Some Years ago, the United Nations published a lengthy and thoroughly documented report on "The Origins and Evolution of the Palestine Problem."
And Here is part II.
The report is frankly one sided: relentlessly pro-Palestinian & anti-Israeli.
But it can't just be dismissed. In fact, it presents the strongest case for the Palestinian cause that I've yet come across, in my internet travels. So it's something that partisans of Israel, like me, need to read and digest.
We should consider it a sort of "trial by fire."
Comments (8)
Thanks for the pointer Steve. I thought I'd return the favor and recommend one of the best short pieces I've found on the internet defending Israel and its creation:
http://www.commentarymagazine.com/viewarticle.cfm/1948--israel--and-the-palestinians--annotated-text-11373?search=1
Compare and contrast!
Posted by Jeff Singer | June 18, 2008 11:21 AM
I give up. Where is the "strong case" here?
Posted by George R. | June 18, 2008 3:10 PM
Jeff Singer - many thanks for passing along the ammunition.
George R. - "strongest" doesn't necessarily mean "strong." YMMV. But I think there's a lot of important information in these reports that defenders of Israel need to know.
Posted by steve burton | June 18, 2008 3:40 PM
I think there's a lot of important information in these reports that defenders of Israel need to know.
Like what?
Posted by George R. | June 18, 2008 3:54 PM
Well, George R., to begin with, Palestine was *not* "a land without a people."
If you'd like, and if I can find time, I'll try to work up some summaries for you.
In the meantime, you might want to keep in mind that, on the whole, I side with Israel in their conflict with the Palestinians. But the rights and wrongs in this conflict are *not* simple and straightforward.
And it does partisans of Israel no good to pretend that they are.
Posted by steve burton | June 18, 2008 4:12 PM
I've looked over the report, though of course it's too long for me to have read it all. I see nothing there that shocks me or that I find a challenge. I see even from a short skim more than one of the usual distortions, card-forcing unstated and unargued assumptions, and the like. The usual suspects, in fact. I prefer not to comment on this topic here at W4, though. My views on this subject are probably fairly well-known to the extent that it has come up here and of course to anyone who reads my personal blog. If anyone is curious about what I would say to the statement that the present-day rights of the matter are not straightforward, etc., feel free to e-mail me or to check out some of my posts on my own blog.
Posted by Lydia | June 18, 2008 4:55 PM
Well, I compared and contrasted. One piece was one-sided towards one side, the other was one-sided toward the other. Great help.
Posted by c matt | June 20, 2008 3:56 PM
Perhaps this may seem a naive question, but how is what the UN report alleges that the Jewish settlers/immigrants did to Palestine different from what Americans complain about Mexican immigrants doing to the US?
Posted by c matt | June 20, 2008 5:57 PM