On February 28, the United States and Israel launched military strikes on Iran because of the parties’ fears that Iran possesses nuclear weapons that would threaten America’s allies and US national security. Article 2 (4) of the UN Charter prohibits the threat or use of force against other states. Such actions contradict the principle of respect for the sovereignty of states and non-interference in their
internal affairs. Clearly, the UN Charter disallows aggression.

This article highlights the effectiveness of China’s diplomatic efforts to de-escalate in order to preserve regional peace and
security. In this context, it is necessary to examine the effectiveness of achieving the goals of this diplomacy, which is a set of initiatives aimed at achieving sustainable peace and development for all without exception on the basis of living and common destiny. It is effectively linked to compliance with international law, the UN Charter and resolutions of international legitimacy within the framework of consensus.

The success of China’s diplomatic efforts and objectives in the Middle East region depends on the extent to which the regional actors cooperate with those efforts. In this context, the commitment to the effectiveness and governance of the international system in accordance with international law and the UN Charter is the compass of this dialogue.

In particular, the objectives of Chinese diplomacy are clearly defined and the directions are closely and firmly linked to what is stated by the law and international consensus, it emphasizes the need for dialogue and consultation to resolve any dispute by peaceful means; the rejection of the use of force in order to enhance influence, control or support allies at the expense of other parties.

On the other hand, the absence of a diplomatic solution and the failure of the current Chinese
diplomatic efforts to de-escalate the situation will be a prelude to the collapse of the entire international
system. In such a case, the Law of the Jungle will prevail, and then the region will witness more wars and conflicts that portend a total war whose end would be unpredictable.

The reason for this is that America and Israel are seeking to form allies in more than one place in order to provide support in various ways. If this happens, the future scenarios for the effectiveness of international relations will be ambiguous, then the prospects and
the future role of the UN Security Council as mandated by the UN Charter to protect the sovereignty of states, the security of citizens and their national gains will end up in sustainable deficit.

In this context, I firmly believe that the US, Israel and their Western allies have become firmly convinced of the need to build alliances, reshaping the region in line with their interests. For them this is an opportunity to reshape the international system in accordance with theirwishes, and to evade international legal obligations regarding the resolution of outstanding issues regionally and internationally, foremost of which is the resolution of the Palestinian issue.

Therefore, today’s situation requires active and balanced States. The Middle East region needs to cooperate seriously and responsibly with the efforts of Chinese diplomacy in order to achieve its goals, Namely, to stop the war and protect the security and sovereignty of states and the lives of citizens and their national gains, far from any bets on the American or Israeli side and their Western allies. Especially as the latter aim at more destruction in this region and the failure of sustainable development plans, and the aggravation of internal conflicts in order to hit the sovereignty and security of states, and also to control citizens, plunder their goods and destroy their national gains, thereby achieving their central goals by further embodying colonialism and strengthening control and influence in the expansion of one state at the expense of other peoples and states.

China alone cannot offer a magic solution to address the current Middle East destruction and bloodshed. China’s diplomacy stems from a culture of tolerance and coexistence and rejection of aggression or interference in the affairs of others. It is aimed at cooperation to
reach common good. Beijing offers initiatives and ideas that fit into the international system and the spirit of the UN Charter, based on equal rights for all member states.

The success of well-meaning Chinese endeavors means good and victory for all, stopping wars, protecting people’s lives and property, respecting the sovereignty and security of states, and achieving sustainable peace and development for all without exception on the basis of mutual respect.

As these lines are drawn the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China sits in its fourth plenary session (20-23 October 2025). Beijing’s brand of diplomacy has made extensive achievements in the process of reform and opening up despite the tangled and complex domestic and international situations.

It has earnestly sought to achieve progress through stability, promote reform through openness, and raise the capacity of openness to expand international cooperation. China’s diplomacy also pursues an unparalleled “firm and resolute” independent peaceful policy, and pushes to build a community of common destiny based on respect and application of common values. Therefore, Chinese diplomacy has put forward the four global initiatives namely development, security, civilization, and governance with the aim of achieving international multilateralism on the basis of fairness and justice and respect for the rights and sovereignty of all countries to achieve peace and sustainable development.

Hence, it is necessary to pay attention to reform and openness by uniting efforts, mobilizing forces, achieving progress in all seriousness and vitality, and then completing the construction of a modern and strong system.

The Importance of Success of Chinese diplomacy

Beijing put forward a set of initiatives and ideas that are in harmony with the spirit and aspirations of international law to resolve most international issues. The importance of this lies in the reconsideration of the current international system to work on a sound and just basis, doing away from strengthening the control of one or some parties over the international decision-making process in order to achieve special interests, or reduce respect for the sovereignty and rights of states or interfere in their internal affairs of others. For China every state is equal under the international law in rights and duties.

Chinese diplomacy has come through with a series of initiatives towards the most outstanding international issues. These initiatives offer actual solutions in line with local and international aspirations and laws. Beijing did not impose solutions in order to build alliances against any party, nor did it seek to compliment one party at the expense of the rights of others. China’s aim has been of one of re-activating international institutions to resolve fundamental issues. The absence of multilateralism in international governance means the formation of groups and alliances in order to strengthen control away from the Rule of Law, Justice and international consensus.

Therefore, the importance of supporting the success of the goals and principles of Chinese diplomacy is a collective responsibility that everyone bears by cooperating with China to solve vital international issues, especially since the success of the goals of that diplomacy concerns not only the Chinese, but also others with the goal of achieving sustainable peace and development. The world is going through complex challenges and circumstances, and this requires strengthening cooperation and joint action from all parties in order to achieve collective and common benefit in maintaining international peace and security, as well as sustaining the effectiveness of the two international covenants on human rights in 1976, the International Covenant on civil and political rights and the International Covenant on economic, social and cultural rights.

2013: Landmark Year: Belt and Road is Launched

In 2013, Chinese President Xi Jinping launched the Belt and Road Initiative, which the Chinese leadership considers a successful attempt to strengthen regional and international communication to embrace a more stable, open and prosperous future on the basis of equality among all without exception, based on mutual respect and benefit. Between 2021-2025, Chinese President Xi Jinping also launched the Four Global Initiatives for:

1.Development 2. Security 3. Civilization 4. Governance  

in order to collectively confirm that all of humanity has a historic opportunity to promote unity, sustainable cooperation, human solidarity, and civilized exchanges.

Accordingly, Chinese diplomacy is seeking to support and strengthen the work of the United Nations to be more effective to solve various international core issues. Multilateralism is at the core of Beijing’s foreign and security policy.

Effectiveness of Chinese diplomacy in the international system

The United Nations Organization was founded in 1945 after the Second World War. The Charter of the United Nations specified that the purpose of its establishment is to protect international peace and security, and the development of international relations between states on the basis of mutual respect for all regardless of the size, wealth and power of each state, as well as respect for the principle of equal rights. In this context, Chinese diplomacy aims to strengthen the role and status of the international system by emphasizing the international consensus. In Beijing’s frame of mind domination by any strong member state must be ruled out.

The Middle East region has been living in a state of instability as a result of the continued absence of a solution to the Palestinian issue, eroding international peace and security.

The root cause of the ME instability is the disregard of influential countries to abide by international law. Chinese diplomacy seeks through effective cooperation with the countries of the region to promote Arab and regional unity and solidarity in order to arrive at inclusive stability and prosperity.

The Global Governance Initiative, recently launched by President Xi Jinping, coinciding with the anniversary of Victory Day in September 2025, emphasizes the importance of the governance of the international system to be more powerful and effective in solving all international issues. Salient among these is the governance of the Middle East through the resolution of its outstanding issues.

Primary task is to address the Palestinian issue on the basis of justice, equity and the rule of international law. This is the only way to achieve security therefore peace, stability and prosperity.

Preface

There has been an effectiveness of Chinese diplomacy towards resolving the Palestinian issue in all occasions and forums since the Bandung Conference in 1955, when China affirmed its rejection of foreign occupation and its support for national liberation movements aimed at self-determination. And with the aggravation of the field situation in the Middle East region, which has become a threat to security, peace & stability due to the absence of a serious solution to the Palestinian issue, which is witnessing unprecedented developments and conditions due to Israel continues its open war and unilateral actions in all the occupied Palestinian territories, Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem, and refusing to recognize the Palestinian rights. Therefore, China stressed the importance of the commitment of all parties, including Israel, to the rule of international law to resolve the Palestinian issue, noting that resolving the Palestinian issue is important for achieving peace and stability in the Middle East, in contrast, the absence of its solution will affect those efforts and thus threaten international security and peace.

Abstract

The study aims to shed light on the importance and development of Chinese diplomacy between theory and reality, through the connection of that diplomacy with the values and culture of Chinese characteristics, where that diplomacy was characterized by openness and cooperation in order to achieve security, peace and sustainable development for all without exception. It is noteworthy that there is a connection and harmony between the goals and principles of this diplomacy and the Chinese civilization, which is based on understanding, dialogue and exchange with the culture and civilization of others to reach a common destiny.

Therefore, China has put forward the four global initiatives, development, civilization, security and governance, with the aim of achieving integration and joint action to create a community of common destiny in the new era. Thus, it firmly stressed on respect for the sovereignty and rights of states and non-aggression or interference in their affairs, achieving equality in dealing with each other regardless of the strength, size and wealth of each state, and embodying justice, integrity and fairness by strengthening the rule of law on all without exception, and resolving disputes by peaceful means without shortage or prejudice to the rights of others.

And one of the most important features of understanding the nature of Chinese diplomacy is the clarity in the attitude between theory and practice towards supporting the solution of the Palestinian issue, and therefore the Chinese position is consistent and continuous towards resolving the Palestinian issue in accordance with international law, and China has not put forward an alternative to that, as it committed to the path of the two-state solution and supported the political process provided that justice and fairness are fully achieved towards the Palestinian rights.

Based on this, the current study indicates that Chinese diplomacy, at all stages of its development, is able to support & achieve the solution of the Palestinian issue, by putting forward many relevant effective ideas and initiatives, and adhering to a firm position to resolve the issue in all circumstances and occasions on the basis of a comprehensive and just solution. However, this requires joint action and serious responsibility on the part of other actors in the Middle East region in order to achieve international justice towards resolving the long-awaited Palestinian issue, as well as paying attention to the initiatives and goals of Chinese diplomacy to be a supportive and effective factor to re-strengthen the international system on the basis of justice and fairness.

Chinese diplomacy

There is an effectiveness of Chinese diplomacy towards supporting the solution of the Palestinian issue in all forums and in various fields since China’s recognition of the state of Palestine in 1988, knowing that it has been supporting and standing with the issue and the Palestinian people since the fifties by rejecting the occupation and advocating the self-determination of people. This diplomacy is different from all other efforts in support of truth, justice and integrity, and the reason for this it is related to the values and culture with Chinese characteristics, the Chinese culture is not aggressive or Colonial, but is associated with openness and achieving peace and development for all without exception. This is the goal of Chinese diplomacy, which seeks to achieve it through its effective affirmation of commitment to and application of the rule of international law and achieving international justice on all outstanding international issues, the most important of which is the resolution of the Palestinian issue.

The effectiveness of this diplomacy has been expressed through the presentation of many effective ideas and initiatives over the past decade and current time, which are consistent with international law and the UN Charter to resolve all issues such as the resolution of the Palestinian issue. The most important features of these initiatives are that it seeks to strengthen international relations on the basis of cooperation and joint action, and it has not been put forward as an alternative to the United Nations system, its charter and the international institutions. And also it stays away from any alliances against any party based on the principle of respecting the rights and sovereignty of states and not interfering in their affairs or assaulting them. In addition, it complies with the principles of international law and works to protect it through governance and achieve international justice in order to maintain international peace and security.

Chinese diplomacy has put forward many initiatives at the international level that are also related to solving the Palestinian issue, such as the four global initiatives, development, civilization, security and governance, the four-point initiative in 2017 and the four-point plan in 2021 to solve the Palestinian issue. These initiatives and ideas related to the resolution of the Palestinian issue stressed the importance of a peaceful path according to the two-state solution, provided that the United States and Israel should have cooperated with these calls and do not ignore the solution of the Palestinian issue, as well as abide by international law and the international will. Recently, Chinese President Xi Jinping has reiterated the need to achieve international governance in the current international system through achieving the rule of law and international justice towards outstanding international issues, the most important of which is the Palestinian issue, stressing the importance of building a more just and equitable multilateral international system away from the unilateral system led by the United States and its allies, and therefore launched on the first of September 2025, the Global Governance Initiative.

As a result, the Chinese diplomat has sufficient awareness and wisdom to deal with sensitive issues, the most important of which is the resolution of the Palestinian issue, so China will be able to take responsibility and resolutely cooperate with international parties to achieve security, peace and stability in Palestine and the region despite the complex circumstances.

The Palestinian Issue

The Palestinian issue continues to suffer from the absence of a just and comprehensive solution in accordance with international law and resolutions of international legitimacy due to the United States’ disregard for the Palestinian rights by using its veto in international forums, as well as continued support for Israel at all levels, and its insistence on not stopping the war on Gaza despite the international consensus to achieve this. However, China has actively supported a just and lasting solution to the Palestinian issue for decades, and has consistently affirmed its position to resolve the Palestinian issue by realizing the right of self-determination of Palestinians through establishing an independent and sovereign Palestinian state. Besides, it also has stressed the need for Palestine to obtain full membership in the United Nations, and announced its support for the New York Declaration on the two-state solution and the efforts to recognize the Palestinian state in the international arena. Moreover, it has worked with all international and regional parties resolutely to end the war on Gaza, introduce aid, lift the blockade and protect civilians, stressing that the way to do this is to get rid of the occupation and achieve international justice for the Palestinians.

It is worth mentioning that China has not stood in the way of any previous or current attempts to resolve the Palestinian issue, provided that it should be serious & it has an international consensus, regardless of the source of those attempts or efforts. For instance, China supported and welcomed the talks and peace process between the Arabs & Palestinians and the Israelis in the late eighties, and recognized the state of Palestine to support the Arab-Palestinian position and international efforts to achieve the sovereignty of Arab countries and the self-determination of the Palestinians. Furthermore, the United States submitted a draft resolution to the UN Security Council in March 2002 No. 1397, which stressed the need to support the establishment of two states, Israel and Palestine, within its security borders, as a result of the outbreak of the second Palestinian intifada. So China and the rest of the member states voted on the US draft resolution, and it did not take a counter-decision because America sponsored the draft, out of respect for the international will to support efforts to achieve peace, as well as its support for the establishment of a Palestinian state in accordance with international law and consensus.

Besides, the Arab summit in Beirut announced the Arab Peace Initiative in 2002, which stipulated the recognition and embodiment of the Palestinian state before the establishment of normal relations with Israel. This initiative was adopted as one of the references for resolving the Palestinian issue at the regional and international levels, and therefore China supported and welcomed this initiative and the Arab efforts to resolve the Palestinian issue. In return, the United States supported the normalization of relations between the Arab state and Israel, away from the efforts of that initiative to establish peace and stability, which has become one of the Arab, Islamic and international references for resolving the Palestinian issue.

The Palestinian issue has been undergoing unprecedented developments since the seventh of October 2023, in light of the continuation of the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip, the taking of unilateral measures in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, the refusal to recognize legitimate Palestinian rights, and non-compliance with international law to resolve the Palestinian issue with the active support of the United States in all forums. In contrast, Chinese diplomacy has characterized by supporting the efforts of the international community to stop the war, introducing aid and seriously seeking to find a just and lasting solution to the Palestinian issue, where China stressed the need for compliance and application of international law to resolve the Palestinian issue by the United States, Israel and all relevant parties.

This confirms that Chinese diplomacy is committed to its firm and effective position to support the resolution of the Palestinian issue despite all the circumstances and the attempts to downplay the importance of those efforts and initiatives by the United States and its allies, which still refuses to cooperate with China effectively to achieve peace and stability in the region through resolving the Palestinian issue. China does not use the Palestinian issue as a tool to strengthen influence and control, achieve a special interest, or support one axis or ally against another, because Chinese diplomacy stems from values and culture with Chinese characteristics based on openness and cooperation to achieve the common destiny of all without exception.

On the other hand, the United States, Israel and their allies have been procrastinating in adhering to international law to resolve the Palestinian issue for decades, ignoring Chinese ideas, calls and initiatives to promote justice and the rule of international law to resolve the Palestinian issue, in addition to not cooperating or obeying the international consensus in this regard. This was noted at the 80th meeting of the UN General Assembly recently in New York during the two-state solution conference, which received an effective international consensus, where China and many partners and sponsoring countries announced their active support for this conference, seeking to prevent them from resolving the Palestinian issue by establishing an independent and sovereign Palestinian state in accordance with international law, and therefore more western countries announced their recognition of the Palestinian state on the basis of the two-state solution, but the United States, Israel and their allies opposed these steps, considering them a unilateral escalation that threatens security and peace in the region, amid escalating accusations among all parties to bear the consequences later.

Achievements

The interest of Chinese diplomacy in the Palestinian issue and considering it as one of the main axes of Chinese foreign policy in its international relations is an achievement, because China is a permanent member of the UN Security Council and has extensive international relations and an active role in international organizations and institutions to protect international peace and security. In addition, China supports the institutions of the Palestinian state in various fields, and its pursuit of Palestinian internal unity through the “Beijing Declaration” in July 2024. Also China was the first country to recognize Palestine as a state, and has supported all Arab and international draft resolutions and initiatives in the UN Security Council and the UN General Assembly to resolve the Palestinian issue, the most important of which is the right of Palestinians to self-determination and the establishment of an independent and sovereign Palestinian state. And one of the most important countries that firmly demanded the need to end the war on Gaza, the introduction of aid, the lifting of the blockade and the end of the occupation of the Palestinian territories in accordance with international law. Besides, China supported the two-state solution conference in New York in line with the Arab and international will, and demands that Palestine obtain full membership in the United Nations. Therefore, Chinese diplomacy is resolutely effective in supporting the resolution of the Palestinian issue despite all circumstances and obstacles.

Challenges

The solution of the Palestinian issue still faces effective challenges, the most important of which is the US ignoring the solution of the Palestinian issue through unlimited support for Israel, as well as non-cooperation with the international consensus in this regard, and content with the unilateral opinion of the leadership of the international community through the American point of view in dealing with outstanding issues, the most important of which is the Palestinian issue. In addition, Israel’s non-compliance with international law and resolutions related to the Palestinian issue, its refusal to stop the war, the introduction of aid and lifting the blockade on the Palestinians, and refusal to declare a two-state solution as well, and therefore not responding to the efforts of the international community seeking to resolve the Palestinian issue in a just, comprehensive and sustainable manner to achieve peace and stability in the region. Besides, there are some obstacles related to the European side, namely interference in the internal Palestinian affairs regarding the future and form of the system of government in Palestine, as well as imposing preconditions on Palestinian politicians that may affect the course of achieving Palestinian national unity. So this will affect the “Beijing Declaration” to achieve reconciliation and Palestinian national unity, and therefore the absence of Palestinian internal unity means the absence of governance of the Palestinian institution, and this will affect the joint efforts of China and other countries to resolve the Palestinian issue in international forums.

Conclusion

Chinese diplomacy has been resolutely and consistently effective in resolving the Palestinian issue at all international events and forums for decades. The goals and aspirations of Chinese diplomacy are in line with international law and the UN Charter to resolve the Palestinian issue. The absence of a solution to the Palestinian issue does not mean the weakness or inefficiency of Chinese diplomatic efforts towards it, but rather the absence of serious and responsible cooperation by the United States, Israel and their allies in the international system. The United States continues to support Israel and ignores the solution of the Palestinian issue in accordance with international law, and uses a veto against any decision in this direction, as well as the lack of seriousness of its steps towards accepting the governance of the current international system, and thus maintaining dominance and control over this system as it deems appropriate to resolve its outstanding issues, including the Palestinian issue.

On the other hand, Chinese diplomacy has succeeded in strengthening coordination and cooperation among member states, and has reactivated international commitments to affirm the right of self-determination of the Palestinians and the establishment of an independent and sovereign Palestinian state, and China has supported the two-state solution conference and the efforts of countries to recognize the Palestinian state recently. In this context, Chinese diplomacy has activated the tools of political and diplomatic action through multilateral relations, thereby mobilizing international public opinion to support the path of a two-state solution and then a comprehensive, just and lasting solution to the Palestinian issue in accordance with respect for the rule and principles of law and international references.

As a result, the efforts of the Chinese diplomatic mission will remain effective and continuous to enhance cooperation within the international system to be more just and equitable towards resolving the Palestinian issue, and this has been noted by the increasing international recognition of the Palestinian state and the adoption of the two-state solution conference as a path to resolve the Palestinian issue with actual measures. This gives the Palestinians and the Chinese “hope” to continue cooperation with member states to support the governance of the international system based on justice and the rule of international law, and this means achieving multilateralism and then resolving all international issues, the most important of which is the Palestinian issue. Therefore, China is able to achieve this because the wisdom of Chinese diplomacy is based on integrity, justice and respect for people’s rights.

Although I am not a Jew, I share the view of many thinking Jews that Zionism is essentially a warped ideology. Perhaps, and to their credit, some of the most powerful and persuasive arguments against the activities of the Israel lobby and Zionism have come from Jews. Some Jews cannot ‘stomach Zionism’. For those whose motives are purely spiritual, the Jewish state is at best an irritant, at worst a blasphemy, according to The Atlas of the Jewish World, published by Time Life Books in 1995. One of the most critical books about the excesses of Zionist fanatics against innocent Palestinians was written by an Israeli academic, Ilan Pappe. It details in precise terms the plan to expel hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from their lands, even before the war of 1948, including how and when particular murders of civilians were planned to achieve maximum effect.

Were it not for one of my grandfathers, extreme Zionists would have killed my mother, and I would not be here writing this. Why? Well, between 1947 and 1949 my mother was interpreting for the United Nations in Rhodes (her birthplace), where various meetings were taking place to solve the Arab-Palestine-Israel problem. She even beat Moshe Dayan at table tennis. Her friend Ralph Bunch (Count Bernadotte’s chief aide) asked her to accompany Count Bernadotte to Palestine, where the two- state solution was being promoted. Luckily, her father did not allow her to go: thank God, since my mother escaped the murder of the count and his driver by those of Netanyahu’s ilk, insane Zionist fanatics.

Had the fanatic killers not succeeded, there would likely have been a two-state solution. When this possibility again became serious in the early 1990s, with the Oslo Accords, the fanatics again stepped in, murdering their chief architect, Israeli Prime Minister Rabin.

Since then, the fanatics have held sway: in September 2000, not long before he was elected Prime Minister Ariel Sharon (previously Scheinerman), visited Temple Mount, thus igniting the second intifada. Since then, every few years, thousands of Palestinian civilians have been killed, as well as a handful of Israeli ones.

One could argue that the root cause of all this horror began when Cain killed Abel. More recently and realistically, we can blame Herzl’s Zionist fanaticism, Britain (the Balfour Declaration and taking French leave of Palestine in 1948), and Bernadotte’s and Rabin’s murders. As for the latest round of slaughter, it is obvious that the trouble began when the Jewish state began the illegal eviction of Palestinians from their homes in Jerusalem.

Who won? Israel, because it killed many more children than Palestinian rockets did – only two Israeli children were killed. This is the evil logic behind the continuing theft of Palestinian land. As for the USA, the Zionist fanatics will not allow Washington to be an honest broker. Quite the opposite: Trump and his Christian Zionist friends have seen to that, by illegally recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of the Jewish state, even recognizing the Golan Heights as legitimate Israeli territory. Let us look a little more closely at what lies behind this.

The most recent critique of the Zionist lobby was written by respected academics John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt in 2006, causing a furious reaction among extremist Zionists. The article’s main argument was that the power of the Israeli lobby had led to one-sided US support for Israel, which was inconsistent with its own interests and those of other states in the region. The US had become the de facto enabler of Israeli expansion in the occupied territories, ‘making it complicit in the crimes perpetrated against the Palestinians’; the article highlighted US hypocrisy in this complicity, given that it presses other states to respect human rights, and that it condones Israel’s nuclear arsenal, while insisting that Iran and others must not have a nuclear capability. Perhaps the most recent example of US connivance in unacceptable Israeli behaviour towards the Palestinians was the US Secretary of State, Hilary Clinton’s, comment that the building of settlements for Jews on occupied Palestinian territory was ‘unhelpful’, when it is in fact downright illegal, indeed criminal in terms of international law. In terms of euphemistic language, it reminds one of the phrase ‘collateral damage’ for killing civilians, or ‘awkward murder’ and ‘naughty rape.’ The extremist land-grabbers in Israel know that they can count on US support.

The influence of the Israeli lobby has indeed contributed to the US devoting one sixth of its foreign aid budget to the sixteenth wealthiest nation on earth. In addition to this, Israel receives 1.8 billion dollars a year in military aid. Clearly, the term ‘aid’ is in this context a euphemism for massive political, economic and military support. There is ‘little doubt that Israel and the lobby were key factors in the decision to go to war’, wrote Mearsheimer and Walt, who continue by demonstrating the power of the Israel lobby in pushing the US into attacking Iran, all with the full support of the ‘neo-conservatives’, as those Christian Zionists are also labelled. The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) plays the leading coordinating role among the plethora of Jewish organizations in the US, and is a ‘de facto agent’ for Israel, with a ‘stranglehold on Congress’.  Although the Israeli embassy in Washington takes great pains to claim that it has no official policy-making contacts with the Israel lobby, the authors make clear that American Jewish leaders often consult Israeli officials, to ensure that their actions advance Israeli goals. Those critical of Israel keep silent, however, because they fear that the lobby will damage their careers. If there were no AIPAC, Americans would have a more critical view of Israel, and US policy in the Middle East would be different.

Zionist organizations in the United States have always been powerful, and the phenomenon of the disproportionate influence they wield has been suspected, but rarely enunciated fully, for a long time. Many who wish to criticize the less positive side tend not to do so, for fear of being labelled ‘anti-Semitic’, in itself an odd idea, since the Semitic peoples include Arabs, among others, leading to suggestions that the term ‘anti-Semitic’ has been hijacked.

Lest any of you readers are already smarting in fury and indignation at these daringly critical words, and preparing to apply your ‘conspiracy theorist’ label, consider that as early as 1972, the British embassy in Washington wrote a confidential paper on ‘Zionist Organizations in the United States’, part of a series for a proposed Foreign and Commonwealth Office paper on ‘the role and effectiveness of Zionist organizations in the United States and Western Europe’. A covering letter from the British ambassador in Tel Aviv stated: ‘I need hardly say that this is a subject on which the Israeli Government is very sensitive, because the continuing support of the Diaspora is an important element in their national security. They might well be suspicious of our motives if it comes to their knowledge that we were preparing a study of this kind […].’

The paper can be considered as a – perhaps subtler – version, in certain respects, of the recent Mearsheimer/Walt paper, remarkable in that it was written thirty-four years earlier. Had it been published, it could well have produced a Zionist backlash, just as the recent Walt/Mearsheimer critique did. The paper equated for its purposes the term ‘American Zionism’ with active support for Israel and its policies. Extracts from the paper speak for themselves, requiring little if any interpretation: ‘The well-organized lobby of Jewish organizations concentrates its activities on influencing congress. There is very little activity in State Legislatures, mainly because few issues arise affecting Israel or the Jewish community in those bodies. The obvious point of pressure must be Congress and there is little doubt that much of the active output of the Zionist organizations is devoted to that end […] whenever an important event occurs in the world at large or in this country, or whenever there is any public threat to Israel, a flood of letters descends upon the offices of Senators and Representatives throughout the country. Some, no doubt, are spontaneous, but the majority show unmistakable evidence of a careful orchestration.’

The paper devoted some attention to Zionist activity in the press, ‘which are [sic] in any case responsive to pro-Israeli articles, largely because a number of press magnates, editors and journalists are themselves of Jewish stock.’ An example of clearly illicit pressure is given: ‘A well-known columnist, who writes in the Christian Science Monitor, told us last year that, when he wrote an editorial which contained mild criticism about the intransigence of the Israeli government, he received a telephone call from the Israeli Embassy in Washington within the hour to express official Israeli displeasure. He was told that such judgements would not be well received by many of the big firms in the Boston area who bought advertising space in the paper and that the Israeli Embassy were confident that he would not wish to deprive his paper of much needed revenue. […] There can be little doubt that the Israeli Embassy discreetly passes on information to the Jewish organizations [my italics], but it would be difficult to point to a direct link’.

Other interesting observations emerge from the paper. For example, whereas Jews made up about 3% of the population, between 18 and 25% of faculty members at Ivy League universities were Jews, while 8% of the urban population of the US were Jewish, and 96% of Jews lived in towns. ‘There is little doubt that Zionist organizations and the Israeli lobby wield considerable political strength in this country, stated the paper, concluding that ‘support for Israel has a universal appeal, being quite distinct from the lobbying efforts of other ethnic minorities’.

And so it is today. The fanatic Zionists who control Israel and Washington will continue to try and obliterate the Palestinian presence. One can but hope that within a few years, to forestall more Palestinian anger at being robbed by Israel, the US, China and Russia will force a two-state solution on Israel. Failing that, shame on the world, and the likes of Cain.

I began this article by wondering if I could do this. All I wished to show is that Zionism and its fanatics are beyond the pale. I hope that I have succeeded.

European and American museums are confronted by requests of the return of artifacts bought or seized by colonial powers: Greece Presses for the Return of the Parthenon Marbles to where they belong: Athens Acropolis.

Researchers still looking for the Amber Room, Tsarist treasure allegedly stolen by the Nazi occupation forces and presumably destroyed or still hidden somewhere in Germany.

In 2008 a scandal hit the world of archaeology in Spain as it was reported that supposedly ancient artifacts were faked. In time the scandal became connected to the attempts to strengthen a real or imaginary Basque nationalist past. This episode in Spanish archaeology history is a modern example of how archaeology has played a role in shaping modern national identities and the creation of national myths.[1] In the Spanish case, Basque nationalism rooted in a very ancient language was one of the sources of conflict in 20th century Spain. It contributed to fueling the Spanish civil war in the 1930s and terrorism in Spain after the transition from Franco’s dictatorship to a modern democracy. Only in 2017 ETA (Euskadi Ta Askatasuna – Basque Country and Freedom)[2] finally stopped fighting the Spanish state. Paradoxically, the end of this violent Basque separatism was followed in Spain by a Catalan separatism and the attempt of some Catalan parties to declare independence by arguing for a separate identity that set apart the Catalonian region linguistically and culturally from mainstream Spanish history.

The archaeological background to modern nationalism and conflicts is not new. In fact, in the earlier part of the 19^th century the Greeks, with great European support and sympathy, fought against the Ottoman Empire for a political and cultural independence that was stimulated by a connection to Classical Greece and of course the Byzantine Empire. By 1870, the German archeologist Heinrich Schliemann had begun discovering Homer’s Troy. His findings and the discovery of artifacts connected to ancient Greece stimulated enthusiastic interest in the near-Eastern archaeological and historical heritage.[3][4] Streams of archaeological discoveries reshaped a new Hellenic identity that shaped Greek politics and the conflicts with the Ottoman Empire, conflicts that saw the catastrophic Greek-Turkish war of 1922 and decades later the conflict in Cyprus between the Greek majority and the Turkish minority.

In Cyprus, the destruction of Greek archaeological sites was one of the subjects of the Greek-Cypriot political stance against the occupation of northern Cyprus by thousands of Turkish soldiers following the 1974 invasion of the island, when Turkey claimed it was protecting the rights of the Turkish-speaking minority.[5] The invasion followed years of conflict in Cyprus, ruled for decades by the British from 1878 until 1960[6]. The ethnic conflict was resolved through a compromise where the Greek-Cypriot desire to be reunited with Greece was set aside by giving independence to the island along with a constitutional compromise between the two ethno-linguistic groups.

Modern archaeology and the new scientific disciplines associated with it have now come to create greater knowledge and insight into the past of many regions across the globe.  They have also fueled value systems and political ideologies that have now come to spread increasingly across regions and nations, serving to bolster the perennial search for power and meaning in an international system tied by new economic realities and social mobility that challenges older historical and religious traditions. Some intellectuals and critics have used the encounter of the West with the non-traditional world, especially Islamic in the Middle East, as an example of cultural colonialism above and beyond political and economic imperialism. A classic case of the debate on the subject was the systematic work of Edward Said who wrote extensively criticizing western scholarship as being unable to truly understand the East – especially the Middle East – in his work Orientalism. His approach was very influential in the academic world, and continues being so, though his understanding of the Western-European insights into the Middle East especially are methodologically unsound and ideologically biased.[7]

Thus, archaeology comes to have even greater relevance in the reformulation of many aspects of international relations and ideological and civilizational clashes.  It then becomes even more incumbent on academics at large, especially historians, archaeologists, and ethno-linguists to dispel whenever possible the constant mythologizing and distortion of historical and archaeological scholarship.[8] The Americas were not exempt from these trends.

Across the Atlantic the mystification of new archaeological and linguistic discoveries became a systematic component of local nationalism, particularly when studying pre-Columbian civilizations in Central and South American states and Native American tribes in the United States and Canada. In Mexico, the Aztec heritage boosted Indianismo, which came to be one of the pillars of the new regime in Mexico after the epic of revolution that shaped a new Mexico after 1912.  From the 1920s onwards, the official historiography of Mexico emphasized Aztec civilization which had been systematically studied since the 19^th century by Western archaeologists and denounced the Spanish conquest as an assault on some past noble human experiment.  The reformulation of a new Mexican identity saw even a revival of attempts to remove the bones of Hernán Cortés, the Spanish conquistador who had been entombed in Mexico City. By 2020, the Mexican government, run by a progressive leftist president was seeking official apologies from Spain for the Spanish Conquest of the Aztec Empire, and for the violence involved in the establishment of Spanish cultural hegemony in Mexico.[9]

The reinterpretation of the past by now had come to see in both North and South America the denunciation of Columbus and the arrival of the Europeans. In some respects, it was a reassertion of the Rousseauian paradigm of the Noble Savage being overwhelmed by civilization. In fact, the reaffirmation of aboriginal rights in North, South, and Central America from the Arctic Circle to Patagonia, in claims to land and resources came to be often articulated through archaeological discoveries and the assertion of the parity of native languages with Spanish as in Peru, Bolivia, Mexico, or Guatemala.

Even in Europe, the creation of a pan-European identity seemed to have enhanced the reaffirmation of ethno-linguistic ideologies rooted in mythical pasts given some superficial credibility by archaeology and linguistics. Examples range from the Dardanian movement in the Balkans following the independence of Kosovo as Albanians and Kosovars reiterated their European roots by linking to classical Greek history and mythology, including the destruction of Serbian Orthodox religious sites to the revival of Celtic religions and outright paganism professing a return to animism and Norse religions in Scandinavia. In the United States within the last generation there has been a revitalization of Neo-Pagan religion and witchcraft, ranging from the Church of Satan as an established institution to Wicca as a legitimate religious experience.[10] New political movements, ranging from neo-Scandinavian nationalism to neo-Nazism have connected their political ideology to Old Norse religious mythologies.[11]

These new phenomena tended to have a more strictly sociological significance and had yet to develop a political relevance. The age of instant electronic communication lent itself to the mystification of archaeology, ethnography, and linguistics from Europe and North America to the rest of the globe.  Fueled by misperceived scientific and academic research, science fiction, UFO sightings, political propaganda, mysticism, religion, eschatology, and catastrophism gave rise to a vast body of literature, movies, and internet-propagated debate and speculations grounded in the outright mystification of science and racialism intensifying and legitimizing national conflicts and political violence.

Their interpretation of the past through archaeological discoveries and political influence in terms of modern ideological postures characterizes every area of the world, ranging from Latin America to Australia and Africa. [12] European and American museums came to be confronted by requests of the return of artifacts bought or seized by colonial powers. The British museum, for example, was going to return the Benin bronzes to Nigeria.[13] The bronzes had been seized by British troops in 1897 during the British conquest of Benin. Benin today is in modern Nigeria, and part of the federal state.

The Greek Cause for the Parthenon Marbles Return to Athens

In modern Europe one of the more chronic problems in archaeological politics is the pressing demand of the Greek state for the repatriation of the Parthenon Marbles, also known as the Elgin Marbles, from the British Museum to Athens. The Marbles were part of the façade of the Acropolis of Athens and were allegedly purchased by Lord Elgin, the British Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire in 1807. The issue came up again following Brexit, as the Greek government pressed once again for the return of the Elgin Marbles.[14] The subject became part of the diplomatic bargaining between the United Kingdom and Brussels over the future of the political relationship between the European Union and London. The controversy has been going on for decades. In the same vein, stolen art from Italy is a subject of Italian international requests for return of what it considers to be Italian cultural patrimony.[15]

Last but not least, the Nazi German state’s looting of European art all over the occupied areas during World War II still stands out as an example of the role of war in the displacement of national art and culture. Researchers are still looking for the Amber Room, a Tsarist treasure allegedly stolen by the Nazi occupation forces and presumably destroyed or still hidden somewhere in Germany.[16]

Thus, one may conclude here by saying that symbolically archaeology goes beyond the mere study of the past through what remains of the past materially, but it also shapes how individuals and nations may see themselves in the modern age. As archaeological explorations expand, inevitably the reinterpretation of the past also takes place. This is especially relevant in the Middle East, which by many standards, is the birthplace of civilization. Arguably, the most important dimension of this past is a religious experience that has characterized the Middle East ever since the birth and evolution of Judaism, the rise of Christianity and the shaping of monotheistic belief systems.

Modern Re-Elaboration of Jewish Identity Through Rise of Zionism

Perhaps the most outstanding example is the modern re-elaboration of a Jewish identity through the rise of modern Zionism in 19^th century Europe and the creation of the modern state of Israel in 1947. In the 2^nd century AD, the Romans wiped out what had been a Jewish ethno-religious state in Judea along with the destruction of what had originally been the Temple of Solomon in 70 AD. Judea became a Roman province and hundreds of thousands of Jews were enslaved and deported throughout the Roman Empire, though the territory still held a considerable population of Jews.

Some decades later, in 132 AD the Jews rebelled again. This revolt saw Emperor Hadrian raze Jerusalem and rename it Aelia Capitolina. To add insult to injury, Judea came to be renamed Palestina with a reference to one of the peoples in the area, the Philistines mentioned in the Bible. From then to modern times, Palestine was a common name for a territory that eventually became the state of Israel and came to be seen by Jews scattered across the world as a land to return to with the coming of the Messiah. Herein lies an added Christian dimension to the religious and cultural relevance of the Jewish historical linkage to a lost state, to be restored with, by a coming Messiah for Jews and the second coming of Christ for all Christian denominations.

The rise of Islam in the 7^th century and the conquest of Jerusalem by the Muslims in southern Arabia added a third monotheistic appeal to the city of Jerusalem which came to have historical and cultural consequences for centuries for the people of the region, Europe, and in time for international relations from the 19^th century onwards. By the 18^th century, there was already a historical and archaeological interest in the Middle East and the biblical connection was the most relevant aspect of it. In the development of modern states in the Middle East, whether Turkey, Iran, Egypt, or as a matter of fact anywhere else in the world, reconstructing the past through archaeology and other disciplines such as linguistics was not a new phenomenon, and continues to be ever more relevant. Paradoxically, in an ever more globalized world, national identity becomes ever more relevant for domestic political purposes. The reconstruction of the past through archaeology to enhance modern national identity becomes ever more interesting in terms of ideological, economic, and international premises. Thus, tourism, education, propaganda, articulated through mass and social media come to stand out and add to an even greater dimension to the models developed in the theories of international relations and conflict.

[1] Ashley Cowie, “Archaeologist Busted for Faking Artifacts Showing Jesus Crucifixion,” in Ancient Origins, 8 February 2020. https://www.ancient-origins.net/news-history-archaeology/iru-veleia-artifacts-0013266

[2] Claude Canellas, Sonya Dowsett, and Isla Binnie, “Basque militants ETA surrender arms in end to decades of conflict” Reuters, April 2017. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-spain-eta-idUSKBN1790YK

[3] Caroline Moorehead, Priam’s Gold: Schliemann and the Lost Treasure of Troy (New York: I.B. Tauris, 2016).

[4] Robert Payne, The Gold of Troy: The Story of Heinrich Schliemann and the Buried Cities of Ancient Greece (Dorset: Dorset Press, 1990).

[5] Lefkios Zaphiriou, Costas Nicolaides, Miltos Miltiadou, Marianna Mammidou, Van Coufoudakis, “The Loss of a Civilization; Destruction of cultural heritage in occupied Cyprus” Government of Cyprus, 2012.

[6] For a Turkish perspective, see Ozmatyatli, I. O. & Ozkul, A. E. “20th Century British Colonialism in Cyprus

through Education.” (Egitim Arastirmalari-Eurasian Journal of Educational Research, 50, 1-20. 2013).

[7] Morris Mottale, “Book Review: Orientalism and Islam: European Thinkers on Oriental Despotism in the Middle East and India.” (Canadian Political Science Association, 2010).

[8] See Also: The MESA Debate, 22 November 1986. Cf: Robert D. Kaplan, “Remembering Elie Kedourie: How One Analyst Spoke Truth to Power in the Middle East.” (The National Interest, 25 April 2020)

[9] “Mexico demands apology from Spain and the Vatican over conquest.” (BBC, 26 March 2019). See Also, Renzo Pipoli “Spain denies Mexico apology over 1521 Spanish conquest.” (UPI, 26 March 2019)

[10] See for example Jessica Bennet “When Did Everybody Become a Witch?” (New York Times, 24 October 2019). See also; David Brooks “Commentary: Witchcraft enjoying a surge in popularity” (New York Times, 13 June 2019).

[11] Samuel Sigal “What To Do When Racists Try To Hijack Your Religion” (The Atlantic, November 2, 2017).

[12] Paul Daley “There’s a new push for the return of looted Aboriginal artefacts – in the name of ‘truth telling’.” (The Guardian, 1 December 2019). See Also; Geoff Gray “A Cautious Silence: The politics of Australian anthropology”. (Aboriginal Studies Press: August 1, 2007)

[13] Kieron Monks “British Museum to return Benin bronzes to Nigeria.” (CNN, 14 December 2018). See also: “The British Conquest of Benin and the Oba’s Return”, Art Institute of Chicago (2013).

[14] Ian Wishart “EU Brings Greek Demand for Elgin Marbles Into Brexit Talks.” (MSN, 19 February 2020).

[15] See for Example “Italian Court Orders Getty Museum To Return Statue To Italy”. (NPR, 5 December 2018).

[16] “Amber Room: Priceless Russian treasure stolen by Nazis ‘discovered by German researchers’” (The Independent, 19 October 2017).