Palestinians and Jewish History: Recognition or Submission?

Palestinians and Jewish History: Recognition or Submission?
Author(s): Joseph Massad

Source: Journal of Palestine Studies, Vol. 30, No. 1 (Autumn, 2000), pp. 52-67
Published by: University of California Press on behalf of the Institute for Palestine Studies
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PALESTINTANSAND JEWISH
~~HISTORY:RECOGNITION OR
SUBMISSION?
JOSEPHMASSAD
linkageofthe
ThisarticleexploresvariousaspectsofIsrael'simplicit
Jewishholocaustwithitsrightto existand Palestinianand Arab responsesto thatlinkage.ThePLO'spositioninparticularis examined
equationofArab and Palestinian
in detail,as is Israel'srhetorical
leaderswithNazis. Thearticlealso examinesEdwardSaid'sposition
debatein theArabicpress.
on thetopic,whichgeneratedconsiderable
EVER SINCE ZIONISM EMBARKED
ZionprojectinPalestine,
on itscolonial-settler
havebecomeone. Zionismwas notseen as a

isthistory
andJewishhistory
The
break with Jewishhistorybut ratherits legitimatecontinuation.
fromitsproperpath,and
diasporicconditionhad derailedJewishhistory
Atittowarditsintendedtelosofstatehood.
Zionismwas goingto redirect
to delinkJewishhistory
andZionisthistory
weremadeuntilmidcentempts
failedafterthepoliticalsuccessof Zionism.Thereafter,
turybutultimately
hiswas rewritten
byZionism;itnowbecamethetriumphant
Jewishhistory
EuropeanJewby an ignominious
toryoftheancientHebrews,interrupted
in theJewishholocaust,
ishhistory
ofpogromsand oppressionculminating
ofZionism.
and thencontinuing
history
withthetriumphant
A secondconsequenceofthetriumph
oftheZionistprojectwas thatPalhave become inextricably
and ZionistJewishhistory
estinianArabhistory
becameperforce
thatZionismappropriated
linked.EventsinJewishhistory
Paramount
connectedtoPalestinian
amongsucheventsis theJewish
history.
purholocaustduringWorldWarII,whichZionistsused forpropagandistic
to Palestineto whichtheyhad laidtheirsuspect
poses to asserttheir"right"
theholocaustand its
earlier.In appropriating
colonialclaimhalfa century
oftheholoZionismand Israelassertedthatanyacknowledgment
victims,
that
ofIsrael's"right
to exist,"and conversely
caustis an acknowledgment
to existwas perforce
a denialof
to denyIsraelitsallegedright
anyattempt
the holocaust.Indeed,thecouplingof theholocaustwiththe creationof
in itsDeclaration
oftheEstablishment
oftheState:
Israelwas enshrined
is assistant
professor
of modemArabpolitics
and intellectual
history
at
He is also assistant
ColumbiaUniversity.
editoratJPS.Hisbook NationalIdentity/National
from
Culture:TheJuridicaland Military
Bases ofJordanianNationalismis forthcoming
Columbia University
Press. An earlierversion of this paper was presentedat the
GeorgetownUniversity
conference"Rethinking
MuslimsandJews"in February2000.
JOSEPH MASSAD
Journalof PalestineStudiesXXX,no. 1 (Autumn2000),pp. 52-67.
PALESUNIANS ANDJEWISH HISTORY
53
TheHolocaustcommitted
againstthePeopleofIsraelinrecenttimes,during
whichmillions
ofJewswereslaughtered
in Europe,againprovedmanifestly
thenecessity
ofa solutiontotheproblemoftheJewishpeople,who lacka homelandand independence.
The solutionis therenewalofthe
JewishstateinIsrael,whichwillopenwidethegatesofthe
homelandto everyJewandwhichwillgranteveryJewthe
statusof a people withequal rightsamongthefamilyof
nations.
In thissame vein,MosheSharett
statedthat"theZionistsdo notmeanto
exploitthehorrible
oftheJewsofEurope... buttheycannotrefrain
tragedy
fromemphasizing
thefactthateventshavetotally
proventheZionistpositionon thesolutionoftheJewishproblem.
Zionismpredicted
theHolocaust
decadesago."'
TheJewishholocaust,
therefore,
couldbe apprehended
onlythrough
the
mediationof Zionismand Israel.Israelinsistedon freezing
themomentat
whichtheholocaustsurvivors
becamesuch.The factthatthePalestinians
encountered
themas colonialsettlers
is immaterial
to Zionistdiscourse.As
publicdiscourseon theJewishholocaust,whichlay dormant
fortwo dein the 1960s,and increasingly
cades,was resurrected
as of the 1970s,by
IsraelandbyAmerican
Jewsas an argument
tobe deployedintheideological defenseofIsraelanditsviolenceagainstthePalestinian
peopleandother
neighboring
Arabstates,Palestinians
and otherArabswere calledupon to
accepttheJewishholocaustand Israel's"right
to exist"as a packagedeal.
David Ben-Gurion
unequivocally
assertedaftertheholocaust,"TheJewish
Stateis theheirofthesix-million
... theonlyheir.... Iftheyhad lived,the
In late1942,afternews
ofthemwouldhavecometo Israel."2
greatmajority
of theJewishholocaustbegan to reachtheworld,Ben-Gurion
expressed
if
Zionism'sappropriative
is power, channeledin a prostrategy:
"Tragedy
is thatit knowshow to
ductivedirection.
The essenceof Zioniststrategy
ourcatastrophe
notintoa sourceofdespairand paralysis,
as did
transform
and spiritedness."3
theDiaspora,butintoa springofcreativity
and Arabsto Israel'slinkagehas varied.
The responseof Palestinians
intotheZionistideologicaltrap,reasonedthatifacceptingthe
Some,falling
to be a colonial-settler
racist
JewishholocaustmeantacceptingIsrael'sright
The PLO,on
state,thentheholocaustmustbe deniedoratleastquestioned.
and journalists,
theotherhand,alongwithmanyArabintellectuals
actively
sought,inwordand deed,to delinkthetwoeventsand to viewtheJewish
holocaustoutsideZionism'smediation.
These attempts
at delinkagewere
and are stillcondemnedbyZionismand itssupporters,
as is thePalestinian
insistence
thattheholocaustsurvivors
lefttheshoresofEuropeas refugees
butarrivedon theshoresofPalestineas armedcolonialsettlers.
54
OF
JOURNAL
PALESTINE
STUDIES
LOSS
SuRViivoRs'
GAIN,PALESTINIANS'
andArabslinktheholocaustwithIsrael's
thatPalestinians
Whileinsisting
and theIsraelistatehave untiltoday
rightto exist,theZionistmovement
consistently
refusedto acknowledgethe organiclinkbetweenZionism's
itssuccessvisitedon thePalhistory
history
and thecatastrophic
successful
history
notseen as
estinianpeople.Notonlyis muchofmodernPalestinian
more
havingbeen set in motionby Zionism'scolonialclaimsto Palestine,
on Zionism,
totheextentthatitforceditself
history,
Palestinian
importantly,
indeed
ofEuropeananti-Semitism,
was coded byZionismas a continuation
a
this.
In
addressing
clear
on
was
Hitlerism.
Ben-Gurion
a continuation
of
"Wedon'twantto reachagainthe
he asserted,
groupofholocaustsurvivors,
thatyou were in. We do notwanttheArabNazis to come and
situation
fortheirpart,havearguedthattheholocaustwas
us."4Palestinians,
slaughter
people have been forcedto
a Europeancrimeforwhichthe Palestinian
are a lone voice demandingthatIsraelacatone.5But,whilePalestinians
againstthePaltocommit
andcontinues
knowledgethecrimesitcommitted
chorusindemanding
estinian
people,Israelis joinedbya largeinternational
oftheJewish
thatthePalestinians
acceptZionism'sideologicaldeployment
itscrimesagainstthePalestinians.
holocaustto justify
in itsproject,
To theextentthatZionismsaw anyroleforthePalestinians
and apZionism'sversionoftheirhistory
itwas in havingtheminternalize
view
Indeed,thedemandthatPalestinians
preciateitsmissioncivilisatrice.
is as
theirown history
as well as thatofZionismfroma Zioniststandpoint
In hiscelebrated
TheodorHerzlinnovelAltneuland,
old as Zionismitself.
cluded a Palestiniancharactercalled ReschidBey who extols Zionist
He insiststhatZionism"was a greatblessingforall of us."6
achievement.
Arabsdid not
Whenpressedby a Europeangentileas to whyPalestinian
ReschidBeyangrily
responds:
as "intruders,"
hatetheJewishcolonialsettlers
from
you,butbringsyou
"Wouldyoucalla mana robberwhotakesnothing
something
instead?The Jewshave enrichedus. Whyshouldwe be angry
was more
withthem?"7
Indeed,ReschidBeygoes on toexplainthat"nothing
The
century.
wretchedthanan Arabvillageat the end of the nineteenth
forstables.The children
laynakedand nepeasants'clayhovelswereunfit
is difand grewup likedumbbeasts.Now everything
glectedin thestreets
of
the
New
fromtheprogressive
measures
Society."8
ferent.
Theybenefited
ofthem,ZionHerzl'sexpectations
As mostPalestinians
cameto disappoint
whose sole
ismhad to castthemin a new light.Now seen as anti-Semites
as thereal
theywerepresented
grievanceagainstIsraelwas itsJewishness,
colonizersofthisancientJewishland.
Thefactthataround
holocaustsurvivors?
How didPalestinians
encounter
or
of
1948
war,wereholoa
third
the
during
the
Haganah
soldiers,
22,000
intheexpulinthisregard,9
is important
as theyparticipated
caustsurvivors
andinthemanymassacresofthe1948war.In a rare
sionofthePalestinians
intheIsraelipress,HaOlam Hazeh rana
on suchoccurrences
commentary
PALESIRiNS
AND JEWISH HSTORY
55
Palestinians
in 1950withthecaption:
ofIsraelisoldiersexpelling
photograph
soldier'sarm.Manyoftheimmion theguarding
"Notethenumbertattooed
grantswho have been throughthe hell of the Europeanconcentration
towardtheArabcaptivesoftheState."'l
campslacktheproperattitude
by
ofbeingused as "cannonfodder"
complained
Theholocaustsurvivors
the Zionistleadershipas theywere mostlysentto thefrontline and not
AccordofHebrew."1
dutiesbecauseoftheirignorance
givenadministrative
werebeingsentfromtheshipson
ingto a Haganahreport,"Therecruits
and from
centersforconscripts,
to thereception
whichtheyarrived
directly
As manyof themdied in battle,the
thereto theirbrigadesor services."12
mustbe issuedto all units
that"instructions
Haganahreportrecommended
as soon as
to combatoperations
thattheseenlistedmenareto be admitted
themassaAfter
training."'13
[butnotbefore]theyhavereceivedappropriate
at thevillageof Tanturaby theHaganah'sAlexancre of 200 Palestinians
droniBrigade,14
the new KibbutzNasholimwas erectedby holocaust
on the ruinsof thevillage.15
KibbutzLohameiHagetaot,which
survivors
Museum,was builtbyWarsawGhettosurvivors
housestheGhettoFighters
whose inhabion top ofthedestroyed
Palestinian
villageofal-Sumayriyya,
tantshad been deportedduringthe 1948war.'6In his seminalbook, The
SeventhMillion: The Israelis and theHolocaust, Tom Segev writesin refer-
in Israelthat
ence to KibbutzLohameiHagetaotthatthere"isno settlement
betterillustrates
the link between the Holocaust and the Palestinian
17
tragedy.
weretopartakeofthelootandpillageofabanManyholocaustsurvivors
to Segev:
donedPalestinian
According
property.
Hundredsof thousandsof Arabsfled,and were expelled
ofvillagesleft
fromtheirhomes.Entirecitiesand hundreds
order
new immiin
with
a
short
emptywererepopulated
mostofthem
In April1949,theynumbered100,000,
grants.
one inthe
was a dramatic
Themoment
Holocaustsurvivors.
banalone,too,focusedas it
warforIsrael,and a frightfully
Free peooverhousesand furniture.
was on thestruggle
refuple-Arabs-had goneintoexileandbecomedestitute
theexiles'placesas a
refugees-Jews-took
gees;destitute
first
stepintheirnewlivesas freepeople.One grouplostall
theyneededtheyhad,whiletheotherfoundeverything
clothes,
tables,chairs,closets,pots,pans,plates,sometimes
family
albums,books,radios,andpets.... Fora fewmonths
the country
was caughtup in a frenzyof take-what-youalso tookposfirst-served....
Immigrants
can,first-come,
session of Arab storesand workshops,and some Arab
soon lookedlikeJewishtownsin pre-war
neighborhoods
Europe.'8
56
OF PALESI1NE STUDIES
JOURNAL
In defenseofZionism,
Isaac Deutscher,
a painedbutambivalent
Zionist,
soberlyassertedthatwhathappenedto thePalestinian
people as a resultof
Zionistcolonialism
cannot"infairness"
be blamedon theJews:"Peoplepursuedbya monster
and running
tosavetheirlivescannothelpinjuring
those
who areinthewayand cannothelptrampling
overtheirproperty."'9
Deutscher,itwouldseem,neverstoppedto considerthatEuropeanJewscould
havestillfledas refugees
without
becomingcolonists.
He neverinvestigated
thetransformation
ofEuropeanJewsfromrefugees
intocolonialsoldiers.20
THE NAzI ANALOGY
It was the muftiofJerusalem,

Haj Aminal-Husayni,
who providedthe
IsraeliswiththeirbestpropagandalinkingthePalestinians
withtheNazis
andEuropeananti-Semitism.
FleeingBritish
persecution,
themufti
endedup
inGermany
duringthewaryearsandattempted
toobtainpromises
fromthe
Germansthattheywouldnotsupporttheestablishment
ofa Jewishnational
homeinPalestine.
Documents
thattheJewish
Agencyproducedin 1946purto showthatthemufti
porting
hada roleintheextermination
ofJewsdidno
suchthing;theonlythingtheseunsignedletters
bythemufti
showedwas his
oppositionto Nazi Germany's
and Romania'sallowingJewsto emigrate
to
Palestine.2'Yet themufti
continues
to be represented
by Israelipropaganin theextermination
distsas havingparticipated
of EuropeanJews.In the
four-volumeYad Vashem-sponsoredEncyclopediaof theHolocaust, the ar-
is twiceas longas thearticles

on GoebbelsandGoringand
ticleon themufti
longerthanthearticleson Himmler
and Heydrichcombined.Of thebiographicalentries,
itslengthis exceeded,and thenjustslightly,
onlyby the
oftheencyclopedia
IritAbramski-Bligh,
Thewriter
articleon Hitler.22
entry,
"triedto persuadetheAxis
thatthemufti
allegeswithout
anysubstantiation
to includetheJewsof Palespowersto extendtheextermination
program
AtYad Vashem,an entirewall is
tine,theMiddleEast,and NorthAfrica."23
devotedto theconnections
tying
Husaynito Naziofficials.
Segevcomments
is leftto concludethatthereis muchin commonbetween
that"[t]hevisitor
to Israel."24
theJewsand theArabs[sic]enmity
theNazis'planto destroy
to
Arafat
were
Yasir
'Abd
al-Nasir
and
later
Gamal
subjected similarslanIsraelas
dersimply
because,likeHusayni,
theyopposedZionistcolonialism.
The New
wereto engagein suchrhetoric.
well as itsAmerican
supporters
called
YorkTimesreferred
to Nasiras "Hitleron theNile."25Ben-Gurion
whileMenachemBegininsistedthathe was surNasira "fascist
dictator,"
infact,hadbeen accusedbythe
TheEgyptians,
roundedbyNaziemissaries.
ofJewssince1948.26TheIsraelinewspaper
IsraelisofNazi-style
persecution
Ma'ariv justified
the 1956invasionof Egyptby claimingthatit prevented
Nasirfromturning
into"Hitlerof theEast."Elie Wiesel,laterto become a
NobelPeace laureate,
allegedatthetimein an articlethatdidnotprovidea
ofmostEgyptian
shredofevidencethatthedeparture
JewsfromEgyptafter
himself,
the1956invasionwas plannedbyan SS man.27
Indeed,Ben-Gurion
PALESTnrIS
AND JEWISH HISTORY
57
in a speechto theKnesset,spreadtheoutright
lie thatEgyptian
tankshad
In correspondence
withforeignleaders,the
swastikaspaintedon them.28
andinvokedthememthattheirinvasionwas inself-defense
Israelisinsisted
oryoftheholocaustas a timewhenno one defendedtheJews.29
Jews,theholocaustwas becomNotonlyforIsraelibutalsoforAmerican
in 1967,
Israel'svictory
After
withIsraelipolitics.
identified
ingincreasingly
on the
Commission
ofthePresident's
laterdirector
RabbiIrvingGreenberg,
"InEurope[God]had failedto do His task... thefailHolocaust,asserted,
inJunewouldhavebeen an even moredecisivedeure to come through
ofthe1967war,HaAretz
Beforetheoutbreak
ofthecovenant."30
struction
by Nasirand Hitler,
statements
printeda catalogofallegedly"comparable"
such as Nasir'sin 1967 that"IfIsraelwantswar-fine:Israelwill be deand Hitler'sin 1939that"IftheJewsdragtheworldintoa war,
stroyed!"
reon itsvulnerability
Israel'sinsistence
willbe destroyed."'3'
worldJewry
Peled,one ofthearchitects
GeneralMatityahu
flecteda consciousstrategy.
ofthe1967Israeliinvasion,
revealeda fewyearsafterthewar:"Thereis no
no
reasonto hidethefactthatsince1949no one dared,or moreprecisely,
theveryexistenceof Israel.In spiteof that,we
one was able,to threaten
as ifwe werea weak
tofoster
a senseofourowninferiority,
havecontinued
forits
and insignificant
people,which,inthemidstofan anguishedstruggle
couldbe exterminated
at anymoment."32
existence,
timein hisadult
Duringthe1973war,Wieselwroteofbeingforthefirst
he said,"the
alloveragain."ForJews,
maystart
thatthenightmare
life"afraid
Atthetimeof
to ourfate."33
unchanged... indifferent
worldhas remained
ofBeihis1982invasionofLebanon,Beginjustified
themassivedestruction
there"had
headquarters
ofArafat's
to 1945:thedestruction
rutby referring
givenhimthefeelingthathe had senttheIsraeliarmyintoBerlinto destroy
Earlier,
Beginhad describedthePLO as a "neo-Nazi
Hitlerin hisbunker."34
organization."35
and Arabswerenottheonlyones castas Nazis.Israelwas
Palestinians
crimes.In
Nazi-style
also accused-byIsraelisas wellas byPalestinians-of
in 1948,a numberofIsraeli
thecontextofIsraelimassacresofPalestinians
to theactionsofIsraelisoldiersas "Naziactions,"
promptministers
referred
ofthePalmach,
toaskthemtostop
theeducationofficer
ingBennyMarshak,
themassacreatal-Dawayima,
MinisAgriculture
usingtheterm.Indeed,after
terAharonZislingassertedin a cabinetmeetingthathe "couldn'tsleep all
Similar
Naziacts."36
languagewas used
night.... Jewstoo havecommitted
IsraeliPalestinian
men,woaftertheIsraeliarmygunneddownforty-seven
at KafrQasimin 1956.WhilemostIsraelinewspapersat
men,and children
a rabbiwrotethat"wemustdemandof
thetimeplayeddownthemassacre,
... thatsoon we willbe
theentirenationa senseofshameand humiliation
ofpogroms."37
likeNazisand theperpetrators
weresoon to levelthesameaccusationagainsttheIsraeThePalestinians
One ofthecommuniques
lis.Suchaccusations
increasedduringtheintifada.
issuedby theUnifiedNationalLeadershipof theUprisingdefinedthe in-
58
JOURNAL OF PALESTIE
STUDIES
tifadaas consisting
of"thechildren
andyoungmenofthestonesand Molotovcocktails,
thethousandsofwomenwho miscarried
as a resultofpoison
gas and teargas grenades,and thosewomenwhose sons and husbands
werethrownin theNazi prisons."38
The Israeliswerealwaysoutragedby
suchaccusations,
evenwhenthesimilarities
werestark.
Whentheboardof
Yad Vashem,forexample,was askedto condemntheactofan Israeliarmy
officer
who instructed
hissoldierstoinscribenumbers
on thearmsofPalestinians,
boardchairman
GideonHausner"squelchedtheinitiative,
ruling
that
ithad no relevanceto theHolocaust."39
PALESTINANS AND THE JEWISH HOLOCAUST
Sinceitsemergence
on theinternational
scene,thePLOhas alwaysdistinguishedbetweenZionistsandJews.In thisitdiffers
sharply
fromIsraeland
all themajorJewishand Zionistorganizations
worldwide,
whichidentify
Zionismand Israelas Jewishandmaketheirclaimto Palestineon thebasisof
thatJewishness.
The PLO has alwaysrejectedthiscoupling,referring
to
Israelnotas the"Jewish
State"butas the"ZionistEntity."
In contrast
to the
PLO and Palestinian
intellectuals,
however,mostPalestinians
call theiroppressors"Jews,"a name theiroppressorschose forthemselvesand on
whosebasistheyjustify
theiroppressionofthePalestinians.
ButIsraeland
Zionismarehorrified
bysucha reference
andjudgeitas a signofPalestinian
anti-Semitism.
Notonly,then,shouldPalestinians
be oppressedby enemies
who callthemselves
JewishJewsandbase theiroppressive
policieson their
ness,butPalestinians
arecondemnedforcallingtheirenemiesbytheirchosen nameand are calledupon to exercisevigilanceby makingdistinctions
betweenZionistsandJewsthattheirenemiesoftenfailto make.
Ithas also alwaysmadea
The PLO has acceptedthisburdenofvigilance.
withtheJewish
itssympathy
pointofdemonstrating
theNazi
oftheholocaustand in condemning
ThePLO has always made
victims
addressedtheUN GeneralAsa point of demonstrating regime.WhenArafat
conitssympathywiththe
semblyin New Yorkin 1974,he "vociferously
Jewishvictimsof the
demn[ed]themassacresofJewsunderNazi rule."40
wouldhavewelcomed
holocaustand in
He statedthatthePalestinians
of
the
Nazi
survivors
the
the
condemning
holocaust,as theyhad earlier
hadthe
andArmenian
welcomedCircassian
regime.
refugees,
been "toliveside
objectiveoftheJewishimmigration
andassuming
thesameduties."But
thesamerights
bysidewithus,enjoying
as thegoal hadbeen "tousurpourhomeland,
disperseourpeople,andturn
is whatno one can conceivably
demand
us intosecond-classcitizens-this
thatwe acquiescein or submitto."He emphasizedthatthePLO's struggle
not
was notagainstJewsbutagainst"racistZionism,"
whichdiscriminates
In
butalso against"Oriental
onlyagainstPalestinians
Jews." thissense,he
fortheJew,as a humanbeing.... We
concluded,"oursis also a revolution
PALusITqANS ANDJEWISHHISORy
59
and Muslimsmaylivein equality...

so thatJews,Christians,
are struggling
discrimination."41
freefromracialor religious
as
revolution
ofthePalestinian
In arguingagainstZionism'sdesignation
RevolutotheAmerican
resistance
likenedthePalestinian
Arafat
"terrorism,"
in
and the anticolonialstruggles
tion,the Europeananti-NaziResistance,
and ZionistouttheBritish
reviewing
After
andLatinAmerica.42
Asia,Africa,
people,Arafatemphasizedthat"all thishas
ragesagainstthe Palestinian
Norhas it caused us to
norvengeful.
vindictive
made our people neither
resortto theracismof our enemies.... For we deploreall thosecrimes
sufagainsttheJews,we also deploreall therealdiscrimination
committed
concludedbycallingon Jews
Arafat
feredbythembecauseoftheirfaith."43
theracistIsraelistate,enjoining
tooppose racismanddesistfromsupporting
in a democratic
Palestine.44
themto liveas equalswithPalestinians
theJewishholocaustwas followedwithactionin
ThePLO stancevis-a-vis
oftheWarsawGhettoUprising,
anniversary
thenextdecade.On thefortieth
the PLO announceditsplansto place a memorialwreathat theWarsaw
to honor"theheroJews."FuadYassin,PLO representaGhettomonument
to repeltheGerman
tivein Poland,said thattheJewswho died fighting
...
we
considerthesethe
and
brothers
comrades
occupationtroopsare"our
fromleadersofthe
drewprotests
The PLO planimmediately
heroJews."45
in thecommemoration
SimonWiesenthal
Center,
a U.S.groupparticipating
extheleaderof theU.S. delegation,
RabbiAlexanderSchindler,
efforts.46
Jewishwomenand
ofthosewhomurder
pressedoutrage:"Theparticipation
ofinnocents
wouldmakea hidechildren
and who celebratetheslaughter
stands."47
Yassin
ofeverything
forwhichthiscommemoration
ous mockery
forhim,Palestinians
wantedtohonorGhettoheroesbeexpressedsurprise;
cause "we are stillfacingthatkindoffascismagainstourpeople."48Atthe
Yassin,accompaniedbyotherPLO delegates,laida wreath
ceremony
itself,
"I haveplaceda wreathbecausetheJewish
and asserted,
at themonument
of
ofNazismandthePalestinian
peoplearethevictims
peoplewerevictims
the new Nazis . . . the Zionistsand Israel."49Israel asked its delegates to
exAmericans,
including
andother
Jewishdelegates,
homeinprotest,
return
the PLO apA few days beforethe commemoration,
pressedoutrage.50
atthe
Jew,as thePLO'srepresentative
pointedIlanHalevi,an IsraeliMizrahi
to replacetheslain'IsamSartawi.51
SocialistInternational
alongwithYitzhakRabinandShimon
As a rewardforOslo in 1993,Arafat,
thenews,the
fortheNobelPeace Prize.Uponhearing
Peres,was nominated
ElieWieseldeclaredinoutrage:"Atleasthe shouldapolholocaustcareerist
andsay'I
ogize.... Thepastcannotbe erased.Atleastlethimcomeforward
apologizeforhavinggiventheorderto killJewishchildrenat Ma'alot,and
inthestreet,
andalltheotherinnocent
people."'WhatparticJewishcivilians
ularlygalledWieselwas that
Allofa suddenI'minthesamegroupas he is.Imagine!We
he and I.. .. It is hardto swalbothhave memberships,
60
JOURNAL OF PALESTINE STUDIES
low.... Andthisman,at least,for25 years,has been the

leaderof a terrorist
organization
thatwas createdto kill
Jews.The manhas done so muchharm,has shedso much
blood ... and all ofa suddenhe becomesa tzaddik.52
Notsurprisingly,
Wieseldidnotmindtheblood ofthousands
ofPalestinians
on thehandsofRabinand Peres.
Indeed,Oslo in no waydampenedattempts
byIsraelisandtheirsupportersto likenthePalestinians
to theNazis.WhenLechWalesaplannedto inof
viteNobelPeace Prizewinners,
including
Arafat,
tothefiftieth
anniversary
theliberation
ofAuschwitz
inJanuary
1995,holocaustsurvivors,
including
Yad Vashemofficials,
andJewishgroupsaroundtheworldwereup in arms.
MenasheLorency,head of the MengeleTwinsOrganization,
statedthat
"Arafat
doesn'thaveto be in Auschwitz....He was a continuation
ofwhat
theydid [there]."53
Butone memberoftheorganization,
VeraKriegel,
who
believedthatArafat
shouldgo so thathe couldlearnthelessonsoftheholocaust,toldIsraelRadio:"I wouldtakehimbythehandand showhimeverywherethe horrortook place." "Ifyou do that,"retorted
deputyKnesset
Dov
speaker
Shilansky,
"youwillneverholdmyhandagain."Poland'schief
rabbiPinhasMenahemYoskowitzapprovedofArafat's
comingas thismight
"prevent
killingorwar,... achievesecurity
fortheJewishpeople . . . ifthe
politiciansthinkthatby Arafat's
visitto Auschwitzthese thingscan be
achieved-I am forit.... Sometimes
you haveto do unpleasantthings."54
The EuropeanJewishCongresscalledfora boycottof theeventbecause
WiththemountArafat
"represents
a greatsuffering
fortheJewish
people."55
theissueby
ingpressureagainstthePolishgovernment,
Walesasidestepped
minisYossiBeilin,Israel'sdeputyforeign
notinviting
theNobellaureates.56
thedecision.Since,in hisview,therefusalofArab
terat thetime,regretted
Listconstituted
denialof theholocaust,
to screenSchindler's
governments
oftheholocaust,and
Arafat's
attendance
wouldconstitute
acknowledgment
admissionof
an
indirect
would
be
ofthefactoftheHolocaust
"recognition
who duringthe
Dov Shilansky,
a holocaustsurvivor
Israel'sright
to exist."57
serveda twenty1948war commandeda platoonand who subsequently
"Arafat
will
otherwise:
terminIsraelijailsforterrorism,58
one-month
thought
how to destroy
us."59
to learnfromhisteacher,
go to Auschwitz
Hitler,
RECOGNITION OR SUBMISSION?
to the
inthecontext
ofcontinued
Despitetheearlierrebuffs,
capitulation
in
the
Clinton
the
United
Arafat
was
Israelisand
States,
persuaded 1998by
to pay a visitto the U.S. HolocaustMemorialMuseumin
administration
DC. The visithad been conceivedby U.S.specialMiddleEast
Washington,
ofreconAaronMiller,
as a "gesture
coordinator
DennisRossandhisdeputy,
ciliation."The museum,however,rejectedArafat'soverture.Museum
Post thatmembersof the American
sourcestoldthe Washington
Jewish
PALEsTnwANs
AND JEWISH HISToRY
61
community
warnedmuseumdirector
WalterReichthat"this[Arafat]
is Hitler
incarnate."
Whenmuseumofficials
informed
Arafat
thathe could visitthe
museumonlyas an individual
withoutthesecurity
and protocolroutinely
accordedto worldleaders,he canceledthevisit.Embarrassed
by theepisode,Arafat
mediaadviserNabilAbuRudeinehlamentedhow thePalestinian Authority
had been "extending
ourhandssincethedaysof Rabin,and
ourhandsare stillslapped.Somebodyis stilllivingin thepast."60
ManyIsraeliofficials
applaudedtherebuff,
buttherewas a publicoutcryin Washington.Faced witha rebellionby the museum'sgoverning
board,Miles
of theHolocaustMemorialCouncil,reversedhis earlier
Lerman,
chairman
supportformuseumdirector
Reich'sdecisionand extendedan invitation
to
who saidthathe was "keentovisitthemuseum."
Arafat,
The deputychiefof
missionoftheIsraeliembassy,
"is
LennyBen David,explainedthatifArafat
goingto learnabouttheHolocaust,and ifhe's notgoingto denyit,thenall
thebetter."61
AvnerShalev,chairman
oftheYad Vashemdirectorate,
added
willbe morereluctant
"MaybeArafat
to deny[theholocaust]."62
The fact
northePLO had everdeniedtheJewishholocaustand
thatneither
Arafat
hadalwaysexpressedsolidarity
withitsvictims
was immaterial
tosuchpropaganda.Arafat
finally
optednotto go.63The fracascostReichhisjob.64
WhathascausedtheZionistandIsraeliconsensuson Arafat
andtheholocaustto break?Sincecondemnation
ofanyattempts
thePLO,and
byArafat,
to show solidarity
withtheholocaustcontinuedas late as
anyPalestinian
1994,what accountsforthissuddenvacillation?
The answeris simple.
Arafat's
prospective
visitto the HolocaustMuseumwas no longerto be
stagedbythePalestinian
leaderas one ofsolidarity
betweena people who
are victims
ofoppressionandanother
ofa greater
peoplewho werevictims
but
as
on
his
he
and
oppression, rather an affirmation partthat understands
withIsrael,hiserstwhile
sympathizes
enemy,whosecrimeshe forgaveand
has continuedto forgive
sincehe signedtheOslo accords.His visitto the
museumwas to ratify
Palestinian
acquiescencein viewingtheJewishholoof thelinksthat,Zionism
His recognition
caustthrough
Israelimediation.
insisted,
connectedtheJewishholocaustwithIsrael'sraisond'etreconstiofPalestinian
andJewishhistoto theZionization
tuteshisfinalsubmission
of thisachievement,
theJerusalemPost
ries.In an ambivalent
celebration
to See 'theEnemy'as Victims."65
ranan articletitled"Learning
Indeed,the
oftheconflict
PLO'ssubmission
to Israel'srewriting
hadbegunevenbefore
Oslo: partofthepricefortheMadridConference
was therepeal,inDecember 1991,ofthe1975UN GeneralAssembly
Resolution
3379(XXX characZionismas "a formofracismandracialdiscrimination."66
terizing
Whenthe
was passed in 1975,Israel'sUN ambassador,
resolution
HaimHerzog,had
toldthe GeneralAssemblydelegatesthatHitlerwould have feltat home
amongthem.67
Arafat's
prospective
visittothemuseumrecallsAnwarSadat'svisittoYad
Vashemin 1977inthecompanyofMenachem
Begin.Sadat'svisitwas also a
submission
totheZionization
symbolic
oftheholocaustandtoitsappropria-
62
JOURNAL OF PALESrINE
STUDIES
fortheirown purposes.DuringSadat'svisit,
tionby Israelipropagandists
Begindeclared:"Noone cametosaveus-neitherfromtheEastnorfromthe
West.Forthisreason,we havesworna vow,we, thegeneration
ofexterminationandrebirth:
Neveragainwillwe putournationindanger,neveragain
willwe putourwomenand childrenand thosewhomwe have a dutyto
defend . . . in range of the enemy's deadly fire."68Unlike Arafator Nasir,
Sadathadbeen an avidadmirer
ofHitler.
Uponhearinga rumorin 1953that
Hitlerwas stillalive,theweeklyal-Musawwaraskedsevenpublicfigures
what,supposingtherumorweretrue,theywould say to Hitler.Five condemnedtheNazidictator
whiletwoexaltedhim.Themoreprominent
ofthe
twowas AnwarSadat,who was stillmotivated
stancedatbyhisanti-British
ingfromcolonialdays.His messageto Hitlerwas as follows:"I congratulate
you withall myheart,because,thoughyou appearto havebeen defeated,
youweretherealvictor,
youwereable to sow dissensionbetweenChurchill,the'old man,'andhisallieson theone handandtheirally,thedevil,on
the other.... There will be no peace untilGermanyis restoredto what it
in Germany
is reasonenoughfor
was.... Thatyou havebecameimmortal
or a
pride.Andwe shouldnotbe surprised
to see you againin Germany,
forHitler,
hownewHitlerinyourplace."69In assessingSadat'senthusiasm
ever,it shouldbe notedthatunlikethemanyZionistleaders(of boththe
Laborand Revisionist
camps)who collaborated
withtheNazis,someup to
themfromafar.70
1941butothersas lateas 1944,Sadatonlysupported
Morerecently
and in an important
articlein al-Hayatthatgenerateda
longdebateamongArabintellectuals,
EdwardSaidarguedagainstthe"retrospectiveattempts
madeby Israelisor Palestinians
to use theHolocaust."71
is
link
that
"there
a
between
what
Saidasserted
happenedtoJewsinWorld
ofthePalestinian
WarII and thecatastrophe
people,butitcannotonlybe
thetrueconor as an argument
to demolishor diininish
maderhetorically,
is equaltotheother;similarly
tentbothoftheHolocaustandof1948.Neither
one
neither
neither
one northeotherexcusespresentviolence;and finally,
northe othermustbe minimized"
[emphasisadded].WhatSaid seems to
thattheJewishholocaustgenerated
invokeinhisarticleis theunderstanding
ofthe
ofa Jewishstateand thatthesuffering
supportfortheestablishment
ofthePalestinians
at the
Jewsat thehandsoftheNazisled to thesuffering
handsof theZionists.Said is clearthat"unlesstheconnectionis made by
In fact,theJewishtragedy
did not createthe
Palestinian catastrophe:
Zionism had sought to
dispossessthePalestinians
long beforetheholocaust.
which the Jewish tragedy is seen to have led directly
to thePalestinian
by,letus callit'necescatastrophe
thanpurewill),we cannotco-existas two
sity'(rather
of detachedand uncommunicatingly
communities
separate suffering."
But in facttheJewishtragedydid not createthe

Palestinian
catastrophe.
Zionismhad soughtto dispossess thePalestinians
and establishitsstatelong
beforetheJewishholocaust.
enAlso,onlyone-third
ofholocaustsurvivors
ded up in Palestine,
becausetheycouldnotgo to theUnitedStates.
mostly
PALESTnNINs AND JEWISH HISTORY
63
thattheintheclaimmadeby someZionistsand Palestinians

Furthermore,
of Israelresultedfromtheworld
ternational
supportfortheestablishment
torescueJewsfromtheNazisis unsubsenseofguiltforfailing
community's
arguesthatthiswas notthecase at all.
stantiated.
PeterNovickconvincingly
He explains:
of the
Of the countriesthatsupportedthe establishment
purposes,
thosewhichvotedfor
stateofIsrael-forpractical
ofNovember1947theUnitedNationspartition
resolution
thereis no evidencethatanyofthemweremovedby"guilt"
fortheHolocaust.NotthecrucialSovietbloc,whichhoped
to weakenBritish
powerand geta footholdin theMiddle
whichcontributed
ofLatinAmerica,
East;notthecountries
that
thelion'sshareofthevotes;notthoseothercountries
The Alliednation
majority.
suppliedtheneededtwo-thirds
havemostoften
complicity
againstwhichchargesofguilty
been brought,
whichhad closeddownimmiGreatBritain,
grationto Palestinebefore the war, did not support
partition.72
Evyatar
Friesel,who examinedtheUN
to theIsraelihistorian
According
fromthebepro-Zionist
was wholeheartedly
onlySouthAfrica
proceedings,
vote took
ginning,withothercountriesequivocatinguntilthe partition
place.73He concludesthatthereis "littleindicationin the opinionsexnationsto showthattheHolocausthad influenced
pressedby thedifferent
who appearedbefore
In fact,"theZionistrepresentatives
theirpositions."74
on Palestine,UNSCOP]barelyalludedto the
the [UN SpecialCommittee
As fortheUnitedStates,Novickexplains,"Thereis no evidence
subject."75
for
thatguilt inactionduringtheHolocaustplayedanyrolein theAmerican
supportforIsraelistatehood."76
(haltingand ambivalent)
government's
It is unclear,then,how a linkagebetweentheJewishholocaustand the
It is Israeliand Zionist
Nakbacan be made exceptrhetorically.
Palestinian
and
and manyPalestinians
who makethelinkrhetorically,
propagandists
community
Arabsacceptthelinkat facevalueand blametheinternatiornal
to payforEuropeancrimesagainsttheJews.But
forforcing
thePalestinians
is
this
not
what
happened.The Europeanpowers,liketheZionists,
clearly
all othernonwhite
thesamewaytheytreated
thePalestinians
simplytreated
desiresandneedsdidnotcountfortheWest,andthese
peoples.Palestinian
didnotconstitute
Western
andSovietsupdesiresandneedscertainly
rights.
of Israelwas an issue of neocolonialstrategies
portfortheestablishment
nativesdid not figure
and/orcold war alliancesin whichthe Palestinian
much.
Whilesupportforthepartition
planwas notbasedon guiltabouttheholfor
in Palestinein manycases was. The
ocaust,support refugeesettlement
resoreportissuedon 11November1947(eighteendaysbeforethepartition
64
OF
JOURNAL
PALESTINE
STUDIES
lutionwas passed)byone ofthetwosubcommittees

setup bytheUN GeneralAssembly
to studytheUNSCOPproposalsassertedthatthe
questionofthereliefofJewishrefugees
and displacedpersonsis notstrictly
relevant
tothePalestine
problem,
butthe
Sub-Committee
has founditdesirableto referto itin view
of the misconceptions
which are entertained
in certain
quarters
aboutthismatter,
andalso inviewofthefactthatit
has unnecessarily
complicated
thePalestineissueand renderedmoredifficult
thereachingof a justand satisfactory
settlement....The recommendations
ofthemajority
ofthe
SpecialCommittee
envisagetheadmissionintothecountry
of 150,000
In thecourseofthegeneraldeJewishrefugees.
bate in theAd Hoc Committee,
certaindelegationsbased
on thepersecutheirsupportforthoserecommendations
tionwhichtheJewshad undergonein Europeand on the
presenceofEuropeandisplacedpersonscentersof a large
numberofJews.77
The reportemphasized"thata programme
ofinternational
actionforthe
of
reliefofJewishdisplacedpersonsis 'a vitalprerequisite
to thesettlement
in Palestine."'78
thedifficult
conditions
Itwenton to insistthatthe"specific
reproblemofJewishrefugeesand displacedpersonsis an international
sponsibility,
Palestinecannotprovidethesolutionforit."79
The reportenumeratedthepolitical,legal,and economicgroundson whichit based its
conclusion:"Themainpolitical
intoPalesgroundis thatJewishimmigration
of thepopulation.Therecan be no
tineis opposed by thelargemajority
forrecommending
intoanycountry
justification
anyimmigration
againstthe
ofitsinhabitants."80
TheArabcountries,
understandwishesofthemajority
in Palestinewould increasethe
ing thatthearrivalof holocaustsurvivors
a UN resolution
Zionists'numbersand manpower,
introduced
callingfor
All
that
in
the
countries
to take theholocaustrefugees.
Westerncountries
votedagainstor abstainedon the
supportedthepartition
plan resolution
refugeeresolution.81
is to be made linkingtheJewish
Ifa directand nonrhetorical
argument
holocaustand thedispossession
ofthePalestinians,
itwould centeron the
extenttowhichthe22,000soldierswhowereholocaustsurvivors-one-third
oftheZionistarmy-werecentralto thetriumph
oftheYishuvin 1948.To
myknowledge,thereis no logistical
studyof theIsraeliarmyand itsperin 1948thathas arguedthispoint.Ifanything,
formance
thelackoftraining
ofmanyamongthemmighthavebeen a hindrance
to thewareffort.
Given
thegeneralweaknessof theArabarmies,itis likelythatevenwithoutthe
holocaust-survivors-turned-colonial-soldiers,
theHaganahwould stillhave
won thewar,albeitwithless conquestofland.
65
PALESThNANSAND JEWISH HISTORY
that"we mustaccepttheJewish
Said concludeshis articleby asserting
and fear,butwe mustrequirethat
experiencein all thatitentailsofhorror
planeofhistororperhapsanother
ourexperience
be givenno lessattention
tostressthat"ata timewhenPalestinian
icalactuality."
Indeed,Saidis careful
whenourdaily
landis stillbeingtaken,whenourhousesare demolished,
and captivity
imposedon us by
existenceis stillsubjectto thehumiliations
I
inEuropeandespeciallyintheUnitedStates,
Israelanditsmanysupporters
knowthatto speakofpriorJewishagonieswillseemlikea kindofimpertito navigatetheideological
nence."Said'scall is a carefulone thatattempts
on linkingtheJewishholocaustwith
watersbetweenZionism'sinsistence
oftheJewishstateandPalestinian
andArabpopularinsistheestablishment
oftheholocaust
tenceon rejecting
thatcoupling,ifnotrejecting
thereality
to stress,
however,is thatitis Israel'spackage
altogether.
Whatis important
deal of linkingtheholocaustwithZionism'scolonialclaimsthatproduces
who denyor questiontheJewishholothedenial.Arabsand Palestinians
caustdo so because theyhave boughtintoIsrael'spackagedeal, which
Israel,
leavesthemwithone optionforopposingIsraelicolonialism-denial.
of course,rejectsthisposition,butitalso rejectstheinsistent
refusalof its
and Arabintellectuals.
linkageby thePLO and manyPalestinian
The onlypositionIsraeland Zionismacceptis themorerecentArafatist
ofJewishand
position,
thatofacceptingZionism'slinkageand itsrewriting
withJewishhistory,
The attempt
to engagePalestinians
Palestinian
histories.
to deflectPalestinian
includingthehistory
of theholocaust,is an attempt
fromtheJewishandIsraelipresent
tojustify
this
andan attempt
engagement
people.The
thatis characterized
bytheoppression
ofthePalestinian
present
withfewJewish
holocausttragedy
has been abductedby Israelistrategists,
has
As Palestinian
recenthistory
forIsrael'sideologicalacrobatics.
protests,
to
engagement
withtheholocaustwillbe satisfactory
shown,no Palestinian
recognizetheholIsraelidemandsthatPalestinians
Israelanditssupporters.
abouttheotherpartof
ocaustare notabouttheholocaustat all,butrather
to exist"as
toIsrael's"right
andsubmitting
thepackage,namelyrecognizing
has givenup,butthe
a colonial-settler
raciststate.The Palestinian
Authority
Palestinian
people shouldcontinueto resistthisZionistpackagedeal.Their
one
is theonlyremaining
obstacleto a completeZionistvictory,
resistance
ofbothPalestinian
and Jewish
thatseekstobe sealedbyZionism's
rewriting
histories.
NoTEs
1. Quotedin Tom Segev,TheSeventh
Million:TheIsraelisand theHolocaust,
trans.HaimWatzman(New York:Hill
and Wang,1993),p. 98.
2. Quotedin ibid.,330-31.
3. Citedby Dina Porat,"Ben-Gurion
and theHolocaust,"in David Ben-Gurion:Politicsand Leadershipin Israel,
ed. RonaldW. Zweig (London:Frank

Cass, 1991),p. 151.
4. Segev,TheSeventhMillion,p. 369.
5. See, forexample,WalidKhalidi,
BeforeTheirDiaspora: A Photographic
HistoryofthePalestinians,1876-1948,
Institute
forPalestineStud(Washington:
ies, 1984),pp. 305-6.
66
JOURNAL OF PAu3STmNESTUDIES
6. TheodorHerzl,Old New Land,

trans.LottaLevensohn(Princeton:
Markus
WienerPublishers,
1997),p. 122.
7. Ibid.,124.
8. Ibid.,123.
10. HaOlam Hazeh, 22 June1950,
citedby Tom Segev,1949: TheFirstIsraelis (New York:FreePress,1986),p. 63.
11. HannahTorok-Yablonka,
"TheRecruitment
of HolocaustSurvivors
During
theWarof Independence,"
Studiesin Zionism 13,no. 1 (1992),p. 53.
12. Citedin Torok-Yablonka,
"TheRecruitment,"
p. 50.
13. Ibid.
14. Reutersreport,13January
2000.
16. On al-Sumayriyya,
see Walid
Khalidi,All ThatRemains:ThePalestinian VillagesOccupiedand Depopulated
byIsrael in 1948 (Washington:
Institute
forPalestineStudies,1992),pp. 30-31.
17. Segev, 7heSeventhMillion,p. 451.
18. Ibid.,161-62.
19. Isaac Deutscher,"Israel'sSpiritual
in TheNon-Jewish
Climate,"
Jewand
OtherEssays,ed. TamaraDeutscher(New
York.Hilland Wang,1968),p. 116.
20. On Deutscher'sZionism,see Joseph Massad,"The'Post-Colonial'
Colony:
Time,Space, and Bodies in Palestine/
Israel,"in ThePre-Occupation
ofPost-Coand
lonial Studies,ed. FawziaAfzal-Khan
KalpanaSeshadri-Crooks
(Durham:Duke
University
Press,2000).
21. See PhilipMattar,
TheMuftiofJerusalem:Al-HajjAminAl-Husayniand
thePalestinianNationalMovement
(New York ColumbiaUniversity
Press,
1988),pp. 105-7.
22. PeterNovick,TheHolocaustin
AmericanLife(New York:HoughtonMifflin,1999),p. 158.
23. IsraelGutman,
ed.,Encyclopedia
oftheHolocaust,vol. 2 (New York:Macmillan,1990),p. 706.
25. CitedbyJoelBeinin,TheDispersion ofEgyptianJewry:Culture,Politics
and theFormationofa ModernDiasof California
pora (Berkeley:University
Press,1998),p. 107.
26. Ibid.,91.
27. See Segev, TheSeventhMillion,
p. 297.
28. New YorkTimes,29 November

1967,citedby Beinin,TheDispersion,p.
107.
30. Citedby Novick,TheHolocaustin
AmericanLife,p. 150.
31. "BetweenHitlerand Nasir,"
Ha'Aretz,5 June1967,citedby Segev,
TheSeventhMillion,p. 391.
32. Ma'ariv,24 March1972,citedin
David Hirst,TheGun and theOlive
Branch:TheRootsof Violencein the
MiddleEast (London:Faberand Faber,
1984),pp. 210-11.
33. Elie Wiesel,"OminousSignsand
UnspeakableThoughts,"
New YorkTimes,
28 December1974.
35. Citedby Novick,TheHolocaustin
AmericanLife,p. 161.
36. Citedin BennyMorris,TheBirth
ofthePalestinianRefugeeProblem,
1947-1949 (New York:CambridgeUniversity
Press,1987),pp. 232-33.
"KfarKasimat
37. RabbiBenyamin,
theGatesof theKnesset,"Ner,November-December1956,p. 19,citedby
Segev,TheSeventhMillion,p. 300.
38. Communiqueno. 12,UnifiedNaal-IntionalLeadershipoftheUprising,
tifadaminKhilalBayanat al-QiyadaalWataniyyaal-Muwahhada(Tunis:Majallatal-Hurriyya,
1989).
40. YasirArafat,
speech to theUnited
New York,13
NationsGeneralAssembly,
November1974,reproducedin InternationalDocumentson Palestine1974, ed.
forPalJorgenS. Nielsen(Beirut:Institute
estineStudies,1977),p. 140.
41. Ibid.
42. Ibid.,140.
43. Ibid.,143.
44. Ibid.,144.
45. "PLO Plansto HonorJewsWho
FoughtNazis in Warsaw,"New York
Times,13 April1983.
46. Ibid.See also "Planof PLO to
HonorJewsin WarsawGhettoStirring
New YorkTimes,15 April1983.
Protests,"
"Few
47. QuotedinJohnKifner,
Flowersat theGhetto,"
New YorkTimes,
17 April1983.
48. Ibid.
49. "WalesaDetainedfora Third
Time,"New YorkTimes,20 April1983.
50. Ibid.
PAuEsTINxs
67
AND JEWISH HIsToRy
51. See E. J.DionneJr.,"PLOPicksIsraeliJewto ReplaceSlainAide,"New

YorkTimes,13 April1983.
52. QuotedinJeff
Jacoby,"TheEnNobelingofArafat,'
BostonGlobe,20 October1994,p. 19. I shouldnoteherethat
theattackin Ma'alotwas committed
by
fromNayifHawatimah'sPopuguerrillas
larDemocraticFront,overwhose actions
Arafat
had littlepower.
53. Quoted in BatshevaTsur,"Walesa
Plansto InviteArafat
to Auschwitz,"
Jerusalem Post,3 November1994.
54. Ibid.
55. ReportedinJulianBorger,"Arafat
'Sureto be Asked'to Auschwitz,"
Guardian, London,5 November1994.
56. JerusalemPost,6 November1994.
57. "Beilin:Arafat
ShouldBe Invitedto
Auschwitz,"
JerusalemPost,17 November
1994.
58. See Segev,TheSeventhMillion,
pp. 237-38.
59. Ibid.
60. Washington
Post,17January
1998.
61. Washington
Post,20 January
1998.
62. Quoted in ElliWohlgelernter,
to See 'theEnemy'as Victims,"
"Learning
JertsalemPost,23 January
1998.
63. Washington
Post,23 January
1998.
64. Washington
Post,19 February
1998.
to See,"
65. Wohlgelernter,
"Learning
JerusalemPost,23 January
1998.
66. See ReginaSharif,
ed., The United
NationsResolutionsand theArab-Israeli
VolumeTwo,1975-1981
Conflict,
forPalestineStudInstitute
(Washington:
ies, 1988),p. 7, andJodyBoudreault,
ed.,
7he UnitedNationsResolutionsand the
Arab-IsraeliConflict,
VolumeFour,
Institute
forPal1987-1991 (Washington:
estineStudies,1993),p. 194.
67. Citedby Segev,TheSeventhMillion, p. 398.
68. Ibid.
69. al-Musawwar,18 September1953,
citedin David Hirstand IreneBeeson,
Sadat (London:Faberand Faber,1981),

p. 88.
70. On Zionistcollaboration
withthe
Nazis,see LenniBrenner'sclassic,Zionismin theAge oftheDictators:A Reappraisal (Westport:
LawrenceHilland Co.,
1983),and Segev's TheSeventhMillion.
On Revisionist
Zionism'scollaboration
withtheNazis,includingan offerby the
SternGangto setup a Jewishstatein alliance withtheThirdReichas lateas 1941,
see LenniBrenner,TheIron Wall:Zionist
Revisionism
fromJabotinsky
to Shamir
(London:Zed Press,1984),pp. 194-97.
71. EdwardSaid,"Ususlil Ta'ayush,"
in al-Hayat,5 November1997.For a critiqueof Said's articleby theeminent
Jabira]Bahrainiintellectual
Muhammad
Ansari,see "Muraja'a Am ... Taraju'," alHayat, 11 November1997.For a rebuttal
ofAnsari,see JosephMassad,"Tashwih
Maqsudaw Su' Fahmn
li-Afkar
Edward
Said:Rad 'ala Muhammad
Jabiral-Ansari,"
al-Hayat,22 November1997.
72. Novick,TheHolocaustin Anzerican Life,p. 71.
73. EvyatarFriesel,"The Holocaust
and theBirthof Israel,"WienerLibrary
Bulletin32, nos. 49-50 (1979),p. 55.
74. Ibid.
75. Ibid.
76. Novick,TheHolocaustin American Life,p. 72.
77. Paragraph36 of thereport.For the
fulltextofthereport,see Khalidi,From
Haven to Conquest,pp. 645-99.
78. Ibid.,paragraph40.
see
81. Forthedraftoftheresolution,
WhalidKhalidi,ed.,FromHaven to Conquest:Readingsin Zionismand thePalestineProblemUntil1948, (1971;
Institute
forPalesReprint:
Washington,
tineStudies,1987),pp. 692-93.On the
voteson thetwo resolutions,
see Regina
Sharif,
Zionism:ItsRootsin
Non-Jewish
Western
History(London:Zed Press,
1983),p. 126.

Palestinians and Jewish History: Recognition or Submission?

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Palestinians and Jewish History: Recognition or Submission?

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Palestinians and Jewish History: Recognition or Submission?

Author(s): Joseph Massad

havebecomeone. Zionismwas notseen as a

Journalof PalestineStudiesXXX,no. 1 (Autumn2000),pp. 52-67.

PALESUNIANS ANDJEWISH HISTORY

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JOURNAL OF PALESTINE STUDIES

low.... Andthisman,at least,for25 years,has been the

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which the Jewish tragedy is seen to have led directly

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28. New YorkTimes,29 November

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51. See E. J.DionneJr.,"PLOPicksIsraeliJewto ReplaceSlainAide,"New

Sadat (London:Faberand Faber,1981),

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