According to one school of thought, it was a great mistake to establish the state of Israel in the heart of the Arab world. Even Theodor Herzl, the founder of world Zionism, considered alternatives to Palestine, which he deemed unsuitable for reasons of climate, lack of opportunity for expansion, and its nearness to Europe. Herzl, however, seems to have overlooked the threat that poses a far greater danger to the state of Israel: the capacity of Moslems to nurture deeply rooted hatreds and animosities. During my first visit to a then-divided Jerusalem, an Arab guide, upon learning that I was Austrian, flung his arms around my neck and exclaimed: “Austria gave us Hitler. Why did he not kill every single Jew?”
It’s not known how many Arabs either fled, were expelled, or were killed in the course of the creation of Israel. But even today they still represent a significant minority within Israel’s pre- 1967 borders, and about 700,000 Arabs live on the West Bank and another 400,000 in the Gaza Strip.
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