Letters to the Editor
Boulder Daily Camera
To the Editor:
Tom Mayer highlights the Palestinian perspective on Israel's establishment 68 years ago ("Hear about the Nakba," Daily Camera, May 17). He mischaracterized it as an "unrectified political crime." Mayer omitted important facts and the complexities of the conflict:
• Jewish connection to the land of Israel goes back nearly four millennia. It is the cornerstone of Jewish life — embedded in prayer, ritual and culture. Even after Jews were exiled, Jewish life in the land of Israel continued. The modern Zionist movement called for the establishment of a Jewish state in this ancient homeland.
• The Arab world and local Palestinian Arabs unequivocally rejected the UN partition plan to create a Jewish state and an Arab state. Immediately upon Israel's creation in 1948, five surrounding Arab countries attacked, aiming for its destruction. Any land gained by Israel was as a result of Israel being forced to defend itself.
• There was no official, deliberate or systematic policy by Zionist leaders or by the newly established state of Israel to expel the Arab population. Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians, some voluntarily and some under duress, left their homes amidst the chaos of the 1948 war.
• Those Arabs that chose to stay were granted full Israeli citizenship. Today Israeli Arabs comprise 20 percent of Israel's population and are represented throughout Israeli society. The issue of repatriation of Palestinians that fled in 1948 is a complicated issue made difficult by the unwillingness of most Arab states and the Palestinians to agree to a peace treaty that would create a Palestinian state, recognize the legitimacy of the Jewish state, and end Palestinian claims to a right of return.
Israelis and Palestinians cannot forget their history. The best hope for the future is a commitment to work for peace and reconciliation that includes a secure and recognized Jewish state of Israel alongside an independent Palestinian state.
Sincerely,
Scott L. Levin
Mountain States Regional Director