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My Turn: The other side of Israel´s 60th
By Sister Miriam Ward, Burlington Free Press 5/16/2008
Two peoples living on the same land will observe a 60th anniversary throughout May. For Israel, it will be independence, a modern state for Jews anywhere in the world. For Palestinians it will be the Nakba, the catastrophe. Israel has much to be proud of -bringing to life an ancient language, their inestimable contributions to the musical and cultural life of their own society and to the world, their remarkable contributions to science and medicine. For these accomplishments and much more there should be celebration.Palestinians will not be celebrating. The bottom line: the founding of the State of Israel meant the dispossession, displacement and dispersion of the Palestinian people. Palestinians thus affected fall into three categories:*From 1947-48 through the 1950s 750,000 Palestinians became refugees. Some 400 Palestinian villages were deliberately destroyed. Whether the Palestinians fled to avoid hostilities or were forced to leave, they were not allowed to return. They live in the refugee camps of Lebanon, Jordan and Syria. A sub-category would be Palestinians scattered throughout the world.*Then there are Palestinians who remained in historic Palestine whose descendants make up nearly 20% of the present population. They were under Emergency Laws until 1965, a strictly enforced permit system which fragmented and isolated Palestinians within the nascent state of Israel, controlling movement from village to village. Although enjoying many rights within the present legal structure, Palestinians are still second-class citizens with one fourth classified as "present absentees." To be a non-Jew in a Jewish state presents a conundrum of identity. Unequal funding for Arab schools, social services and possibilities for Arab youth are evidence of discriminatory policies.*Finally, there are 3.5 million Palestinians we hear about most -in the Occupied West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem -many of whom were born in historic Palestine. Since 1967 their lands and water have been confiscated for 400,000 Israeli Jewish settlers. A Wall/Fence separates one Palestinian village from another, farmers from their lands, children from their schools. Isolation and fragmentation of Palestinian life result. One can hardly expect Palestinians to celebrate the independence of a nation gained at their expense.Nor will all Jews be celebrating. The Israeli Peace Now organization calling for an end to occupation and Jewish settlements will organize a constructive alternative, a convoy of medical supplies to address the humanitarian disaster in Gaza.More than 100 Jewish leaders in Britain have announced why they will not be celebrating. They list atrocities of the 1947-1950s committed by the pre-state underground militias with specific reference to Plan Dalet executed by the Haganah. This plan "authorized the destruction of Palestinian villages and the expulsion of the indigenous Arab population." Recently released Israeli archives reveal more details of ethnic cleansing as it would be called today. The British Jewish leaders conclude: "We will celebrate when Arab and Jew live as equals in a peaceful Middle East."Many American Jews also realize that the Palestinian narrative has not been heard, and can no longer be suppressed. They see the suffering of both people, and realize that for peace and security of Israel, the truth must be told. A promising development is J Street, an organization of American Jews loyal to Israel which sees the need for a "dramatic change in the dynamic of discussion about Israel in the American Jewish community and in the American body politic." For more information, Google "J Street."
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