A Reality Check as Israel Turns 60
Reader Comments
What Arabs were told what to believe:
"The Zionist terrorists outnumbered and were better armed and trained than the courageous Arab soldiers who entered Palestine to protect the Palestinians and face a vicious enemy. The ethnic cleansing of Palestine by Zionist terrorists had begun and something had to be done."
Talk about mythology!
This is about as far from reality as one can get in this world. This is how the horrendous Big Lie that has been force-fed to Arabs for 60 years has degenerated into a total distortion and fabrication of facts.
Essentially, what Arabs have resorted to is this self-delusion of fanciful lies, that turns history on its head by claiming that the "Zionist enemy" HAD to be stronger and more evil than the five Arab nations that waged a war of extermination on Israel.
To say that Israel was better armed and equipped is laughable.
Wonderful Piece
Thank you, Mr. Ajami. Bravo for such a well thought out piece. As long as one group of people is being led by men (for lack of a better term) who call for the destruction of an entire group of people, there will be no peace. I pray that the decent Palestinian people will one day rise up and overthrow there own government, a government which has had held them back from achieving peace for far too long. Israel's leadership has not been perfect, but if (for example) missiles were being sent over my borders daily and innocent civilians were being targeted on public busses and school busses, I would regrettably fight back and, yes, sometimes innocent civilians would be caught in the middle. Now in my mid 40's, I hope to live long enough to see peace between both groups of people. There has been enough death and destruction over land.
Two State Solution
To add one more historical fact, Trans Jordan (now know as Jordan) was created at the same time and from the same land as was Israel. In 1948, the United Nations created a "two state solution".
So aren't we now talking about creating a "three" state solution?
Arabs refuse responsibility
Perhaps Sam of CA can explain why Arab nations, who pretend to care so much about Palestinians, refuse to allow them to become citizens of their countries for sixty years.
Palestinian Arabs are uniquely considered "refugees" even generations after they left Palestine. Other larger refugee populations managed to integrate into their adopted countries within a decade or so; but because of Arab policy the Palestinians have no such recourse. Arab nations resisted replacing camps with permanent towns and UNRWA job creation initiatives that would have settled the refugee problem long ago.
Whether or not one believes that Israel was responsible for the flight of the Arabs in 1948, one cannot escape the fact that the reason that Palestinian Arabs are stateless today is because of a policy of malice and hate towards them by their Arab "brethren" - and that this policy continues. All the talk about "justice" is a joke to the people who are actually being hurt.
Deed to the property
The Scriptures record the title deed of this land from the Eternal All Mighty to the Hebrews. That was a done deal. Also, there is a little passage in Gensis 12:3 that has not been superceded or changed. The Arabs, and anyone else for that matter would be well served to heed these words,"...I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him, that curseth thee".
Just a thought.
Events of 1948
Ajami repeats Israeli mythology by claiming that the Zionist terrorists in Palestine were "outnumbered and outgunned".
It is true that there were more Arabs than Jews both in Palestine and in the neighboring Arab countries. It is also true that there were many mistakes made by the leadership of the Arab nations that ultimately led to the tragedy that was the loss of Palestine.
The Zionist terrorists outnumbered and were better armed and trained than the courageous Arab soldiers who entered Palestine to protect the Palestinians and face a vicious enemy. The ethnic cleansing of Palestine by Zionist terrorists had begun and something had to be done.
Perhaps Fuad Ajami can explain to his readers why he blames the Palestinian people for not accepting the theft of their land.
I wonder if Ajami is celebrating "Israel's birthday", or commemorating the suffering of the Arab people at the hands of Israel, as well as their own governments.
israeli success
i am glad my country israel is celebrating 60 years of being a moden nation and still is the oldest nation of all to come back to life in modern times. nations and empires have come an gone, israel has never been gone. 6000 years of history still endures today in the modern state of israel. i have been celebrating our 60th anniversary as a modern nation. iam glad to be jewish.
Jewish success
The work ethic and willingness to do good, to forgive, to start over, and a host of other character quailties have made Israel what it is today..."Happy Birthday". Unfortunately for Israel's neighbors, these qualities are sadly lacking. Even the availability of tons of petro dollars, huge building programs, and the cause celeb' of the Palestinians doesn't seem to help.
