This post will not focus on the story background of my books. That will pick upagain next week. We will talk about the questions being raised on college campuses ofwhether Jews in Israel are colonizers and if apartheid exists in Israel. Having degrees inPolitical Science and International Relations, I believe I can speak to this as well as anyof the people currently spouting nonsense on campuses today. Of course, a degree isnot a pre-requisite to babbling incoherently, but it helps
Above is a map showing the change in ownership in the lands of Israel from the
end of World War II to today. Before WW II, as you can see by the tan colored lands,
Jews owned land but mostly near the coast and around Galilee besides the very dense
enclave of West Jerusalem. Why?
Question 1
Before the 1800’s, most Jews who came to Jerusalem were
allowed in by the Ottoman Empire but not to own land as a general rule. They moved to
Jerusalem in order to return to their ancestral home. For those who have problems with
this because of silly academic reasoning, the Old Testament is very clear as to who
lived in Israel from the time of Moses and Joshua forward. Also, they claim the land as
given to them by promise from God made hundreds of years before that.
What is not disputable is that Rome became tired of constant Jewish revolts and
cleared out all Jews about 125 AD. However, observant Jews began filtering back soon
thereafter. A thriving Jewish group could be found in Israel throughout the Byzantine
Empire and then under various versions of Islamic rule. Palestine, as a separate Islamic
state, never existed, however. Rome gave the name Palestine to the province. Under
Islamic rule it belonged to Syria being administered from Damascus.
Beginning in the 1800’s, a strong return movement began among the diaspora,
the scattered Jews around the world. Late in the 1800’s significant groups of returnees
came in waves. For my purpose, let’s just recognize this happened and not when and
from where. The general motivations, however, came down to persecution, pograms
and death in their home countries. Russia and East Europe were initial contributors but
Germany joined under Hitler during 1930’s.
These waves could not be accommodated in Jerusalem and these people were
most often peasants, not diamond merchants. (After all, who would they sell jewelry to
among the peasants of Palestine?) They set up kibbutz or collective farms financed by
Jews who had not come. They purchased the land. Let me repeat that in caps – THEY
PURCHASED THE LAND FROM WILLING SELLERS.
As they became successful, some of their Arab neighbors wanted the improved
land as well as believed that they should be able to take whatever they wanted based
upon their interpretation of the Koran. Understandably, the Jews objected. Arabs began
killing Jews who resisted and the Jews armed themselves. Terrorist attacks on buses
and other targets occurred after this. (If you have trouble calling an attack on unarmed
civilians a terrorist attack, please reconsider.)
The Israeli Jews contributed soldiers to the Allies. The Grand Mufti of Jerusalem,
however, spent World War II in Berlin helping the Axis and calling for the total
eradication of the Jews. He also called for Arab uprisings in support of Germany.
Palestine had come under British control after WW I.
Many Jews who survived the Holocaust went to Palestine for safety. The British,
because of oil in Saudi Arabia, did not want them to come and rock the boat, but they
came anyway. This is why the map of 1947 is so different from the 1946 one. Jews and
others, mostly Christians, outside Palestine gave money so these refugees could BUY
land. Please see 1947 map.
The UN decided, because of the fighting in Palestine between Arabs and Jews,
to partition the land based upon general land ownership. Before the partition vote which
created Israel, the five surrounding Arab nations told the Arabs living in the Jewish area
to move out so the Jews could be eradicated. Many Arabs abandoned their property in
anticipation of coming back to the empty houses and farms of the soon to be dead
Jews.
The Israeli Jews had a choice, die fighting or simply die. They fought and the
third map is the armistice line from that fight.
Question 2
Israel is called an apartheid state. Arabs living in Israel, make up
20% of the population and have seats in the Knesset where they fully participate as well
as there being no limitations on businesses and land ownership. Percent of Jews in
Gaza? Zero because they would be killed. Which is the apartheid group?
Plus, wouldn’t you put up a fence if your neighbors kept invading your yard?
Comments are closed