The Cycle of Abuse

I have arrived in the hot and hectic Middle East and already much has happened that I need to write about, but before I see to this I have some catching up to do. I want to first tell you about my trip to Auschwitz last week.

How to begin? Well what better place than the end? The trip was concluded by visiting a memorial monument which wasn’t very impressive to be honest. It was erected in the 1960s- the worst architectural era in my opinion, and this ‘monument’ (which was basically a pile of big black bricks stacked on top of one another) only reinforced this judgment. However, underneath this sub-standard structure lay many plaques in different languages which all offered the same poignant message: 'Forever let this place be a cry of despair and warning to humanity, where the Nazis murdered about one and a half million men, women and children, mainly Jews from various countries of Europe'. 

Unfortunately, only by glancing at the newspaper headlines we can see that many have yet to learn this lesson, especially and most surprisingly so Israel itself which was born from the genocide that was the Holocaust.

Someone once made an interesting observation to me during one of those rambling political discussions that  o' so often seem to get myself into. This unnamed person stated that the ‘cycle of abuse’ i.e. when a child is abused they often go on to become abusers when they themselves have children, could be applied to the Palestine-Israel relationship; the Jews have been oppressed by the Nazis and now they have themselves gone on to oppress the Palestinians. Child Psychologist Lisa Dunning states ‘many abused children become abusers themselves. One would think the exact opposite would be the norm, but we are what lived and if a child grows up with abuse, they are more likely to become abusers themselves.’ (http://www.lisadunningmft.com/child_abuse_cycle.htm)

But could I be so brave as to apply this theory on a national scale? Well why not? Noami Klein did it with her theory where she identified a link between electro-shock therapy on an individual scale and disaster capitalism on a national scale in her international bestseller ‘The Shock Doctrine’ so why can’t I do something similar? Or is this statement just too controversial for people to digest?

In actual fact, I’m not the first to make the link. After much delving and seeking (well mostly googling in all honesty) I came across an article that was written by holocaust survivor Susan Weiss entitled: ‘Israel’s apartheid: Making the Palestinians pay for Hitler’s crimes’. She argues that although there exist obvious differences between the holocaust and the occupation of Palestine, there are some striking similarities such as the ghetto walls, the genocide, the strategic starvation and depravation and the daily humiliations. Yes it’s true that Israel has no gas chambers and fundamentally Israel’s objective is not to exterminate all Palestinians for the sake of religion or ethnicity but to take the Palestinian’s homeland and property and it does so through abusing their human and civil rights. ‘Every case of oppression is unique, but the struggle for justice is indivisible. As we then fought for freedom for European Jews, we now call for freedom for the Palestinians.’ (http://www.almoltaqa.ps/english/showthread.php?t=15768)

But how does Israel get away with it? Aside from the sensationalist propaganda that is channeled through most major Western media outlets, the Jewish Israelies often play the victim role to justify their actions through utilizing holocaust memories.

Yes, the Jewish people have been persecuted throughout history and have suffered horrific oppression and injustice, but does this justify the diet coke version of Auschwitz that Israel has created with the remaining pockets of Palestinian territory? Should this fascist manifesto that they have adopted through their imperialistic and militaristic policies to ensure Israel as an exclusively Jewish state acceptable in the world we live in today?

Neo-Marxism

Don't shy away at the theoretical title; Neo-Marxism is an easy concept to get your head around- pinkie promise!  It’s also an extremely fascinating perspective from which the Arab-Israeli conflict can be viewed and is completely different from all other theoretical frameworks. 

With a Neo-Marxist underpinning, popular academics such as Noam Chomsky and Naomi Klein claim that Israel is completely Neo-Conservative in its interests; the economy is the driving force behind all government actions. From this perspective, security is not the principal interest behind the conflict as the realists and traditionalists would argue. Israel's economy is built upon homeland security technologies and it therefore serves them to be involved in constant conflict with the surrounding Arab populations; their existence relies on it. Therefore, their need for secure resources and occupy territory and their justification of being involved in conflicts as a result, is not driven by security concerns, but by economic interests. “Israel’s political situation is disastrous, but its economy has never been stronger, with 2007 growth rates rivaling those of China and India... Israel has crafted an economy that expands markedly in direct response to escalating violence.” (Klein 2007: 433).

 Klein states that Israel is currently developing the I.D. card system that is planned to be introduced into the UK (a multi-billion dollar contract) alongside developing most modern surveillance and network systems used in the majority of airports worldwide. Israel is ‘the most tech-dependent economy in the world.’ (Klein 2007: 434). They rely on their security and military technology exports to prevent other states from criticizing their policies; strong trade relations always act as a great diffuser of political criticism:

 Italy: “Listen mate, I'm not happy about all this genocide and oppression stuff with the Palestinians recently, I think you should change your behaviour, you're becoming a bit too imperialistic.”

Israel: “Yeah maybe, but anyway I was thinking that I could give you a 50% discount on security cameras for your new airport? As a sign of our friendship of course… I know you're struggling a bit to pay back those loans to the IMF and World Bank. ”

Italy: “Aw that would be amazing, your such a great friend! Listen, just forget what I said earlier about the whole genocide stuff, it doesn't matter that much.”

Israel: “No problem, just trying to help, us Westerners should stick together!”

Israel also rely on a constant conflict and threat from neighbouring countries (Palestine in particular) to sustain their economy which is greatly dependent on homeland security technologies. “United Nations observers believed that Israeli actions frequently violated UN agreements and were intended to provoke retaliation and justify their accusations of Arab hostility. (Smith 2007: 409).  

Israel’s Need to Secure Water Resources

Mismanagement, occupation and overuse of already scarce water resources in the Middle East are increasingly becoming one of the main contributing factors towards conflict in this region. Most especially, in respect to the conflict between Israel and its neighbouring Arab countries. Usually conflict in this region is associated with religion, terrorism and oil, however, it is becoming gradually more apparent that one of the major driving forces behind heightened conflict in the Middle East is resource scarcity. Fresh water resources, in particular, are becoming a crucial aspect in the tension and any future resolution of the conflict.

Israel’s need for securitising water is not a recent phenomenon and can even be traced back to before the Balfour Declaration. This need to achieve environmental security for its people, by occupying land and restricting Arab access to water is having devastating effects on water resources in the region. It’s not only effecting the environment, the Palestinian population of the West Bank and Gaza strip ‘are receiving well below the recommended 100 litres per capita daily recommended by the World Health Organisation (WTO).’ (Amnesty 2009: 4). This inequality of access to water is created and controlled by Israel, who uses it as a way of achieving security when, in fact, it is only likely to inflame widespread anger towards Israel and its policies. This could in turn increase the hostility towards Israel amongst Arabs and create greater sympathy for terrorist groups like Hezbollah and Hamas. Israel’s quest for water security is essentially positioning them in further risk of conflict and even war.

Fresh water is the most essential resource on the planet; fundamental to all ecological and societal activities, including food and energy production, industrial development, transportation and sanitation. However, fresh water resources are unevenly and unfairly distributed, and some regions of the world suffer from significant water-shortag

 Water-shortage can have a direct link to conflict, as access to basic resources can trigger violence as human populations increase, standards of living increase and environmental changes affect water-supply and create future uncertainty. Regions where water is scarce can often generate competition and conflict for limited resources; nations view access to water as a matter of national security. ‘Issues of water security have played a role in regional instabilities.’ (Giordiano and Wolf 2002: 293).

 One of the longest ongoing water disputes relating to resource scarcity and resource dependence is the Arab-Israeli conflict, especially in relation to the water resources in the Jordan River. 

  The importance of this issue is under-researched; the continued occupation of the West Bank guarantees the State of Israel control over vital water resources that originate in the West Bank but are consumed in the most part by Israel. This is a non-negotiable prerequisite for the survival of a Jewish national homeland, a fundamental pledge of the Zionist movement. Concerns for economic viability of a Jewish state in arid Palestine drove the World Zionist Organization to be adamant that it was “of vital importance not only to secure all water resources already feeding the country, but also to be able to conserve and control them at their sources.” (Kelly and Homer-Dixon 1995).

This reveals the importance of water control to Israel, it exposes one of the major, if not the main reason as to why Israel will not surrender control over the territory. Israel’s survival is dependent on its occupation of the West Bank. Relinquishing control of the territory could potentially be an act of suicide for the State of Israel.

'Oh Dear-ism'

As we move into an age of ‘Oh Dear-ism’ otherwise known as the phenomenon of ‘distant suffering’ where we become so overloaded by global issues like war in the Middle East, Earthquake in Japan, piracy in Somalia, HIV epidemic in South Africa, Genocide in Zimbabwe etc, etc, etc….. that we just don't feel anything anymore when such images of hollow-eyed depressed African children covered in flies with swollen bellys' are broadcast across our TV screens; our TVs may be switched on but we have switched off. 

The concept of ‘Oh Dearism’ was pioneered by the ever controversial Adam Curtis he argues that we have become immune to bad news because we are exposed to it daily- It leaves many of us feeling helpless and depressed to which our response eventually becomes a simple: ‘Oh Dear’. 

Although ‘Oh Dear-ism’ has been recently identified and labeled by Curtis, it is not a recent development, it actually began in the late 1960s with the rise of the counter-culture movement. This apathy has since escalated and suffering in media leaves us apathetic and unable to act on problems we are exposed to. Suffering usually provokes a feeling of pity or at least indignation yet the effects have steadily dulled and have lost their intensity.

I have never had an ‘oh dear’ reaction to this form of news or media (although maybe this is because I don’t watch or read enough news). I have always had an intense cocktail of feelings brewing inside me made up of: anger, intense sadness, anxiety and sympathy. Although I have to admit that these feelings are intensified by my feeling of helplessness in many cases but I am a firm believer that “what’s the point of me doing anything, I’m only one person” is the WRONG attitude. The problem behind this clichéd mentality is that it easily spreads hand-in-hand with ‘Oh Dear-ism’ and results in nobody doing anything except direct all their focus on developing their own selfish lives built around the consumerism trap: ‘I buy therefore I am’. This only intensifies problems via the environmental costs of the materialist Western lifestyle which usually puts strains on the Global South who are reaping the negative effects first.

Anyway, the thing that I’m doing to make a change (as insignificant as it may be in the bigger picture) is working in a community centre in Palestine offering free lessons to children- many of whom are from a neighbouring refugee camp. I was lucky enough to attend one of the best schools in Europe due to the generous charity of others and I would like to give back in the same respect. Education opens doors for many of these children who have nothing and is the only opportunity presented to them as a way to elevate themselves out of poverty. English is particularly useful as the Palestinian economy is in tatters as a result of strict occupation and it means that they could work for foreign companies and organizations (of which there are many inside West Bank Palestine especially).

I’m not doing this to make myself feel like a better person. Anybody who has known me for the past three years could see that I was quite depressed on the return from my previous trip to Palestine, all the stories of suffering and pain are quite difficult to deal with and I carried this round with me for a long time, feeling like the ghost of Christmas Future. It would be much easier for me to shut my eyes and switch off BBC News at six like so many others do to stay happy but I don’t want to take that route, it’s the long and hard path for me…. tally ho!

 www.youtube.com/watch?v=8moePxHpvok