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Sun. Nov 23, 2003

Spinning History

Spinning History – The Egyptian ambassador, Nabil Fahmy, has some insights for Americans: ”’If you’re talking about freedoms, the greatest distortion of freedoms in the Middle East is the Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands for over 50 years,’ says Fahmy. ’Unless you’re ready to stand up and say ’This occupation must end’ in the same strength and with the same temperament that you say violence on both sides should end, people won’t take you seriously.’”

”But one of the biggest battles an Arab diplomat faces is America’s own ignorance about what’s happening in Israel, no knowledge of what some see as a brutal occupation of Arab land.”

If you can’t state the facts correctly, people won’t take you seriously either, Ambassador. ”Igonorance about what’s happening,” or about what’s happened, is not limited to one side, as your statement apparently shows.

Witness: ”If you’re talking about freedoms, the greatest distortion of freedoms in the Middle East is the Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands for over 50 years.”

The Ambassador has to know that from 1948 until 1967, Egypt controlled the ”Palestinian” lands known as the Gaza Strip, and Jordan controlled the area known as the West Bank. That means that for about 40% of that period of ”over 50 years,” it was an Arab occupation of Palestinian lands. Arab leadership did nothing to create a state named Palestine between 1948 and 1967 when they controlled the areas in dispute today.

Or perhaps the Ambassador means something different altogether. Perhaps he means that the state of Israel itself occupies Palestinian lands, and has since the state was created in 1947.

Using the phrase ”for over 50 years.” implies willful ignorance, a deliberate spinning of historical fact, or a subtle statement of opinion about the very existence of Israel.

But then, what do I know? I’m just an ignorant American with no knowledge of the history of the Middle East. I’ve even got the crazy idea that the Palestinians would have been far better off if they’d just said ”yes” to the very first offer—the original 1947 UN Partition Plan, which would have given them about 40% of the land now known as Israel (more than twice as much land as they currently ”have”), and made Jerusalem an International Zone.

But like I said, I’m just a dumb American, while ”all of the Arab members states of the UN – Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Syria, and Yemen – voted against” the 1947 Partition. They told their Palestinian brothers to hold out for it all. That they’d get it via war.

56 years later, look what they have. Nothing. To blame it all on Israel is to ignore historical fact. Over 50 years worth.

The Palestinians have never really had any friends, despite the protestations of some Arab leaders. A real friend would have told them in 1947, ”take the deal and hope for the best, as it’s probably only going to get worse.”

And that would have been the truth.