beyond chutzpah (2005) historic

8/18/2019 Beyond Chutzpah (2005) Historic

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258 APPENDIX II

Topic

TheCaseforIsrael

WhattheEvidenceActuallyShows

3.whatwas

the

rootcauseof

thepales

tine

conflict?

[TheBritish]blamedthemurders

[ofJews]on“racial

animosityon

thepartoftheArab

s.”(p.

4 3 )

s o u r c e s : PeelReport,p.

6 8 .

TheBritish

attributedArabanti-JewishanimustotheJewishclaim

over

Palestine,w

hichdeniedArabsanindep

endentstate,andtoArabfearof

beingsubju

gatedinaneventualJewish

state.ThePeelReportaffirmatively

quotedapriorinquiryheadedbySirT

homasHaycraftthat“therootofthe

trouble...wastheArabfearofasteadyincreaseofJewishimmigration,

whichwou

ldultimatelytendtotheirp

oliticalandeconomicsubjection.”It

wentonto

affirmativelyquoteasecondinquiryheadedbySirWalterShaw

that“[t]herecan...benodoubtthatracialanimosityonthepart

ofthe

Arabs,con

sequentuponthedisappointmentoftheirpoliticalandnational

aspirations

andfearfortheireconomic

future,wasthefundamentalcause”

ofhostilities;anditthenrestatedthattheShawReport“attributed

...the

maincause

oftheoutbreaktoAraban

tagonismtotheNationalH

ome,as

beingonth

eonehandanobstacletotheattainmentoftheirnationalinde-

pendencea

ndastending,ontheother

hand,...toleadtotheireconomic

andpoliticalsubjection.”Dershowitzhasliftedthephraseracialanimosity

fromthecrucialcontextunderliningth

attherootcauseoftheconflictwas

notracial.ThePeelCommissionitselfsimilarlyconcludedthatthe

“underly-

ingcauses”

ofArab-Jewishhostilitiesw

ere,“first,thedesireofthe

Arabsfor

nationalindependence;secondly,their

antagonismtotheestablishmentof

theJewish

NationalHomeinPalestine

,quickenedbytheirfearof

Jewish

domination.”Explicitlyrepudiatingth

e“racial”explanationDers

howitz

ascribesto

it,thePeelReportstated:“Noristheconflictinitsesse

ncean

interracial

conflict,arisingfromanyo

ldinstinctiveantipathyofArabs

towardsJews.Therewaslittleornofriction...betweenAraband

Jewin

therestoftheArabworlduntilthestrifeinPalestineengenderedit.And

therehasb

eenpreciselythesamepoliticaltroubleinIraq,Syriaan

dEgypt—

agitation,r

ebellionandbloodshed—wherethereareno‘NationalHomes.’

Quiteobviously,then,theproblemof

Palestineispolitical.Itis,aselse-

where,the

problemofinsurgentnation

alism.Theonlydifferenceisthatin

PalestineA

rabnationalismisinextricablyinterwovenwithantagonismto


2/11

260 APPENDIX II

B.THE

FIRST

ARAB-ISRAELIWAR

(1947–1949)AND

ITS

AFTERMATH

Topic

TheCaseforIsrael


1.whydidt

he

zionistsw

in

the1948

war?

Atgreatcostinhum

anlife...the

ragtagIsraeliarmydefeatedthe

invadingArabarmi

esandthe

Palestinianattackers.Theywon

inlargepartbecause,asMorris

argues,thestakesw

eremuch

greaterforthem.Th

eyhadthe

“morale-boostingst

imulus”of

fightingfortheir“o

wnhome

andfields....”(p.

7 6 )

s o u r c e s : Morris[,Rig

hteous

Victims],p.

2 3 3

[sic—

p.

2 2 3 ].

Morrisdoe

sn’tstatethattheZionistarmyprevailed“inlargepart”because

morewasa

tstakeforthem.Heliststh

isasacontributoryfactor.L

ikeall

serioushistoriansofthewar,Morrisre

gardsasdecisiveIsrael’smilitarypre-

ponderance:“TheHaganahenjoyedsu

periorityinbothqualityandquantity

ofmanpow

er,unityofcommand,andrelativelyshortlinesofcommunica-

tion....ByandlargetheHaganahhadbettertrained,morecapab

lecom-

manders.”

“Thetruth,”Morrisobserv

edinanotherofhisstudies,

“isthat

thestronge

rsidewon....[I]twassuperiorJewishfirepower,manpower,

organizatio

nandcommandandcontr

olthatdeterminedtheoutc

omeof

battle.”

6

Topic

TheCaseforIsrael


4.whatdid

zionists

intendto

dowitht

he

indigenous

population?

(continued)

Jews”against“Jewishleaders”

who“werewillingtomakepain-

fulcompromisesas

longasthey

couldhaveaJewish

homelandin

thoseareasofPalestineinwhich

theywereamajority.”)

s o u r c e s :

(a)None

(b)[BennyMorris,RighteousVictims

(NewYork:

2 0 0 1)],pp.

5 7 – 5

9 .


3/11


4/11

264 APPENDIX II

Topic

TheCaseforIsrael


3.wasdeir

yassinan

aberratio

n?

( c o n

t i n

u e

d )

s o u r c e s :

(a)None.

(b)[Endnotestates:]T

herewereother

episodesinvolvingind

ividualsand

paramilitarygroupsin

whichclaims

ofmassacreweremad

e,butnoneof

thescaleandseriousnessofDeir

Yassin.

lagewassy

stematicallyrazed:“Oneco

mmanderorderedasapper

toputtwo

oldwomen

inacertainhouse...andtoblowupthehousewiththem.The

sapperrefu

sed....Thecommanderthenorderedhismentoputin

theold

womenandtheevildeedwasdone.Onesoldierboastedthatheha

drapeda

womanandthenshother.Onewoman

,withanewbornbabyinherarms,

wasemployedtocleanthecourtyardw

herethesoldiersate.Sheworkeda

dayortwo.Intheendtheyshotheran

dherbaby.”Thesoldiereyewitness

concludedthat“culturedofficers...hadturnedintobasemurdere

rsandthis

notintheh

eatofbattle...butoutofasystemofexpulsionanddestruction.

ThelessAr

absremained—thebetter.T

hisprincipleisthepolitical

motorfor

theexpulsionsandtheatrocities.”Ata

meetingoftheleftistMapa

mpartyin

November

1948,Israeliatrocitiesinth

eGalileeweredescribedas“Nazi

acts.”AM

apamleaderremarkedatan

otherpartymeetingthat“I

couldn’t

sleepallnight....Jewstoohavecomm

ittedNaziacts.”Arespecte

dZionist

officialobservedinhisdiary:“Whered

idtheycomebysuchamea

sureof

cruelty,likeNazis?They[i.e.,theJewishtroops]hadlearntfromthem[the

Nazis].Oneofficertoldmethatthosewhohad‘excelled’hadcomefrom

[theNaziconcentration/extermination]camps.”InDecemberaMapam

leaderdeclaredthat“[m]anyofusarelosingtheir[human]image.”Onelast

observationofMorrismeritsquoting:“TwoofthethreemajorArabmas-

sacresofJe

ws...wererevengeattacks

triggeredbyJewishatrocitiesagainst

Arabs.On

theotherhand,JewishatrocitiesagainstArabs...were

generally

unconnecte

dtoorlackedanyprevious,directArabprovocation.”

1 1

Ina

neweditionofhisstudyonthePalestin

ianrefugees,Morrisreported“20-

oddcaseso

fmassacre”byZionistforc

esduringthewar,frequentrandom

killingsofPalestinians,and“severaldo

zencasesofrape,acrimev

iewed

withparticularhorrorinArabandMu

slimsocieties.”

1 2


5/11

266 APPENDIX II

Topic

TheCaseforIsrael


5.whydid

palestinians

attackisrael

afterthe

war?

(a)Between

1 9 4

8 and

1 9

6 7 ,

Palestinianfedayeen

sponsored

byEgyptandSyriamurdered

Israeliciviliansinhundredsof

cross-borderraids.(p. 1

4 2)

(b)Between

1 9 5 1a

nd

1 9 5 5 ,

nearlyathousandIsraelicivilians

werekilledbyfeday

eenincross-

borderattacks.(p.

1 6

1)

s o u r c e s :

(a)None

(b)None

InIsrael’sB

orderWars,BennyMorris

reportsthatthemainmotivesbehind

Palestinians’infiltrationofIsraelwereeconomic(suchashungerandcovet-

ing“losthouses,lands,cropsandmov

ablegoods”)and,lessso,so

cial(such

asseeingth

eirformerhomesandrelatives).Onlythetiniestpercen

tageof

theinfiltration(“probablylessthan10

percent”)was“politicallymotivated

orundertakenforterroristpurposes.”

ThosefewPalestinianinfiltrators

armingthe

mselvesmainlydidsoonaccountof,ortoexactreven

gefor,

Israel’smurderouspoliciesalongitsbo

rder.MorrisreportsthatIsr

aelturned

borderareas,includingtheArabsideofthem,intofree-firezones.The

“overallattitude”wasthat“killing,torturing,beatingandrapingArabinfil-

tratorswas,ifnotpermitted,atleastnotparticularlyreprehensib

leand

mightwell

gounpunished.”CapturedPalestinianinfiltratorswere

routinely

murdered,

evenchildrenshotintheheadandelderlyPalestiniansc

astrated.

Theatmosphereinthearmy“wasepitomizedinthewordsofone

officer:

‘Wherever

IcankillanArab—itisapleasure.’”Inaddition,Israel

carried

outmassive“retaliatorystrikes”targeting“theattackers’clan,villageor

district”—notablytheQibyamassacre

ledbyArielSharon,which

leftsome

seventyArabciviliansdead.Morristalliesasmanyas250Israelic

ivilians

andanothe

r250Israelicombatantskilledbetween1949and1956

—not,as

Dershowitzclaims,“nearlyathousandIsraelicivilians.”Morrisfurther

states:“AsmallproportionofJewishc

asualtieswascausedbyinfiltrators

whosetou

twiththeintenttokillorin

jureJews.MostoftheIsrae

licasual-

tiesseemtohaveresultedfromunprem

editatedencounters.”Ontheother

hand,here

portsthatasmanyasfivethousandPalestinianswerek

illedby

Israelduringthissameperiod,the“va

stmajority”being“unarmed‘eco-


6/11

268 APPENDIX II

2.didisrael

exhaust

diplomat

ic

options

before

attacking

?

Afterexhaustingall

diplomatic

optionsandlearningthatEgypt

waspreparinganim

minent

attackandhadflow

nsurveillance

flightsoverIsraeliterritory,the

Israeliairforceattacked.(p.

9 2)

s o u r c e s : [MichaelB.

Oren,SixDays

ofWar(Oxford:

2 0 0 2

)],p.

9 9 .

TowardtheendofMay,IsraelconsideredsendingalettertotheJo

hnson

administrationtowinitsbackingfora

firststrike.AccordingtoOrenon

thepageDershowitzcites,“Rabinconcludedthediscussion:‘Iwantittobe

recordedfo

rhistorythat,beforeacting

,wedideverythingwecoul

dtofind

adiplomat

icsolution.”ForDershowitzthisrhetoricalflourishofRabin

clincheshispoint.Infact,Israelhadm

anyoptions—includingthe

restation-

ingofU.N.forcesonitssideoftheborderwithEgypt,atwo-week

morato-

riumpropo

sedbyU.N.secretary-generalUThant,andWorldCou

rtarbitra-

tionofthe

StraitsofTiranquestion—a

llofwhichitperemptorilyrejected. 1

6

C.JUNE1967

AND

OCTOBER

1973

WARS

Topic

TheCaseforIsrael


1.whichsid

e

washeld

responsib

le

forthejune

1967war?

AlthoughIsraelfire

dthefirst

shots,virtuallyeveryonerecog-

nizesthatEgypt,Syria,andJor-

danstartedthewar.

Theillegal

Egyptiandecisionto

closethe

StraitsofTiranbym

ilitaryforce

wasrecognizedbytheinterna-

tionalcommunityto

beanact

ofwar.(pp.

9 1–

9 2)

s o u r c e s : None

Rightafter

theJune1967war,theUnitedNationsGeneralAssemblycon-

venedfora

nemergencysession.Notonegovernmentintheworld—noteven

theUnited

States—tooktheunilateral

positionthattheArabstate

salone

“startedthewar.”Opinionwasdividedbetweenthebelief,onthe

onehand,

thatIsraelwastheaggressorand,ontheother,thatallpartiestotheconflict

sharedsom

eresponsibilityorthatadju

dicatingresponsibilityserve

dnouse-

fulpurpose.TheU.S.ambassadortotheU.N.refusedtosignontoaSoviet-

sponsoredresolutioncondemningIsrael,notbecauseitcondemnedIsrael,

however,butbecauseitdidn’talsocon

demntheArabstates:“Israelalone

istobecon

demnedasanaggressor—thoughsurely,inthelightof

allthe

events,bothrecentandlongpast,thatleduptothefighting,itw

ouldbe

neitherequ

itablenorconstructivefort

hisOrganizationtoissueaone-sided

condemnation.”

1 5


7/11

270 APPENDIX II

Topic

TheCaseforIsrael

WhattheEvide

nceActuallyShows

5.werethe

arabsintent

ongenocide

inoctobe

r

1973?

(a)Again,theArabgoalwasto

killasmanyciviliansaspossible,

despitethefactthat

deliberately

attackingciviliantargetsisawar

crimeandaviolationofinterna-

tionallaw.Egypt’sinitialassault

includedanattempttodrop

bombsonTelAviv,whichwas

preventedbyIsraeli

airforce

interceptors.(p.

1 0 1)

(b)Morrishasdescr

ibedSadat’s

andAssad’smotives

forattack-

ingIsrael:“Forboth

Sadatand

Assad,thewarprom

isedmajor

gains,beginningwit

harestora-

tionofArabpride..

..Merely

daringtogotowar

againstthe

invincibleIDFwoul

dbeseenas

profoundlycourageous;wiping

outtheshameof

1 9

6 7 ,indeed

theshameofArabh

istorysince

1 9 4

8 ,wouldbringb

othregimes

rewardsintermsof

popularity,

legitimacy,andlongevity,aswell

aslargecontribution

sfromthe

oilkingdoms.”(p. 1

0 2)

Morrisstatesthat,onthefirstdayoftheOctoberWar,“two[Egyptian]

bombersflewlowacrosstheMediterra

neanandlaunchedtwoKELTmissiles

atTelAviv.

Butonemissilefellintothe

seaandtheotherwasshot

downby

anIAFinte

rceptor.Egypt’saimmayha

vebeentodeterIsraelfrom

‘strategic’

bombingbysignalinginadvancethatit,too,hadacapacitytohit

civilian

centers.”ThisistheoneandonlyEgyp

tianattackonIsraelproper

through-

outthewarreportedbyMorris.Egypt’s“goal”wasn’tto“killasm

anycivil-

iansaspossible”—aclaimforwhichD

ershowitzdoesn’tsupplyajotofevi-

dence—oreventothreatenIsraelproper,butonlytobreakthediplomatic

impasseby

establishingabeachheadontheSuezCanal’seasternbank,while

Syriaaimed

torecovertheoccupiedGo

lanHeights.Morrisstatesthisonthe

verysamepagefromwhichDershowitzquoteshimon“Sadat’sandAssad’s

motives”b

utomitsthecrucialparagraph:“IntheOctoberwar...Presi-

dentsAnwarSadatofEgyptandHafez

AssadofSyriasoughttore

gainthe

territorieslostin1967.Neitheraimed

todestroyIsrael,thoughdu

ringthe

openingho

ursoftheconflict,itsleader

scouldnotbesureofthis....Syrian

defenseministerTlasslaterwrote:‘We

soughttoliberatetheconqueredArab

lands,whileEgyptsoughttocrosstheCanalandremainon[both]

itsbanks

...outofa

desiretopushthingsforwa

rdontheinternationalplan

e’(thatis,

togethold

ofastripofterritoryonthe

eastbankoftheCanalsoa

stojolt

Israelandt

heworldcommunityintobreakingthepoliticaldeadlock).”

1 9


8/11


9/11


10/11

276 APPENDIX II

31.

Seeww

w.jewishvirtuallibrary.org.und

er“FatalitiesinPalestinianTer

rorAttacks”and“MajorTerro

rAttacks1952–1989.”

32.

TheIs

raelicasualtyfigurewascompiledfrom

www.jewishvirtuall

ibrary.org,www.mfa.gov.il/MF

A/MFAArchive/2000_2009/2004/4/Israel+

Independence+

Day+2004.htm,andMorris,BorderWars.ForcasualtyfiguresduringtheLebanonwar,seeC

homsky,FatefulTriangle,pp.2

21–23,Fisk,

PitytheNation,pp.255–57,323,418.

Topic

TheCaseforIsrael


2.

W H A T I S

T H E

B A L A N C E S

H E E T

O F

C I V I L I A N

C A S U A L T I E S ?

(a)Between

1 9

6 8 and

1 9 9 0 ,

Palestinianterroristsmurdered

thousandsofinnoce

ntcivilians,

includinginternationaltravelers,

Jewsatprayerinsy

nagogues

throughoutEurope,

Olympic

athletes,nurserysch

oolchildren,

diplomats,andChristianpil-

grims.(p.

1 0 5 )

(b)Evencomparing

innocent

Israeliciviliancasualtieswith

Palestinianciviliancasualties

revealsthatIsraelhasactedwith

restraint.(p.

1 4 3 )

sources:

(a)None

(b)None

Dershowitz

providesneithersourcenorbasisforanyofhiscalcula

tions.

Anextremeright-wing,“pro”-Israelwebsiteputsthenumberofvictims

of“Palestin

ianterror”between

1 9

6 7 a

nd

1 9 9 0

inIsraelandtheO

ccupied

Territories—

including“Israelicivilians

andsecuritypersonnel,and

foreign-

erskilled”—

at 3 7 0 ,andthenumberof

Jewsandnon-Jewsabroad

killed

inPalestinianterroristattacksat

5 0 ,fo

ratotalof,not“thousands

,”but

4 2 0

dead(includingIsraelicombatants

)overaperiodofmorethantwo

decades. 3

1

Bycomparison,Israelkilled

aboutfivetimesasmanyc

ivilians

duringitso

ne-week-longinvasionofLebanoninMarch

1 9 7

8 .The

basis

ofDershow

itz’ssecondcalculationise

quallyobscure,butanothersetof

figureswill

perhapsilluminateIsrael’scomparative“restraint.”Fro

m 1 9 4 7

tothepresent,thenumberofIsraelideathsduringallitswarsand

policing

operations—

1 9 4 7 – 1

9 4 9 ,

1 9 5

6 ,

1 9

6 7 , 1 9

6 7 – 1

9 7 0 ,

1 9 7 3 ,

1 9

8 2,thefirstand

secondintifadas—aswellasfromallte

rroristattackscomesintotaltounder

2 2, 0

0 0 ,the

overwhelmingnumberofthemcombatants.Bycomparison,just

inthecourseofIsrael’sJune–September

1 9

8 2

invasionofLebanon

,between

1 8 , 0

0 0

and

2 0 , 0

0 0

LebaneseandPales

tinianswerekilled,theover

whelming

numberofthemcivilians.

3 2


11/11

278 APPENDIX II

the Arab Revolt—for example, The Palestinian Arab National Move-ment by Israeli historian Yehoshua Porath or The Palestinian People

by Israeli professor Baruch Kimmerling and University of Washingtonprofessor Joel S. Migdal—mention Nazi funding.3 The major biogra-phies of the Mufti are The Mufti of Jerusalem by Palestinian historianPhilip Mattar and The Grand Mufti by Israeli historian Zvi Elpeleg.Neither of these sources mentions Husseini accompanying Himmler toAuschwitz. Neither of these sources mentions a Husseini plan to buildan Auschwitz-style camp in Nablus. Neither mentions a German-Arabcommando unit en route to poison Tel Aviv’s wells. Neither mentionsthat Husseini was indicted at Nuremberg. (His name is not even listedin the index to the proceedings of the Nuremberg tribunal.) It is correct

that Husseini petitioned the Nazis during the Final Solution not toallow Jews, including Jewish children, to enter Palestine. It is unknown,however, whether his intercession had any practical impact. Mattarfound “no hard evidence” that it did, while Elpeleg concluded that “[i]tis impossible to estimate the extent of the consequences of Haj Amin’sefforts.” Dershowitz cites Elpeleg’s book but not this conclusion. RaulHilberg, the dean of Nazi holocaust scholars, believes it “unlikely” thatthe Mufti’s pleas had any influence. No scholar affirmatively maintainsthat Husseini “was personally responsible for the concentration campslaughter of thousands of Jews” or “bore significant responsibility for

the Holocaust.” Hilberg devotes all of one sentence to Husseini’s role inhis monumental, three-volume study of the Nazi holocaust.4 Finally,Dershowitz is curiously silent on another initiative emanating fromPalestine to collaborate with Hitler. Beginning in late 1940 the dissidentright-wing Zionist organization “IZL in Israel” sought an agreementwith the Nazis on the basis of a “collusion of interests” between the“new Germany and the reborn volkisch-nationalen Hebraertum” andfor the purpose of “the re-establishment of the Jewish state in its his-toric borders, on a national and totalitarian basis, allied with the Ger-man Reich.” Although the Nazis proved unresponsive notwithstandingrepeated appeals, this Zionist initiative did have one noteworthydenouement. A member of this group of would-be Nazi collaborators,Yitzhak Shamir, went on to become the prime minister of Israel.5

3. Yehoshua Porath, The Palestinian Arab National Movement (London,1977). Baruch Kimmerling and Joel S. Migdal, The Palestinian People: A His-tory (Cambridge, 2003).

4. Philip Mattar, The Mufti of Jerusalem (New York, 1988), p. 107; ZviElpeleg, The Grand Mufti (London, 1993), p. 72; Raul Hilberg, The Destructionof the European Jews (New York: 1985), 2:789–90 (citing a Husseini protest to

the German foreign minister against further Jewish immigration to Palestine).“Unlikely” comes from a telephone interview with Hilberg on 19 September 2003.5. Joseph Heller, The Stern Gang: Ideology, Politics and Terror, 1940 – 1949

(London, 1995), pp. 77–108 (quoted phrases at 85–86).

beyond chutzpah (2005) historic

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