Moral Equivalency? Precisely.

Following President Obama’s historic speech today, CNN followed up with a variety of correspondents and commentators. One of them was Republican Representative Mike Pence, who called the speech “disappointing” because it seemed to create a “moral equivalency” between the Israelis and the Palestinians. In Pence’s opinion, Israel is America’s ally, and we should only be pursuing peace in the Middle East insofar as it promotes the interests of our ally. He asserted that “millions of Americans” were on the side of Israel, and that the burden of peace was squarely on the shoulders of Palestinians.
Embedded in Mr. Pence’s logic is the root of the problem.
To Mr. Pence, I say, “Moral equivalency? Exactly.” Moral equivalency is not ours to grant – it is inherent in all peoples’ quest for self-determination and survival. Each side believes that it has God on its side, each side has a litany of reasons validating its own righteousness, and each side has historical precedent to justify its current position. Moral equivalency, in the sense that each side has a right to fight for its interests – is a given and a fact of life.
Political equivalency – now that is the real question. It’s political equivalency that Americans are not willing to grant – but without it, no progress can be made.
Many Americans are uneasy with Muslims and their unfamiliar dress, believe all Muslims must be closet terrorists, feel a residual guilt over the Holocaust, and have a religious affinity with the Israelis due to the sharing of the Old Testament with Christianity. Add to this the fact that historically, there have been many more Jews than Arabs in the United States (particularly in influential political cities), plus memories of the long gas lines from the 1970s, and it is unsurprising that Americans would want to side indefinitely with Israel.
The problem with this is…. well, there are numerous problems with this.
First of all, this intransigent position reflects a lack of appreciation for the way the world is changing. Clinging to a dogged support for Israel is no longer politically neutral – or equivalent to taking the moral high ground – because of Israel’s own egregious actions since its founding. The forced exodus of the Palestinian people from their homes and the refusal of their right to return pale in comparison to the continued policy of responding to any protest large or small with overwhelming force -the most notorious being the firing of tanks in retaliation for young boys throwing stones. These repeated actions, in combination with the draconian legal restrictions placed on Palestinians’ freedom of movement, economic vitality and educational opportunities, have caused Israel’s support in Europe to drop off precipitously.
Which leads me to the second problem. Europe, still the home of the United States’ most enduring allies, is undergoing a social transformation that can only be called revolutionary. To blindly side with Israel is now politically untenable domestically for European countries that have large Arab populations – to do so would be to light the powder keg under all of their feet.
If we need a third reason that our absolute loyalty to Israel needs revisiting, let’s consider the relative failure of our policy up to this point. Billions upon billions of dollars have been sent to both Israel and Egpyt, among other allies, and countless conferences have been held, but no true solution has been met. Why? One reason is that the US has continued to act as Israel’s advocat. To create a real solution, it must act as a neutral partner.
Today, as I watched President Obama’s speech, I felt a flicker of hope that perhaps the next eight years of my adult life will not be spent fighting the Crusades but will be an era of increased collaboration. Whether the crisis between the Palestinians and Israelis will ultimately be resolved remains to be seen. But it is time to begin viewing that as only one piece of the diplomatic puzzle, not a lens through which all policies are viewed. The Middle East is here, and is everywhere. We must extend our hand, and attempt to work together. If they are willing to forgive us for all of Bush’s blunders, there may be some common ground after all.
(Readers interested in reading an extended version of this blog are invited to visit http://bravetheworld.blogspot.com/)