June 3, 2009

What's left for the Jews?

By Wallace Edward Brand

It was recently announced that that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told Prime Minister Netanyahu that Obama wanted settlement construction in the West Bank to stop. But that is clearly not what he wants. Since 1950 some 261 Arab settlements have been built in the West Bank. These are filled with Arabs from the adjacent states of Lebanon, Jordan and Egypt and dei gratia they become "Palestinians". Allahu Akbar! This Arab settlement is proceeding apace. No mention of it in the mass media, ever. Twice as many Arab settlements as Jewish settlements since 1950.

Obama wants only Jewish construction to stop, even construction within existing settlements to provide for natural growth. If heeded, that would be the third foreclosure of areas of Palestine to the Jews, with a fourth, the Golan Heights, coming. The US currently agrees with Israel that such settlements are not illegal. It presses Israel to stop settlements solely because it thinks this will advance peace negotiations.

If Obama's fiat were to be heeded, it would mean that in addition to the British foreclosing Jews from settling in 77% of Palestine that is now Jordan by a law enacted in 1922 and still current, and Sharon, at Dubya Bush's urging, ejecting Jews from the very desirable Gaza strip area on the Mediterranean coast in 2005 that is .3% of Palestine, Obama would foreclose settlement in another 4.8% in the West Bank (Judea and Samaria). That would leave the Jews 6.7% of Palestine, Israel proper, that they must share with the Arabs and the not very habitable 9.9% of Palestine which is the Negev desert. If Israel can manage to hang on to the Golan Heights, which doesn't appear likely, it would have just short of another 1% to share with the Arabs.

There is not much left of the Balfour Declaration. It was adopted by the Allies in WWI as their policy in the Conference of San Remo. The policy was set forth in Article 95 of the Treaty of Sevres transferring undisputed sovereignty over Palestine that the Ottomans exercised for 400 years in trust for the Jews. The League of Nations was to have enforced the policy through the British as trustees over the British Mandate of Palestine. That policy was to give Palestine, comprising 1% of the captured Ottoman Empire in the Middle East and the Mahgreb (North Africa) to the Jews as a National Homeland for settlement. The same policy was also adopted by the United States in a Joint Resolution enacted on June 30, 1922. See House Resolution No 360 (House Report No. 1172)

The other 99% of the captured Ottoman Empire was divided into 21 nation states for Arabs and Muslims. In 1950 most of the indigenous Jews in this area were expelled by those 21 states, forced to leave their money and their real and personal property behind.

If Obama has his way, the Jews would now be left to settle on 0.067% of the lands disposed of, a sliver that they must share with the Arabs. The Arabs and Muslims have all the rest.