Today is the sixtieth birthday of the State of Israel. Like no other country in the world, Israel provokes a huge reaction amongst its defenders and detractors. Whatever its faults - and it has many - Israel is a bastion for democracy in the Middle East. We would do well to remember that, perhaps more often than we do.
I have no hesitation in congratulating the Israeli people on this anniversary. There are many who thought they would never see the day. So many people - and countries - in the Middle East wish Israel ill, that today marks a real achievement, not just for Israel but also for the concepts of freedom, liberty and democracy.
PS Along with abortion and climate change, this subject always provokes a deluge of hate-filled comments. If anyone is tempted down that road, savw yourself the bother. I won't let them through moderation.
51 comments:
It is not a hate-filled comment to point out that many Palestinians cannot return to their homes [and the Tories in the UK always have strong views about the integrity of property law] and are unable to live on what is, in fact, their land. There is a good film on the New York Times website today on this very topic.
Reading 'Flat Earth News' at the moment, it is alarming to realise that so many young people, and many others under the age of sixty, fail to realise that the 'Occupied Territories' refers to land which was occupied by the Israeli army.
And the media is doing a grand job of 'mushroom management' to keep us in the dark on this topic. You are right to point out that Israel is a democracy, but that means little if one is not also willing to point out that many of its actions in the past aren't very democratic at all.
That said, Israelis need somewhere safe and secure to live - which is why make progress on a route-map to a two-state solution is so vital.
When Israeli forces are killing Palestinian Women, children and journalists, I really feel it's worth it because they are a democracy after all.
The only Arab country with democracy is Iraq, and that is surely an oasis of peace.
I wonder what Ehud Olmert will be putting on to celebrate this occasion ? Where will he be celebrating this important anniversary ?
Been to israel, a very vibrant place with loads of history.Lots of tension in the air though.
Ive just lost so much interest in this blog.
Israel is a democracy?
What about the british soldiers, policemen, and civil servants killed by Israeli terrorists?
Doesn't Israel say it's beset by terrorists on all sides?
So much so that it is forced to drop 1500lb JDAMS on Gaza with predicatably disastrous consequences for children, women and generally anyone in the blast area.
Iain, you really are a joke.
Let us celebrate 60 years of a professional army, one belonging a "democracy", killing children, women and innocent men.
Let us celebrate 60 years of collective punishment meted out to some of the poorest people on earth.
Let us celebrate 60 years of this democracy, a shining oasis of the Arabian peninsula, treating it's Arab citizens as second class. South Africa would be proud.
I had to laugh.
'a bastion of Democracy'
follwed by (forgive me):
'I won't let them through'.
Brilliant:-)
Gary
Yes, congratulations to Israel. Congratulations for killing children who throw stones. Congratulations for bulldozing the homes of remote relatives of suicide-bombers. Congraulations for defying countless UN resolutions. Congratulations for casual killings of the innocent, as an acceptable collateral price for killing a terrorist. Congratulations for keeping Arabs in refugee camps for 60 years. Congraulations for building a protective wall, but building it on 'their' land which was so pitifully small beforehand. Congratulations on allowing Palestinians to die, rather than let them through your border-controls for medical treatment. Congratulations for re-routing water supplies, to make life even more impossible.
Indeed, congratulations for starting the 1967 war. Yes, of course the Arabs were manoeuvring against you. Yes, they may well have launched a strike, but they didn't. What is not in question is that Israel threw the first punch. It was a brilliant pre-emptive strike, but Israel attacked - and still will not return the land occupied in the Six-Day War, in cold defiance of the basic principles of International Law.
And congratulations to the Allies, who allowed the Israelis to get away with all this, because of their guilt for the Holocaust. If they were so damned determined to give Palestine to the Israelis after WW2, why didn't they provide the Arabs with an equivalent acreage of land in Britain, France or the USA? At least then they would have some semblance of dignity.
If someone had occupied *my* land, my house, in the way that Israel has occupied the Arab lands, I wouldn't care what tawdry treaties were waved in my face to justify or validate it. I would not rest, and I would require my children to maintain the family claims, until my property was returned to me.
The Palestinians have suffered an appalling injustice, for which the Western governments should feel ashamed.
Iain what happened to your promise not to let the hate filled comments through? It is saddening to see such a travesty of truth rotting the braincells of so many who consider themselves politically enlightened.
Iain, didn't realise your were in the business of congratualting regimes with a terrible human rights record. Shame on you.
"the concepts of freedom, liberty and democracy..." - I didn't realise these were compatible with land stolen in a smash-n-grab?
Oscar, you should see th dozen or so which I have deleted...
Israel - the manifestation of Allied guilt over WW2 at the expense of people the West doesn't give a shit about.
Israel was (re)born in 1947 with its neighbours vowing to sweep it into the sea so they've been fighting for their survival ever since, which has included preemptive action like the six day war in 1967 or the bombing of the Osirak reactor.
The so-called Palestinians negotiated a settlement and got everything they asked for, and then some, in 1994. Arafat even got the Nobel Peace Prize for heaven's sake.
However the blood soaked Arafat was incapable of governing in peace so he whipped up the intifada.
The other Arab countries could help far more with Gaza etc but it suits them to keep the pot boiling.
Happy birthday Israel, regretfully you have few friends in Europe now.
Iain - 0h dear. I suspected as much. And I really wouldn't want to see them. Conservatives understand the lies of the media when it comes to their own history - the endless distortions about Black Wednesday and Mrs Thatcher saying there's no such thing as society and so on and on and on. But when it comes to Israel people are swallowing equivalent lies wholesale without any knowledge at all of the true history - as clearly evidenced by many of the posts today.
I fully support the rights of Israelis to live in peace and security within the country's pre-1967 borders. Without question or exception. This is also the United Kingdom's policy, and that of the United Nations.
However, as the comments here show, Israel does herself no favours by her continued illegal occupation of the West Bank and Golan Heights - an occupation condemned as illegal by successive British governments, and which will be condemned as illegal by Cameron's government once he's in office.
Furthermore, within those illegally occupied territories, Israel is in breach of international war crimes law in its use of collective punishment, its seizure of private property, its destruction of civilian facilities (many of them funded by the British taxpayer), its debasement of local economic activity, and its subversion of that most precious of middle east resources - Palestine's water.
Oscar Miller said...
"Iain what happened to your promise not to let the hate filled comments through?"
They are not hate filled; more sorrow filled. They are simply describing the reality of the situation in the occupied territories.
In my naive teens (I was born in the mid 40's) I totally SUPPORTED the establishment of Israel after the holocaust.
I applauded Moyshe Dayan for his "iron fist" against "terrorists", and the marauding Arabs. He actually became almost a hero to me.
I applauded the establishment of Kibbutz - because, in my naive and impoverished state, they looked GREAT.
And the PR I was fed always supported that- but without EVER telling me of the Jewish atrocities against the British and the Palestinians!
What I did not THEN know was that Israel was formed as a result of terrorism and US insistence on the implementation of the VERY NAIVE Balfour Treaty of 40 + years earlier.
A "homeland" for the Jews. EXCEPT that MOST Jews choose NOT to go there.
Do NOT get me wrong. I am NOT anti-Jewish OR anti-semitic ( popular conception is that anti-semitism IS against Jews. It ain't. Many, other than Jews, are Semites).
But what, in a rather more analytical state, do I find.
Well the Israeli Jews have STOLEN lands which were never given to them by establishing "settlements" illegally on lands actually OWNED by others. (there IS an argument about whether or not Palestinians should have been arbitrarily displaced to create the State of Israel in th3e first place - and HEY. 2000 or even less years ago MY ancestors OWNED Cornwall - so how about giving it baCK!!!)
THAT is totally disgusting. And DO YOU notice that the "English" accent of MOST Israelis is actually American.
I MAY be wrong but I rather think that AMERICAN greed and the something for nothing attitude of the USA is the REAL problem here
What I AM suggesting, without embarrassment is that MANY
US citizens moved to Israel and then STOLE land which wasn't theirs and CONTINUE to do so.
I am NOT a gambler but I think I would bet my whole worth that MANY "Israelis" still hold US citizenship (and perhaps other) and WILL utilise that if the going gets TOO tough!!! Have your cake AND eat it!
These people appear to prove the idea of the "thieving, Fagan like, Jew.
I am QUITE sure that most Jews, and even Israelis, do NOT fit that unfair stereotype - BUT then there is Israel which, in pockets, most certainly does!!
DO NOT misunderstand. I equally despise Muslims who pursue their 7th century primitive beliefs in a much changed modern world.
I won't go further in this forum except to say that I seriously wonder how it is that modern day intelligent and educated Muslims appear NOT to have sufficient intelligence to question!!!
Sadly the VAST majority of Muslims are neither educated nor intelligent!!!
And if Islam has its way then at least 50% of the Muslim population (ie WOMEN) will never be so.
I could write a PhD thesis now on the Muslim faith!!!
Perhaps I will but rather more have beaten me to it.
And Oh - just to put in context - I once shared a trip to Universal studios in LA with a young (20ish) Israeli , NOT of American descent, who had just left the Israeli Army.
I don't know why he attached himself to me (I was TWICE his age and recently divorced) - except that the others were Aussies on this trip and WE were both traveling alone.
He was a good companion and I felt no rancour whatever towards him even though I by then knew rather more about Israel. I felt sorry for him!
Bewick
In my naive teens (I was born in the mid 40's) I totally SUPPORTED the establishment of Israel after the holocaust.
I applauded Moyshe Dayan for his "iron fist" against "terrorists", and the marauding Arabs. He actually became almost a hero to me.
I applauded the establishment of Kibbutz - because, in my naive and impoverished state, they looked GREAT.
And the PR I was fed always supported that- but without EVER telling me of the Jewish atrocities against the British and the Palestinians!
What I did not THEN know was that Israel was formed as a result of terrorism and US insistence on the implementation of the VERY NAIVE Balfour Treaty of 40 + years earlier.
A "homeland" for the Jews. EXCEPT that MOST Jews choose NOT to go there.
Do NOT get me wrong. I am NOT anti-Jewish OR anti-semitic ( popular conception is that anti-semitism IS against Jews. It ain't. Many, other than Jews, are Semites).
But what, in a rather more analytical state, do I find.
Well the Israeli Jews have STOLEN lands which were never given to them by establishing "settlements" illegally on lands actually OWNED by others. (there IS an argument about whether or not Palestinians should have been arbitrarily displaced to create the State of Israel in th3e first place - and HEY. 2000 or even less years ago MY ancestors OWNED Cornwall - so how about giving it baCK!!!)
THAT is totally disgusting. And DO YOU notice that the "English" accent of MOST Israelis is actually American.
I MAY be wrong but I rather think that AMERICAN greed and the something for nothing attitude of the USA is the REAL problem here
What I AM suggesting, without embarrassment is that MANY
US citizens moved to Israel and then STOLE land which wasn't theirs and CONTINUE to do so.
I am NOT a gambler but I think I would bet my whole worth that MANY "Israelis" still hold US citizenship (and perhaps other) and WILL utilise that if the going gets TOO tough!!! Have your cake AND eat it!
These people appear to prove the idea of the "thieving, Fagan like, Jew.
I am QUITE sure that most Jews, and even Israelis, do NOT fit that unfair stereotype - BUT then there is Israel which, in pockets, most certainly does!!
DO NOT misunderstand. I equally despise Muslims who pursue their 7th century primitive beliefs in a much changed modern world.
I won't go further in this forum except to say that I seriously wonder how it is that modern day intelligent and educated Muslims appear NOT to have sufficient intelligence to question!!!
Sadly the VAST majority of Muslims are neither educated nor intelligent!!!
And if Islam has its way then at least 50% of the Muslim population (ie WOMEN) will never be so.
I could write a PhD thesis now on the Muslim faith!!!
Perhaps I will but rather more have beaten me to it.
And Oh - just to put in context - I once shared a trip to Universal studios in LA with a young (20ish) Israeli , NOT of American descent, who had just left the Israeli Army.
I don't know why he attached himself to me (I was TWICE his age and recently divorced) - except that the others were Aussies on this trip and WE were both traveling alone.
He was a good companion and I felt no rancour whatever towards him even though I by then knew rather more about Israel. I felt sorry for him!
Bewick
Shame you are getting the nutters on. There is much wrong with Israel, but you could say that about any state (including the UK). If we were starting now, I doubt that a 1948 land grab would have been allowed, but we are 60 years on and have to accept this is history. Again, you could say that about the history of a lot of countries (including the UK from the takeover of Scotland through to 19th century imperialism).
The key here is to move towards a peace process from where we are in 2008 and not heark back to what happened in 1948/1967 et al. There is increasing common ground that there should be a Palestinian state and the USA in particular ought to be pressurising Israel into making some concessions to get to that. There will always be anger as a result of 1948 but it is also possible to see some hope.
So, yes congratulations but also a message to make some concessions.
Sixty years of neither one thing nor the other.
If a recognisably Levantine state which happened to have a Jewish majority had been set up in Palestine in 1948, would anyone even have noticed?
But instead, they insisted on setting up a faux-European one, but without the necessary cultural basis: the Christian synthesis of the Old Israel, Hellenism and the Roman Empire, safeguarded by having a Christian majority population, and at least greatly helped by having a European language. Without that basis, there could even be (and there are) legally binding Sharia courts for those born into certain ethnic minorities.
So Israel doesn't look Middle Eastern to the Middle East, and doesn't look Western to the West.
The rest, as they say, is history.
Shalom and God Bless Israel.
Salaam to the Palestinians too, who deserve better treatment!
The difficulty is that people seem to forget that, until recently, Palestinian leaders have never been able to accept yes for an answer!
I won't rehearse the history of the conflict, except to say that, until Isreal was founded, the Palestinian people were leaving the region in droves because it was pretty uninhabitable and fit for nowt. Yasser Araft was born in cairo after his parents left Palestine for exactly this reason.
They only really started to express an interest after Israel started to do something contructive with it. And on this point, much of the land was legally purchased by Jewish philantrophists to be used by settling Jews from eastern europe.
Secondly, Israel tried on numerous occassions to come to a settlement with the Palestinians, but were prevented from doing so, firstly by Arab hard headedness, and secondly by the British! That's why the Isreali defence force took up arms against the British!
Whilst none of this justifies what is currently happening in the region, and I do wish that Israel would stop treating the Palestinians so badly, everything has to be held in its context - Israel have bent over backwards over the years to accommodate Arab wishes, only to have it thrown back in their face, and to have their people terrorised.
People who ask Isreal to show reserve today should try living under constant seige. But, if Israel started to dismantle the illegal settlements, then maybe peace might take root.
Isreal deseerves the right to exist. But so do the Palestinians.
Time to change the dialouge - and both sides have their part to play.
Peter North - you have fallen into the usual trap which is "Isreal = evil. Palestinian = innocent and suffering"!
Read your history books before you come to such ridiculous conslusions.
Jews spent many years tyrying to build a two-state solution in the lead up to the founding of Isreal - but the Palestinians said no!
The palestinains always said no! Look at Hamas today - they are still saying no!
It is not one sided. The palestinians have refused time after time to negotiate and discuss, resorting to terror tactics to bomb Isreal out of existence. This was recognised as a stupid policy by most arab states in the 1970's, when the more sensible Arab states recognised Isreal's right to exist.
Isreal has responded and regulrly over reacts, but you have to undersdtand the historical context which goes back to before Isreal was established.
You should spend ten minutes on the web and read about the what happened before Isreal was founded, and the massacres which the Jews went through at the hands of palestinians - whilst the Jews were livig on land they had legally purchased from Palestinians who were wishing to leave and go elsewhere!
They sold their land to the Jews, then returned a few years later, killed the Jews and claimed their land had been illegally occupied!
Iain - can youi not post a decent but succinct history of the state of Isreal to counter some of the crap that Albert M Bankment et al are posting. Their one sided drivel really does no justice to history. These guys need a history lesson rather then simply regurgitating the usual BBC biased bull!
Anonymous said...
"It is not a hate-filled comment to point out that many Palestinians cannot return to their homes...unable to live on what is, in fact, their land...the 'Occupied Territories' refers to land which was occupied by the Israeli army."
And we're away with the hate, or else with utter ignorance.
The 'Occupied Territories' refers to land that has always been a part of the Land of the Jews aka Palestine. It has been invaded by arabs from Egypt, Jordan Syria etc none of whom have any historical right to be there.
I am deeply disturbed by some of the comments on this thread. The lack of knowledge shown says much for the effectiveness of the last 20 years of pro-Palestinian propaganda that the BBC and others have been pumping out.
Iain, having read the depth of feeling in posts you have allowed on this blog item I am mightly puzzled why you equate the Global Warming debate with the merits or otherwise of the State of Israel?
Are the proponents of Global Warming proposing to gun-down millions?
The saddest thing about the global Warming debate is how the speculations of a small part of the Scientific Community have been taken to be holy writ. Or is that the theological link that so worries you?
People should perhaps wonder why, when British mandate Palestine consisted of the Transjordan, some claim that the Jews were given a disproportionately large portion of land.
People should perhaps wonder why, for the 20 years after 1948, the Palestinians were kept from developing their country. It wasn't due to Israel; Gaza and the West Bank were controlled by Egypt and Jordan.
People should perhaps wonder why, in those 20 years, Arabs continued to mount incursions into Israel without any condemnation by the UN.
People should wonder why when Jordan controlled all of Jerusalem, it allowed Jewish cemeteries to be turned into rubbish dumps.
People should wonder why after the 6 day war, when Israel asked for peace, all the Arab nations repsonded no.
People should wonder why the only expression of statehood to be condemned as racism is the Jewish one.
People should wonder that when the Oslo accords and Camp David II were finally looking like making progress, the Palestinians started the Intifada.
People should wonder why Arab terrorists now launch attacks at schools, from residential areas.
Happy Birthday Israel. May I share a birthday wish for your next sixty years? I hope that you won't have to fight for your survival every day. And I hope the Palestinian people will be treated better by their leaders and Arab governments.
Iain - can I back up Adrian Yallands request for some basic history about Israel to counteract the awful lies and distortions that have clearly done their worst on a section of posters, who I'm sure regard themselves as 'educated'? As Not a Sheep says, the BBC effect has clearly got a grip.
For some real history take a look at Harry's Place for a really well informed post about Israel.
And Happy 60th Birthday Israel. Here's to the next sixty. I don't expect peace - but some understanding would be a start.
The sad thing is that when the UN voted to create Israel, Jerusalem was supposed to be open to all and protected by the UN. This wasn't good enough for the Palestinians and the Arabs who wanted it all for themselves. After the 1967 war, Israel offered all the occupied territories back in exchange for peace with their neighbours; again that wasn't acceptable to the Arabs who wanted it all. Now, 41 years later at last the Palestinians have come to terms and some of them (not Hamas mind you) would accept the Occupied Territories in exchange for peace. Only it's 41 years too late. Pity the poor Palestinians who have backed the wrong horse since before the creation of Israel (e.g. the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem who sided with Hitler) and 70+ years later continue to do so by backing Hamas.
It beats me why anyone could still claim that Hamas has a democratic mandate after their bloody coup last year. They were voted into power on the basis of power sharing with Abbas as president. Since they launched civil war against Fatah they forfeited all legitimacy. Now they've got a grip on Gaza the place is degenerating fast. That's why the humanitarian crisis there has worsened so badly. The Palestinians only voted for Hamas because they fell for their anti-corruption platform, after the excesses of Arafat and his utterly corrupt ways. The real issue in the ME now is moderate anti-islamist governments acting in league against Iranian backed terror. Lebanon, Jordan and Egypt all have as much at stake in this as Israel does. Just look at what is happening in Lebanon right now - with Nasrallah on the rampage.
raedwald and others, Why should Israel give "back" The Golan and Judea and Samaria? You then go on to say that Israel should live in secure 1967 borders. You're mad.
Adrian Yelland has it spot on.
Harry's Place ain't bad for the Israeli side of things but not a s good as Melanie Phillips and Smoothstone.
(Pity Jeremy Bowen's programme the other day was full of Arab bias)
Iain - if I may:
Potted History of Palestine and Israel
Pre-History to the Roman Invasion of 61 BC: Israel lived under various kings and theocratic rulers, and was at various times at war with its neighbours. The Romans invaded to bolster their puppet monarch Herod, who was not seen as a legitimate ruler by many Jews. There were various revolts against Roman rule – until the Romans finally drove out the Jews in AD135. The Romans then named the land Palestinia. Most Jews went into exile (north Africa, Europe and even India), but some remained.
The Ottoman Empire: After the decline of the Roman Empire in the 300s, the Byzantines came to prominence, until 638 when an Arab army invaded Palestine and took Jerusalem. It offered protection to the inhabitants, but saw the beginning of the Arabisation of the region, with many converting to Islam – even though there was no forced conversations at this stage. In 1071, the Turks invaded, but were booted out by a tribe of warriors from Egypt, who also made an alliance with the first crusaders.
However, the crusaders broke their alliance and attacked Jerusalem in 1099 – killing anyone who wasn’t a Christian. Jews and Muslim alike suffered until 1187 when Saladin took Jerusalem, after the Crusaders also broke a treaty with him. There were various continued wars until about 1290, when Muslim rule of Jerusalem was decided, and Jews from north Africa (Seffardic Jews) started to return after having fled the crusaders.
The area was ruled over by various small war lords until the 16th centuary, when the Ottoman Empire captured the region, and invited Jews fleeing persecution to settle in Palestine.
Napoleon and the beginnings of Zionism: in 1798 Napoleon invaded Palestine and both Jews and Muslims fled the region, returning only after the Ottomans restored their reign, although Jews were in a distinct minority – perhaps as little as 5% of the population. This was mostly because the Ottomans turned against he Jews, restricted their property rights and started to forcibly populate the land with Muslims from other parts of the empire.
Despite the restrictions, Jews continued to settle in Palestine, especially as the impact of the French revolution started to bite, and the pogroms in Eastern Europe impacted hard. Many Jews evaded the anti-Jewish Ottoman Empire through bribery and buying land from the Arab/Ottomans who had now settled most of Palestine.
By the turn of the 1900s, the Zionist movement was fully mobilised, and proposed a ‘Jewish homeland’ in Palestine under either Ottoman or German rule. Part of this vision was a land where Jews and Muslim would live in peace within the same state – both protected by the rule of law.
By 1914, the number of Jews in Palestine had grown massively through founding early style Kibutz, but the Muslim population still massively outstripped the Jewish population. Most Jews and Muslims lived peaceably with each other as neighbours in self-determining communities.
The Great War: In WW1, the Ottomans sided with the Axis forces, and after losing the war, Palestine came under British rule, with Lebanon and Syria given to France. However, despite assurances given to the Jews, protecting their property and liberties, the British looked like they might give in to Arab insistence for a free Arab-run Palestine (the Arabs had militated against Ottoman rule during the war, led by Lawrence of Arabia in 1916). However, The Balfour Declaration eventually gave self determination to a free Jewish homeland, probably to annoy the French, on the proviso that non-Jewish inhabitants were respected.
However, the Arabs were less than happy, and pressed for Palestine to be ceded to Syria, with Arabs stating in their submission to the US president and the League of Nations that they found it ‘impossible to live Jews who suck the blood of everybody”! Jews prepared to defend their right to a homeland against impending Arab aggression, but appealed to the international community for help, including petitioning the 1919 Paris Peace Conference.
Eventually, in 1920, Palestine was officially mandated, and Britain was instructed to establish a self governing autonomous state – which worried Jews who were still in the minority in the region and craved protection. However, Britain would encourage Jewish immigration to Palestine – which only fuelled Arab resentment. Furthermore, British attitudes towards the Arabs were schizophrenic, although the idea of a separate Arab homeland was certainly discussed in some detail, recognising that a two-state solution was probably the only way to stop the Arab attacks on the Jews – especially after the 1920, 1921 and 1929 anti-Jewish riots. The Jews tried to stress that the establishment of a Jewish state would not mean a loss of rights for Arabs, but that Arabs and Jews could co-exist with shared power. The Arabs disagreed and pressed for an end to Jewish immigration.
Arab nationalism continued to gain momentum, especially in the 1930’s where Jews increasingly fled persecution in Europe.
In 1936, the British shot a Syrian extremist anti-Jewish preacher who was living in Palestine, and this lead to a huge uprising, financed mostly Italy and Nazi Germany. This lead to the Peel Report, which was the partitioning of Palestine into two states – a state for the Arabs which had the vast majority of the land, and a much smaller one for the Jews. The Jews were in favour, but the Arabs refused to agree, stating they wanted all the land. The British gave in because King Saud of Arabia threatened to side with the Nazi’s if a Jewish state was established.
Post War: There is no doubt that giving in to Arab demands to restrict immigration resulted in Jews not being able to flee Europe to Palestine. Furthermore, there were a quarter of a million displaced Jews in Europe who could not return to their homes. Those who did were often murdered. In 1939, the Labour Government promised to support the establishment of a Jewish state – but later did a U-turn, and redoubled efforts to prevent Jews settling in Palestine.
However, by this time, the Jews decided that they needed to start defending themselves, and a series of underground movements was established to drive out the British, open the border to displaced Jews, and defend themselves against constant Arab attacks.
Therefore, after Jewish attacks on British troops, and pressure from the US, the British finally allowed Jews to resume settling in Palestine, starting with 100,000.
The Arabs reacted badly Рand in a fit of piqu̩, the British decided that Palestine was simply ungovernable, and resigned the mandate, handing over responsibility to UN.
The UN, in 1947, responded by suggesting partition (again). Once again the Jews supported the idea and once again, the Arabs said no! The Jews even agreed to having Jerusalem under UN control – which the Arabs refused to accept. The idea was effectively two fully functioning states, with free trade between the two. The majority of the land would have remained in Arab hands, who still outnumbered the Jews by 2:1.
1948: By 1948, fed up with waiting for the international community to live up to its promises, and fed up with constant attacks from Arab militia and the siege of Jerusalem, Palestine went into a state of effective civil war, which became known as the Nakba – war of Independence. There was massive displacement on both sides and many atrocities were committed by both sides. The British did nothing – and simply sat in their barracks. However, the Arabs had a huge advantage in terms of numbers, and the Haganah – Jewish defenders, who were renamed the Jewish Defence Force after the establishment of Israel, were worried that the Jews would be wiped out by invading Arab forces from neighbouring states.
On May 14, regardless of the fears of invasion, and prompted by the mass migration of both Jews and Arabs, the Jews declared the State of Israel. In response, Syria and Egypt invaded, and Jordon rattled its sabres. The Jews surprised the Arab forces with their determination, and they accepted a cease fire, which the Jews used to recruit and train new soldiers. The war resumed until a UN sponsored ceasefire in 1948, which suggested a defined border for an Israeli state.
Once again, the Arabs refused to accept it!
In 1967 there was the Six Day war, started by the Palestinians (Yasser Arafat), and in response, Israel occupied Sinai, the Golan Heights and the West Bank – claiming this was essential to defend itself against on-going Palestinian aggression.
Once again, Israel pushed for peace. They entered into negotiations with Egypt to demilitarize the Sinia, and withdraw from the Golan Heights – returning them to Syria. However, they insisted on maintaining Gaza for security reason.
Once again, the offer was refused. The Arabs refused to compromise.
This in turn lead to another Arab attack on Israel – the Yom Kippur war. Then the PLO started to take over Lebanon, again threatening Isreal, and PLO attacks became more bloody and more regular.
Then came the first intifada, which existed until the Oslo peace accords in 1994, which the PLO signed, but ignored!
And so it continues – now into the second intifada.
I am not saying if the way the Jews are acting now is justified or not, but there are many occasions where Israel ahs tried to build peace - only for intransigent Arabs to say no!
Adrian Yalland @ 5.04 yesterday
Thanks for the bilious name-check, but I think that the only comment of mine which is open to dispute is that Israel is responsible for keeping Palestinians in refugee camps for 60 years. This was a deliberately provocative elision. Israel is not directly responsible; the continuing existence of camps is more as a consequence of the never-ending dispute/struggle/war.
As others have posted, most of the 'anti' comments here are written more in sadness than hate. The world's Jews assuredly deserve a homeland, and the natural place for that homeland is in the land from which they migrated over centuries. Nevertheless, the matter was handled impetuously and unutterably badly, both by the Yanks, Brits and Frogs and by the Jews themselves.
Were I a Palestinian, I would never stop fighting for the restoration of my property. Were I a Jew, I would fight equally unceasingly to defend my new country. That is the problem! There IS a way through this, to achieve a synthesis, but it requires an entirely fresh and open-minded approach by both sides.
The UN is a totally corrupt organisation and its condemnations are of no interest to any honest person.
The League of Nations may have been ineffective but it was high-minded. The League charged Britain with the creation of a Jewish state in Palestine (aka Land of the Jews). Churchill, for it was he, then betrayed that trust by giving most of Palestine to Jordan. That is 'the two state' solution. The only effect of that was to encourage the genocidal Arabs to launch war and terrorism against Jews.
Why Israel bothers trying to supply anything to the Islamic terrorists in Gaza I cannot imagine. Especially as the Islamics bomb the border posts whenever Israel opens them. Even the Arabs hate these Islamic terrorist nutters. Israel should copy Egypt and completely seal the borders and let them starve until and unless they learn to behave themselves.
Tour de force of a potted history Adrian. Thanks.
Is it true about the Jews buying the land and the Arabs then claiming it had been stolen?
(I am pro-Israel, by the way, so this is a genuine question, not a challenge)
Oscar - thanks.
Everyone else - Israel understand what it is to suffer persecution, and I think reacts with amazing self control in the face of near constant anti-Israeli terrorism. The trouble is that the medja - Orla Guerin are you listening - have no understanding of history, and have no idea just how impossible the Arabs and the Palestinians have been to deal with.
Israel occupies less than 2% of the land of the middle east, and is the region's strongest democracy. It has turned a once-inhospitable backwater of the Ottoman empire into a prosperous haven - and most Isreali-living Palestinians wouldn;t change their lot for all the cedars of Lebanon!
The camps however are another matter. Yes, they are unsightly, and yes they are cruel places to live - but they are breeding grounds for anti-Jewish sentiment. Most liberally minded Jews want to establish normal peaceful relationships with the Palestinians - but are prevented from doing so because the Palestinians have pained themselves into a corner through their own intransigence and poor leadership.
The wise Palestinian would now recognize that Israel has a legitimate right to exist, and that both Israel and Palestine can not only co-exist, but thrive together.
Isreal is desperate for peace - it spends too much of its GDP on defence, and wants a lasting solution. The trouble is, the Arabs never know when to take yes for an answer, and are utterly unreliable as partners in a peace process.
Therefore, whilst Israel is capable of doing some pretty horrid things, you kinda get the feeling that if you were in their shoes......
If the medja want to do something positive, then they should be encouraging the Palestinians to ditch Hamas (who have overstepped their mandate), and get around the negotiating table to hammer out a proper settlement.
Instead, the liberal meja simply prolong the issue by giving succor to the nutters!
Talia - yes that is absolutely true. Land was often sold for exorbitant rates by absentee Arab landlords. Palestinian tenants got shafted by their own and Jews got the blame - so no change there.
Oscar
Talia said...
"Is it true about the Jews buying the land and the Arabs then claiming it had been stolen?"
Yes.
When the Arabs launched their invasion of Israel they advised (i.e. ordered) arabs living in Jewish lands to leave the area. Many of those people subsequently chose to sell their land/property to Jews.
Adrian Yalland said...
"The camps however are another matter."
The Arab states ensured those camps remained in place as a breeding ground for Islamic terrorism against Israel and the West. This was a deliberate choice by the Arab states, it was not an accident.
The people in those camps could easily be resettled in Arab countries. They have been kept in poverty as a political choice of the Islamic world. A choice that some of those governments now partially regret as they recognise the monster they have created.
Greens Against the Boycott
And
Obama
It is my assertion that when you look around at the world today, Israel stands as a beacon amid a morass of confusion. She stands at the very front line in the war against international terror and the defence of freedom.
We should celebrate Israel’s proud anniversary and realise that the day that Israel is defeated will mark the beginning of the end for the America and the Britain that we know.
As a consequence we should at this moment stand shoulder to shoulder with Israel in her struggle against the forces of terrorism lest they gain the victory in the future.
Happy Anniversary Israel.
Am Israel Hai! (Israel Lives!)
On the subject of refugees it is worth noting that Palestinians are the only people allowed to be classified as refugees for more than one generation. Special UN dispensation allows their refugee status to be inherited - which could go on in perpetuity. At that rate nearly all of us would be refugees. And as Anon @ 11.41 says - the camps have been deliberately maintained to produce fodder for terror attacks. They've been stranded without rights and citizenship as pawns in what was an evil PLO strategy - now kept up by the new wave of Islamists. The kind of abuse of human rights the Left should be shouting about. I wonder why they don't?
PS Regarding buying the land - Jews were buying land in Palestine from the early twentieth century (well before 1948) - often malaria swamps which they cleared at great personal cost.
It's sad to see that Israeli terrorists with their terrorist American friends celebrating 60 years of violence, terror, illegal occupation, rape, murder, demolition and many more crimes committed on the Palestinian people.
Human rights watch have declared Israel as the only country in the world to break all international peace agreements (despite Hamas seizing fire), Rev Desmond Tutu sees the situation in Palestine as that of African Apartheid, Academics have seen strains of Nazi like ideology by Israeli gunmen.
Ethnic cleansing seems to be paramount and evident under all Israeli regimes (by the way every Israeli PM and President have been part of the Israeli army).
The evidence is out there stop getting information from your television screens and tabloid (even some broadsheets) newspapers will lead to evident bias, wake up and realise the truth before it's too late.
If there’s any freedom on this website my comment will be posted, if not clearly we can see there is only one agenda pro-Israeli comments only.
Anonymous said...
"It's sad to see that Israeli terrorists..etc etc"
It's sad to see mindless repitition of lies, bigotry, and distortion. The fact that Israel is the victim of a sustained campaign of genocide by Islamic and Marxist terrorists is clear to anyone who values truth.
Anonymous @ 11.08
I see you can only regurgitate slogans about 'ethnic cleansing' rather than actually deal in facts - clearly you have not read/are unable to deal with all the points made in the posts on Israel's history.
Anon@11.08: Yawn! Boring! Change the record - or better still, turn it over and play the other side. You might hear a different story!
Israel has repeatedly tried to create a peaceful relationship with the Arabs. But they can never accept yes for an answer!
Instead, they wage some phoney war, and gullible idiots like you lap it up.
If you love the Palestinians so much - go spend some time living there. You might see a different story to the one you get from the Guardian and the BBC!
Also, read some history before spouting off. It makes you look more credible to others, rather than just some pumped up apologist for Arab murderers on speed!
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