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The Refugee Question: The Bedrock of Palestinian Rejectionism

(Huffington Post) Ben S. Cohen - For simply articulating a truth known by very many, not the least the Palestinian leadership, for decades, Andrew Whitley, the N.Y. director of UNRWA, was chastised by the Jordanians for urging Palestinian refugees to resettle in Arab states, while Hamas demanded his dismissal: one more example of how speaking your mind can land you in scalding water with those who regard freedom of speech as contingent on what you say. Still, it's hard to fault Whitley's logic. Of the 50 million people who lost their homes because of war and conflict in the twentieth century, practically none of the original displaced returned to their homes, never mind their descendants. The historical record shows that refugees are invariably absorbed by host countries. Offers made by Netanyahu's predecessors would have resulted in a contiguous, viable Palestinian state in nearly 100% of the West Bank, had they been accepted. They were rejected because resistance to the notion of two states side by side runs counter to the main currents of Palestinian nationalism. It is this refusal to break with the narrative of Zionism's "original sin" which has derailed the peace talks for nearly two decades. The persistence of refugee status for millions of Palestinians remains the physical bedrock of rejectionism. The writer is associate director of communications for the American Jewish Committee.
2010-10-29 09:09:44
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