Cowardly Idf Soldiers, amazing clip

[AlexB]

@janab-e-ali

And as I have already repeatedly pointed out, even within the parameters of the UN partition plans, Arabs would have formed too much of a demographic block to form a “Jewish state,” not to mention the fact that they would have controlled most of the state’s land. If not expulsion, the Zionist government would have had to disenfranchise its Arab citizens and forcefully strip them of their property at the very least.

First, the Jews would be still a majority, albeit a small one. Second, there is always a way to make things work peacefully if both sides are willing to do so. After all, the plan was specifically about partition of the land into a Jewish and an Arab state. For example, the Arab population could have become citizens of the Arab state and permanent residents of Israel. These way they would execute their political and national rights in the state of their people, but retain all the property rights at the place of their residents in Israel. Another solution would be a special provision that would make the “Arab” and "Jewish"status of the states “a founding principle” which cannot be eliminated by simple voting.
All this would obviously take a willingness to compromise and a partition agreement between both parties involved.

Regarding the land property, it is incorrect to say that the Arabs would control most of the state’s land. True, most of the land that was privately owned belonged to the Arab owners. However, this was not most of state’s land. In fact, most of the state’s land was not privately owned by anyone.

@janab-e-ali

Nor do I buy the argument that the Bedouins and villagers who were massacred and expelled were plotting to expel the Jews themselves. That was perhaps the goal of the Arab armies, and could be used as justification for fighting them. But the wholesale ethnic cleansing of Arab civilians was and remains an unjustifiable war crime.

Unfortunately, this is exactly what usually happens when two mutually hostile populations are at each other throats. Israeli/Palestine situation is just another example out of many more, again unfortunately.

@janab-e-ali

Like I said, unlike with the Zionists, you have absolutely no proof that there is an organized movement to promote illegal Muslim immigration to any enclave within Europe with the intention of creating a “Muslim state,” making your analogy asinine.

Why illegal? Perfectly legal immigration. Just like the Jewish and Arab immigration to the Palestine geographical region was perfectly legal.

@janab-e-ali

Iraq, Egypt, Morrocco, Tunisia, among others made it clear that Jews who fled in the aftermath of 1948 are indeed entitled to return and reclaim their citizenship and lost properties.

Thanks. They don’t want back. But proper compensation for the lost property would be nice.

I agree that many of them objected the title of “a refugee”. They did not want to create an appearance of not wanting to be in Israel. Nevertheless, they were, by all means, refugees who ended up completely dispossessed and living in refugee camps in Israel. Of course, Israel has made an effort to get them out of the camps and succeeded. This is unlike the Arab governments who chose to keep the Palestinian refugees in the camps and perpetuate their misery for political gains.

These are images of the Jewish refugee camps in ~ 1949-52.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/90/Maabarah_children.jpg/300px-Maabarah_children.jpg

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/he/thumb/8/8d/TALPIOT_MAABARAH.jpg/250px-TALPIOT_MAABARAH.jpg

You original point was that the different attitudes toward the Arab and the Jewish refugees are due to the assymetry in numbers. Well, you are wrong. The conflict created comparable numbers of the refugees on both sides.

@janab-e-ali

A completely irrelevant point made by someone who’s orginal argument has already been proven as ridiculous. You originally tried to claim that the spread of Arabic beyond the Arabian Peninsula was evidence of migration of an outside population with the subsequent dispossetion and displacement of the aboriginal population, and therefore analogous to the creation of Israel. When I correctly pointed out that this was patently false, and that the phenomenon you speak of was the result of the gradual Arabization of the native peoples of the Middle East, you bring up this utterly irrelevant point.

Yes, the Arabs came to the new lands and “gradually” arabized the locals by making them understand that they’d better accept the new ways of life if they want to continue living there… or just living. Unfortunately, most of those who weren’t compliant enough are no longer here to complain.

@janab-e-ali

Again, your imperialistic arrogance is truly breathtaking.

I wonder, are your “imperialistic” labels specifically reserved for people whose skin color is assumed to be lighter than yours?

@janab-e-ali

The Arab Middle East had a long history of organized govenment going back centuries, if not millennia in some areas. We’re talking about the birthplace of written law; your attempts to undermine the validity of Middle Eastern civil society are yet another pathetic attempt at ethnic cleansing apologetics.

I’m fully aware of the history of the Middle East. There were many great civilizations here. The Sumerian civilization, which created the first written law, was one of them. That civilization, however, has been long long gone. The Jewish civilization is another example. That one has also contributed greatly to the written law business. Fortunately, this civilization is still here

Those have nothing to do with the Arabs though. The Arab civilization flourished their later and also contributed greatly to the human cultural heritage.
However, as it happens in history, civilizations rise and fall, and by the end of 19th century, the condition of the Arab Middle East was exactly as you so eloquently stated - “sporadic tribal settlements, and with no formal concept of nation-states”.

BTW, the American continent also hosted great nations and civilizations - for example, the Aztec, the Maya or Inca empire. How imperialistic of you to imply that native Americans were uncivilized!!!