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slavealani -> RE: Gaza/Israel situation (1/24/2009 6:15:42 AM)
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quote:
ORIGINAL: Hippiekinkster
"Stolen Lands"
" On May 14, 1948, the day before the end of the British Mandate, the Jewish Agency proclaimed independence, naming the country Israel. The following day five Arab countries – Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon and Iraq –invaded Israel, launching the 1948 Arab-Israeli War.[55] Morocco, Sudan, Yemen and Saudi Arabia also sent troops to assist the invaders. After a year of fighting, a ceasefire was declared and temporary borders, known as the Green Line, were established. Jordan annexed what became known as the West Bank and East Jerusalem, and Egypt took control of the Gaza Strip. Israel was admitted as a member of the United Nations on May 11, 1949.[56] During the conflict 711,000 Arabs, according to UN estimates, or about 80% of the previous Arab population, fled the country.[57] The fate of the Palestinian refugees today is a major point of contention in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict."
FLED THE COUNTRY. How can what has been abandoned be stolen?
First, this snippet omits the fact that Israel expanded it's borders past the original U.N. partitions. It also fails to mention how the mandate was placed into effect in 1922, over 20 years prior to the Arab Israeli Wars. During this time, MOST of the surrounding area of Jerusalem was populated by those of Muslim-Arabic descent.
You neglect to mention the reasons behind WHY the Arab inhabitants were not enthralled with the U.N.'s plan---which had more to do with past British imperialism and the overt actions of Zionists in the capture and colonizing of Palestine, disregard for the pre-existing occupants, and the nullifying of property rights based on a "concept" of religious entitlement. People were already living there when a Jewish state was introduced.
I am by no means saying that Israel should not exist, they have just as much a right to be there as anyone else. What I DO have a problem with is people acting as if the foundation of this theocracy is not at odds with past American actions. Israel claims to have "ancestral ties"...well a lot of people make that claim and rarely anywhere else in the world are people allowed to return to their "ancestral homeland" after a slew of people have already commenced to living there.
In regards to the refugees...isn't that a normal occurence? Refugees leave due to poor circumstances such as war/famine/ rampant disease etc. Once things are stabilized however, they either return home on their own or are GREATLY encouraged by the nation that is hosting them to return to where they came from. The problem with your logic is that you're essentially stripped the refugee of their right to return home because "finders keepers, losers weepers." That makes no sense.
That's like you fleeing your home because a hurricane is coming and then when you come back some other family is living there. You try to tell them it's your home, you paid for it, you've lived there all your life etc and they say "How can it be stolen when you left it? It's our home now!"
See?
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