Calls for nations to cut ties with Israel have intensified globally, but Israel’s Ambassador to Jamaica Raslan Abu Rukun continues to hope that the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) will not withdraw its support as the battle in the Middle East continues.
CARICOM, represents 15 Caribbean states, but has 14 United Nations votes, which could swing the pendulum of support for Israel, one way or the other, whenever a resolution on the current standoff is tabled.
Last year May, Jamaica was one of 143 countries that voted in favour of the resolution adopted by the United Nations General Assembly for the Security Council to favourably reconsider the application of Palestine for Membership of the United Nations (UN).
Senator Johnson Smith, at the time, noted that “since Jamaica took the decision to recognise the State of Palestine on April 22, Trinidad and Tobago and The Bahamas have also done so, bringing the number of Member States within CARICOM recognizing the State of Palestine, to 14.”
“Jamaica has long maintained a balanced position in support of a peaceful resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, with a two-state solution that guarantees the security of Israel and the right of Palestine to an independent, viable and sovereign state within the pre-1967 borders. Our support for this vote takes place in the context of our having been lending our voice to efforts at the regional and multilateral levels to bring an end to the hostilities, to ensure access to unhindered humanitarian aid, and to support efforts for de-escalation and the establishment of lasting peace in the region,” the foreign minister continued.
The Israeli–Palestinian conflict has been ongoing and intensified when members of the Palestinian-backed Hamas group stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and capturing more than 250 hostages. Ambassador Rukun said 50 of the Israeli hostages are yet to be returned. He insists that Israel has to protect itself against terrorists groups that have indicated that they want to eradicate them.
“They are using hospitals. They are using schools, using civilian neighbourhoods to
launch missiles and rockets on Israel and attacking Israel from there. So we need to act against them. We are always targeting terrorists, but unfortunately a lot of civilians also were hurt. We didn’t have intentions for that. But we need to understand that we cannot continue living in a reality and a situation that we lived before the 7th of October, because we cannot live with this organisation or this government that is always threatening our existence,” he said.
Israel’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, is wanted for war crimes by the International Criminal Court. United States president Donald Trump met with Netanyahu at the White House on Monday to discuss developments in the Middle East. The US has often faced criticism for its support of Israel, even as several countries have lined up behind Palestine.
On July 2, the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and the State of Palestine marked a significant milestone in their diplomatic relations with the accreditation of Palestine’s first Ambassador to CARICOM. There have been several pro-Palestine rallies in Jamaica in recent months.
Jamaican Sharon Knight is among those who have expressed concern that many have seemingly fallen for the propaganda spread by the West that Israel is the antagonist in the ongoing Middle-East war.
Knight, who has been doing teachings on the Israeli conflict for many years, noted that the current war between Iran, an Arab nation and Israel, a Jewish nation is not just physical.
“This is a war between Allah and the Jews, between Allah and Yahweh. Whether we want to believe it or not, I can only go by the Scriptures. And that’s what is established there. This is a battle. It’s not a battle of flesh and blood, although we focus a lot on the flesh and blood; it is a spiritual battle. It is two sources against each other and the ultimate goal is to wipe out [and] destroy the God of the Jews,” she said.