The Silent Genocide Of The Arab Empire

 In light of the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict, one piece of writing that started my writing journey was a piece of persuassive writing sparked by the 2019 Eurovision Song Contest set in Tel Aviv. My involvement with the #freepalestine movement started years before and featured heavily in my last year of secondary school. My Advanced Higher Art portfolio highlighted the children living through the conflict in a series of works on the theme of 'Displacement.' For my Advanced Higher English, this was the piece I wrote and it was, even more now, harrowing and pressing as a global issue.

The Silent Genocide Of The Arab Empire 

Charpentier's fanfare, “Te Deum”, welcomes Europe’s iconic yet kitsch music competition ‘Eurovision’ that continues to captivate even the least patriotic viewer with tragic entertainment and gimmicks. 2019 set the stage in golden Tel Aviv, Israel, only 4.8 minutes away from the war stricken Gaza Strip that holds its own prolonged competition for power at the high stakes of innocent civilians - and the winner undecided every time. As 182 million viewers sat behind locked doors in the comfort of their own homes to bask in their yearly dose of “culture”, minutes away from the glitz and glamour was the destruction of real life culture due to the silent conflict between Israel and Palestine; dating back to the mid 20th century the conflict between Israel and the State of Palestine claims an unreported, unnecessary and unprecedented amount of civilians and fighters per day that not even a continent wide music festival could bring to a standstill or mask. But why has the world let cultural genocide slip past us so effortlessly when countless people claim to be human rights activists and friends of the world? 

It was clear to see that Eurovision 2019 had only one contender for attention and it was not the multi generational killing that was taking place backstage but rather the multi record selling, most iconic female artist, world activist and “Queen of Pop” herself. Madonna. The highly anticipated performance at half time was prolonged as other acts filled in while Madonna’s crew of Monks slaved to carry church pillars on stage to create a holy scene for the ‘89 chart topping hit ‘Like A Prayer”. It became evident in the first few lines that she was no longer in her prime vocally and that the $1.35 million spent (According to https://eurovisionworld.com/esc/madonna-will-perform-in-eurovision-2019 ) would of been better spent on more crucial subjects such as: Foreign aid, the refugee crisis or climate change. The stage setup and visual act however brought even more problems to those who still watched despite the out of key vocals; on a large stone staircase Madonna adorned a black, demonic patterned cloak and crown as Monks accompanied her throughout her first song which ended with her collapsing at the bottom of the stairs and the Monks undressing to reveal white angelic outfits, gas masks and the flags of Palestine and Israel on their backs (Half Palestine and half Israel). As the next song progressed, images of past and present world leaders known for destruction were played as Madonna “executed” the gas mask wearing dancers as she gave a twisted but vague speech that highlighted the conflict but not enough to make it obvious - “They think we are not aware of their crimes. We know, but we’re just not ready to act. The storm isn’t in the air, it’s inside us.”; this was then met with a song heavily repeating “Not everyone is coming to the future.Not everyone is learning from the past.” as dancers walked up the stairs hand in hand (A Palestine flag dancer coupled with an Israeli flag dancer) before falling backwards off the stage. The performance concluded with Madonna following suit with her accompanying artist and rapper, Quavo, as the stage became black and an echo of “Wake up!” sat heavily in the venue and with the viewers at home. It was then confirmed within 6 hours that Madonna was in deep water with the Israeli culture minister Miri Regev who condemned the performance as an “Error” as her whole performance brought hope that the warring countries could learn from their mistakes and come to a conclusion of peace.   

And it wasn't just Madonna who was upsetting the Israeli politicians. Icelandic competitors, Hatari caused even more disruption for showing the Palestinian flag as the camera pointed towards them as the jury counted the all important votes. The band was met with security guards who violently searched their bags and ripped them of their belongings which was caught on camera by one of the band members. Hatari were already on thin ice by performing a mix of dance music and heavy metal while wearing BDSM outfits, being LGBTQ inclusive and performing a song that had the lyrics “Hate will prevail. Europe will crumble.” in the holy land of Israel. By waving the Palestine flags it highlighted to viewers that not everyone was welcomed in Europe's festivities of love and peace and further highlighted that Israel was attempting to hide the humanitarian crisis of captivity in the Palestinian Empire. The competition's controversy sparked up on all social media platforms as the current generation (Gen Z) decided to act out against the silence of Palestine and boycott Israel. 

As technology has advanced it has left its users susceptible and naive to false news reports while looking for a dumbed down report on current world updates. This has limited the digital generations peripheral vision of factual and reliable news reports, provoking them to hold a biased opinion and manipulated into choosing sides on current affairs depending on what source they are numbingly scrolling through. The major contenders for news dominance create such a huge following by choosing to broadcast only one sided stories such as Fox News and BBC. BBC for instance favours the Israeli side of the conflict and highlights the amount of Israeli deaths (Militants or civilians) yet does not cover the innocent Palestinian deaths caused by Israeli militants (https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/is-the-bbc-biased-on-israel-b70nh96cd2p). As well known news sources influence the world with one half of the story, it creates a biased opinion to mindless, thumb flicking phone jockeys and creates a larger conflict with those unwilling to look at the wider image. 

Has the world really become desensitized to such atrocities due to quick fix news posted on the reliable source of Facebook? The news sources I looked into also favoured the amount of hospitals destroyed and the amount of children killed due to unplanned attacks started on Israeli controlled ground in order to “protect” its civilians; the exact same situation is happening throughout Israel, Gaza, West Bank and the state of Palestine yet the world seems to forget that there are two sides to the conflict and that the innocent and weak suffer over actions of greed - But we continue to still call ourselves unfavourable humanitarian activists. 

One side that relies predominantly on aid and charity is the state of Palestine. Civilians and fighters living in the West Bank and Gaza Strip are supplied with $300 worth of care packages that contain necessities such as: Food, water, medicine, clothing and temporary shelter (Tents or sleeping bags). $300 worth of supplies are given to 3.5 million people belonging to Palestine every year; this however is not enough as the current population is 5,186,790 meaning that just over half of the population receives basic aid. In comparison, the aid given to Palestine has lasted longer than the duration of most global wars and has exceeded the amount of aid given during WW2. (www.odihph.org.com/humanatariancrisisinpalestine) Updated records show that $1 billion of foreign aid is given per year by the UN however, as of Febuary 2019 aid from the United States Of America has ceased due to the passing of the Anti-Terrorism Clarification Act that allows Americans to sue those recieving foreign aid from their country. It was decided by Congress to cease the aid to avoid tensions between the countries which has left Palestine with a loss of $60 million worth of aid. 

In comparison to the acts of aid given every year to Palestine in its constant period of human crisis, Israel continues to receive aid as an act of funding. The US continues to provide Israel with military assistance and received $3.1 billion of foreign military aid in 2014. The total of economic and military assistance given to Israel by the US in the past 5 years has accumulated to $49.87 billion (Not counting $8 billion of loan guarantees for military assistance and aid packages). As the US has close connections with Israel (The major customer for US military equipment and supplies) the relationship continues to grow closer as the US becomes more interested in the shares of land exploited from the Palestinian people and Israels prolifiration of nuclear technology. 

Inside the Arab Empire, the political leaders refuse to find a compromise and believe that violence is the answer. Mahmoud Abbas, the President of the State of Palestine and Benjamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of Israel both claim Jerusalem as their capital to their respective sides. This petty disagreement continues to supply the fire with more fuel. Currently there is no definite claim to the West Bank either - there never has been - yet Israel continues to build large blocks of flats and houses on the land to prevent Palestine from claiming the land rightfully. As the West Bank is under autonomous rule by the Fatah-run Palestinian Authority, it creates the sense of lack of unification even in Palestine terroterity. The Gaza Strip is under the control of Hamas (The Islamic Resistance Movement who want to liberate Palestine and modern day Israel from conflict under Israeli occupation and create a one state solution of establishing an Islamic state.) who continue to fight with the Fatah authority who believe in a one state solution where Israel is erradicated, renamed Palestine and is controlled under Palestinian durisdiction. But is a two state solution possible? 

It is often forgotten that the option of a two state solution was already planned and almost existed once. The United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine (1947) was created by the USA to divide the country into separate states, which the UN agreed to successfully. The Israeli population accepted it knowing they would own 55% of the overall country whereas Palestine would only own 45% which created further conflict as nobody could equally share the country. In the present day, the opposite has occurred where modern day Arabs and Palestinians believe that a two state solution is possible but Israel refuses to give over their country based on the previous agreements disagreements. 

Since 2000 - 2018, Palestine has lost an estimation of 9,600 of recorded militant deaths and Israel, 1,251 (According to www.IsraelPalestineTimeline.org.com). The conflict started in the early 1900s. So why is the number of recorded deaths so low? Both sides of the conflict lose thousands of militants. Civilians. Mothers and fathers. Children. The conflict has been passed down the generations due to growing tensions and family vengence (Mostly from the Palestinian side.) The main conflict began in 1947 after the migration of Jews sought refuge in Palestine after the Hollocaust, creating tensions within the Arab Empire. The Jews forced themselves throughout Palestine slaughtering the families that refused to welcome them on their rightful land. Israel was officially declared a state on May 14th 1948 and Palestine has fought back to take back the land stolen from them till present day. 

Although there is no innocent side in this conflict, the humanitarian crisis unfolding in front of our eyes is devastating to watch. The loss in culture, religion and human lives has destroyed generations of the Arab Empire and we have become desensitized to the fact that we CAN help. A one/two state solution may sound pleasing and we can only hope for an equilibrium of peace but hopes and prayers do not shelter the weak. It does not feed a famished child with no home. Charities such as the Gaza Emergency Appeal, Children of Palestine, Latet and Yadezra support the civilians of both Israel and Palestine; donating just £10 to one of these charities can support a child for a month and can give medical care to those suffering in the most devastated parts of the conflict. We are not affected by the conflict directly but we are desensitized and misled by information online or from trusted news broadcasters. We are the generation of change, global activists and friends of the earth so why can’t we support those belonging to our planet?  A humanitarian crisis is a crisis regardless of religion or race, it does not pick sides and it does not stop on it’s own. In the words of Madonna at Eurovision…”Wake up”. 

Bibliography 

www.history.com/.amp/topics/middle-east/how-the-israeli-palestinian-conflict-began-video

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israel-United_States_military_relations.com 

www.bbc.com/news/amp/world-middle-east-47095082 

www.israelpalestinetimeline.org

www.vox.com/questionsaboutpalestine

https://eurovisionworld.com/esc/madonna-will-perform-in-eurovision-2019

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/is-the-bbc-biased-on-israel-b70nh96cd2p

www.odihph.org.com/humanatariancrisisinpalestine

www.aljazeera.com/flag-eurovision 

https://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=_Jj8vne0ca0

Samantha McPhillips