Israeli-Arab Conflict – A History
By J. Garry Kohn
Over eighteen hundred years ago, the Jews were forcibly dispossessed
by the Romans, and the country was occupied thereafter by successive
conquerors – Arabs, Crusaders, Mamelukes, Ottoman Turk: But
the Jewish people never renounced the right to their homeland.
During all these centuries of dispersion, the people hoped and
prayed for return and for restoration of independence.
The uniqueness of Jewry’s link with Palestine has been recognized
more than once. Jewish and Arab claims presented to a forum of
the League of Nations in 1922 led to a mandate, making the British
Government responsible for the establishment of a Jewish National
Home in Palestine “through immigration: and “close
settlement by Jews on the land”. On the 29th of November,
1947, having exhaustedly studied and debated the issues, the United
Nations General Assembly re-affirmed that Jewish right to independence
in Palestine by passing one of the most famous resolutions in its
history – The Partition of Palestine.
The Arab State waged war against the resolution of the General
Assembly: the armies of Egypt, Jordan Lebanon, Syria and Iraq invaded
Israel on the very day, on which pursuant to a decision of the
community of nations, she declared her independence. Thus it was
that the Jewish State was born in conflict and combat, which still
darkens Arab Israeli relations. It is a shadow that might have
been dispelled long ago by peaceful negotiation, had the Arabs
held to an agreement made in 1919 by their own King Feisal and
Israel’s Dr. Chaim Weizman, pledging themselves to “the
closest possible collaboration in the development of the Arab States
and Palestine.
The partition, however, posed a refugee problem. The majority
of the Arabs within the Israel partition boundaries were not prepared
to accept the state and preferred to leave. Many of them joined
the Arab armed forces preparing to attack the new State. Not all
went willingly. There were also those who feared that if they stayed,
the conquering Arab armies would brand them as “collaborators”.
However, when the Jews defended themselves successfully, the local
Arab leaders fled, and most of the remaining Arab population, bewildered
and panic stricken followed their example. In vain did the Jewish
leaders try to arrest this flight and to assure the Arabs that
they had only to stay in order to remain in safe possession of
their homes and lands.
But the refugee problem was a two-way migration movement. In
their turn, some 800,000 Jews grievously persecuted, their
personal security
threatened, fled from Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Egypt and other Arab
countries and came to Israel destitute, all their possessions
confiscated by the governments which drove them out. These
people were settled
in Israel, as soon as humanly possible, after their arrival in
the new country.
The Arabs who did remain (and there are now over 800,000 of them)
are citizens of the state, with citizen’s rights and duties.
They vote for members of Parliament who are generally, but not
necessarily Arabs, they send their children to schools where they
are taught in the first place – Arabic; they enjoy equality
before the law and for the most part own and till their own land.
They are, in fact, experiencing prosperity unequalled in the past
or present by any Arabs anywhere else. But it is not easy for these
people to have peace of mind in an environment such as this, as
they are treated as the enemy by all the neighbouring Arab Governments.
These governments wage a constant covert war of border incidents,
marauding and infiltration which forces Israel to take precautionary
security measures in areas where Israeli-Arabs live. These Arabs
who remained behind, and integrated into the fabric of Israel appear
happy and exhibit little if any hostility towards the Jewish State.
What still seems far from fulfillment is the prospect of Israel’s
harmonious integration as an independent sovereign state into a
Middle East society where Arab countries predominate. The road
ahead is still barred by Arab rancour, by memories of the conflict
of 1948, when they were defeated in humiliation by a small Israeli
underground force. The population at that time was 650,000 in Palestine
as compared to some 30 million in the Arab state.
Israel’s view of the conflict is a straightforward one:
she entered it to defend the lives and future of her citizens.
She did so with regret, believing that it could have been avoided.
She has no demand against her Arab neighbours, territorial or otherwise,
accepts the situation as it is, and is prepared to put her seal
to it in a treaty of non-aggression, of peace and cooperation.
All she asks of her neighbours is to accept her as she is.
It is the Arab states that do not accept the situation as it is.
They make demands that would give Israel only half the land she
now occupies – leaving a measly 4,000 square miles; that
she should take back the hundreds of thousands of Arab refugees
who left on their own will during the War of Liberation; and that
Jerusalem should be internationalized. Israel rejects these demands,
as they are not justified on merits.
The question of the Arab refugees is really genuine and pressing.
The Arab statesmen, for reasons of propaganda, refuse to re-settle
the 700,000 or 800,000 human beings who fled Israel. Instead, they
are leaving them in overcrowded villages and camps along the border,
jobless and hungry, and living as no one in our civilization could
possibly conceive. Yet, there are vast areas within Arab territory
where these people could live and work comfortably.
The Arab attitude to Israel is only one symptom, if the most strikingly
pathological, of a morbid side to Arab nationalism, the reverse
of all the great advances made by the Arab peoples in the last
half century. Not only in the Israeli-Arab conflict, but in other
fields too, Arab leadership has lacked a constructive, rational
approach to human, social and political problems. Israel’s
strong sense of nationalism has been shown in her struggle to gain
equality in the eye of the world, and in her vast progress in the
last fifty three years.
What does this all boil down to? Negotiations – the way
to peace, is the only answer. The refugee problem could be solved
if the right Arab approach was taken. Arab fears of future Israel
expansion are in part, fictitious, and where genuine, can easily
be set at rest. Once the Arab states admit to themselves that they
have lost the battle of 1948 and that they are only battering their
heads against a wall by denying the right of Israel to exist, will
it become suddenly clear that there are no true conflicts of interest
between all or any one of the Arab States and Israel.
It is for the United Arab Republic to realize the importance of
a peaceful Middle East and their hopelessness and senselessness
to face the existence of Israel. The sooner they come to this realization,
the better, for only then can progress begin towards Arab-Israeli
cooperation and world betterment!
ADDITIONAL BACKGROUND AND HISTORY
The Jews and the Arabs both trace their ancestry back to Abraham.
The Jews trace their descent through Isaac, Abraham’s son,
and the Arabs through another son, Ishmael, Isaac’s half
brother. Isaac and Ishmael were rivals to inherit the land promised
that God had promised to Abraham. Ishmael was older than Isaac
was, but his mother was not Abraham’s wife. The Bible tells
us that God told Abraham to make Isaac his heir.
Today the rivalry of the half brothers is reflected in the bitter
tension between the Jews and the Arabs. Both groups claim Israel.
However, the following points provide an interesting scenario regarding
historical claim to the land:
1. Nationhood and Jerusalem. Israel became a nation in 1312 B.C.E.,
two thousand years before the rise of Islam. 2. Arab refugees in Israel began identifying themselves as part
of a Palestinian people in 1967, two decades after the establishment
of the modern State of Israel.
3. Since the Jewish conquest in 1272 B.C.E., the Jews have had
dominion over the land for one thousand years with a continuous
presence in the land for the past 3,300 years.
4. The only Arab dominion since the conquest in 635 C.E. lasted
no more than 22 years.
5. For over 3,300 years, Jerusalem has been the Jewish capital.
Jerusalem has never been the capital of any Arab or Muslim entity.
Even when the Jordanians occupied Jerusalem, they never sought
to make it their capital, and Arab leaders did not come to visit.
6. Jerusalem is mentioned over 700 times in Tanach, the Jewish
Holy Scriptures. Jerusalem is not mentioned once in the Koran.
7. King David founded the city of Jerusalem. Mohammed never came
to Jerusalem.
8. Jews pray facing Jerusalem. Muslims pray with their backs toward
Jerusalem.
9. Arab and Jewish Refugees: In 1948 the Arab refugees were encouraged
to leave Israel by Arab leaders promising to purge the land of
Jews. Sixty-eight percent left without ever seeing an Israeli soldier.
10. The Jewish refugees were forced to flee from Arab lands due
to Arab brutality, persecution and pogroms.
11. The number of Arab refugees who left Israel in 1948 is estimated
to be around 630,000. The number of Jewish refugees from Arab lands
is estimated to be the same.
12. Arab refugees were INTENTIONALLY not absorbed or integrated
into the Arab lands to which they fled, despite the vast Arab territory.
Out of the 100,000,000 refugees since World War II, theirs is the
only refugee group in the world that has never been absorbed or
integrated into their own peoples' lands. Jewish refugees were
completely absorbed into Israel, a country no larger than the state
of New Jersey.
13. The Arab - Israeli Conflict: The Arabs are represented by
eight separate nations, not including the Palestinians. There is
only one Jewish nation. The Arab nations initiated all five wars
and lost. Israel defended itself each time and won.
14. The P.L.O.'s Charter still calls for the destruction of the
State of Israel. Israel has given the Palestinians most of the
West Bank land, autonomy under the Palestinian Authority, and has
supplied them.
15. Under Jordanian rule, Jewish holy sites were desecrated and
the Jews were denied access to places of worship. Under Israeli
rule, all Muslim and Christian sites have been preserved and made
accessible to people of all faiths.
16. The U.N. Record on Israel and the Arabs: of the 175 Security
Council resolutions passed before 1990, 97 were directed against
Israel.
17. Of the 690 General Assembly resolutions voted on before 1990,
429 were directed against Israel.
18. The U.N was silent while 58 Jerusalem Synagogues were destroyed
by the Jordanians.
19. The U.N. was silent while the Jordanians systematically desecrated
the ancient Jewish cemetery on the Mount of Olives.
20. The U.N. was silent while the Jordanians enforced an apartheid-like
policy of preventing Jews from visiting the Temple Mount and the
Western Wall.
Jews make up about 85 percent of the people of Israel. Nearly
50 percent of the country’s Jews were born there. About 25%
came from Europe, and the other 25% came from other Asian or Arab
countries.
Arabs account for about 15% of the population. The law gives them
the same social and political rights as the Jews. Israel gave the
Arab women the right to vote before any Arab country did so. The
Arabs are better off economically in Israel than in almost anywhere
else in the Middle East.
Israeli law guarantees religious freedom and allows
members of any faith to have days of rest on their Sabbath and
holy days.
Consequently, there are three Sabbaths in Israel. Friday (Muslim)
... Saturday (Jewish) ... Sunday (Christian). As a result, workweeks
begin on
three days, Saturday, Sunday, or Monday. The laws of most towns
and cities follow the rules of the Jewish Sabbath.
Israel has two official languages... Hebrew and Arabic. Both
are used in court hearings, in government debates and reports,
and on Israeli money and stamps. Many Israelis speak both languages.
Hebrew is used in the Jewish schools, many of which teach Arabic
and Arabic is spoken in the Arab schools, and Hebrew is taught
beginning in the fourth grade.
Israeli law requires all children from the age of 5 through 13
to go to school. Parents may choose religious or non-religious
schools for their children. Some Arab children attend the non-religious
schools, and others attend Arab schools. Public elementary schools
are free, but the high schools, both Jewish and Arab, charge
low tuitions.
Israel has many universities and technical schools. The largest
is the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. The Israeli Institute of
Technology, the Technion, is in Haifa. The emphasis on education,
the arts and sciences in Israel is unequalled anywhere in the world.
Israel is a democratic republic. There is no constitution, but
one is being drawn up. It took its law from the British, and
the Ottoman Empire (now Turkey). The fundamental laws may be
changed
only by a two-thirds vote of the parliament.
There are so many political parties in Israel, that there has
almost always been a coalition government. Parties include the
far right to the far left (even communist), and many Arab members.
The Knesset (parliament) has 120 members, elected for four-year
terms elected by a system of proportional representation.
Israel is bordered on all sides by hostile nations. Directly on
the borders, are Egypt, Syria, Lebanon and Jordan. The total population
of these countries numbers 68,726,000. Additional hostile Arab
nations, including: Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi
Arabia, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen, make up an additional
population of 98,859,000. Israel’s population is 4,300,000
situated in an area of about 8000 square miles. As a comparison,
this is slightly smaller than Vancouver Island. More than half
of the country is still desert. In 1940, only about 20% of the
land was green, or fit for farming and living, but in the last
40 years, the Israelis, through determination and technology, have
transformed the desert into blooming, viable land.
The balance of armed forces between Israel and its eastern neighbours
(not including Egypt, which is to the west) is 1 to 6 in troops,
1 to 4 in planes, and 1 to 3 in tanks. The Israeli army is an
active force, men and women, of about 70,000, and almost 250,000
reservists
can be called up in 24 hours.
One of the most obvious resentments that the Arabs in the West
Bank, and particularly Jerusalem have, is that they now have to
pay municipal and state taxes to support all the new services that
Israel is providing, and which they did not have before the liberation
in 1967, such as fresh running water, new sewers, better schools,
transportation, new construction of public facilities. Perhaps
there is some justification that they should more self-rule, but
given the emotional situation, that may not be likely for some
time.
As Israel is the only real democracy in the Middle East, it will
be some time before the Arab nations can come to terms with themselves
and Israel in true peace negotiations.
NOTES ON ARAB – ISRAELI CONFLICTS
MYTH
Jews bought the land from poor Arabs at bargain prices.
FACT
At the end of World War I, some of Palestine’s land was owned
by absentee landlords, who lived in Cairo, Damascus and Beirut.
About 80% of the Palestine Arabs were debt- ridden peasants, semi-nomads
and Bedouin.
Analyses of land purchases from 1880 to 1948 show that 70% of
the Jewish plots were purchased from large landowners, not
poor Fellahin.
Most of the land purchased had not been cultivated because it
was swampy, rocky, and sandy or for some reason, considered
uncultivable.
(Confirmed by the Peel Commission – 1937).
The Peel Commission stated that in only three years – 1933-35
Jews paid 4,202,180 pounds sterling ($20 million in 1936 exchange
rates) to Arab landowners – equivalent of $1000. + per acre
for arid or semi arid land. Rich black soil in Iowa was selling
at that time for about $110. per acre.
OWNERSHIP
At the time of the establishment of the state, 8.6% of the land
now known as Israel, was owned by Jews, 3.3% by Arabs, who remained
there, 16.5% by those who left, and the remaining 70% was owned
by the British Government.
TERRORISM
The Haganah, the Israeli defence forces at that time had no policy
of terrorism. The Irgun was a splinter group that was responsible
for what some considered terrorist attacks, but close examination
of the areas of theses attacks, will reveal that they were primarily
aimed at Arab military strongholds.
The attack on the King David Hotel, the site of the British military
command was in reprisal for the British raiding the Jewish Agency
in Jerusalem, and confiscating large quantities of documents,
and arresting over 2500 Jewish leaders from all over Palestine.
There can be no comparison of the acts of the Irgun (which were
not condoned by the Israeli government), with the constant
attacks by the P.L.O. on hundreds of civilian groups.
MYTH
The drafters of U.N. Resolution 242 (the withdrawal of Israeli
troops from land occupied during the 1967 war) is inadequate
and should be amended because it refers to the Palestinian issue
only as a ‘refugee problem’ and not as a problem
of Palestinian – Arab nationalism.
FACT
The drafters of Resolution 242 showed little interest in promoting
a Palestinian state in 1967 just as the Arab states had shown
no interest for the previous 19 years.
The resolution drafters chose the word ‘refugee’ to
indicate that there were two refugee problems. Arab and Jewish.
About 800,000 Jews were forced to flee from Arab countries since
1940 and were never compensated for their losses.
MYTH
Israeli settlements have displaced thousands of Arabs and have
taken thousands of acres of Arab lands.
FACT
As a matter of policy, most settlements are located in uninhabited
or sparsely settled regions. They are basically built to provide
safety and security from future Arab guerrilla terrorist attacks.
FACT
The Arab countries have done nothing to aid, educate, or re-settle
the so-called refugees since 1947-48.
WORLD AID TO PALESTINIAN ARAB REFUGEES – 1950-1974
Total world contributors to Palestinian Arab refugees from non
Middle Eastern countries was $985 million.
Total contributions in the same period from Middle Eastern countries
was $31 million. Of that amount, over $5 million came
from Israel. Oil revenues for 1974 from Arab oil producing countries was $75
billion.
While there are many Israelis who would give up most of the “occupied
territories” (1967), they would only do so if there were
a very definite guarantee of peace in the Middle East. Based on
history, the P.L.O. charter, and constant terrorist attacks everywhere
in the world, the likelihood of this coming about is rare. One
thing that all Israelis agree upon is that the city of Jerusalem
will never be given up. Israel is running it as though it were
an international city, but in my opinion, it will always, in the
future, be governed by Israel.
Israel does not have expansionist desires, but only wishes to
live in peace within secure borders.
The Arabs, who stayed in Israel and the West Bank, are much better
off financially and socially than most of their brethren in other
Arab countries.
Arabs with the original borders of Israel, since 1948, have Israeli
passports, and are accorded all the privileges of Israeli citizens.
They do have their own members of parliament, but the one thing
that they are not required to do is serve in the Israeli defence
forces.
J. Garry Kohn | 
