DID the wandering come back to the children of Israel? Why Palestine? Why should the Jews specifically be in it?
This question was asked by Napoleon Bonaparte, and he also answered it, since the start of his campaign against Egypt at the beginning of the 19th century. At that time, most of Europe was suffering from their practices.
Therefore, Napoleon decided to kill two birds with one stone, which was to separate Egypt from Syria by establishing a demographic barrier of one color, and getting rid of the Jews of Europe.
That is why he issued his call to the Jews of the world to return to Palestine, because his idea was based on the so-called “national states”, which was rejected by the Jews of Europe.
At that time, most of the continent’s capitals had agreed to get rid of the Jews, especially after years of conflict between them and the Europeans.
That is why the comedian Palmerston, who later became the British Prime Minister, came up with the idea of sending Jews to another country. Among the suggestions were Argentina, Uganda, and one of the Russian regions.
However, the plan changed after the elimination of the Ottoman Empire. The British leaders remembered Napoleon’s call and made Palestine a national homeland for the Jews. The Balfour Declaration resulted from those ideas. What is strange is that Balfour himself was one of the greatest opponents of the Jews. The Foreigners Law was issued in 1905, and one of its articles stipulated that “Jews are forbidden from entering Britain”.
In 1917, he got the opportunity to implement this law. At the same time, London would gain the sympathy of the Jews, separate Egypt and the Levant through that state, maintain its control over the strategic roads with India, and ensure that entity would be an advanced British and Western colonial base.
At that time, these countries were working with all their might to achieve their goal. There were no contradictory opinions, movements or parties that opposed this. No official was accused of treason, in contrast to what has been happening in the Arab world since the issue arose in the early 20th century.
That is why the Jewish state received all European and Western support, because it was an ideal solution to a problem that had troubled Europe for centuries.
The Arabs back then, like the ones today, did not agree on an issue, and therefore, dreams tickled their leaders. That is why they lost the war in 1948. Each of them wanted to invest in the cause for their own personal interests, like Jamal Abdul Nasser, who later raised the slogan “Liberating Palestine” with the intention of mass mobilization against the monarchy. That is why, four years after the so-called “Palestine Nakba”, he turned against King Farouk. From that day, coups and military revolutions became an Arab fashion.
The Arabs fought four wars with Israel and lost three of them. The “October War” had its different calculations that led to putting the first nail in the coffin of Israel’s future. Despite that, Sadat faced betrayal and rejection, and this nation did not benefit from that historical opportunity.
Today, after 75 years, nothing has changed in the Arab scene. The Palestinians have been dispersed around the world and divided in their decisions. In fact, they have become a good investment for the regimes.
The issue has also become a source of profit for the leaders of the fighting factions. Every time they enter a battle, these leaders turn it into a party of betrayal to the rest of the Arabs, while they roam the world and hoard money and wealth.
Therefore, within the given facts of the Palestinian and Arab reality, this issue will not be resolved as long as there are 20 mouthpieces, each shouting slogans that are far from the truth.
This will not happen as long as there are those who blow up, those who condemn, and those who denounce.
This will not happen as long as there is a Palestinian working to achieve Israel’s goals. This is why we are not surprised if the world closes its eyes to the massacre that the people of Gaza are experiencing.
The Palestinian organizations did not agree on a unified position, and the Arabs are divided, each singing their own music, despite all that. Given that Allah’s command will come to pass, will the wandering come back to the children of Israel?
By Ahmed Al-Jarallah
Editor-in-Chief, the Arab Times
