Israelis Have Paid Dearly For Israel

by Nadene Goldfoot

Back in 1948, Jews in the newly created state of Israel were attacked by the surrounding Arab nations. We lost 7,000 to 10,000 Israelis in that war. That’s more than one out of every hundred Jews who were living there at the time. The Arabs lost even more men.

During the Six Day War Israel lost only 800 out of a population of 2.5 million. Israel had a greatly well-trained army by then.

For starters, people moving back to the area of Palestine bought the land. It’s been in our oral prayers for the past 2,000 years to return to our land of Israel, and we finally organized ourselves and got there after our long absence. Even though we had legitimate claims to the land, being the original dwellers, buying land from present-day owners, getting the official sanctions from the newly formed U.N., and even facing a holocaust that wiped out six million of us, we were attacked for needing to be there. Amazingly, we won and survived.

Back before 1948, we had no army. We actually were fighting from November 1947 to the invasion of Palestine by regular Arab armies in May 1948. We had defenders, though. One group was the Stern Group, with the Chief of Intelligence Stanley Goldfoot. When the attack of 1948 broke out, we had all sorts of problems to contend with. Jordan, also a newly created state, had a British-commanded Arab Legion who came at us with artillery, tanks and planes but did not know how to use them like we later did. We didn’t even receive arms until the middle of the battle and won due to "an unyielding spirit" more than to military equipment or proficiency. We weren’t about to let such a monumental occasion of becoming a state again after 2,000 years go by the wayside.

Teen-aged Jewish girls and Jewish children of age 10 and 11 fought next to our men. Our Jewish communities were attacked by Arab peasants with no military training as well as their present day armies. Luck or, I would like to think Ha-Shem, played a part in our winning the battle.

There was a Molotov cocktail that struck a leading Arab tank. Whoever tossed it from our side wasn’t even a baseball player. We had problems with our fighters being from so many different countries that they didn’t understand each other’s language so had a hard time following directions. It’s just really amazing that we did win.

One story that came out from Safed, my Israeli home-town is related by Dov Silverman. It's another miracle story. When the Arabs left Safed they really expected to return which their leaders told them would happen. Most took the route of the Wadi Amud which passed the water pumping station built by the British. If they had blown it up, it would have been terrible for the Jews there as it was the beginning of summer and everyone would have had to leave because of not having any water. They had left it alone because they expected to be able to return, victorious and take over the city. That water pump is still in use today.

We’ve gone through a lot to get where we are today, and yet we’re still being threatened. We’ve given so much to the world in the field of medicine and other sciences, but are not the favored child of many countries anymore. Now when we defend ourselves from constant attacks, we are condemned for it. Though the world has become unfair and kowtows to the Arab states who hold much of the world’s oil, we cannot give up hope. We’ve just begun to fight.

Resource: Book: Genesis 1948 by Dan Kurzman
Book: Legends of Safed by Dov Silverman

Why Palestine Was Not Created in 1948

After WWII was over, everyone realized what happened in the Holocaust and the British wanted to find a resolution for Palestine so that Jews could have a homeland of their own. They tried to work out an agreement with the Arabs and Jews. the Arab would not make any concessions. The British then turned the problem over to the UN in February 1947.

They in turn created a Special Commission of Palestine to find a solution. 11 nations's delegates went to Palestine and thought the problem could not be found. The Arabs were unsure of the justice of their cause compared to the Jews or were afraid to go along with the judgment of the nations.

The delegates returned to the UN and 7 nations, Canada, Czechoslovakia, Guatemala, The Netherlands, Peru, Sweden and Uruguay recommended the establishment of 2 separate states, Jewish and Arab, joined by economic union with Jerusalem being internationalized. 3 nations: Indian, Iran and Yugoslavia, recommended one state with Arab and Jewish provinces. Australia did not vote.

The Jews living in Palestine were not happy with the condensed piece of land from the Commission or were they happy about Jerusalem cut off from the Jewish State, but...they welcomed the compromise. The Arabs rejected the recommendations.

The UN General Assembly's ad noc committee rejected the Arabs who wanted a unitary Arab state. The recommendation for partition was adopted 33 to 13 with 10 nations not voting on November 29, 1947. Voting against the partition was: Afghanistan, Cuba, Egypt, Greece, India, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkey and Yemen. The nations that did not vote at all were Argentina, Chile, China, Columbia, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Honduras, Mexico, UK and Yugoslavia.

I am really surpised that the UK did not vote and vote for the partition. They had written the Balfour Doctrine giving a much larger portion of land to be the future Israel. I suppose they were trying to appease the Arabs, who had power in oil. They say that everything is planned, and that things happen for a purpose. I am happy that we Israelis accepted what little we got in an almost done deal of the Balfour Doctrine. Our leaders figured that something was better than nothing and made the most of what they received. After 60 years we see that the Palestinian Arabs still have not accepted a deal and go without the state they had in mind. If this were an Aesop's fable, I would say that it doesn't pay to be so greedy and hateful.

Resource: Mitchell Bard: did the United Nations Unjustly Partition Palestine?