Palestine: History, People & the Land
Dispelling the Myths Primer on History Key Issues Life in Palestine Now
Myth #1: Palestine and Palestinians Never Existed
Palestinians are “Twolegged vermin”
Former Israeli PM Golda Meir
Former Israeli PM Menachem Begin
“There was no such thing as Palestinians”
Former Israeli PM Yitzhak Shamir
Palestinians are “grasshoppers”
Former IDF Chief Rafael Eitan
We need to keep Palestinians like “drugged roaches in a bottle”
June 2002
Al-Awda and American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC-SF)
2
Reality
Of course Palestine and Palestinians Existed!
Blanket dehumanization of a people used as
propaganda tactic Israel has devoted enormous energy to:
– Expel Palestinians from their homes – Strip away Palestinians identity – Deny Palestinian’s existence
Maps, books, photos reference Palestine – Baedecker's famous guidebook (1876) was entitled Palestine – Syria
June 2002 Al-Awda and American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC-SF) 3
Population: 1870-1946
2,000,000 1,800,000 1,600,000 1,400,000 1,200,000 1,000,000 800,000 600,000 367,224 400,000 200,000
7,000
1,237,000
608,000
Arabs Jews
1912 1920 1925 1930 1935 1940 1946
1870
June 2002
Al-Awda and American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC-SF)
1893
0
4
Population %: 1870-1946
1946 1940 1935 1930 1925 1920 1912 1893 1870
35%
65%
2%
98%
0%
20%
40%
60% Arabs Jews
80%
100%
June 2002
Al-Awda and American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC-SF)
5
Question it!
If Palestinians never existed, why do
Israeli leaders refer to the Palestinians in their derogatory, racist statements? If Palestine / Palestinians never existed, why are there resources (Pre-1948) referencing Palestine and it’s people? If Palestinians never existed, what people lived there when European Jews arrived?
June 2002 Al-Awda and American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC-SF) 6
Myth #2: Palestinians Chose to Leave their Land in 1948
Myth: Palestinians left at their own will Myth: Encouraged to leave by Arab leaders Myth: 68% of Palestinians left without ever
seeing an Israeli soldier But on the other hand….
– Myth: It was a war and they lost, so it goes – Myth: “Population Exchange” - Palestinian refugee losses balanced by claims resulting from “comparable” exodus of Jews from Arab world
June 2002 Al-Awda and American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC-SF) 7
Reality
Palestinians were forced to leave their land
Palestinians largely defenseless in 1948 Exodus was involuntary and enforced Never relinquished their rights of home & land
Significant proportion terrorized into leaving – News of massacres, rape, plunder instilled fear
"In our country there is room only for the Jews. We shall say to the Arabs: Get out! If they don't agree, if they resist, we shall drive them out by force."
Professor Ben-Zion Dinur Israel's First Minister of Education, 1954 from History of the Haganah http://www.birzeit.edu/crdps/village.html
June 2002 Al-Awda and American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC-SF) 8
419 Arab villages demolished and depopulated between 1947-1949
That’s about 4 villages destroyed per week!
June 2002 Al-Awda and American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC-SF) 9
Question it!
Why would people want to leave their homes at
their own will? Homes that have been in their families for generations!
– “Oh, okay new-person-not-from-this-land, here’s the key to my house. Take it, it’s yours! I’ll just live in a tent.”
What causes masses to leave their land? Would nearly 1 million people living peacefully
on a land for hundreds and hundreds of years suddenly decide to pick up and leave because they felt like it? Where were they going?
June 2002 Al-Awda and American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC-SF) 10
Myth #3: A religious war that has lasted thousands of years
Myth: This is a religious war that has been
going on for thousands of years mainly between Jews and Muslims Myth: Since it has been going on for so long, there’s no chance for it to end in a short time period Myth: There has never been peace in the Middle East
June 2002 Al-Awda and American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC-SF) 11
Reality
It’s not about religion, it’s about land AND it just began in the 1900’s!
Christian, Jews, Muslims have been living
together peacefully for hundreds of years Difficulties have only started with an exclusive, religiously pure apartheid system Israel loves saying it because
– Longer it goes on, more time to build illegal settlements and humiliate Palestinians – Implies Jews have been there long time
Makes Americans feel that there’s no hope – “Why put pressure on Israel to change? It’s been going on for so long.”
June 2002 Al-Awda and American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC-SF) 12
Question It!
Why has there been relative calm before the
colonist / Zionists arrived? If it’s a religious war, how come we rarely hear about the Palestinian Christians? Where do they fit in? If it’s a religious war, why isn’t it going on in Morocco, Iran, Iraq, Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Tunisia, Ethiopia, and many other countries were both Jews and Muslims live?
June 2002 Al-Awda and American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC-SF) 13
Myth #4: Israel’s “Generous” Offer
Myth: Palestinians get 95% of land Myth: Administrative control over some
Palestinian neighborhoods around Jerusalem Myth: Administrative & civil control over Palestinians living in West Bank & Gaza
June 2002
Al-Awda and American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC-SF)
14
Reality
It’s like a prison
No Freedom No Independence
Continued building of bypass roads
Checkpoints every few miles No real sovereign control over borders No control over water or air space
Non-contiguous land
And there’s more….
June 2002 Al-Awda and American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC-SF) 15
Reality
No Freedom No Independence
Continued Israeli military control over large
segments of the West Bank, including almost all of Jordan Valley Codified right of Israeli forces to be deployed in Palestinian state at short notice Continued presence of fortified illegal Israeli settlements and Jewish-only roads in the heart of the Palestinian state
Oh…and one more thing….
June 2002 Al-Awda and American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC-SF) 16
Reality
No Freedom No Independence
Required nearly 4 million
Palestinian refugees to relinquish their fundamental human rights in exchange for compensation to be paid not by Israel but by the "international community."
June 2002 Al-Awda and American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC-SF) 17
Question it!
Why is there no territorial contiguity for the
Palestinian state? Why don’t Palestinians have control of its external borders and water resources? Why is Israel NOT carrying out a FULL withdrawal as required by international law? Why is there no Palestinian Right of Return? Why is refugee compensation to be paid by “international community”? Why do Palestinians need to “compromise” any more?
– Already only left with 22%* of their original land!
June 2002 Al-Awda and American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC-SF) 18
Myth #5: Israel’s a democracy
Myth: Claims to be only democratic
state in Middle East Myth: Israel civilized an uncivilized world and made the “desert bloom” Myth: Israeli Palestinians have equal rights
June 2002
Al-Awda and American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC-SF)
19
Reality
Where’s the Democracy?
Israel’s “Law of Return” gives automatic
citizenship to any Jew No defined borders No constitution; Only series of laws that establishes Jewish supremacy over non-Jews
– Torture is legal – Land confiscation is legal – Indefinite detention without charge
Applies only to Palestinian Israeli citizens
June 2002
Al-Awda and American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC-SF)
20
Question it!
How can you be democracy and an exclusive
state for Jews? That’s blatant racism. How can you call a country a democracy when it doesn’t even have a constitution or defined borders? Why does Israel grant citizenship to a Jew from Russia but not to an indigenous Palestinian who was born on that land? Why does US provide unconditional support to an overtly exclusive, racist state?
June 2002 Al-Awda and American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC-SF)
21
Israel is a full democracy only if
we are to consider Apartheid South Africa a full democracy Yes … Israel is a democracy if you’re Jewish It’s like saying US is a democracy as long as you’re white
June 2002
Al-Awda and American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC-SF)
22
Whenever You Hear…
Palestine & Palestinians never existed Palestinians chose to leave their land This is a religious war that has lasted
hundreds of years Israel has made “generous” offers to Palestinians and they never accept Israel is a democracy
June 2002 Al-Awda and American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC-SF)
Question it!
23
The Key Issues
Right to Return
– Violation of International Laws – Refugee Crisis
Illegal Settlements
– House Demolitions – Resources
Occupation
– Denial of Self Determination – Human Rights Violations
Right To Return:
A Critical Topic Often Ignored
Right of Return is right of Palestinians to:
– Return to their homeland – Full restitution of all their confiscated and destroyed property in accordance with Int’l Laws
Why it’s not discussed?
– Tied to racist nature of exclusive state – Israeli’s spin it as a “demographic problem”
The Reality
– In 20 years population will be 55% Palestinian Christian and Muslim and 45% Jewish – Israel is afraid if right to return is implemented, the special state of Jewish character is ruined
June 2002 Al-Awda and American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC-SF) 25
Right of Return MUST be Brought to the Forefront
Permanent return desirable for peace to prevail Ignoring it contradicts every link to democracy – What if everyone in US says we want an exclusive Christian state or exclusive white state? Means no Latinos, Asians, African Americans, etc…allowed
Ignoring it goes against basic American values
of openness to diversity, acceptance of people no matter what race, creed, ethnicity It’s universal basic right!
June 2002 Al-Awda and American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC-SF) 26
Universal Declaration of Independence
"(1) Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each state. (2) Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his country"
June 2002 Al-Awda and American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC-SF) 27
1948: Resolution 194
Paragraph 11: "...the refugees wishing to return to their homes and live at peace with their neighbors should be permitted to do so at the earliest practicable date... compensation should be paid for the property of those choosing not to return." Reaffirmed 110 times with universal consensus, except for Israel & U.S.
June 2002 Al-Awda and American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC-SF) 28
1974: UN Resolution 3236
Subsection 2, "the inalienable right of the Palestinians to return to their homes and property from which they have been displaced and uprooted, and calls for their return".
June 2002
Al-Awda and American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC-SF)
29
1997: UN Resolution 52/62
“Reaffirms that the Palestine Arab refugees are entitled to their property and to the income derived therefrom, in conformity with the principles of justice and equity."
June 2002
Al-Awda and American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC-SF)
30
1948…1974 … 1997 ….
UN Resolutions reaffirmed over and over and over with universal consensus …
… except for Israel & U.S.
Question it!
June 2002 Al-Awda and American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC-SF) 31
Right to Return:
Who Can Become An Israeli Citizen
If you’re Jewish… – Arrive at airport – Go to “Qlitat Aliyah” (Jewish Immigrant Reception) – Say “I’m Jewish” – Congratulations, You’re a citizen!
If you’re a Palestinian… –Sorry, no chance.
June 2002
Palestinians are not allowed the same methods as Jews to become a citizen
32
Al-Awda and American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC-SF)
Refugee Crisis
About 5½ million Palestinian Refugees Oldest & largest refugee problem in the world Not a single refugee allowed to return – Onto fourth generation of refugees – Some made refugees multiple times 1948 & 1967 Ways of dispossession – Home demolitions….displaced again – Israeli Laws
June 2002
Al-Awda and American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC-SF)
33
Right of Return IS Possible
A study on the demography of Israel shows that 78% of Israelis are living in 14% of Israel and that the remaining 86% of the land in Israel is mostly land that belongs to the refugees on which 22% of the Israelis live.
June 2002
Al-Awda and American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC-SF)
34
Illegal Settlements
Large housing projects/cities built illegally by
Israel on land confiscated from Palestinians within West Bank, Jerusalem and Gaza Strip Began as a means of controlling & annexing Palestinian land occupied during “1967 War” Serves Israel’s strategic, military, economic interests
– Impedes peace process; creates “facts on ground”
Constant reminder and humiliation to
Palestinians in an Apartheid system
June 2002 Al-Awda and American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC-SF) 35
Settlers & Settlements
250,000 200,000 150,000 100,000 50,000 0
SOURCE: Foundation for Middle East Peace http://www.fmep .org/reports/200 2/sr0203.html#5 June 2002
Of 400,000+ Settlers, 70%+ Americans (e.g. Brooklyn); Others Russian & European
1992 2001
1972 213,672
170,400 141,000 109,784
1,500
West Bank & Gaza
6,900
East Jersualem
17,000
Golan Heights
190 Illegal Settlements
130 / 16
11
33
36
Al-Awda and American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC-SF)
Water
80% water aquifers in West Bank Illegal settlements strategically placed
on top of water aquifers & mountains Illegal settlements get priority access
– As illegal settlements are built or expand, water taken away from Palestinians
June 2002
Al-Awda and American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC-SF)
37
This Really Happens
When supplies run low during summer, Israeli water company shuts off valves that supply Palestinian towns. So settlers get full swimming pools while Palestinian villages a few miles away run out of drinking water.
Settlers attack Palestinians' water supply, severing pipes and switching off valves. They dump untreated sewage on Palestinian land, polluting wells and aquifers.
SOURCE: http://www.miftah.org/Display.cfm?DocId=744&CategoryId=4
Israeli army has routinely destroyed water supplies, an activity defined as a war crime.
38
June 2002
Al-Awda and American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC-SF)
Palestinian Olive Trees
Sole source of income for many Palestinian
farmers
– Each tree yields approximately 5 gallons of oil sold at markets for equivalent of about $75 (U.S.)
Olive Trees passed down through
generations of Palestinian families
– Takes decades to mature fully
More than 11,000 olive trees have been
uprooted and destroyed Under attack by Settlers
June 2002 Al-Awda and American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC-SF) 39
House Demolitions
Classic colonial practice – attacking or
eliminating habitat of indigenous population
– Carry out collective punishment either in retaliation for, or as deterrence against, acts of resistance
Violations of International Law – Demolish villages and create policies refusing to grant them building permits – Encouraging and subsidizing construction of illegal Israeli settlements Creating nation of homeless & dispossessed
(becoming a refugee yet again)
June 2002 Al-Awda and American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC-SF) 40
Occupation
Loss of control over natural resources Imposition of suffocating closures and
curfews Destruction of Palestinian land and property Suppression of free statement Systematic destruction of the Palestinian economy
June 2002 Al-Awda and American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC-SF) 41
Occupation
International law considers agreements between an occupier and any body in occupied areas to be null and void if they deprive civilians of recognized human rights including the rights to repatriation and restitution.
June 2002
Al-Awda and American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC-SF)
42
June 2002
Al-Awda and American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC-SF)
43