Talal Abu-Ghazaleh Launches an International Initiative to Secure the Return of the Jewish Refugees to their Homelands

18 May 2010

By Esmat Al-Musawi

Mr. Talal Abu-Ghazaleh intends to launch an intellectual movement that aims at returning Jewish refugees currently residing in Palestine to their homelands, in implementation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and all international conventions and treaties which emphasize the refugees' right of return no matter how long it takes.

"Just as the Palestinians demand to return to their homeland Palestine, the Jews also have the right to return to their homelands, and we, the Palestinians and Arabs, should encourage and support such right. All of us know that each Jew immigrated to Palestine in 1948 was a refugee enjoying his original nationality and obtained later a nationality from the Occupation Authority," Abu-Ghazaleh said.

Mr. Abu-Ghazaleh points out that this pattern to establish a state is the sole and unique pattern in the world. Usually, people elect a government, establish an army and lay down other elements and foundations of a state. However, the Zionist occupation authority did not find people but rather started with the immigration of the Haganah gang to the land of Palestine then all Jewish armed movements were gathered. Thereafter, the Occupation Authority called on the Jewish citizens from all over the world to come to Palestine and establish a state. This different pattern that is in contrary to the establishment of a state requires from all free people in all over the world to help the Jewish refugees to return to their homelands, as they were forced to immigrate due to the oppression, torture and apartheid they suffered in Europe. He added, "It may seem that these Jewish groups left their homeland voluntarily, but in fact they were forced to leave their homelands after suffering all types of psychological, economic and social pressure not only in Europe, but also in America. We may recall the well-known signs in restaurants that read "No Dogs or Jews Allowed," Mr. Abu- Ghazaleh added.

Mr. Abu-Ghazaleh emphasizes that the Zionist existence in Palestine is, without any doubt, a result of a programmed and deliberate process by a society which suffered the harshest treatment and was forced to run and escape. This historical mistake should be corrected and their return to their homelands with dignity and respect should be facilitated. The international community should organize a global campaign similar to the campaign launched by the Jewish Agency sixty years ago to help the Jews immigrate to Palestine. It is worth mentioning here that the role of the Jewish Agency was not limited to the national mission but was a rescue process in the first place, and as evidence it is enough to recall the ships which carried them during the immigration waves while poverty, deprivation and hunger appear on their faces and bodies.

Mr. Abu-Ghazaleh indicates that the main objective of the new organization is not only to confirm the right of Jews to return to their homeland, but to reveal the fabricated right of return which was once used to practice pressure on the Jews to force them leave their homelands, the land of their grandfathers and ancestors. It is known that the Zionist Entity has no constitution, it rather has a law called the Law of Return for each person of Jewish origin. This Law is invented and fabricated, and the right law against it is the right of the Jews to return to their homelands, exactly like the right of the Palestinians to return to their homeland.

The second objective is to spread awareness about the Jewish existence in Palestine, which is a political asylum that will end by the return of the refugees to their homelands in a process that should be easy and civilized. As it is known, each of them has two passports; the passport of his homeland, and the fabricated passport as a refugee in Palestine. Of course, there will be no problem in identifying the homeland of each of them. We can see the similarity with the Palestinian status. We know the homeland of each Palestinian refugee, and his return is definite. Therefore, there will be no problem in determining the place of his return.

From this media podium, I realize that- in case this initiative is realized- the international community will need to be persuaded, that there is a necessity to establish a national or international fund to finance the return of the Jewish refugees by providing their travel expenses and costs and their settlement upon their return to their homelands.

Mr. Abu-Ghazaleh explains that all the attempts made to put an end to the Zionist Occupation of Palestine failed because they neglected the fact that this occupation is a political asylum and they unsuccessfully tried to show it as a state, but whoever tries to put an end to the occupation finds out that this is impossible because- as I earlier indicated- it neglects the fact that it is an asylum, while the solution is simple, i.e. returning the refugees to their homelands.

Therefore, I call on Arab thinkers and research centers to discuss this initiative. Since 1948 till this date, we are in a vicious circle neglecting this fact which the Jews themselves recognize. They always worry about their situation, and they only see themselves as immigrating group without any legal, historical or logical arguments in Palestine, so they claim the divine right.

Back to the origin of the subject and its radical solution, I say and iterate: peace talks under different names will not succeed. We can see the continuous failure, year after year and round after round. Going ahead with these talks will lead to the same failed results. However, the continuation of the Palestinian cause constitutes a time bomb that could explode at any time. It is a global turmoil and instability. You just imagine if this area transforms into Afghanistan or Pakistan. It is a danger that the world started realizing its potentiality if the equivocation continues. Leaving the Middle East cause without a solution threatens their bases and troops in the area, as recently indicated by the US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in AIPAC Conference.

Mr. Abu-Ghazaleh indicates three influential factors impacting the progress of this cause. The first factor is a demographic one that is related to the number of Arab residents which exceeds and will exceed the number of residents in Israel within the few coming years. The second factor is ideological and related to the fact that the Islamic belief embraced by the Palestinian people cannot be defeated. The third factor, which is the most important, is the technological developments in the world and the change of victory and defeat formulas. It is no longer possible that a state can achieve victory with equipments only, because a battle is not resolved by aircrafts and heavy weapons only. Rather, missiles and light weapons have a significant role and can be acquired by any state from several sources. Israel previously managed to win victory by sea, air and land. However, it stood powerless against the fighters who carried their souls in their hands and were ready for death at any moment for their cause. This type of resistance is a source of disquiet and anxiety for them as they cannot face and overcome.

Mr. Abu-Ghazaleh concludes by saying: the world will sooner or later come to end this situation by returning things to normal, i.e. people returning to their homeland, the Jewish to their homeland and the Palestinian people to Palestine.

*This interview is a translation from the original Arabic article which was published in Bahrain's AlAyam newspaper on Thursday 13 May 2010.

Tuesday, 18 May 2010

Journal of Turkish Weekly

http://www.turkishweekly.net/news/102165/talal-abu-ghazaleh-launches-an-international-initiative-to-secure-the-return-of-the-jewish-refugees-to-their-homelands.html