We hear so much about the Arab Nakba despite the fact that it was actually only one of many refugee crises in the mid twentieth century and in fact a lot smaller than the violent Jewish expulsion from Arab lands. This isnt meant to belittle the Arabs plight but it must be viewed in context. Civilian transfers, while horrendous, were unfortunately not uncommon and certainly not unique to the Arabs living in mandate Palestine. And while most Arabs left willingly at the request of their leaders who wanted to ease the ethnic cleansing of Jews from the land - Jews fled the Arab countries with nothing, barely alive and to this day have received no compensation or even recognition. The biggest difference between the Palestinian Nakba and every other refugee crisis is that its the only one where they themselves have chosen not to resolve it. The Jewish refugees were absorbed into the newly founded state of Israel just as have every other group of refugees in history. Only the Arab nations continue to use the Palestinians as pawns in their war with the West & Israel, meant only to facilitate the oppression of their people. Because a scapegoat to blame all your problems on is always convenient, and who better to fill that position than Israel? We ofter hear about Israeli Apartheid. And yet Arabs in the Palestinian Authority, and certainly those in Israel, enjoy more freedom than any others in the Middle East. Palestinians in Jordan & Lebanon have been living in refugee camps for generations - denied citizenship, the right to own land, the right to work. How is it that we dont hear cries from the BDS against these countries? How is it that we dont see Hamas launching rockets at them? This isnt to say that everything heres perfect - far from it. This doesnt justify occupation nor building settlements on disputed territories without an agreement. It doesnt imply that there arent hate crimes on both sides or that injustices based on race dont occur. Nor does it in any way imply that Arabs who today identify as Palestinians dont deserve their own state just like any other nation. But any future has to be built on the exposition of truth and we have to fight for it to be heard. The simple fact is that the Palestinian Nakba was no worse than any other similar event in recent history and in many ways a lot less worse, certainly compared to the Jewish plight at the same time in Europe & the Arab countries. The difference is that we rose from the rubble and built a flourishing, modern, beautiful country and continuously work to resolve our differences, while theyve squandered every single opportunity for Peace and rejected any offer to build a state of their own - preferring instead to continue blaming Israel for their own existence. The road to peace is long and hard and Im not sure were even on it anymore. But whatever its future, it must start with the truth. So today we honour and remember the Jews who lost their lives so that we may live today. יהי זכרם ברוך.
Posted on: Mon, 01 Dec 2014 08:16:45 +0000
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