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Revisiting the Palestinian Exodus: War, Transfer, and Zionist Dilemma

This article examines Benny Morris's perspective on the Palestinian Exodus of 1948, exploring the role of war, transfer thinking, and the Zionist dilemma. It also critiques the notion of premeditated expulsion.

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Revisiting the Palestinian Exodus: War, Transfer, and Zionist Dilemma

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  1. Born of War, or Design?ReadingBenny Morris and Debating the Palestinian ‘Exodus’ of 1948

  2. A Problem Born of War “The refugeedom of the 700,000 Palestinians was essentially a product of the war, of the shelling, shooting and bombing, and of the fears that these generated.” Benny Morris Revisiting the Palestinian Exodus of 1948 (p. 37)

  3. A Problem Born of War “Above all, let me reiterate, the refugee problem was caused by attacks by Jewish forces on Arab villages and towns and by the [Palestinian] inhabitants fears of such attacks compounded by expulsions atrocities, and rumors of atrocities – and by the crucial Israeli cabinet decision in June, 1948 to bar a refugee return. Benny Morris Revisiting the Palestinian Exodus of 1948 (p. 38)

  4. Morris and Transfer Thinking “My conclusion was and remains that thinking about the transfer of all or part of Palestine’s Arabs out of the prospective Jewish state was pervasive among Zionist leadership circles before 1937…how exactly this thinking affected Zionist policy and actions remains more complicated than [Masalha suggests]. Benny Morris Revisiting the Palestinian Exodus of 1948 (pp. 40-41.)

  5. The Debate – Was Expulsion Premeditated? Among my critics (such as Nur Maslha) was that I ignored or underplayed the role of pre-1948 proposals and thinking about transfer among the Zionist leadership…The controversy is really about the nature of Zionism and about the degree of premeditation in what occurred in 1948. Benny Morris Revisiting the Palestinian Exodus of 1948 (p. 39)

  6. Zionist Dilemma 1881 Population 21,000 Jews 4.2 % 470,000 Arab 95.8 % 1947 Population 650,000 Jews 32.5 % 1,300,000 Arab 67.5 % “From the start, the Zionists wished to make the area of Palestine a Jewish state….How was a Jewish minority to gain control of a country populated by an Arab majority? [p. 39] .”

  7. From the start, the Zionists wished to make the area of Palestine a Jewish state….How was a Jewish minority to gain control of a country populated by an Arab majority? [p. 39] 1) Immigration 2) Apartheid, that is a Zionist minority lording it over the Palestinian majority 3) Partition (Create a Jewish state and an Arab State) 4) Transfer the Palestinians from Palestine Benny Morris “Revisiting,” pp. 39-40 4 Options To Overcome Dilemma and Build the Jewish State

  8. “The matter of population transfer has provoked a debate among us:  My conscience is absolutely clear in this respect.  A remote neighbor is better than a close enemy.  They will not lose from being transferred and we most certainly will not lose from it…. I have always believed and still believe that they were destined to be transferred to Syria or Iraq.” 1938 Berl Katznelson

  9. “We must continually raise the demand that our land be returned to our possession.... If there are other inhabitants there, they must be transferred to some other place… We cannot start the Jewish state with...half the population being Arab…Such a state cannot survive even half an hour... It [transfer] is most moral... I am ready to come and defend ... it before the Almighty. MenachemUssishkin 1930 / 1938 Menachem Ussishkin / Transfer?

  10. “The compulsory transfer of the Arabs from the proposed Jewish state could give us something which we never had….Any doubt on our part about the necessity of this transfer…may lose us an historic opportunity ….I support compulsory transfer. I don’t see in it anything immoral.” David Ben-Gurion Diaries (1937) Speech (1938) Ben-Gurion a ‘Transferist’?

  11. “There is no room for both peoples in this country. After the Arabs are transferred, the country will be wide open for us…not a single village or a single tribe must be left…there is no other solution” Yosef Weitz (1940) Transfer – Yosef Weitz

  12. Morris on Transfer Thinkingand Transfer “What is the importance of expressions of support for transfer and how do they connect to what actually happened…Some researchers such as Masalha will have us believe that there was a direct, causal, one-to-one link between the earlier thinking and the subsequent actions. My feeling is that the connection is subtle and indirect.” Benny Morris Revisiting the Palestinian Exodus, pp. 47-48.

  13. “Nothing I have seen in Israeli archives indicates the existence of a Zionist Master Plan to expel the Arabs of Palestine.” Benny Morris Revisiting the Palestinian Exodus of 1948 (p. 48) What is the Relationship between Transfer Thinking and Transfer?

  14. Nur MasalhaWhat is the Relationship of Thinking and Doing? “Can [Morris’] claim that there was no transfer design and expulsion policy in 1948 be sustained? Does the fact that there was no "master plan" for expelling the Palestinians absolve the Zionist leadership of responsibility for the refugee problem…? Is it conceivable that such a transfer policy was based on an understanding between Ben-Gurion and his lieutenants rather than a blueprint?” Nur Masalha Critique of Morris, pp. 91-92

  15. No Master Plan? Is Morris's conclusion that a Zionist transfer/expulsion policy was never formulated borne out by his own evidence?...the Yishuv military establishment, presided over by Ben-Gurion, formulated in early March 1948 and began implementing in early April Plan Dalet in anticipation of Arab military operations. According to Morris, the essence of Plan Dalet "was the clearing of hostile and potentially hostile forces out of the interior of the prospective territory of the Jewish State.” Nur Masalha Critique of Morris (p. 94)

  16. Plan Dalet(April, 1948) “The objective of this plan is to gain control of the areas of the Hebrew state and defend its borders. It also aims at gaining control of the areas of Jewish settlements and concentrations which are located outside the borders (of the Hebrew state) against regular, semi-regular, and small forces operating from bases outside or inside the state.” Opening to Plan Dalet (1948)

  17. Masalha A De Facto Policy of Transfer “It is difficult, using Morris's own evidence, not to see on the part of the leaders of mainstream labor Zionism a de facto, forcible transfer policy in 1948.” Nur Masalha Critique of Morris, p. 96

  18. Where Did Refugees Go? Place # (est) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Jordan/W. Bank 400,000 Gaza 200,000 Lebanon 120,000 Syria 75,000

  19. “There are circumstances that justify ethnic cleansing. A Jewish state would not have come into being without the uprooting of 700,000 Palestinians. Therefore it was necessary to uproot them…. It was necessary to cleanse the border areas and main roads…to cleanse the villages…I know it doesn’t sound nice, but that’s the term we used at the time.” Benny Morris Ha’aretz Interview (2004)

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