An insight into the ongoing violence between Israel and Gaza-based militant groups
Ram Jethmalani
Legal luminary Ram Jethmalani needs no introduction. Well-known amongst the legal community, the senior lawyer and former BJP member does not mince words and fearlessly calls a spade a spade. It was, hence, no surprise why Rotarians and Rotaryannes turned up in large numbers for the Club’s weekly meeting on August 5; the maverick lawyer was the guest speaker of the day and they were curious to hear him speak on “The Middle East Crisis” — a topic that he has been closely following for a long time; a topic that perhaps tops the list of the world’s major concerns in modern times.
After a brief introduction by Programme Committee head Rtn. Nanik Rupani, Jethmalani surprised Rotarians by confessing that he is a Rotarian himself. While he is respected as the country’s highest rated criminal lawyer, he said that he is not very proud of the profession at the moment. And neither was he happy about being introduced as a politician. He joked, “The latest joke on politicians is that ‘if one politician falls into the river and drowns, it will be a simple case of pollution. But if all politicians fall into the river and drown then that will be the solution.” He, however, said that the profession he is most proud of is that of a teacher; Jethmalani has been teaching law at several institutes for approximately 73 years.
He then moved on to the topic of the day and said that each time there is a controversy in which Israel is involved, half the world is ipso facto against it and is prepared to even misrepresent the truth. “The series of events that are taking place in the Middle East are being characterised as something between Israel and Palestine. But this is not a correct description of what is happening at all. It is not a fight, it is not a controversy between Palestine and Israel. It is a controversy or a fight, which is going on between a terrorist organisation called the Hamas and Israel. I have been involved in this affair and am a great friend to both Israel and Palestine,” he said. He explained the history of Palestine and the fact that it is not the name of a state but the modern name of a territory. “Palestine has never constituted a state in the history of the world. When the Ottoman Empire existed in Europe, Palestine was one of the outlying provinces of that empire. It wasn’t an independent state. When the Ottoman Empire failed, Palestine came under what is called the Mandate, created by the United Nations, which lasted from 1922 to 1948. The British Government were virtually the rulers but they claimed that they were ruling on behalf of the United Nations. The British Government encouraged Jews from all over the world to migrate to this particular part of the world and settle down,” he explained. It was during this time that the population of Jews in this part of the world grew from about 7% to 30%. “Thirty percent of the population in a given territory is an insignificant minority but a sufficiently large minority for the United Nations to take note of it, particularly when they were subjected to humiliation and discrimination,” he stressed.
In 1947-48, the British wondered what to do with Palestine. It wanted to give up the Mandate because it was a time for new influences, democracy and good conscience. The British wanted to give up their colonial past. “The United Nations at that time, by a near majority created two states – the state of Palestine and the state of Israel, demarcated their boundaries and expected that the two states will be peaceful, friendly states – enjoying not only co-existence but also economic co-operation. I wish the poor Palestinians had accepted this decision of the United Nations. But they were instigated by the surrounding Arab states not to accept it and they surrendered to this bad advice. They fought alongside the surrounding Arab states.”
Against this combined might of the Arabs, however, the state of Israel succeeded and inflicted a humiliating defeat upon the attacking, aggressive Arabs. Everybody lost something, but the state of Israel survived as the living entity. “Look at the tragedy of the Palestinians,” Jethmalani continued, “Palestine has never existed in history; it existed only on a piece of paper, a UN resolution, which they never accepted. Even today, it is not a fight between the state of Israel and Palestine. It is a fight against a terrorist force which has taken possession from 2005 of the socalled Palestine. We are dealing with a terrorist organisation called Hamas which has established control in the Gaza strip.”
He strongly condemned the media coverage of the issue as well as India’s stance on the controversy. “Newspapers often report that Palestinians are dying. But what about those three weeks, during which 3000 rockets were fired into Israel? From that portion which Hamas is occupying in Gaza? All these launching sites are situated in populated areas where civilians live. In fact, out of those 3000 rockets that they have fired across their own border into Israel, about 600 have not been able to cross the border between Gaza and Israel and have fallen on their own people. And Israelis are not people who will tell you that they fight with kid gloves; they fight each time for existence. And I don’t blame them (Israelis) for using their might for selfdefence,” he opined.
He also criticised India’s policy of non-interference and a fact that he got to know recently. “India still allocates 20 million dollars for the Palestinian cause. I am not against it but why this ‘Indian charity’ when our own people are starving? Besides, when we were attacked by the Chinese in 1962 and lost, only two states in the world came to help us — the United States and Israel. Israel did not even settle the price for what they were supplying to us. Back then, we didn’t even have the moral character to show our gratitude. Today, Israel is our greatest partner in the supply of armaments, our comrade in solar energy and management of water resources. Israel has been the victim of undeserved aggression and attack from others. International law does not compel us to betray our friends, speak ill of them and not do them international justice when they need India to tell the world that Hamas is a terrorist organisation. It is a threat to us as much as it is for Israel today,” he said.