Israel 21,
April 10, 2025,
Hi Everyone,
I woke up to sunny skies but cool weather with a cool breeze. I am getting spoiled as 22C is somewhat chilly for swimming. I decided to do a museum today. I chose the Palmach museum. The Palmach was the precursor to the IDF which became organized when Israel became a state in 1948. I regrouped the Palmach, the original group, the Haganah, the Irgun and the Stern Gang. They did not get along as they had different views as to what Israel should look like.
The British were given the Palestine Mandate which was carved out of the Ottoman Empire which had been defeated in WW1. It was a difficult region to govern as the British had made 2 separate promesses to 2 separate peoples each of whom claimed the land. Eventually the British carved off Transjordan, changed the name to Jordon and gave it to a Hashemite king from Iraq. 80% of the population was Arab Palestinian and 20% Hashemite. This did not matter to the British who were only interested in an expedient solution. There was a lot of in fighting between the Arabs and the Jews. At the time only the Jews called themselves Palestinians. Golda Meir had a Palestinian passport. The Arabs revolted against the British and the revolt was put down in a violent manner. The Arabs did not want Jewish immigration so to please them, the British brought out a white paper limiting severely Jewish Immigration.
The Palmach was organized in 1941 to fight alongside the British against the Nazis. The Jewish Brigade was broken up after the war and was later reorganized into the Palmach. All of the above groups fought against the British to get them to leave Palestine. The Jews worked hard to bring clandestine ships to Palestine.Many were stopped and the Jews were brought to Cypress where they were interned for 3 years.
In 1947, the British were fed up with ruling the Palestine Mandate and gave the land back to the newly formed UN. The UN decided to split Cisjordan in two giving some land to the Jews and some land to the Arabs. The boundaries of the two newly formed areas was untenable. 85% or the land was Crown Land, 8% was owned by wealthy landlords in Damascus.
The question of the partage was put to a vote in the UN. The Arab countries voted against the decision. The vote went in favour of the Jews. The Arabs in the land began attacking the Jews to drive them out. The Jews had virtually no weapons except what they scrounged from the British. The British left the majority of the weapons with the Arabs. Ben Gurion declared the country as the State of Israel. 5 Arab countries attacks Israel including Iraq, Jordan, Syria, Egypt and Lebanon. No one expected the Jewish state to survive. The war lasted almost 2 years. In the end, Israel gained more territory. 600,000 Arabs left and became refugees in the surrounding countries. Many left because they were afraid of what would happen to them in a Jewish state. The majority left because they were told by the Arab states to leave of their own accord and would be able to return when Israel was defeated. Israel won the war. The Arabs who stayed in Israel prospered and are now 20% of the Israeli population. Those that left were never absorbed into the neighboring Arab countries. They are still called refugees to this day, receiving 2 billion dollars a year from UNRWA.
Meanwhile, 800,000 Jewish were forced to leave Arab countries. Israel took them in as no other country wanted them. They received no compensation for the homes and business that they lost. Many lived in tents for 5 years until the new country was able to build homes for them. Israel doubled its population in 2 years. Israel is the only haven for Jewish people in the world. It must continue to exist. I am a Zionist, meaning that I believe that the Jewish people are a nation and as such have a right to a country. That country is Israel. If you remove the Negev which is desert and is really not livable, Greater Montreal is 10% larger that Israel!!
The Palmach Museum traces the history of the formation of the Palmach and the war which they fought against the 5 Arab countries. The Nakbah at the time referred to the fact that 5 Arab countries with well organized armies were not able to defeat a newly formed nation which had no central army. The was the catastrophe. Later, for the sake of propaganda the Nakbah, or catastrophe became to be used to illustrate the fate of the 600,000 Arabs to become refugees. There were 25 million refugees after WW2. All of these refugees either died, went back to their countries of origin, or were absorbed into the new countries where they were staying. Not so the Palestinian refugees. The Arab countries refused to absorb them and they are still called refugees to this day. The Gazans are the result of this forced migration and call themselves refugees. There are now 6 million Arabs who call themselves Palestinian refugees 80 years after a war. There is no other group in the world which has refugee status for 3 generations. There are 30,000 UNRWA workers in the Middle East with 16,000 in Gaza. Many of these people are Hamas and took part in the Oct. 7 massacre. It is about time that the gravy train stops.
In the afternoon I took a walk through Jaffa. This is the old part of Tel Aviv mostly inhabited by Arabs. Some of the area has been nicely renovated. There are endless streets with shops, restaurants and cafes. I walked along the old port eventually stopping for an ice cream at Golda’s. I am at my usual Thursday evening or Saturday haunt known as the laundromat. What fun.
Love,
Brian
The Palmach Museum
Jaffa
gobriantravel 