I have no doubt that Ben-Gurion wanted only peace and the land that the Jews were entitled to (as poor as it was). In the early days, Ben-Gurion felt it was possible to get along with the Arabs. It did not take him long to see that his aspirations would not happen. I remember as a child in the US that Ben-Gurion seemed to be a brave warrior, not a war monger. He also knew how to be a statesman, a diplomat, when the situation called for it. His leadership, I believe, was a huge part of the reason diaspora Jews so strongly support Israel.
It always surprise's me that people think of Israel as the "new kid on the block".
They assume that the Arab "nation's have been around since the dinosaurs and yet this is so far from the truth.
After the break up of the Ottoman Empire the middle east and north Africa was split between Britain and France and except for Egypt, Iraq and Saudi Arabia none of the so called Arab countries existed. They were all byproducts of the descent of empire's. Even Saudi Arabia was only a mostly band of Bedouin clan's until aft WWII.
Here are the dates that the modern arab nations became nation states after being granted independence from France and Britain after the end of WWI and the fall of the ottoman empire which ruled those lands for around 500 years!
With astonished gratitude to wiki for supplying the dates.
Israel May 14 1948
Syria April 17 1946
Lebanon November 22 1943 French troops completed withdrawal Aug 31 1946
Jordan May 25 1946
Iraq Oct 3 1932
Saudi Arabia Sept 23 1932
Kuwait June 19 1961
Bahrain Aug 15 1971
Qatar Sept 3 1971
UAE Dec 2 1971
Dubai Dec 2 1971
Oman/Musqat 1951
Yemen 1967 Britain still had troops in Aden when I joined the air force in 1971!
Egypt Feb 28 1922
Libya Dec 24 1951
As you can see eight out of fourteen of the so called arab nations are not as old as Israel.
The majority of them were either emirates or run by local Sultans under the auspices of the Turkish Ottoman empire.
Libya was Italian and the people are north African.
In reality Egyptians are not arabs, they are Egyptians.
Iraqis are not arabs they are Persian
Lebanese are a mixture of ethnicity but they are certainly not arabs.
Arabs come from Arabia _ a distinct and different ethnicity and culture. Yes they have intermingled and mixed with the various other cultures but like the Libyans, Iraqis and Egyptians they are a distinctly different race.
I am thoroughly sick and tired of these hateful word games, and the people who play them.
I have no doubt that Ben-Gurion wanted only peace and the land that the Jews were entitled to (as poor as it was). In the early days, Ben-Gurion felt it was possible to get along with the Arabs. It did not take him long to see that his aspirations would not happen. I remember as a child in the US that Ben-Gurion seemed to be a brave warrior, not a war monger. He also knew how to be a statesman, a diplomat, when the situation called for it. His leadership, I believe, was a huge part of the reason diaspora Jews so strongly support Israel.
It always surprise's me that people think of Israel as the "new kid on the block".
They assume that the Arab "nation's have been around since the dinosaurs and yet this is so far from the truth.
After the break up of the Ottoman Empire the middle east and north Africa was split between Britain and France and except for Egypt, Iraq and Saudi Arabia none of the so called Arab countries existed. They were all byproducts of the descent of empire's. Even Saudi Arabia was only a mostly band of Bedouin clan's until aft WWII.
Here are the dates that the modern arab nations became nation states after being granted independence from France and Britain after the end of WWI and the fall of the ottoman empire which ruled those lands for around 500 years!
With astonished gratitude to wiki for supplying the dates.
Israel May 14 1948
Syria April 17 1946
Lebanon November 22 1943 French troops completed withdrawal Aug 31 1946
Jordan May 25 1946
Iraq Oct 3 1932
Saudi Arabia Sept 23 1932
Kuwait June 19 1961
Bahrain Aug 15 1971
Qatar Sept 3 1971
UAE Dec 2 1971
Dubai Dec 2 1971
Oman/Musqat 1951
Yemen 1967 Britain still had troops in Aden when I joined the air force in 1971!
Egypt Feb 28 1922
Libya Dec 24 1951
As you can see eight out of fourteen of the so called arab nations are not as old as Israel.
The majority of them were either emirates or run by local Sultans under the auspices of the Turkish Ottoman empire.
Libya was Italian and the people are north African.
In reality Egyptians are not arabs, they are Egyptians.
Iraqis are not arabs they are Persian
Lebanese are a mixture of ethnicity but they are certainly not arabs.
Arabs come from Arabia _ a distinct and different ethnicity and culture. Yes they have intermingled and mixed with the various other cultures but like the Libyans, Iraqis and Egyptians they are a distinctly different race.