On Thursday the collection's first exhibit was unveiled at a gallery in the Old City of Jerusalem. Entitled The Long Journey, the exhibit is scheduled to tour parts of the Middle East, Europe, and North America.
The New York Times article on the archive project, however, was a pitiable exercise in providing centrist "objectivity." The piece was composed of 19 paragraphs in all, seven of which were dedicated to the Israeli Foreign Ministry's disappointment. For such a treasure-trove of recorded history of a major - and ongoing - event to be preserved and displayed is momentous; but Times journalist Isabel Kershner felt a full third of her article should be devoted to Israel's interpretation of the news - the entity that precipitated the refugee flight and today keeps the Palestinian territories under military occupation.
Kershner's lead-in to the Israeli government's perspective is the following sentence:
But the refugee issue remains one of the most delicate and complex elements of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, at the core of the two sides' clashing historical narratives.
As to what she actually knows about the history, or actually believes about it, is something I cannot confirm. However, this is a sterling example of distortion through obfuscation, and why many people assume the conflict is hopelessly difficult to understand.
According to Israeli historian Benny Morris, a leading scholar on the refugee issue, the forced expulsion of Palestinians in 1948 was in accordance with a stratagem called Plan Dalet. In Morris's words, this plan "constituted a strategic-doctrinal basis and carte blanche for expulsions ... by commanders.... and it gave commanders, post facto, formal, persuasive cover for their actions."
The idea of pushing the Palestinians out of Palestine, in an effort to make room for a Jewish state, was not innovated and realized during the 1947-48 war. The concept of "transfer" (read: ethnic cleansing) is central to modern Zionist thinking. It is mentioned by the movement's key thinkers and leaders, including the preeminent Zionist ideologist Theodor Herzl and the state of Israel's first prime minister, David Ben-Gurion. "By 1948," says Morris, "transfer was in the air."
The Zionist agenda was never to immigrate to Palestine and live in peace with their Palestinian neighbors. On the contrary, the intentions were unambiguous and carried out with resolve: to replace Palestine with Israel.
During the run-up to the June 1967 war - when Israel occupied the West Bank and Gaza - the "accomplishments" of 1948 were borne in mind, but to be exceeded this time. Put another way, 1967 completed 1948. The language of transfer continued, with Ben-Gurion asserting at this time: "They must be expelled." The words "delicate and complex" don't come to mind.
Delicate and complex do, however, likely describe the state of the original UNRWA archive and the process of its digital preservation. This project is of immense value and was money well spent. It is crucial we know this history, remember it, learn from it, and apply that knowledge toward helping prevent such realities. It can also help us see more clearly the misrepresentations of this history by the major news outlets and their willing and amenable correspondents.
UNRWA archive
http://archive.unrwa.org/license/home/unrwa.do
NYT article
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/29/world/middleeast/photographs-tell-a-history-of-palestinians-unmoored.html
