Wilma Inventor-Miranda l December 5, 2023 l Manila Bulletin
When Hamas first attacked Israel and there were innocent civilians that died or were made hostages, I personally thought that Israel had a right to defend itself. However, there were different views from people I know at the start of the war (although majority of them stand with Israel) and I thought to myself I want to look further on this, for I never give attention nor read much about the conflict in the past. I just want to verify further if whether what is on my mind is true or not because of the limited knowledge I have. The same was true of those people I know who had differing opinions, but in the end, after searching the facts, everybody stood with Israel.
But does Israel really have the right over the land? And how can this war, if not ended soon affect businesses around the world?
The recent war started when Hamas and other militants attacked Southern Israel last October 7, 2023, and killed about an estimated 1,400 people, mostly civilians, and took around 240 people hostages.
Gaza came under Egyptian rule until it was occupied by Israel after the 1967 Six-Day War. The border with Egypt is the southern limit of the Gaza Strip and Egypt renounced claims to land north of the international border, including the Gaza Strip in the Egypt-Israel peace treaty.
But beyond territorial rights which Israel is supposed to have after the 6-day war in 1967 when Israel captured the West Bank, Gaza strip and the Golan Heights together with the Sinai Peninsula is how antisemitism is at work. For such a small country as Israel – it has gained the attention of the whole world and is a target of hostility or prejudice or antisemitism.
The hatred for Jews and the intention to wipe out the Jews on the face of the earth started even in the Old Testament times when Haman (right-hand man of the king) planned to kill the entire population of Jews. At the advent of Christianity, in the year 70 C.E. or A.D. (in the Christian calendar) most Jews started to be scattered throughout the ancient world (wikipedia.org). Due to the rebellion of the Jews, the Roman Empire laid a siege on Jerusalem. Jews dispersed throughout Northern Africa, the Middle East, and the Mediterranean. And this widespread dispersion of Jews outside of Israel is called the Diaspora.
Some of them also settled in Europe but the Nazis sought the eradication of the Jews from the human race by murdering men, women, and children in what we call now as holocaust.
Even in the United States and in some parts of the world you would be surprised that antisemitism is still at work. We should not allow another holocaust will again occur in this civilized society of the world. It is genocide in all its forms – the hatred of Jews and the desire to eliminate them in this world.
And how does this war affect the global economy? The effect may not be apparent now but in the long term, according to reuters.com, it could lead to increased oil prices, problems with oil supply, and the potential for a global economic downturn.
But such a small country as Israel and surrounded by enemies, one wonders how they can be so strong in the midst of war? Founded two weeks after Israel was established in 1948, the Israel Defense Force made military service compulsory at the age of 18. Citizens are also willing to defend their country at all costs (after the lessons in the past and how antisemitism is still the slogan of some people) and there are approximately 169,500 active-duty personnel roughly 465,000 Israelis in reserve units. In fact, in the days since the Oct. 7 Hamas attack, more than 300,000 reservists have been called up. IDF annual budget of around $23.6 billion as of 2023 surpasses the military spending of Egypt, Iran, Lebanon and Jordan combined (source: axios.com).
But personally, I believe that more than military strength is the support of God (whether you believe in Him or not). In Genesis 12 God promised Abraham “I will make you a great nation…I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you.”
Who can beat that?
*** (Wilma Miranda is a Managing Partner of Inventor, Miranda & Associates, CPAs, Chair of the Ethics Committee of FINEX and member of the Board of Directors of KPS Outsourcing, Inc. The views expressed herein do not necessarily reflect the opinion of these institutions.)