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| Palestinian Woman in traditional Ramallah dress. |
A Global Controversy: The conflict between the state of Israel and the Palestinians.
An Essay
by Nancy Harb Almendras
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A global controversy for which there
has been no solution for sixty-eight years is the conflict between the state of
Israel and the Palestinians.
In 1967 the
United Nations proclaimed the state of Israel on two-thirds of historic
Palestine. At this time the land set
aside for the Jewish State had a majority of Palestinian Arab inhabitants. The
solution for the problem is to afford those Palestinian Arabs who want to
return to their original towns and villages in what is now Israel to return and
to allocate the area which Israel has occupied since 1948, referred to as the
West Bank and Gaza for a Palestinian State.
A majority of Israelis will argue that
if Palestinians who wish to return to their homes in present day Israel do so,
then Israel will cease to be a Jewish state.
One could argue that it is a racist concept to define a state based upon
religion and to keep those out whose ethnicity or religion differs from the
majority. Besides, the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights states that “every man may leave his home and
return to his home.”
Imagine if one was born in California,
but due to a political issue, could not return to California. Not return to California to see Sequoia
National Forest, Yosemite, the Golden Gate Bridge, the trees in one’s own
backyard. This is precisely what
happened to the Palestinians even prior to 1948, when the leaders of Jewish
militias put in place a plan, Plan Dalet, to ethnically cleanse the future
Jewish state of its Palestinian Arab inhabitants. This is a historical fact attested to by
Palestinian historians, i.e., Princeton Professor Emeritus Walid Khalidi,
researcher Dr. Salman Abu Sitta, as well as Israeli historians, Ilan Pappe and
Benny Morris. Proponents of the state of
Israel will say that Israelis were defending the emergent state from invading
Arab armies, but before any Arab armies entered Palestine, many of its
inhabitants were already ethnically cleansed.
Ghassan Kanafani writes beautifully of the trauma he and his family
endured upon becoming refugees in the moving short story “Land of Sad Oranges.”
What will become of Israel’s Jewish
citizens if Palestinians decide to exercise their right of return? Researcher, Dr. Salman Abu Sitta, has written
that on many of the over 530 Palestinian villages that were destroyed in the
aftermath of the state of Israel, Israel has not rebuilt and Israelis do not
live in them. Palestinians and their
descendants who return could rebuild their villages with little disruption to
the lives of the current Jewish Israeli inhabitants. Keep in mind that Israel currently has a
Palestinian Arab minority of roughly one-quarter.
Currently, Israel, when one includes
occupied Gaza and the West Bank, rules over a majority of Palestinian
Arabs. These Palestinians enjoy few civil
rights, including the right to self-determination, as they are not allowed to
vote. Contrary to international law,
Israel has moved its own citizens to the territories which it occupies, taking
prime Palestinian land, using an inordinate amount of the water, raiding
Palestinian villages, demolishing Palestinian homes, and displacing
Palestinians. Little has changed since
1948. Many Israelis ask what will become
of the settlers if the West Bank becomes part of a Palestinian state. Just like Palestinians will have a right
whether to return to their original homes in Israel or instead live in the new
Palestinian state, the settlers will have the same choice: live in a sovereign
Palestinian state or return to Israel.
Some Palestinians argue that instead of
a separate Palestine and Israel there should be just one state in which all of
its citizens enjoy equal rights, just as some Israelis argue that if
Palestinians return, Israel will cease to exist as a “Jewish” state. Basically, what exists now is one state,
albeit, one in which Palestinians have no rights. One must take into consideration that if
there are no separate states, how will the economically inferior Palestinians
fare? Will it be much of the same as
under occupation? To those who say that Israel
will lose its “Jewish” character, well welcome to the twenty-first
century. How ludicrous does it sound if
one maintains that the US must retain its white character?
Edward Said once said that it’s
unfortunate that the foe of the Palestinian-Arab is the Jew. One reason is that the Jewish people, because
of the tragedy which occurred to them in World War II, have the sympathy of the
world. He also showed that it is not impossible
for Palestinians and Jewish Israelis to work together; he and Daniel Barenboim,
an Israeli Jew, together sponsored the Palestinian Youth Orchestra, which
travels the world to much acclaim.
Today, there are many Jewish advocates, working alongside people of many
ethnicities, for the end of the occupation and the creation of a separate
Palestinian state. In an increasingly
globalized world, it is important to both honor and set aside ethnic and
religious differences. It is still
possible to believe that human beings are capable of living together in a
spirit of respect and trust.
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Putting a face on the facts
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| Nancy's father- from Palestine- Basil Harb |
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| Nancy at 19 in traditional dress- Her first visit to Ramallah Palestine |
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| Nancy Harb Almendras in 2014 |