PJ Media

Reply to Michael:

“The problem we have is that prior to 1948 we, along with most Palestinians, had land and title in Palestine, not Jordan.”

My point is that the entire area (Israel, West Bank, plus Jordan) was once considered Palestine. Jordan is just another part of historic Palestine.

“My family still possesses a title to a house (my grandfather’s)in Haifa that became null and void after ’48.”

And what of the million Jews whose property was appropriated by Arab nations when these Jews were displaced in 1948-49, after living in Arab lands for centuries? I’m sure they didn’t all want to pack their bags and move to Israel the day it was established. Why don’t we hear about Jews demanding their historic piece of those Arab lands?

It seems to me that there’s been tremendous pain on both sides, but only one side perpetuates the conflict forever. And not just for reasons of land rights, as in your case, but for reasons of religion, as in the case of the many Muslims who consider a Jewish state to be an affront to Islam.

This conflict isn’t just about folks like you who have deeds to property and keep complaining about it. Carving two states where there’s barely even room for one is a recipe for a disaster far worse than the one we witness every day.

“I can tell you from experience of being there that Jordan is not a good alternative for a Palestinian state in the same way that Europe would not be a proper place for a new Israel.”

But it already is a de-facto Palestinian state, because the vast majority of Jordanians are Palestinian. Also, Jordan wasn’t the scene of the extermination of millions of Palestinians, or the persecution of Palestinians for centuries. That’s what Europe represents to Jews. I don’t think they can be reasonably compared.

“Israel will remain where it is … If you really think about it, the people there are more genetically related too each other then they think”

It’s nice to hear this from someone of Palestinian descent. But how common do you think your views are among the Arabs actually living in the region? Why don’t the Palestinian representatives voice sentiments like this? Why don’t we hear these reassuring words from Hamas and Fatah, not to mention Hezbollah and the Mullahs? Until your point of view is mainstream among Palestinians and Arabs and Muslims in general, there won’t be anything more than pockets of friendship. The conflict will continue to rage.

“My ultimate dream is for a merger, a unification.”

This is another nice sentiment and it makes logical sense IN THEORY, because both peoples are attached to the same land. But in practice, it’s not realistic or even possible. There’s too much bad blood, too much extremism, and no leaders or widespread movement advancing such views. It would sound like a pipe dream to most people. Also, Jews want a state where they feel certain to exist in a majority, because history hasn’t been kind to Jewish minorities. It seems to me that was the whole point of re-establishing a Jewish homeland, but it’s too often misrepresented as “racism” by the anti-Israel side.

I think the side-by-side idea is much more sensible and likely than the merger idea. And if the 2 peoples are to live side-by-side, it sure would make things easier if Jordan was Palestine, as it was originally. In the end, Jordan will have absorbed the displaced Palestinians, and Israel will have absorbed the displaced Jews. And everybody lives happily ever after, in two ample territories, out of each other’s hair.