice Leaders in the 20th century

Mohandas Ghandi, Martin Luther King Jr and Nelson Mandela fought racism with non-violent civil disobedience ◦ They believed that citizens do not have to obey unjust laws

◦ In fact they taught that it was a person’s duty to protest these and fight for change.

I regard myself as a soldier, though a soldier of peace

Ghandi

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), commonly known as Mahatma Gandhi (Sanskrit:

mahātmā — "Great

Soul").

In India he is generally regarded as Bapu (Gujarati:

bāpu—"Father") and Jathi

Pitha (father of the nation);

He was an advocate and pioneer of nonviolent social protest and direct action He led the struggle for India's independence from British colonial rule.

Mahatma Ghandi

My life is my message.

Nonviolence is the first article of my faith. It is also

the last article of my creed.

Religions are different roads

converging to the same point. What does it matter

that we take different road, so long as we reach

the same goal. Wherein is the cause for

quarrelling?

Ghandi

I know of no one who has done more for humanity than Jesus. In fact, there is nothing wrong with Christianity ... The trouble is with you Christians. You do not begin to live up to your own teachings.

A good person will resist an evil

system with his whole soul. Disobedience of

the laws of an evil state is therefore a duty.

MLK

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (January

15 1929 – April 4 1968) was a Baptist minister, civil rights

activist, and recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize of

1964.

BIO

MLK

We must discover the power of love,

the power, the redemptive power of love. And when

we discover that we will be able to make of this old

world a new world. We will be able to make men

better. Love is the only way.

We must meet hate with love.

We must meet physical force with soul force.

Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice

everywhere.

MLK

I'm talking about the love of God in

the hearts of men. I’m talking about a type of

love which will cause you to love the person who

does the evil deed while hating the deed that the

person does. We've got to love.

MLK: I have a dream

Let us not wallow in the valley of despair. I say to you today, my friends, that in spite of the difficulties and frustrations of the moment, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream. I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal.

" I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slaveowners will be able to sit down together at a table of brotherhood. I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state, sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I have a dream today.

MLK Last Speech

Obama: 2004

Election Night Speech

Yes We Can 10:50

Nelson Mandela

Born: July 18, 1918 (age 95)

Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela is a South African

anti-apartheid revolutionary and politician who

served as President of South Africa from

1994 to 1999.

Mandela

“No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.”

Mandela

For to be free is not merely to cast

off one's chains, but to live in a way that respects

and enhances the freedom of others.

Invictus

Robben Island

When a man is denied the right

to live the life he believes in, he has no choice but

to become an outlaw.

Biography

Malala Yousafzai

Born: July 12, 1997 (age 16)

Awards: Sakharov Prize, National Malala Peace Prize,

Ambassador of Conscience Award, Simone de Beauvoir

Prize

CBC

The Daily Show

BBC

Malala

“We realize the importance of our

voices only when we are silenced”

“One child, one

teacher, one book, one pen can change the world.”

“I raise my voice not so that I can

shout, but so that those without a voice can be heard”

“When the whole world is silent, even

one voice becomes powerful.”

“I think of it often

and imagine the scene clearly. Even if they come to kill

me, I will tell them what they are trying to do is

wrong, that education is our basic right.”

International Declaration of Human Rights

Written in 1948 by Canadian John

Peters Humphrey

Guaranteed protection of all

people “without distinction as to race, sex, language

or religion”

Video

Video

Established the International Court of Justice in The Hague, Netherlands

Created laws concerning “Crimes against Humanity” and “War Crimes” and Genocide

Crimes against Humanity: murder,

extermination , enslavement, deportation and any

other inhumane acts committed against any civilian.

Video

War crimes: ill treatment,

deportation, slave labour or murder of civilians or

prisoners of war during war time.

Genocide: The attempt to kill off an entire group of people ◦ Usually based on ethnic and/or religious differences

◦ The word was invented after WW2

◦ Other recent genocides

Rwanda

Darfur

Bosnia

◦ PBS Genocide

History of the Middle East Conflict

"History is a myth agreed upon." Napoleon Bonaparte.

"The past isn't dead; it isn't even past." William Faulkner.

"No two historians ever agree on what happened, and the damn thing is they both think they're

telling the truth." Harry S. Truman.

The Middle East may at times seem a small and distant part of the world, but with a land area only slightly smaller than the U.S., a population of more than 200 million people, possessing 40% of the world's oil, and the birthplace of three of the world's major religions, its influence upon world politics is not to be underestimated.

5000 Years of history

• The Arab-Israeli conflict has its roots 3000 years ago in the Biblical land of Canaan

• Their histories have been interconnected since the time of Abraham the father of both the Jewish and Arabic peoples through his two sons Ishmael(Arabs) and Isaac(Jews). –Abraham is considered to be an important religious figure by Jews, Christians and Muslims

• This area is known as The Holy Land because the three monotheistic religions: Judaism, Christianity and Islam all began there.

• The ancient kingdom of Israel existed for nearly a thousand years from 1020 BCE until 63 BCE until the entire region was conquered by the Romans.

• There was also an historic land called Philistia or Palestine around 600 BCE.

• At this time the Jewish areas were known as Judea and the Arabic areas were called Arabia and Syria.

• In 70 C.E. the Romans drove most of the Jews out of Judea and renamed it Palestine. • This time was known as the Diaspora, or the

scattering

• Jews settled throughout the Middle East, Europe and eventually the USA.

• From that time until the 1900s Palestine was mostly inhabited by Arab Muslims and Christians.

http://www.worldreligions.psu.edu/world_religions18.htm

At the end of the 1800s many Jews living in Europe were influenced by colonialism and nationalism.

They wanted to return to the “Promised Land” of the Bible, land that was now owned by the Palestinians.

This movement was called Zionism based on an old Biblical name for Israel.

The World Zionist Organization was formally established in 1897 in Switzerland.

The new land of Israel was to be a place of protection for Jews from all over the world.

At this time most of the Holy Land was controlled by the Ottoman/Turkish empire who were allies of Germany.

https://jspivey.wikispaces.com/file/view/ottoman-17century.jpg/34311705/ottoman-17century.jpg

Post WW1

The Balfour Declaration

• During World War I the British took control of Palestine away from the Ottomans.

• 1917: The Balfour Declaration written by 2 British Zionists was adopted by the British government

The British Mandate

• In 1920 Syria and Lebanon were given to France and Britain gained control of Palestine.

• ***This is known as the British Mandate

• The British were quite ambivalent about the Zionist cause and created several different agreements concerning the control of Palestine.

The British Mandate

However the British soon began to allow Jews into Palestine even though the lands they were settling on were traditionally owned by Arab Palestinians.

In 1919 Jews made up 10% of the population of Palestine, by 1934 this had risen to 34%.

The British Mandate

During the 1920s there were a series of violent protests on the part of Arabs against both the Jewish settlers and British imperialists.

Even so in 1935 there were 65 000 new Jewish settlers allowed into Palestine.

To try and come to a peaceful solution the British created several committees to solve the “Jewish” problem

http://www.gettyimages.ca/detail/2658935/Hulton-Archive?language=en-US&location=CAN

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_epEVgyrQMRY/SorOmJwwfCI/AAAAAAAABRY/WUy4zxqcwac/s1600-h/demonstration-Arab.jpg

The British Mandate

In July of 1937 the British government accepted the report of the Peel Commission that recommended that ◦ Palestine be divided into two parts- a Jewish homeland and Arab/Palestinian state

◦ The Arabs in the Jewish section were to be forcibly removed and their land given to Jewish settlers.

◦ There were 960 000 Arabs in Palestine at this time.

A land without a people for a people without a land.

The British Mandate

“Palestine belongs to the Arabs in the same sense that England belongs to the English or France to the French. It is wrong and in-human to impose the Jews on the Arabs.” (Ghandi)

The British Mandate

This report sparked even more violence and the British put down the uprisings severely. ◦ 3074 were killed

◦ 6000 arrested

◦ 110 hanged

With the threat of war in 1939; the Palestinian problem was overshadowed by the war in Europe.

The British Mandate

The White Paper of 1939 saw a shift in British policy to a compromise position between the interests of Arabs and Jews (see handout) ◦ Like many compromises neither side was happy with the proposals but this maintained the status quo throughout the war while Britain was too busy fighting Germany to spend time on Palestine.

The British Mandate

The Zionist leaders in Palestine became frustrated with the British and turned to the Americans for help in 1942.

In that year the Zionist leader David Ben-Gurion organized a hugely successful conference in New York. ◦ He got support for unrestricted Jewish immigration and money the Haganah (Zionist army)

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/11/Haganah-1947.jpg

Post WW 2

POST World War 2

When Europeans and North Americans realized what the Nazis had done to the Jews, there was overwhelming support for creation of Israel as a Jewish homeland.

The “slogan” of this time was “NEVER AGAIN” would the Jews of the world be forced to live in other countries that could become dangerous to them.

There were hundreds of thousands of Jewish DPs (displaced persons) whose homes and families had been destroyed by the Nazis and needed somewhere to start their lives over.

Many came to the US and Canada, but many wanted to go to Palestine.

• At the Potsdam Peace Conference President Truman insisted that 100 000 Jews be allowed to emigrate to Palestine which was still under British control.

• This caused conflict between the British and American leaders.

• Britain said it would only allow more Jewish settlers into Palestine if the Haganah and other Jewish armies were disbanded.

• The Zionist leadership decided to make it difficult and expensive for the British army in Israel through various terrorist acts. –The railway system was blown up –Bridges were destroyed

–British army camps were attacked –Airplanes were sabotaged –In July 1946 92 people (mostly British) were killed in an attack on their headquarters.

• All of this led to a loss of support for the Zionist cause in Britain and they wanted to turn the whole matter over to the United Nations

• The Zionist leaders looked even more to the US for support. –The US army sells the Haganah leftover WW2 military supplies very cheaply and most of the money to buy them was provided by Jews living in America.

In 1947 the UN recommended that Palestine be divided into two states: Arab and Jewish, and Jerusalem become an international city.

These recommendations were approved by two thirds of the UN countries; including the US and USSR ( one of the few things they agreed on during this early Cold War period)

• Immediately after the UN decision two important events occurred – the British announced they were leaving Palestine

–A bloody war broke out between the Arabs and the Jews, with over 2000 casualties and whole villages destroyed on both sides.

• On April 13th 1948 the British announced that they would leave by August 1.

• Over the next few months 700 000 Arabs fled Palestine in terror.

http://kanan48.wordpress.com/2010/05/12/the-plight-of-the-palestinians-a-long-history-of-destruction/

• There was also conflict in the American leadership about who to support in Palestine.

• The Zionist army realized that this was there chance to take over the whole country and used their American weapons to defeat the

weak Palestinian resistance.

• On May 14th 1948 the British left Palestine,

and the State of Israel was proclaimed by the Zionists –The US immediately recognized the new country.

On May 15th the Arab countries surrounding Israel (Syria, Trans-Jordan, Iraq and Egypt) invaded the new Jewish state.

By December 1948, Israel had defeated the Arab forces.

The peace treaty gave ◦ Israel control of 12 800 sq.km along the Mediterranean Sea.

◦ Trans-Jordan control of the land on the WEST BANK of the Jordan River

◦ Egypt control of the GAZA STRIP

The land of Palestine ceased to exist.

• In 1949 Israel was allowed to join the United Nations and was recognized by 50 countries including Canada.

• This did not end the conflict in the Middle East

• The Arab states refused to recognize Israel or make peace with it.

• The Palestinians become a nation of refugees living in Jordan, the Gaza Strip and the West Bank

• Wars broke out in –1956: Sinai War (Israel vs.Egypt) –1967 Six Day War (Israel vs. Egypt, Syria and

Jordan) Israel acquired extensive territories - the Sinai desert, the Golan heights and the West Bank,

–1973 Yom Kippur or October War (Israel vs Egypt and Syria)

– In 1978, Egypt led by Anwar Sadat, and Israel, led by Menahem Begin, signed the Camp David framework agreements, leading to a Peace treaty in 1979. • Israel withdrew from the Sinai Peninsula in 1982.

http://chandrakantha.com/articles/indian_music/filmi_sangeet/media/1967_6-Day_war.jpg

1982: War in Lebanon (Israel vs. the PLO)

In all of these wars Israel is victorious due to the military and financial support it received from the US government and private citizens.

Palestinian Leadership

• The PLO (Palestine Liberation Organization) became the political organization representing the Palestinian people in their drive for a Palestinian state.

• It was formed in 1964 to centralize the leadership of the various groups that represented the Palestinian people.

• In 1969 Yasir Arafat was elected chairman of the PLO.

http://www.whosdatedwho.com/topic/7920/yasser-arafat-time-magazine-13-december-1968.htm

http://www.france-palestine.org/IMG/jpg/YasserArafat.jpg

The Intifadas

• 1987 :The First Intifada - When the power of the PLO waned, Palestinians in the occupied territories took their fate into their own hands.

• Beginning in 1987, a revolt called the Intifadeh began in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.

• The revolt was initiated by local residents and involved mostly low-level violence such as rock throwing, winning sympathy for the struggle of the Palestinians against the Israeli occupiers.

• By 1991 the Intifadeh had all but ended, but massive Israeli repression in this period laid the seeds for future violence

http://ivarfjeld.files.wordpress.com/2010/07/1987_intifada2.jpg

http://api.ning.com/files/A18cyxmPEEpa03q7w9u88nX-G3qaZ9Z4e3GyctUwUno_/F_Intifada_Palestine_003.jpg

The Second Intifada

2000- present

This has been an ongoing series of terrorist/liberation attacks by Palestinians in Israel.

These were some of the first suicide attacks

This ongoing conflict has left 1000s of Arabs and 100s of Jews dead.

• It has also led to the building of a wall around most of the Arab areas by the Israeli government.

• Israeli troops control the movement of all people and supplies in and out of the occupied territories

• This has led to massive unemployment and poverty among the Palestinian population who have been living like refugees since 1948.

Gaza Wall

THE WEST BANK WALL

Israel and Palestine Today

Israel's area is approximately 20,700 square kilometers which includes 445 square kilometers of inland water.

Israel stretches 424 kilometers from north to south, and its width ranges from 114 kilometers to, at its narrowest point, 15 kilometers ◦ In comparison Nova Scotia is the second-smallest province in Canada with an area of 55,284 square kilometres.

Israel’s population is 7,590,758 ◦ To compare NS’s population is 940,789

The religious groups are

◦ Jewish 75.6%

◦Muslim 16.9%

◦Christian 2%,

◦Other 5.5 %

95

http://www.betterbytheyear.org/palestine/images/palestine_map.gif

The Gaza Strip

• The Strip borders Egypt on the southwest and Israel on the south, east and north.

• It is about 41 kilometers long, and between 6 and 12 kilometers wide, with a total area of 360 square kilometers

• The population is about 1,657,155 people, as of July 2009,most of them descendants of refugees.

• The population density is 3,880.9 people per square km.

Other statistics

Religious Groups ◦ Muslim 98.7%

◦ Christian 0.7%

Over 70 percent of Gaza is without power and chronic food and water shortages are prevalent throughout the area

http://www.betterbytheyear.org/palestine/images/palestine_map.gif

The West Bank

The West Bank has a land area of 5,640 km2 (including East Jerusalem),

and 220 km2 water

Its population is 4,152,102 ◦ Muslim 75%

◦ Jewish 17%,

◦ Christian and other 8%

http://forbiddenplanet.co.uk/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/Naji%20Al%20Ali%20Palestine%20cartoon.jpg

Israeli Settlements http://thecepr.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=115:illegal-israeli-settlements&catid=6:memos&Itemid=34

Jewish Settlements in Palestinian areas

A settlement is any residential area built across the Green Line, the 1949 cease-fire line between the newly established state of Israel and its Palestinian/Arab neighbors.

During the 1967 Six-Day War, Israel took control of the West Bank, East Jerusalem, the Gaza Strip and Syria's Golan Heights.

One of the major barriers to the creation of two contiguous, sovereign states for Palestinians and Israelis is the existence – and continuing growth – of these illegal Israeli colonies (widely called "settlements") on land long recognized by the United Nations as part of Palestine..

Despite a repeated international condemnation, including a UN General Assembly resolution and a ruling by the International Court of Justice, the population of these settlements, which currently number 121, has grown by an average of 5% annually since 2001

The largest of the illegal settlements is Modi'in Ilit, with a population of 46,245 as of 2009.

Legal Status

Israeli settlements are illegal according to every basic reading of international law

Many international declarations by the UN and the International Court of Justice have repeated stated that "Israeli settlements.., including East Jerusalem, are illegal and an obstacle to peace..”

Resources

Settlements are the cause of great inequalities in access to natural resources between Israelis and Palestinians.

Many settlements are built on prime agricultural land confiscated from Palestinians, or on key water resources such as the Western Aquifer basin, springs and wells..

Israeli West Bank settlers consume an amazing 280 liters of water per day per person compared to 86 liters per day available for Palestinians in the West Bank - only 60 of which are considered potable.

The World Health Organization recommends a minimum of 100 liters per day – meaning that settlers use far more than double the water required, while Palestinians do not even approach the minimum

UN Resolution November 2012

This resolution which passed 138-9 gave “non-member status” to the Palestinian delegation.

This is seen as the first step in recognizing Palestine as an independent country.

Canada, the United States of America, Czech Republic, Federated States of Micronesia, Israel, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Palau, and Panama voted against this.

http://unispal.un.org/UNISPAL.nsf/47D4E277B48D9D3

685256DDC00612265/181

C72112F4D0E0685257AC500515C6C

http://www.un.org/apps/news/infocusRel.asp?infocusID=70

http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=46592&Cr=Palestin&Cr1=#.Upc8na6H0lQ

Cartoons and Pictures

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8618868.stm

http://www.alzaytouna.net/en/resources/images/90750-selected-pictures-from-the-israeli-aggression-on-gaza-27-12-2008-20-1-2009.html graphic photos

http://israelsbirthday.files.wordpress.com/2008/05/latuff-gaza-blockade.jpg

http://www.adl.org/Anti_semitism/gaza_cartoons.asp

http://desertpeace.files.wordpress.com/2010/11/gaza-ghetto-bigger.jpg

Canada’s position

VIA Rail

Boston Marathon Connection

Homegrown Terrorists

Algerian Oil Refinery

CBC overview