Lecture 7Outline -- Refuges: Palestinian and JewishI. Importance of the Refuge QuestionII. Palestinian DisplacementA. Demographic and Emotional DimensionsB. Long-Term Factors Promoting CollapseC. First Stage (Dec. 1947 - March 1948)D. Second Stage (after March 1948)E. Efforts at ResolutionIII. Jewish DisplacementA. In PalestineB. The Wider Arab World: Background FactorsC. The First Wave, 1948-1955D. The Second Wave, 1956-1967IV. Comparing the Two Displacements: DifferencesV. Comparing the Two Displacements: SimilaritiesLecture 7:I. Importance of the Refuge Question--Why did many Palestinians leave their homes?Israeli’s deny that they had a plan to displace anyone. Palestinians chose to leave. Reserves Israel’s claims to be more moral.Arabs believe that their displacement was part of a master plan. Preserves Palestinians claim to be innocent victims.--Both only capture part of the narrative. However many Jews had to leave Arabs lands, so Palestinians weren’t the only ones that had to leave.II. Palestinian DisplacementA. Demographic and Emotional Dimensions--750,000 left. Many went to west bank and trans-Jordan, some to Gaza and Lebanon. By 1954, 1/3 Israelis lived on previously Arab-owned lands.--UN put in place plans to help the refugees. UNRWA--Exodus 1947-49 became known as “the catastrophe”, dominated Palestinian art, poetry, etc. Poet: al-Nakba, The CatastropheB. Long-Term Factors Promoting CollapseWhy did Palestinian society collapse?Places were Jewish and Arab communities intersected had high tension. If one group was superior, flight was the only option for the other groupLimited internal cohesion; Palestinian unity was minimal because Palestinian nationalism was really new, orgs never recovered from revolt of 1936-39, and more. Also, Arabs relied heavily on the British. From this, Arabs lost a mode of transportation as well as many resources.Zionist leaders sought population transfer as a solution. Even though in1947, Arabs were promised full civil rights in Israel.Plan was to open it to mass Jewish immigration. But by 1947, the idea of population transfer was being considered.Jews in 1948: loss of Jerusalem, foreign armies, and American supportC. First Stage (Dec. 1947 - March 1948)--Haganah wanted to stand on the defense.--Main reason for Arab flight was social collapse. As the British left…schools, police, health care, food came to a haut. Led to Arab poverty and violence. Many Palestinians left to avoid the chaos but also hoped to return.D. Second Stage (after March 1948)--more massive stage. Displaced another 650,000 Arabs. Now, Arab flight spread to poor Arabs. Jewish military attack called for this since they switched to being on the offense rather than defense.Plan D: if villagers resisted, the were to be expelled. If they obeyed, some Jewish officers still kicked them out even though they were meant to be left alone.June 1948: 70% fled because of Jewish military action.--Arab intentions were no less brutal; the Jewish were just more successful.DeirYassin: Jewish opened the road back up to Jerusalem. This was cut off to keep resources from Jewish villages in Arab areas.IDF never sought systematic expulsions.E. Efforts at Resolution--before fighting ended, the international world tried to find a solution for the refugee problem. UN passed UN General Assembly Resolution 194 (Dec. 1948). April 1949, UN met with Switzerland to find a solution. Israel offered to take back 100,000 refugees if and only if the Arabs followed UN General Assembly Resolution 181 (Nov. 1947).III. Jewish DisplacementA. In Palestine--idea of getting rid of alien peoples was more real for the Arabs than the Jews. Idea of multiethnic state was a liberal European notion. But most Palestinians did not have this view.Hussani: we will keep fighting until the Jews are annihilated. April 1948 Etzion: Arabs executed many Jewish women. Also, killed 70 Jewish doctors and nurses, burned alive in their vehicles. 17% of Arabs remained in Israel, 0% of Jews were “allowed” in Arab lands.B. The Wider Arab World: Background Factors--Expulsion of Jews from Arabs areas in Palestine was a small part of Jewish displacement throughout the world. After 1948, entire Arab Jewish population fled. Arab Jews vs Arab Muslim: Europeans came to dominate Middle East. Under new colonial system, Jews benefited from the colonial system. First to understand European languages—willingness to cooperate brought resentment to others under the colonial rule. Arab nationalist began to target the Jews who worked with the colonialist and the Europeans.--Arab Muslims identified with the Palestinians because they were against Zionism. Arab nationalist assumed all Jews were pro-Zionism.C. The First Wave, 1948-1955-Libya, Yemon, IraqYemon Jews were the most poor in the world. Fled Yemon to avoid poverty and starvation.Iraq Jews were well education and very prosperous. Publicly denounced Zionism and gave money to the Palestinian cause to get protection. Jewish doctors were banned from govt. employment, high schools and colleges, etc.93% of Iraqi Jews fled the country.D. The Second Wave, 1956-1967--Jewish populations were cut in half in Arab countries and continued to go down. Similar movement emptied Jews from French colonies. Demonstrations of popular hostility led 95% of Jews in France/African areas to fleer to Israel.IV. Comparing the Two Displacements: DifferencesChronology was different: Palestinian displacement: 1947-49 Jewish flight 1948-mid 60’s.Motivation: Palestinian motivation was negative, didn’t want to leave but felt they had no choice. Immigration to Israel was appealing to many Arab Jews; voluntary. Many Jews wouldn’t have left if it weren’t for the Arabs, but they left with less heavy hearts,Responsibility: Palestinians started the was in 1947 which is directly linked to their exile. Jews never did anything to provoke expulsion (moving into their country??)Israel opened the country to Arabs willingly, because Jewish refugees strengthened Israel. Theses refugees hated the countries that expelled them no more or less than how much the Palestinians hated the Jewish. But these refugees ignited Arabs moving out and this also strengthened Israel.V. Comparing the Two Displacements: SimilaritiesBoth are of comparable size, involved great suffering in both populations (family, physically, morally).Both exoduses triggered by the struggle for Palestine (1947-49).Both movements grew from the collapse of