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Caligastia
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The suffering Palestinians
By Mona Charen
http://www.washtimes.com/commentary...94809-5098r.htm
In 1867, Mark Twain visited the Holy Land and was dismayed at what he found, "a desolate country whose soil is rich enough, but is given over wholly to weeds — a silent, mournful expanse. ... A desolation is here that not even imagination can grace with the pomp of life and action. ... We never saw a human being on the whole route. ... There was hardly a tree or a shrub anywhere. Even the olive and the cactus, those fast friends of the worthless soil, had almost deserted the country." (From "The Innocents Abroad.")
The land to which Jews began to return in large numbers during the final two decades of the 19th century — the land they transformed from desert to orange groves, cities and kibbutzim — was largely empty, not the thriving "nation of Palestine," as the current myth has it.
One thinks of this because today's news brings fresh reports of the pitiless persecution of the Palestinians — not by Jews, but by their fellow Arabs — which is the true story of Palestinian oppression.
The Lebanese government, the New York Times reports, is considering revoking the citizenship it awarded to about 25,000 Palestinians in 1994, a move that will cost many of them their jobs, schools, homes and access to health care. "They are not welcomed," writes reporter Daniel J. Wakin, "by a government that declares its allegiance to the struggle for a Palestinian right to a homeland."
Lebanon, like Israel's other Arab neighbors, refused to absorb Arab refugees in 1948, placing them in camps instead. (Israel, by contrast, absorbed and made citizens of the 500,000 Jews who fled Arab lands at the same time.) Twelve refugee camps remain housing most of the 400,000 Palestinians who live in Lebanon. Lebanese law declares them to be stateless and, as such, forbidden to own land outside the refugee camps.
The camps are a disgrace — far worse than anything in the Israeli-administered territories (and Israel surrendered the day-to-day running of civilian life to the Palestinian Authority after the Oslo Accords). "Waste water runs through a trough in the alleys," reports the Times. "Human waste is disposed of in pits beneath homes. Some of the alleys have grown so jumbled that waste-removal trucks cannot get through, and filled-up pits are becoming a problem. ... Residents say the Lebanese army, which has a checkpoint at the camp's entrance, sometimes searches cars to make sure no unauthorized building materials enter, so the camp does not become more permanent.
Though the Palestinians are ethnically, culturally, religiously and linguistically indistinguishable from their neighbors in Lebanon, they are rejected and excluded from Lebanese society only to make a point about Lebanon's (read Syria's) total rejection of Israel's existence.
Arab governments deny this and claim that the camps will be closed just as soon as the "right of return" is recognized. But they of course know that the "right of return" would mean that up to 4,500,000 Palestinians living all over the world would have the right to settle in Israel. Israel could never accept nearly 5,000,000 implacably hostile Arabs. Israel is already home to 1,000,000 Arab citizens who can vote and even serve in the Knesset.
The Lebanese, or rather the Syrians, who invaded and control the country, certainly know that the Palestinians living in those camps will never "return" to Israel. So why keep them in such squalid conditions? As a breeding ground for terrorists, perhaps?
Following the Persian Gulf war in 1991, Kuwait simply clapped its hands and expelled up to 300,000 Palestinians. Why? Because Yasser Arafat had sided with Saddam Hussein in the war. The Palestinians had been integrated into Kuwaiti society, working at all kinds of jobs, from engineering to computer to menial work. Many had been born there. But the Kuwaiti royal family had no qualms about uprooting them. Ambassador Saud Nasir Sabah said, "They didn't represent a necessity to us." There was hardly a peep from the world community. Certainly there was no condemnation by the United Nations.
There is very little sincere concern around the world for the "plight" of the Palestinians. If there were, their situation in Arab countries would draw more attention. As it is, Palestinians are only useful as a club with which to beat Israel. It is disgusting that the Arabs are willing to do this to their own cousins, and equally dismaying that world opinion endorses it.
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Shouldn't all you folks who voice such concern for the plight of the Palestinians be criticizing these Arab countries once in a while? Why do you concentrate so much on Israel when Palestinians in Israel are treated far better than they are in Arab countries?
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GePap
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of the Big Apple
Nov 2001
time: 23:28
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Anyone here ever praise fellow arab treatment of palestinians?
First of all, the Twain quotes are misquotes, and useless, except for baseless porpaganda (British land surveys give you a much better picture). The whole "it was empty" notion is also easily disrpoved, if you get your ass to a library (a damn good one) and look at demographic surveys and censuses of the area. Oh, and her bit about the right of return, yet more crap.
But beyind that obvious propaganda at the start (after all, its the Washington times), the author is correct, neighboring Arab states treat palestinains terribly. Which means that their statements tat they are doing this for the Palestinains is crap: they are a bunch of bald faced hypocrites, specially the Syrians.
This also put to bed the moronic notion that palestinains are just any other Arabs, and can just simply be moved into other Arab states. Obvisouly, that would not work, so giving them self-determination in the west Bank and Gaza is the only way.
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Bereta_Eder
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in other arab countries they dont have their houses demolished and their kids killed.
really is there any kind of intelligence in this thread despite my own?
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gsmoove23
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 I love an article that starts with the Mark Twain lie. Even more so since "Innocents Abroad" is conveniently on the net where it can quickly be checked for ACCURATE quotes like this one...
quote:
We traversed some miles of desolate country whose soil is rich enough, but is given over wholly to weeds--a silent, mournful expanse, wherein we saw only three persons--Arabs |
as opposed to this...
quote:
a desolate country whose soil is rich enough, but is given over wholly to weeds — a silent, mournful expanse. |
Obviously Twain is referring to a small part of a journey, an isolated part of Palestine. Or here...
quote:
We never saw a human being on the whole route, much less lawless hordes of Bedouins. Tabor stands solitary and alone, a giant sentinel above the Plain of Esdraelon. |
Again talking of a single route, where they had been warned of dangerous bedouins and refused paying for guards. More telling is the following description of their climbing a hill and the resulting view.
quote:
Below, was the broad, level plain of Esdraelon, checkered with fields like a chess-board, and full as smooth and level, seemingly; dotted about its borders with white, compact villages, and faintly penciled, far and near, with the curving lines of roads and trails. When it is robed in the fresh verdure of spring, it must form a charming picture, even by itself. |
Waste of time  :
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Eli
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Israel
Jul 2000
time: 07:28
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What can I say? The true reality of the Middle East is very simple. Arabs can kill Arabs, Jews cant.
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Eli
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Israel
Jul 2000
time: 07:28
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quote:
Originally posted by Imran Siddiqui
So what you are saying is that two wrongs make a right? |
No, what i'm saying is that the world considers the Arabs to be primitive urge-driven animals.
Blood feuds between families because of mere insults? It's ok, they're Arabs.
Arab goverments kill Arabs? It's ok, they're Arabs.
Ariel Sharon goes to the temple mount and the Arabs start the violence? It's ok, they were provoked, it's not like they can reason things and decide that violence is wrong, they're Arabs, you provoke them and like a mad dog they start biting.
Heck, in the 1920's when Jews made a demonstration on the temple mount and the Arabs started a wave of violence(extraordinarily similar in it's circumstances and the discource in the Israeli sociery to today's Intifada)? It's ok too, the mad dog was provoked.
The Arabs killed an Israeli? The Israelis should restrain themselves, think about co-existance, any retaliation against terrorist targest is wrong because Jews cant use violence. Settlers that burn couple Pal trees are demons, they hurt the poor Arab falahs, they must use their reason and commit no acts that even vaguely look like vengeance.
The Israelis killed an Arab? His brother is an Arab, an animal, he cant control his anger, he cant reason, it's perfectly obvious that he will blow himself up in a pizzeria, it's understandable for him to kill innocents in revenge.
The Kuweitis are expelling 300,000 Pals who were integrated in their society because 5,000km from there Yasser Arafat supported Saddam? It's ok, they're Arabs.
Israel denies the citizenship of a convicted Israeli-Arab terrorist? It's wrong, it's not democratic.
Israel invades S. Lebanon and maybe cooperated in the Sabra and Shatilla massacres? It's the end of the world.
Another massacre occured a bit later, without any Israeli involvement whatsoever? No one gives a damn.
Israel invades Lebanon after countless terrorist attacks? Naked aggression.
Lebanon is a Syrian puppet, under Syrian occupation, used by Syria as a tool against Israel? That's ok, they're Arabs.
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Cruddy
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Ah, but would there be any Palestinian refugees without the creation of Israel?
Where does the fault lie - with the Arabs who torture and murder, or with the ones that drove them out? Is there any point to giving blame? I don't think it serves a useful purpose.
Political solution is the ONLY way to stop the violence. Blood for blood otherwise.
And I'm sickened by the bleeding on both sides.
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Eli
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Israel
Jul 2000
time: 07:28
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quote:
Who says it is ok? Remember we just took out Saddam, and haven't been saying nice things to the Syrians. |
Oh come on, we both know that you took out Saddam because of the American selfish interests. Which is perfectly fine by me(as long as it fits Israeli selfish interests  ).
I'm not trying to justify certain Israeli actions, i'm not claiming they're ok because the Arabs do them and even worse.
But look on it from this perspective :
NY Times, CNN, the US State Department, you, CyberGnu, the French Foreign Ministry, Blair, chegitz, Firela, etc, etc, etc, all scream like insane whenever Israel does something wrong, yet almost totally ignore the same or worse actions when they're done by Arabs.
The Dictatorship vs Democracy argument is wrong, we both saw how much anti-Saddam, or anti Kim Jong Il propaganda can be spilled when a will to do so exists.
To me it's a matter of singling out the Jew.
I already brought a similar example before. If a Jew merchant commits a second degree murder of a gentile, while 9 gentiles commit 9 first degree murders of Jews and it's the Jew who gets the death penalty while the gentiles all get 1 year in prison.
The murders are still murders, the victims are still dead, and yet only one of the killers, the Jew, is punished.
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Eli
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Israel
Jul 2000
time: 07:28
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quote:
Originally posted by Cruddy
Ah, but would there be any Palestinian refugees without the creation of Israel?
Where does the fault lie - with the Arabs who torture and murder, or with the ones that drove them out? |
Both.
The problem is that the guilt of one side is completely ignored.
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Imran Siddiqui
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The Potterverse
Jan 1970
time: 00:28
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Like I said, with civilization comes increased responsibility. You want the civilization, but not the responsibilty. It is that simple.
If you were a dictatorship, it wouldn't nearly be the same, but because you consider yourself a democracy, more is expected of you. We know people like Saddam and Kim and Mugabe are jerks, it just doesn't matter because they don't give two shits. However, the people of a democracy might if the world comes down on them.
As for that 'Jew' crap... the more you say that stuff, the less sympathetic people are going to be to you. It's like a Jesse Jackson saying everything is about race, eventually people tune out. Next you'll be laying Holocaust guilt. Because, of course, the county that has the most Jews in the world (even more than Israel, IIRC) is trying to keep the Jews down. Please  .
The more you blame others for your problems, the more others will tune out.
Maybe I should say this entire War on Terrorism is simply singling out the Muslim .
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Caligastia
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quote:
Originally posted by chegitz guevara
No one is denying you're more civilized. You just aren't as civilized as you should be. |
Are the Arabs as civilized as they should be? If not, then why is all the criticism reserved for the Israelis?
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Caligastia
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quote:
Originally posted by DinoDoc
Because Israel is a country that has pretensions of being a democracy and from time to time get called on by others to actually behave like one. |
I understand that, but if anyone claims to be concerned for the welfare of the Palestinians, they should want to call more attention to those who are the worst perpetrators, surely.
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23-05-2003 20:50
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