Letter: Israel is the Jewish homeland

The article about the film ‘It’s Better to Jump’“ (Jan. 4) undoubtedly distorts historical fact. The piece discussed the “plight of Palestinian citizens, millions of whom have become refugees in the wake of a 1948 order from the United Kingdom that granted their homeland be given over to create the nation of Israel.”

In reality, on Nov. 29, 1947, the United Nations adopted Resolution 181 proposing two countries side-by-side: one for Jews and the other for Arabs. While the Jews accepted this resolution, the Arabs rejected it and attacked the Jewish state intending to destroy it.

What followed is the cause of the refugee problem. In 1948, 750,000 Arabs were evacuated from Israel primarily by invading Arabs. At the same time, an equal number of Jews were expelled from Arab countries. Israel embraced these Jews and they became part of their nation. In contrast, 65 years later most of the evacuated Arabs are still living in refugee camps and are intentionally kept in this despicable condition so that they can be used in anti-Israel propaganda.

The article also insinuates that Israel usurped an Arab homeland to create their own. In reality, Israel has been the homeland of the Jewish people for millennia. Ever since Joshua crossed the Jordan some 3,250 years ago — more than 1,800 years before Islam — there has been a continuous presence of Jewish people in the land of Israel. The notion that the Jews took away someone else’s homeland is patently false. The land of Israel always was and always will be the epicenter, heart and home of the Jewish people.

Rabbi Simcha Backman
Glendale

Editor’s Note: Backman is a rabbi at the Chabad Jewish Center.