Mahatma Gandhi’s Views on Israel-Palestine Conflict
The matter of Israel from the view of Mahatma Gandhi
It is seldom considered that people get unbiased on making some judgments or any personal decision. But when this unbiasedness arises between the strong and the weak, the decision is often to go wrong.
Our history is full of incidents that took place because of wrong decision-making.
Israel’s military has been aggressive on Palestine for decades. I am not fond of any debate on this matter. At one time, those who(Jews) were homeless, exploited, and were suffering are today making others suffer and are exploiting them.
Today they are destroying others.
Whatever Hitler did to Jews, was always inhumane and wrong. But now Jews are doing the same behavior with Palestinians.
Gandhi wrote an eye-opening article on the same controversial issue on 26 November 1938 in “Harijan”(a popular magazine of that time). He wrote that he has full sympathy for the Jews. Many have been his friends in South Africa, so he is familiar with the ongoing tortures against that community.
Gandhi explained discrimination against Jews by writing them as untouchables among Christians.
It is clear that he used to understand the identity war of the Jews very much. However, Hitler’s concentration camps were not revealed until then. He further wrote clearly mentioning that “But my sympathy cannot close my eyes to what are the demands of justice.”
He also wrote that: The demand for a separate country for Jews does not suit me very much.
Just as England is for the British and France for the French, so is Palestine for the Arabs. The imposition of Jews over Arabs is wrong and inhumane. This demand is supported by the reference to the “Bible”, whose basis is more sentimental rather than geographical.
Yet if they see their national home in the geography of Palestine, then it is wrong to enter the shadows of British guns.
A religious activity should not be carried out using bombs.
If Jews really wanted to settle down in Palestine, then this should have been done in a peaceful manner with the goodwill of Arabs.
Gandhi further advised that if the Jews are being tortured in Germany, then they should run the Non-Cooperation Movement in a non-violent manner (which according to me was the right advice).
Like many other tribes of the world, why don’t they make that country their homeland, where they were born, and where they earn a living?
Later, when the Second World War ended and the Jews demanded Israel more vigorously.
Gandhi wrote another article on the same problem in the same magazine Harijan on 21 July 1946. In this, he expressed that he was saddened by the injustice done against the Jews, but was unable to agree to force the Arabs to forcefully make Israel.
On the contrary, on the basis of the contribution of Jews in the world, he calls the entire world their home.
He also once again reiterated that with the help of America and Britain, Jews are making the mistake of imposing themselves on Palestine and but now it is happening with the help of terrorism.
It is clear that Gandhi did not agree to let one person with whom injustice has happened can do the same injustice and exploitation of others.
He was able to sense the tension which turned out to be the long-lasting tension of that region.
Throughout his life, he was against the making of Israel. The Western forces and the Christian world persecuted the Jews a lot, and now they wanted to make up for it, by forcibly snatching the lands of Arabs and handing them over to the Jews, and rescuing them.
Gandhi was not tolerating this injustice, so after the independence of India, India’s foreign policy was undeniably clear in this matter.
After the nineteenth century, under the changed circumstances, the embassy of Israel was made on the land of New Delhi.
The history of the narrow-minded and the most notorious person: Israel’s PM Netanyahu. He was the ruler who has been accused of political intrigue against Barack Obama, provoking the mob to kill his opponent and has so many criminal charges against him.
Whenever he sensed softness in America’s attitude towards the Arab world, Netanyahu did not stay back from playing tricks. For the moment, he is on the margins of power, the display of extreme aggression is bound to happen.
Disclaimer - The writer did not write any of his personal views on this conflict.