From: Ismail Zayid
To: The Halifax Herald
Cc: Beverley Dauphinee
Sent: Friday, June 28, 2002 10:42 PM
Subject: Falsehoods galore.
28 June 2002
 
The Editor:
The Halifax Herald.
 
Dear Editor;
 
I am surprised that your correspondents continue to utter repeatdly falsehoods, about Palestinian refugees,  that have been demolished by International and Israeli historians and thinkers.
 
Evelyn Druker { " Two-way movement " June 28} regurgitates the fable that the Palestinian refugees left in 1948 " on the orders of of the Arab High Committe." This falsehood was dismantled thoroughly by Erskine Childers {The Spectator, London, May 12,1961. This was quoted in a letter by Gary zatsman, The Halifax Herald, June 19, 2002}. Druker quotes Ben Gurion as repeating this falsehood. Perhaps it would be more accurate to quote Ben Gurion actual statements, regarding the long-planned Zionist policy of expelling the Palestinian population to make room for the Zionist colonisation of Palestine. Mr. Ben Gurion stated in a letter to his son in 1937 : " When the Jewish state comes into being, we will expel the Arabs and take their places." He stated in a speech to the 20th. Zionist Congress, on Aug. 7,1937 :
" In many parts of the country new Jewish settlements will not be possible unless there is transfer of the Arab peasantry.... The transfer of the Arab population is what makes possible a comprehensive [Jewish] settlement plan."   This policy of 'transfer' was pronounced by Theodor Herzl in 1896, and Joseph Weitz in 1940, and was effected in 1948. The Israeli historian Ariyeh Yitzhaki stated : " For many Israelis it was easy to cling to the false claim that the Arabs left the country because that was what their leaders ordered. That is a total lie. The fundamental cause for the flight of the Arabs was their fear of Israelis' violence, and that fear had a basis of reality."
 
As to the claim that Jewish refugees were forced out of Iraq, Syria, Egypt and Jordan, this is a complete falsehood. Israel was anxious to bring Jewish immigrants from Arab and other countries. Those in Arab countries were reluctant to leave these countries, and hence a program was generated by the Israeli government to terrorise them, focing them to go to Israel. An example of this is that of Mordechai Ben Porat,an Iraqi born Israeli politician, who bragged about his achievement in this regard when he was sent by Yigal allon to Iraq, where he tossed hand grenades into synagogues like the crowded Masouda Shem-Tov Synagogue in Baghdad, killing a number of worshippers, so as to blame it on Iraqis, and encourage Jews to go to Israel. As to Jordan, there was never any Jewish residents there. Furthermore, all Arab governments have called on their former Jewish citizens to return, if they so wish.
 
It is time that Israel begins to comply with international law and repeated UN resolutions and allow the Palestinian refugees the free choice of returning to their homes or accepting compensation. Similarly Jewish refugees should be allowed the same choice.
 
Yours sincerely,
 
Ismail Zayid, M.D.