Who’s being unfair? Arab, Palestinian claims of unfairness on Israel’s part largely hypocritical by Dan Calic May 5, 2010 http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3884768,00.html In 1917 the Balfour Declaration promised a homeland for the Jewish people. Shortly afterward, in 1920, the British Government declared 43,000 square miles of land would be made available to establish said homeland in the Middle East. However, two years later Britain broke this promise and 77% of this land was given away to establish the country of Trans-Jordan. Was this fair? During the horror of the Holocaust and immediately after the war desperate Jews sought refuge in Eretz Israel. Subsequently the British government decided it no longer wanted to manage this increasingly volatile area, so it turned to the United Nations and put the matter in it hands. When it became apparent the Jewish state would become a reality local and regional Arab leaders told their brethren living in the land that was to be partitioned to leave “for just a few weeks,” because that’s how long it would take to utterly destroy the soon to be new Jewish state. They could then return to reclaim their land….and even more because the Jews would be wiped out. Was this fair? Since this war several hundred thousand Arabs who left with the hope of returning to a land free of Jews have become “refugees.” The surrounding Arab countries could have easily repatriated them, but chose to let them live in camps. Why? This allows them to remain a key unresolved issue and adds fuel to the Arab/Palestinian narrative which is designed to make Israel the villain. To this day Arab leaders including Mahmoud Abbas continue to demand the “right of return” of these “refugees” as part of any agreement. Is this fair? To this day the rebirth of the nation of Israel is observed annually by the “refugees” and is called the “Nakba.” What is virtually never mentioned in the mainstream media is what happened to the Jews living in the Arab countries around the time of Israel’s rebirth. After centuries of living peacefully in Arab countries they lost their jobs, had their property and bank accounts confiscated, were imprisoned, and some were killed. Many of them lost everything they had. Virtually all of them were forced out of countries they had lived in for centuries. Israel took them all in. The collective number of these Jews is roughly equal to the number of so-called “Palestinian refugees.” Yet the public narrative only refers to the Arab/Palestinian refugees, and paints Israel as the villain who should be responsible for resolving the issue, instead of the Arab countries who refused to repatriate them. Is this fair? Arabs rejected two-state solution This discussion of fairness would not be complete without addressing the event which single handedly affected this horrific decades-long conflict far more than any other. On November 29, 1947 the United Nations passed resolution 181 declaring two separate states in the remaining 23% of the original mandate. One Jewish state and one Arab state. Thus, of the land promised as a home for the Jewish people by Britain in 1920, 88% was given away, leaving the Jews with a mere 12%. Was this fair? As unfair as this was to the Jews who had been promised much more they agreed to settle for this remaining sliver of territory. After all this would be a “two-state solution,” which would presumably settle the matter. The UN vote to approve the two separate states was 33 in favor, 13 against and 10 abstaining. Of those who voted, a solid 72% of the community of nations voted in favor of the resolution. Every Arab member nation voted against it. Not only did they vote against it, they made a decision which became a critical turning point that forever changed the legacy of events in this region, and indeed the entire world. Instead of honoring the solid majority vote of the community of nations to support a two-state solution, the Arabs announced they would not accept the vote, and further said the moment the Jewish state declares independence they would attack it and destroy it. Was this fair? The decision by the Arabs to reject the majority vote of the UN became the launching point for what has turned into a decades-long conflict which has no end in sight. What’s ironic is over the past several decades the Arabs point with zeal at numerous anti-Israel statements and resolutions passed by the UN. Yet they (and most of the world) are conspicuously silent when one reminds them of the decision to reject the single most important resolution creating a two-state solution in 1948. Instead, the Arabs (and not the Jews) chose to launch an era which so far has produced six wars. The names of the individuals and groups have changed over the years; however all one has to do is listen to their statements, look at their actions and read their charters all of which confirm what remains unchanged - the goal of Israel’s destruction. At this point one may ask: What is fair? The simplest answer is for the Arab world to accept Israel’s right to exist as a sovereign homeland for the Jewish people. If the Jews can accept being outnumbered in terms of countries 22 to 1, and if the Jews can accept being outnumbered population-wise 325 million to 5.5 million, and if the Jews can accept being outsized 5 million square miles to 8,000; yet the Arabs refuse, in all fairness who’s being unfair?