This Christmas Eve, and always, I stand with Israel
On Christmas Eve 1948, my grandfather stood guard at the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem. This Christmas Eve, and always, I stand with Israel.
Eighty-five years ago today my grandfather was in Bethlehem. Having left school at 16, in his early 20s he had joined the Palestine Police. There he conteded with both Jewish terrorists and Arab rioters - it was a long way from the East End of London. On the night of Christmas Eve, 1938, he was standing guard at the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, the traditional site of Jesus' birth.
Less than a year later, he enlisted in the British army. Alongside him were approximately 30,000 Jewish volunteers from the Mandate of Palestine, setting aside their differences with the British to confront the ultimate evil of Nazi Germany.
Meanwhile, the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem sided with the Nazis.
In thanks for their efforts, and even as Nazi persecution in occupied Europe intensified, the British continued to dramatically restrict Jewish entry into Palestine. This was in line with the White Paper of 1939 which limited Jewish immigration to no more than 75,000 over five years. The Jews continued to serve. In the words of David Ben Gurion: 'We will fight the White Paper as if there were no war, and we will fight the war as if there were no White Paper.'1
After the war was won, the British continued to show their appreciation by detaining tens of thousands of Holocaust survivors in internment camps on Cyprus2.
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In 1948, Jews made up approximately 1/3 of the population of the British Mandate of Palestine. The United Nations approved a partition plan, dividing the Mandate into two states: a Jewish state and an Arab state.
A two-state solution.
The Jews accepted the proposal. The Arabs rejected it.
In May 1948, five Arab nations - Jordan, Syria, Egypt, Lebanon and Iraq - invaded the nascent state of Israel, seeking to drive it into the sea. After October 7th, does anyone doubt what would have happened had they been sucessful?
They were not successful. Israel endured.
Forty-eight years later I visited Israel myself. I saw a people that, in the face of adversity and genocidal evil had carved out a nation that has made the desert bloom. Who have built, under the existential threat of annihilation, a vibrant, chaotic liberal democracy. A nation that somehow finds space for both ultra-Orthodox Jews and the LGBT community; Marxist communes and Bay Area-style techno-capitalists; Christians, atheists, and even a sizeable Arab Muslim minority. And I visited Masada, last stand of defiance against the Romans, where even today members of the Israel Defence Forces go to swear 'Masada will not fall again.'
Like every sane person, I want to see peace in the Middle East. I want a long-term, lasting state of peace, between Israel, Palestinians and Arab nations, and an end to the violence and suffering that we see daily on our TV screens. Every innocent life lost, whether Israeli or Palestinian; Jew, Arab or Christian, is a tragedy.
But peace will not come simply because we wish for it. And as I look at the conflict, and at the history of this troubled region, there are a number of things that I see.
That when other Arab nations recognise Israel's right to exist, peace usually follows.
That Hamas does not, and never has, recognised Israel's right to exist.
That a ceasefire existed upon October 6th, 2023 - and it was broken by Hamas, who entered Israel and massacred around 1200 people.
That upon every occasion it has had the opportunity to, Hamas has killed as many Jews - regardless of age, sex or civilian status - as it has been able to, without any pretence of a military objective.
That the rockets which rain indiscriminately upon Tel Aviv, Haifa and other Israeli cities are no less evil because they are stopped by the Iron Dome3.
That the Israel Defence Forces seek, at every stage, to protect their civilians, and to minimise Palestinian casualties - whereas Hamas uses Palestinian civilians as human shields, in apartment blocks, schools, kindergartens and hospitals. Hamas considers that their fellow Palestinians have greater propaganda value dead than they do alive.
That on every occasion when it has been a possibility, whether in 1948, in 1979, or in 2000, Israel has offered to trade land for peace - but that it has often been rejected.
And I further observe:
That hostility towards Jews did not start in 1948 with the formation of Israel, and nor would persecution cease if Israel did not exist.
That Arab massacres, Russian pogroms, European persecution and Nazi genocide have been features of Jewish history since well before modern Israel was formed.
That there has never been an independent state of Palestine.
That there are 194 Arab homelands, covering some 5 million square miles - but only one Israel, covering less than 1% of that area.
That well over half of the territory of the original British Mandate of Palestine is already an Arab homeland - the nation of Jordan.
That approximately 700,000 Jews were forced out of Arab nations after 1948 - a similar number to the Palestinians who left Israel.
That the Jewish population in almost all Arab nations is now close to zero - whereas the Arab population in Israel is around 2 million, or around 20% of the population. They are citizens and represented in Parliament - a recent coalition government included the Arab party. While racism and discrimination exists in Israel - as it does in Britain, America and every other country - it is far more viable to be an Arab in Israel, than to be a Jew is most Arab nations.
That unlike every other nation state around the world which saw co-religionists or members of the same ethnic group displaced after war - whether India, Pakistan, Germany, Poland, Greece, Turkey, Israel, Hungary and many others - the surrounding Arab nations, uniquely, did not take in the displaced Palestinians5.
That unlike the European countries who have taken in Ukrainian women and children - with no suggestion of diminuition of their support for Ukraine's sovereignty and struggle - the Arab nations have not taken in such innocent civilians, not even the youngest children.
That the Palestinian cause appears more important to many than the lives or welfare of the Palestinian people.
Of course, I do not support every act of the Israeli government - whether the current government, or previous ones. I do not support every act of my own government. But I do support Israel, and its inalienable right to exist and to be free.
As I said, like every sane person, I want peace. I want a real peace, a lasting peace, a peace that endures - not a false peace that continues only until the next atrocity.
We could have a cease-fire tomorrow if Hamas were to release the prisoners, lay down its arms and surrender its leaders. Why will it not do that?
Hamas does not want peace. You don't have to believe me - listen to them in their own words, pledging to repeat the October 7 attack, time and again, until Israel is annihilated. Or read its founding Charter, that states that 'it strives to raise the banner of Allah over every inch of Palestine', and that 'The Day of Judgement will not come about until Moslems fight the Jews (killing the Jews), when the Jew will hide behind stones and trees.'
It takes two sides to make peace, not one. Would those who call for an unconditional ceasefire see Israel cease its operations, while the hostages remain in captivity and the rockets rain down upon Tel Aviv? A genuine, sustainable, ceasefire would be glorious - but Israel cannot simply lay down its arms and be shot at.
Every innocent who dies in this war is a tragedy - regardless of race, religion or nationality. We should all grieve for every life lost needlessly. But peace will only come when both sides are willing to lay down their weapons, not just until the next moment of weakness, but for ever.
Israel has achieved that peace with Egypt, with Jordan, with the United Arab Emirates. While Israel is not perfect, in this conflict between Israel and Hamas, only one side - Hamas - is ultimately to blame.
The truth is simple:
There can be no lasting peace while Hamas remains armed and in power in Gaza.
There can be no lasting peace with any entity that does not recognise Israel's right to exist within something similar to its current borders.
There can be no lasting peace while Israeli hostages taken on October 7 are kept captive.
There can be no lasting peace where one side continues to fire rockets indiscriminately at Israeli civilians.
There can be no lasting peace with any entity whose demands entail the annihilation of Israel as a Jewish homeland.
None of these conditions are insoluble. I hope that every nation will help to work towards achieving them. At one time it looked as though Israel and Egypt could never make peace - but they did. I believe, and hope, that peace is possible - one day.
But until that day, I stand with Israel.
And in the slumber of tree and stone
Captive in her dream
The city that sits solitary
And in its midst is a wall.Chorus:
Jerusalem of gold
And of copper, and of light
Behold I am a violin for all your songs.
x2How the cisterns have dried
The market-place is empty
And no one frequents the Temple Mount
In the Old City.And in the caves in the mountain
Winds are howling
And no one descends to the Dead Sea
By way of Jericho.Chorus:
But as I come to sing to you today,
And to adorn crowns to you (i.e. to tell your praise)
I am the smallest of the youngest of your children (i.e. the least worthy of doing so)
And of the last poet (i.e. of all the poets born).For your name scorches the lips
Like the kiss of a seraph
If I forget thee, Jerusalem,
Which is all gold...Chorus:
We have returned to the cisterns
To the market and to the market-place
A ram's horn calls out on the Temple Mount
In the Old City.And in the caves in the mountain
Thousands of suns shine -
We will once again descend to the Dead Sea
By way of Jericho!
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Note that given the sensitive nature of this subject I have temporarily turned on moderation for all comments.
"Israel has achieved that piece with Egypt" should be "peace"
Having made a correction I feel I ought also to express an opinion. While all, or nearly all, of the things you've said are true, this is not an even handed attempt to understand the situation, but a polemic in defence of Israel. A proper response from me would be a similar length to your article, which I don't have time or will to type, but as an example - you missed out "There can be no lasting peace while Israel prevents Palestians having an viable economic life." One can understand why they do that - Palestinans have a habit of using whatever resources they get to attack Israel. But you can also understand why the Palestinians do that - Israel has a stranglehold on their lives.
There's a vicious cycle here, and it's hard to see how to break out of it other than both sides simultaneously being willing to change. I think there have been times in the past when Israel has been willing to change, but Palestians haven't been. I think today neither are willing to take a peaceful path.