Early history of Israel 2-25-2004

25, February 2004         Response to Stanford Daily – early history of Israel

I am appalled that the ‘Daily’ should choose to advertise David Horowitz inflammatory diatribe against the suffering of the Palestinians. Hororwitz seems to be inflicted with a convenient bout of amnesia ignoring the circumstances immediately preceding the birth of Israel. The British agreed to an independent Palestinian state in a White Paper published in 1939. Palestine would be an independent state with a Jewish minority limited to 30%. Immigration would be curtailed and purchased of land strictly controlled. The Zionists refused to accept these terms and Haganah, an Israeli terrorist organization, launched a violent campaign to displace Palestinians from their home land. A full day before Britain was to relinquish her power, Israel proclaimed herself a ‘reborn’ nation. By 1948 Jews, a third of the population, owned only 5.6% of the land. However, the UN, under intense pressure from Britain and the US, offered a staggering 56% of Palestine to the proposed Jewish state. Not surprisingly, Palestinians objected. In the ensuing fighting, 780,000 Palestinians fled or were expelled and their homes seized by the Israeli government. By 1953, 370 illegal settlements were formed on land belonging to Palestinian  refugees. Land acquisition for Jewish settlements continues unabated. Sharon’s apartheid wall will expropriate more land, create even greater hardships and confine Palestinians to only 42% of the West Bank! 

The current plight of the Palestinians is best described by Shlomo Avineri, the distinguished Israeli academic, “we remain a neocolonial relationship with the Palestinians, we do things which are incompatible with being a democracy. It coarsens Israeli life, making us all racists. It is utterly demeaning for the Palestinians, who are lined up and searched like cattle every day.”  House demolitions are the order of day. Palestinian civilians are killed with impunity. Even children are not spared. The ghoulish practice of killing children for sport was documented by Chris Hedges of the New York Times.

Israel is now mimicking the savage behavior of the Nazi’s. I urge Horowitz to see the movie ‘Jenin Jenin’ which documents in graphic terms the genocide committed by Israeli forces in April 2002.

Israel’s top ranking soldier, Lt. General Moshe Yaalon, stated that hard lines policies of Sharon works against Israeli interests, increases hatred for Israel and strengthens ‘terror’ organizations. 

Many Israeli reserve pilots presented a signed petition stating they would refuse to take part in “illegal and immoral” strikes in Palestinians areas in the West Bank and Gaza strip. This follows the action of hundreds of reserve soldiers who have pledged not to serve in the West Bank and Gaza strip. One of the petition’s signers was Yiftach Spector, a brigadier general in the reserves.

Israel has violated 68 UN Security Council resolutions and scores of General Assembly resolutions.  They have destroyed hopes for peace, deliberately dismantled the capacity of Palestinian people to govern themselves.

Horowitz parrots the crude propaganda of the Bush Administration in trying to establish a link between Al-Qaeda, 9/11 and the war against the illegal occupation of Iraq and Palestine.

I urge Horowitz to invest his time and money promoting peace and harmony  rather than fermenting hatred.