Why do people focus exclusively on the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict and ignore the upheaval in Syria and Iraq which has resulted in over 100x more dead Arabs?

Answer 1

Answer 1

An excellent question. Many have said that it's because of the ubiquitous heavy anti-Israel bias.

Answer 2

There are several major reasons why more people and more media outlets are concerned with the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict than the much more lethal Syrian and Iraqi Insurgencies. For clarity's sake, as of August 7, 2014, less than 2,000 Palestinians have killed and around 300,000 have been internally displaced. Conversely, in the Syrian and Iraqi insurgencies, 190,000 Arabs have been killed cumulatively and at least 5,000,000 people have been displaced, with minorities disproportionately affected.

1) Unified Voice: On the Israeli-Palestinian questions, most people have implicitly chosen a side. Particularly in Muslim communities, there is almost unanimous support for Palestine and unanimous hatred and revilement towards Israel. In many Muslim communities, individuals who are openly Pro-Israel are attacked or beaten until their opinions change, preventing whatever small number of Pro-Israel Muslims from voicing their views. As a result if there is a desire to protest the actions of Israel, there is already a unified Muslim voice opposing Israel that can easily be corralled.

By contrast ISIL, the jihadist organization which has been responsible for re-instituting Taliban-like rule in Sunni dominated regions of Syria and Iraq, is a controversial question among Muslims, especially in the West. There is a strong argument, supported by older and more conservative Muslims that secularism is desirable because it allows everybody the ability to make Islam work for them. Many youths find that the West is full of moral depravity and, therefore, a religious theocracy would be desirable. Young Western Muslims have gone in the thousands to fight on either side of this conflict. As a result, there is no unified voice as to who to condemn and who to support.

2) Anti-Semitism: Vilifying Israel is seen as a socially-acceptable form of Anti-Semitism. While there are valid arguments to made against the State of Israel (see Anti-Zionism below), statements such endorsing the Nazis or Hitler, firebombing synagogues, posting pictures of European Jews and inciting for their murder on Facebook, are clear expressions of Anti-Semitism. Anti-Semites use the increase in Anti-Israel sentiment in order to promote their beliefs as well.

3) Racism of Lowered Expectations: Westerners do not often say this openly, but they do not often expect Non-Whites to behave as morally upright as they expect Whites to behave. For example, Mormons are often legally targeted for their polygamous marriages which are illegal. Arabs and Desis (Indians) are not similarly legally targeted, because it might "offend their culture" and cultural sensitivity is seen as desirable. In the case of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, the Israelis are judged according to the "White" standard and required to be more moral than their Arab enemies. Conversely, there is an "expectation" that Arabs will kill each other as they do in great numbers in Syria and Iraq. This double-standard is racist and demeaning to the value of every Arab life lost from Arab-led violence.

4) Apocalyptic Narratives: Many apocalyptic religious Jews, Christians, and Muslims see the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict as being the prelude to the first coming of the Messiah, the return of Jesus Christ, or the coming of the Mahdi respectively. As a result, religious individuals of all faiths are watching the conflict closely for signs of the "impending" apocalypse. Far fewer people eye the Syrian and Iraqi insurgencies with the same apocalyptic zeal.

5) Anti-Colonialism and Anti-Zionism: Since Israel was formed by Jews immigrating to Israel from places outside of Israel, there are a number of ethnic Europeans and Muslims who see Israel as one of the last colonial countries. They see promoting the Palestinians over the Israelis as part of the process of undoing the horrors of colonialism and making up for their mixed feelings concerning the creation of colonies in the Americas which completely supplanted the indigenous population, but are now strong, functioning societies. Additionally, there are those who simply oppose the right for Jews to have a state, which is Anti-Zionism. Of course, none of these things are issues in Syria and Iraq, since those countries are ruled by "native" populations, regardless of the fact that they are less majoritarian or respectful of their minorities than Israel.