I'm reading a very interesting book, Dear Palestine, by Shay Hazkani (an Israeli historian). According to him -- he cites chapter and verse -- the acquisition of the land that became Israel was not quite as benign as the comments here picture it. There was much more than "some displacement" of the locals, amid much violence and destructi…
I'm reading a very interesting book, Dear Palestine, by Shay Hazkani (an Israeli historian). According to him -- he cites chapter and verse -- the acquisition of the land that became Israel was not quite as benign as the comments here picture it. There was much more than "some displacement" of the locals, amid much violence and destruction of villages by the Israelis. It's true they were fighting 5 Arab countries. The Arab militaries were much weaker in training and materiel than the Israelis. Much of this has been made clear in the writing of historians, both Arab and Israeli. In many ways it's very similar to the takeover of the American lands from the American Indians. I was taught a rather heroic version of the establishment of Israel, and in many ways it was heroic, but it also has a dark side; and the behavior of Israel over the years, settlements, repression of the Palestinians, coddling of Hamas by Netanyahu to prevent a Palestinian state, all of that has been a disgrace. It has been very disappointing to me to learn the fuller picture. Still, Israel exists; it's not going away. People should stop killing each other and work out a livable arrangement. The present one is not livable.
Thanks. My references were to the early part of Zionist settlement. When I was growing up, in the '50s, I was told that Palestinians cleared out to leave a way for Arab armies to sweep in and kill the Jews. Some left out of fear, but you are right that many were displaced forcibly. To my mind, the attacks on the new state made such expulsions understandable and even necessary in a least some cases.
I'm reading a very interesting book, Dear Palestine, by Shay Hazkani (an Israeli historian). According to him -- he cites chapter and verse -- the acquisition of the land that became Israel was not quite as benign as the comments here picture it. There was much more than "some displacement" of the locals, amid much violence and destruction of villages by the Israelis. It's true they were fighting 5 Arab countries. The Arab militaries were much weaker in training and materiel than the Israelis. Much of this has been made clear in the writing of historians, both Arab and Israeli. In many ways it's very similar to the takeover of the American lands from the American Indians. I was taught a rather heroic version of the establishment of Israel, and in many ways it was heroic, but it also has a dark side; and the behavior of Israel over the years, settlements, repression of the Palestinians, coddling of Hamas by Netanyahu to prevent a Palestinian state, all of that has been a disgrace. It has been very disappointing to me to learn the fuller picture. Still, Israel exists; it's not going away. People should stop killing each other and work out a livable arrangement. The present one is not livable.
Thanks. My references were to the early part of Zionist settlement. When I was growing up, in the '50s, I was told that Palestinians cleared out to leave a way for Arab armies to sweep in and kill the Jews. Some left out of fear, but you are right that many were displaced forcibly. To my mind, the attacks on the new state made such expulsions understandable and even necessary in a least some cases.