Peace in the Mideast ... Well

The Yellow Canary has used up hours of brainpower trying to solve the Israel-Palestine crises, but this one's a real toughie. But if everyone in the world put their collective heads together we could likely come up with some crazy out-of-the-box solution.

Needless to say, this conflict is a source of constant unrest and uneasiness in the Mideast and is one of those "root causes" that create a climate for terrorism. Worse yet, the violence is deeply unsettling and it upsets me deeply.

Last night, I spent the evening reading articles about the issue and learned a few things that I'd like to share:

• I've always wondered how large Israel is. For being such a small nation, it really takes up a disproportionate share of the news. Think of the nation as a long sliver. If placed over Florida, it would run from about the southern tip to about the panhandle but would be only the most inner part of Florida.

• For about 400 years, the land was pretty barren and was considered a part of southern Syria under the Ottoman Empire. The Ottoman Turks were defeated by the Allies in WWI, which left no one to rule the province. So, the area became a mandate under the rule of Britain, who named the area Transjordan.

• Around 1880, Jews began moving into the area from around Europe. After WWII and the Holocaust, the Jews felt they would never be safe until they had their own homeland, and they began migrating to the area in large numbers in 1946. In 1948 they declared independence, which did not settle well with their Arab neighbors. The Arabs declared a "Holy War" (they seem to do that a lot) and attacked the little nation from all directions. Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Jordan, and Egypt all joined in the so-called jihad, but the feisty Israelis beat them all back.

• Since the 1940s, there has been continual unrest and war in the area, especially the big wars in 1967 and 1973. Each time the Israelis have sent the Arabs back in full retreat. In 1979, Israel made permanent peace with Egypt, and gave them back the Sinai Pennsula. I remember this as a young college students — the Camp David Accords were one of the greatest accomplishments of the century. Good work, President Carter!

• Now, herein lies the problem. When you look at the map, Israel is an oddly shaped and small country without the West Bank. The country grows really slender in some places. Mainly for security reasons and also for religious, economic, and population reasons, the Israelis have numerous settlements in this little hunk of land that juts into their country. The Palestinians, like the Israelis, want their own state too, but without much of the West Bank, they really don't have a chance at realizing their dream.

• I can sympathize with the Palestinians for resisting the occupation of their lands. I know Americans, and I know me, and if we folks here in Georgia were occupied by a foreign power, we'd probably resist anyway we could. However, their use of terrorism against civilians is totally unacceptable.

• I can sympathize with the Israelis for wanting to at least widen the corridor between the ocean and West Bank. Having been attacked countless times by the Arabs, it is a security thing. Israel is entitled to security.

Now, I'm sure both sides could spend hours telling me about all the injustices that each nation has committed against the other. I've already heard quite a few. There is a lot of hate, bad blood, and religious claims that make things even more complex.

Solutions:

• The U.S. could donate a swath of land in Arizona for Israel to relocate. I have flown over the state and there is plenty of unused land. Desalination plants could be used to provide fresh water.

• We could borrow an idea from the Japanese and use dredging and filling to bring out the coast of Israel. In turn, they could relocate most of their West Bank settlements.

• The presidents of the U.S. and Russia could relocate their offices in Jerusalem and say, "We are going to stay here until you work this out, and every day we are going to help promote peace." This would send a powerful message to the world, and other leaders could join them and just stay there until peace is achieved.

• We could provide desalination plants for Jordan and Syria. In return, they would give up some border lands for the Palestinians.

I do not think a dual state will work, and I don't think Palestinians can have a real state with so much Israeli intrusion in the West Bank. But all sides need to talk, keep talking, and the world community needs to show resolve in solving this issue. This conflict is a real friction spot for the entire world and until we can settle it, long-term peace for the region and the world will remain impossible to achieve.

When I was a kid one afternoon another boy was threatening to pound me on the bus. I replied, "Why can't we just be friends?" He wasn't amused, but at least he didn't beat me up. But my friends on the bus called me a coward. I just never saw the point in fighting. As I look back, I'm proud of myself for walking away from that fight. I've always felt that fighting is basically pointless.