What are the Facts?

650,000 "refugees" swell to 5 million. You have heard about those
"Palestinian refugees," who claim "right of return" to Israel. Of course,
virtually none of them ever lived in Israel -- they are the children and
mostly grandchildren of those who fled in 1948. The total number of those
who fled in 1948 is estimated to have been about 650,000. Now the number who
wish to return has swollen to almost five million!

How did this exodus come about?

In 1948, on the day of the proclamation of the State of Israel, five Arab
armies invaded the new country from all sides. In frightful radio
broadcasts, they urged the Arabs living there to leave, so that the invading
armies could operate without interference. They could return after the
expected quick victory in that "holy war," get their property back -- and
that of the Jews. Things turned out differently. The invading armies were
defeated. Those who had left became refugees -- people without a country.
Those who stayed, and their children, are full-fledged citizens of the State
of Israel.

These so-called "Palestinian refugees" have not been allowed to settle in
the "indivisible Arab nation." They have been supported in camps since 1948.
So far, close to $1.8 billion has been spent on their maintenance. No end is
in sight. Who pays for that? You guessed it: Through UNWRA Relief, the
United States contributes more than 60% of the total cost.
The Arab countries, among them some of the richest in the world who fritter
away their enormous fortunes on undreamed luxuries, are satisfied to leave
their Arab brethren in those miserable camps. They have never contributed a
penny to their maintenance.

Another side of the "refugee" story.

But there is another side to the "refugee" story. Little is heard of the
800,000 Jewish refugees from Arab countries, who fled those countries to
settle in the newly formed Jewish State of Israel. Every one of these
refugees was immediately accepted, resettled, taken care of, and given full
citizenship by the fledgling, impoverished, and embattled Jewish State.
There never has been, and there certainly is not now, a Jewish "refugee"
camp in Israel or anywhere else.

The Arab "refugees" who fled Israel left little wealth and little history,
since most of them had not come to "Palestine" until Jewish settlers opened
economic opportunities in what had been a desolate country for centuries.
But the Jews of Arab lands have a history going back thousands of years.
When forced to flee, they left behind land, wealth, and a long history. They
arrived in Israel, quite literally only "with their shirts on their backs."
They now make up almost 60% of the vibrant and productive population of
Israel. What have the Arabs, the richest people in the world, done with
their "refugees" in more than 50 years? They have kept them in misery, on
the dole of the world, and have taught their hopeless youth the "skills" of
suicide missions and of slaughtering defenseless and unarmed men, women, and
children.

If the Arab nations truly decided to make peace with Israel and to put an
end to the century-long strife, they could easily accomplish it by accepting
the "Palestinian refugees" in their countries and, just as Israel did with
Jewish refugees from Arab countries, integrating them into their societies
and making useful citizens of them. In fact, acceptance in their countries
might also be offered to the Israeli Arabs, who, despite enjoying a higher
standard of living, education, and health than Arabs in any of the
surrounding countries and despite having the same civil rights as Israeli
Jews, are not happy to live in a Jewish state.

Population transfers are common, especially in the wake of wars. They have
been practiced throughout history. In 1923, Greece and Turkey agreed to the
resettlement of 2 million Greeks and 800,000 Turks; in 1945, the
resettlement of 3 million Germans from Poland and Czechoslovakia was
arranged. Following the collapse of its North African Empire, France
accepted close to 1.5 million people. More than 12 million(!) Muslims and
Hindus were exchanged between India and Pakistan. Israel has recognized this
historical necessity. The "Arab Nation," with its enormous wealth and vast
under-populated lands, has stubbornly refused to face facts.

It is clear that the "Palestinian refugee problem" is a red herring, kept
alive by the Arab nations for their political purposes, and with cynical
disregard for the great number of impoverished people who live in these
camps. It is being kept alive and is being used as a "non-negotiable"
bargaining chip, for the purpose of destroying the State of Israel -- a feat
that the Arabs have attempted several times by military means, but which has
always ended in disastrous failure. Apart from the unsolvable social
problems it would create, the introduction of, say, even one-half of the 5
million who claim to be "refugees" would, with one stroke, dramatically
alter the demographic makeup of the country and would inevitably destroy the
Jewish State. That is of course the whole idea behind the demand for the
"return of the refugees". If the Arab nations were willing to solve the
"refugee problem," the legitimacy of Israel could no longer be questioned.
But that is not acceptable to the Arabs. They are firmly committed not to
allow Israel or any "non-believers" to be in control of any part of the
Middle East. It is that, and that alone, which is the real cause of the
"Palestinian refugee problem."

Source: Facts & Logic About the Middle East

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