By: Syazwan Naim Ibrahim
Pray tell, when will the Israelis put their occupation of the Holy Land to an end? The daily news on the surge in torture and killing of innocent Palestinians that we forced to watch are just ample evidence of the Israelis’ violation to human rights and values. They are imbued with the vision of establishing a recognized Israeli state, at the expense of whatever these may have cost.
The ongoing conflict between Palestine and Israel involving historical, political, and religious factors is a salient issue that constantly needs to be brought to the fore, talked about, and the likes. Palestine, apart from knowing it as one of the Arab countries, needs to be seen as a place where peace is defined and sacredness of performing religious rituals of the ancient monotheist traditions (Islam, Judaism, Christianity) is preserved. While the Israeli forces refuse to cease their retaliatory attacks even after being continuously urged by some world powers, recently by Arab rulers, they still insist on conquering the state.
Therefore, I would like to rather shed light on another rarely told point of view, which I address it “crime committed by Israel today against one of the prophets, namely Jacob”. Revisiting his biography, we would certainly made explained that Jacob’s title was ‘Israel’ which comprises of two Hebrew words: Isra (slave) and El (God), that the title has its completely semantic equivalence to the name Abdullah in Arabic, who is the father of the seal of all the prophets, Muhammad. Thus, the extremely noble title bestowed upon suggests that the prophet, by what he is called, has reached the peak of the purest devotion to Allah, that all his actions are directed to only what pleases Him, and that he will not even think of disobeying Him. Such a duly reverence then is supposed to be passed down to the successor or children of Jacob, known as Bani Israel in Arabic. It is also worth noting that the syntactical relationship embedded in the possessive phrase ‘Children of Israel’ is not only limited to its mere function of making such phrase as consisting of a possessed (Children) and a possessor (Israel), but at the same time it indicates that these children should, in turn, possess their father’s or predecessor’s piety.
But the propaganda of the ‘Promised Land’ that has been long lauded by them and incessantly fuelled by their leaders up to date, as Allah has previously promised them with it if and only if they remain pious, inspires them to resume violating the holiness of the land right after the end of the ceasefire that was agreed upon on November 24, 2023 recently. Had they taken and strictly adhered to what Moses, one of the prophets who descended from the lineage of Israel as well, had commanded them to do and deprived them of conducting acts that would earn the wrath of Allah, their ethnic cleansing of Palestine would have stopped, and it would have been right for them to be called the Children of Israel there and then, and they would have been able to remain on the land without needing to shower rockets, phosphorus bombs, and all sorts of brutal military attacks. If Prophet Jacob were still alive, he would have denounced and deplored the genocide the Israelis are committing. Also, to this end, perhaps what exasperates and upsets us much is the absence of the role of Arab rulers, regardless of their political stances between them, in stopping the toiling of Palestinian people who are being cut off from water, food, electricity, and fuel supply. The Israelis are, after all these inhumane attacks, not eligible to be the citizens of the land of peace and thus set their foot in.
The attempt to occupy all Palestinian areas has passed for more than seventy years and is continuing, but Israel has not been successful, despite the fact that it is well supported by such world great powers as the United States of America, the United Kingdom, and France, yet armed with highly
advanced lethal weapons. So, what does the failure really mean? The crime, I echo, is the greatest crime against the prophet dubbed Israel!
General outcry from all sorts of crime perpetrated has reached the skies! Countless discussions held at the international level where majority of countries in the world were there, but they are just not interested at all at probing the conflict and aiding the Palestinians accordingly. Palestinian people really need justice and protection against the military assaults. The constant television watching nowadays especially which regards to the sharply increasing violence by the settlers is very disgusting and hurting all who uphold humanity and human dignity! Are not there any world powers which can stop the atrocities? When could the giggles of the Palestinian children playing around the holy mosque be returned?
Promoting understanding, empathy, and dialogue can contribute to a more nuanced and constructive discussion about the situation in the region leading to the establishment of an independent and sovereign Palestinian state. It is my sincere ceaseless hope that people across the globe will always advocate for a just, lasting, and comprehensive peace agreement that addresses the legitimate concerns and aspirations of the conflict.
It is not just about the Palestinians losing their land per se, but also the soul, history, and future of the people of Israel.
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The author is a Lecturer at the Department of Arabic and Middle Eastern Languages, Faculty of Languages and Linguistics, Universiti Malaya, and may be reached at wannaim@um.edu.my
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