Emerging from Exodus over 3 000 years ago, Joshua “fit the battle of Jericho” to start his campaign of winning the Land of Canaan for the Israelites; the Promised land. The Israelites won and, for a few centuries, held this land, culminating in the prosperous times of King Solomon. Thereafter the land was progressively lost and the Israelites dispersed to many parts of the known world. Their symbolic home in Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD, leaving the Jewish communities to follow their traditional way of life in whichever country they might be, speaking the language of that country. Typically such an event would have consigned that nation to the history books.

However, the emergence of modern Zionism in the 19th Century created a movement of Jewish people, adamant that Judaism could only survive within the sovereignty of its homeland of Israel. It was not the majority view amongst Jewish people, the vast majority of whom live in the United States; but strong enough and sufficiently well lobbied, to win favour after the holocaust of the Second World War. In 1948 a Jewish homeland, Israel, was established within Palestine, despite strong objection from the resident Palestinian Arabs. The Israelites immediately set about invading neighbouring land, primarily to gain control of land with religious significance. Still to-day the Israelis occupy the Palestinian territory known as the “West Bank” and continue to develop Jewish settlements in this territory.

Despite current travel restrictions, Mike Pompeo, the US Secretary of State, has found it essential to visit Benjamin Netanyahu, the compromised Prime Minister of Israel, to support him in gaining sovereignty of the West Bank, territory Israel has no right to. This is what Donald Trump refers to as his Peace Plan; officially titled “Peace to Prosperity: A Vision to Improve the Lives of the Palestinian and Israeli People”. It is a plan drafted by his son-in-law from earlier Israeli proposals. There has been no consultation with the Palestinians, even though it requires that they relinquish their claim on Jerusalem as their capital.

The Palestinians of course reject it totally; “We say a thousand times, no, no, no,”,

Clearly, achieving Zionist goals, with no regard to the rights of, or cost to others, is current American Foreign Policy. It is the age old policy of the strong vanquishing the week. It is not the policy of a caring nation; it simply adds conflict to a history of conflict.

Chapters Five and Eight of “Caretakers of Creation” provide a more complete overview of the background to the Middle East and its conflicts.