The core issue here is that Israeli's desired to have, and succesfully seized, a land that was not their own. The assumption at the time was, given the recent horrific events of the holocaust, plus also a general acceptance of colonialism, this would soon become a done deal, and accepted by all. But is was not.
In 1948, Jews were a distinct minority in Palestine, enough so that they knew some aggressive shifting of the population was going to be necessary if the embryo state was to survive. They engaged in what we would call today "ethnic cleansing", in order to establish facts on the ground, ahead of the coming declaration of independence.
One can understand the feelings of holocaust survivors in the mid '40s, and their search for a haven, but it can't justify the events that then took place.
David Ben-Gurion wrote on the subject:
"In the area allocated to the Jewish State there are not more than 520,000 Jews and about 350,000 non-Jews, mostly Arabs. Together with the Jews of Jerusalem, the total population of the Jewish State at the time of its establishment, will be about one million, including almost 40% non-Jews. such a [population] composition does not provide a stable basis for a Jewish State. This [demographic] fact must be viewed in all its clarity and acuteness. With such a [population] composition, there cannot even be absolute certainty that control will remain in the hands of the Jewish majority .... There can be no stable and strong Jewish state so long as it has a Jewish majority of only 60%." (Expulsion Of The Palestinians, p. 176)
According to Sefer Toldot Ha-Haganah, the official history of the Haganah, it clearly stated how Palestinian villages and population should be dealt with. It stated:
"[Palestinian Arab] villages inside the Jewish state that resist 'should be destroyed .... and their inhabitants expelled beyond the borders of the Jewish state.' Meanwhile, 'Palestinian residents of the urban quarters which dominate access to or egress from towns should be expelled beyond the borders of the Jewish state in the event of their resistance.' " (Expulsion Of The Palestinians, p. 178)
In 1948, Jews were a distinct minority in Palestine, enough so that they knew some aggressive shifting of the population was going to be necessary if the embryo state was to survive. They engaged in what we would call today "ethnic cleansing", in order to establish facts on the ground, ahead of the coming declaration of independence.
One can understand the feelings of holocaust survivors in the mid '40s, and their search for a haven, but it can't justify the events that then took place.
David Ben-Gurion wrote on the subject:
"In the area allocated to the Jewish State there are not more than 520,000 Jews and about 350,000 non-Jews, mostly Arabs. Together with the Jews of Jerusalem, the total population of the Jewish State at the time of its establishment, will be about one million, including almost 40% non-Jews. such a [population] composition does not provide a stable basis for a Jewish State. This [demographic] fact must be viewed in all its clarity and acuteness. With such a [population] composition, there cannot even be absolute certainty that control will remain in the hands of the Jewish majority .... There can be no stable and strong Jewish state so long as it has a Jewish majority of only 60%." (Expulsion Of The Palestinians, p. 176)
According to Sefer Toldot Ha-Haganah, the official history of the Haganah, it clearly stated how Palestinian villages and population should be dealt with. It stated:
"[Palestinian Arab] villages inside the Jewish state that resist 'should be destroyed .... and their inhabitants expelled beyond the borders of the Jewish state.' Meanwhile, 'Palestinian residents of the urban quarters which dominate access to or egress from towns should be expelled beyond the borders of the Jewish state in the event of their resistance.' " (Expulsion Of The Palestinians, p. 178)
We can't all be unemployed students.
