First, I'll say I do not consider you antisemitic by posting your views on political happenings. I may consider you misinformed, but that's about it. 
I'm sorry, but that's just not the case. I met the original Palestinian peace delegation in the early 90's and hung out privately with them for a bit, they were very well educated, did not speak ill of Israel or Israeli's and simply just wanted a state - a return to the 2 state solution.
When we got out to the conference hall where they were to do a panel, the story was different. It was full of other Palestinians, many not so well educated or well spoken, spouting a lot of the same revisionist rhetoric you did below.
The Israeli declaration of independence also called for Palestinians and Arabs to remain -
"In the midst of wanton aggression, we yet call upon the Arab inhabitants of the State of Israel to preserve the ways of peace and play their part in the development of the State, on the basis of full and equal citizenship and due representation in all its bodies and institutions....We extend our hand in peace and neighborliness to all the neighboring states and their peoples, and invite them to cooperate with the independent Jewish nation for the common good of all."
Secondly, the onus falls on the Arab states for creating any exodus - had they accepted the UN's two state solution in 1947, we wouldn't be having this discussion (and that would make for a better alternate timeline). The fact is they did not accept it. Leading up to the war, they literally called for Palestinians to "get out of the way" and leave the oncoming advance. Add to that the 30 thousand of wealthy Arabs that left before the war to wait it out, and the many more that simply fled to avoid being caught in the cross fire.
In the closing of January 1948, the exodus alarmed the Palestine Arab Higher Committee, which literally asked neighboring Arab countries to refuse visas to these refugees and to seal their borders against them.
And contemporary sources also reported it - the January 30th, 1948 edition of the Jaffa newspaper, Ash Sha'ab, reported: "The first of our fifth-column consists of those who abandon their houses and businesses and go to live elsewhere....At the first signs of trouble they take to their heels to escape sharing the burden of struggle." The March 30th As Sarih came down on Arab villagers near Tel Aviv for "bringing down disgrace on us all by 'abandoning the villages.'
And their own reports confirm this even further - Hajj Nimer el-Khatib, the leader of the Arab National Committee in Haifa, said Arab soldiers in Jaffa were mistreating the residents. "They robbed individuals and homes. Life was of little value, and the honor of women was defiled. This state of affairs led many residents to leave the city under the protection of British tanks." Jordan's Arab Legion commander. John Bagot Glubb, said: "Villages were frequently abandoned even before they were threatened by the progress of war."
Once the war was in full swing even contemporary press reports of the time that were covering major battles in which large numbers of Arabs fled ,mention no forcible expulsion by the Jewish forces. The Arabs are usually described as "fleeing" or "evacuating" their homes. In fact, places like Tiberias and Haifa were evacuated under British supervision, and the local Israeli government left standing orders not to touch any property or belongings. While Zionists are accused of "expelling and dispossessing" the Arab inhabitants of such towns as Tiberias and Haifa, the truth is much different. Both of those cities were within the boundaries of the Jewish State under the UN partition scheme and both were fought for by Jews and Arabs alike. They fled Haifa because forces led by Fawzi al-Qawukji, were mounting an attack, and there were rumors that Arab air forces would soon bomb the Jewish areas around Mt. Carmel. A British police report from Haifa, dated April 26, explained that "every effort is being made by the Jews to persuade the Arab populace to stay and carry on with their normal lives, to get their shops and businesses open and to be assured that their lives and interests will be safe. They even sent Golda Meir there in an effort to persuade Palestinians to stay, but to many (just like today) were to worried about being labeled as traitors.
But talk to some actual Palestinians, and read about the conflict with an open mind, and you find a whole different story.
I'm sorry, but that's just not the case. I met the original Palestinian peace delegation in the early 90's and hung out privately with them for a bit, they were very well educated, did not speak ill of Israel or Israeli's and simply just wanted a state - a return to the 2 state solution.
When we got out to the conference hall where they were to do a panel, the story was different. It was full of other Palestinians, many not so well educated or well spoken, spouting a lot of the same revisionist rhetoric you did below.
Actually, no. A majority of them left for various reasons. Let's start with the claim on numbers, often around a million - The 1949 Government of Israel census counted 160,000 Palestinians and arabs living in the country after the first war. In 1947, a total of 809,100 Palestinians and Arabs lived in the same area. This meant no more than 650,000 Palestinians and Arabs could have become refugees. A similar report by the UN Mediator on Palestine at the time came to an even lower figure — 472,000, and calculated that only about 360,000 Palestinian and Arab refugees required aid.Israel forced an entire people off their land,
The Israeli declaration of independence also called for Palestinians and Arabs to remain -
"In the midst of wanton aggression, we yet call upon the Arab inhabitants of the State of Israel to preserve the ways of peace and play their part in the development of the State, on the basis of full and equal citizenship and due representation in all its bodies and institutions....We extend our hand in peace and neighborliness to all the neighboring states and their peoples, and invite them to cooperate with the independent Jewish nation for the common good of all."
Secondly, the onus falls on the Arab states for creating any exodus - had they accepted the UN's two state solution in 1947, we wouldn't be having this discussion (and that would make for a better alternate timeline). The fact is they did not accept it. Leading up to the war, they literally called for Palestinians to "get out of the way" and leave the oncoming advance. Add to that the 30 thousand of wealthy Arabs that left before the war to wait it out, and the many more that simply fled to avoid being caught in the cross fire.
In the closing of January 1948, the exodus alarmed the Palestine Arab Higher Committee, which literally asked neighboring Arab countries to refuse visas to these refugees and to seal their borders against them.
And contemporary sources also reported it - the January 30th, 1948 edition of the Jaffa newspaper, Ash Sha'ab, reported: "The first of our fifth-column consists of those who abandon their houses and businesses and go to live elsewhere....At the first signs of trouble they take to their heels to escape sharing the burden of struggle." The March 30th As Sarih came down on Arab villagers near Tel Aviv for "bringing down disgrace on us all by 'abandoning the villages.'
And their own reports confirm this even further - Hajj Nimer el-Khatib, the leader of the Arab National Committee in Haifa, said Arab soldiers in Jaffa were mistreating the residents. "They robbed individuals and homes. Life was of little value, and the honor of women was defiled. This state of affairs led many residents to leave the city under the protection of British tanks." Jordan's Arab Legion commander. John Bagot Glubb, said: "Villages were frequently abandoned even before they were threatened by the progress of war."
Once the war was in full swing even contemporary press reports of the time that were covering major battles in which large numbers of Arabs fled ,mention no forcible expulsion by the Jewish forces. The Arabs are usually described as "fleeing" or "evacuating" their homes. In fact, places like Tiberias and Haifa were evacuated under British supervision, and the local Israeli government left standing orders not to touch any property or belongings. While Zionists are accused of "expelling and dispossessing" the Arab inhabitants of such towns as Tiberias and Haifa, the truth is much different. Both of those cities were within the boundaries of the Jewish State under the UN partition scheme and both were fought for by Jews and Arabs alike. They fled Haifa because forces led by Fawzi al-Qawukji, were mounting an attack, and there were rumors that Arab air forces would soon bomb the Jewish areas around Mt. Carmel. A British police report from Haifa, dated April 26, explained that "every effort is being made by the Jews to persuade the Arab populace to stay and carry on with their normal lives, to get their shops and businesses open and to be assured that their lives and interests will be safe. They even sent Golda Meir there in an effort to persuade Palestinians to stay, but to many (just like today) were to worried about being labeled as traitors.
LOL, that depends on who you talk to and whether or not you choose to ignore the building up of forces and military activities by the other sides leading up to said wars. Much like many southerners in the US still refer to the Civil War as "The war of yankee aggression".waged four wars of aggression,
Ah yes, you're speaking of those lands that were occupied by Egypt and Jordan for 20 years, against the very same UN resolution? That they also built settlements and such on in violation of international law? It's always funny how revisionism manages to have amnesia about that 20 year period, when there was not a peep about those "occupied lands", or basic rights and care (when many were being treated as second class citizens by these countries) or statehood from the Arabs or the Palestinians. And most notably by the Palestinians, whose land was taken away by those Arab countries. In fact, the only thing you heard was to still refer to the Israeli land set up by the UN as "occupied".maintained an occupation over Palestine for 40 years which routinely violates the political and personal rights of the people in the occupied territories, stolen land to build settlements in violation of international law
That's one area where we can agree to a point, though that point ends on a) Historically urban warfare has larger casualties, regrettable as they are and b) Hamas (like Hezbollah) tend to use their surrounding civilian population as a buffer (as was reported by the UN and Amnesty International).killed many times more Palestinian civilians than it has lost (I'm not excusing Hamas terrorism,
That's a little off there. White phosphorus is not a violation of international law - its premeditated use as a weapon in certain circumstances is. And in fact it is commonly used by militaries across the world as a smoke inducing and illuminating bomb - which is what Israel used it as during the Gaza engagement. It's use and governing by International Humanitarian Law is pretty well laid out here. What the issue was, is that Amnesty International accused Israel of using white phosphorus improperly. However, the International Red Cross (who was actually there) stated there was "no evidence to suggest it is being used improperly or illegally."used weapons such as white phosphorus that violate international law...need I go on?
Last edited: