If Cyprus was Like Israel

Upon gaining independence in 1960, almost 20% of the population of Cyprus were ethnic Turks; the constitution stated that the vice-president would be a Turk and that 30% of the 56 seats in the House of Representatives would be reserved for them.This reminds me of the sectarian power-sharing agreement of the Lebanese government and we can all see how “successful” that has been.

In spite of attempts to work together, hostilities broke out between the Greek Christians and the Turkish Muslims. In 1974, Turkey invaded, leading to the Turkish occupation of the north and division of the island. Most ethnic Turks relocated to the north and joined Turks who came from the mainland, and Greeks in the north relocated to the south. Now in the south, less than 1% of the population are Turks and there are still three seats reserved for them in the legislature; these remain empty for some reason. However, this outcome of hostilities between the Christians and Muslims in Cyprus is still far better than that of Lebanon.

Let us imagine, for a moment, that the ethnic Turks who had lived in the south for generations did not abandon their property and move into what is now the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. Is it even vaguely conceivable that a political party, established by Turks in the south, enter the legislature with the platform of relinquishing more land to the occupier in the north? Would the Turks have organized into “Turkish liberation organizations” to shout out on street corners around the world: “Free free Turkish Cyprus”, meaning to make all of Cyprus Turkish and Muslim? If Russia had had an interest in Cyprus there may even have been a Turkish “Arafat”. This, of course, would have been followed by massive propaganda campaigns on campuses in Europe and North America and in the UN.

I am transparent here, I know.

You are wondering how I can compare the Israeli-Arab conflict (renamed the Israeli-Palestinian conflict after the 1980s) with what everyone knows was a Turkish invasion and occupation of an island bearing a name of Greek origin. It happened during easily recalled recent history for those who cared enough to pay attention to the news at the time.

I can make this comparison because Israel is not occupying a so-called Palestine. On the contrary, the Arabs who now call themselves Palestinians are descendants of the invading Arab armies that conquered the Middle East and north Africa and the European Mediterranean shores. That happened so long ago, in 650 CE, that it may seem irrelevant to many today. But it is very relevant to Israeli-Jewish history. The Arabs who now call themselves Palestinians are parallel to the Turkish invaders into Cyprus. They are not the indigenous population regardless of how long ago they arrived.

So what we have in Israel now is a conglomeration of Arab parties forming a United List that has a platform that includes relinquishing land currently under Israeli sovereignty, preferably all of it in case you were not aware of that, and handing it over to leaders of their fellow descendants of the conquerers and occupiers, leaders who openly terrorize the Jewish population. This would be exactly like a Turkish party in southern Cyprus insisting that sovereign Cypriot land be handed over to the occupying power on the northern part of the island.

A major difference between the Turkish-run Cyprus and the Arab-run Gaza and Judea-Samaria is that the former actually built a viable state and the latter uses humanitarian funds to kill Jews while its leaders get filthy rich and keeps its population destitute and desperate. That is why the two-state-solution may eventually prove to be workable in Cyprus and not in Israel. But who is even paying attention to what is going on in Cyprus aside from Cypriots? And they can thank their lucky stars that the world is not as involved with them as it is with us.

Feature Image Credit: Wikipedia article on Cyprus.