The creation of a Jewish state

Israel’s independence in 1948 was marked by the massive migration of Jews from Europe and the Muslim countries to Israel. While hundreds of thousands of Jews were entering the area, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians were forced to leave.

Prior to the creation of Israel as a Jewish state, Jews and Palestinians lived and worked peacefully with one another and were mutually dependent on one another for economic security.

Ilan Pappe is an Israeli historian and social activist, born in 1954 in Haifa, Israel. At the age of 18, he served in the Israeli Defense Forces, serving in the Golan Heights during the 1973 Yom Kippur War.

In his book, “The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine,” Pappe refers to historian Walid Khalidi and his book “Plan Dalet: The Zionist Master Plan for the Conquest of Palestine,” drawn up in 1947 by Israeli leaders, which identifies Israel’s plan to remove Palestinians in 1948, the year of Israel’s creation. As a result, approximately 720,000 of 900,000 Palestinians were forced from their homes by the destruction of 500 Palestinian villages. He has stated further that the creation of Israel is responsible for the lack of peace in the Middle East and that Zionism is more dangerous than Islamic militancy. Clearly, he is not too popular in Israel.

What is ethnic cleansing? According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, it is the attempt to create ethnically homogeneous geographic areas through the deportation or forcible displacement of persons belonging to a particular ethnic group. Ethnic cleansing is held as a war crime and a crime against humanity and, in some cases, is considered a form of genocide.

By 1949, only about 100,000 Palestinian Arabs remained in Israel. Israel had already expanded beyond the boundaries specified by the partition agreement. Israel was originally granted 55% of historic Palestine but had expanded to 78% by 1949. To achieve the goal of an expanded Jewish state, Israeli military forces committed frequent invasions and massacres of Palestinian villages. Palestinians wisely fled for their lives.

Is ethnic cleansing a sorrowful part of Israeli history which has finally screeched to a halt? Not at all. Today, we have a gentler, kinder ethnic cleansing program, the expansion of illegal Israeli settlements into Palestinian territories forcing Palestinians to flee their homes.

Looking at the above historical information, one would assume that the American Jewish community would confront Israel regarding it’s policies concerning the Palestinian community. Instead, I have found a blind knee-jerk response of support for Israel from most Jews.

In many cases, these are the same people who were supportive of African-Americans in their struggle for equality and civil rights in the U.S. or the Black South Africans in their struggle to end apartheid, people who generally are politically progressive and on the right side of most issues. Yet, when one mentions Israel, they become brain-dead, unable to implicate Israel in any wrong doing.

In 1948, I was 13 years old and with my naive understanding of world events, I felt joy and pride at the creation of a Jewish state. Like most Jews, the impact of WWII and the Holocaust was strong and I was not concerned about Palestinians or any group as long as the Jewish people had a safe homeland, a place they might call their own.

As the years passed, I began to recognize the negative ramifications of a religious sponsored state, a state that was empowered to impose their specific religious doctrine and dogma on all it’s citizens. Or, better yet, would those who were not of the majority be allowed citizenship? It also struck me as odd that I, as a Jew, could travel to Israel and claim my citizenship while the men and women who have lived and worked in the country for many generations are oppressed, harassed, and often murdered.

Many will point to the violence committed by the Palestinians against Israel that has resulted in this oppression. Some will claim that both sides have committed atrocities against the other. I have purposely started this article by emphasizing the atrocities committed by the Israeli’s from the very beginning of the creation of Israel.

Israel has an organized, well armed military presence which includes an arsenal of nuclear weapons. The Palestinians collect rocks and sometimes strap bombs to their bodies in order to retaliate for the occupation and oppression Israel has imposed on them. There is no equal sign when assessing the carnage.

Most people are only too happy to label these acts as acts of terror. But one must ask, what constitutes terror? Is it not terror to have an armed military arbitrarily march into the homes of ordinary Palestinians, destroy their property, including their homes, physically brutalize and often murder members of their community? Is it not terror because it is state sponsored violence?

Let us return briefly to 1948. In the 11 years leading up to the creation of the state of Israel in Palestine, Zionist extremists who lived in the territory of Palestine under the British Mandate used terrorism as a military strategy to accelerate the establishment of an independent Jewish state. Their violence was directed against the British authorities and against the indigenous Palestinian population. Over 5,000 Palestinians and dozens of British were killed.

I’m certain that Israel’s history books do not cast these terrorists as terrorists but probably as heroes. History is that which the victors claim it is. One can easily see that in textbooks right here in the U.S., which project white Americans as the good guys fighting evil.

Whereas, some call the resisters to oppression terrorists, others call them freedom fighters.

Dave Alpert has masters degrees in social work, educational administration, and psychology. He spent his career working with troubled inner city adolescents.