On the Rhythm of History

Israel, Palestine, and the Pokanoket

American Indian soldiers during King Philip’s War.

Let me take you through a little journey. This journey passes through several decades; it starts with escaping persecution and ends with a tragic attack. The details are a bit vague for a reason, so bear with me.

This starts with a religious minority oppressed by their government. Driven to leave by the extreme persecution they face at home, these people are forced to move to a far-off coastal land in hopes of creating a safe, and holy, city. Backed by entrepreneurs, thought leaders, and even the British government, the most ardent devotees begin to move in droves to this new settlement. The first settlers find the land mostly empty, making their job much easier. However, they soon find that many people have lived here for a very long time.

The people who reside in this far-off land are not too pleased with this new settlement. There is already a contentious history between these two colliding groups of people. To be clear, the current inhabitants are not one group defined by a single culture. Rather they are a number of small, diverse, close-knit tribes. Oftentimes, they hate their peers more than the newcomers. The many stories of terrible conditions in other colonies make them worry about their own future, but these newcomers would make for great allies against their rival tribes. Furthermore, the sheer number of settlers makes it incredibly difficult to drive them out completely.

There is a problem though. These newcomers don’t really want to ally with the natives. At least, most of them don’t. The newcomers are not a monolith either. Some are more willing than others to understand their cultural differences. Fewer still want to integrate with and live alongside the natives, but they do exist. The majority want nothing to do with them and a growing number want to move them out to make way for more settlers. Small skirmishes break out, but relative peace is eventually made.

Over time, more and more settlers arrive. The rate of arrival increases with the rise of possible profits in the settlements and the rise of war in the homeland. Drives to increase immigration, likewise, leads to a sudden, massive uptick in new settlers. As they arrive, these settlers begin to move further and further inland as the small towns become overburdened. This inward migration pushes the settlers to take more and more and more land. A lot of this land is the best farming land that had been used by the natives for decades.

This encroachment on native lands leads to more and more conflict. Some is purely incidental, some is by design. The separated native tribes are forced to band together, often breaking through long-lasting rivalries. With this, new leaders rise and begin espousing the need to expel these foreigners once and for all. There is a problem, though, the natives are far outnumbered at this point. Despite their knowledge of the land and fighting ability, the sheer numbers make victory nearly impossible.

Regardless, the most radical and vocal of the native leaders are able to convince the masses to rise up and fight. Surprise attacks on the settlers leads to stronger reprisals, which leads to more surprise attacks, and on and on. For decades the settlers and the natives fight bloody battle after bloody battle. The death toll is immense for either side, but more so for the natives. With each war, the natives are driven further and further into the frontier. They are eventually forced from their historic lands completely to small communities that are watched by the settlers who now call this land their home.

Now I have to ask you, who am I talking about? The English and the American Indians? Or the Israelis and the Palestinians?

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Now, I have a far greater understanding of the history of the English colonies than of Israel and Palestine¹. Along with that, I had to leave out any defining details of either history, which leads to this story being a bit vague. So, I apologize in advance if I am way off base with any of the facts laid out above. However, I noticed a similar pattern in the history of these two regions. Two regions separated by both thousands of miles and hundreds of years. They are not perfectly analogous, but nothing in history is. As the saying goes: history doesn’t repeat, but it sure rhymes a lot.

In both instances, the natives² were slowly driven away from their land by a migratory force. Backed into a corner they felt it was only necessary to lash out. Or their leaders did at the very least. Leading to even more devastating consequences for the native population. I know the conflict between Israel and Palestine is complex, multi-faceted, and extremely contentious. So, my uneducated opinion on this matter is rather worthless, especially as it pertains to the geopolitical angle. This is merely a thought experiment about how the past can be used to make decisions to prevent the same mistakes from happening in the future. Furthermore, this is not an attempt to “both-sides” what happened over the weekend. The cruelty and hatred that was shown in this attack by Hamas in Israel has very few comparisons. Many of those comparative events throughout history involve Jews, too. To inflict as much pain on Jews as possible is the main goal of Hamas. That is undeniable. They say it themselves.

I don’t know the solution to this problem. I don’t have a dog in the fight and have mixed feelings about both sides of this. But, I have stated in the past, and still believe, that poor circumstances do not automatically beget poor decisions, especially at the expense of others³. Just as “riots are the voice of the unheard” is a farcical stance, killing innocent civilians can never be justified by previous oppression. This was a purposeful act of violence against civilians, not a defensive measure. Furthermore, don’t be surprised when the guy you sucker punch pounds your face into the pavement. I hope that that scenario is not how this plays out. Because it is possible that the sucker-puncher has backup. He is just the instigator hoping for a reaction. My hope is that the cycle of violence that has enveloped Israel and Palestine does not escalate to the point of total war. There are no winners in that world.

With all of that said, I think the story I laid out at the beginning of this piece is valuable to think about. I think it is valuable to point out these parallels, even if they are not perfect. Perhaps, there is something to be learned from these connections. The attack by Hamas is reminiscent of the attack on the English by the Pokanoket that sparked King Philip’s War⁴. The end result was the near absolute destruction of the coastal Indians in New England. The historical ramifications of this war can not be overstated. History rhymes and if we hear a rhythm forming that sounds like the beating drums of all-out war, of the destruction of an entire culture, we should do everything we can to stop it from rhyming again. Israelis and Jews around the world are allowed to be devastated, enraged, distraught, and resolved. They deserve the chance to strike back harder than they were hit. But they should also be careful not to escalate this to the destruction of a people if it can be avoided.

Palestinians deserve better than what their leaders give, so an end to the rule of Hamas is a necessary starting point. Israel will take part in this, but the fight also has to come from within. Leaders can undercut the intentions of populations for their own personal gain. They can whip up a righteous fervor and not face the consequences that their constituents and descendants do. However, sometimes this comes from within the populace. I don’t know which one of these represents the Palestinian people⁵. But, I can only hope that cooler heads prevail and that the cycle of violence ends soon. I do not want what happened to the natives in America to happen to the Palestinians. The slow decay, often by force, of native lands, people, and culture was tragic for America and is a large black stain on the historical tapestry of this country. So, too, would it be tragic for Israel and Palestine.

At the end of the day, I hope that humanity can learn from history, not repeat it.

1. I read James L. Gelvin’s The Israel-Palestine Conflict: One Hundred Years of War specifically for this piece. Other knowledge came from MartyrMade’s podcast Fear & Loathing in the New Jerusalem (this is less reliable, not due to poor research from him, but from my poor retention skills). This is in comparison to the 15+ books I have read to prepare for season 1 of Missing Pages.

2. I know the idea of “native” in Israel and Palestine is contentious on its own. But many Palestinians have roots in the region that go back hundreds of years. So for this short analysis, I will consider them natives, even though, there is an argument that the Jews were just as “native” to the land. Go back far enough and the Powhatan or the Pokanoket are no longer “native” to the Chesapeake or Cape Cod.

3. I write about this in a bit more depth in “On Agency.”

4. This war will be covered in a future episode of Missing Pages so subscribe today if you want to hear more about it.

5. The politics in Palestine is messy. There is a lot of support for Hamas. However, a majority do not want a war with Israel. Regardless of how accurate these polls actually are, a lot of people that do not want to be involved in this war will be. It is the unfortunate reality of war, which is why it should be avoided at all costs.