Yes, Newt, we know — there was no ethno-culturally distinct Arab population living in Palestine prior to the state of Israel. They were related to Arab populations in the general area.
But that doesn't mean that those displaced populations were not, in fact, displaced Nor that in the succeeding 60+ years they haven't learned to self-identify. Or that something needs to be done to address their situation.
If, somehow, Texas were to be invaded by Mexico and all the Anglos fled / were kicked out / became refugees in the surrounding states, would Newt be so quick to assert that "Texans" are an invented people, and they should just settle down in Oklahoma and Louisiana and New Mexico and stop pissing and moaning over their homes in Houston and Dallas and everywhere else? #ddtb
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Newt Gingrich: Palestinians Are An ‘Invented’ People
Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich is courting the Republican Jewish vote with a series of statements showing his unwavering support for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and pro-Israel…
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+Dave Hill, while I appreciate your perspective, it sure sounds (by virtue of the example you cited) that your real issue is with the Jewish people being settled in the Middle East at all. If that is your view, then please state it.
In defense of Mr. Gingrich's statements, I have to state that he is historically correct, while politically harsh. Indeed, the Middle East has never been known for democratic nation states. It has always been ruled by the few. This was true of the Greeks. This was true of the Babylonians (and the Persians). This was true of the Romans. It was also true of the Ottoman Turks (and a few generations of Crusaders).
The challenge with the Middle East is that few people want to find common ground (figuratively or literally). While the different Arab states want nothing to do with the Palestinians people, they want the Jewish people even less. BTW, this is the historic stance between both peoples. The historical account of Abraham's children is one of perpetual struggle.
Nevertheless, the nation of Israel has always allowed Jews AND Arabs to become citizens. The same is not the case for other nations in the Middle East. And the nation of Israel is a democracy led by the citizens. The same is not true for the majority of other nations in the Middle East.
I for one, give Newt Gingrich credit for actually opening up a dialog on this subject. I believer that MORE dialog is what we need, not LESS dialog.
+Dave Hill, thanks for elevating the discussion further. I think that we may agree far more than we disagree.
In the case of Mr. Gingrich, I don't wish to paint him as anything more than a candidate. His words were correct as there is no historical nation state that the current group of Palestinian refugees were ever part of. But his choice of words could certainly be considered intemperate at best and dismissive at worst.
As for whether or not the state of Israel has acted with a "gross overreaction to provocation," you and I will have to disagree. When the people that you must live with are firing rockets at your citizens (on a daily/weekly basis), most nations would consider their response as measured.
Of course, I doubt that the people launching missiles are the 99% of the Palestinian people. In candor, they are the 1% agitators that are receiving support from external sources (e.g., Iran).
When there are rocket attacks fired from various locations, that's certainly something that has to be dealt with, even if they are singleton rockets, spotty and sporadic. Whether dealing with it through bombing runs and artillery bombardments that destroy entire buildings, let alone neighborhoods, as well as by attempting to starve out and cut of medical supplies from entire regions is a measured response — well, it doesn't do so to me.
I don't envy the Israelis having to deal with asymmetric warfare of either the Intifada or the civilian bombing terror prior to that. Nor do I defend those actions by Palestinian extremists. I would say that Israel has not done its cause internationally, nor its national psyche, nor ultimately its security self-interests by treating the 99% with as much suspicion, degradation, economic oppression, and marginalization as the 1% (if that high) of active warriors. That attacking-flies-with-a-sledge-hammer approach has also allowed some leaders within the Palestinians and beyond to tighten their hold further.
+Lorin Olsen , I have no problems with Jewish people being settled in the MIddle East, or the existence of the state of Israel. (I do have problems with a state founded and maintained for a specific religion, but that's another matter.)
Yes, the Middle East has been the playground of empires, conquerors, colonial powers, and, in-between, anyone who could round up enough people with swords or guns. It has not been known for democratic nation-states, but that's a relatively recent phenomenon world-wide as well (including the question of what constitutes democracy).
I find much to admire in Israel, as a democracy and modern state in the Middle East. While the status of Israeli Arab citizens is not quite as rosy as you paint it, they are arguably treated better than, say, religious minority populations in many other parts of the region. I hope to see it prosper.
That said, the state of Israel is not wearing a shiny white hat here. It has been guilty of gross overreaction to provocation, and to mistreatment and virtual apartheid to Palestinians in areas it's occupied. It has not negotiated for peace in good faith, continuing to pay lip service to peace and coexistence while further solidifying its occupation through ever-increasing Jewish settlements on the West Bank.
That doesn't mean that I think Israel should be destroyed, or abandoned, or that it does not face existential threats, or that its hat is any dirtier than the hats of the other players in the region. But we can't have a meaningful discussion of the conflict when folks like Newt portray it in such Manichean terms — regardless of whether he believes it himself, or is simply pandering for votes.
To my mind, the biggest barrier to peace in that area is that too many people have a political power stake in continuing the conflict, or to being able to flog the other side as The Enemy.