Warren Kozak has a great little essay in the Wall Street Journal today, imagining what would happen if the surviving Jews of Europe had stayed in the refugee camps of post-WWII Europe. It’s an effective contrafactual. Although, I’m not sure that the Jews would have stooped as low as the Palestinians have over the last half century. And, if anything, he soft-sells the cynicism and ugliness of the Arab regimes in their exploitation of the Palestinians. Still, it’s very much worth reading.
I don't think suicide bombing, hostage taking and such is part of European Jewish culture. Who knows, they might have had their own version of Gandhi.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseKozak's piece is a must-read, folks. The point of course is that all of these abuses are NOT part of the culture of Jews or Christians or any culture that believes in decency and morality and acts on those beliefs.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseWhile it's an interesting alternative history story, the analogy isn't completely equal. The Jews were in DP camps because they had been imprisoned and persecuted by the Germans and their collaborators. The Palestinians were in refugee camps because their own leaders told them to run away. The Jews were the victims of aggression, the Palestinians were the victims of their own leaders.
Though I do think it's appropriate to ask Europeans who advocate a Palestinian "right of return" just how many Jews, descended from people who lived in those European countries, those Europeans will repatriate.
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