This highly political and contentious issue can basically be boiled down to a deep personal desire to openly do the exact opposite of anything David Cameron thinks is a good idea. I seriously hope he never comes out in favour of the separation of church and state or a feminist ally or something because I would argue the contrary points just to spite him and his stupid smug face. However, this is an issue that I have been a following for a few years since a friend of mine came back from Palestine and told me about the horrific things being done to the Palestinian people by Zionist Israelis. (Not all Jewish people are Zionists just not all Muslim people are Islamists.) Prior to that I knew very little about it. There have been discussions on Question Time and a few articles written that I have been able to pick up bits of information so this is my collection of knowledge on the subject.
1. It is an apartheid state
I know this is a word that is specifically used to describe the situation as it was in South Africa, but when you consider the etymology of the word, there really is no other way to describe it. The Palestinian people have appalling living conditions, quite often having been physically forced out of their homes by Isreali soldiers. They have to use separate roads, are literally separated by a 26' concrete wall (compared to the Berlin Wall that stood at just 12') built in the West Bank and are unable to move freely as they are constantly stopped at check points and their belongings searched. There is limited access to power and water and the olive trees from which a lot of Palestinian farmers earning their living are uprooted and burned. This is not just apartheid, it is oppression. Human rights violations happen everyday and yet we hear nothing about it in the media.
2. Not doing so just highlights our racism
I'm not saying we in are all card carrying white supremicists, but let's reverse the situation. If a group of extreme Muslims entered a country and forced entire villages of people out of their homes, destroying buildings in an attempt to completely erase their existence, would the UN and the rest of the world ignore it!? It would be terrorism, they would be deplored by the international community and yet for some reason it is OK that this is exactly what Zionists have been doing in Palestine since 1948 but we can't call them out for it because heaven forbid we get accused of being anti-semitic. This could be considered as being intentionally inflammatory, but we should consider that as a predominately white culture, institutionalised racism is probably at the core of why we seem to care so little about this issue.
3. It's totally hypocritical not to
We did it with South Africa, what's the difference? Sports teams were not permitted to compete at major events, musicians could not perform, the UN enacted oil sanctions. In fact there was an entire UN 'Centre Against Apartheid' established. Full list anti apartheid measures taken by the UN in South Africa can be found here.
4. There are too many bloody asylum seekers in this country.
Not a sentiment I hold with myself but a view that I'm sure is held by some members of our society. Of course I am not saying that Israel is responsible for every refugee that comes to Britain (interesting stats here) but why do these small minded few think that people would uproot and leave their homeland? I'm no expert but I'm pretty sure they don't just wake up one day and think 'hey, I hear Britain has a welfare system and national health service. Let's cram ourselves into the back of a lorry with 40 other people/walk through warzones/desserts and risk our lives so we can take advantage of it'. No. Our government may be hell bent on grinding people into a Dickensian level of poverty and then demonising them for scrounging off the state, but at least they aren't dropping bombs on us. (Hey, look at that. I found something positive to say about them...) My point is that if we as an international community were doing more to stop these horrible things from happening then maybe people wouldn't feel the need to flee their homes and seek refuge in another country. Boycotting Isreal would send a very clear and definite message that what they are doing is wrong and will not be tolerated.
I am sure I could be accused of over simplifying a very complex and deep rooted problem. One thing I have discovered writing this is just how little I actually know about the situation. For example, I am sure it won't surprise many people to find out that Britain had it's imperialist oar in Palestine at one time. I am not about to go and knock on the UN's door with a half hashed solution, I am merely saying that we need to acknowledge that what is happening in Palestine is apartheid and we should be boycotting Isreal to show our support to the people of Palestine in the hope that a peaceful resolution can be reached.
