As attention shifts to the Middle East, Ukraine, Cuba and Venezuela disappear from global focus
VENEZUELA, CUBA AND…UKRAINE.
They have moved into the background…
If they were ever in the foreground at all…
The Strait of Hormuz has been closed, oil prices have risen, the Middle East is burning, several members of the U.S. armed forces have died…
And all this because of…the regrettable attitude of the President of the United States, Mr. Donald Trump, playing the imperial game alongside Israel and its Prime Minister Mr. Netanyahu, who has not been satisfied with devastating Gaza, bombing Iran months ago and now invading southern Lebanon.
In 1948 the State of Israel was created and many European Jews, mainly from Eastern Europe, moved there. Some rumors claim these Ashkenazi migrants descend from the Khazars, a Turkic people converted to Judaism in the 9th century in what is now Kazakhstan, although this theory has been largely dismissed. What is certain is that they arrived in British-controlled Palestine after World War II, and that is where the problems began.
Of course, Jews of ancient Semitic origin already lived in Palestine alongside Arabs of the same ethnic origin, and generally both peoples coexisted peacefully, beyond occasional conflicts common to any society.
However, the arrival of these Europeans with their Yiddish language and social-democratic tendencies acted like a fragmentation bomb in the region. The British wisely withdrew once the United Nations endorsed the new state, avoiding involvement in a conflict they saw as not theirs, especially after events such as the King David Hotel bombing.
The idea promoted by power circles—often detached from reality—was to divide Palestine into two states, one Jewish and one Arab. What a mistake.
Jordanians, Syrians and Egyptians quickly took up arms, considering the situation unacceptable. Despite superior weaponry, they failed, committing both political and military errors.
The first was launching hostilities without further attempts at negotiation. The second was failing to achieve their objectives.
This pattern repeated in 1956, 1966 and 1973.
Anyone who believes there were angels in the Middle East is mistaken. As someone said two thousand years ago: “Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.”
This is recent history, but today what stands out is the dramatic difference between the size of Israel in 1948 and today. Israel did not limit itself to repelling attacks or recovering lost territory, but expanded continuously, arguing settlers need more land and Palestinians do not use it efficiently.
But they did not count on a more distant country, without a shared border, with a large population and governed for decades by a regressive theocracy that violates fundamental human rights, especially regarding women. That regime is a tough opponent.
Consequently, help was requested from the United States. Its president, forgetting his promises of non-intervention and national focus, ignored Ukraine’s struggle against Russian invasion, ignored Cuba’s suffering under dictatorship, and even allows oil shipments that sustain hostile regimes.
And Venezuela… There, cosmetic operations worthy of major global brands cannot hide that chavismo still functions.
A regrettable bowing of the most powerful country in the world.