US-Israel relations – UAB Institute for Human Rights Blog

In 1977, the General Assembly of the United Nations (UN) declared November 29th as the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People. On this day, the UN holds an annual meeting containing the UN General Assembly and the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People. This day promotes an opportunity for the international community to recognize the conditions of Palestine. Last year in 2020, the UN committee launched an exhibit focusing on the wall built along the occupied territory of Palestine. This wall is a landmark of significance for thousands of Palestinians as it holds as a symbol of solidarity and resilience. The wall contains poems and different forms of art from many Palestinian artists. This wall has been ruled to be illegal by the international court of justice, yet it holds much significance regarding the fight for Palestinian freedom.

Significance of the Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People:

The declaration of this day was and continues to be a meaningful step to recognizing the injustices occurring in Palestine. This day serves as a general reminder to the UN and the rest of the world that there are still growing factors that continue to implement misery and suffering among Palestinian people. This year, the UN held the observance at the headquarters in Geneva. During the meeting, the conflicts that occurred this past year were highlighted and spoken about. Such as the expansions of illegal settlements, demolition of Palestinian homes and structures, and the occurring violence caused by the Israeli government and army. In May, Israeli settlers and army forces marched into a Palestinian neighborhood, Sheikh Jarrah, and removed many Palestinians out of their homes. At the General Assembly meeting, Mohammed El-Kurd, a Palestinian activist and journalist from Sheikh Jarrah, gave a speech describing the day the Israeli Jewish Settlers took half of his home. Last year, at the 2020 observance, the Secretary-General of the UN, stated: “we must also do all we can to ease the suffering of the Palestinian people.” The recognition of suffering and the occupation, although small, is a big step in fighting for human rights injustices across the globe. The day of solidarity also calls on the critical humanitarian and development needs of Palestinian refugees, especially during the times of the pandemic and the growing conflict.

Mohammed el Kurd giving a speech at the UN. — International solidarity with Palestine November 29, 2021. Yahoo Images

An Update on Palestine:

The current conditions of Palestine continue to worsen as time passes by. More individuals are being displaced, more homes are being demolished, and the fight for freedom still continues. Although November 29th provides awareness and brings light to the question of Palestine, it is essential to recognize that every day these events occur. Palestinians are still living under occupied territories with restricted movement. This past year served as a reminder for the Israeli-Palestine conflicts such as the Nakba, also known as the catastrophe. In the spring, many homes in Palestine were demolished and given to Israeli settlers, which was a repeat of events that occurred in 1948 and 1967 in Palestine. Protests occurred all around the world, standing against the settlements and in support of the Palestinian liberation. As the obstacles for Palestinian liberation continue to worsen, the fight for freedom continues around the world.

Protests in East Jerusalem against the illegal settlements — May 2021 Protest in Sheikh Jarrah, Palestine. Yahoo Images

Human Rights Support for Palestine:

Although the war has been occurring since 1948, there have been acknowledgments worldwide in support of Palestinian human rights. Past U.S. legislation includes H.R. 2407, introduced by representative McCollum in 2019, promoting human rights for Palestinian children living under the occupation. This bill also addresses the most significant factor allowing Israel to continue its injustices: U.S. funding for the Israeli military. The bill calls on the U.S. to cease all funding due to the indirect support that violates international human rights law. Unfortunately, this bill did not make it out of the House of Representatives. However, the bill has been reintroduced, and Rep. McCollum continues to support it along with the introduction of an additional H.R. Bill 2590. This bill directly addresses the U.S. funding and alliance with Israel in efforts to stop the aid of military detentions of Palestinian children. U.S. taxpayer money should not be used to support international human rights violations. With the rise in support by various groups, political organizations, and advocacy groups, it has a higher chance of passing and becoming law. In addition, Palestinian awareness being recognized through congressional bills and days such as the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian people, there is great promise in the future of this bill.

What’s Next:

November 29th serves as an important reminder to the international community that the Palestinian struggle still exists, but it is not where our support should end. The topic of Palestinian liberation needs to be spoken about more and recognized. It is imperative to continue educating oneself and others about the Palestinian struggle and its history. A human injustice that occurred in 1948 still exists today and has worsened in aspects. Acknowledgment and bringing it to the attention of members of our government is critical.

For more information, check out these links:

To learn more about the events that occurred in Palestine this past year and the reality of what many Palestinians go through daily watch Mohammed El Kurd’s speech given this year.

To learn more about the history of Palestine and Israel: Check out this interactive link explaining the history.

a picture of the Grand Canyon. It is a UNESCO site — Grand Canyon. Source: Alan Eng, Creative Commons

The United States formally withdrew from UNESCO last Thursday, followed shortly by Israel. The decision, called “a brave and moral decision” by Binyamin Netanyahu, hinders on what the Trump administration labels “anti-Israel bias”, a claim that seemingly stems from the recent designation of Hebron as a World Heritage Site. This is not the first time the US has withdrawn support from the organization. During the Reagan administration, the withdrawal occurred over “mismanagement and political implications”; the US rejoined in 2003 under Bush, but commenced withdrawing financial dues under Obama in 2011 when the organization included Palestine as a member. The Israel and US alliance began during the Truman presidency, around 1948. The purpose of this blog is not to delve into the Israeli-Palestinian conflict debate but to elucidate the power of collaborative relationship as an aspect of peace at the global level.

The purpose of UNESCO is to contribute to international peace and security through the cross-cultural collaboration of education, science, and culture, in accordance with the UN Chapter. The Constitution was signed into agreement in 1945, and came into force after twenty countries ratified it in 1946. UNESCO’s mandate lies in the removal of ignorance, mistrust, and suspicion from the minds of humanity, given that “wars begin in the minds of men, it is in the minds of men that the defenses of peace must be constructed.” War, they assert, is propagated through ignorance, prejudice, and inequality; thus, denying democratic principles including “dignity, equality, and mutual respect” to all. Peace requires solidarity of humanity, both intellectually and morally.

Lines Drawn The ‘creation’ of the Green Line resulted in the 1949 Armistice and the lines of demarcation for Israel and her neighbors, specifically Jordan, and the designation of the West Bank. Following the Six Day War in 1967, Israel “annexed the eastern part of the city and its holy sites”; annexation did not include parts of Jerusalem, Bethlehem (the birthplace of Jesus), or Hebron (the burial place of the patriarchs and matriarchs of Judeo-Christian faith). Citizens of Israel and Palestine live on both sides of the Green Line. Palestine remains stateless, considering the requirements of Treaty of Westphalia, yet in 2011, the UN agency granted membership to the Palestinian Authority despite the full international recognition as a nation-state. Obama, in a May 2011 address, concluded a two state solution based upon the 1967 lines, presented the most viable option for peace in the region:

“What America and the international community can do is to state frankly what everyone knows — a lasting peace will involve two states for two peoples: Israel as a Jewish state and the homeland for the Jewish people, and the state of Palestine as the homeland for the Palestinian people, each state enjoying self-determination, mutual recognition, and peace… We believe the borders of Israel and Palestine should be based on the 1967 lines with mutually agreed swaps, so that secure and recognized borders are established for both states. The Palestinian people must have the right to govern themselves, and reach their full potential, in a sovereign and contiguous state.”

Given that Obama’s speech took place in May and the withdrawal funds from UNESCO in November, it appears all signs point to a divided Obama administration. However, the legislation to withdraw American funds from any UN agency, admitting Palestine as a full member, has origins in the George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton presidencies.

a picture of the Sydney Opera House. It is a UNESCO site — Sydney Opera House. Source: Steve Collis, Creative Commons

A physical symbol of the UNESCO mandate materializes in the classification of world cultural/heritage sites. The designation of cultural sites in Israel began in 2001 and Palestine in 2012. In 2016, two Jewish sites in Jerusalem, geographically located in the West Bank, proved contentious for Israel and UNESCO. As a diplomatic entity, UNESCO introduced and regarded the sites by exclusive Arabic names, drawing the ire of Israel, who ascertained the move as “attempts to deny our heritage, distort history, and disconnect Jewish people from our capital and homeland”. According to the UNESCO World Heritage Sites list, neither of the Temple Mount locations are on the established or tentative list. Thereby positing the question aimed at the accusation of bias – where is the evidence of bias when it comes to UNESCO and the establishment of heritage sites?

“Anti-Israel bias” Netanyahu, during his 2011 speech to the US joint Congress, declared Israel and the US “stand together to defend democracy… to advance peace…and to fight terrorism”. He continued with an acknowledgement of the right to protest, the demand for dignity, and the desire for liberty. If coupling this speech with the decision to withdraw, the US-Israel alliance takes on an ‘us vs them’ mentality when considering the collaborative nature of the UN family of agencies. Therefore, what is the value of peace, liberty, and justice for all when two nations position themselves against the rest of the world?

It is a matter of social control versus social solidarity, or a matter of isolation versus belonging. Irina Bokova stated regret over the decisions by acknowledging the withdrawals are a “loss for multilateralism”. Robarchek asserts the problem with social control lies in the emphasis on control rather than the social. He concludes, “…the willingness to give society’s interests precedence over one’s own wishes and impulses is largely rooted in individuals’ relationship to the community”. In terms of US-Israel relations with other nations, UNESCO, and other UN agencies: the US and Israel determined their parts are greater than the whole. US-Israel allowed their own interest to trump the superordinate interest of the community (the world, in this instance), thereby, discarding democracy and peace because of unresolved conflict. Fry suggests ‘us vs them’ contributes to intergroup hostility because of a failure to cultivate a common identity. He proposes peace has two essential variables: interdependence and cooperation. Interdependence and cooperation bring about peace through the development of values that inform behaviors.

Calhoun hypothesizes the practicality of belonging is problematic for some because “intense group commitments and claims to group rights can threaten individual liberties…” and an individualist democracy does not hold value in belonging and denies its importance. He implies belonging is imperative to the fulfillment of “multilayered, multilateral polities” so democracies flourish rather than become empires. Put another way, belonging keeps democracies from getting too big for their britches. The US and Israel, both possessing strengths and weakness, conflated financial investment as responsibility and a single alliance as partnership. They fail to recognize that “neglect[ing] social solidarity… neglecting social bases of their own efficacy, while others are all too aware of the limits of their individual capacity are clearly in need of collective support in relation to the challenges the world throws at them.” It is imperative for the US and Israel to recognize their fates are interconnected with other nations. The days of selfish thinking and isolationist behavior are gone as the world is uniting around a common identity with a common goal, and the US and Israel are the odd ones out.

Belonging matters.