Omar A Obregon-Cuebas
Donald Trump announced on Dec 6, 2017 that the U.S. would recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. It was also announced that the U.S. would halve the amount of aid which they are currently giving to Palestine. To name Jerusalem as the capital of the Israeli state ignores Palestinian history and the views of the international community, and is an affront to the struggle that Palestinians face.
Israel continuing to violate international law to further contribute to the destruction of Palestinian land should be seen as derogatory action towards Palestinian freedoms. Since the United States is one of the leading members of the United Nations, we should be expected to respect and comply with international agreements.
Threatening to halve the amount of aid that Palestinian organizations are awarded shows how disinterested the Trump administration has become with the peace process. Rather than moving forward and acknowledging the oppression of Palestinians, the administration is now becoming closer politically with the state of Israel.
Israel has for a long time been the biggest ally to the United States in the Middle East. The relationship is defined by political support in the U.N. and economic/military support in aid. Due to this alliance, the United States government gives economic, political and social support to Israel. While the intention of maintaining allies is evident, this action seems to show how little our government values the international community and the agreements that the international community at large complies with.
There are many laws that discriminate against Palestinians. These discriminatory laws are part of a larger project to erase the presence of the Palestinian presence. For example, Palestinian refugees who were displaced are not allowed to return to their land. Citizens married to Palestinians from occupied territory are also not given the same rights to marriage that others are. Their spouses cannot obtain citizenship/permanent residence, where a person of Israel would be able to.
These laws follow the takeover of Palestinian land by Israel. The formation of the state of Israel was established through the 1947-1949 colonization of Palestinian land and the initial forced displacement of over 700,000 Arab Palestinians. The war left no state for Palestinians, and they would be forced to flee to refugee camps across Gaza, the West Bank, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon.
Following a seven day war in 1967, a further 350,000 Palestinians were displaced by Israel. It was then that Israel began illegally building settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory. The international community as a whole views Israel’s settlements into occupied Palestinian territory as a violation of international law, however due to America’s alliance with Israel, we are continuing to fail to provide justice for Palestinians.
If you are a person that cares about freedom as a right then you ought to care about Palestine. As students going to an American college I believe that we have the duty to press the government to stop supporting the oppression of Palestinians. We cannot, in good faith, claim to support liberty while allowing our government to support the oppression of Palestinians.
With the U.S. threatening to halve aid, it puts organizations dedicated to aiding Palestinians in a precarious situation. Rather than maintain the image that the U.S. will play a role as mediator between Israel and Palestine, the administration wishes to place all of its eggs into Israel’s basket. Donald Trump’s administration is blatantly showing how little it respects the struggles of the Palestinian people.
We must support movements which help Palestinians like Boycott, Divest, and Sanction. Through grassroots movements, organizations which support Palestine and pressure on our legislature we can get our government to stop supporting Israel.
If Israel loses the support of the United States then it will be forced to address its colonial history, and oppressive laws. The U.S needs to join with international community in opposition to Israel. We need to pressure Israel to follow international law and to respect the humanity of Palestinians. As humans, we ought to fight oppression wherever we can. Freedom only exists if all are free.