This Al-Jazeera, English report says that Israel has displaced 13,000 refugees within Gaza. Given that 80% of Gaza’s residents are refugees and that Israel has been hitting refugee areas the hardest, what do we call refugees forced from their camps? Double Refugees? Refugees Squared?
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KDDEozxtX3I]
Israel calls them “human shields,” “terrorists,” and “demographic threats.” Israel supporters deny Palestinian refugees exist, so may suggest “non-existent.” But none of those really do it for me. Any other suggestions?
Related posts:
- Israel Bombs Refugee Camps – Do Americans Even Know What Refugees Are?
- Palestinian Refugees from Iraq
- Israel is just so darn unhelpful sometimes
- Israeli Army ‘Used Human Shields’
- Al-Jazeera, English: Nowhere to Run in Gaza
The main question is why Palestinians need to be called refugees at all. The 800 000 Jews thrown out of Arab countries are not called refugees. The whole Palestinian issue is an artificial political game the Arab world is using against Israel. A problem they could have solved long time ago.
Posted by Arno | January 5, 2009, 5:45 pmAre you SERIOUS? They’re refugees because they were forced to leave their homes, have to live in camps, and it is damn near impossible for them to leave the country. They’re living in inhumane conditions and cannot acquire basic commodities, such as medicine, food, water, electricity.
What do you suggest, that all the Palestinians just go to another country? Even if they decided to abandon their homeland, nobody would take all of them. Oh yeah, and the Israelis won’t let them even travel within their OWN country.
Posted by ally | January 5, 2009, 7:44 pmHmmm. How about “Arab Pawns That Are Blamed On Israel But Really Are Living Without Permanent Status Because Palestinians Refuse to Advance Their Societal Interests and Prefer to Wait Until Someone Takes Care of the Problem For Them” ?
Works for me.
You can’t have a discussion about recognition of “refugees” until you include Jewish refugees in the equation, regardless of who is ultimately at fault for 1948. The Jewish refugees have made lives for themselves. The Arab refugees…well…just continue to procreate and hope that someone will take them in.
Posted by Chaim's nipple rings | January 5, 2009, 8:31 pmHmmm. How about "Arab Pawns That Are Blamed On Israel But Really Are Living Without Permanent Status Because Palestinians Refuse to Advance Their Societal Interests and Prefer to Wait Until Someone Takes Care of the Problem For Them" ? Works for me. You can't have a discussion about recognition of "refugees" until you include Jewish refugees in the equation, regardless of who is ultimately at fault for 1948. The Jewish refugees have made lives for themselves. The Arab refugees…well…just continue to procreate and hope that someone will take them in.
Posted by Chaim's nipple | January 5, 2009, 4:31 pmHmmm. How about “Arab Pawns That Are Blamed On Israel But Really Are Living Without Permanent Status Because Palestinians Refuse to Advance Their Societal Interests and Prefer to Wait Until Someone Takes Care of the Problem For Them” ?
Works for me.
You can’t have a discussion about recognition of “refugees” until you include Jewish refugees in the equation, regardless of who is ultimately at fault for 1948. The Jewish refugees have made lives for themselves. The Arab refugees…well…just continue to procreate and hope that someone will take them in.
Posted by Chaim's nipple rings | January 5, 2009, 8:31 pmHmmm. How about “Arab Pawns That Are Blamed On Israel But Really Are Living Without Permanent Status Because Palestinians Refuse to Advance Their Societal Interests and Prefer to Wait Until Someone Takes Care of the Problem For Them” ?
Works for me.
You can’t have a discussion about recognition of “refugees” until you include Jewish refugees in the equation, regardless of who is ultimately at fault for 1948. The Jewish refugees have made lives for themselves. The Arab refugees…well…just continue to procreate and hope that someone will take them in.
Posted by Chaim's nipple rings | January 5, 2009, 8:31 pmHmmm. How about “Arab Pawns That Are Blamed On Israel But Really Are Living Without Permanent Status Because Palestinians Refuse to Advance Their Societal Interests and Prefer to Wait Until Someone Takes Care of the Problem For Them” ?
Works for me.
You can’t have a discussion about recognition of “refugees” until you include Jewish refugees in the equation, regardless of who is ultimately at fault for 1948. The Jewish refugees have made lives for themselves. The Arab refugees…well…just continue to procreate and hope that someone will take them in.
Posted by Chaim's nipple rings | January 5, 2009, 8:31 pmHmmm. How about “Arab Pawns That Are Blamed On Israel But Really Are Living Without Permanent Status Because Palestinians Refuse to Advance Their Societal Interests and Prefer to Wait Until Someone Takes Care of the Problem For Them” ?
Works for me.
You can’t have a discussion about recognition of “refugees” until you include Jewish refugees in the equation, regardless of who is ultimately at fault for 1948. The Jewish refugees have made lives for themselves. The Arab refugees…well…just continue to procreate and hope that someone will take them in.
Posted by Chaim's nipple rings | January 5, 2009, 8:31 pmHmmm. How about “Arab Pawns That Are Blamed On Israel But Really Are Living Without Permanent Status Because Palestinians Refuse to Advance Their Societal Interests and Prefer to Wait Until Someone Takes Care of the Problem For Them” ?
Works for me.
You can’t have a discussion about recognition of “refugees” until you include Jewish refugees in the equation, regardless of who is ultimately at fault for 1948. The Jewish refugees have made lives for themselves. The Arab refugees…well…just continue to procreate and hope that someone will take them in.
Posted by Chaim's nipple rings | January 5, 2009, 8:31 pmHmmm. How about “Arab Pawns That Are Blamed On Israel But Really Are Living Without Permanent Status Because Palestinians Refuse to Advance Their Societal Interests and Prefer to Wait Until Someone Takes Care of the Problem For Them” ?
Works for me.
You can’t have a discussion about recognition of “refugees” until you include Jewish refugees in the equation, regardless of who is ultimately at fault for 1948. The Jewish refugees have made lives for themselves. The Arab refugees…well…just continue to procreate and hope that someone will take them in.
Posted by Chaim's nipple rings | January 5, 2009, 8:31 pmThe blockade of Gaza is a recent phenomenon. Just 10 years ago, many of the Palestinians in Gaza were working in joint economic zones on behalf of Israeli, Egyptian and Jordanian industries. They, along with Palestinians in the West Bank, were enjoying one of the highest qualities of life in the Arab world.
They were free to come and go, whether to Egypt, Jordan, the Gulf, travel around Israel or to emigrate to the West. Many did. Chicago is one example of a popular Palestinian immigrant destination.
Posted by Anonymous | January 5, 2009, 8:33 pmKeep blaming the victim anon, its getting old.The Arab "refugees" you speak of are not refugee's. And they weren't intimidated to leave any of their countries until after the expulsion of the Palestinians from their homeland. Israel actually wanted Arab Jews to come to Israel. No Arab country wanted Palestinians flooding their country. Oh and telling Palestinians to go to another Arab country, because there are lots of Arabs there is like telling a Jew to go to New York because there are lots of Jews there. It just does not fly.
Posted by Super Sayyin | January 5, 2009, 8:28 pmI think we’re all forgetting that the only people who have treated Palestinians worse than Jews are all the other Arabs.
No Arabs care about the Palestinians, just like no Arabs care about Iraqis or Lebanese. The Arabs are more fragmented than ever.
Posted by Anonymous | January 6, 2009, 11:51 am“I think we’re all forgetting that the only people who have treated Palestinians worse than Jews are all the other Arabs.”
A very true statement. While Arabs as individuals sympathize with Palestinians, they will not allow these sympathies to override their own personal and collective ambitions.
The Palestinians are raped from all sides.
Posted by Super Sayyin | January 6, 2009, 12:31 pmThe anti-Palestinian comments on this site are some of the most racist I’ve seen around. Anon and others are spewing some of the most hateful garbage I’ve read. (OK, I’m sure there’s much worse out there, I just refuse to look at those sites.)
Let’s face it. Multi-ethnic Jews had no right to establish a theocratic state that displaced an indigenous people. Yeah, I know about the holocaust. And I believe it occurred and it was demonic. But it was Germany and it’s allies that committed genocide, not Palestinians. And I don’t reall the Roma people being offered a state of their own after WW2, though proportionately their suffered higher losses. c(I’m sure Anon has some racist shit to throw at them as well!)
Israel only came into existence beause western imperial powers wanted a beachhead in the oil rich middle east. Unfortunately, the Soviets went along.
The Israeli government should be prosecuted for war crimes and the sanctions should be severe. Period!
A democratic secular state is the only just solution. and the only solution that would reduce the tensions. The rise of fundamentalist-political Islam + the intransigence of Israel makes this virtually impossible.
Posted by Guerote | January 7, 2009, 3:54 pm