West Bank Jews here to stay

[breakaleg]

Doesn't a time come when population's size makes relocation talk immoral?

P. David Hornik
Published: 01.13.07, 19:05

In 2006, reports the Israeli Interior Ministry, the Jewish population of the Territories grew by 5.2 percent to 267,163 - just about the same as the population of Haifa. Since Haifa is about 10 percent Arab, there are actually more Israeli Jews now living in the West Bank than in the coastal town.

And many residents of the West Bank - or Judea and Samaria, terms as historically and geographically valid as Galilee - actually live in good-sized towns themselves. The four largest are now Modi’in Illit, population 34,514; Maaleh Adumim, 33,259; Betar Illit, 29,355; and Ariel, 17,723.



Given that the era of “pre-1967 Israel” came to 19, while the “post-1967” era now approaches four decades, does it still make sense to call those communities settlements? Does it make sense to call an Israeli who moves from a Galilee hillside to an Ariel apartment block a “settler”?



Israelis and pro-Israelis of goodwill have made various arguments against the settlements. Some said they compelled Israel to keep ruling over Palestinians and lose its character as a democracy. Some said particular settlements were too isolated and an unnecessary headache. Some said the settlements angered Palestinians and other Arabs and drove peace further away.



Even if those arguments were right, doesn’t a time come when the size of a population makes it simply a fact, and talk of its forced relocation becomes immoral?

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http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3351405,00.html

So, the gist of it is, they are already there in large enough numbers, so let them stay. Doesn't that send the message that if you steal something that isn't yours, all you have to do is hold onto it long enough that you can pretend it is yours? Sounds like an argument of a 5 year old.

[oberliner]

1. This is an editorial by a writer for FrontPageMagazine - an extreme RW site

P. David Hornik is a freelance writer and translator living in Tel Aviv and a columnist for FrontPageMagazine.com

Some headlines from that site's current home page include:

How Pelosi, Conyers, and Ellison want to make us all less safe

and

Why Bush's new strategy for Iraq deserves our support.

Obviously a right wing extremist is going to hold right wing extremist viewpoints.

[breakaleg]

2. I did not know that. As you can see, I got it from an Israeli newspaper often quoted here.

[oberliner]

4. Don't confuse Ynet with Yedioth Ahronoth

The latter is an Israeli newspaper (printed only in Hebrew) and is probably the paper with the widest circulation in Israel.

The former, Ynet, although owned by Yedioth Ahronoth also includes a lot of content pulled from a variety of websites. It is sort of a broader "news portal" for Israel-related news items.

That website often runs pieces from columnists at WorldNetDaily and FrontPageMagazine two extreme right-wing sources.

Often, though, they publish articles that can also be found in Yedioth Ahronoth. I have used that source myself, but I make sure to check the byline first.

[bemildred]

3. Well, it's nice to see them admit that forced relocations are immoral.

Of course, there is always the question of where do you begin, how far back do you go, in redressing these sorts of immoral forced relocations. And of course, are these sorts of considerations limited only to particular ethnic groups, or does it apply generally to anybody that has been forcibly relocated? In any case, it seems clear that nobody else should be forcibly relocated. The government should definitely get out of the business of forcibly relocating people.

[newyorican]

5. I think it's clear...

that he means starting now.

[UndertheOcean]

6. Let them stay , sure , but give the WB Palestinians Israeli citizenship ..

so that they can atleast have a say on how they are treated by the IDF.