Chris Hedges: Why Israel Lies

[JDPriestly]

119. I was asking about the Israeli refugees.

Israel was founded as a safe place for Israeli refugees after WWII.

My question is whether all of the WWII refugees should be returned by force to their former homes or whether just the Jewish refugees should be returned.

I get no answer. Generally, short-term refugees from, say national disasters, return to their homes. Political refugees do not. Perhaps paying reparations to Palestinians in exchange for peace would be fair. But the reparations would have to be paid by an international group because the UN is responsible for the formation of Israel. Israelis wanted it, but they did not cause it. The original Israelis were themselves refugees. And many of the later immigrants to Israel were also refugees. Libya and Tunesia for example had many Jewish citizens before WWII.

These issues need to be negotiated. That is why I say there are two sides to this complex issue.