Hamas-Israeli War: May 10 – May 21, 2021

During the latest Hamas – Israeli War May 10 – 21, 4,360 rockets and drones were launched from Gaza on Israeli towns. The target was not military, but the civilian population. Their goal was to kill as many Jews as possible. Hamas’ aim is to eliminate Israel and replace it with a fundamentalist Islamic government. Israel retaliated dropping bombs on Hamas leaders, tunnels, rocket launch pads and offices.

Most of the world and American media protested the so-called “Israeli War Crimes,” blaming Israel for causing civilian casualties. However, they did not point out that Israel military targeted tunnels, military installations and Hamas leaders. In addition, they alerted civilians to evacuate targeted buildings. 

Wall Street Journal Op Ed

Professor Benny Morris (WSJ May 22 -23 Israel, the Violent Legacy of 1948) traces this recent escalation to the defeat of the Arab army during Israel’s War of Independence. He bemoans the fate of thousands of displaced Arabs and their descendants who still live in overcrowded refugee camps. They are jobless, dwell in poverty, are supported by charity and lack basic infrastructure and sanitation.

Morris also mentions the few thousand Arabs and their descendants who did not leave their homes and became Israeli citizens and prospered.

Oslo Accords

The Oslo Accords of 1964 and 1993 were originally seen as a stepping-stone toward the ratification of a formal peace treaty between the two sides, ending decades of conflict. Israel withdrew from Gaza to the 1967 Green Line. In 2005, Israel chose to disengage unilaterally from the Gaza strip.

Eight thousand Jewish residents living in Gaza were evicted and had to find new homes, jobs and housing in Israel proper. The rich greenhouses left behind to support the economy were quickly destroyed. They were replaced with rocket launch pads which were used for the recent war.

No mention is made about the 1,000,000 Jews living in the area now inhabited by Arabs for 2,000 years. They were consistently persecuted after the creation of the State of Israel. Their properties were confiscated, and they were subjected to severe anti-Jewish, government-instigated riots and expelled from their homelands. Egypt’s delegate to the United Nations warned the General Assembly in 1948, “The lives of 1,000,000 Jews in Muslim countries will be jeopardized by partition.”

This mass expulsion is neither taught nor remembered when the Middle East is discussed because these Jews did not remain refugees for long. Those who moved to Israel were bestowed citizenship and provided with social and financial resources. They were integrated, becoming viable members of Israeli society. Their descendants now make up about half of the country’s Jewish population. Those who went to Europe or America started businesses, became citizens and valuable members of their adopted countries.

The hope is that soon the Arabs will be able to elect leaders willing to live in peace and prosperity with all their neighbors.

Read more by Felicia Graber.