“This is not democracy plus occupation. This is apartheid between the river and the sea.”
— A declaration by Israel’s own leading human rights group, B’Tselem, January, 2021
Epilogue
As 2020 turned to 2021, the Israeli government and military stayed very busy with all things anti-Palestinian; conducting unwarranted night raids into family dwellings, harassing farmers, arresting kids, demolishing homes, planning for new settlement construction in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, and ignoring day-to-day terrorist activities by Jewish settlers.
In early 2009 during the last transition from a Republican president to a Democrat, the Israelis took the opportunity to rush and conduct a slaughter of Palestinians in Gaza. This time attacking wasn’t necessary, Prime Minister Netanyahu and the Israelis would try and let the Covid pandemic do it for them. By ignoring desperate calls for emergency health care assistance and vaccines for the Palestinian population in territories they illegally occupy, Israel was doing two things: Reinforcing its label as an apartheid state and breaking international law.
In January 2021 Joe Biden became the forty-sixth President of the United States. Immediately following his inauguration he began undoing some of the foreign policy and environmental orders Donald Trump had issued during his four year term. Biden’s plan is to re-instate the “Iran Nuclear Deal”, negotiated originally under President Obama’s administration, that focuses on deliberations and diplomacy with Iran as opposed to threats, sanctions, and military maneuvers. The deal was working well when Trump threw it out; he was simply following orders from his Israeli and Jewish-American “investors” whose preference is war.
Unfortunately, most other things probably won’t change under Biden as it relates to Israeli foreign policy. Not without tremendous external pressure. His administration has already said they won’t be moving the US Embassy in Jerusalem back to Tel Aviv. Biden’s Secretary of State is Jewish, as are a dozen other cabinet members or high ranking officials in his administration. Not to suggest that some or all of these people aren’t open to the humanitarian cause, but this demographic make-up of personnel is standard-operating-procedure regardless of which party sits in the White House, and the U.S. of I’s track record would indicate no solid action will be taken against Israel’s reign of terror and land-theft, just stern warnings and expressions of outrage.
As 2021 dawned, it didn’t take long to hear or read headlines like, “the United Kingdom expressed concern over plans for new settlement units”, “United Nations urges Israel to halt expansion” and “Israel announces new settler homes, risking Biden’s anger”.
Tragically comical. Urge, concern, and anger? Israel still doesn’t give a shit. Urge away.
Only economic pressure or sanctions can change Israel’s mind. Under the current systems and power structure, Europe doesn’t have the economic clout to act alone. It would if it could. The way it stands, if Europe took action against Israel, the United States would punish Europe.
The Canadians have similar dilemmas. Canada didn’t sign the UN’s Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, effective January 22, 2021, despite being in its own best interest and having the support of a majority of its citizens. Shhh, they can’t, or someone might officially recognize Israel’s nuclear arsenal, and that would legally prevent Israel from getting its billions of dollars of defense money from the United States.
The change must come from within, where recently a growing number of North American citizens and politicians have more frequently protested and spoken out against Israel’s activities. These protests and concerns must turn to governmental action. Pro-humanitarian. Pro-boycott. Anti-apartheid. Now.
