Perhaps so, but there is a price to everything including survival. Israel realized the issue of their survival was very close to being wiped off the map... Had Israel waited with everybody and everything against them, there would be no more "Israel"... Hitler, Ahmaninejad, and the rest of the intolerant bunch would have been proud!
I do, though I don't like the term because it is too often associated with genocide. Israel should by their property for fair market value and give them a one way ticket to anywhere they want.
A really insightful post. Really excellent, Deji. Thanks for providing a dose of realism here. I was lucky enough to visit Jerusalem and parts of the West Bank prior to the Six Day War. Stayed at the King David Hotel when the Old City was under Jordanian control. Visited Bethlehem and several other mind-blowing places. Mind-blowing to a history buff and moving, even to an agnostic. I remember looking across the border at Israel. We had come from Beirut on Royal Jordanian Airlines, and flew from Jordan to Cairo in the roundabout way that you had to take back then. Couldn't visit Israel from an Arab state, not one we visited. So much blood. So much history. The ground is literally soaked with it, thousands of years worth of both. And it is so little understood by so many. D&D. Replicant Democrat.
Well, whether or not you 'like' the term is besides the point. 'Ethnic Cleansing' is exactly what that would be. ethnic cleansing The creation of an ethnically homogenous geographic area through the elimination of unwanted ethnic groups by deportation, forcible displacement, or genocide. Anyways, the Israelis definitely have some experience/success in the 'deportation/forcible displacement' part, or just 'encouraging' Palestinians to leave behind certain lands through the implementation of policies that make their lives a living hell (See West Bank/East Jerusalem). Who would determine 'fair market value'? And how do you put a price on uprooting entire villages/families and then tell them "good luck with your new life, here's some money for your troubles"? BTW, you have some strong supporters inside and outside of Israel who share your views, so you're not alone there. There are a bunch of individuals/organizations that make a living out of preaching ethnic cleansing in the Holy Land (mostly the so-called 'Christian Zionists').
I do not think Israel's continued expansion or actions that inflame the situation will result in a positive outcome for anyone. The situation is one of deterioration over the past 40 years. It's getting worse, not better. Both sides have had a role to play in that for sure. But that doesn't excuse either side from being committed to peace. And frankly, if I was Israel, making peace with those around me would seem to be a very sensible and wise objective while we are still in the relative early state of nuclear proliferation.
I never disputed that, I only said that I didn't like the term. The definition you provided gives a good example of why. Eminent domain would be another way to describe it. Compulsory resettlement with compensation would also work. How about deportation? Actually, the definition you provided does not even correctly characterize my proposal as the people who remain would not be ethnically homogeneous, consisting of people of many ethnicities, almost a quarter non-Jewish (mostly Arab but other groups as well). An independent appraiser could determine fair market value, most likely based on the sale price of comparable homes in the area (this is how the value of my aunt's home is being determined for her divorce). The price is for each individuals property, thus the price I put on uprooting villages/families is either the sum of the individual properties or zero, depending on how you look at it.
