Sunday, April 30, 2006

MidEasT: My House, Your House...A parable

I am interrupting myself for a little story.
You own a house. You have a deed.
You are forced, because of the oncoming war with Iran/Iraq/some other power to leave your house, so you take all your possessions you can, you lock the house up, and you pray for the best when you return.

You're gone one year. Is it Still your house? You still have the deed. It's still locked up, and tightly sealed.
You're gone five years. Is it Still your house? You still have the deed. Your entire city is empty, (the war killed a lot of you...) But it's still your house.

You're gone 10 years. Is it STILL your house? Your spouse still has the deed, but she can't go back to check because the Iraq/Iran/others
have taken over the city, and wont let you in, or even verify the deed.

You're gone 25 years. Is it STILL your house? Your children now have your deed. Who knows.


You're gone 50 years. Is it STILL your house? Your great great children now have your deed. Who knows.


You're gone 500 years. Is it STILL your house? Your descendants now have your deed. Who knows. There are new squatters here, they broke into your house, and someone else lives here, despite the fact it's your house.

You're gone 1000 years. Is it STILL your house? Your descendants now have your deed. Who knows. The beautiful garden that used to be here is gone, replaced by sand.

It's finally 1,300 years later. Your descendants return, with their deed, and notice someone else is living in your old city. Is it STILL your house? I say yes... But...In the case of the majority of the Jewish state, we actually went out and (re)purchased a great of the land back from the (then) registered (arab) landowners, as noted by the turkish empire. My original deed to the house was not recognized by them, when they took over my land, so I decided to buy it back from them.

Problem... The owner of the land may have been in Damascus, but the poor tenant ON the land, may NOT have known I actually bought the land back again, and was VERY VERY VERY angry with me when I said get off MY land, and I showed him my NEW deed to my own land!

OK. Question. You've beem on the land 10 years...20 years...500 years, and you do have a right to it... BUT it WAS our land first, and WE BOUGHT it back....and thus WE have a right to it TOO!

Oh. and lets add more realism to the story:
When we came back 100 years ago to our newly (re)purchased land, not only did you try and fight us off, but you actually performed RACIAL GENOCIDES against us (the 1919 RIOTS in Kfar Etzion, where over 900 Jews were murdered.)

And when we were FINALLY granted a LEGAL right to the land by the United Nations, did you accept their ruling? NO.
You chose to mass all your armies against the brand new state, and the grand Mufti (holy person) of Jerusalem told the arab residents of Jerusalem, that they should leave the city for a day, so that the Jews can be erased from the map, then they can return, after we've driven them into the sea.

And THUS began the problem of the PALESTINIAN REFUGEE. Not caused by Jews, or Israelis, but by the MOSLEM Holy cleric's own words of hatred for the Jews!

And, as I said above, the second ARAB or PALESTINIAN state was supposed to be on the EASTERN bank of the Jordan River, RIGHT where Jordan is TODAY!!!! So take back Jordan, and populate THAT!

But in reality, I just want peace. I just DON't want to be thrown into the sea!

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

So you won't mind if a few American Indians show up tomorrow morning and tell you to get off their land?

Mark Brown said...

Gentlemen:

1 (don) I agree that the white men stole Amerika.
(go READ Orson Scott Card's FANTASTIC book, Pastwatch
The Redemption of Christopher Columbus


I think this is a great tale, and great idea of "what could have been.

As with regard to land rights;
I agree, that there's a heck of a lot of conquest that happened.
The muslims conquored a great part of Europe too. How come we aren't talking (openly...heh?) of taking back Europe from the infidels.

I never said that the people who left the land 60 years ago weren't entitled to come back, or didn't have a valid claim on the land... or I should have said that if it wasn't clear...

It DOES give rights. But there's one more thing.
Who actually owned the land? Was it the people who lived there, or perhaps were they just "renters"?

A great deal of analysis (and what I will call historical record) has shown that the early Zionists went to great troubles to actually find out who OWNED the land, and purchase the land from those owners...(who were mostly NOT in Palestine, but in the distant parts of the former Ottoman Empire.

I'm not disputing that there were likely mistakes made...but there was a specific attempt to purchase the rights to the land they acquired.

And yes, we should be able to live in peace. I agree.
But. Here's another question.
In the almost 20 years that Jordan controlled East Jerusalem and the Temple mount area (including the mosques and the western wall), How many jews were allowed to visit the area?
How many cemeteries were destroyed, and hotels built in areas?
In the 40 years since the 67 war, one thing Israel consistently did is allow ALL religions to visit their holy spaces.

I think that is a fact, that is difficult to dispute...
Back to my question.

So, will Jordan (I offer that Jordan is a MADE up country, search for my poem "1948" and Winston Churchill, for some interesting things about that) administer the new state?
Or will Lebanon/Iran administer the new state?

Or do you propose Hamas be allowed to administer the new state?

I suggest, and if you are SERIOUS, you won't disagree, that the ONLY way Jews will be able to survive in this area, is if THEY control the state.

Past performance is the ONLY thing I am going on here.

And take a look at my posting of today, {6-14-07} sort of (back-handedly, i admit) congratulating Hamas for their victory in Azza.

Thanks for the comments, and belive it or not, I REALLY do want peace.

And I will try and find some good sources that the Grand Mufti told his charges to leave....
Markb