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Your Facts Re Ben-Gurion's Statement Are Wrong. The True Story of 1948 and Refugee Issues of Past and Present

Reader comment on item: Debating the Khalil Gibran International Academy
in response to reader comment: Regarding the Nakba

Submitted by Sofa Sogood (United States), Jun 10, 2008 at 03:12

Speaking of Bubbles Bursting, since you are reading this website, there really is no excuse for your ignorance regarding the Palestinian issue. But, here is some more reading material for you, if you can bear to read what contradicts your mistaken conclusions. See below a few paragraphs down for a reply and contradiction to your incorrect information regarding Ben-Gurion and his statements.

By the way, were you aware that almost 1 million Jews, more than the number of Arabs displaced from Palestine, were persecuted and forcibly evicted from Arab lands where they had lived for thousands of years. Their property was confiscated and their bank accounts frozen. This eviction was done according to a documented, written agreement of the members of the Arab League. There is no debate about this. The Arabs do not deny it. They are not ashamed of it.

Isn't it odd that Europeans, while abusing and falsely accusing Ben-Gurion and others of evicting the Arabs, never mention this particular fact. There is an irony to this. Because the Jews took in their own impoverished refugees and solved the problem, the plight of those refugees is ignored. Because the Arabs refused to help or take care of their own, the fire is kept under the problem and the Jews are blamed for over 60 years.

And by the way, were you aware that there were many millions, possibly 100 million refugees (Indians, Cypriots, Germans, etc.), who were displaced during WW1 and WW2, all of whom have been re-settled and are no longer refugees. Only the Arabs, for political and racist reasons, have abused their own "brothers" and kept them in an impoverished and desperate Refugee status for the past 60 years. Of all these many millions of refugees, only the Palestinians have now a third generation not re-settled and still considered refugees. Although I don't recall the details, I did read that when Iraq evicted their large Jewish population, there was an agreement of population exchange which, of course, the Iraqis never adhered to.

For some information about the Refugees please read the following.

[UNRWA] The Refugee Curse by Daniel Pipes, August 19, 2003

http://www.danielpipes.org/article/1206

Who Are The Refugees? by Daniel Pipes, March 29, 2004

http://www.danielpipes.org/blog/2004/03/who-are-the-refugees.html

The Palestinian Claim to a "Right of Return"

http://www.camera.org/index.asp?x_context=7&x_issue=7&x_article=185

About Ben-Gurion. The "New Historians" misrepresented the words of Ben-Gurion. Efrain Karsh, head of Mediterranean Studies at King's College, University of London, takes Benny Morris' research to task, and exposes his self-serving, biased and incorrect reportage. Recently, archives have been newly made available which further confirm Karsh's research.

"This happened when, purely by accident, I noticed a glaring contradiction between the English and Hebrew renditions of an October 1937 letter from David Ben-Gurion to his son. The English version had Ben-Gurion say, "We must expel Arabs and take their places."

The Hebrew edition represented him as saying precisely the opposite. An examination of the original document unequivocally settled the matter. It read:

"We do not wish and do not need to expel Arabs and take their place. All our aspiration is built on the assumption--proven throughout all our activity--that there is enough room in the country for ourselves and the Arabs."

http://www.nysun.com/arts/fight-over-1948

Following is a link to Wall Street Journal article by Efraim Karsh, "1948, Israel and the Palestinians: The True Story."

"The recent declassification of millions of documents from the period of the British Mandate (1920-48) and Israel's early days, documents untapped by earlier generations of writers and ignored or disorted by the "new historians," paints a much more definitive picture of the historical record. These documents reveal that the claim of dispossession is not only completely unfounded but the inverse of the truth. What follows is based on fresh research into these documents, which contain many facts and data hitherto unreported.

"On the face of it, Ben-Gurion's hope rested on reasonable grounds. An inflow of Jewish immigrants and capital after World War I had revived Palestine's hitherto static condition and raised the standard of living of its Arab inhabitants well above that in the neighboring Arab states.

"The expansion of Arab industry and agriculture, especially in the field of citrus growing, was largely financed by the capital thus obtained, and Jewish know-how did much to improve Arab cultivation. In the two decades between the world wars, Arab-owned citrus plantations grew sixfold, as did vegetable-growing lands, while the number of olive groves quadrupled.

No less remarkable were the advances in social welfare. Perhaps most significantly, mortality rates in the Muslim population dropped sharply and life expectancy rose from 37.5 years in 1926-27 to 50 in 1942-44 (compared with 33 in Egypt). The rate of natural increase leapt upward by a third.

That nothing remotely akin to this was taking place in the neighboring British-ruled Arab countries, not to mention India, can be explained only by the decisive Jewish contribution to Mandate Palestine's socioeconomic well-being. The British authorities acknowledged as much in a 1937 report by a commission of inquiry headed by Lord Peel.

"The general beneficent effect of Jewish immigration on Arab welfare is illustrated by the fact that the increase in the Arab population is most marked in urban areas affected by Jewish development. A comparison of the census returns in 1922 and 1931 shows that, six years ago, the increase percent in Haifa was 86, in Jaffa 62, in Jerusalem 37, while in purely Arab towns such as Nablus and Hebron it was only 7, and at Gaza there was a decrease of 2 percent.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121019679929074973.html?mod=opinion_journal_federation

From Solomonia, April 10, 2008

The Middle East's Only Real Ethnic Cleansing.

Israel is perhaps the worst 'ethnic cleanser' in the history of man.

In 1947 approximately 740,000 Palestinian Arabs living in the area formerly called Palestine.

Today, the West Bank, Gaza and Arab citizens of Israel are over 5 million. There are also over 9 million worldwide who refer to themselves as Palestinians.

http://www.solomonia.com/blog/archive/2008/04/the-middle-easts-only-real-ethnic-cleans/index.shtml

Peoplehood Based on a Big Lie, Frontpage Magazine

http://frontpagemag.com/Articles/Read.aspx?GUID=AFBE83D4-1B8C-4D89-910F-7639FFB01062

1695 Book Found, Shows Palestine Population Very Few Moslems.

The land was, on the whole, empty and desolate. The inhabitants were few and concentrated in the cities of Jerusalem, Acre, Safed, Jaffa, Tiberius and Gaza. Most of the inhabitants of the cities were Jews, the others were Christian. There were very few Moslems, mostly nomadic Bedoins. Nablus (Schem) was different, with a population of about 120 people from the Moslem Natsha family and about 70 Shomronites. In Nazareth, the capital of the Galilee, there were approximately 700 people--all Christians.

http://www.solomonia.com/blog/archive/2008/06/a-book-from-the-middle-east-of-1695/index.shtml

Peoplehood Based on a Big Lie, Front Page Magazine, Eli E. Hertz, May 16, 2008

The Palestinians claim that they are an ancient and indigenous people fails to stand up to historical scrutiny. Most Palestinian Arabs were newcomers to British Mandate Palestine. Until the1967 Six-Day War made it expedient for Arabs to create a Palestinian peoplehood, local Arabs simply considered themselves part of the 'great Arab nation' or 'southern Syrians.'

Palestinian Arabs cast themselves as native people in Palestine--like the Aborigines in Australia or Native Americans in America. They portray the Jews as European imperialists and colonizers. This is simply untrue.

Until the Jews began returning to the Land of Israel in increasing numbers from the late 19th century to the turn of the 20th, the area called Palestine was a God-forsaken backwash that belonged to the Ottoman Empire, based in Turkey.

The land's fragile ecology had been laid waste in the wake of the Arabs' 7th century conquest.

Most Arabs living west of the Jordan River in Israel, the West Bank (Judea and Samaria) and Gaza are newcomers who came from surrounding Arab lands after the turn of the 20th century because they were attracted to the relative economic prosperity brought about by the Zionist Movement and the British in the 1920's and 1930's.

This is substantiated by eyewitness reports of a deserted country--including 18th century reports from the British archaeologist Thomas Shaw, French author and historian Count Constantine Volney (Travels through Syria and Egypt, 1798), the mid-19th-century writings of Alphonse de Lamartine (Recollections of the East, 1835), Mark Twain (Innocents Abroad, 1867), and reports from the British Consul in Jerusalem (1857) that were sent back to London.

Aerial photographs taken by German aviators during WW1 show an underdeveloped country composed mainly of primitive hamlets. Ashdod, for instance, was a cluster of mud dwellings, Haifa a fishing village. In 1934 alone, 30,000 Syrian Arabs from the Hauran moved across the northern frontier into Mandate Palestine, attracted by work in and around the newly built British port and the construction of other infrastructure projects. They even dubbed Haifa, Um el-Amal (the city of work).

Palestinian nationality is an entity defined by its opposition to Zionism, and not its national aspirations.

http://frontpagemag.com/Articles/Read.aspx?GUID=AFBE83D4-1B8C-4D89-910F-7639FFB01062

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Title Commenter Date Thread
The use of terms "lawful" versus "legitimate" [193 words]
w/response from Daniel Pipes
Stuart FaginMay 29, 2008 08:39130448
Dhabah ( "Debbie") Almontaser [799 words]Lame CherryMay 28, 2008 17:07130351
Excellent post! [61 words]DevasahayamMay 31, 2008 10:33130351
Middlebury College question [222 words]DianaMay 19, 2008 14:32129154
Your friend is misinformed [119 words]DevasahayamMay 20, 2008 12:51129154
what went unnoticed [181 words]mz ravin blackMay 19, 2008 00:10129069
Instructional Material [51 words]
w/response from Daniel Pipes
Edward HalperMay 18, 2008 18:08129036
i did notice [70 words]mz ravin blackMay 23, 2008 22:43129036
Muslim school teacher apostate [116 words]SeanMay 18, 2008 15:38129028
T-shirt with "Intifada" are not sold here - "The Jewish school where half the pupils are Muslim" [1721 words]KristaMay 18, 2008 10:36129015
Why would KGIA welcome the Kafir ? [33 words]KristaMay 18, 2008 10:09129002
Short answer is they want Kafirs to become Muslims [98 words]DevasahayamMay 19, 2008 07:55129002
Devasahayam, Islam, fastest growing religion [39 words]InfidelJun 9, 2008 15:49129002
Law Suit Accuses Ex-Principal [Deb] of Defamation [367 words]KristaMay 18, 2008 09:55129001
New York Times - Video - Dr. Pipes and Deb [11 words]KristaMay 18, 2008 18:35129001
resolution [15 words]cvtMay 17, 2008 08:47128924
How about a Lebanese Maronite? [5 words]DevasahayamMay 20, 2008 14:24128924
CAIR [587 words]Straight_Talk_LuigiMay 17, 2008 00:11128895
They probably use the Nazis as their model [28 words]DevasahayamMay 17, 2008 22:56128895
Congrats to Dr. Pipes! Ms.A Non-Responsive. What are "Global Citizens?" [367 words]Sofa SogoodMay 16, 2008 23:12128890
Sofa Sogood, the meaning of Global Citizens [66 words]InfidelMay 19, 2008 17:29128890
Re: Global Citizens [197 words]DianaMay 19, 2008 19:23128890
Thanks, Infidel [11 words]Sofa SogoodMay 19, 2008 21:33128890
"Global Citizen" Rap Artists Seducing Young Muslims into a Life of Hell on Earth [325 words]Sofa SogoodMay 21, 2008 01:50128890
Infidel. Thanks again. [66 words]Sofa SogoodMay 21, 2008 02:17128890
An aside [187 words]DevasahayamMay 21, 2008 06:02128890
Infidel dinosaurs [56 words]NabiMay 26, 2008 15:09128890
Sofa Sogood, meaning of Global Citizens [43 words]InfidelJun 9, 2008 16:10128890
Just look at Europe [195 words]DonMay 16, 2008 23:00128889
UK and religious schools [34 words]DavodMay 19, 2008 05:02128889
And don't forget Canada [228 words]DevasahayamMay 19, 2008 10:28128889
It's political movement using cultural diversity as a cover up and this is only my opinion. [61 words]BAMay 16, 2008 15:36128866
The not so sweet agenda of wanting children to "learn about this culture" [146 words]Rochelle MichaelsMay 16, 2008 10:34128837
Dr. Pipes is magnificence in all senses! [121 words]YnnatchkahMay 16, 2008 02:22128799
The very name of the academy gave away plenty [163 words]DevasahayamMay 17, 2008 08:13128799
Regarding the Nakba [122 words]MeroweJun 1, 2008 11:43128799
Your assumption is extremely mistaken [337 words]DevasahayamJun 2, 2008 08:41128799
Ynnatchkah, Muslims are not cowards [51 words]InfidelJun 9, 2008 16:24128799
Your Facts Re Ben-Gurion's Statement Are Wrong. The True Story of 1948 and Refugee Issues of Past and Present [1452 words]Sofa SogoodJun 10, 2008 03:12128799
Cowardice Point- the Shahid concept. [243 words]YnnatchkahJun 10, 2008 17:19128799

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