Why Nigerians Are Divided Over Palestinian-Israeli Conflict

“But, in that conflict, there is no clear-cut division, based on religion as we do have quite a good percentage of the Palestinians in Israel being Christians. Apart from that, about 90% of the Jews are neither Christians nor Muslims”. 

BY JOSHUA D. EPHRAIM

The story of Israel and the Arabs in Palestine, is a very interesting one. Essentially, the conflict is principally, about territory (land). Unfortunately, international reactions to this conflict is variegated with several colours, depending on the nature or character of the people looking at it.

We need to understand who the Jews and the Arabs are. From there, we can employ history and reflect back to the time of Abraham (Prophet Ibrahim), and more particularly, the two children of Abraham (Isaac and Ishmael), the first being the child of God’s promise through Sarah, Abraham’s wife, and the second child of Abraham Ishmael (the son of Hagar, the slave-maid).

The accounts of how this came to be, differ in some respects as narrated in the Bible and the Qur’an. However, the differences have to do more with details.

Read both Scriptures for a better understanding of the genesis of this conflict. When you do, you will know that the story of the descendants of Isaac through Jacob, is a very intriguing one and interesting too. Ditto that of Ismael and his descendants.

The territory in conflict was not originally known as Palestine. In history it had never been an empty land. It is what the Bible tells us is the “promised land”. However, a portion was occupied by the descendants of Ishmael. Ishmael is the ancestor of the Arabs, and those Arabs that later remained in the “promised land”, were referred to as the Palestinians, because they occupied the area now known as Palestine.

When you read the Scriptures, it will show you the travails that the children of Jacob (the Jews), went through in history to date. Most often, as a result of wars, they were scattered. They were displaced from the promised land, and with time, through wars and conquests were scattered all over the world.

The zenith of their travails came when it was reported that Hitler of Germany wanted to exterminate the Jews and got about six million of them killed. This act further scattered the Jews.

The end of the Second World War marked another chapter in the history of this scattered race-the Jews. It became a world concern that the Jews should be gathered and settled somewhere. As at the end of the second World War, Britain was administering the area known as Palestine. It was a territory, not a country.

Then the United Nations decided on agreement with the host administrator of Palestine, (Britain), that the Jews, who were scattered all over the world as a result of oppression, should be brought back and settled in their ORIGINAL HOMELAND IN PALESTINE as the British had agreed to withdraw from administering the area. When this was done, the Jews became a country and were now known as Israel.

The decision of the U.N and the settlement of the Jews to form Israel in 1948, marked the beginning of another chapter. From then, we now had a country created by the U.N known as Israel in the Jewish original homeland and the Arabs, who were known as the Palestinians, who originally were under British administration, but did not exist as a country.

Some of the Palestinians who agreed were absorbed into the State of Israel while the rest remained in the territory known as Palestine. With time, they organized and came to be known as the “Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO).

As between the State of Israel and the remaining Palestinians outside the state of Israel, it has since 1948 to date, been in a constant “state of war”.  It has been war for land or territory, and NOT RELIGIOUS OR TRIBAL WAR.

In fact, in the State of Israel, we have three major religions there. We have Judaism, Muslims, and Christians who are in the minority. The rest of the Arab world took positions in support of their Arab brothers and sisters in Palestine. This is the genesis of the Arab/Israeli Conflict or if you like, call it in more specific terms – the Israeli/Palestinian Conflict.

Although most often, the conflict is on land, the current conflict is different. It is an Israeli conflict against a group (the Israelis regard as a terrorists group) known as HAMAS.

This group is embedded in Palestine. Therefore, as the war broke out, it was bound to affect other innocent Palestinians.

What sparked of the war was an attack on some partying Israelis in an Israeli territory by the HAMAS during which many Israelis without provocation, were killed, maimed with many taken hostage into Palestine.

Now, on the larger and most important question, on the territory one may ask. Who among the two (Israelis and the Palestinians) has the right to the land?

If both claim right, what would be the solution to this problem of territory? This is what has engaged the attention of the world for decades. What ever way one looks at it, seems to defy a solution.

It is this problem of land that has occupied the different peoples of the world with each group, giving the conflict or war, its own meaning and understanding. Some see it as a religious difference, while others say it as a tribal war with some seeing it as war for territory.

Nigeria, being a multi-religious country, with both Islam and Christianity, as the two major religions, tend to be divided, each supporting its own side of religion.

But, in that conflict, there is no clear-cut division, based on religion as we do have quite a good percentage of the Palestinians in Israel being Christians. Apart from that, about 90% of the Jews are neither Christians nor Muslims.

Yet, in Nigeria, people tend to be divided based on religion.

However, I would think that the support Nigerian Christians may have for the Jews, is not based on the religion of the Jews which is Judaism (a religion which is anti-Christian), but the support tends to be scriptural, and based on the teachings of the Bible which regard the Jews as God’s chosen people, and its role, the nation has played in creation and its role in salvation through Jesus Christ, the messiah. In fact, there are even similarities between the Muslims and the Christians in the sense that the Muslims believe in Jesus, the Christ, who would come on the last day to judge.

However, the Jews in Israel, who form majority of the population, do not believe that Jesus the Christ has come into the world. In fact they are still expecting him and when he comes, he will save the Jews from the hands of their enemies. What a wide gap!

It is therefore wrong for Nigerians to continue to view the conflict and support either side in terms of religion.

…Mr Joshua D. Ephraim can be reached vis joshuadanladiephraim@yahoo.com .