Between 1947 and 1949, for the state of Israel to be established, a significant percentage of Palestinians were removed from areas now controlled by the Jewish state.
Just a few years prior, from 1940 to 1945, the Jewish people were removed from society in much of Europe, often killed, they lost their jobs, their livelihood, their lives and families…
And then, returning from Europe, having survived the camps… they did what amounts to “ethnic cleansing”. I’m not going to mince words here, even though I won’t make myself popular with this answer in certain circles. But no, the Palestinians didn’t all “voluntarily leave”. Many were forced out, others fled for their lives and safety.
The world is full of such stories — stories of people, surviving terrible hardship. Overcoming great odds. And then turning into the thing they swore never to become. A subjugated people swears never, ever, to be a victim again. Never to bow to anyone. They are hardened, through shared trauma. Collective suffering. The same nightmares haunt them, and now they must have a place of their own. A safe haven. If to get it, others must be removed, so be it. They do what must be done. Yes, there were massacres on both sides. There were Jews killed by Palestinians, and vice versa. It was a nasty time and many Arab states treated the new nation with great hostility…
But still, the number of Palestinians displaced is shocking. About 300,000 Palestinians fled or were displaced by war. Many would return only to find the deeds of their land invalid, Jewish settlers now living in their farms, making use of their wells. This is not a trivial matter or something to be glossed over — it’s a historic injustice of tremendous importance, the effects of which echo into today.
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