Ed, first let me say that I feel that the Holocaust is the worst man made horror that I am aware of. Second, Arab countries have been much meaner to Palestinians than have the Israelis. I have never been pro-Arab, as the term is used. There is pretty good indication that King Hussein killed around 5000 Palestinians during the Black September massacres.
I also don't disagree with some of the characterizations of Schwartz et al about the current state of the Arab leadership. However, it was not a leadership that the Arabs selected. It was imposed on them. With no sense of history, Schwartz is trying to explain complicated history by looking only at the current state of affairs. The British installed the Hashemite kings in Iraq and Jordan in part payment for their losing out to the Saud family in Saudi Arabia. Another Muslim state, Turkey imposed it self on the Arabs for some 400 years. British rule was barbaric and the Israeli Military Government [which I worked with but not for for about three years] have used British law in the West Bank since Israeli law would have provided too many privileges for Palestinians. I have been told by a lot of Palestinians that they witnessed hangings of local residents by the British in the village center. Much of what goes on under the guise of Islam is simply the imposition of local interpretations which have nothing to do with Islam but with building a local wealth and power base. That aside, to blame Palestinians for the current state of affairs is a bit unfair. Arafat, I am sure, is finished. He probably should have signed with Ehud Barak, Israel's most decorated soldier, and a very good man, but has lost his ability to control the Hamas, a lot in part because of Sharon's constant punishment of Arafat for Hamas violence. As Shimon Perez said, the Israeli Military wants to get rid of Arafat but then with whom do we negotiate. By the way, Israel is a religious state with a primarily secular population, in my personal opinion. It is too bad that Yitzhak Rabin and Ehud Barak have been bypassed since there truly was some hope for peace there. I really see Hamas and Ariel Sharon as the true terrorists here. Sharon knew that there would be an outbreak when he entered the Haram-as-Shariif with Israeli soldiers during a Friday prayer. Although that action led later to his election, it has resulted i a lot of Israeli deaths. There are a lot of Israelis who want a peace and are tired of the current situation but are confused by the constant rounds of violence. In my opinion, Israel will not truly grow until it becomes a part of a Middle Eastern common market. Yours, Bill On Tue, 11 Dec 2001 14:30:51 -0500 Ed Goertzen <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: > Thanks for your post William: > It provides a much needed balance. > > I'm quite sure that if the Arab countries turned over their land and > the money creating system over to the private sector, the poverty would > soon be exchanged for "high employment" factories that would put Hitler's > wartime use of the Jews to shame. > > There is a gross silence on about the provocation of Israel against > the Palestinians, not the least of which is the refusal of I seal to > register the land ownership of the Palestinians. > > Having read between the lines of "Seven Pillars Of Wisdom" the > historic roots of the conflict are somewhat clearer. > > The question I have is - is Israel a Theocratic or a Secular > State?. > > If secular, why the discrimination against Arabs, and whence the > justification that the land was "given to Israel" by God. > > Regards > Ed G > > > > At 03:31 PM 10/12/2001 -0800, you wrote: > >(Alan Schwartz is a professor of law and management at Yale.) > > > >With 1 million lawyers in the US to just 25,000 in Japan, it > appears that > >the oversupply leads to no hesitancy on their part to become > immediate > >experts in Middle Eastern history. Perhaps lawyers should spend > more > >time on practicing legal birth control - restricting their own > numbers. > > > >A single point which can be followed by hundreds of others is that > >Britain and France divided up the Arab world at the end of the > First > >world Ward, and hand picked leaders. Britain transferred land > ownership > >from Arab tribal members to tribal heads thereby uprooting hundreds > of > >years of a carefully balanced society overnight so that the tribes > would > >be easier to administer. Much of what is mentioned by Schwartz and > Haven > >can be linked back to colonial acts such as these. > > > >My own ancestors came to this continent in 1620, grabbed land that > was > >not there and were a part of the beginning of the rape and pillage > of > >North America. I'm not terribly proud of that. > > > >I am listing my credentials to show that anyone can be irrelevant. > > > >William Bradford Ward > >BA in Middle Eastern History and Languages > >MA in Cultural Anthropology > >MPH in International Health > >DrPh in Public Health > ><<<< > >GETTING AT THE ROOTS OF ARAB POVERTY > > > >Alan Schwartz and Ew Haven > > > > > > > >>>>> > > > >Keith Hudson > > > > > > > >___________________________________________________________________ > > > >Keith Hudson, Bath, England; e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > >___________________________________________________________________ > > > > > > >
