“…an independent homeland
for the Palestinians is unwarranted because the Palestinians are
not a distinct people… and because its creation… would
be an existential threat to Israel. |
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A Homeland for the Palestinians?
Why they? How about all those others?
The need and justification of a “Palestinian
homeland” has been repeated so often and so insistently that
people all over the world have come to accept it as an inevitability.
That “homeland,” it is generally agreed, would consist
of the Gaza Strip and most of Judea/Samaria, generally referred to
as the “West Bank.” Even many good people in the U.S.
and even our president, a well-intentioned man, advocate a “homeland,” a
Palestinian state, at the end of the so-called “road map.”?
What are the facts?
An unwarranted request. There is no such thing as a “Palestinian
people.” That is a concept that, by the drumbeat of incessant propaganda,
has been foisted on the world. The so-called Palestinians are the same
Arabs that live in Syria, Jordan and Lebanon. Never at any time in history
did the “Palestinians” have a homeland, nor did they ever
demand one.
In 1947, the United Nations General Assembly voted to set
up both a Jewish and an Arab state within the borders of the territories.
The Arabs were allotted three contiguous areas and the enclave of the
city of Jaffa. The Jews were allotted three discontiguous areas. Jerusalem
was to be an international city. In order to get their homeland, the
Jews reluctantly accepted the unfavorable deal. The Arabs rejected it
out of hand and instead invaded the nascent Jewish state with the armies
of six nations. The ragtag Jewish forces decisively defeated the aggressors
and stayed in control of most of the area. Egypt retained control of
the Gaza Strip, and Jordan occupied Judea/Samaria (the “West Bank”).
Had the Arabs accepted the United Nations partition plan, they would
have had their “Palestinian homeland” for almost 60 years.
They spurned the opportunity when it was available to them.
For nineteen years, until the Six-Day War, the territories
involved were under the control of Jordan and Egypt. Never during those
years was there ever a demand for a “Palestinian homeland.” Only
after the Six-Day War in 1967, when the territories reverted to Israeli
control, did the insistent clamor for a “Palestinian homeland” arise.
Although the Israelis would probably be glad to get rid
of those bothersome and rebellious people, it is regrettably not that
simple. The declared goal of the Arabs, a goal never rescinded, is the
destruction of Israel. Were they granted an independent state, it would
geographically and strategically dominate all of Israel. Within a very
short time, this “Palestinian homeland” would be bristling
with the most advanced weaponry, in all likelihood including weapons
of mass destruction. Arab armies would be invited to participate in what
they would hope to be the final onslaught against Israel and against
the hated Jews.
How about other nationalities that yearn for a
homeland, for their own state? There are first of all the
Basques, the vast majority of whom live in the northern region of Spain.
They are a unique people,
with a language and a culture that has no relationship to anything else
in the world. They have been fighting to become liberated. But Spain – most
vociferous in the promotion of a “Palestinian homeland” – refuses
that. An independent Basque homeland would not endanger Spain in any
way. But does the world, does the UN support the Basques in their quest
for independence? Of course not!
Or take the Kurds. They are a distinct group. They live
in a land that is part of Iraq, Iran, Turkey, Syria, and Armenia. They
have been fighting for independence for centuries, but it has never been
granted. An independent Kurdestan would not endanger the countries that
now occupy it. But does the world, does the UN support the Kurds in their
quest for independence? Of course not!
And then there are the Tibetans. They are a distinct people,
unique in language and religion. They have been annexed by China, which
has flooded the country with its “settlers.” The Chinese
are fully in the process of making Tibet into an integral part of China.
Clearly, an independent Tibet would not be any existential threat to
China. But does the world, does the UN support the Tibetans in their
quest for independence? Of course not!
The quest for an independent homeland for the Palestinians
is unwarranted because the Palestinians are not a distinct people which
never had or even claimed such a homeland, and because the creation of
such a homeland would be an existential threat to Israel. Both the world
and especially the Europeans don’t really care about self-determination – they
don’t lose any sleep over the Basques, the Kurds, the Tibetans
or others who yearn for a homeland. They care about their own political
and economic interests, which they cloak in the language of political
morality. And of course, there are quite a few who wouldn’t shed
a tear if, at the end of the day, Israel were indeed wiped from the face
of the earth.
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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