I have not written and posted a travel post for some time. We have not left Jojoba Hills other than our trip to Salt Lake City since we returned last Fall.  My activities have been almost entirely involved with the operations of Jojoba Hills SKP Resort as its president. This is boring to most people and frankly not pertinent to being “On the Move”.

I have been following the news rather more closely than some might consider healthy. In particular the news from Israel and the surrounding areas. Some personal background, Carol and I attended a Reform Synagogue from Kindergarten on.  That is where we met. Rather unusual for the Reform Movement in the 40’s and 50’s Temple B’rith Kodesh (hereafter TBK) was strongly Zionist as were my parents. Carol and I have visited Israel many times since our first in 1971. I am convinced that regardless of the current politics there the Jewish world needs a Jewish place to retreat to the next time the world community agrees to let some monster try to eliminate us once again.

In 1948, after the United Nations agreed to create a two state solution, the Arab world went to war to prevent the creation of the State of Israel. Somehow Israel prevailed over the massive war power of the Arabs and created the state. The Arab world was left with 700,000 refugees, most of whom were gathered into Refugee Camps and UNWRA (United Nations Works and Relief Agency for Palestine Refugees) was created to care for those refugees. In my years running various organizations I have learned one major thing, the first job of any organization leader is to ensure the survival of the organization. If the refugees were permitted to create new lives in new lands among their Arab brethren, there would be no need for UNWRA. There would not now be over 5 million Palestinians  with a large portion of them living in Refugee Camps that date back to 1948. 

Where else in the world have refugees been held in camps  for so long? Why is the UN continuing to govern and supply these camps with funds from the US Government and Western Europe. The Arab world apparently wants them to be as a force to remind the rest of the world that Israel is the bad guy. To be a festering wound. And most of all so that UNWRA has a reason to exist to live off the funds provided by the US and Western Europe. 

If the resources used to maintain these camps had been used to provide resettlement, there would be Palestinian Arabs living fruitful lives throughout the area. If the assets and intellectual resources Hamas has put into building massive fortifications and a major war machine had been put into developing Gaza into anything else it could be a vibrant community with tourism and other industries feeding the people. 

I have empathy for the people of Gaza, they needed to turn on Hamas and take over the government for their own benefit. I fear it is way too late for that. 

I am not addressing Israel’s position. If you are bullied from all sides for 70 years your response is likely to be seen as inappropriate.