Refugee????
Reader comment on item: [UNRWA:] The Refugee Curse

Submitted by Alain (Canada), Aug 19, 2003 at 21:40

Dear Mr.Pipes,
Let me begin by saying that your articles have brought me many hours of pleasurable reading and insightful information that I use everyday in arguing the case for Israel.

Regarding the "refugee" issue, pardon me if I am wrong, but I was lead to believe that a big number of Palestinian Arabs (not all) had left their homes voluntarily in 1948, following a call from Arab leaders, to leave their lands in order for their armies to purge the land of the Zionist occupier and thereby return to a Jewishfree Palestine. Against all hope Israel persevered and these voluntarily displaced Arabs found themselves with no place to return to.

Now Mr.Pipes,if I am not wrong and what I have just written is true then it is only logical that these people and their descendants (no matter how small a percentage of the total) should be deducted from the "refugee" totals which you mention in your article, since they do not fit the requirements of either UNWRA or the UN High Commission to be a "refugee". Furthermore, since this "refugee" problem is a direct consequence of Arab agression, then isn't it also logical for these agressors to assume their responsabilities and absorb these "refugees" that they have created and continue to nurture only to be used as a political tool towards the destruction of the state of Israel.

Mr.Pipes, I have always been known to be a very logical person but I must say that lately, that logic has been tested severely. Thank G-d for your articles Mr.Pipes since they shed some light (truth) on this very darkened world (...) we live in today.

Best wishes and Thank You

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Daniel Pipes replies:

Yes, you are right that some of the "1948 refugees" were not refugees properly speaking. More broadly, there are many, many other aspects of the Palestinian refugee issue that I did not bring up in this article. I hope to return to the topic and to cover a few of them.

DP