Land: Whose is it anyway?

It never ceases to perplex me, people's obsession with land, nations and exclusivity. I read this article on the English Al Jazeera site and it refers to the absolutely incomprehensible struggle occurring in the recognized nation of Israel. It informs about the raised solutions and why they
have been dismissed or will not work.

My personal opinion is that no person or group has a "right" to land. Ideally land should never be owned or conquered, there is plenty of it to go around. While I understand that land ownership is at least perceived as a necessary evil, its sole use seems to be divisive and keep people apart and fanatic to their little "clique" than would normally be the case. In this case of the conflict between Palestine and Israel the Palestinians claim to have an historic right to the land recognized as the nation of Israel since 1945. The chief argument here is that the Palestinians were there first. Whether or not that is true is not really an issue to me and should not be to any one else either. It was of course wrong to displace these people forcibly as happened, and is continuing to happen, in Israel's struggle for identity. This begs the question why can't we peacefully coexist as beings? What prevented the Palestinians from embracing the Jewish people who were brought there so many years ago with open arms then? This is a people who survived horrible things both in antiquity and modernity, a people so completely define the human condition regarding both oppression and success. This does not give them or any other people the right to a homeland

As humans, we place far too much weight on "place." We all have a place: a room in our parents' house, an apartment, a house, a nation, a planet. What do all those things matter? I understand we all need shelter on a very basic level but what do the larger, less literal forms really mean? I was born in the United States of America but it's just a place. I enjoy that place, but it is only a place. It is spacious, and in it I would say all people are welcome. Just because it is my "homeland" I do not feel it to be a special place beyond what it holds for me.

What I guess I'm saying is that a group can't have any special ties to a place beyond an emotional abstract one. We are all a human family, far more alike than different. The Jews don't need a homeland and neither do the Palestinians. They should, and all people should be entitled to go wherever they wish without the need to form "nations" or "states" and be able to interact peaceably.

This ends the first piece here. I hope to post more thoughts and ideas here for public commentary, not all of them social, political or religious. Remember to live, laugh and enjoy your life!