Nadene Goldfoot
|
In Tel Aviv, Israel’s first prime minister, David Ben-Gurion, stands under a portrait of Theodore Herzl, the father of modern Zionism, as he reads Israel’s declaration of independence on May 14, 1948.KLUGER ZOLTAN/GPO/REUTERS
Now on December 6, 2022, In taking a cue from Saudi Arabia who says of their state and Israel, "Saudi Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Adel Al-Jubeir told members of the American Jewish Committee that, "The direction of Saudi-Israeli relations is normalization, but it will take more time and we must not put the cart before the horse." He also said, "Israel and other Gulf states have been gradually normalizing for years. The process must be allowed to mature."
I was living in Safed at that time. On June 15, 1982 I wrote to my mom in the states about how the war started. I was on a bus on my way to the army hospital in Haifa to see about my broken elbow check-up and saw all the vehicles coming up the highway as we went down. I had broken it the year before when there was attacks here as well. My girlfriend had been in Kiryat Shmona near the border and was stuck there as katusha rockets from Gaza were falling and she couldn't leave the bomb shelter for days. I noted in the letter that the UN had done nothing about the arms sent in from Lebanon PLO into Gaza's PLO. Major Hadad of the Christian Lebanese was very happy.
Well, Israel certainly needs more time for normalization to occur with the Palestinians.
Palestinians had followed eastern European Jews and their immigration to Palestine in the 1880's looking for work, coming in from Syria, all the neighboring states and even from those farther away for the Jews were building up this deserted land that the swamps and mosquitoes had taken over and were turning it into a beautiful garden.
As Joan Peters said, "For every refugee--adult or child---in Syria, Lebanon, or elsewhere in the Arab world who compels our sympathy, there is a Jewish refugee who fled from the Arab country of his birth. For every Arab who moved to neighboring lands, a Jew was forced to flee from a community where he and his ancestors may have lived for 2,000 years.
India and Pakistan in the 1950's had an exchange of population. 8,500,000 Sikhs and Hindus from Pakistan fled to India, and about 6,500,000 Muslims moved from India to Pakistan. How has that turned out? Actually, not very well. Pakistan is looking more like a failed state. On May 11 Pakistanis went to the polls and celebrated transition in what’s been a rare five-year civilian rule. The election may or may not usher in another period of civilian rule. Fundamental reform is required of the political system that functions under the shadow of military power and religious extremism. Otherwise, Pakistan is destined to drift as a failing state.
Israel, barukh hashem, is not a failing state. In fact, they are helping other states in many ways; security measures, health, etc. The book, Start-Up Nation by Dan Senor and Saul Singer tells of their successes. Start-Up Nation addresses the trillion dollar question: How is it that Israel -- a country of 7.1 million, only 60 years old, surrounded by enemies, in a constant state of war since its founding, with no natural resources-- produces more start-up companies than large, peaceful, and stable nations like Japan, China, India, Korea, Canada and the UK?
With the savvy of foreign policy insiders, Senor and Singer examine the lessons of the country's adversity-driven culture, which flattens hierarchy and elevates informality-- all backed up by government policies focused on innovation. In a world where economies as diverse as Ireland, Singapore and Dubai have tried to re-create the "Israel effect", there are entrepreneurial lessons well worth noting. As America reboots its own economy and can-do spirit, there's never been a better time to look at this remarkable and resilient nation for some impressive, surprising clues.
Sep 1, 2022 — ...The General Assembly adopted a resolution granting to Palestine the status of non-member observer State in the United Nations. The vote was 138 for, 9 against, with 41 abstentions. Voting by an overwhelming majority — 138 in favour to 9 against (Canada, Czech Republic, Israel, Marshall Islands, Micronesia (Federated States of), Nauru, Panama, Palau, United States), with 41 abstentions — the General Assembly today accorded Palestine non-Member Observer State status in the United Nations.
The text upgraded Palestine’s status without prejudice to the acquired rights, privileges and role of the Palestine Liberation Organization in the United Nations as the representative of the Palestinian people, in accordance with the relevant resolutions and practice. The Palestinian Liberation Organization was recognized as an observer entity in 1974. By other terms of the resolution — the adoption of which coincided with the observance of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People and with the Assembly’s annual debate on the Question of Palestine — Member States echoed the “urgent need for the resumption and acceleration” of the peace negotiations.
Mahmoud Abbas (front centre), President of the Palestinian Authority, with his delegation in the General Assembly Hall following the Assembly’s decision. 29 November 2012. United Nations, New York. UN Photo.
The next day after their declaration as a state (May 15, 1948) at the UN, forces from Egypt, Transjordan, Syria, Lebanon, and Iraq invaded. The Israelis, though less well equipped, managed to fight off the Arabs and then seize key territory, such as Galilee, the Palestinian coast, and a strip of territory connecting the coastal region to the western section of Jerusalem.
In 1949, U.N.-brokered cease-fires left the State of Israel in permanent control of this conquered territory. The departure of Palestinian Arabs from Israel during the war left the country with a substantial Jewish majority. Palestinians were only following the orders of their leaders in leaving the land and heading for refugee camps.
Only a few Palestinians had owned land. They couldn't afford to pay their taxes to the Ottoman Empire (Turkey) Most all Palestinians had sold out to Jews who paid overly high prices and had left for Paris, Lebanon, etc., better places with more choices now with money in their pockets. These Jews were respectful of their Jewish religion, knowing their history and the land meant more than just a place to flop down. They felt the kinship to this land, the pull to stay and develop what it once was and meant to their people.
That's it. Israel is a remarkable and resilient nation that everyone had put down because they weren't of their religion and had been treated as 2nd class citizens in the Middle East. It is still happening in the UN.
Abraham Accords during Donald Trump's presidency (2017-2020) Things will never be normalized until the Palestinians accept Israel as neighbors and stop attacking. Do we dare think that this is something the Abraham Accords could accomplish--given a little more normalization period?
Resource:
https://www.un.org/unispal/
https://www.outlookindia.com/
From Time Immemorial by Joan Peters
Battleground-fact and fantasy in Palestine by Samuel Katz
Myths and Facts-a concise record of the Arab-Israeli conflict by Mitchell G. Bard and Joel Himelfarb
https://www.amazon.com/Start-
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
https://www.britannica.com/
https://www.newsweek.com/
https://press.un.org/en/2012/
https://www.un.org/unispal/document/auto-insert-182149/
No comments:
Post a Comment