Why Split Jerusalem?

Dear editor:

The State of Israel was founded in modern times, as opposed to the ancient, biblical country, in 1948 when the United Nations voted for partition and created both that independent country and the independent country of Palestine. The world body felt that this solved the claims by both groups for their own country as promised by the on-again off-again statements of the British Government, which had been governing the protectorate established by the League of Nations after the First World War. The Palestinians were allotted the overwhelming majority of the area, including the city of Jerusalem, and the Jewish inhabitants were granted a much smaller, but happy to have, piece of land for their country.

But, as history has recorded, the Arab countries supporting the Palestinians (many of which had sided with Nazi Germany during the Second World War, including the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem who sat out much of the war in Berlin) were not happy with this arrangement and promised to “drive the Jews into the Sea” and reclaim all of the land for themselves. As we know, this did not happen and Israel defended itself over the course of numerous wars, which included the capture and liberation of the new and old cities of Jerusalem, which Jews were forbidden to visit when it was controlled by the Arabs. In addition, no country in history has ever won so many wars and then returned armies and land as if they had lost.

Today the city of Jerusalem is the capital of the State of Israel and both the old and new cities are open to all who wish to visit no matter their religion, belief or nationality. This does not satisfy the Palestinians and those Middle East countries supporting them, and they demand the return of East Jerusalem for the capital of the proposed Palestinian State. They claim they were in the area first and are therefore entitled to it. Interesting viewpoint.

The United States Government, while truly supporting the State of Israel, agrees with this stand by the Arab nations and thinks it would be a good idea to split Jerusalem in two to satisfy those demands. Maybe Secretary Rice and President Bush, if they really feel this is justified, should take half of Washington, DC and give it to the Native American nations that lived there before the arrival of the colonists. They have just as much of a claim on the area as the Palestinians have on Jerusalem.

Ridiculous idea? Of course this is not the answer, nor is their thinking on Jerusalem. But, as the old saying goes, “What’s good for the goose is good for the gander.”