The Arab-Israel conflict and the post 1967 construct of the Israel- Palestinian conflict (which is nothing but the Arab-Israel conflict dressed up for western eyes, to portray tiny Israel as not being under constant threat of annihilation from hundreds of millions of arabs living in 22 countries, but rather of a regional Israeli 'bully' attacking the even smaller palestinian arabs ) results from an arab and islamic refusal to recognise legitimate jewish claims to the Land of Israel.
Whereas from the very beginning of modern jewish nationalism and Zionism jews were willing to negotiate, to help arabs improve economically and share their knowledge, the response was overwhelmingly violent.
From a petition sent to Lord Allenby in April 1920 by the Director of the Arab Club, Jerusalem just after murderous attacks on jews which were aided, abetted and even instigated by British officials (such as the notorious Colonel Waters-Taylor) three things are apparent:
1) that anti-semitism was at the very basis of the conflict. Jews were considered by arabs to have no rights in Israel,
2) that arabs would through force of violence not allow any jews to live in the land, and
3) that as far as arabs living in Israel (then 'Palestine') had any national feelings, they were as formerly in Ottoman times, expressed as being part of a Syrian state under then King Faisal.
Nothing has changed in the last hundred years as far as the hatred of jews, the justification for and the use of violence against jews and the refusal of any jewish claims to any part of Israel.
The only thing that has changed is that a faux nationalism has grown up, hardly believed by arabs themselves in Judea and Samaria ('West Bank') and Gaza. Hamas refers mostly to the caliphate and defers to Egypt whereas in Judea and Samaria most inhabitants have Jordanian citizenship. 'Palestinian' nationalism for what it is, is expressed in terms of what it is against, of hatred for jews, and for violence against jews who have 'stolen' islamic lands. The Mufti of Jerusalem's recent speech to the supposedly secular Fatah recently where he and the Fatah moderator berated the 'sons of apes and pigs'(jews) and called for genocide against them show that there is no solution that would ever be acceptable to arabs living in the ancient jewish homelands of Judea and Samaria.
............
We declare that we cannot accept the Jews in our country. Should they be permitted to do what they intend doing, we shall fight against them till death. We have learned from this war to be extremely cruel to those who intend to encroach upon our rights. We declare that we do not accept the Jews neither as guests nor as neighbours in Palestine: we do not accept that they be allowed to come to Palestine as slaves or servants, neither do we admit or approve of their language being used and the Hebrew, be recognized as the official language of a country, which is the native land of one nation, the Arabic nation
3) We have heard about the organization of a new government, for which we thank the Government, which thinks of the benefit of this country. But as we completely recognize Palestine as only a part of Syria, the natives of which have declared or owned their indepnendence within its natural boundaries, and as His Excellency Ameer Feisal was chosen king over it, we ask that the Government be formed according to the opinion of our laudable king and 'Capital' .
Kindly accept our respectful regards,
Mohammed I. Derweesh,
director of the Arab Club,
(Moslem and Christian Society).
In 3) we also see that the arab 'laudable king' was that of Syria and its 'Capital' Damascus - Jerusalem is just a backwater, of no significance as to national rights - the importance of Jerusalem exists only as far as it is needed to divest jews of their rights. Indeed when the Jordanians held Jerusalem after 1948, the Temple Mount and Golden domed Mosque of Omar was dilapidated and the golden dome not installed until the Israelis retook the city.
Whereas from the very beginning of modern jewish nationalism and Zionism jews were willing to negotiate, to help arabs improve economically and share their knowledge, the response was overwhelmingly violent.
From a petition sent to Lord Allenby in April 1920 by the Director of the Arab Club, Jerusalem just after murderous attacks on jews which were aided, abetted and even instigated by British officials (such as the notorious Colonel Waters-Taylor) three things are apparent:
1) that anti-semitism was at the very basis of the conflict. Jews were considered by arabs to have no rights in Israel,
2) that arabs would through force of violence not allow any jews to live in the land, and
3) that as far as arabs living in Israel (then 'Palestine') had any national feelings, they were as formerly in Ottoman times, expressed as being part of a Syrian state under then King Faisal.
Nothing has changed in the last hundred years as far as the hatred of jews, the justification for and the use of violence against jews and the refusal of any jewish claims to any part of Israel.
The only thing that has changed is that a faux nationalism has grown up, hardly believed by arabs themselves in Judea and Samaria ('West Bank') and Gaza. Hamas refers mostly to the caliphate and defers to Egypt whereas in Judea and Samaria most inhabitants have Jordanian citizenship. 'Palestinian' nationalism for what it is, is expressed in terms of what it is against, of hatred for jews, and for violence against jews who have 'stolen' islamic lands. The Mufti of Jerusalem's recent speech to the supposedly secular Fatah recently where he and the Fatah moderator berated the 'sons of apes and pigs'(jews) and called for genocide against them show that there is no solution that would ever be acceptable to arabs living in the ancient jewish homelands of Judea and Samaria.
Petition sent to Lord Allenby in April 1920 by the Director of the Arab Club (page 74 - Middle East Diary 1917-56, R Meinertzhagen, 1959)1)
............
We declare that we cannot accept the Jews in our country. Should they be permitted to do what they intend doing, we shall fight against them till death. We have learned from this war to be extremely cruel to those who intend to encroach upon our rights. We declare that we do not accept the Jews neither as guests nor as neighbours in Palestine: we do not accept that they be allowed to come to Palestine as slaves or servants, neither do we admit or approve of their language being used and the Hebrew, be recognized as the official language of a country, which is the native land of one nation, the Arabic nation
3) We have heard about the organization of a new government, for which we thank the Government, which thinks of the benefit of this country. But as we completely recognize Palestine as only a part of Syria, the natives of which have declared or owned their indepnendence within its natural boundaries, and as His Excellency Ameer Feisal was chosen king over it, we ask that the Government be formed according to the opinion of our laudable king and 'Capital' .
Kindly accept our respectful regards,
Mohammed I. Derweesh,
director of the Arab Club,
(Moslem and Christian Society).
In 3) we also see that the arab 'laudable king' was that of Syria and its 'Capital' Damascus - Jerusalem is just a backwater, of no significance as to national rights - the importance of Jerusalem exists only as far as it is needed to divest jews of their rights. Indeed when the Jordanians held Jerusalem after 1948, the Temple Mount and Golden domed Mosque of Omar was dilapidated and the golden dome not installed until the Israelis retook the city.
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