Israel and Palestine: historical realities

Myths about Israel and Zionism

by Gerald R. McDermott

Debates about Israel and Palestine often assume a historical narrative that is at odds with historical realities.

Once again, Israel is at the top of the news. Jeffrey Goldberg reports in theAtlantic that the Obama administration is “red-hot” over Israel’s recent announcements of new building in east Jerusalem and the West Bank. This kerfuffle comes on top of Israeli denunciations of Irish and British statements recognizing a Palestinian state. Then, on Thursday October 30, the Swedish government officially recognized the state of Palestine.

The debates in Europe over recognition of Palestine reveal a common narrative that is at odds with historical realities. For example, the British House of Commons debate, which resulted in a vote to urge the government to “recognize the state of Palestine alongside the state of Israel,” was filled with references to “illegal” occupation and settlements, “apartheid” conditions in Israel today, and the failure of the international community to provide a two-state solution in 1948, when the state of modern Israel was created.

Perhaps it is time to review the historical record.

- Was the Creation of Israel in 1948 Unfair to Arabs?

Let’s start with 1948. Was there no attempt to create two states then?

There was. The United Nations partitioned Palestine in 1947, offering part to Jews and part to Arabs, with the intention that each part would become either a state or part of a state. The Arab state of Jordan already existed. Already home to many Palestinians, it was in a position to annex the West Bank portion of the land partitioned for Arabs.

Critics allege that the UN partition was unfair to Arabs, because non-Jews made up 93 percent of Palestine and 78 percent of the land was left in Jewish hands.

But here is what is commonly forgotten: the part of Palestine allotted to Jews was home to a substantial Jewish majority—538,000 Jews to 397,000 Arabs, according to official UN estimates. Besides, the “Jewish national home,” mandated by the League of Nations in 1920, originally included what is now the state of Jordan. Eighty percent of this was given to Arabs, in what was then called Trans-Jordan. The remaining 20 percent was divided in the 1947 partition, which means Jews received only 17.5 percent of what was originally designated to be theirs.

Jews were unhappy, because the land they were given did not include West Jerusalem, which had a Jewish majority, and because 60 percent of their portion was the Negev, an arid desert then thought to be useless. But they accepted the partition. The Arabs did not.

- Did the Jews Steal Land? ...
- Is the Occupation of the West Bank Illegal? ...
- The Hypocrisy of Israel’s Critics ...
-Israeli Apartheid? ...
- Who Perpetrated “Brutality” in Gaza? ...

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