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Did Israel Drive Out the Arabs 60 Years Ago?
Sixty is pretty old for a country. Consider that by the time the United States was 60 (counting from the conclusion of the War of Independence), the year was 1843. We'd already had 10 presidents, had nearly quadrupled the size of the nation, and were on our way to becoming a world power. As with the histories of all nations, our birth was not without sins and crimes. The Indians paid a dear price for our expansion, as did the slaves. But this does not (keening college professors notwithstanding) delegitimize the entire enterprise called the United States of America. In fact, our capacity to acknowledge our faults is one aspect of our national honor.
Israel is about to celebrate its 60th birthday, but alone among the nations of the world, its legitimacy and right to exist continue to be considered matters of debate. Israel, like the U.S., is willing to be self-critical (sometimes to extremes), but this fair-mindedness seems to float on a different plane from the vituperation and defamation that is hurled at Israel from so many directions. In 2001, most of the world's nations convened a conference on racism in South Africa. The United States withdrew after it became obvious that the conference on racism was itself racist. Condemnations of Israel dominated the proceedings, and the handouts available in the lobby featured caricatures worthy of Der Sturmer: hook-nosed Jews with Palestinian blood on their hands surrounded by bags of money.
So even now, even after triumphing over so much adversity in its all too eventful first 60 years, Israel is not considered a normal country. The campaign of delegitimization launched by its enemies has succeeded to a tremendous degree in persuading ordinary people that Israel was conceived in sin. That sin was the dispossession of the Palestinians, the rightful inhabitants of the land now called Israel. Second only to the claim that Iran seeks nuclear power for peaceful purposes, this is the most sinister lie in circulation.
There has been a continuous Jewish population in Israel since Biblical times. There have been difficulties maintaining a large Jewish presence in Jerusalem through the millennia — there was, for example, a bit of unpleasantness with the Romans around the year 70.
But Jerusalem has been a majority Jewish city since the 1860s. In 1914, the British estimated that the city contained 45,000 Jews out of a total population of 65,000. When the U.N. partitioned the British Mandate territories into a Jewish and an Arab state in 1947, the Jewish section held 538,000 Jews and 397,000 Arabs. Jerusalem, with its 100,000 Jews, did not count, as the U.N. proposed to make it an international city separate from the Jewish state. As Alan Dershowitz has pointed out, those who claim that Israel was created out of a majority Arab region are counting the Arabs who lived in what was then called Transjordan as well as the West Bank and Gaza.
The U.N. partition plan gave the Arabs more arable land than the Jews and gave the Jewish state a painfully slender nine-mile wasp waist. Nevertheless, the Jews agreed to the partition. The Arabs rejected it and went to war to extirpate the Jewish presence. In the war that followed, Egypt grabbed Gaza and Jordan took the West Bank. There was no talk then of ceding these territories to the "Palestinian" people for a new Arab state. They were merely called Arab refugees and, unlike the equal number of Jewish refugees who fled into Israel from Arab countries, they were denied citizenship, rights, and freedoms by their Arab brethren. They were left to fester in camps overseen by the U.N.
The Jews fled Arab nations because of persecution. Why did the Arabs flee the new Jewish state? (Note, many remained and became citizens of Israel.) Writing in the most recent issue of Commentary, Efraim Karsh reviews some of the new evidence that has come to light about the events of 1948. Not only did the Jews not force the Arabs out of their homes, they made many vain efforts to persuade them to stay put. The 6,000 Arabs of Tiberias, in a typical example, were forced to leave by their own leaders, over strenuous objections from Jewish leaders.
It may be that the local Arabs were urging their people to flee in order to spare them in what they expected would be a genocidal rout of the Jews. Fawzi Qawuqji, a leader of the Arab Liberation Army, vowed to "drive all Jews into the sea." Having tried and failed repeatedly to annihilate the Jews (an ideal the Palestinians have yet to forsake), they labor mightily to discredit the state of Israel, and that, one must sadly reflect, has been wildly successful.
To find out more about Mona Charen and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com.
Why do you persist in spreading Zionist lies, Ms. Charen? People who are against Zionism are not necessarily against Israel or against Jews. People have to be so careful these days because anything they say can, and will, be used against them and construed as being anti-Semitic. Descendents of a diaspora that occurred almost 2000 years ago don't have a "right" to return to their homeland that hasn't actually been their homeland for 2 centuries. They don't have a "right" to practice apartheid, but expect reparations and apologies for the Holocaust. The facts are that the Palestineans were forced out of their homes; Zionists have withheld aide to refugees; they confiscated land that was not originally partitioned to them.
The Arabs don't treat the Palestineans any better than the Zionists do, unfortunately. The Palestineans are just political pawns used by other regimes to disenfranchise the Israeli govt. Neither side is willing to protect the interests of the people who were truly affected: the Palestineans.
Comment: #1
Posted by: Sarah Griffin
Mon May 12, 2008 11:53 AM
I think its about time Israel accepts the truth about its history.....not this hogwash.....Ask any israeli with any form of con·science and they will tell you the truth......Much of Modern day Israel (with the exception of Tel Aviv) is built on the foundations of palestinian cities/villages that were "wiped off the map" even before the 1948 War,,,which was not a real war but a joke of one.
Please stop dispelling this crap.......say the truth or be quiet
For the real truth check Ilan Pappe's (A israeli historian ) work . He has a book called "the ethnic cleansing of palestine"
http://www.amazon.com/Ethnic-Cleansing-Palestine-Ilan-Pappe/dp/1851684670
also go to his website @
http://www.ilanpappe.org/
Finally try to get your hands on a copy of the documentaries "occupation 101"
http://www.occupation101.com/
and "Peace Propaganda and the promised-land" http://www.mediaed.org/videos/MediaRaceAndRepresentation/PeacePropaganda
If you do a search for these docs on youtube and google video you'll probably find snippets on them there
Enough Lies! Enough Manipulation!
Comment: #2
Posted by: halherta
Sat May 10, 2008 3:19 PM
This is a typical piece of Zionist revisionism. Charen aligns herself with Dershowitz, one of the world's leading sophists, and dissembles history with meaningless statistics. Murder is murder. Genocide is genocide. There is no defense for Israel against the truth.
Three words for them: REMEMBER DAR YASSEIN!
Comment: #3
Posted by: CanisLatus
Sat May 10, 2008 8:15 PM
charen's citing of dershowitz makes it immediately obvious from where her historical "facts" on the subject are derived, because she's parroting his propaganda. by midway through the second paragraph, it's already quite apparent this is a pro-israel/anti-palestinian opinion based on bias, and by the time his name is mentioned, the all-to-familiar rhetoric is clearly recognizable.
the writer is free to believe whatever she chooses to believe; but i'd recommend that she seek out objective sources on the subject before publishing an opinion in which she speaks "authoritatively" based on a source who is KNOWN for his extreme bias and vindictive nature.
Comment: #4
Posted by: eric
Sat May 10, 2008 9:54 PM
It is truly unfortunate that Ms. Charen, or shall we say, her editors, felt it necessary to be apologists for the racist Apartheid state known as "Israel". Israel has much in common with the U.S. - it's a rogue state, with corrupt leaders, that is antagonistic and brutal towards Muslim nations. We Americans need to remember, however, that Israel is a parasite on the United States, which spies on us, steals our military secrets (and then sells them to our 'enemies'), and even knowingly attacked us! (Don't believe me? Please google "USS Liberty").
And yet... Americans send billions of our tax dollars each year to Israel, and we are forbidden to criticize Israel or corrupt Jews - in large part BECAUSE they're Jews. If you dare to criticize it/them, you're denounced/slandered as an "anti-Semite" - an overused, inaccurate slur (it's not only Jews who are Semites, after all, right?). This censorship, this 'thought control', is possible in America largely because Jews control much of our nation's mass-media. We Americans are being taken for SUCKERS - our nation acts against the best interests of most Americans when it acts as Israel's big, stupid bodyguard - constantly covering for Israel's internationally-condemned actions - and yet WE get to pay for it! Pretty cool, huh.
Although there is *lots* one could say about this article, just two specific comments for now:
1) "... Israel is not considered a normal country."
---> Perhaps because "normal" countries have established borders and a constitution? Or maybe because "normal" countries do not carry out Apartheid-like policies at the expense of a plurality of its citizens?
2) I wouldn't believe everything Mr. Dershowtz says, if I were you. Dershowitz apparently LIED when he promised, “I will give $10,000 to the PLO...if you can find a historical fact in my book that you can prove to be false.” The book Dershowitz was referring to was "The Case For Israel." Well, he got the reported numbers of Arabs who fled their homes wrong by a HUNDRED-FOLD, and yet (to the best of my knowledge) never sent the PLO the promised check. Please see:
www.rense.com/general42/finkl.htm
"Norman Finkelstein Calls Professor Alan Dershowitz's New Book On Israel A "Hoax" "
Transcript by Democracy Now! (see the end)
9-25-3 AND,
www.rense.com/general42/admits.htm
"Dershowitz Admits Plagiarism"
By Rashad Daoudi
10-3-3
FYI, I highly recommend checking out:
www.wrmea.com
(for REAL news on the Middle East)
www.freegaza.org/
2008: Sixty Years On
www.ameu.org/
State of Denial: Israel, 1948-2008
www.youtube.com/watch?v=tW1-_JmXQt0
"Video Israel Doesn't Want You to See"
www.normanfinkelstein.com
www.thejerusalemfund.org
www.whatreallyhappened.com/cat_israel.html and/or
www.whatreallyhappened.com/cat_israel_defies_un.html and/or
www.whatreallyhappened.com/cat_israeli_spying.html
-----------
Ms. Charen, you wrote some rubbish in this piece, but we all make mistakes. The violent, failing theocracy named "Israel" (it's HARDLY a democracy, as many of its residents are not represented) has not shown it "deserves" to exist. (Of course, this is true for the USA, too, but that's another story). Humanity demands justice, and Zionism is turning probably otherwise good Jews into racists and bigots. They can be better, and America should demand better - of itself and of its surrogate in the Middle East.
For peace and justice,
StrivingForJustice AT Yahoo DOT com
Comment: #5
Posted by: Sam Bolivar
Sun May 11, 2008 7:35 AM
Ms Charen, you really need a real history lesson instead of basing your column in myths and lies. Next thing you will say is that the Stein gang and the Haganah were house remodellers instead of the murderers and war criminals they were for killing and driving out of their houses thousands of Palestinians. Yes, PALESTINIANS who had been living in that land before they were evicted or killed by these murderous gangs of zionists.
Untill when are you going to insists in the zionist myths that the most strategic swath of land in the planet "was empty before the zionists arrived". Please, this story doesnt stand to scrutiny. Its is false, a lie, and you are a dupe for believing it.
Comment: #6
Posted by: David
Tue May 13, 2008 11:10 AM
MS. Charen,
I wrote one thing negative about Zion and after almost 10 years publishing my opinions in Louisiana every two weeks, I have been blackballed. Freedom of speach no longer exists. You are allowed to promote your agenda because you say what the Liberal Media wants you to say. Of the 432 essays, in this particular nespaper, only one mentioned Zion. I write abour the BSA, and local politics, but I'm silenced!
Never been to Israel, but to Saudi and Tunisia. Never once did I ever hear a person saying they wanted to nuke Israel, but that they wanted the Church-State of Zion to fall. With our tax dollars we have helped this government to the point of threatening to use a hydrogen bomb, that we gave them, if they are threatened. These are secular Jews...actually, I'm going to put here a response that will never get published in my local paper, owned by Ganette.
Here it is,,,
The New-Zion explored in the taboo of Israel
The more taboos in society, the less freedom of thought there is, and mentioning Israel is a case in point. Any reference sets a barrage of mixed emotion for a place so dear to our collective hearts.
We speak of Israel these days as a Zionist Jewish State, and so it appears to be. But I use the word ‘appear' to indicate that Israel means different things to different people, and not all of it is good. The problem is that the original benign concept of what Zion envisioned has changed.
Stigma and fear, with intentional media erroneousness, is contributing to the possibility of WWIII, and we Americans had better see past the smoke.
The beauty of Judaism comes in many richly colored coats and facets, with considerations of it being a race or religion the primary factor for confusion. A secular Jew, agnostic and non-practicing, is still considered by most a Jew. Secular, to some, means Godless, with other suitable adjectives like skeptic, or atheist. Still, there is no such thing as a secular Christian or Muslim, and that's the rub.
For centuries a Jewish homeland was considered, and at the turn of the century the great majority of both religious and secular Jews thought Israel the perfect place. The difference was the method of acquiring it. Originally a Zionist ‘homeland' inferred not disturbing indigenous populations, where gentle incorporation agreed with ancient textual revelations inferring a Jewish homeland would be given freely. In this way many religions could call Israel a homeland, as all Persian religions got their start in the area. It is indeed inconceivable that true Muslim believers would nuke their own precious sites in Israel, and the world expects a secularist to press that button.
From inception, America advocated separation of Church and State, but here we are with a secular warrior ally who is both. They deny the tolerant Jewish spirit with a biased yellow media and a threatening atom bomb in their back pocket.
The New-Zion is thought invalidated by the rewritten Belfour agreement of 1948, secretly ratified. Hezbollah are the ruminants of those originally exiled, still living in tent cities. Palestinians think themselves occupied, and they deny the New-Zion State's right to exist. The Ideologies of the new secular Zion are duplicated here, dominating America's far left, where liberal secularism is nurtured and thrives, the bane of our Republic.
When confronted, liberal-secularists may cry “anti-Semitic,” validating the taboo, but the truth is this: one can be anti-New-Zion, and not anti-Semitic, and this one resounding truth might finally inspire us to live in peace.
Comment: #7
Posted by: Ken
Wed May 14, 2008 9:33 AM
