Professor Roy Casagranda on Palestine occupation
Summary
TLDRThe video script delves into the historical complexities surrounding the creation of Israel, questioning the British mandate's role and the United Nations' decision to partition Palestine. It critiques the favoritism towards Jewish settlers over the indigenous Palestinian population and draws parallels with moral dilemmas, like the trolley problem, to underscore the ethical quandaries in geopolitical decisions. The speaker also touches on the irony of religious and ethnic ties, the plight of refugees, and compares the situation to apartheid, emphasizing the ongoing human rights issues and the international community's complicity.
Takeaways
- 🏛️ The British Mandate for Palestine was established after World War I, not as a direct act of creating a state for Jews but as a result of the League of Nations sanctioning Britain's control over the territory.
- 🗳️ The United Nations played a pivotal role in the establishment of Israel by voting to partition Palestine into separate Jewish and Arab states, with Britain abstaining from the vote despite having veto power.
- 🏞️ The British opposed the partition plan and did not support the creation of Israel, focusing efforts to prevent Palestine from forming as a state, which inadvertently led to Israel's establishment.
- 🌍 The creation of Israel was met with international objections, particularly from the Arab world and some European countries, but was strongly supported by the United States, the Soviet Union, and France, which influenced the outcome.
- 🤝 The sympathy towards the Jewish people after the Holocaust was a significant factor in the international community's acceptance of the creation of Israel, despite the displacement of Palestinians.
- 🏡 The concept of creating a state for one religious group at the expense of another's rights raises ethical questions, as it led to the displacement and suffering of the Palestinian population.
- 🌐 The script suggests an alternative historical 'what if' scenario, proposing that if the international community was serious about creating a Jewish state, it could have been done in a location that did not displace an existing population.
- 🔄 The irony of the situation is highlighted by the fact that many Palestinians are of Jewish descent, and the establishment of Israel has led to a complex religious and ethnic dynamic.
- 🏢 The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is compared to other historical and contemporary situations of displacement and forced migration, such as apartheid South Africa and the refugee crises in the Middle East.
- 🌐 The script concludes with a critique of the current situation, likening it to apartheid and suggesting that the international community's actions have created a long-lasting and deeply problematic situation.
Q & A
What was the role of the British in the establishment of Israel?
-The British were involved through the Palestine Mandate after World War I, which was a territory under British administration. However, it was the United Nations that voted to split Palestine into two states, Israel and Palestine, after World War II, with Britain abstaining from the vote rather than supporting the partition.
Why did the British not support the UN's decision to split Palestine?
-The British did not support the UN's decision because they believed it was a mistake and protested against it. They even tried to prevent both Israel and Palestine from forming, but their efforts were more focused on preventing Palestine from forming, which ultimately led to Israel's establishment.
What was the international response to the creation of Israel?
-While there were objections, particularly from the Arab world and some European voices like Great Britain, the support from major powers such as the United States, the Soviet Union, and France was significant. This support made it difficult for objections to prevent the establishment of Israel.
Why was there not a mass protest movement against the creation of Israel similar to protests against the Vietnam War?
-There was sympathy for the Jews after the Holocaust, and some believed that a Jewish state would offer them protection. This sentiment, along with the support from powerful nations, may have contributed to the lack of a mass protest movement against Israel's creation.
What is the moral dilemma presented in the script related to the creation of Israel?
-The moral dilemma discussed is the idea of creating a state for one religious group at the expense of the people already living there, drawing a parallel to the moral question of sacrificing one person to save many in a hypothetical scenario.
Why were the United States and the Soviet Union supportive of Israel's creation?
-The support from the United States and the Soviet Union was influenced by various factors, including sympathy for the Jewish people post-Holocaust and geopolitical strategies. Their support was significant enough that it was difficult for other nations to oppose the creation of Israel.
What is the irony mentioned in the script regarding the Jewish descent of Palestinians?
-The irony is that many Palestinians are of Jewish descent and ethnically more Jewish than the European and American Jews who established Israel. This creates a complex situation where those with a stronger Jewish heritage are in conflict with those who practice Judaism or identify as Jewish.
What does the speaker suggest as an alternative to the current situation between Israel and Palestine?
-The speaker suggests creating a secular, democratic state with equal rights for all, regardless of religion. This would involve integrating Israel and Palestine into one state where all citizens have equal rights.
What is the situation of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and West Bank according to the script?
-The script describes the Gaza Strip as a 'concentration camp' and the West Bank as a series of 'ghetto pockets,' indicating a dire situation for Palestinians living in these areas, who are often refugees displaced from their homes.
How does the speaker compare the situation in Israel and Palestine to apartheid in South Africa?
-The speaker compares the treatment of Palestinians, particularly those in the Gaza Strip and West Bank, to the apartheid system in South Africa, suggesting that the situation might be worse due to the additional elements of a blockade and internal exile within their own country.
Outlines
🏛️ The Creation of Israel and British Mandate
The paragraph discusses the historical context of Israel's formation, emphasizing the British role in the establishment of the state. It explains that Palestine became a British mandate territory after World War I, and the League of Nations sanctioned this. The United Nations later voted to split Palestine into separate Israeli and Palestinian states, with Britain abstaining from the vote despite having the power to veto. The speaker criticizes the decision to create a state for one religion at the expense of the local population, drawing parallels to the displacement of Native Americans. The paragraph also touches on the lack of mass protest against the creation of Israel and the geopolitical dynamics of the time, including the support from the United States, the Soviet Union, and France.
🤔 Ethical Dilemmas and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
This paragraph uses a thought experiment involving a train and a moral choice to lead into a discussion about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The speaker suggests that the situation in Israel and Palestine is similar to the ethical dilemma presented, where the decision to create a Jewish state led to the displacement and suffering of Palestinians. The paragraph explores the idea of creating a secular state with equal rights for all, but notes that such a proposition would be met with resistance as it would result in Jews becoming a minority. The speaker also points out the irony that many Palestinians are ethnically more Jewish than the European and American Jews who established Israel, and criticizes the current situation as being akin to apartheid.
📊 Demographics and the Humanitarian Crisis
The final paragraph delves into the demographic realities and the humanitarian crisis in the region. It discusses the forced migration of Palestinians, comparing it to the apartheid in South Africa, and suggests that the situation in Israel might be worse due to the blockades and restrictions on movement. The speaker highlights the refugee crisis not only in Palestine but also in neighboring countries like Jordan, which has been significantly impacted by the influx of Palestinians, Syrians, and Iraqis. The paragraph concludes with a call for a more equitable solution that respects the rights and dignity of all people in the region.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡British Mandate
💡League of Nations
💡United Nations
💡Partition
💡Holocaust
💡Zionism
💡Palestinians
💡Refugees
💡Gaza Strip
💡West Bank
💡Apartheid
Highlights
The British Mandate for Palestine was established after World War I, not as a direct act of creating a homeland for Jews, but as a result of international agreements.
The United Nations voted to partition Palestine into separate Jewish and Arab states after World War II, with Britain abstaining from the vote.
Britain did not support the UN's partition plan and protested against it, highlighting the complexity of their stance on the issue.
The creation of Israel and the dissolution of Palestine resulted in a significant demographic imbalance, with more Palestinians than Israelis.
The speaker questions the morality of creating a state for one religious group at the expense of the existing population.
The speaker points out the lack of mass protest against the creation of Israel in comparison to other historical events like the Vietnam War.
The United States, Soviet Union, and France were in favor of the creation of Israel, which influenced the UN's decision.
The speaker suggests an alternative proposal where the United States could have provided land for a Jewish state, highlighting the irony of the situation.
A moral dilemma is presented to illustrate the complexity of decision-making in situations with no clear ethical answer.
The speaker argues that the creation of Israel has led to a precarious situation for Jews, contrary to the idea of providing safety.
The majority of Palestinians are of Jewish descent, which adds an ironic twist to the conflict.
The current situation in Palestine and Israel is compared to apartheid South Africa, with some arguing it may be worse.
The speaker discusses the forced migration of Palestinians, which may be one of the largest in history, surpassing that of apartheid South Africa.
Jordan's population demographics have been significantly altered by the influx of Palestinian, Syrian, and Iraqi refugees.
The speaker concludes by emphasizing the ongoing refugee crisis and the need for a more nuanced understanding of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Transcripts
it was the British that um made Israel
for the Jews from Europe right
technically no what happened was the
Palestine became a British mandate after
World War I mandate in other words
conquered territory mandate is the
euphemism for we conquered this um what
the league of AR the I'm sorry the
the League of Nations which was the you
know the precursor to the UN sanctioned
what Britain had done what the what
happened was at the end of World War II
the UN voted and Britain abstained
Britain did not vote for they they could
have vetoed it they had veto power so
they could have just said no but they
they abstained which then meant that
they they didn't exercise their veto
even though they didn't exercise a yes
and what the UN did was they voted to
then split Palestine into an Israel and
a Palestine and they could do that
because it was technically British like
it belong to Britain Britain did not
enforce the split Britain Britain
protested and said we are against this
we think this is a big mistake what what
ended up happening was the British then
decided because they disliked it so much
that they were going to try and prevent
Israel and Palestine from forming the
problem was is they they put their
emphasis on preventing Palestine from
forming so Israel ended up becoming
coming into existence and Palestine
ended up be just disappearing I mean in
a way except for the fact that there are
two times as many Palestinians as
Israelis and this is a long festering
oozing wound that the world itself s
inflicted on itself because it decided
that it wanted to create a state that
served only one religion at the expense
of the people who are already living
there I don't understand how they were
allowed to make a nation like just split
a nation that was already occupied and
put people there what do you mean that
do you know where you
live yeah there were Native American
here like yeah that was the old days Oh
you mean how could you do it 1948 and
the aftermath of World War II when you
would think we would have learned a
lesson about doing stuff like that or at
least people would object you know uh
there was there were objections um the
Arab world for example objected um there
were there were even some European
voices that weren't happy about it like
Great Britain um having said that the
United States in the Soviet Union were
and France were very much in favor of it
and because they were very much in favor
it was hard for anybody to stop it in
1948 nobody was going to say no to the
United States and the Soviet Union it
just couldn't happen it was beyond
people's comprehension because you never
hear about a being a big deal like when
people Pro protested Vietnam here you
never hear like people protesting the
creation of Israel there wasn't a a mass
protest movement in in the first world
for the creation of Israel um and and it
was because people had Sympathy For What
had happened to the Jews and some people
were thinking okay maybe if they get
their own state they'll be able to
protect themselves I I I I I mean that's
really flawed logic right because if
anything what they've done is they've
just sort of located themselves in one
place and then put themselves in this
really horrible precarious situation
that could potentially put them at more
risk not less risk there were already
people there like they could have put
him in an island or something where
there was no people well yeah I mean
like I when I get in conversation with
Zionist I have a Zionist friend who
keeps saying well the Arabs could well
how much land were the Arabs giving why
can't the Arabs be generous my immediate
response is why wasn't the United States
generous why not New York and
Connecticut or something you know or New
Mexico and Arizona which were actually
asked for the Zionist movement at one
point asked the United States if it
would be willing to give up Arizona and
New Mexico and create a Jewish State and
the United States said no but but we're
willing to let you do it in Palestine so
like we're willing to be generous with
other people's stuff but not our own um
there's
this it makes me think of this study and
and I I don't know if I'm right about
this but so let people are asked and I
really to do this right I should ask you
but I'm not going to um the people are
asked to to solve this moral dilemma so
there's a railroad track with people on
it working there are five people working
on it and they can't hear anything cuz
they're making so much noise and they
can't see anything because they're
facing the wrong way but coming down the
track headed straight towards them is a
train and it will kill those five people
when it hit hits them cuz it's going so
fast H having said that you happen to be
right next to a train track lever and
you can change what track the train goes
on and there's a the other track has one
person on it so if you pull that lever
the train goes over and kills one guy do
you pull the lever so answer
it no yes there's one person saying no
and I see a bunch of people nodding
their heads any no other NOS uh are you
an L yeah maybe like because it would be
selfish to do it what it would be
selfish um no actually selfishly I would
say no you would say no
because because if you pull a lever
you're responsible for the death if you
don't of the one person right if you
don't pull the lever okay Destiny
isn't just the two of you but does
anybody else a know or is I'm on the
fence you're on the fence you say yes
yes yes yes yes says by the way I'm a
yes I pull the
lever okay so now most people say yes
the vast majority of people say yes I'm
glad though that you had that
conversation because it was really good
now we're going to change the scenario
slightly same thing five people can't
hear can't see train barreling straight
at them you're on a bridge I don't know
where this bridge came from you're on a
bridge over the workers and there's a
guy standing next to you all all you got
to do to stop the train from hitting
those people would be to flip the guy
standing next to you off the bridge
because as he falls to his
death the workers will notice and the
train will notice and the the workers
will be able to get out of their way and
then the
train no okay see okay so so that's
everybody says no right and and the the
question is is it because you're
touching the guy or is the lever your
remote and people are then and they
don't know the answer I think that's the
answer the answer is you could have
thrown yourself why didn't you throw
yourself if you're so adamant about
saving those Five Guys why are you
sacrificing Bubba here when you could go
and I think that's the real reason the
people who said yes in the first
scenario say no in the second is they
don't want to die and it's morally gross
to sacrifice the guy standing next to
you but the researchers said they
couldn't figure it out I'm pretty sure
this is obvious I'm pretty sure that's
the answer and and I and that that's the
thing that I don't get about the United
States in our policy towards Israel okay
if it's such a good idea why don't we do
it here let's give the Israelis a
Homeland here that'll be Jewish only and
if you're not Jewish you have to get
out and when you put it in those terms
suddenly it becomes maybe not so
desirable and then then the other one is
the other question is Palestine
obviously had nothing to do with the
Holocaust we're obviously doing this in
part because of the Holocaust why don't
we put it in Germany
then why didn't we carve off a chunk of
Northern Germany and call it new Israel
we could hurg could have become New
Jerusalem and just give him Northern
Germany right that only seems fair
especially since what most of the Jews
that we're talking about were either
American Jews and most of them were of
German descent or they were European
Jews and most of them were of German
descent right there's a reason why
Yiddish was the dominant Jewish language
anguage in Europe Yiddish is just German
with a Jewish accent and some Hebrew
words Yiddish is also awesome Language
by the way um some of the coolest words
ever are yish but anyway it's a
different story didn't they wouldn't be
close to Jerusalem and all okay but then
but then you say well so then it's a
religious thing but most sists will go
no this isn't about religion he's like
well if it's not about religion then why
do you want to be so close to Jerusalem
clearly it's about religion but then
it's but then they say no I'm I'm an
atheist or I'm a secularist Jew and I'm
I'm a Zionist it's like well then why
did it have to be Jerusalem this was our
homeland this was your Homeland you're
2,000 years
old I don't understand here's the twist
the majority of
Palestinians are of Jewish descent and
are ethnically more Jewish than the
European and American Jews who went and
created Israel so every time a
Palestinian is murdered by an Israeli a
person who's more Jewish is killed by a
person who is less Jewish it's true that
the Israeli is actually practicing
Judaism or as a secular Jew and it's
true that those those Palestinians are
Christians and Muslims who who have
whose ancestors converted from Judaism
to Christianity and Islam but it's just
a weird ironic twist I mean it just it's
bit it's embittering how ironic it is it
just doesn't make any sense and and
here's the problem I don't think I said
this plainly last time so say it and I
and then I'll let you go cuz I'm way
over but I'm sorry I let let me just do
this the problem is if you said okay
we're going to create a new a new state
and it'll be secular it's not for one
religion anymore it'll be a
democracy secular and they'll be rights
for all
minorities and uh by the way mamar
Gaddafi actually suggested calling it
istin Israel and Palestine
istin so sounds terrible to me but
whatever I don't care what you want to
call this thing call it Israel call it
Palestine call it is call it Israel
Palestine with a Hy foration like your
parents did with you I don't care
whatever it is that makes you happy but
if you did it suddenly there' be 13
million Palestinians who are Christian
and Muslim I think it's like 10 10%
Christian 90% Muslim and then there'll
be six million Jews so the Jews would
become an instant minority in that state
and they don't want that to happen
that's why they're fighting the
Palestinians they're not fighting the
Palestinians because the Palestinians
are attacking them the Palestinians
aren't attacking them they're fighting
the Palestinians because they don't want
to have Palestine integrated with them
because they'll instantly lose their
majority there are actually 7 million
Palestinians living in Palestine and
Israel but five million are confined to
the concentration camp that that we call
the Gaza Strip it's just a concentration
camp and then the ghetto that we call
the West Bank it's basically a bunch of
little ghetto pockets and and and so by
doing that what the Israelis have done
is they've created a situation where the
natives are in internal Exile right
they're they're still in Palestine
they're just not in their homes their
homes are in hia or or or yafa or
Jerusalem and so they're displaced
inside their own country as a majority
but with no rights to citizenship it
it's this is like the most nasty thing
since apartheid Israel apartheid South
Africa it might might be worse than
apartheid South Africa in some ways and
I mean so fact it is when you think
about it because at least in the case of
apartheid Israel there was I'm sorry I
keep doing that apartheid South Africa
there was no blockade preventing the
Import and Export of goods into black
neighborhoods right CU white people were
making money off of the black PE the
black population so you wouldn't do that
there was the same mass migration effect
three two and a half to three and a half
million ah I just realized something so
so I even said this in class earlier
so I've been the history I Learned was
the largest forced M Mass migration in
in human history was South Africa when
it became AP partide forced two and a
half to three and a half million blacks
to move out of white neighborhoods and
and by the way and Asians too the the
the Indian population was also separated
out well uh the vast majority of the 5
million Palestinians living in Gaza
Strip in West Bank are themselves
refugees forced out of the rest of
Palestine so that's actually probably a
bigger population because I I would be
surprised if it was more than one and a
half million people were actually from
those two places I bet three and a half
million were are are actually displaced
refugees um anyway it's not the only
Refugee crisis we have we also have now
the Syrian refugee crisis and Iraqi
Refugee crisis Jordan the last time I
checked and I don't know how accurate
these stats are Jordan is like 25%
Jordanian now it's it's something like
60% Palestinian 25% Jordanian and the
fif the remaining 15% are Syrian and
Iraqi I mean this is
incredible anyway all right I'm over so
any other questions
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