The Entire Ottoman Empire Collapsed Into Ethnic Displacement – Only The Palestinians Are Still “Refugees”. Fifth Generation Refugees.

By
Omri Ceren
– March 14, 2007Posted in: Palestinians

In his new book on post-WWI ethnic displacement and cleansing, Benjamin Lieberman argues that the movement of Arabs out of what would become Israel was a commonplace of post-Ottoman nation building:

Lieberman argues persuasively that an intellectual focus on ethnic cleansing, rather than nation-building, generates a dramatic shift in our understanding of contemporary history. Ethnic cleansing has repeatedly proved a necessary component of twentieth-century nation-building: “The story of the rise of the nation-state, a triumph of self-determination, becomes a story of tragedy for those who were driven out.” Among his examples is the Palestinian exodus of 1948, and the creation of the State of Israel. Historians still argue vociferously over how many Palestinians were expelled, evacuated or simply fled in panic. Lieberman sidesteps this, arguing that their exodus was not unique. Quite the opposite, in fact: “The Arab departures from Israel seem mysterious only if viewed in isolation from all comparable examples. Ethnic war in other former Ottoman regions had displaced entire peoples, and ethnic war in Israel and Palestine had much the same effect, though this war left some Arabs in Israel.”

He might also have mentioned that (1) an equal number of Jews were forcibly expelled from Arab countries – and that (2) the Arabs’ ethnic cleansing of Jews was almost total, leaving only scattered handfuls of Jews left in the Middle East outside of Israel. In fact, he may well have mentioned it – who knows what gets into a Nation book review and what doesn’t? But let’s not dwell on that. Instead, pretend that the Palestinian narrative about their massive trauma at the hands of evil Jews was at least close to the truth. Even if that was true, it would still be totally absurd to have a population of over three million refugees. It would still be totally absurd to have fifth generation refugees, separated from their “property” by decades upon decades. These people are refugees from a place that neither they, nor their parents, nor their grandparents have ever seen.

Only the world’s most vicious and uncompromising anti-Israel population could get away with these claims. You’d think that the UN could find new untrue reasons to demonize Israel – but year in and year out they keep returning to this refugees thing. Because of all the kids that were not displaced from a place that they’ve never seen – but that they hate the Jews for taking away from them.

References:
* Human, All Too Human [The Nation]

Previously:
* Iraqi Jewish Refugees Demand State, Threaten Massive Terrorism
* People Who Say That Abbas’s Referendum Endorses a Two State Solution are Either Ignorant or Lying
* The BBC Lies

[Cross-posted to The Astute Bloggers]

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