The worst of two evils

Recently, Belgian politicians had an interesting discussion: which party in the Gaza Strip is the worst of two evils? The Flemish president didn’t know who is the worst evil. HLN: “niet te weten wie de ‘grootste smeerlap’ in het conflict is”. I agree because the lesser of two evils principle does not apply.

The entire Gaza Strip “conflict” feels like a reminder of the Old Testament: an eye for an eye. In my view, taking sides (eg, lesser of two evils) feels very, very wrong. Obviously, (eg, Belgian) politicians prefer taking sides for gaining more political support (eg, HLN: “beschamend”, which translates as shameful).

The Gaza Strip “conflict” is the result of two important milestones, being:

1. About 1850 BC: Abraham and his father Terah fled the city-state of Ur (now Iraq) escaping the Sumerian king Nimrod who wanted to kill Abraham following a prophecy;
   • Abraham and Terah bought land in Canaan (now Palestine) from Ephron the Hittite (eg, Bible);
   • c.1853 BC, Abram and his wife Sarai travelled to the well-watered lands of the Nile Delta in Egypt due to drought and famine in the land of Canaan (eg, Bible);
2. 1947 AD: the UN General Assembly adopted Resolution 181 and “created” an Arab and a Jewish state,
   • which was opposed by Palestinian leadership, surrounding Arab nations and the Arab League,
   • while the Jewish leadership, led by David Ben-Gurion, declared the State of Israel in 1948.

Today, Abraham may be viewed as an ancient Jew. Well, he was not. It’s important realizing this:

• The (mysterious) Sumerian civilization was black-headed, according to both the neighbouring Akkadian Empire and the Sumerian king Shulgi, who once described himself as “the king of the four quarters, the pastor of the black-headed people” (Wiki).
• Hence, Sumerian high priest Terah and his son Abraham must have been black-headed.
• Later, Abraham became the “patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam“.

Why the above ?? Because Everything follows Why.

The situation in the Middle East is far more complex than we are willing to accept.

Simplicity may look like a solution but will drown in complexity.

Refraining from judgement is wise rather than shameful.

Abraham, Martin and John (1968) by Marvin Gaye
artist, lyrics, video, Wiki-artist, Wiki-song

[Verse 1]
Has anyone here seen my old friend Abraham?
Can you tell me where he’s gone?
Oh, he freed a lot of people
But it seems the good die young, yeah
I just looked around and he was gone

Note: all markings (bold, italic, underlining) by LO unless in quotes or stated otherwise.

Note 2: please also see my related blogs:

• 2016: The origin of antisemitism;
• 2017: The Sumerian civilization (2) and the Old Testament;
• 2024: The origin of Jews and Israel.