What seems to escape the hearts and minds of the Israeli people is the level of injustice the Palestinian people are subjected to by the Israeli government. Yet, this comes only as a result of continuous political intoxication by the Israeli leadership. ‘Delusional politics’ as some have dubbed it, by consecutive Israeli governments (left, right, and center) have paralyzed the ‘sense of justice’ of most Israelis; namely, by nurturing Israel’s “security dilemma” and repeatedly reasserting Israel’s so called battle for survival, existence, and continuity. Ironically, it is the survival and existence of the Palestinians which is at stake, and has been for the past 53 years.

The Palestinians are the only nation in the world with two-thirds (4.6 million) of their population classified as ‘forced refugees,’. The Palestinians are the only nation in the world with 2.8 million of their population living under military occupation (in the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, and east Jerusalem). The Palestinians residing inside the state of Israel (with Israeli citizenship) are the only people in the world today subjected to a systematic apartheid system, with blatant discrimination at the social, political, and economic levels.

The question is raised again: how are Israelis able/made to accept this injustice, let alone support it?

Apparently, 53 years of Zionist occupation did not only steal Palestinian land, Palestinian identity, and Palestinian security; 53 years of Zionist occupation have penetrated to the consciousness of every Israeli, thereby occupying his/her sense of humanity, morality, and ‘justice.’

For Israelis, quietly accepting to be part of an ideology that is based on exclusion and discrimination did not occur voluntarily, but through the systematic induction of political variables that seek to justify the ugly reality of suppression (security, threat, enemies, persecution, existence, and ironically peace). Agreeing, and supporting, the measures of occupation is illogical, yet with an Israeli leadership continuously distorting reality and blinding its people from the truth, it could be made not only logical, but even necessary.

Meanwhile, between the deceptive justifications of the Israeli leadership and the continuously-nurtured blindness of the Israeli people, the Palestinians are suffering, and will continue to suffer until the ‘people’ of Israel are able to realize the injustice committed by Israel against the Palestinians.

Perhaps, after all, the key to peace in the region lies not in the power of politics over people, but in the power of people over politics, and more importantly in the power of humanity over injustice.