“A Plea for Justice: A Historical Analysis:” false beginnings, twisted thoughts- part 3

Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord? And who may stand in his Holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who has not lifted up his soul to falsehood, and has not sworn deceitfully. (Psalm 24:3-4)

We are all longing for the peace of Jerusalem, but it cannot come twisted and incomplete.

Professors Nahida Gordon and Fredric W. Bush in the paper entitled “A Plea for Justice: A Historical Analysis combine the issues of the partition of Palestine and the Palestinian refugee problem with two of Israel's wars with the Arab nations. Their statements about Israel’s 1948 war for independence as well as the 1967 war Israel fought against Egypt, Jordon and Syria are incomplete and often historically inaccurate. Picture the Western Wall of Jerusalem taken by en:User:Chmouel,

The authors’ statement on the 1948 war begins with an explanation of the influx of Jewish European immigrants into Palestine. They write, “The Palestinians who in a short span of three decades saw the ethnic composition of Palestine change dramatically due to the British facilitation of immigration of Jews into Palestine objected to the partition plan." They go on to state simply and rightly that there was violence on both sides.

But the way the rest of the paragraph is written the implication is that the Palestinians became refugees during the violence that occurred between November 29,[1] 1947 (the date of the UN recommendation of the Mandate), and May 14, 1948 (Israel’s declaration of independence). There is a further statement that the Arab nations attacked Israel in order to save the Palestinian refugees from expulsion. Going even further is the thought that Israel was better prepared militarilythan the Arabs.

I have already answered these kinds of statements in a posting on the booklet, "Steadfast Hope: The Palestinian Quest for Just Peace" published by the Israel/Palestine Mission Network of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).[2]

Immediately after the UN announcement, Jewish people all over the world rejoiced. But by the next morning they would begin fighting for their lives. As Walter Laqueur, who is not a conservative, but an excellent historian, in his comprehensive book A History of Zionism: From the French Revolution to the Establishment of the State of Israel, states:

"The next morning [after the UN Mandate announcement] the Palestinian Arabs called a three day-protest strike, and Jews in all parts of the country were attacked. On that first day of rioting seven were killed and more injured; the fighting continued to the end of the mandate. The next months, as chaos engulfed Palestine, were a time of crisis for the Jewish community. ...The most pressing task facing the Jewish population was to strengthen its defenses, since the Arab countries had already announced that their armies would enter the country as soon as the British left. Syria was not willing to wait that long: an 'Arab Liberation Army" inside Palestine was established in February with the help of Syrian officers as well as irregulars." (p. 583-84) (Emphasis mine)

Rabbi Yitzchok Adlerstein writes, “In 1948, after the UN Partition went into effect, five Arab armies attacked the fledgling State. Azzam Pasha, Secretary-General of the Arab League announced, “This will be a war of extermination and a momentous massacre which will be spoken of like the Mongolian massacres and the Crusades.”[3]

The point here is that the Arab nations attacked because they did not agree that there should be a Jewish State. (And here is an additional thought, Arab anti-Semitism goes back centuries, it did not suddenly appear with the birth of Israel.)[4]

It is also important to note that Israel was not prepared militarily as were the Arab nations. Once again, as Laqueur puts it:

"While Britain continued to supply arms to the neighboring Arab countries, and America had declared a general arms embargo, the Jewish forces had great difficulty in obtaining supplies. By February the Arab forces were on the offensive throughout the country. While they did not succeed in capturing Jewish settlements, they all but paralyzed the traffic among them, and even Jerusalem was about to become a besieged city. The Jewish relief force sent to the help of the Ezion settlements had been wiped out to the last man, a terrible loss by the standards of these days." (p583)

Bush and Gordon make short work of the 1967 war. They write, “In June 1967, Israel attacked Egypt, Jordan, and Syria. At the end of six days, Israel had taken the Gaza strip and the Sinai from Egypt, East Jerusalem and the West Bank from Jordan, and the Golan from Syria.” The authors then go on to write about the United Nations Security Council and resolution 242. This is shoddy historical writing. It leaves the reader without any understanding at all. Perhaps the authors did not know the circumstances of the Six-Day war.

The history is complex but includes bombardments from Syria, an Egyptian blockade of the Straits of Tiran so that Israel had no route to Asia. The removal of UN peace keepers by Egypt and threats from several Arab States including this from the Voice of the Arab Radio Station, “As of today, there no longer exists an international emergency force to protect Israel. We shall exercise patience no more. We shall not complain any more to the UN about Israel. The sole method we shall apply against Israel is total war, which will result in the extermination of Zionist existence.”[5]

The story is far more complex than I have written. Please see the article “The 1967 Six Day War” , at the Jewish Virtual Library. There are many complex problems between Israel and Palestine. When institutions such as the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and committees such as the Presbyterian Middle East Study Committee attempt to help sort out the needs of each nation and yet begin with so much one-sided misinformation they eliminate from the discussion all of those who care about truth. And then peace can never come.


[1] The paper at one point refers to the 29th, at another point to the 19th, the 29th for the UN’s recommendation is the correct date.
[2] See More from the Presbyterian Israel/Palestine Mission Network's booklet Steadfast Hope The IPMN is advised by some of the same leadership as the Presbyterian Middle East Study Committee. Their views of Israel and Palestine are usually the same.

[3] A Rabbi Reflects on the Horizons Study of Joshua - Part I See also Richard Kraus, “The Roots of Anti-Semitism.” This paper disproves that the State of Israel is the sole cause of Arab anti-Semitism.
[4] See again “The Roots of Anti-Semitism.”
[5] See The Jewish Virtual library, Michael Bard, “The 1967 Six Day War.”

Reading the Rest of the Story:

Part 1.

Part 2.