Hi Pamela! I'm not fully understanding your question and I don't want to assume you mean something that maybe you don't. Can you please elaborate for the sake of clarity?
What territory is Israel occupying right now? I know people often refer to Israel’s occupation, often to put Israel in a bad light, but what territory does the term “occupation” refer to exactly? The West Bank? The whole of Israel? Or is this just spin?
Great question! Judea and Samaria (also known as the West Bank) are occupied by the Israeli military. By definition, this is true, but what people don’t realize is that this occupation is in many ways reasonable and justified, since it was in response to decades of terrorism against Jews and Israelis, and the inability of the Palestinians to police themselves.
Most Israelis, from the left to the right, support it since it’s an existential threat to our lives. Many of us also hope for a solution, but realize that we’ve never really had a negotiating partner on the Palestinian side. Hopefully this changes at some point.
OK. That clarifies things. It upsets me when Israel is referred to as an occupying power without this context. Our former president did it recently. It’s hard not to be sensitive to the lack of nuance in these statements, especially right now. Much appreciate your response.
Good piece. One question: occupation? What part of Israel is truly “occupied?” Forgive my ignorance.
Hi Pamela! I'm not fully understanding your question and I don't want to assume you mean something that maybe you don't. Can you please elaborate for the sake of clarity?
What territory is Israel occupying right now? I know people often refer to Israel’s occupation, often to put Israel in a bad light, but what territory does the term “occupation” refer to exactly? The West Bank? The whole of Israel? Or is this just spin?
Great question! Judea and Samaria (also known as the West Bank) are occupied by the Israeli military. By definition, this is true, but what people don’t realize is that this occupation is in many ways reasonable and justified, since it was in response to decades of terrorism against Jews and Israelis, and the inability of the Palestinians to police themselves.
Most Israelis, from the left to the right, support it since it’s an existential threat to our lives. Many of us also hope for a solution, but realize that we’ve never really had a negotiating partner on the Palestinian side. Hopefully this changes at some point.
OK. That clarifies things. It upsets me when Israel is referred to as an occupying power without this context. Our former president did it recently. It’s hard not to be sensitive to the lack of nuance in these statements, especially right now. Much appreciate your response.
You’re absolutely correct!