Can there ever be peace in the Middle East? by Jimi?

Question

This is with reference to historical antecedents of the various peoples that have inherited that rich alluvial valley since ancient times.

Answer 1

Not with the literal interpretation of religion today and the need to claim the "Holy Land." The state of the land matters not. They desire merely to own it to keep it from others.

Someday I believe peace will reign, but that will be a time when religion becomes obsolete. I'm sure it will happen, but probably not for thousands of years.

Answer 2

Not before the oil runs out and the arabs regain the land that was stolen from them by the European jews in 1948 and 1967.

Answer 3

Excellent question. The history of the region is one of the most convoluted and complex in the world.


"Traditionally Jews claim to be descended from the ancient Israelites (also known as Hebrews), who settled in the land of Israel. The Israelites traced their common lineage to the biblical patriarch Abraham (1800 BC) through Isaac (1700 BC) and Jacob (1650 BC). In the Jewish faith, the emigration of the Israelites from Egypt to Canaan (the Exodus, 1300 BC), led by the prophet Moses, marks the formation of the Israelites as a people.
Jewish tradition has it that after forty years of wandering in the desert, the Israelites arrived in Canaan and conquered it (1300 ~1250 BC) under the command of Joshua. For a period of time, they were led by a series of rulers known as Judges (1100 BC). After this period, an Israelite monarchy was established under Saul (880 BC), and continued under King David (877 BC) and Solomon (836 BC). King David conquered Jerusalem (first a Canaanite, then a Jebusite town) and made it his capital. After Solomon's reign the nation split into two kingdoms, Israel and Judah. Israel was conquered by the Assyrian ruler Shalmaneser V in the 8th century BCE."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jewish_history


"The term "Palestine" derives from the word Philistine, the name of a non-Semitic ethnic group, who inhabited a smaller area on the southern coast, called Philistia, whose borders approximate the modern Gaza Strip. Philistia encompassed the five cities of Gaza, Ashkelon, Ashdod, Ekron, and Gath. The Philistines seem to have disappeared as a distinct ethnic group by the Assyrian period (700 BC), however the name of their land remained. During the Roman Period, the Province of Judea (including Samaria) covered most of Israel and the Palestinian territories. But following the Bar Kokhba rebellion, the Romans redrew these borders into the new Provinces of Syria Palestine (Latin: Syria Palaestina) (including Judea) and Samaria.
During the Byzantine Period, this entire region (including Syria Palestine, Samaria, and Galilee) was renamed Palaestina and then subdivided into Diocese I and II. The Byzantines also renamed an area of land including the Negev, Sinai, and the west coast of the Arabian Peninsula as Palaestina Salutoris, sometimes called Palaestina III. Since the Byzantine Period, the Byzantine borders of Palaestina (I and II) have served as a name for the geographic area between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palestine

The Islamic religion began in what is now Saudi Arabia when Allah revealed the Quran to His prophet Mohammed around 632 AD. Islam spread quickly and was accepted all over the Middle East and North Africa by 750 AD. Islam was quite tolerant of other cultures and religions for many centuries, and Islamic civilization was one of the greatest in the history of the world. Although the great library at Alexandria was burned on the orders of one of the Ottoman Caliphs (because it contained so much that was either unnecessary to Islam or contradicted the words of the Prophet), they also preserved all that we know about ancient Greek civilization (Aristotle, etc) and made great advances in math (the idea of zero and algebra, for example) and other sciences. Eventually the Ottoman Empire divided internally and finally collapsed entirely after World War I, to be replaced by various European "protectorates" (primarily British and French) and modern Turkey (under Attaturk). After World War II and the Holocaust, the new United Nations voted in 1948 to create 2 new states, Israel (for the Jewish diaspora) and Palestine (for the non-Jewish inhabitants). That decision was adamantly rejected by all of Israel's Islamic neighbors, who attacked within hours of the vote. The Palestinians believe they have been unjustly dispossessed of their homeland; the Jews that they have finally recovered theirs after many centuries of persecution.

As someone who has studied history for many years (BA, University of the State of New York), I recognize elements of truth in both positions. Historically, most areas of the world (and almost all modern countries) have been created through wars and conquest. Whether we like it or not, that is simply the way the world has always worked. The United Nations in 1948 was looking for a way to redress centuries of persecution of Jews all over the world and also create a homeland for the Palestinians. The Palestinians' Islamic neighbors have never allowed the dispossessed Palestinians to become citizens of the countries to which they fled during the fighting but have instead created refugee camps in Gaza, Jordan, Lebanon, etc. I think this is a political agenda which has purposely created a humanitarian problem that could not be ignored by the member states of the UN. If the Palestinians and other Islamic countries had accepted the original proposal, the State of Palestine would have been created in 1948 and would have been larger and more cohesive than the Dayton Accords and other proposals have envisioned since then, without all the unnecessary death and suffering on both sides. One aspect of the problem that I think continues to be overlooked is that, unlike Western liberal democracy, Islam makes no distinction between religion and government. There is thus a tremendous philosophical gap between the West and Islam that may never be bridged. It will take a great deal of talk and compromise before a solution acceptable to both sides can be found, if indeed that ever happens.

Answer 4

Yes. Dump toxic waste on the land they are arguing over. It will be uninhabitable for centuries. End of conflict!

Answer 5

I'm hoping that if anything good comes out of global warming, it will be that it makes that region completely uninhabitable. Then everyone who's wanted a peace of it will be bending over backwards to "sell their stake," so to speak. "Here, I've been selfish - you take Jerusalem." "No, no, I insist, YOU keep it."

Answer 6

there will never be peace in the Middle east until they all decide it isn't worth dying for and that will never happen in our lifetimes

Answer 7

NO!!!!!JUST LEAVE THE PLACE!!!!SAVE YOURSELVES!!