Surrounding Arab States, Not Native Arabs Incensed Over Israel's Creation

Nadene Goldfoot
On the eve of the establishment of Israel, May 14, 1948, a war broke out when the Arab states and the Arab Higher Committee rejected the United Nation's Partition Plan, Resolution 181 ( November 29, 1947) of the General Assembly.  These Arab states threatened to use force to prevent the implementation of the resolution and did.  Israel's War of Independence was the first of many between the State of Israel and her neighboring Arab countries. Israel found themselves up against 5  regular Arab armies;  Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan, Syria and Iraq.   On the 13th of May there were still 100,000 British troops stationed in Palestine but their policy was not to intervene except to keep the British forces safe.

 The native Arabs living in Palestine were being manipulated by their brethren just like pawns in a chess game.   This was the first offering by the Jews through the United Nations of two states, Jewish and Muslim and it was refused.  The plan was taking place on land originally decided and stipulated by the League of Nations to be the Jewish National Homeland.  The new offer was a disappointment to the Zionist leaders as well, but they were desperate to have their own state, and something was better than nothing.  This first war lasted until January 5,1949.  It was 7 months of intense fighting with a few  truces, one of which was 28 days from June 10th to July 18th 1948.

By the time it stopped, Israel had 6,373 deaths including about 4,000 soldiers.  That was almost 1% of the total population of 650,000.  (Moses had taken 600,000 Israelites out of Egypt.) The Arabs suffered 2,000 the death of about 2,000 regular invading troops and  and unknown number of irregular Palestinian forces.  They never agreed to a truce and continued harassing against Jewish forces and villages in the north.  It was Egypt who had agreed on January 5, 1949, to negotiate for an armistice which the UN demanded on November 16, 1948.  Jamal Abdel Nasser was in an Egyptian brigade that was cut off in a small pocket around Falouja.

Israel had been able to reopen the road to the south and capture Be'er-Sheva on October 21.  Egyptian forces had been cut off from their bases.  Israel had an army of 100,000 troops, which was awesome considering they had 600,373 people, many of which had just come out of the holocaust.

The Jewish section of my old city of Safed in the Galilee, had been under siege.  Jews had continually lived there as had Jews in Jerusalem.  The Hagana managed to briefly reopen the road to Jerusalem and its Jewish section, captured all of Tiberias below Safed, Haifa and other places.  British intervention,  which wasn't to be allowed by their own rules, prevented the conquest of Jaffa.  The city later surrendered in May.  This is a good example of the fact that Britain was given the mandate "job" of carrying out the wishes of the League of Nations to establish the Jewish National Home and worked against it.

The Syrian army had captured Masada,  originally Herod the Great's Palace and fortress,  the site now used to induct Israel's soldiers into the IDF.  It is on the eastern edge of the Judean Desert overlooking the Dead Sea.   This was where the last stand took place in 73 CE against the Romans where the Jews, on top of a high mountain had taken refuge.  Instead of allowing the Romans to rush and kill them all unmercifully, they decided on a mass suicide.  When the Romans entered, they found all 960 people were dead.

An interesting aspect of this is that the Druze, a light-skinned people with their own religion, a form is Islam which the Muslims sneer that they are idolaters, had started to fight with the Muslims and then switched and fought with the Israelis.  Today they are still on Israel's side and are some of its greatest champions.  They live in their own towns and marry within themselves and are wonderful Israeli citizens.  They also serve in the IDF while Israel up to now has not asked Israeli Muslims to do, but this is on the table for change to include all Israeli citizens.

Resource:  http://www.knesset.gov.il/holidays/eng/independence_day_war.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masada
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/History/1948_War.html
Book: Genesis 1948:  The First Arab-Israeli War by Dan Kurzman  1970 2nd edition

Jews Cheated Out of Land to be Jewish Homeland: Facts of History of Palestine and Israel

                                                                                                                                                                                   
Nadene Goldfoot
All of Palestine was designated as a "Jewish National Home."  This was done legally through international law at the end of WWI in the Balfour Declaration on November 2, 1917.  What happened and how come the Jews wound up with only 20% of land to be theirs once again?  The Jews even had the agreement of King Feisal, king of Iraq and Syria  that it would work out for the Jews to return to their land.  He was one of the leaders who fought against the Ottomans.

"Understanding that Jews and Arabs would have to live together in the Land of Israel, Weizmann strove to create peaceful coexistence between the two peoples. Thus he met in Aqaba with Emir Faisal, leader of the Arab national movement. Faisal expressed sympathy for the Zionist cause, which he felt was similar to the Arabs’ national aspirations."  Weizmann was influenced by Theodore Hertzl, a secular Jewish Austrian reporter  who envisioned a Utopia for Jews.  Hertzl had written "Der Judenstaat" (The State of the Jews) outlining his ideas.

The British held the mandate and were trusted to follow out the rules.  Instead, they gave state domain lands, allocated for the "Jewish National Home,"  to those Arabs who were landless.  They did not own any land, but they claimed they were being "displaced by Jews" in Western Palestine.  The outcome was that land outside the limited Jewish-settled area of Western Palestine was then treated as "Arab" land which was more than 80% of the promised to the Jews' land.

These same Arabs did not think of themselves or even call themselves "Palestinians."  The bulk of all the Arab peasantry in the area came from East Palestinian, Syrian, Iraqi, Egyptian and other neighboring states and had been landless due to the feudal-like societal structures of their own native-born people.  That, along with natural disasters, heavy taxation and corrupt loan sharks kept them poor.  It was not the Jews who were native to the land or the Jews who arrived in the 1880's that who made the Arabs landless.

The traditional land of Palestine included land both east and west of the Jordan River.  The few Arabs that lived there thought of themselves as Ottomans or Turks, as the land had been held by the Ottomans for the past 400 years.  Some also thought of themselves as southern Syrians or as Arab people..  None said they were Palestinians.

They were imbued with religious prejudice, and erupted into anti-Jewish violence often whenever their Muslim leaders would incite them.  This happened way before Israel was created in 1948.   After 1917 with the British in the area, they were referred to by the British as being "Nationalistic"-which was in truth subterfuge  to be  anti-Semitic.  The effendis and the Mufti tried to also incite this "nationalism" which meant attacks on Jewish civilians.  T.E. Lawrence did his part also in creating nationalistic feelings among the Muslims, a leftover from inspiring them to fight with him.

The charges from Palestinian leaders of today that the Palestinian people have had an identity with the land that goes back thousands of years is false.  A few nomadic people lived in the land in the 1860's (note Mark Twain's book "The Innocents Abroad".)  It was he and his friends who were the innocents, wanting to visit Palestine who answered the flier saying to join the excursion to the Holy Land and Egypt, the Crimea, Greece, and intermediate points of interest starting in Brooklyn, February 1, 1867.  They took a first-class steamer that would hold 150 passengers.  He gave an excellent description of what he saw.

The charge that alien Jews returned after 2000 years in 1948 to "displace" the Arabs in the new Jewish state is not true.  First of all, Jews hadn't all left in 70 CE.  There were a remnant who remained and were there to greet newcomers who returned throughout the 2,000 years.  Secondly, the plans Chaim Weizmann drew up for Israel included Arabs who were on the land at the time.  It was to be a state second to none as a Utopia. Instead, they were consistently greeted with gunfire.

Palestinians charge that there was no place for them in 1948.  The land to which Arab refugees moved in 1948 included lands that many Arab refugees had only recently left in order to gain the economic  advantages of the small Jewish region within Palestine.  These homelands where they originated included Jordan.  Those who deprived these Arab refugees of homes were the Arab-Muslim leaders.  Neighboring Arab states refused to grant citizenship to those they called their Arab brothers, so they wound up in camps where they reside today.  .  Arab who did not leave when their leaders told them to became citizens of Israel.

Unfortunately, the British treated the land designated to be the Jewish National Home as Arab Land.  The Jews who tried to immigrate during WWII before and after were brutally restricted while the Brits allowed illegal Arab immigration to enter.  Therefore the Brits violated the International League of Nations Mandate by facilitating Arab settlement onto Jewish-settled land and treating the Jews terribly.  (Read "Exodus" by Leon Uris).  They helped to build up the Arab population this way.
                                                           Weizmann and King Feisal

Perhaps King Feisal was not alone in his ability to see that Jews re-entering and developing their homeland would be good for Arabs as well, but these good people have been overcome by religious zealots who have pieced out the anti-Semitic clauses in the Koran and uphold them more than even the Arab countries that hosted Jews for the past 2,000 years as Dhminnis.  All good intentions of Weizmann and other Zionists of his day have been attacked by hatred from the Arab people, except that we see 1.4 million Arabs living as citizens in Israel today and living far better than their neighbors.    Weizmann and Feisal's dreams are working.

Resource: book:  From Time Immemorial by Joan Peters page 392-393.
The Innocents Abroad by Mark Twain
http://www.eretzyisroel.org/~samuel/feisal1.html  about King Feisal
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balfour_Declaration
http://www.mygen.com/users/ufo/Israel_gets_the_Bomb.html
http://suite101.com/article/theodor-herzl-the-dreyfus-affair-and-modern-zionism-a407378

Romney Spoke In Israel: Palestinians' Excuse for Not Being Productive

Nadene Goldfoot
It seems that the Palestinians took offense when Romney spoke in Israel pointing out the differences in economic vitality between Israel and the Palestinians.  He mentioned that as he looked at the city and thought of the accomplishments of the people of Israel, he recognized the power of at least culture and a few other things.  He cited the innovative business climate and the Jewish history of thriving in difficult circumstances.

Palestinian Labor Minister Ahmed Majdalani called the statement "a clear racist spirit."  He felt insulted.  The Palestinians noted that Romney wasn't addressing the stifling effect of Israel's occupation and used that as an excuse as to why they were not a productive group of people.  What kind of spirit do the Muslim Religious Leaders display by putting fatwas on all Jews everywhere to be killed?  How racist can they get?

I would reply that if they put their energy into work instead of bombing Israel with missiles, mortars and rockets constantly, they could become a different productive culture as well, but right now their culture is all wrapped up in doing in Israel!  How dare he use "occupation" as a crutch.  The only reason restrictions have come about is because of their murderous behavior towards all Israelis.  Saeb Erekat, senior Palestinian official is now blaming Romney's comments as hurting the US efforts to restore Washington's standing in the Muslim and Arab world.  Well, what was it getting the USA?  Were the Palestinians coming to the peace table with Netanyahu?  No!  Nothing Hillary was saying induced them to respond in a positive way.

Israel does not want to have to deal with war, contrary to other's beliefs.  "As Golda Meier had said, "We hate war. We do not rejoice in victories. We rejoice when a new kind of cotton is grown, and when strawberries bloom in Israel."  This is a far different culture than what the Palestinian Arabs have developed.

The Palestinians interestingly reminded readers that there are 57 Muslim and Arab countries while US diplomats are exerting every effort to explain their position.  I think Romney has far more knowledge of the region  than Obama ever has had, so they are in for a surprise, which they just realized.  57 Muslim countries exist and they want to add one more-Palestine.  I'm behind times;  I only had listed 48 Muslim majority countries.  Who else are they counting?  Are they including England and France already?

Israel withdrew all Jewish people from Gaza in 2005 in the offer of peace, and what they got instead was the slap in the face of bombings.  Their homes became the grounds from which death-harboring rockets were fired from.  Any restriction of trade and movement there is due to their bringing in these weapons to use on Israel.  They refuse to have any peace pact with Israel or live in any sort of peaceful life such as Mexico, the USA and Canada enjoy, or England and France, etc.  It's a state of war.  The same goes for Judea and Samaria.  Fatah and Hamas have joined together in their desire to destroy Israel.  What do they expect?  They are receiving far better treatment than they ever gave to Jews who had lived in Muslim lands.  Their people are existing by being on the dole with the United Nations!

They speak of Occupation.  It was Jordan who occupied Transjordan and took it over when it was originally planned by Britain who held the Mandate to be part of the Jewish National Home, and then Britain gave in to them because of their demanding nature and Britain wanting to keep a hand in the Middle East.  Then Jordan occupied Judea and Samaria illegally, as that certainly was to be part of the Jewish National Home as well, having been the original Judah.  Jews had lived in Gaza since the beginning of Jewish history and that was given up for a peace we didn't receive as well.

Jews have treated Palestinians like people, but it hasn't been reciprocated.  What they teach their children in schools is disgusting.    In Muslim countries like Syria, Jews were less than 3rd rate non-citizens.  They were called "dhimmis" and had to pay special taxes.  Testimony against Muslims didn't count in courts.  They were forbidden to ride a horse to town; forbidden to wear Muslim clothing; forbidden to carry arms; prohibited to build or repair places of worship.  They were oppressed, suffered from extortion and violence by local authorities and the whole Muslim population.

In Aleppo in the 19th century, money was extorted by officials on every pretext, petty bullying was a commonplace thing, and if a Jew walked in the market, people would throw stones at him, trying to kill him.  Others might try to pull his beard or his ear locks, spit on his face and just be an abused person.  By 1831, Christians had full equality but not Jews.  1840 saw an economic slump in Syria so that they pulled out the Damascus blood libel.  In the 1850's Christians were treated with violence again.  1936 saw anti-Jewish riots on Jews in Damascus and again in the late 30's.  Jews were stabbed by activist Muslims.  By now a Nazi delegation visited Damascus so that propaganda grew and German and Arab youth organizations developed and were against Jews.  As it turned out, Jews were held prisoners in Syria and not allowed to leave, and if they tried, were killed.

One of the differences in cultures is another comment that Golda Meier said that is quite deep.  "When peace comes, we will perhaps in time be able to forgive the Arabs for killing our sons, but it will be harder for us to forgive them for having forced us to kill their sons."  I think Romney recognizes this difference quite easily.

Resource:  http://www.boston.com/news/world/middleeast/articles/2012/07/30/romney_angers_palestinians_with_pro_israel_comment/?page=2
Book:  From Time Immemorial by Joan Peters, page 60-65 on Syria
http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Golda_Meir