The Pankian Metaphor 3170

Good summary. You might have added that many Palestinian Arabs also moved north to Lebanon.

The Arab members of my extended family were among these. (No, I am not Arab - we are families linked by marriage). They were fortunate in that they were able to get Lebanese citizenship fairly quickly, having strong family connections there, and could then begin to rebuild their lives. Initially they were dependent on UN food aid, and even made Clothes Line out of the sacks the food came in. Eventually they did well, in some cases very well.

One thing that some here might not realise is that a substantial fraction (about 25%) of Palestinian Arabs, including those I know, were Christians (In Lebanon it's higher - 40%). The expulsion-land grab had nothing to to with Islam. The Zionists didn't care about that - all that mattered to them was that they were not Jews.

AIUI, the Israeli regime has an ongoing offer to compensate Arabs who can prove that they were dispossessed, but the strings attached are that they must for ever forego the right of return to their homeland. Understandably, few have accepted.

--brian

-- Wellington, New Zealand

"What's life? Life's easy. A quirk of matter. Nature's way of keeping meat fresh."