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THE JOURNAL TIMES
May 31 2010
LETTERS
A painful analogy
Human groups often find other peoples to be in the way of their
aspirations. European immigrants destroyed Indian nations in America;
Ottoman Turks removed Armenians by deportation and massacre; Nazi
Germany killed six million Jews and millions of others. In such
disasters, tribal interests and raw power tend to prevail. For over
a century, a similar struggle has taken place in Palestine. Al-Nakba,
an event in that struggle, is painfully remembered by Palestinians.
The British sought to keep peace between the indigenous Arabs and
the immigrating Jewish population following WWI. Terrorism by Jewish
groups, some led by future Prime Minister Menachem Begin, led the
British to abandon the mandate and leave the problem to the United
Nations.
In November 1947, the U.N. General Assembly voted 33 to 13 (with
10 abstentions, including the United Kingdom and China) to divide
Palestine into a state for Israel and one for the Palestinians. No
Arab nation supported the resolution since it in effect stole land
from peoples who had lived there for centuries.
Al-Nakba (The Catastrophe) took place in 1948. Benny Morris, a Jewish
historian, researched the events. (Google "Benny Morris Haaretz")
He concludes that Israeli forces were ordered by Ben-Gurion's team
to expel Palestinians and destroy villages. The violence resulted in
"about a dozen" cases of rape, usually ending in murder, some 800
Palestinians massacred, and 750,000 Arab Palestinians driven from their
homes and villages. Hence, the Arabic term "Al-Nakba." Since 1948,
Israel has stolen more Palestinian land. Morris supports the strategy
of ethnic cleansing or "transfer." He notes that immigrants to America
annihilated Indians in order to possess the land. A painful analogy.
Worldwide peace groups, Jewish and non-Jewish, hope that tribal
interests and raw power might somehow be trumped by justice. In the
meantime, Palestinians remember Al-Nakba.
From: A. Papazian
May 31 2010
LETTERS
A painful analogy
Human groups often find other peoples to be in the way of their
aspirations. European immigrants destroyed Indian nations in America;
Ottoman Turks removed Armenians by deportation and massacre; Nazi
Germany killed six million Jews and millions of others. In such
disasters, tribal interests and raw power tend to prevail. For over
a century, a similar struggle has taken place in Palestine. Al-Nakba,
an event in that struggle, is painfully remembered by Palestinians.
The British sought to keep peace between the indigenous Arabs and
the immigrating Jewish population following WWI. Terrorism by Jewish
groups, some led by future Prime Minister Menachem Begin, led the
British to abandon the mandate and leave the problem to the United
Nations.
In November 1947, the U.N. General Assembly voted 33 to 13 (with
10 abstentions, including the United Kingdom and China) to divide
Palestine into a state for Israel and one for the Palestinians. No
Arab nation supported the resolution since it in effect stole land
from peoples who had lived there for centuries.
Al-Nakba (The Catastrophe) took place in 1948. Benny Morris, a Jewish
historian, researched the events. (Google "Benny Morris Haaretz")
He concludes that Israeli forces were ordered by Ben-Gurion's team
to expel Palestinians and destroy villages. The violence resulted in
"about a dozen" cases of rape, usually ending in murder, some 800
Palestinians massacred, and 750,000 Arab Palestinians driven from their
homes and villages. Hence, the Arabic term "Al-Nakba." Since 1948,
Israel has stolen more Palestinian land. Morris supports the strategy
of ethnic cleansing or "transfer." He notes that immigrants to America
annihilated Indians in order to possess the land. A painful analogy.
Worldwide peace groups, Jewish and non-Jewish, hope that tribal
interests and raw power might somehow be trumped by justice. In the
meantime, Palestinians remember Al-Nakba.
From: A. Papazian