A Short History of the Palestinian Israeli Crisis

by MegaDude 28 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  MegaDude

  I enjoyed this article about how the state of Israel came to be and the history behind some of the present day conflict.

  full article here:

  http://www.zmag.org/shalom-meqa.htm

  teaser below:

  Background to the Israel-Palestine Crisis

  by Stephen R. Shalom

  What are the modern origins of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict?

  During World War I, Britain made three different promises regarding historic Palestine. Arab leaders were assured that the land would become independent; in the Balfour declaration, Britain indicated its support for a Jewish national home in Palestine; and secretly Britain arranged with its allies to divide up Ottoman territory, with Palestine becoming part of the British empire. Historians have engaged in detailed exegesis of the relevant texts and maps, but the fundamental point is that Britain had no moral right to assign Palestine to anyone: by right Palestine belonged to its inhabitants...
• 

  stillajwexelder

  but the fundamental point is that Britain had no moral right to assign Palestine to anyone: by right Palestine belonged to its inhabitants...

  a key player was a younger Winston Churchill
• 

  metatron

  If the fanatical and idiotic Palestinians ever get a state of their own, they can thank one country:

  Israel!

  Why? Because Palestine has always been dominated by somebody else. Go back a few thousand years and they were dominated by

  Egypt, then Assyria, then Babylon, then Persia, then Greece, then Syria, then Rome, then various sultans, then Crusaders, then Sultans

  again, then the Ottomans, then the British and so on. There are many others I've left out.

  If it wasn't for Israel, Palestine would be dominated by somebody else , as it always has been.

  The Palestinians could recognize Israel and get them to commit to the "Arc" plan - and enjoy a good prosperous life - but, of course,

  hating Israel is more important.

  metatron
• 

  heathen

  Interesting stuff there . I have been interested in just what the deal is with that area . I always thought the jewish population was more at falt than what we hear in the US . I don't care for zionists . That article does shift the blame on Israel . You can call the arabs nuts but how would you like just being kicked off your land for no reason ? Not at all .
• 

  MegaDude

  That article does shift the blame on Israel

  I got the impression the article shifted the blame on the nations that allowed the state of Israel to be created where it is now.
• 

  MegaDude

  If it wasn't for Israel, Palestine would be dominated by somebody else , as it always has been.

  My Arab friends concur with this.
• 

  heathen

  I think the nations that came up with the idea were pretty stupid . Bad britain bad . They just wanted some leverage in the region but really it was the jews that eventually wound up breaking all the treaties and guidelines attacking the arabs . I don't care for anti semites either since that seems to be the motivating factor behind it all to begin with .
• 

  Double Edge

  by right Palestine belonged to its inhabitants

  right... which included arabs and jews - they both inhabited the area for hundreds of years.
• 

  Big Tex

  I got the impression the article shifted the blame on the nations that allowed the state of Israel to be created where it is now

  That was the feeling I got when I read this article. I'm not as familiar with this area of history as with others, but as I understand it, much of modern day Middle East nation states was created after WWI (wasn't Arabia ruled by a different family than the Saudis before then?), with the state of Isreal coming in after WWII. It was not only foolish, but sheer stupidity to create a brand new state out of nothing, without providing for the millions of people who already lived there.

  In nearly every conflict, there will be guilt on both sides, but I remember reading that the state of Israel was invaded in 1948, 1956 and 1968 (and that's to say nothing about the 1972 Munich Olympics). That's got to create a certain amount of hypervigilience, if not paranoia especially if your country is the size of New Jersey.

  Again, I don't see Israel as the paragon of virtue. From a great distance, and even more ignorance, I see that country as having made many mistakes. Having said that, taken in context, I find their mistakes to be understandable considering the level of hostility surrounding them.

  In an ideal world, one would have hoped that the great nations of this planet would have gotten together to mediate some sort of understanding between these two peoples in the past 65 years. Unfortunately that has not been the case and as a result it seems to me one side turns up the pressure on the other, who in turn raises it higher and so on.

  In my poor view, laying blame is irrelevent anymore and it's gotten (or should have gotten) to the point where the nations involved take the attitude of 'what is it going to take to resolve this conflict'. Otherwise, the future will be disastrous. Forgive the JW-type similarities, but I cannot help but be reminded of the asinine, and the utter stupidity that led to World War I.
• 

  MegaDude

  It was not only foolish, but sheer stupidity to create a brand new state out of nothing, without providing for the millions of people who already lived there.

  I agree. As if the residents there didn't count for anything. No wonder the Arab rage.

  Again, I don't see Israel as the paragon of virtue.

  Neither do I. I reported the deposition of a US Airforce pilot who told me when they flew on recon missions near Israel they regarded Israel as a hostile. Israel has attacked our forces before off the coast doing surveillance on them.

  I find their mistakes to be understandable considering the level of hostility surrounding them.

  But what generated the hostility in the first place? Surely one can understand the Jewish desire for a homeland after the Holocaust, but not at the expense of kicking native inhabitants out of their country.

  In my poor view, laying blame is irrelevent anymore and it's gotten (or should have gotten) to the point where the nations involved take the attitude of 'what is it going to take to resolve this conflict'.

  Agreed, Chris. It seems like a chess game where the nations of the world are more interested in gaining some sort of political advantage rather than helping be a mediator of peace and healing in such a war torn area as a top priority.

  My brother-in -law's brother and his new wife are trapped in Lebanon. We are worried for him.