The Arabs are committed
not to allow any non-believiers to be in control of any
part of the Middle East. That is the real cause of the Palestinian
refugee problem. |
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Those "Palestinian Refugees"
Who are they, what is the real story?
Although, in view of the violence of the Palestinians,
negotiations with them would seem fruitless, or at least a long way off,
one issue that will arise again is that of the "Palestinian refugees."
It has been a sticking point in past negotiations and will without question
arise again. These "refugees" are the children and mostly grandchildren
of those who left Israel during the 1948 War of Independence. Yasser Arafat
insists that there can be no peace unless those "refugees" are
allowed to "return" to Israel.
What are the Facts?
650,000 "refugees" swell to 5 million.
You have heard about those "Palestinian refugees," who claim
"right of return" to Israel. Of course, virtually none of them
ever lived in Israel -- they are the children and mostly grandchildren
of those who fled in 1948. The total number of those who fled in 1948
is estimated to have been about 650,000. Now the number who wish to return
has swollen to almost five million!
How did this exodus come about? In 1948, on the day
of the proclamation of the State of Israel, five Arab armies invaded the
new country from all sides. In frightful radio broadcasts, they urged
the Arabs living there to leave, so that the invading armies could operate
without interference. They could return after the expected quick victory
in that "holy war," get their property back -- and that of the
Jews. Things turned out differently. The invading armies were defeated.
Those who had left became refugees -- people without a country. Those
who stayed, and their children, are full-fledged citizens of the State
of Israel.
These so-called "Palestinian refugees" have
not been allowed to settle in the "indivisible Arab nation."
They have been supported in camps since 1948. So far, close to $1.8 billion
has been spent on their maintenance. No end is in sight. Who pays for
that? You guessed it: Through UNWRA Relief, the United States contributes
more than 60% of the total cost.
The Arab countries, among them some of the richest in the world who fritter
away their enormous fortunes on undreamed luxuries, are satisfied to leave
their Arab brethren in those miserable camps. They have never contributed
a penny to their maintenance.
Another side of the "refugee" story.
But there is another side to the "refugee" story. Little is
heard of the 800,000 Jewish refugees from Arab countries, who fled those
countries to settle in the newly formed Jewish State of Israel. Every
one of these refugees was immediately accepted, resettled, taken care
of, and given full citizenship by the fledgling, impoverished, and embattled
Jewish State. There never has been, and there certainly is not now, a
Jewish "refugee" camp in Israel or anywhere else.
The Arab "refugees" who fled Israel left
little wealth and little history, since most of them had not come to "Palestine"
until Jewish settlers opened economic opportunities in what had been a
desolate country for centuries. But the Jews of Arab lands have a history
going back thousands of years. When forced to flee, they left behind land,
wealth, and a long history. They arrived in Israel, quite literally only
"with their shirts on their backs." They now make up almost
60% of the vibrant and productive population of Israel. What have the
Arabs, the richest people in the world, done with their "refugees"
in more than 50 years? They have kept them in misery, on the dole of the
world, and have taught their hopeless youth the "skills" of
suicide missions and of slaughtering defenseless and unarmed men, women,
and children.
If the Arab nations truly decided to make peace with
Israel and to put an end to the century-long strife, they could easily
accomplish it by accepting the "Palestinian refugees" in their
countries and, just as Israel did with Jewish refugees from Arab countries,
integrating them into their societies and making useful citizens of them.
In fact, acceptance in their countries might also be offered to the Israeli
Arabs, who, despite enjoying a higher standard of living, education, and
health than Arabs in any of the surrounding countries and despite having
the same civil rights as Israeli Jews, are not happy to live in a Jewish
state.
Population transfers are common, especially in the
wake of wars. They have been practiced throughout history. In 1923, Greece
and Turkey agreed to the resettlement of 2 million Greeks and 800,000
Turks; in 1945, the resettlement of 3 million Germans from Poland and
Czechoslovakia was arranged. Following the collapse of its North African
Empire, France accepted close to 1.5 million people. More than 12 million(!)
Muslims and Hindus were exchanged between India and Pakistan. Israel has
recognized this historical necessity. The "Arab Nation," with
its enormous wealth and vast under-populated lands, has stubbornly refused
to face facts.
It is clear that the "Palestinian refugee problem"
is a red herring, kept alive by the Arab nations for their political purposes,
and with cynical disregard for the great number of impoverished people
who live in these camps. It is being kept alive and is being used as a
"non-negotiable" bargaining chip, for the purpose of destroying
the State of Israel -- a feat that the Arabs have attempted several times
by military means, but which has always ended in disastrous failure. Apart
from the unsolvable social problems it would create, the introduction
of, say, even one-half of the 5 million who claim to be "refugees"
would, with one stroke, dramatically alter the demographic makeup of the
country and would inevitably destroy the Jewish State. That is of course
the whole idea behind the demand for the "return of the refugees".
If the Arab nations were willing to solve the "refugee problem,"
the legitimacy of Israel could no longer be questioned. But that is not
acceptable to the Arabs. They are firmly committed not to allow Israel
or any "non-believers" to be in control of any part of the Middle
East. It is that, and that alone, which is the real cause of the "Palestinian
refugee problem."
This ad has been published and paid for by
Facts and Logic About the Middle East
P.O. Box 590359
San Francisco, CA 94159
Gerardo Joffe, President
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