Oppressive West vs. moral West

The Western governments and peoples will soon realize that the Western world is deeply divided between two conflicting poles: right-wing extremists and ultranationalists versus moralists and universalists. The most recent developments in Palestine have further contributed to this polarization. In particular, Western governments and peoples are divided on two fronts regarding Israel’s unrestricted use of violence against innocent civilians.

Many paradoxical developments are taking place in Western countries that feed this political and social polarization. First of all, most Western governments are not sincere in their struggle against ultranationalist and far-rightist powers. While these Western governments such as Germany have been trying to prevent the rise of ultra-rightist powers in the West, they have been giving unconditional support to the ultra-rightist government of Israel. For instance, it is weird to see that the German Chancellor, who gives unconditional support to the ultra-rightist government of Benjamin Netanyahu in Tel Aviv, promises Germans that he will fight against right-wing extremism at home.

Secondly, Western governments have a conflictual perspective of Muslims. While Western governments, who blame Islamic-oriented politicians and traditional Muslims for challenging the Western way of life, have been sowing seeds of discord against Muslims in the world, they have been calling their respective populations to live in peace with their Muslim neighbors. Western governments, who insistently otherize, alienate and even demonize Muslim peoples worldwide, forget that a large share of their respective societies are Muslims. The more they otherize Muslims, the more they cause social and political uneasiness.

Thirdly, while Western governments call other countries and peoples to abide by international rules and principles, they continue to violate any international norms and threaten international institutions for their unbiased perspectives. The most recent explanations of Western governments about the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), a universal relief and humanitarian organization, is a clear example of this biased stance. Western peoples have witnessed how their own governments opposed the activities of humanitarian institutions and supported violations of the rule of law by Israel. While one side supports the anti-Islam and anti-Muslim policies claiming that these policies will prevent them from “intruders,” the other side of the Western public rejects the discriminatory policies and measures introduced by their respective governments against Muslims. Western governments’ unconditional support for the Israeli policies in Palestine has sharpened and deepened the polarization among Western peoples. Most of the Western governments and a large part of the Western peoples unconditionally support Israeli atrocities and genocidal acts against the innocent civilians in Gaza. This group has a constant motto: Israel’s security prioritizes everything and makes everything permissible. For them, Israel cannot be accountable for the disproportionate use of force against civilians and Israel cannot be criticized for any policy choices. However, there is a strong opposition to this political perspective. Some governments, state officials and a large part of Western societies prioritize human rights, moral values and international legal principles. Accordingly, they ask their governments to stop their unconditional support for Israel and to put pressure on Israel to stop killing innocent and defenseless people. The rise of the far-right in Israel and an exponential rise in the suffering of the Palestinians led a large part of the Western public to question the pro-Israeli policies of their respective governments. It seems that this awareness will turn into a more effective political power in the near future, which will further sharpen the polarization.

Voice of reason

The voice of reason in the West, which supports universal moral values, has begun to influence Western politicians. There are some signs of revision in some Western countries. It is expected that sooner or later Western governments will have to revise their policies toward the Middle East. Eventually, the Western public and state officials, including the traditional supporters of Israel, will look for a radical solution to the Palestinian-Israeli question.

It is clear that the solution can be achieved only by giving the Palestinian people their rights and by establishing an independent Palestinian state. Otherwise, it is impossible to bring normalization to the Middle East, to stabilize the region, to provide full security of Israel, and to prevent al-Aqsa Flood-like attacks against Israel. Considering the interdependence between the West and the non-Western states and societies, the universalist Western powers who represent the voices of reason have to resist against the discriminatory perspectives of ultranationalists. [Daily Sabah, February 6, 2024]