Government and Politics - The Wisdom of Solomon Can Provide Mid-East peace :: Politics Political Essays

The story of King Solomon's wisdom is well known and presents a solution for the conflict over East Jerusalem, which contains the historic section of the city so highly prized for containing many famous religious sites: time-honored mosques, various Jewish, Christian and Islamic shrines, the Wailing Wall, the foundation to King Solomon's Temple, in short, the "Old City." East Jerusalem is currently the loggerhead in the Mid-East peace process. The Palestinians, with the support of the Arab states, say that come what may they must have control over East Jerusalem. A strong force in Israeli politics is of a similar opinion, saying that they will not compromise on this issue, that East Jerusalem must be under Israeli control. Unless a compromise is somehow reached, it appears that more people will die in the violence in this region, soldiers will die on both sides, more protesters will be killed, more people imprisoned, civilians including children, old men and women, even babies, will die as a direct result of the violence. In order to avoid any more violence perhaps we should turn to the story of wise old Solomon himself for the solution. It is said that once upon a time two women appeared before him, both claiming the right to a particular baby, each saying that she was the rightful mother of the child. Solomon proposed that the baby be divided in two, and half given to each woman. Hearing this, one of the women said, "No, don't do that, let the other woman have it." Solomon, in his wisdom, then gave the baby to this woman who obviously valued the life of the baby above her own interest in the matter. Seldom can an example like this be applied in its precise form, but it can be adapted to fit the dispute over East Jerusalem today. Obviously a present-day Solomon cannot threaten to destroy East Jerusalem and expect one of the sides to declare, "No! Let them have it." But something similar can be proposed, a solution that seems just as wise as Solomon's. Both sides can agree to a UN force moving in to raze all those ancient constructions, dynamite the traditional sites, leaving not one stone upon another. What would this solve? Well, most importantly, it would solve the conflict over East Jerusalem - no more violence, not one more death.