An Ol’ Broad’s Ramblings
Rewriting History
“The Jewish leadership accepted the resolution, but the Palestinian and Arab leadership did not, which they had a right to do. What they did not have a right to do was attack the nascent Jewish state with the objective - as they acknowledged at the time - of initiating a ‘war of extermination.’ The result was, therefore, a double Nakba: not only of Palestinian-Arab suffering and the creation of a Palestinian refugee problem, but also, with the assault on Israel and on Jews in Arab countries, the creation of a second, much less known, group of refugees - Jewish refugees from Arab countries.”
IT IS tragic to appreciate that had the Partition Resolution been accepted 60 years ago, there would have been no Arab-Israeli war - no refugees, Jewish or Arab - and none of the pain and suffering since. Indeed, we would have been celebrating the 60th anniversary of both the State of Israel and the State of Palestine.
Moreover, this “double rejectionism,” where Arab leadership was prepared to forgo the establishment of a Palestinian state if it meant countenancing a Jewish state in any borders, not only found expression 60 years ago, but has underpinned the Arab-Israeli-Palestinian conflict ever since.
Yet the revisionist Mideast narrative - prejudicial to authentic reconciliation and peace between peoples as well as between states - continues to hold that there was only one victim population, Palestinian refugees, and that Israel was responsible for the Palestinian Nakba of 1948.
How many school kids know that the Arabs living in the region REJECTED an establishment of a Palestinian state? How many Palestinians even know that they leadership of the time refused to give them a “homeland”. I can pretty much guess….not many, if any, are aware of the rejection.
Simply put, the Arab countries not only rejected a Palestinian state and went to war to extinguish the nascent Jewish state, but also targeted the Jewish nationals living in their respective countries, thereby creating two refugee populations - the Palestinian refugee population resulting from the Arab war against Israel, and the Jewish refugees resulting from the Arab war against its own Jewish nationals.
The hatred of the Jews runs pretty deep. This “war” has never been about the establishment of a state for the Palestinians, it’s always been about hatred of a people, and their destruction. The Arabs learned well from the Nazis.
REGRETTABLY, THE United Nations also bears express and continuing responsibility for this distorted Middle East and peace narrative. Since 1948, there have been more than 130 UN resolutions that have specifically dealt with the Palestinian refugee plight. Yet, not one of these UN Resolutions makes any reference to, nor is there any expression of concern for, the plight of the 850,000 Jews displaced from Arab countries. Nor have any of the Arab countries involved - or the Palestinian leadership involved - expressed any acknowledgement, let alone regret, for this pain and suffering, or for their respective responsibility for the pain and suffering.
It’s not really surprising that the Useless Numnuts continue to foster blame on the Israelis.
This is an extremely interesting opinion piece, and well worth your time to read.
Some extra info: Al-Nabka Day, The Nakba, May 29, 1453, Nakba, The Iron Illusions of Rashid Khalidi.
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