Religion has never had anything to do with it
While the statement “The genocide in Gaza is not a Muslim, Jewish or Christian issue. … It is about justice, not religion.” is correct, it should be said that it was ‘never’ about religion. For many people, blaming religion, in all sorts of conflicts, is a lazy argument that saves them from having to examine the facts.
The conflict in Gaza is about a land grab. It stems from British capitulation to pressure, starting with Theodor Herzl, a secular Jew, in the 19th century, for a home in Palestine for Jewish people. It was formalised in theory by the Balfour Declaration in 1917, never mind this was not British land to give and never mind that a couple of years earlier the British had promised self governance to Palestinians if they fought with the British against the Ottoman Turks in WW I. The land grab came into its own following the Holocaust of WW II, again facilitated by the British initially and taken over by the US not too long after, with unwavering and uncritical support that lasts to this day.
Palestinians lost their land without ever having a say. It was always about politics. It was ‘never’ about religion.
Contributions to Pearls and Irritations
Your contribution will fund quality independent comment and analysis in Pearls and Irritations
Contribute
