From the magazine The Atlantic Monthly in October 1961…
MARTHA GELLHORN, novelist, journalist, and former war correspondent, has recently returned from a journey to the Middle East, where she went to see the “Palestinian Refugee Problem” in terms of real life, real people. Here she reports how the Arab refugees and the Arab Israelis live, and what they say about themselves, their past and their future.
by Martha Gellhorn
The Arabs of PalestineACCORDING to Arab politicians and apologists, this is what happened, this is the authentic view, these are the facts. Doubt is treasonous. There can be only one truth, according to Arab politicians and apologists, and it belongs to them:
In 1948, war took place between five Arab nations of the Middle East and the Jews in Palestine. This war was caused by the United Nations, whose General Assembly resolved to partition Palestine into two states, one for the Palestinian Arabs, the other for the Jews. The Arab nations and the Palestinian Arabs would not accept this monstrous decision. They were obliged to protect themselves against it, with force. The United Nations operated as the tool of the Western Imperialists, notably Great Britain and the United States. The United Nations wanted the Jews to proclaim the upstart state of Israel. Because of the Western Imperialists, who favored Israel, the Arabs lost the war. By massacre, threatening broadcasts, pointed bayonets, and the murderous siege of cities, the Jews drove hundreds of thousands of Arabs out of their homeland. For thirteen years, these Arab refugees have languished in misery around the borders of Israel. The United Nations (Western branch) bears the blame for these events and must repair the damage. The condition of the refugees is a sore on the conscience of honorable men. The Israeli government refuses to welcome back to their homeland the refugees, now swollen to more than a million in number. This refusal demonstrates the brutality and dishonesty of Israel, an abnormal nation of aliens who not only forced innocent people into exile but also stole their property. There is no solution to this injustice, the greatest the world has ever seen, except to repatriate all Palestinian refugees in Palestine. Palestine is an Arab country, now infamously called Israel. Israel has no right to exist, and the Arab nations will not sign peace treaties with it but will, by every means possible, maintain the state of war.
The details of the Arab case vary, depending on the political climate of the moment and the audience. However, the Palestinian refugees always remain the invaluable, central theme. The case is painted the color of blood in the Arab countries: Revenge and Return. For the Western public, tears replace blood; the Arab case rests on the plight of the refugees and is a call to conscience rather than to arms. But no Arab statesman has ever promised final peace with Israel if only the million Palestinian refugees may return to their former homes.
Read the rest for a very interesting snapshot of things 13 years after “the situation” began and compare to the current narrative.
Hello Yael,
I did not read this book and reading what you say about it, I am not going to read it!
What these writers on Israel do not tell you is:
1) that the so-called refugees who left Israel at the completely unfair partition of Israel were in fact Arab settlers who recently moved to the region to find work!!! A tiny 1% or less might have been Arabs who had roots in Israel before the first aliyah (even 1% is unlikely because those who had roots in Israel did not leave it!).t
2) that the Arabs with the shameful complicity of the British prevented the Jews from establishing in the Palestine of the British mandate that was given first only to the Jews and these Arab settlers invaded the region of Jordan and even Israel. Basically, Jordan is another bogus state!!
3) that the Muslims in many countries invaded countries and then declared independence and even expulsed those who were the rightful owner of the land. Armenia, Kosovo, Pakistan, all North Africa (Berbers persecuted and prevented to keep their language and traditions), and many more cases where the Muslims are involved!!
It is time to put a stop to this sick, completely unjustified guilt that the Jews of the left in Israel have about the Palestinians. They are the true owner of the land of Israel, the Palestinians want the destruction of Israel and they are basically evil people for 99% of them.
One day, Israel will be FORCED to expulse them! When? No matter when, it is inevitable!!
The Israelis have expulsed their own citizens from their own land of Israel, is it not politically correct to speak about the same for those who want to destroy Israel? Especially considering the fact that they expulsed the Jews from their Arab countries at the creation of Israel.
Yael, there is no revenge or return. The bottom line is quite simple. The Arabs want ALL Israel and want to kill only specifically the Jews of Israel and create a Muslim state at its place. The bogus so-called refugees “problem” is not even an issue in this goal of wanting to make Israel a Muslim state!
Oh Yael, you are so naive I feel sometimes when I read you. You seem to have a guilt when you, as a Jew, you cannot even walk in an Arab town in your own country Israel without even risking your life ONLY BECAUSE YOU ARE A JEW! Do you find this situation normal, admissible, tolerable?
Open your eyes, Yael!! Call the Muslims evil because they have many times proved that they are for most of them. Especially against Israel! Even the Arabs of Israel want a Muslim state in place of Israel!!! They have been very open about it recently (many articles on this matter recently)!!
Oh Yael, I hope you will one day have the strength of conviction of the Jewish settlers of the West bank! These people know who want to kill them (the Arabs, the Muslims) and they do not have ambiguous, conflicting thoughts in such a case!
When a group of Arab settlers has for goal to destroy Israel and kill specifically its Jewish population, there is no compromise with such an evil people! There is only one answer: expulsion and never ever again mix with such an evil people in the future.
The Arab countries would have long ago killed the Palestinians if they had done even 5% of what they did to the State of Israel!
Stop being torn in your positions about the Palestinians for the wrong reasons Yael. Take strong positions in the face of evil, Yael. Keep these positions for yourself if it makes you feel better to the outside world I could say!!
Emet! And it is!
Wow. Just. WOW.
Agreed that this is a must read! I am very curious as to how this fascinating article came to your attention.
Emet — it is a shame you didn’t take the time to read the article — your comments are a bit off base as a result.
Yael, I do hope that you might elaborate on how you see the comparison between this “13-year old snapshot” and the current narrative. I haven’t quite finished digesting the article, but plan on checking back to see how your other readers weigh in….
Thank you so much for sharing this!
Emet –ah ignorance is bliss is it not? Along with the blind conviction that you know best and that you know me so well you do not even have to read this article of ‘Jewish guilt’ to which I’m pointing to know what it says.
Just goes to show how wrong blind conviction and ignorance can be. Had you bothered to read the article it would have given you plenty of evidence and fodder for your claims of who would like to kill who and how and why the palestinians became refugees –not being forced out but leaving of their own accord and some even leaving to Lebanon for two weeks and then coming back and settling back into homes that the State of Israel then remodeled for them adding in electricity and water for them for the first time they’d ever had such a thing, built them schools and medical clinics that they’d never had before in their villages and so forth.
But ya know, I find the blind conviction, inability to empathize with the other and to understand only the pains of one’s own side and not those of the other, and the blind hatred espoused by so many of the Arabs interviewed in that article to be not at all dissimilar to the opinions you expressed above.
Zahava — I found it via one of the comments left on the article I wrote that appears this week on Pajamas Media. The article I wrote was a revision (a bit more theory and less iinformal) of the post I wrote about Gaza being a culture of self-destruction.
The commenter put a pointer to the article and noted that “The article shows that while the problem may be more extreme today, social pathology was already in Gaza well before the Israel’s taking over Gaza during the Six Day War in 1967.”
They are trying to ramp up arab unity these days for another possible war. What Iran is spouting these days is very similar to 1967. I have been trying to finish off One Palestine, which is also a nonsense book, full of unknown sources, books, and a blatant massacre of history.
I wonder if 60 years from now, in 4 or 5 generations, will the displaced residents great-grandchildren will be known as refugees and get FEMA aid.
emet forgot to mention the copts, maronites, Sudanese, and possibly, the kurds in the future. Classify SE Asia anyway you wish too.
Was 1961 before western Sahara?
I had noticed that article as well here.
And Gellhorn had a shorter follow-up article in The Nation, which I reproduced in part here.
Both absolutely fantastic articles, and part of the very few that actually looked at how real Palestinian Arabs thought as opposed to their erstwhile “leaders.”
oh what a typo I just made. I meant the great-grandchildren of the refugees of Hurricane Katrina! In 4 generations will they be called refugees and get FEMA aid.
Sometimes things or ideas are hammered into our minds until we expect them to be normal. So it’s good to play a word substitution game and see how absurd they really are. I think.
Yael,
When I read the following in your extract:
“This refusal demonstrates the brutality and dishonesty of Israel, an abnormal nation of aliens who not only forced innocent people into exile but also stole their property.”.
What on earth is this writer talking about? And I ask this question when I have a thorough knowledge of the history of the countries of the Middle East!!
It was simply too much for me to accept, Yael! Sorry Yael, I am not as compassionate and ready to listen to this s–t as you are!
I did not need to continue, no matter if there were several good pieces of evidence in the full article to support my comments. I do not need extra references in my favour to know too well that my “blind conviction” is anything but blind!!!
My “blind conviction”, Yael, is supported by many TRUE facts that support my conviction and make it so strong that I do not need to read more on the subject to know that I am right!! And I can assure you that my conviction is certainly not blind at all simply because, as I have just said, it is fully supported by irrefutable facts!
Yael, “I have been there, done that” if you know what I mean concerning the points of view of the other side (the Arabs, the Muslims)! I used to read carefully what my enemy (the Muslims, the Arabs, any anti-Israeli or anti-Semite) had to say! But this time is gone long ago, Yael!!
I drew my conclusions long ago and I formed a conviction that is now based on so many irrefutable facts that I do not need to justify it anymore!!
I know another thing, Yael, and that is amply enough for me. “IN 1882 CENSUS FIGURES OF THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE, IT WAS RECORDED THAT IN THE ENTIRE LAND OF ISRAEL, THERE WERE ONLY 141,000 MUSLIMS, BOTH ARAB AND NON-ARAB.” (Source: Time Immemorial BY JOAN PETERS)
This fact, Yael, is enough for me! It implies that basically the Palestine of the British mandate (that was at the beginning only a Jewish homeland when it was completely empty of inhabitants) has been invaded by Arabs over the past decades.
It is a well-known historical fact that the Arabs invaded this Palestine of the British mandate! It has been documented in many books related to the Middle East.
But now the Arabs even have convinced the Israelis that the Muslims were there before the Jews who came back to their ancestral land when it is completely false (99% of these Muslims today are descendants of Arabs who came as settlers to prevent Jews from settling their ancestral land!).
Yes, it would be nice to take the time to read what the other side has to say once more but, as I have just said, “I have been there, done that” too many times before Yael. I do not waste my short time anymore doing that once again!
To start listening to the other side, Yael, is the first step to start espousing their ideology and/or their ideas! It acts like an autosuggestion! The Israel left did that with the creation of a Palestinian state. At one time, it was taboo to speak about a Palestinian state among any Israeli (left or right). Then, Peres and the left started doing just that! It did not take very long for the idea of a Palestinian state to be as natural as the idea of expulsing the Jews from their own land!
That is exactly what the Israeli left has done for several topics (Palestinian state, expulsion of the Jews from their land, etc.) and you know probably the current Israeli Left positions!! For your information, Ramon now wants the Jews of the West Bank to make space for the Arabs (Hamas and company)!
That is what happens when you keep listening to the other side, Yael, you end up espousing the ideas of the other side!!! Especially when you are like you Yael, so keen to respect and to try to understand the other side!!
Me, Yael, I do not respect or understand a side whose goal is the destruction of Israel and the transformation of the State of Israel into another Muslim State and, last but not least, the specific killing of the Jews of Israel to complete the “final solution” that the Arabs (Muslims) of Israel and of Gaza and of elsewhere have for the Jews of Israel!!!
This “final solution” has been documented by many Arabs of Israel, of Gaza and of elsewhere through many articles!!!!!!
Yael, what on earth is there to understand or to talk about when the other side has such a “final solution” for the Jewish people of Israel? So many times well documented and publicised that you would not even think of telling me that what I am saying on this “final solution” that the Arabs have is not true! Even the Arabs of Israel want this “final solution”!!!!!!!!
Am I inventing this “final solution”, Yael? You tell me!!
Is it not true that it is indeed the “final solution” the other side (the Arabs, the Muslims) has for Israel?
And that is where the problem is with the entire Israeli left!!! And with you, Yael, with all due respect to you because I still like you despite your sometimes blind positions Yael!
Yael, when a people has such a “final solution” for the Jews of Israel, there is no time to listen to this people anymore! There is only one imperative: to act to root out the evil that lives in the middle of the Jewish people, on the very ancestral land of Israel! Root out for good (expulsion for good!)
You say:
“inability to empathize with the other and to understand only the pains of one’s own side and not those of the other”.
You are very right, Yael. Contrary to you, I cannot “empathize” for a people whose goal is the destruction of the State of Israel and the specific killing of the Jews of Israel!!!!
Sorry, Yael, there are enough Jews who hate the Israelis for the same reasons that you have: to want to “empathize” with an evil people! Many Jews like that ended up espousing the evil ideas of the other side! I am not going to follow this path only to “empathize” with such an evil people, Yael!
Conclusion: even though I have still not read the full article (even before writing these words!), I have clearly explained why! “I have been there, I have done that” and that is it, Yael!
Yes, I have a very strong conviction, Yael! But it is based only on irrefutable facts and on a thorough knowledge of the history of the formation of the countries that are currently parts of the Middle East.
Take care, Yael. I give you a lot of credit for being able to read what I say and not censoring it, as I know your positions because I read them several times in the past.
It is my hope that you will learn to learn, Yael! The same I could say of Peres or of the Israeli left! The problem is that the Israeli left will probably never learn from their mistakes, ideological ones and their actions that went very bad in the past!
With evil, Yael, you cannot choose to be on both sides of the fence at the same time!! Even when you want to save the face with other people you are regularly in contact with. If you want to save the face, Yael, just keep strong positions for yourself. But you do not have these strong positions yet! Will you, one day? I doubt it but I hope I am wrong.
If someone one day would try to kill you, Yael, you would surely choose to kill the aggressor first before being killed yourself! That is exactly the situation Israel is today with the Muslims of Israel, of Gaza and of around Israel!
More, Yael!
When I see that Jewish children are hurt by Kassams and that this idiotic Olmert and your beloved LIvni keep doing nothing, I have to say that I am not impressed by these useless Leftists!
When I see that Iran is currently producing nukes in secret that will inevitably reach the Hezbollah and the terrorists of the world and Olmert and your beloved Livni are doing NOTHING about it before it is too late, I am not impressed by these useless Leftists!
When I see all that, Yael, you are asking me to “empathize” with people who repeatedly have told to the entire world and especially the Israelis (!!!!) that they have a “final solution” for the Israelis that I am not ready to accept!
Who has “blind conviction”, Yael, after what I have just said above? You or I? I let you judge!
I give you a lot of credit for not censoring my postings.
It would be boring if I would post ideas that only agree with yours. You deserve to be challenged, Yael
Just ideas that I share with you, Yael. I have strong ideas, Yael, but these strong ideas do not get in the way of my friendship toward you, Yael (even when you have strong ideas that contradict mine!), and it is my hope that you understand that.
Take care of you, Yael. All the best to you, Yael, and I truly mean it.
Emet!
Excellent article - thanks for linking.
A propos your own article in PJ, this extract is apposite:
“What indeed? Arabs gorge on hate, they roll in it, they breathe it. Jews top the hate list, but any foreigners are hateful enough. Arabs also hate each other, separately and, en masse. Their politicians change the direction of their hate as they would change their shirts. Their press is vulgarly base with hate-filled cartoons; their reporting describes whatever hate is now uppermost and convenient. Their radio is a long scream of hate, a call to hate. They teach their children hate in school. They must love the taste of hate; it is their daily bread. And what good has it done them?”
I wrote on my (now moribund) blog at the time of the Hamas takeover of Gaza that the Palestinians would never be able to build a civil society while their collective moral compass compels them inexorably to hatred. All the indications are that things are getting worse rather than better.
Human beings are difficult enough. In the school where I teach, I see many people who are negative, mean to the point of being hateful, people who are jealous, those who are dumb. I don’t believe that we can say that all Arabs are awful. I suspect strongly that they are a diverse group like the rest of us, but it is the extreme group that causes the problems and stirs things up, making harmony and peace impossible. ANY group of extremists is a problem for the rest of us.
Yes, I do agree that the Arab press fuels hatred in their articles and reporting—in general, and it’s shocking to me to see that view promoted in their press. But I cannot agree that all Arabs are extremists or hate-filled. I know very many who are the opposite of that. Sandmonkey, for example, and the excellent authors on the Good Neighbors blog.
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Hey Elder –can I get the citation of the article in The Nation? Through my university I have access to most articles for free….obviously I’ll share a copy with you and probably everyone else too. I’d definitely like to find out what her perspective was 19 years on, especially, as Zahava noted in the other thread her initial conclusion was that within a generation the Palestinian refugees would have done what all other refugees do and have done –integrate into the societies in which they have found refuge.