Vincent Browne is blinded by his prejudice against Israel, suggests Zion Evrony
Vincent Browne's selective recounting of events in the Middle East in the last 60 years (Opinion and Analysis, January 16th) is as uninformed as it is biased and disturbing. His poisonous prejudice against Israel radiates throughout the article. There is no objectivity here, only an unjust tirade. He confuses myths with facts and causes with consequences.
He crosses a line, replacing impartiality, fair criticism and reporting with a subjective essay that attempts to demonise, delegitimise and single out one country, Israel, as the sole cause of all the problems of the Middle East and one people, the Jewish people, as the only nation without the right to statehood.
To counter all of the myths and falsehoods cited by Browne would take too long so I will focus on the most blatant.
MYTH: "The problem in the Middle East dates back to 1948 when the state of Israel was established on the back of violent plantation of the lands of Palestine by immigrant Jews."
FACT: Israel is the historical homeland and birthplace of the Jewish people and there has been a continuous Jewish presence in the land of Israel since Biblical times. In fact, they lived there before the very first Arabs arrived in the 7th century AD.
MYTH: The creation of the state of Israel in 1948 was a "hideous injustice".
FACT: Browne refers to both the Holocaust and the establishment of the State of Israel as "hideous injustices". In doing so, he shows his ignorance of the magnitude of the Holocaust and disturbingly denies the Jewish people the same rights as accorded to other national groups - the right to their own nation-state. The establishment of the state of Israel is based not only on morality and historical justice, but also on international legality and the consensus of the international community. UN Resolution 181 of 1947 proposed the division of the land into two states, a Jewish one and an Arab one. The Jewish community accepted the partition resolution, while the Palestinians rejected the UN plan and instead chose to wage a war against Israel together with five Arab armies. This war, and the others that followed, clearly demonstrated that the heart of the conflict has never been about "occupation", but rather the refusal of Israel's enemies to recognise its right to live in peace and security. Browne chooses to ignore that in 1947 Israel supported the proposal for two states, for two peoples, as it does now. Had the Palestinians and Arab states accepted the two-state solution then, the Palestinians, like their Israeli neighbours, would be celebrating 60 years of independent statehood this year.
MYTH: "Originally a fair resolution to the conflict would have demanded the dismantling of the state of Israel, the expulsion of the invaders and the return of the Palestinians to their homes."
FACT: Browne's contention is outrageous and appalling in that he suggests that Israel should not exist as a homeland for the Jewish people.
Would Browne dare suggest the dismantling of any other state on the face of the earth, other than the Jewish state? As former Israeli foreign minister, Abba Eban eloquently stated: "Israel's right to exist, like that of the United States, Saudi Arabia and 152 other states [including Ireland] is axiomatic and unreserved. Israel's legitimacy is not suspended in midair awaiting acknowledgement . . . There is no other state, big or small, young or old, that would consider mere recognition of its 'right to exist' a favour, or a negotiable concession".
The Palestinians left their homes during the 1947/48 war for a variety of reasons, thousands responded to Arab leaders' calls to get out of the way of the advancing armies, but most simply fled to avoid being caught in the crossfire. Yet whatever the cause, the solution for the Palestinian refugees lies in the creation of a future Palestinian state. Browne also ignores the expulsion and exodus of more than 800,000 Jews from Arab countries at that time, a number comparable with that of the Palestinian refugees. What Browne refuses to acknowledge is that the only entity that should be dismantled is the Palestinian terrorist infrastructure, which is a key obstacle to peace.
MYTH: "Inevitably, there was war between the new state and its neighbours and with the people who had been dispossessed of their lands."
FACT: In referring to the wars Israel has been forced to fight, Browne fails to say why war was inevitable, or mention the fact that in 1948 the aggressors were five neighbouring Arab armies. Having survived that war, Israel again had to fight for its basic survival in 1967 and 1973. According to Browne's reasoning, not only does it seem that Israel does not have the right to exist but also that it should not have the right to defend itself against attack from neighbouring states either.
MYTH: "The UN Security Council demanded the withdrawal of Israel to its previous borders."
FACT: UN Resolution 242 calls for withdrawal "from territories", and not "from all the territories". The specific intent of the Security Council was to allow for future border changes. Thus further withdrawals can only come as a result of comprehensive negotiations leading to a durable peace. Israel demonstrated its respect for this principle, when it withdrew from the Sinai Peninsula, having achieved peace with Egypt in 1979. Furthermore, 242 places equal obligations on both sides, for example calling for Israel's "right to live in peace within secure and recognised boundaries free from threats or acts of force".
There is much more Browne could learn, but perhaps the most important lesson is this: Israel has no desire to rule over the Palestinians. Israel strongly supports the establishment of a viable Palestinian state that is willing to live in peace with Israel.
Throughout its short history, Israel has yearned for peace with all its neighbours. At Oslo, Taba, Camp David and at Annapolis, Israel has shown its readiness to make huge sacrifices for peace. At Camp David, it was Arafat, not Israel, who rejected the peace proposals.
Israel continues to negotiate with the Palestinians, despite their ongoing attacks against its citizens. Even after Israel withdrew from every inch of Gaza in 2005, the Palestinians, instead of exploiting the opportunity to lay the foundations for their own state, continued to use Gaza as a platform from which to attack Israel. Since 2006, more than 1,000 Qassam rockets have been fired at Israeli towns and villages, with more that 100 rockets and mortars being fired on Wednesday alone.
Ultimately the solution to this ongoing and bitter conflict between two national movements will be found in mutual compromise. This is the only way to achieve the goal of two states, the democratic state of Israel as the homeland of the Jewish people and a Palestinian state, which will be the homeland for the Palestinian people.
Dr Zion Evrony is Israel's ambassador to Ireland