The refugee problem

[r3020]

snip-

After World War II, the British left India, which was to be partitioned into two independent nations. One of them would have a Hindu majority, the other a Muslim majority. More than 7 million Muslims moved to the territory that became Pakistan. A similar number of Hindus and Sikhs moved to India. Today, not one remains a refugee.

After World War II, the British left Palestine, which was to be partitioned into two independent nations. One would have a Jewish majority, the other a Muslim majority. About 750,000 Muslims left the territories that became Israel. A similar number of Jews left Arab/Muslim lands. Today, not one of the Jews remains a refugee. But there are still Palestinian refugees — indeed, their number has mushroomed to almost 5 million. How is that possible? Through two mechanisms. First of all, a refugee, by definition, lives on foreign soil, but for Palestinians the definition has been changed, so that a displaced Palestinian on Palestinian soil also receives refugee status. Second, the international organization responsible for resettling refugees, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), was cut out from the start. A new organization was set up exclusively for Palestinians: the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA).

In 1950, UNRWA defined a refugee as someone who had “lost his home and his means of livelihood” during the war launched by Arab/Muslim countries in response to Israel’s declaration of independent statehood. Fifteen years later, UNRWA decided — against objections from the United States — to include as refugees the children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren of those who left Israel. And in 1982, UNRWA further extended eligibility to all subsequent generations of descendants — forever.

Under UNRWA’s rules, even if the descendant of a Palestinian refugee has become a citizen of another state, he’s still a refugee. For example, of the 2 million refugees registered in Jordan, all but 167,000 hold Jordanian citizenship. (In fact, approximately 80 percent of Jordan’s population is Palestinian — not surprising, since Jordan occupies more than three-fourths of the area historically referred to as Palestine.) By adopting such a policy, UNRWA is flagrantly violating the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, which states clearly that a person shall cease to be considered a refugee if he has “acquired a new nationality, and enjoys the protection of the country of his new nationality.”

But UNRWA’s plan is to continue expanding — rather than shrinking — the Palestinian refugee population ad infinitum. According to UNHCR projections, by 2030 UNRWA’s refugee list will reach 8.5 million. By 2060 there will be 25 times the number registered by UNRWA in 1950 — even though not one of those who actually left Israel is likely to still be breathing.

Everyone understands what it would mean if all these refugees were actually to be granted a “right to return” to Israel. “On numbers of refugees, it is illogical to ask Israel to take five million, or indeed one million,” Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas said on March 24, 2009. “That would mean the end of Israel.”

But, of course, that’s the goal: The descendants of those displaced more than 60 years ago — when the first offer of what we’ve come to call a “two-state solution” was rejected — are being used as pawns to prevent a two-state solution now or in the future. By increasing the number of refugees, by maintaining that population in poverty, dependence, and anger, by understanding that the “right of return” will be demanded by some Palestinian leaders, UNRWA is helping the extremists to prevent peace and continue to wage a war of annihilation against Israel. This anti-peace policy is being funded largely by Americans: We’ve always been the largest donor to UNRWA, contributing about $4.4 billion since 1950.

http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/299512/real-palestinian-refugee-problem-clifford-d-may#

[bruce MN]

Do you realize that these time worn arguments have become so canned,  so predictable, so narrowly sourced that a casual reader on th topic, as i would be, knew a few sentences in who had written it before looking at the link at the bottom of the page to confirm that.

Maybe some new material? 

[r3020]

Truth doesn't change.

[johnaa]

  And LIARs keep on repeating the same old lies.  The Fascists have been feverishly working overtime in the USA lately because their intellectual toadies have been deserting them in droves the last year, even the crew at the NYT, --panic in the slim pits of the fascist thugs.  They lose the intellectuals and bright ones but their real base is the meat head bigoted thug scum, like the brown shirts of the "30s fascists.

  Borrowed this, it describes the standard Hasbara technique you employ-->"the professional Zionist will try Distraction (look over there, over there, see Tibet!), or Dissembling (well now we must take into consideration the Arab character) or Obfuscation (well that brings up Emanuel Kant’s categorical imperative"

  Here's one you can use http://mondoweiss.net/2012/05/akiva-tor-arab-spring-at-fault-for-blocking-a-future-palestinian-state...  Akiva Tor, Israeli consul general of the Pacific Northwest spinning his lies on the Commonwealth Club, you need these lies in your bag of tricks.

  Some of the comments from the Joooos at Monsdoweiss, look at EEE's comment he's the zionist liar, he's on your team.

-->ToivoS says:

• May 9, 2012 at 6:35 pm

  + Show content

  Allison you have much more patience than I could ever muster. This has to be a task as difficult of any described in Greek mythology.

  A) Debate with one who comes from an ideology that is proud of a good lie if it promotes the Zionist cause.

•  B) Debate over the meaning of legality with respect to OPT. To carry this out the Israeli will fall back on any of the following sets of laws, depending on which one backs their interests. 1. Ottoman land deeds and records. 2. British colonial administration rules. 3. Israeli law. 4. Special regulations for ruling OPT. 5 International law. 6. Geneva conventions or 7. United Nations resolutions.

• • Daniel Rich says:

    May 9, 2012 at 9:50 pm

    + Show content

    @ToivoS,

    side note: Taxi gave us ‘testicular acupuncture’ and now you add ‘chewing on broken glass’ to it. One of these days I’ll have a serious nightmare about this site. For what’s worth; it made me lol

    Reply
  • Shingo says:

    May 9, 2012 at 11:22 pm

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    Like I said Toivos,

    Tor’s argument are always made in a hermetically sealed environment where there is no one to refute them. It remonds me of Alan Dershowitz’s speech at AIPAC a few years ago, when in front of the AIPAC audience, he demanded that if anyone had any evidence the 911 attacks had anything to do with Israel (ie. OBL’s motivation) that they should put up or shut up…as if anyone in that audience was even considering it?

  •   As Hostage said in another post a while ago, these guys always claim to be winning the legal argument except in a court of law, where it really counts. If they truly believed the law was on their side, why do they fight tooth and nail to prevent any of these cases ever making it to a legal court?

    Reply
  • C) If you not befuddled by A or B, the professional Zionist will try Distraction (look over there, over there, see Tibet!), or Dissembling (well now we must take into consideration the Arab character) or Obfuscation (well that brings up Emanuel Kant’s categorical imperative).c

[r3020]

If you want to "look over there" look over there at syria and see how the muslims are killing the muslims. Look over there at egypt as the muslim brotherhood cram shari law down their throats. Look over there at nigeria where boko haram are killing Christians and muslims alike. Now ask yourself how can ANYONE live next to there animals, especially the Jews?

And explain how anything the Jews are doing to defend themselves is any different than Obama sending in drone strikes all over the world. Obama kills more muslims than Netanyahu does.

[johnaa]

Yes keep up your hasbara,--> look over there at the Syria.  It doesn't mean it is open season on all muslims, arabs and dark skinned human beings.  Grow up, your constant 'look over there' is only continuing to prove what a lying fool you are.  Don't you understand anything ? GROW UP !

 Obummer is doing Nuttyahoo's dirty work, just like Cheney did before him.

  Try to think.  Why do so many Jooooos hate zionism ?   Why are so many Joooos agasinst the apartheid and racism in Israel ?  Why are they forming organizations to fight for Palestinian's human rights ? 

  Try to think !

[r3020]

The refugee problem is because of the apartheid muslim supremist, not the Jews. Hamas has already said that if palestien becomes a state the refugees will not be given citizenship. They want ALL of Israel. THAT is the problem. Muslim do not live in peace anywhere in the world. Most muslims are killed by muslims.

[bruce MN]

So likely such a fraud. 

I'd challenge you to look anyone here straight in the eye and swear that prior to the late 80's and the marriage of the extreme right to the plutocratic wing of the Republican Party, followed up in 2005 by the naming of the current rigid objectivist Pope with his restoration of the Mass that calls for conversion of Jewish people that you were as anti-Semitic as every other conservative Catholic in the country was.  A regular old Coughlin or Joe Kennedy.

Your interest in Israel an the Jewish people is obviously  in their function only as it allies to radical Christian Zionist end times interpretation of scripture and  the need for mass conversion for fulfillment of policy.  But the thought of that had never crossed your mind until "conservative"  Roman Catholic leaders saw the opportunity to hook up with Robertson and LeHaye etc. Up 'til then you were just a good old everyday Germanic/Austrian order Catholic  bigot.  The kind of religionists that secular Jews all around teh world  fear way, way more than they do their  Semite cousins of the islamic faith.

I'd love to be wrong., and eagerly anticipate your refutation of my observations.

[r3020]

Bruce, you are such a bigot that post deserves no response. It is not the Jews or Christians trying to bring about one world government. It is the muslims who want to bring back the 12th imam by killing all of the infedels and claim even the trees will cry out "look, there is a jew hiding behind me, come and kill him". 

[bruce MN]

That should suffice.  Not just everywhere could you come up with that. 

You accuse the entire, universal cross  membership of one of the world's great religoins of being adherents to that sort of dogma that only the most strident hold and yet deny that yourself as a representative of  (thankfully) a minority of Christains are quilty of  holding equally extremist views, as you express her daily and often.

I'm no bigot.  I'm just a man deeply saddened by a world that in spite of all of the knowledge and understanding that has been accumulated over time can still find itself held hostage to radical religion. 

I treasure my upbringing in a Chrsitan church and it has been something truly wondrous for our family.  But when I run across rigid, hateful dogma and  people who espouse it I wander off to thinking that maybe Canuck and Gough might be on to something.  Maybe if we were all of us everywhere like those two gentle souls  seem to be instead of numbered off into teams and then setting about, even at times fighting and killing each other,  over who's particluar set of ancient superstitions are the most proper.