Reply #91: So honestly, let's get to the chase...what did the Palestinians of that era really have to fear?

[shira]

There was no significant program ever planned or implemented to expel, disenfranchise, or disposess the natives so rumors of all that were bullshit and nothing but an excuse for intolerance and hatred. Jews coming to Israel went there as refugee victims seeking safe asylum. They bought land and homes legally, just as the 2 million Jews of the greater NYC area have done. There was no evil, racist plan to kick Palestinians out or limit Arab immigration during that time - no more than there is some nefarious plan in place right now for NYC Jews to kick out or disenfranchise the non-Jews from NYC - nevermind claims by bigots like the KKK's David Duke that Jews run the NYT, there's a Jewish Mayor of NYC, and that NYC is occupied by Jews. I'm pretty sure there are at least a couple Jews in the NYC area over the past 60 years who wronged some non-Jews but that doesn't prove some grand evil, racist conspiracy anymore than in Israel 60-80 years ago by the Jews back then. The Nazi Mufti Al-Hussayni's narrative about the Jews back then (being evil, racist colonialists) is no more credible than David Duke's similar rantings now.

Without the wars of 1948 (civil as well as a united Arab assault) the Palestinians would still be the majority in that area, more Arabs would keep immigrating in for economic reasons, and the Jews at best would have only the land assigned to them via the Partition plan (in which no Palestinians would have been forced to move).

Be honest.

What is unjust about that?

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In addition, you keep bringing up 2 peoples here, both Jews and Palestinians. But before 1948 Jews of that area were every bit as Palestinian as any Arab. Yassir Arafat was born in Egypt so Ariel Sharon who was born before 1948 in Palestine was more Palestinian than Arafat. However, the UN ruled that any Arab who had lived in that area for more than 2 years (since 1946) counted as Palestinian. No, it wasn't so much a conflict between Jews and Palestinians as it was Jews and Arabs back then.