History Is Being Destroyed, Part 3

A short time ago, we posted a critique of a distortion-filled op-ed by Mark Braverman called History Is Being Destroyed. Appropriately, that op-ed butchered history.

This is a letter published by The (New London) Day in response to that op-ed.

Israel Not To Blame For Entire 100-year Conflict

Published on 1/7/2008

Mark Braverman, in his op-ed piece titled "Palestine is being
destroyed," published Dec. 30, writes: "The 1948 War, although it
undoubtedly protected the Jewish inhabitants of Palestine from hostile
Arab armies, was part of a larger plan to displace the Palestinians
and claim the entire land for a Jewish State."

But the 1948 war was not started by the Palestinian Jews, but by the
Arabs who wanted to prevent by force the implementation of the U.N.
partition plan. I will leave it to Mr. Braverman's imagination to
guess what would have been the fate of the Palestinian Jews, had they
lost that war.

Had the Arabs accepted the partition, there would not have been a
single Palestinian refugee and the independent Palestinian-Arab state
would have been 60 years old today, side by side with the
Palestinian-Jewish state.

Between 1948 and 1967, the Arabs could have established their
independent state in the West Bank and Gaza. They did not because they
continued to deny the legitimacy of a Jewish state in Palestine,
regardless of its size. That denial was the main reason for all
subsequent wars. Of course Israel has made many mistakes after 1967.

The Israeli press is full with criticism of many Israeli policies.
But, to put all the blame on Israel for the 100 year-old conflict
betrays an enormous anti-Israeli bias.

Jacob Amir
Jerusalem