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Ethnic Cleansing: Memories of 1929 and 1948

(Jerusalem Post) Gerald M. Steinberg - Prime Minister Netanyahu released a short video last week on the obstacles to peace with the Palestinians. The message that got primary attention was his reference to ethnic cleansing - specifically the Palestinian demand that in any agreement, none of the Jews living beyond the 1948 "green line" would be allowed to remain. U.S. officials referred to "that type of terminology" (ethnic cleansing) as "inappropriate and unhelpful." In the Israeli historical memory, beyond the Nazis and the Holocaust, the term "ethnic cleansing" brings up images of the 1929 Hebron massacre and the 1948 forced exodus of the Jewish Quarter in Jerusalem's Old City. In 1929, Arab rioting that began in Jerusalem extended to Hebron - the second holiest city for Jews. 67 Jewish residents were killed, and the survivors forced to flee. The British forces that controlled Palestine did not provide protection and it was only after the 1967 war that Jews returned to live in Hebron. In May 1948, when the combined forces of the Arab Legion (the Jordanian army) and local Palestinian militias conquered the Jewish Quarter in Jerusalem, they did not disarm the Jewish residents and treat them as residents of occupied territory, in accordance with the Geneva Convention and international law. Rather, all of the Jews were expelled from their homes - every single one. Under Jordanian occupation, what remained of the ancient synagogues was systematically destroyed or desecrated. The ban on Jews, which was strictly enforced at the Mandelbaum Gate crossing point between the Israeli and Arab sections of the city, extended to non-Israelis as well. And the UN as well as the world powers, including the U.S., which had guaranteed freedom of access to sacred sites in the armistice agreement, were nowhere to be seen. The Western Wall, where Jews had gathered for 2,000 years to mourn the destruction of the Temple, was inaccessible. For Israelis, the traumas of Hebron and Jerusalem epitomize the perceived Palestinian objective of ridding the Land of Israel of all its Jewish inhabitants, as well as of its history and holy sites. For any hope for peace to be taken seriously, the recognition of Jewish rights and history is essential. Rather than deriding and dismissing Israeli concerns, would-be peace makers would be well-advised to pay attention. The writer is professor of political studies at Bar-Ilan University and president of NGO Monitor.
2016-09-16 00:00:00
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