Being Pro-Israel Doesn't Mean Being Anti-Arab

The Israeli-Arab conflicts is one of the longest-spanning conflicts in our world, and there seems to be no end in sight.  Many in the world, myself included, have often asked "  Why can't a compromise be reached between the two sides?  What is it that is driving this ongoing war?  Which side is in the right and which is in the wrong?  Is the Two-State Solution a lasting Solution?  These are all good questions.  Perhaps one big question that is asked is "Can you support one side without hating the other?"  Views on all of these questions are often varied, and in many cases, people on various sides of the issue have had their views altered by a number of events and revelations.  I myself was one such person who change their views on some of the issues, but maintained their belief in in regards to others.  

For many years, I was on what one may call the "Pro-Palestinian Side."  I long advocated for the Two-State Solution.  I believed that the origin of the conflict was mainly a land dispute that could be resolved if both sides were willing to compromise.  I believed that land could be swapped between Israel proper and the West Bank that would enable Israel to keep most of their civilian settlers were they were while other areas could be evacuated and Arabs of the Palestinian state would be allowed in and settle.  I even favored "re-dividing Jerusalem" and thought that putting portions under an "International Autonomous Zone" would be in everyone's best interest.  However, I ran afoul with some of my fellow "Pro-Palestinians" on a number of other issues.  Firstly, I never supported the "Right of Return" of "Palestinian Refugees."  Firstly, it would be impossible for Israel to take in five million people.  Secondly, Israel was not bound by International Law to do this.  Thirdly, no nation on Earth has ever been forced to make such a concession, Fourthly, the descendants of the Hundreds of Thousands of Jews who were expelled from Arab lands after the 1948 War have been given no reparation's or right of return, so why should the descendants of Arab refugees get something that the descendants of the Jewish refugees never received?  

My stance on the "Right of Return" has not changed, but that doesn't mean that I believe that those who are not identified "Palestinian Refugees" shouldn't be helped.  The best way to do so, is for the UNRWA to stop identifying subsequent generations of people as "refugees" and start identifying refugees under the same guidelines as the UNHCR.  At the same time, the UNRWA should change its focus and start working with the other 22 Arab nations to resettled Arabs within their respective nations as "Palestinian Refugees" and push the Arab states to give them full citizenship rights, something that many Arab nations have refused to do, even leaders of the Palestinian Authority are on record stating that "Palestinian Refugees" will not become citizens in a "Palestinian State," which seems to defeat the main purpose of creating such a state.  However, the one major thing that has changed for my view of the conflict over the years was the question of  "What is the driving force behind this ongoing war?"  I used to think it was the dispute over who had sovereign rights to the land west of the 1949 Armistice Line (the West Bank) and Jerusalem, but I now know that this is not the case.  The driving force behind this conflict isn't a land dispute, it's Jihad.  

Mosab Hasan Yousef, the son of one of the founders of Hamas came to this realization as the conflict wore on.  He gradually grew to realize that when the various Jihadist organizations (Hamas, the Palestinian Authority, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Hezbollah, Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade) are left to interpret Islamic religious law in any manner that they see fit, and that anyone who fails to conform to their interpretation is the "enemy," then there would never be peace, only war and chaos.  Mosab grew to understand that even if the Israeli Jews all left the region, the fighting would continue and repression would be ongoing.  

Mosab, like former PLO terrorist Tass Saada also understood that the world could not return to 1967 or 1948.  Those days had come and gone, they could not be reversed.  The Right of Return is simply not possible, and both sides knew it, but the Palestinian terrorist groups continue to enact it on order to keep the conflict going.  Mosab came to an inescapable realization, Hamas is not simply a terrorist organization, Hamas is an ideology.  This ideology finds its root in Jihad, the one thing that all Islamic terrorist organizations across the world have in common.  

Mosab is absolutely right.  The Hamas Charter openly calls for the annihilation of Israel and goes even further, stating that Muslims must fight the Jews until Judgement Day, citing Sahih Bukhari (52:177).  Hezbollah Leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah was also quoted stating that "“If Jews all gather in Israel, it will save us the trouble of going after them worldwide.”  The fact that such terrorist groups have attacked Jews in Europe, America, and South America is living proof that these people mean what they say.  If one thinks that these Jihadist only feel this way about Jews and Israel, think again.  

If one steps back from Israel and look at what's happening all over the world, we see this same pattern.  Whether it's the Moro Conflict in the Philippines, the ethnic cleansing of Christians in the Sinai, the ISIS Genocide against all non-Muslims in Iraq & Syria, or the ongoing massacres of Muslims, Christians, and other religious groups across the Middle East, the only thing that all of these atrocities have in common is Jihad.  

Those who adhere to the doctrine of Jihad believe that it is a duty from God to back the entire world into an Islamic Caliphate.  At times they will say that they "just want their own state," but this is just a cover.  In May of 2001 Christian Missionary Gracia Burnham learned this lesson when she and her husband Martin where kidnapped by Abu Sayaff terrorists and held hostage for over a year.  During their captivity, they had the chance to speak with Abu Sayaff leaders who told them that establishing an autonomous state in the South Philippines was only the initial goal.  Their long-term aspirations entailed gradually taking control over the entire nation, then take to fight to surrounding nations.  The terrorist leaders vowed to never stop fighting until the entire world is under Sharia.  This is the same vow we've seen repeated by Jihadist leaders all over the world.  

Nobody is safe from Jihad, no nation, no ethnic group, no religion.  Jihad is a threat to everyone.  It is a world-wide problem.  This is why my mind changed on the cause of this conflict.  It's not Israel that has made Gaza, the Sinai, and the rest of the Middle East into a region of unending war, it's Jihad.  In nations where those who follow the path of Jihad ultimately obtain power (Iran, Saudi Arabia, Sudan), liberation and freedom never comes.  Freedom of speech dies in these nations.  Freedom of religion is obliterated.  All dissent is viciously silenced, and those who lead these nations are willing to keeping fighting and funding Jihad worldwide until it is all brought under their heel.  This is why my mind changed on what was the chief cause of why peace between Israel and Arabs remains elusive, it's not the land.  There was not a single Jew living in the West Bank between 1949 and 1967, yet there was still no peace.  It's not the desire of Palestinians to have their own state.  The Arabs have over 20 states, and as it stands most of them are either ripped apart by Civil War, or all human rights have been repressed.  

The Evil of ISIS opened my eyes to the facts, and I realized that the evil ideology of ISIS is not isolated to them, it is an ideology that is upheld by Jihadist groups all over the world.  The attacks that followed 2014 showed me that the Jihad will not stop with Israel, the Philippines, or the Middle East.  We have seen Europe plagued by Jihadist attacks throughout the region, whether it is England, Spain, France, Germany, etc.  The European continent has been plagued by Jihadist attacks for decades.  Not even the United States is immune to this, the 9/11 attacks clearly showed this.  What nations like that U.S., France, Belgium, and Spain have to deal with on an occasional basis, Israel has to live with on a daily basis.  

Jihad is a cancer, and like a cancer, it brings nothing but suffering and death, and the plague of Jihad is why so many are suffering in this ongoing war between Israel and Arabs.  It is the reason for the suffering.  The doctrine of Jihad is a doctrine of hate, and hate never heals, it only kills.  I know this for myself.  There were many people over the course of my life that I hated, people who I felt wronged me, and at times, they did, but hate never helped me find peace.  I went to bed angry and work up angry.  At times, I desired revenge, but I never acted on that desire because I knew that it wouldn't solve anything, I'd still find reasons to be pissed off.  There were some days when I became so filled with hate that I didn't even know what to be pissed off at.  It reached the point when I felt that the only way to end it all was to destroy myself.  That's what Jihad does.  It is fueled with hate, and like hate, it inevitably targets everyone, and it will destroy everyone, including those who embrace it.  This is why Mosab came to the understanding that this conflict could not end with bombs, bullets, curfews, assassinations, or interrogations.  The reason is that Jihad is an ideology, it a hatred that is within, and bad ideas that are driven by hate cannot be destroyed physically, only spiritually.  

The only way to defeat Jihad is with Love, not just Love for certain people, but all people, even those who hate us.  Jesus urged us to "Love our Enemies" Matthew 5:43-45.  He taught us to forgive us who trespass against us Matthew 6:12-14.  Forgiveness is not just for the people who deserve it, it's for all people, even those whom we feel do not deserve it.  It is the only thing that can set us free from the bitterness that consumes us.  I know this personally.  When I turned from hate and learned to forgive, I couldn't just forgive those who wronged me, I had to also learn to forgive myself, because I too committed wrongdoings.  Even if I didn't openly express it, I still hated, and Jesus taught us in Matthew 5:21-22 that if he have hate for others in our hearts, then we have committed murder within our heart.  The way of Hamas is the way of Jihad, and the way of Jihad is the way of Hate, and history proves that hatred destroys all, including those who embrace it.  Jihad is why rockets have been fired at Israel for years.  It is why bombs have fallen on Gaza.  It is why the other nations of the Middle East are either repressive, ripped apart by violence, or  a blend of both.  Israel is fighting this hate, but the fight in the long run cannot be won in a military victory, it must be won spiritually.  It is only when Jihad is exposed for what it is and abandoned for the teachings of forgiveness and reconciliation can there be any hope for an end to the conflict.  Deciding on where to "draw the line in the dirt" will not end this war, only and abandonment of Jihad will.  

One my think that it is impossible to do this, but it can be done.  Former PLO Terrorist Tass Saada learned to forgive the Israeli's, and himself, and it was thanks to Jesus that he found the strength to do this.  If a man whose nickname was "The Butcher" can find it in his heart to turn from hate and embrace forgiveness, we all can.  However, we cannot be afraid to expose what Jihad is, what motivates it, and why it's so dangerous.  Part of loving people means telling them the truth, even if they don't want to hear it.  Political Correctness is blinding us to this fact, and is deceiving us from realizing that Peace in the Middle East cannot come through political solutions or negotiations, it comes through changing the hearts of individuals.