The Israeli vs Palestinian Unavoidable Economic Truth

Almost a day didn't go by that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was not talked about, and the underlying issues continue to be misrepresented while some facts are avoided. Then the October 7, 2023 attack by Hamas took place, the first invasion of Israel since the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. To add insult to injury, unprecedented and unbelievably celebrated torturing, beheading, burning and killing of Israeli civilians, including babies, painted an unmistakable picture that will never be forgotten. But a simple question must be posed: Whatever happened to the Israeli superb intelligence service and defense system? Maybe one day we'll find out although the cover-up will last for as long as possible!

The outright claim that Palestine is an occupied territory that belongs to Palestinians is erroneous as erroneous can be, and although people will debate the issues until the cows come home, that is not the main point here. Conquest and colonization have taken place since the beginning of time. And here's a clarification provided by Britannica, indicating that Palestine was not named for Palestinians:

The word Palestine derives from Philistia, the name given by Greek writers to the land of the Philistines, who in the 12th century BCE occupied a small pocket of land on the southern coast, between modern Tel Aviv–Yafo and Gaza.

In addition, Palestinians have no connection to the Philistines:

Since the Philistines were completely destroyed during the sixth to fourth centuries BCE, it is clear that no modern nation comes from them, including the Palestinians.

During the 400 years before the start of the British Mandate around 1920, the land was a distant and severely neglected province of the Ottoman Empire. Post-WWI, the League of Nations (the precursor to the UN) legally granted Britain a "sacred trust" called the Mandate for Palestine, and it's extremely important to point out that Palestinians were a people invented by Yasser Arafat in the 1970s. And just in case anyone is confused, Palestinians are not seeking a two state solution. They want it all, "from the river to the sea," while all Arab states refuse to accept Palestinians as refugees or under any other pretext.

But the main claim, implied or directly stated, is that Israeli occupation of Palestine hinders the economic well being and prosperity of Palestinians. Truths and lies are verifiable by observation and data, and economic numbers do not lie. One can be certain that if anyone has anything of value to offer to the world, capitalism will beat a path to their door. Case in point? China and its cheap labor in the 1990s.

Mark Twain had this to say about the Jewish people in "Concerning The Jews", 1898:

“If the statistics are right, the Jews constitute but one percent of the human race. It suggests a nebulous dim puff of star dust lost in the blaze of the Milky Way. Properly the Jew ought hardly to be heard of, but he is heard of, has always been heard of. He is as prominent on the planet as any other people, and his commercial importance is extravagantly out of proportion to the smallness of his bulk. His contributions to the world’s list of great names in literature, science, art, music, finance, medicine, and abstruse learning are also away out of proportion to the weakness of his numbers. He has made a marvelous fight in the world, in all the ages; and has done it with his hands tied behind him.”

According to the CIA Factbook, the combined population in 2023 of the Gaza Strip and West Bank was 5,274,938 (80%-99% Sunni Muslim depending on territory). Israel's population totaled 9,043,387 (73.5% Jewish). Here's a simple data point, courtesy of the Nobel Foundation, that renders an extremely clear picture in terms of socio-techno-economic achievement.

Word to the wise: Intelligence is a double-edged sword as it excels in both good and evil.

But do the Israelis prevent the Palestinians from engaging in creative activities such as developing new technologies or improving the proverbial mouse trap? Steve Jobs was adopted, never attended the extremely overrated and now largely useless Ivy League, dropped out of Reed College, and started Apple Computer in his garage. His biological father, Abdul Fattah Jandali, is Syrian and Muslim. Obviously Israel didn't stop Steve!

From an economic standpoint and according to the World Bank, the GDP per capita of each nation (here abbreviated as GDPpc) speaks volumes and adds an enormous amount of fuel to the argumentative fire. Iran, the closest ally to Hamas and the Palestinians, was added for perspective, with China thrown into the mix to illustrate growth when a nation has something to offer.

As of 2022, Israel's GDPpc was over 14 times the size of the GDPpc of the Gaza Strip and West Bank combined, and almost 12 times the size of Iran's, a nation with an abundance of petroleum — first discovered in 1908 — and currently the 8th largest oil producer in the world. China has done much better with Israel's GDPpc multiple only a little over 4 because China became the manufacturing hub for Western Civilization.

Israel's' GDPpc in 1960 was a meager $1,229, only 12 years after the country's establishment, while Iran's GDPpc registered $196 although the country had been officially created in 1935. China's GDPpc in 1960 was $89, less than 1/2 of Iran's GDPpc at that time, and is now almost 3 times as large as Iran's. Looking at the trajectory of GDPpc since 1960 for the four nations (West Bank/Gaza Strip data only available starting in 1995) , anyone with an IQ of 3 gets the clear picture.

And then there's foreign aid from all corners of the world, as summarized in "A look at the billions of dollars in foreign aid to Gaza," which is mismanaged and stolen as proven by the lack of development and poverty, and the inexplicable wealth of a handful of Palestinian leaders that live in Qatar. Israel does receive foreign aid from the USA:

In 2020, the US gave $3.8bn (£2.7bn) in aid to Israel - part of a long-term, yearly commitment made under the Obama administration. Almost all of this aid was for military assistance. This support came as part of an agreement signed by former president Barack Obama in 2016 for an overall package of $38bn (26.8bn) in military aid over the decade 2017-2028.

In simple terms, envy is at the root of the conflict, with the human emotion explained in "Envy of Human Achievement Triggers Hate And Conflict." It will never change unless people accept whom they are and try their best in life without demonizing those that do better.

Parasitic Hamas and its supporters throughout the planet are bent on the extermination of the Jewish people, without providing anything of value to the Palestinians or the world. Yet the headline published by the Associated Press on June 15, 2021 was utterly mind boggling: "Poll finds dramatic rise in Palestinian support for Hamas."

We often speak about sports teams, how much potential they have, and even boast about our favorites, but if a team keeps losing every game regardless of whom, when and where it plays, there’s only one logical reason: it’s always about the quality of the players. Yes, life is that simple.

So who do you want in your country, your city, your neighborhood and living next door?