Bush In Israel: Standing With One Side
Air Force One is traveling back in time Tuesday, banking low near the southern Mediterranean coast and touching down on contested soil where the past is always present. In the Holy Land, the battles over historical narrative -- above all, the meaning of the founding of Israel in 1948 -- are as hard-fought as the contemporary struggles over West Bank settlers, Palestinian refugees, and negotiations for a two-state solution. For the observer, or self-described "honest broker" in a long and bitter dispute, identifying with only one side's history carries profound meaning of its own.
Yet when President Bush steps off his plane to help Israel mark its 60th birthday, he will stride firmly into the past of one side. Officials of the Jewish state will sweep the president into their own powerful and compelling narrative: The birth of Israel from the ashes of the Holocaust on May 14, 1948; the invasion of the state, a day later, from Arab armies marching from the north, south, and east; and the loss of fully one percent of the Jewish state's population, in a fierce defense that evokes Israel's unofficial motto: Never again.
What the president won't hear is the Palestinian story. He won't be told that one side's "War of Independence" is the other side's "Nakba," or Catastrophe. And no one is likely to mention that Israel's heroic survival was, to the Arabs, a dispossession in which 750,000 Palestinians fled or were driven out of their homes.
Here, then, is a brief "Nakba" primer for the President, a chronicle of the untold to accompany him on his visit to Jerusalem.
In the spring of 1948, waves of fear gripped Arab Palestine following the April 9 massacre of more than 120 unarmed Palestinians by extremist Jewish militias in the village of Deir Yassin, near Jerusalem. Thus, even before the war officially began, Arab villagers were fleeing for safer ground, fully intending to return when the fighting stopped.
Later that month in the Galilee, Yigal Allon, commander of the elite Jewish brigade known as the Palmach, implemented a plan to spread more fear among the local Arabs. Allon would write later that he gathered Jewish leaders "who had ties with the different Arab villages, and I asked them to whisper in the ears of several Arabs that giant Jewish reinforcements had reached the Galilee and were about to clean out the villages...[and] to advise them, as friends, to flee while they could...the flight encompassed tens of thousands. The stratagem fully achieved its objective."
The next month, May 1948, a similar campaign took hold in the village of Na'ani, according to local Arab and Israeli sources, when a Jewish neighbor rode into town on horseback, shouting "The Jewish army is coming! You must leave, or you will all be killed!" The villagers fled en masse, many coming a few miles north to the Arab town of Ramle. There, they hoped, it would be safe.
Two months later, on July 12, Israeli forces overwhelmed local Arab defenders and occupied the refugee-choked Ramle (now the Israeli city of Ramla) and neighboring Lydda (now Lod). The same day they began expelling the Arabs of the two towns. According to the memoirs of Yitzhak Rabin, then a young Israeli major, the orders came directly from Israel's first prime minister, David Ben-Gurion. Three days later, Ben-Gurion wrote in his diary, "there are 30,000 refugees moving along the road between Ramle and Lydda..they are demanding bread..."
The people of Ramle and Lydda had left in haste and packed little, unprepared for a long hike across stony ground of cactus and Christ's thorn in mid-summer temperatures that reached 100 degrees. Decades later, old men and women in refugee camps would recall, above all, thirst: of quenching it with stagnant water found in old wells; with the drying kernels of a leftover corn harvest; and, in some cases, with their own urine. John Bagot Glubb, the British commander of the Arab Legion, would write that "nobody will ever know how many children died."
Sixty years later, the Nakba lies at the core of Palestinians' identity, and of their view of history and justice. Official U.S. ignorance of that, passed down through generations and embodied in President Bush's visit only to the Israeli side, has, unsurprisingly, angered Palestinians.
"It's a slap in the face," said Diana Buttu, a prominent Palestinian analyst in the West Bank told the New York Times adding that the U.S. is essentially saying: "You have no history, and your past does not matter."
But more than the insult or even stupidity of such a one-sided position is the tactical bungling of an administration that wants to be seen as a fair arbiter of a long-standing dispute. That's pretty hard to do, if all you can see is one side's pain and glory.
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The US govt, bush administration (as well as the previous clinton administration) and the US MSM all display a one sided view/policy in the israeli/palestinian situation - and this contributes to the problems in that situation.
Israel's adopting the US model toward Native Americans, is not working... nor will giving Palestinians casinos.
Governor Rudy's reply: "Blowback? Blowback? Why, I oughtta pound you...and for two cents, I would, for the love of Mike! These kinds of comments smack of anti-Americanism, and since I don't see a flag pin on your lapel, I consider you to be unpatriotic! How dare you to print the truth for all to read! America's ongoing attempt to suppress the truth, revise history and brainwash our populace is being hindered by people like you -- enlightened, intelligent, open- and fair-minded people who recognize America's sins, including our biased support for Israel (to the detriment of the Plaestinia
Israel NEVER adopted the US model twoards "Native" Americans.
You are correct. The US model NEVER errected walls around the reservations. However, restricting and blocking the basic necessities of life is an apt comparison.
You forget that at that very time, FIVE Arab armies, Lebanon, Syria, Transjorda
The lie that the Arabs were just peacefully sitting there while the evil JEWS (who those poor innocent Nazis were trying to get rid of) went around killing people for the fun of it, is just that, a lie.
Sure there were "artocities", there was a savage war of liberation going on, but they were on both sides, and the simple fact is, is that Israel WON the war. If the agressors lose a war of agression, then there are consequences. The real "nabqua" was that the Arabs refused to make peace, and made sure their Arab brothers and sisters rotted in "refugee camps" for decades and decades and decades.
the real enimies of the Palestinians are, in fact the Arabs.
With the aid of the internet people are doing their own research and many are turning away from support for Israels policies. Your statements are not based in fact but personal views of events, they arent however accurate to the reailty of circumstances of what did and is transpiring.
Israel won the war with a little help from the US....
Israel's occupation of Palestinian territories is ILLEGAl by any standards,
You have a faulty premise
learn about the actual history of the wars
and the US dragging its feet due to geo-politics and the Cold War.
Israel won the war with NO help from the US. Truman slapped an arms embargo minutes after recognizing the Jewish State. Eisonhower was on the side of the ARABS in 1956, and not a whit of military aide was given prior to 1968, The aide Nixon sent to Israel in 1973 came to late to save it. Israel saved itself...o
I'm sorry, but I think the word you mean is naqba.
The invasions you mentioned happened in ways not quite as you're portraying them. And I would agree that violence has occurred on both sides. However, far more Palestinians than Israelis have died as a result of that violence.
And, if I may, when considering why people resort to the means you mentioned, you might want to consider that it is not uncommon they do so when they feel particularly vulnerable or helpless. That feeling of helplessness and hopelessness applies no less to Native Americans, who did engage in activities that were perceived as being irrational.
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Except the many offensive wars against Israel, 1948, 1956, 1967, 1973 weren't begun by a helpless and hopeless people but by surrounding powerful states--Egypt, Syria, and Jordan--who also bear responsibility for the Palestinian refugee situation.
In all honesty, it is the Palestinian people who have been tremendously hurt by BOTH Israel and the Arab nations. No one does not have blood on their hands.
If you accept the basic premise that the solution is two independent states, Israel and Palestine, then the question to me is not who did what to whom in the past but figuring out how to live as equal neighbors in the future. If you are an extremist--who either believes in a greater Israel or believes in no Israel--then there can be no dialog and only more violence and hopelessness for both sides.
The question to me now is do we want a solution or do we want to assign blame. For those who are busy assigning blame, they should remember a whole population lives stateless and in despair while a country lives under constant bombardment and threat of war.
Do yourself a favor and look at the average make-up of the suicide bomber
Comes from middle class background
Well educated
Not the helpless poverty stricken people we are lead to believe act out these attacks.
How would the US respond to a Chinese invasion of Califorinia and the declaration of a Chinese state there????
Surely it will do the impossible to prevent the establishment of such a foreign state on its terrirtory-the US is likely to use nuclear weapons if the the foreign invaders' state ethnically cleanese 70% of the popnulation of Californina while occupying and blockading the rest as the case in Gaza and the west bank.
There were no Arab armies in 1947/8:there rag tag militias who just emerged from four centuries of Turkish rule: untrained, very poorly armed and surpprisngly outnumbered by the jewish forces which were highly trained,armed and many of the them -as was the jewish brigade-ba
According to US diplomatic history documents of 1947/8 and specifically the reports of the US Counsel General in Jeruslaem:there were a total of 127,500 jewish troops vs 97,000 Arab troops,with no unity of command at all-each represented a different Arab ruler with a privte agenda-essentially stooges of the British mandate who installed them in the first palce;some of them had already secertly aggreed with the British and the jewish agency to allow the establishment of a jewish state but could not go with that publically.
Tthe "Arab armies" were morally and leaglly justified to attack and prevent the establishment of a jewish state on Arab land.
It's a good thing Pres Bush will never read this. Confusing him with facts and all.... It might be too much to process.
Why would anybody think that American "leaders" would sympathize with the plight of Palestinians? Considering the facts that (1) AIPAC has a stranglehold on our government, (2) America (80% Christian believers and followers of the Bible) unwaveringly supports Judeo-Christian values and beliefs (including "God's" promise to the Jews that the land of Israel shall belong to them forever), while they vilify Islam, and (3) America is all too indoctrinated in the art of displacing other entitiled groups,and then conveniently becoming ignorant of these acts, either through revisions in historical teachings or omissions from historical teachings.
When I read about the forced march of the Palestinians from their homes in Ramle and Lydda, the disturbing image of America's own "Trail of Tears" exploded in my mind. This black chapter in American history occurred when the American military forced tens of thousands of Cherokee Indians, at the points of bayonets, to leave their homes in the East (in spite of the U.S. Supreme Court's decision that the land belonged to the Indians). The comparison is uncanny. In both cases, we see a group of envious, greedy and racist people who want to steal the land from those who already own it. They easily accomplished these troubling goals...be
Also keep in mind--the Zionists control the American mainstream media. The Zionists DO NOT, repeat, DO NOT want peace between Israel and the Palestinians--since Israel's creation in 1948, the Zionists' goal has been (and always will be) to CONFISCATE ALL PALESTINIAN LAND for the establishment of a "Greater Israel", period. They will NEVER, EVER SETTLE FOR ANYTHING LESS. The Zionists control a very high percentage of what the American people see, hear, and read. Remember the ancient proverb: He who controls the media controls the masses.
The media is owned by major public companies.
Israel has returned:
The Sinai
Southern Lebanon
Gaza
The Arabs responded with terror and missiles.
Factuallly, the jews in America are over represented, for example, there are forty three jewish members of congress-that is over 12% of the total of 535 considering their ratio of 2% of the population-not to mention those memebrs of congress who come under the suffocating influnce of AIPAC-and there are many of them.
iF GOD PROMISED THE LAND TO THE JEWS HE SURLEY DOES NOT NEED THE USA TO MAKE IT A REALITY!
GOD IS STILL ALL POWERFUL RIGHT?
OR DOES GOD NEED SUPPORT FROM A COUNTRY WITH NUKES?
In spite of your shouting, dad, I agree with you. Let's cut off the aid to Israel, pronto. After all, it's not like we couldn't use those billions here in America to do silly things like...oh, I dunno...re
U said it all-so succinctly.
The one problem you all have is this....If you ask a Palestinian what would it take to achieve Peace and everyone be friends...
With that mindset their will never be Peace.
Have you asked the Palestinians? I doubt it. A mom wants a place for her kids with a roof over
their head, a school, a life. Palestinians are no different than Israelis or us. With that said
we have to have an open mind. Someone is keeping this mess alive for war brings more money!
The Palestinian mother's that I know what their children to be martyrs, to commit suicide and kill innocent civilians. They are very proud of that behavior.
The Palestinian fathers and brothers kill their daughters and sisters through Honor Killings http://www
They elect terrorists as their leaders. Until they can value human life, there is no chance for peace.
Ever met a Palestinian? Apparently not. I've met plenty and none of them ever said anything like that.
I have met several who have said exactly that. A majority don't go quite that far openly, but they all say they will not support Israel keeping it's original UN mandate of being a protector of jewish rights in the world.
I commend Mr. Tolan for his very cerebral narrative on this tortured history.
Europeans killed Jews and were responsible for the Holocaust, not the Palestinians! Mark Regev, in an appearance on C-SPAN (11-28-07) spoke about his father being liberated as a refugee from Nazi Germany by the U.S. Army in 1945 during WWII and brought to a displaced persons camp and eventually integrated into society. He said Israel was the solution to the Jewish refugee question. M. J. Rosenberg, Israel Policy Forum, a guest on Bill Moyers’s Journal, spoke about his wife’s father being liberated from Nazi Germany as a refugee who also went to Palestine. So European Jewish refugees go to Palestine, take homes and land that belong to the Palestinians making the Palestinians refugees. So Jews are to the Palestinians what Hitler was to them? Are they any less evil? Jews owned 7% of Palestine at this time.
The American people and the Palestinians have had to suffer the consequence of the Holocaust. Europeans killed Jews and Jews kill Palestinians, and extorted American tax dollars support Jews. Recently, Israel was voted the country having the most ‘negative image’ in a globe-spanning survey of 28,000 attitudes toward 12 major countries in the world.
Americans feel very ashamed and embarrassed that our tax dollars are extorted to aid Israel's horrendous, egregious abuse of the Palestinians. Israel ignored U.N. Res. 194 (1948), 242 (1967 and 338 (1973), but whine when the Palestinians throw stones.
Chagrined
Excellent!
They didn't actually, the Arabs did, and it takes "two to tango" after all. What they did ignore were UN resolutions 249, 250 and 251, which denounced the 1968 independence day FUN parade.
Ten thousand ARABS murdered in one week by the Assad regime in Syria, not a peep out of the UN, but a FUN PARADE in Israel....
Assad did no such thing. He was many things, but that is such a lie. I frankly dont know how to respond to it, it's so outlandish, I will just call it what it is. A lie.
Messy: Let me see if I got this right:
Because ten thousand Arabs were killed in Syria last year and the UN didn't intervene, it is OK for Israel to raid Palestinian towns and kill innocent civilians and the UN should look the other way when that happens????
What kind of twisted logic is that?????
Please, spare those of us that are able to think on our own and save your Zionist propaganda for the Jewish blogs!
If you can't be half-way objective and are not willing to take a critical view of what YOUR PEOPLE have done to the Palestinians IN THEIR OWN LAND (and recognize that for sixty years they have been victimized as the European Jews were victimized by Hitler) you should be posting elsewhere. Don't look for support among clear thinking people because, as you can see, the opinions in this blog are overwhelmingly against your "messy logic".
"Jews killed Palestinans"---so you are viewing the Arab-Israeli conflict through the prism of "unilateral belligeren
If during the course of the 48 war Jews committed bad acts, then that should be included in the history of this conflict. As should, the countless acts of violence committed by Arabs against Jews.
The Jews were desperate at the time and they were fighting to hold onto what they built with blood, sweat and tears. Yes, they ignored the needs of the Palestinians and failed to include them in the Histradut, for example, and yes, they committed reprehensible acts. It seems to me, one man's opinion, that the only thing the Palestinians have been fighting for, with all the violence, is to kill Jews and drive them into the sea. Nothing is at stake when they fight, other than their pride as warriors. I would love to hear to a vision of a Palestinian state, one that might serve as an example for all the countries in the region, including Israel.
Actually, unless the Jews built in 'blood sweat and tears' what they were fighting to protect simultaneously, you logic is illogical. In '48, the vast majority of Jews in what was to become Israel were still damp from their walk from the boats that brought them to the region, and had no time to erect buildings and plant crops. That all came later-- after they drove the Palestinians off the arid land they later made bloom with appropriated water.
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I am saddened that critics of Israel and their policies would not call out Chagrined and those like him/her. They do not add to a fair debate where criticism of Israel is acceptable (and needed) but resort to anti-Semetic rants, including the conflation of Jews and Israelis and the comparison of Jews & Israel to Hitler.
Unfortunately Jews & Israelis often mistakenly conflate criticism as anti-Semitism while some critics purely spew anti-Semitism. The problem of Israel & Palestine is not unique but the religious hatred on both sides often expressed against Jews and Muslims further complicates the situation.
My father tells me that his father remarked when the state of Israel was created that no good will come of this. Maybe he was right. But what I do know is that there is now a state of Israel, whether right or wrong, and there still needs to be a Palestinian state beside Israel. The world is made up of conquerers and losers who have redrawn the map. There is nothing unique about this. Is it fair? No, not really.
What speaks the most to me is something said earlier, both Palestinians and Israelis want a place to call home, the ability to make a living and the chance to raise their families in peace.
That is a well considered post. I agree that it's a mistake to conflate Israel with Nazi Germany.
Israel is an accomplished fact, and the world needs to find settlement to problems dating back many years.
Fair and balanced. Principle based and civil discussion. Excellent. My underlying principle when discussion issues is to separate the hype from the facts, the key ideas from the personalities as best as possible. I'm always reminded of this quotation, take it or leave it, but I think it's a-propos and true. "Not supporting the State of 'Israel' does not make one, in any way, less of a friend of the Jewish people and most certainly does not label one an anti-semit
Great Post!!
I hope you're ready for the attacks against you for daring to challenge the media's much loved "David vs Goliath" myth of poor little Israel surrounded by evil AntiSemitic Arabs.
This site has been particularly guilty of providing a platform to AIPAC cronies, I'm so sick of posts by the "torture loving" Alan Dershowitz and was disgusted by the recent ruminations over Jimmy Carter's supposed "crime"of actually talking to Hamas, the American people have been lied to for too long by this expansionist, racist, ungrateful little state, if they really understood the injustices and war crimes that their tax dollars fund they would demand changes, please continue to spread the truth, your words are not wasted.
glennser
I agree with you in many respects, however, Israel has never been an expansionist state. They have never desired to unilaterally invade and capture any of the surrounding Arab nation's territory, and in fact have given land back after peace treaties were signed (the Sinai peninsula is one example).
What a preposterous liar you are!
Golan Heights.
Shebaa Farms.
The West Bank.
Gaza.
Sinai.
After occupying these areas, the Israelis almost immediately began colonizing them. The invasion and capture of those areas were entirely through unilateral invasion. The land (Sinai + Gaza) which has been returned was done so because defense of the settlements proved difficult. Had they been allowed an easy time of it by the natives, they would still be there even though the UN charter expressly forbids members from increasing territory through military conquest.
Dotty:\\You miss the point: There is no "Israel" State which can possess "expansionism".
The Europeans and Americans who are religious Jews,( and, lest we forget, Jews are members of a Religion, not a Race or sub-set of a Race), have gone to Palestine and using Terrorism for over 60 years, have massacared, murdered, oppressed, and terrorized the native peoples of that region. This has been done over the past 60 years with American dollars, approval, weapons, and military personnell; thus; to argue against "terrorists" naturally includes the question of whether we include both Israel and The United States as Terrorist Organizati
We cannot approbate and reprobate at the same time and maintain any credibility. we therefore must step out of our bias if we really want to solve the world crisis which we all face and whch is inextricably grounded with the Palestinian oppression.
We may not like to say, or even think ity, but, you will have to accept this truth if we are to progress.
According to some of the history I've read, from Israel's founding, although they officially accepted the Partition, David Ben Gurion and others intended to expand the Israeli border to the Jordan River, to occupy parts of Lebanon and Syria, for example. One of the tenets of Zionism is to occupy land that Zionists believe rightfully belongs to the Jewish people.
You might disagree with that ambition, but it is true that there have been Israelis inspired by that dream and who have acted accordingly.
Excellent article. U.S. evenhandedness is such a farce. The Jewish settlements are so clearly wrong and such an impediment to peace, but the U.S. always allows them. If they were in this country's interest, they might be explicable, but its just pandering to a powerful, but warped, special interest. "Tragic" is an understatement.
Well, the settlements in question are in Tel Aviv, Elait and Williamburg, Brooklyn. It's the Isalmic Caste System which is what this whole thing is about.
I agree. I think US aid to Israel should have been and should be tied to the stopping of building settlements in the occupied West Bank. While Israel cannot control the steps that need to be taken on the Palestinian side, but continuing buildup of settlements is also an afront to any serious peace agreement that recognizes two independent states.
The ones ruiniing Palestinian's chances are the Arabs and terrorists leaders that Palestinians are saddled with. The Arab states hold back all financial aid and let the Palestinian suffers. Hamas and Fatah would rather let their countrymen die rather than have peace. The truth is that the Arabs could have had peace for sixty years and a Palestinian state for as long.The real narrative is this : the Arabs were willing to accept all the decisions made by the Mandated States for the way the middle East was formed. Before that the Arab States were all under the control of the Ottoman Empire. The Jews made themselves a Country whose right to exist and defend itself has been accepted by all Un signatories except the muslim nations. Until they allow Israel to live in peace Israel should not part with any land it won when it has been Attacked.
That Israel has the right to exist as a UN member nation is beyond legal dispute. However, that they had a right to dispossess the 750,000 Palestinian Arabs and deny their return to their native soil is what is disputed because the very UN Resolution (United Nations General Assembly Resolution 181) which created modern Israel also creates an independent Palestinian State. The Arab objection had to do with the inequity of the land distribution which would have trapped 400,000 Palestinian Arabs in Jewish territory. There was also objection to the fact that Israel would receive 2x as much land as the Arabs despite having less than 1/2 as many people.
Sandy Tolan, you are a Godsend.
Excellent, excellent, excellent piece.
Kudos to HuffPo, too, for allowing it to see the light of day.
It's called "unbiased," and media outlets everywhere should take note.
Actually, it's called "extremely biased."
YOU are the only one that's "EXTREMELY BIASED". Stop swallowing Zionist propaganda and think, for a change!
What YOU haven't heard is the Palestinian story. You have heard anti-Israel propaganda pounded down our throats. Does anyone bother to find out the true history of these "Palestinians"? You continue to perpetuate half truths and lies.
The fact that you use the word Palestinians with quotation marks shows exactly where you stand and what you stand for. You are trying to insinuate they don't exist. That makes you shameful.
Why are you making assumptions about the writer? You don't know what he has researched. All I have heard since Bush stole office is anti-Islam
Arrogant fool.
Thank You for your honest and enlightening post.
If the West had a guilty conscience for oppressing the Jews, they should have accepted boatloads of Jewish refugees instead of turning them away.
Instead they used the tragedy of one-deprived people and compounded the problem by laying them at the door (through violence, arms, and terror) at another completely innocent victims (the Palestinians) whom many Israeli supporters don't even recognize as a legitimate state (yet clamor about recognition from Hamas).
Thanks your post is very much appreciated.
Dems and Reps; one thing they can agree on is the irrelevence of Arab history and life. The historic revisionism on behalf of the zionist movement has been nothing short of criminal, and in many ways echoes the reasoning of the Spanish colonial powers when butchering Natives in mass. A Zionist revisionist will regurgitate puerile stories about Mark Twain and his travels in the Mid -East, how the land was uninhabited and ill treated, or how the Palestinians voluntarily left their homes, or how the rejection of the 'generous" Barack offer was proof that Palestinians weren't interested in peace, and so on, and so on. Well, one thing is certain, the truth has done nothing to liberate Palestine, while the manipulation and lies has allowed Israel to multiply and prosper.
Not so fast. Exactly where or when did 'the Spanish colonial powers' butcher 'Natives'in mass(sic)'?
The Spanish in the colonial period were hardly the Indians' friend anywhere, but so far as I am aware, made no great effort to kill them in large numbers, as the Indians were generally thought to be be far more useful alive and employed as slaves in mining and agricultural enterprises. In addition, the Spanish felt they had a moral obligation to convert the Indian populations to Catholicism, and mostly this was accomplished by priests and not by the sword...
For a more consistent policy of outright genocide, I'm afraid you might have to look to North America for your example.
jhNy, please check out the history of the Taino-Arawak Indians at the hands of the Spaniards. Their populations in Cuba and Hispaniola (Haiti and the Dominican Republic), were decimated by Columbus and his band of merry men in their search for gold and treasure!
I think your numbers are wrong, but it would be nice if you posted sources for some of them. But more than that, you leave out the fact that Jews were intentionally driven out of Arab territory in 1948 to start a panic within the Jewish state and the claim that Israeli's intentionally drove out the Palestinians is simply an attempt at making it look like both sides were equal in how they treated the other. The bottom line is that if someone really wants to do something for the Palestinian people, the answer lies in financial compensation for their losses.
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