Eretz Israel is our unforgettable historic homeland...The Jews who will it shall achieve their State...And whatever we attempt there for our own benefit will redound mightily and beneficially to the good of all mankind. (Theodor Herzl, DerJudenstaat, 1896)

We offer peace and amity to all the neighbouring states and their peoples, and invite them to cooperate with the independent Jewish nation for the common good of all. The State of Israel is ready to contribute its full share to the peaceful progress and development of the Middle East.
(From Proclamation of the State of Israel, 5 Iyar 5708; 14 May 1948)

With a liberal democratic political system operating under the rule of law, a flourishing market economy producing technological innovation to the benefit of the wider world, and a population as educated and cultured as anywhere in Europe or North America, Israel is a normal Western country with a right to be treated as such in the community of nations.... For the global jihad, Israel may be the first objective. But it will not be the last. (Friends of Israel Initiative)

Sunday 8 July 2012

More Flight Than Expulsion: Benny Morris On The Creation Of The Arab Refugee Problem (videos)

These are interesting and illuminating videos.

In the first, Benny Morris begins his talk with a discussion of the controversy regarding refugee numbers and the way the Palestinian Arab refugee issue has escalated over time.

In the second (which is especially worth looking at) he describes the four stages in the genesis of the Palestininian Arab refugee problem.  It will be seen that voluntary flight by the Arabs rather than deliberate expulsion by the Jews was the dominant factor in the creation of the problem. He also shows that the actions of the Israelis towards the Palestinian Arabs were motivated by the fact that the Arab nations wished to destroy the State of Israel and simply wouldn't compromise.

In the third he examines the absence of a coherent policy on the part of the Arab leadership regarding evacuation.  He puts into context the atrocities that occurred on both sides. And he discusses the reasons for the perpetuation of the refugee problem, a discussion that continues into the fourth video.



Hat tip: AustralianNeoCons

5 comments:

  1. I’m loving the new and improved, non-“new-historian” Benny Morris.

    Always worth reposting his letter to the Irish times about the misuse of his work.
    Benny Morris on fact, fiction, & propaganda about 1948 (Irish Times) (Letters, p. 17)
    February 21, 2008
    http://jeffweintraub.blogspot.com.au/2008/02/benny-morris-on-fact-fiction-propaganda.html

    PS. 3rd Para, spelling “Palestininian”

    ReplyDelete
  2. Ron Prosor's article re the Forgotten Refugees
    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ron-prosor/the-middle-easts-greatest-untold-story_b_1652777.html

    ReplyDelete
  3. A view of the real Gaza
    http://www.idfblog.com/2012/07/06/a-view-of-gaza-you-might-have-not-seen/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. See also
      Gaza Mythbusting: It’s Easier Than You Think
      http://www.algemeiner.com/2012/07/05/gaza-mythbusting-its-easier-than-you-think-2/

      Delete

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