Feb 8, 2012
Jewish Refugees To Counter Palestinian Refugees
One of the sticking points in peace negotiations has always been the issue of the refugees. The Palestinians have always kept the issue of the refugees on the table insisting on the right of return, reparations and whatnot. The Israelis have retorted numerous times, though never actually raising it seriously as a tactic, that the Jewish refugee problem was far greater than that of the Palestinians. the Israelis seemed to always mean it i the sense of, we had a siilar problem, of greater proportions, yet we absorbed our refugees, rehabilitated them and turned out a productive society moving on, and the Palestinians with, perhaps, other Arab nations, should stop sticking on the refugee issue and instead move on - rehab the refugees and create a new society.
Finally the issue of Jewish refugees is being considered seriously as a negotiating tactic. Accoring to a recent Israel Hayom report, the Foreign Ministry is recommending to raise the issue during all future rounds of negotiations.
I just don't see how the claim counters the demand. The Palestinians will demand refugee status, and the Israelis will demand the same in return - to which the Palestinians can simply say fine by us, go to Iraq, to Egypt, to wherever and ask them for refugee status and reparations for lost property.
| Jewish refugees in 1948 |
Finally the issue of Jewish refugees is being considered seriously as a negotiating tactic. Accoring to a recent Israel Hayom report, the Foreign Ministry is recommending to raise the issue during all future rounds of negotiations.
The Jewish refugees referred to in the report are Jews who fled from Arab nations in 1948 and were forced to leave their possessions behind before arriving in the newly established state of Israel.I am just not sure how the Palestinians are to be held responsible for the fact that the Saudis, Iraqis, Egyptians, Syrians, Tunisians, Algerians, Moroccins, and other host countries kicked out their Jews. Unless it is a general peace made with the entire Arab world, that is, but otherwise, while I love the idea,
This issue aims to counter the Palestinian Right of Return, under which the Palestinians wish to compel Israel to absorb Palestinian refugees and restore the property they left behind when they were forced to flee during the 1948 Independence War and in the Six-Day War in 1967.
The report, commissioned by Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon, includes recommendations for rehabilitating Palestinian refugees where they currently reside, much like Israel rehabilitated Jews who fled from Arab countries.
According to the report: “The phenomenon of perpetuating the refugee condition must end immediately; rehabilitating the refugees inside their destination countries will help reduce the demand for the Right of Return during core issue peace talks. Regardless, the Right of Return that many (Palestinian) refugees insist upon is to be granted on the condition they return only to within the borders of the future Palestinian state, which would be created as a result of a peace agreement.”
The Foreign Ministry report also recommended raising the issue of compensation for Jewish refugees from Arab countries within the framework of future peace talks. The compensation would be provided through an international fund, which would be established in accordance with proposals from former U.S. President Bill Clinton in 2000 and the U.S. Congress in 2008. This fund would aid in rehabilitating refugees where they currently reside, including retroactively assisting countries that have already invested in rehabilitating refugees, such as Israel and Jordan. The fund would also deal with the considerable amounts of Jewish property in Arab countries. To promote these issues Ayalon has planned a public diplomacy campaign, which is to include aiding like-minded non-governmental organizations.
The report further states that 856,000 Jews from Arab countries were uprooted from their homes, compared to 800,000 Arabs from Israel (within the Green Line). Ayalon explained that approximately half of Israel’s citizens have parents or grandparents who came from Arab countries. Therefore, within the framework of possible future peace negotiations, all aspects of these issues must be addressed. Meanwhile, Jewish property in Arab countries is estimated to be worth tens of billions of dollars.
I just don't see how the claim counters the demand. The Palestinians will demand refugee status, and the Israelis will demand the same in return - to which the Palestinians can simply say fine by us, go to Iraq, to Egypt, to wherever and ask them for refugee status and reparations for lost property.
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It's true that Palestinian refugees have been held in camps as a tactical move rather than moving on and making the best of things.
ReplyDeleteBut one of the problems in this argument is the one you mentioned, that whereas the Palestinian refugee problem is an Israeli issue, the Israeli refugee problem is not a Palestinian issue. Like you say it relates to other Arab countries.
The second problem is the fact that even though Jews became refugees from the lands they lived in, they were accepted into Israel, their own national homeland. Palestinians however became refugees from what they perceive to be their own homeland. Jews generally don't want to return to the lands they were kicked out of, because these are "foreign lands" (and for other reasons), whereas Palestinians do want to return, because again, they see it as their homeland.
It seems to me that to use a faulty argument like this makes Israelis seem like pretty poor logicians, not to mention "selectively sensitive" to the idea of being exiled from one's homeland - i.e. sensitive only where it comes to the idea of a Jewish homeland, but not where it comes to others, namely Palestinians. Which aside from being morally problematic is another bad PR move by Israel, if you ask me.
the saudis had jews to kick out?
ReplyDeletedont know. I was just thinking of arab countries. I dont know if they had any or not
ReplyDeleteThe Saudis didn't. Lots of other countries did. But I agree with David Meir. It's a complicated issue. You could argue that the Jews were kicked out, or forced to leave by violence, but there were also Israeli-sponsored operations to get them out. The Palestinians will argue the cases in which they, the Arabs, were actually forced out, such as in the Jersualem corridor. But even with all the problems, I still think they're right to raise the issue. In the end, the only way the refugee issue can be solved practically is by monetary compensation, and the Jews did have a lot of property stolen in Arab countries. This should be used as an offset against Palestinian claims. In fact, I believe that some of the Arab countries actually gave confiscated Jewish property to Palestinian refugees, or at least claimed that they had.
ReplyDeleteThis isn't a serious move, but a stalling tactic, and there is a bluff to be called.
ReplyDeleteHowever the truth is that, at least for the past couple of decades, the other Arab countries claim that their state of war with Israel hinges upon the Palestinian issue, often claiming that peace is impossible without settling the Palestinian issue. They seem to even claim that their relations with the entire Western world hinges upon that issue. It may be frustrating, but it does seem to be the case that the Arab world made it its own issue, and it all has to be worked out together. Since that's made a complex problem a thousand times more complex, guess how likely the chances for peace actually is (especially when you add the wrinkle that it is now considered acceptable to argue that treaties signed by non-democratic Arab governments need not be binding).
"Jews generally don't want to return to the lands they were kicked out of, because these are "foreign lands" (and for other reasons), whereas Palestinians do want to return, because again, they see it as their homeland."
ReplyDeleteThis is sort of false. The Palestinians want to "return" to Israel, not to Palestine. So it's the same as Israelis returning to Iraq.
It's the same land; different culture and government.
ReplyDeleteI agree that it makes no sense for them to get a Palestinian state and to live in Israel, but let's not kid ourselves: they're attached to the land and consider it their home. If you think of the Solomon story, while the Palestinians don't exactly say that the Jews should take it rather than divide it, they also aren't okay with dividing it. They're not faking that.
" while the Palestinians don't exactly say that the Jews should take it rather than divide it, they also aren't okay with dividing it. They're not faking that."
ReplyDeleteWell yeah, because they want to own all of it.
Has nothing to do with the Solomon story.
A lot of Israelis want all of it too.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous 5:17pm:
ReplyDeleteAsk a Palestinian what they see as their homeland.
If you like though I can save you the trouble... From the Jordan to the Sea, just like we say.
It's like "S." says, where they seek to return may be "Israel" politically, but they consider it part of their homeland - just like if there were ever a Palestinian state in Judea-Samaria we'd still consider it part of our homeland.
"A lot of Israelis want all of it too."
ReplyDeleteTrue, but they aren't looking for a "two state solution" or arguing for one.
The point is, if they want to argue for their own state separate from Israel, they can't also demand to have their citizens move to a country which is different from the country they are trying to establish.
A point not oftened noticed, is that there were also Palestinian Jewish refugees. As a result of the 1929 Arab riots, Jews had to leave their homes forever in Hebron, Shechem, Gaza and Tzefat. And in 1948, as a result of the Jordanian conquering of the Old City of Jerusalem, Jewish families who had lived there for centuries were either taken captive, killed or forced to flee.
ReplyDelete