By CONNOR FUCCI
COLUMNIST
Israel is the construct of the countries of Europe and a product of their attempts to create a state for the heavily-persecuted Jewish people. While the concept seemed to work in theory, the Jews have been placed in a hotbed of conflict and turmoil, for which they are partially responsible. Since its inception, Israel has seen only conflict with its neighbors over issues from land disputes to religious persecution.
Recently, these issues have come to a head, as demonstrated by the volleys of rockets launched by Hamas, a Palestinian terrorist organization and the militaristic actions taken by Israel in retaliation. This conflict started when Israel was founded; the land used to create Israel was taken from the proto-nation of Palestine, which remains unrecognized as a sovereign nation. These disenfranchised people have been petitioning the international community for land that they can call their own. While this is an admirable move, radical factions are using violence in an attempt to get what they want.
Another nation that is necessary to mention is Iran: This ex-progressive Islamic nation has garnered international attention with its controversial nuclear program, which it promises will not be weaponized. Now, I don’t want to make it seem like I believe that the only purpose of Iran’s nuclear program is to create a nuclear weapon, but it is hard to think otherwise when the nation’s leader is a Holocaust denier.
Relating Iran to Israel is extremely simple; Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Iran’s current president and Holocaust denier, is notorious for stating that Israel is an enemy of all nations and should be destroyed. Iran is dangerous, but its weakened economy due to international sanctions has limited its ability to fully develop its nuclear program.
Finally, Israel is tied closely to the United States. This relationship stems mainly from the large representation of the Jewish population in the government and the fact that having a strong ally in the Middle East is always useful to the United States. This relationship ranges from financial aid to a military partnership. This is where it gets tricky: If anything were to happen to Israel, there is an extremely high chance that the U.S. would hop into the conflict no matter the opponent.
Lately, though, Israel has been very aggressive; the government has been ignoring the U.S.’s pleas to abandon the Gaza strip and mobilize its military forces on that border. Also, the talks to attack Iran preemptively should be completely forgotten. This area is moving closer and closer to a military conflict, and I believe that negotiations should be taken more seriously, with a more heavy-handed United States behind the wheel. Having another conflict in the Middle East would be completely unacceptable; however, losing one of our strongest allies in the area would be just as bad. Overall, it is a delicate situation that the U.S. is going to have to handle with finesse and tact.
