There won't be peace anytime soon

The ongoing war happening between the Palestinian people in the Israelis has now entered into its third week. A shaky truce has been violated in the war continues.

It's astounding to come across people who truly don't understand what's happening in the Middle East. The Palestinian people have nowhere to go and yet everybody asks why don't they just leave? I'm sure they would if they could but they can't.

It doesn't come without of irony given the plate of the Jewish people in the 20th century. Let's not forget that Israel came about after World War II. The plight of the Jewish people cannot be underestimated as there was continual death, degradation, humiliation and the near extinction of people in the Jewish faith. The world owed the Jewish people an opportunity to grow and flourish after the atrocities of World War II.

Unfortunately the relocation and eventual recognition of Israel today came at the cost of destabilizing many Arabs, Palestinians, Egyptians, Syrians from their homes.

In essence, the remaining Jewish population pushed out an existing population.

One can see the reason why animosity exists in the region.

This doesn't mean that I am against the Jewish people forming a country. I have a great deal of sympathy for what they lost in Germany and in Russia and in France. The problem is that the Jewish people find themselves entitled to the land that they now defend when in reality they have conquered the indigenous people that live there a lot longer than they did.

Folks tend to forget about the history and how the Middle East conflict has come to be. I know people have their reasons for defending one side or the other, but in the end what ultimately matters is for two groups of people to set aside differences, to respect one another, and to peacefully coexist as neighbors in an ongoing volatile neighborhood.

History dictates that this is not possible. As much as people want to condemn Hamas and their terrorist activities, the other vantage point is that they are trying to liberate themselves from an oppressive force. Their homes have been destroyed. Their families have been decimated. The value of life on both sides of the equation has been dropped to a pitiful "tit for tat" exchange.

I'm not placing blame on either side because both sides are complicit in their behavior. I'm merely trying to even the scales of perception so that we do not forget the historical basis of how this conflict originally began. If both sides were convincingly aware of this then perhaps we would have a better roadmap to peace in the Middle East.

Some are calling for the destruction of Hamas. Experts agree that the destruction of Hamas may only lead to a greater monster with more firepower than Israel faces today. The call for peace and coexistence can't be a greater call at this point in history. We stand to lose a lot if we don't start acting today.

My sympathies go out to the affected on both sides of the conflict. May both sides in the world open their eyes to collectively understand the issue and to be able to respond appropriately to a peaceful resolution.