History of the Conflict between Arabs and Israel - Assignment Example

The Arab Israeli Conflict Question In modern recent history, we can consider several problems which have lingered on since the Second World War that are still a cause of sporadic violence and contention. We can take the division of Germany as it was done by the allies, or the partition of India and Pakistan which has left the question of Kashmir but nothing has generated as many questions and differing opinions as the Arab Israeli conflict in Palestine. The history of armed conflict in this region begins with the 1948 Arab-Israeli war which in and of itself has been given many different colours depending on who is giving an opinion on it. For instance, the Israeli name for the war is the ‘war of independence’, while the Palestinians call it al-nakba which is the Arabic word for Catastrophe. The facts which can be ascertained from historical documents and reliable sources agree upon few points (Gerstel, 2004). For example we can be reasonably certain that the Arab nations did not accept the creation of a Jewish state when the British partitioned Palestine into two states. We also know that the armies of Egypt, Syria, Lebanon and Jordan attacked the newly formed state soon after the British left but we find differing opinions as to why the war was started and which party provoked the other into taking offensive action (Wikipedia, 2006). For instance, the pamphlet (Source A) written by the PLO titled History of Palestine (1984) examines and describes the issue by painting the Israelis in an obviously bad light. It says that the peaceful villagers of Deir Yassin were attacked by the Zionists and more than one hundred and fifty men, women and children were killed and mutilated by the Jews. The PLO also gives the reason for this attack and calls it a scare tactic which was supposed to cause panic and make the Palestinian population leave the country in a hurry. Scared for their lives, the Palestinians flew from their homes and were not allowed to come back after the war making them refugees by default. The entire blame for the war is laid at the feet of the Israelis and the source fails to make any mention of the nations which attacked Israel as soon as it emerged as a country. It does not make any allowances for the fact that there could be another possible side to the same argument and uses extremely strong words which could be considered hate material in many civilised countries. Then again, the application of such tactics is to be expected of the Palestinian Liberation Organisation since they had been at war with the Israelis many years before this document was ever created. At the same time, the statements (Source B) made by Mrs. Golda Meir also create doubts and raise some very important questions. She clearly blames the invading Arab nations for the war and declares that there would have been no refugees if the Arabs had not attacked Israel in the first place. She also suggests that the creation of the refugees and the refugee problem is the sole responsibility of those who created the problem i.e. the invading nations. Quite possibly, the best example of ignoring a situation is given in her speech when she mentions the Deir Yassin Village and says that some Jewish dissidents killed Arab civilians but she does not seem to take any responsibility for their actions since they were dissidents to begin with. Quite clearly, both the sources are extremely biased so their utility only extends to the fact that they can be used to show that the root cause of the issue is complex and debateable. The PLO source simply shows the anger and hatred which they feel for the other side and Mrs. Golda Meir does little better since she places the blame for the problem on the Arabs and does not even pretend to offer a solution to the problem. They can also be utilised to show how events can be distorted and interpreted to suit one particular viewpoint rather than to describe the facts as they happened. The publication of the sources is separated by a period of nearly 25 years. Source B was published in 1964 and since it is a statement made to the UN, it is less emotional in its delivery and more towards the statement of facts as understood by the Mrs. Golda Meir. Source A carries much more significance in terms of the date it was published since in 1984, ‘Yitzhek Shamir’ was the Prime Minister of Israel (JVL, 2006). The source accuses him of being directly involved in the massacre and says that he actually led the stern gang which took part in the killings at the village of Deir Yassin. We can not be certain if Mr. Shamir was involved in the attack on the village but by naming him, the pamphlet (Source A) makes itself relevant to the time it was published. In terms of final responsibility of the first strike on the village, I think it lies with the Israelis; however, the attack was conducted as a pre-emptive strike rather than one which was calculated to start hostilities between them and other nations. Question 2 Source A: This source clearly lacks the Jewish viewpoint of the situation and does not take into account the attack made by the combined Arab nations on the state of Israel. Taking the source at face value would lay the entire blame on the Israelis but with the knowledge from other sources, we know that the problem lies much deeper than this source would have us believe. The source is not very reliable since it comes from one of the parties involved in the conflict and is clearly a sentimental appeal to action. Source B: As in the case of Source A, this puts the blame for both the war and the refugee problem on the Arabs. It does accept that some Arabs may have been killed in the Deir Yassin village but immediately adds that the murderers were Jewish dissidents for which no one can take responsibility or even set out to punish them. The source is not very reliable since it is a statement being given at the international level by a person who gets paid for protecting Israeli interests. Source C: This source disputes Source B and completely denies that any calls were given for evacuation, rather it reports quite the opposite. Additional credibility is given to the source since it gives the source of its information from two reputed agencies and invites the reader to examine the evidence on their own in the museums. The reliability of this source is very strong since it comes from a more or less neutral stand point and shows journalistic integrity as well as investigative reporting. Even though it was produced a few years after the conflict was started, the source does manage to find relevant information. Source D: This source should not be assumed to be representative of the feelings of all refugees but as an example, it clearly shows that even though the UN is willing to provide a solution to their immediate problems of life, the refugees will not accept it. The sufficiency of this source is debatable since it comes from only one refugee and may not represent the sentiments of all. At the same time, it also points towards their resilience that they are not willing to accept anything less than what they lost. The date of publication is significant since it comes almost 50 years after the problem started and goes to show that the problem still exists. Source E: This source is clearly making an appeal to logic by saying that the vast Arab world could certainly accommodate a million more people. However, this source does not answer why the refugees can not go back to their own houses in Israel and why must they be asked to go to other countries. By the same logic, if the Arab world can accept a million persons, then Israel should also be able to accept a few hundred thousand. Like Source A, the reliability of the source must be questioned since the words come from someone who gets paid for presenting Israel’s view point to the world. Source F: This clearly shows that the Palestinians have been dealt with in an unfair manner. A Jew who is born in America is allowed to come to Israel but a Palestinian born in Jerusalem is not. The reliability of the source is very acceptable as far as it is used to present ground realities of the situation and the problem as it stands for the Palestinians. Source G: The Palestinian attack was an act of terrorism and murdering athletes at a sporting event for peace is indeed a horrific act. I believe that the way the Israelis handled the punishment to the culprits (although the legality of their methods is quite questionable) was much better than the way the Americans are handling terrorism today. While the Israeli agents managed to hunt down each and every one of the terrorists, they did not drop bombs on innocent civilians or declare war on nations for harbouring terrorists. I do not think that these sources can let a person come to a firm conclusion about who is responsible for the refugee problem. There are simply too many factors and factions involved to come to a decision based on only these sources. A lot more needs to be studied and considered before a final opinion can be given. While a lot of the blame comes to the Israeli governments, a part of it also shared by the Palestinians and their leaders/decision-makers. I think the debate on this topic will continue until a permanent settlement is devised and negotiated by the intervention of the major global powers. From the evidence presented, it can be seen that all parties involved are blaming someone else rather than accepting that they might have been excessive in the way they dealt with the situation. The stance adopted by both sides is that the other should acquiesce to their demands and negotiations are difficult when such a situation is created. Neither is willing to accept that some fault may be present within their past and present actions. The support which Israel has from America goes a long way towards the Israelis being inflexible in their attitude and the Palestinians supported by Arab nations have no qualms about resorting to terrorism. There is no moral victory in the given situation. Word Count: 1,817. Works Cited Gerstel, Y. (2004). “My Land Zion.” BBC. 2004. bbc.co.uk. 26 Feb. 2006 Wikipedia. (2006). “1948 Arab-Israeli War” Wikipedia.org. 2006. Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia. 25 Feb. 2006 JVL. (2006). “Yitzhak Shamir” Jewish Virtual Library. 2006. The American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise. 5 Mar. 2006 Read More