Thursday, April 02, 2009

Would Israel exist without the help of Palestinians?

Would Israel exist without the help of Palestinians? Daniel Pipes says no:

"...polling research finds that a substantial minority of Palestinians, about 20 percent, is ready to live side-by-side with a sovereign Jewish state. Although this minority has never been in charge and its voice has always been buried under rejectionist bluster, Hillel Cohen of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem has uncovered its surprisingly crucial role in history.

He explores this subject in the pre-state period in Army of Shadows: Palestinian Collaboration with Zionism, 1917–1948 (translated by Haim Watzman, University of California Press); then, the same author, translator, and press are currently preparing a sequel, Good Arabs: The Israeli Security Agencies and the Israeli Arabs, 1948–1967, for publication in 2010.

In Army of Shadows, Cohen demonstrates the many roles that accommodating Palestinians played for the Yishuv, the pre-state Jewish community in the Holy Land. They provided labor, engaged in commerce, sold land, sold arms, handed over state assets, provided intelligence about enemy forces, spread rumors and dissension, convinced fellow Palestinians to surrender, fought the Yishuv's enemies, and even operated behind enemy lines. So great was their cumulative assistance, one wonders if the State of Israel could have come into existence without their contribution."

Some commenters at Pipe's place have their knives out, and are demanding that Israel " destroy the righteous with the wicked"

Disregard them if you can.

Just as there exist some Palestenians who are ready to live peacfully in Israel, there exist many, many Jews and Israelis who wish to live peacefully with Palestenians.

True, some hasbarah-oriented bloggers insist peace-loving Jews and Israelis are "self haters" and/or "anti-Israel" but they're wrong. Ignore them, too.

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