Missing facts on Jewish, Israel history

Sarah Gertler’s op-ed about Israeli practices regarding Palestinians leaves out important facts that are not often cited. First, Zionism did not begin in the 19th and 20th Century with the beginning of emigration from European country Jews to Palestine. Judaism is not just a religion, it is a people and Zionism is the expression of that national desire by people who had been expelled over centuries from their homeland. The first written expression of Zionism is Psalm 137.

There is, in fact, genetic evidence that suggest Jews/Israelis worldwide are related. I am not aware of any claims of genetic relationship among Palestinians; they are apparently nothing more than Middle Eastern Arabs who migrated to the region.

Second, some Jews lived in the region for centuries; the region was never free of Jews. Later Jewish immigration took place to Biblical places on both sides of the Jordan. The UN Partition between Jewish and Arab areas in 1947 also took previously Jewish owned lands with no compensation.

Third, in the 1948-1949 war, many or most of the Palestinians fled on their own in response to Arab leaders’ promises that they would soon be able to return. Israelis did not push them out.

Fourth, the Palestinians never wanted and still don’t want Israel to exist at all. They are not in favor of co-existence. They are in favor of terrorism to force Israel out. What is Israel to do but defend itself?

Finally, Ms. Gertler blurs the distinction between Israeli Arabs and Palestinians. Arabs in Israel are full citizens of Israel, with all its rights and privileges, and have served in the Knesset and the Supreme Court.

Alan M. Ehrlich, Delray Beach