I’ve recently observed the war in Ukraine and how it compares to the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians. There are some striking similarities in how Ukraine must approach its future as a country vis a vis Russia and how Israel and the Palestinians interact with each other. With the understanding that comparing the Israeli Palestinian conflict to any other crisis can upset people, I want to examine how Ukraine is like Israel on one hand and on the other hand like the Palestinians. These are broad comparisons and won’t cover the many nuanced differences to the separate conflicts.
Ukraine as Israel
Ukraine has started to act like Israel to survive the Russian invasion. Ukrainian president Zelenskyy has even stated that he wants Ukraine to be like “a big Israel”. But what does this mean? It means that all Ukrainian citizens must actively participate in the defense of their country. Like in Israel, almost all Ukrainian citizens should serve in the military and even pursue security related careers after military service. Even if the fighting in Ukraine stops, Russia has proven time and time again that it can wait a few years and attack anew. Ukraine must, like Israel, remain forever in a heightened state of alert. Security first must be Ukraine’s motto. Additionally, Ukraine must understand that it will fight alone. Yes, the US and others will send plenty of monetary aid, flashy weapons and diplomatic support, as they do for Israel, but it will only be Ukrainians doing the actual fighting. Finally, Ukraine is building up its own technology and defense industries to both defend itself and create a vibrant economy. The Israeli tech and defense industries are booming, and this provides another level of safety for them. But what of the other party in the conflict?
Ukraine as the Palestinians
For all of the points on how Ukraine is similar to Israel, there are an equal number of points on how Ukraine is similar to the Palestinians. Ukraine is like the Palestinians in that it is facing a better funded and equipped military that can strike with impunity around the entire country. The Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza know that fate, as Israel (like Russia in Ukraine) can missile strike anything it wants. Additionally, Ukraine is facing, as do the Palestinians, the forceable removal of their people from their land. Russia is bringing Russians into occupied Ukrainian towns to replace the locals that have fled the conflict. The Palestinians know what this looks like as they face the “settler” movement from right wing Israelis who seek to build towns in the West Bank. To go a step further, Russia states that Ukraine is not even a nation. Palestinians will recognize that rhetoric from not only Israel but also from their supposed Arab allies such as Egypt and Jordan which all refuse to help them create a state of their own. For one final point, Ukraine is facing a nuclear armed Russia when then have no nuclear weapons themselves. While Israel denies it, it is widely accepted that they too have a small amount of nuclear weapons, so both the Ukrainians and the Palestinians face a nuclear weapons armed rival. Ukraine must act like the Palestinians and find creative ways to resist a stronger rival.
What this means
While all this is fascinating, what can we do with this information? In my view it mainly offers a cautionary tale of how simmering conflicts can stay simmering for a very very long time. It is in no one’s interest to see the Russian invasion of Ukraine freeze into the kind of stalemate that the Israelis and Palestinians currently share. Neither Ukraine nor Russia should desire that outcome.
