The heading of this article is actually the name of a 1999 Hollywood movie directed and produced by Stanley Kubrick. Outside the context of the movie, the expression “Eyes wide shut” implies a stand where one is fully capable of perceiving or acknowledging something but chooses to ignore it. So, “Eyes wide shut” expresses the idea of willful denial or a conscious decision to ignore what is right in front of one’s eyes. This is evocative of the way the USA and its European allies behave when it comes to the Palestinian issue. They keep their eyes wide shut when Israel kills innocent Palestinians.
On October 7, 2023, Hamas fighters attacked Israel from the Gaza Strip. Al Jazeera reports that Hamas fighters opened fire on young Israelis in the music festival who were enjoying electronic music on the occasion of Sukkot, a Jewish holiday. As reported by Times of Israel, Hamas killed 1400 Israelis and abducted more than 220 Israelis, foreigners, or dual nationals. This is definitely a deplorable act.
But why did it happen? The answer is not easy and straightforward.
Palestine was under the Ottoman Empire before the First World War fought between the “Allies” comprising the United Kingdom, France, Russia, the United States, Italy, and Japan, and the “Central Powers” comprising Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, and the Ottoman Empire. The Central Powers were defeated in the First World War. The victors divided the losers’ lands among themselves and Palestine went under British rule.
The British declared in 1917 that they would establish a national home for the Jewish people in Palestine. According to Vox Media, the Jewish population was less than 15% in Palestine at that time. However, on the eve of WWII, when Jews were persecuted by Nazi Germany, a huge number of Jews migrated to Palestine. Between 1932 and 1935 alone more than 160,000 Jews emigrated to Palestine. And, after WWII, tens of thousands of Holocaust survivor Jews started moving to Palestine. The region became a hotspot of resistance, conflict, and rebellion.
In 1947, the British handed over Palestine to the United Nations. The UN resolved to partition Palestine into two independent states one for the Jews and the other for the Palestinian Arabs. According to a fact sheet posted by the Institute for Middle East Understanding, 67% of the population of Palestine were Arabs at that time and 33% were Jews, most of whom were recent immigrants. However, only 42% of the land was allocated to the 67% Arabs while the 33% Jews were allocated 55% of it. Thus, the very foundation of Israel is based on injustice.
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This article was published in the Daily Sun on October 28, 2023. Please read the full article here or here.