Peter LarsonChairNational Education Committee on Israel/PalestineNational Council on Canada-Arab Relations (NCCAR)

Who are the Palestinians?Who are the Palestinians?Why are they frustrated?Why are they frustrated?And what do they want, anyway?And what do they want, anyway?

The spread of Judaism

Who are the Palestinians?Who are the Palestinians?Why are they so unhappy?Why are they so unhappy?

……and what do they want??? and what do they want??? anyway?anyway?

Peter LarsonChairNational Education Committee on Israel/Palestine

OutlineOutline

Background – why should we care?Background – why should we care? History – where was Palestine?History – where was Palestine? Demography – who were the Palestinians? How Demography – who were the Palestinians? How

many are there today?many are there today? Geography - Where do they live today?Geography - Where do they live today? Issues - What are their problems?Issues - What are their problems? Politics – What do they want?Politics – What do they want? ConclusionsConclusions

Why should we care?

Geography – where is (or was) Palestine?

Roman empire circa 50 a.d.

Map Room, Doges Palace, Venice. Map circa 1700 – the eastern end of the Mediterranean is marked “Palestine”

Under the Ottomans - Palestine is an area

States and borders created by imperial powers after WWI

Encyclopedia Britannica, 1935

Palestinian currency, 1930

In the famous movie “Exodus”, Paul Newman is leading a group of Jewish refugees to “Palestine”. It is set in 1947.

Where is Palestine today?..

In 1948, after 2000 years, Palestine is no longer on the map

Who were the Palestinians?- Social structure

Up to 1948, the area was mostly feudal/agrarian• Olives, oranges, sheep, goats• Lots of small villages, absentee landlords• 20% lived in a dozen cities (Jerusalem, Jaffa, Haifa, Nablus…) with educated urban population

Palestinian orange harvest, Jaffa, 1920

Who were the Palestinians?- religion

• Population of Palestine (1914)*

• 657,000 Muslim • 81,000 Christian• 59,000 Jews_____________TOTAL 800,000 million

* est. J. McCarthy

Population 1931•760,000 Muslim•91,000 Christian•174,610 Jews____________•1,026,000* British Census, 1931

Demography – Who are the Palestinians? (ethnicity)

When Israel was created, where did the Palestinians go?

The Nakba (Nov 1947 – August 1948)

• 750,000 Palestinians fled for safety• not allowed to return• all their land was confiscated by Israel (without compensation) and held “for the

Jewish people” • They call this “the Naqba” (the disaster”)

Where are the Palestinians today?

1. West Bank* 2.4 M2. Gaza* 1.6 M3. Refugees in Lebanon, Jordan, Syria 3.5 M4. Israel 1.4 M5. Diaspora 2. M

Total 10.9M

* - More than one million of the people now living in the WB and Gaza are refugees from what is now Israel.

Where are the Palestinians today?

1. West Bank* 2.4 M2. Gaza* 1.6 M3. Refugees in Lebanon, Jordan, Syria 3.5 M4. Israel 1.4 M5. Diaspora 2. M

Total 10.9M

* - More than one million of the people now living in the WB and Gaza are refugees from what is now Israel.

What are their problems?

•Depends on where they live

• West Bank• Gaza• Refugee camps• Israel• Diaspora

West Bank (2.4 million)

• Under Israeli military occupation since 1967• human rights very restricted (Checkpoints, passes, etc.)• Ever shrinking territory (e.g. Jordan Valley)• New Jewish settlements• Israeli control and distribution of water• Jews under different laws

Map: The Economist

This is one of the Jewish settlement s in East Jerusalem

Gaza1.6 million

• 2/3 are refugees from 1948• Gaza taken over by Israel in 1967• Israel withdrew in 2004 but still blockaded by land, sea and air• economy blocked• Elected Hamas government in 2006, but west refused to recognize• stuck on 360 km2, (15% of Ottawa territory)

Refugees 4.7 million

• 58 camps in Syria, Lebanon, Jordan• (some in Gaza and WB)• some not in camps• condition varies from country to country

UNRWA definition: “anyone whose normal place of residence was Palestine during the period 1 June 1946 to 15 May 1948 and who lost both home and means of livelihood as a result of the 1948 conflict."

Israel 1.4 million

• those who stayed in Israel in 1948

• citizens of Israel( “Israeli Arabs”) with some civil rights (e.g. right to vote)

• own only 3.5% of land

• live in dozens of small (poor) Arab towns

• Face severe discrimination and poverty

93% of Israel is now

“State land”

Bedouin still struggling to keep

their land

Diaspora 2 million??

• many moved to Middle East, America and Europe

• about 50,000 in Canada

• many have never been to Palestine

• main centers in Canada: Toronto, London, Montreal, Vancouver

What do they want?

Palestinians want their country back and a recognition that what was done to them was unfair.

Which way forward?

•a two state solution – two equal states with secure borders

•a one state solution – a democratic secular state with equal rights for all

What no representative Palestinian body asks for!!:Kill the Jews, get rid of them, throw them into the sea, send them back to Europe, etc. etc.

How have they tried to fight for their rights?

•UN resolution 194 (Dec. 1948) – right of return

•Gamal Nasser

•PLO- Armed struggle

•Passive resistance

•Terrorism

•Negotiations

•Legal tools

•Appeal to UN (2012)

•BDS

Conclusion: Who are the Palestinians, why are they unhappy and what do they want?

• The Palestinians are an Arab people who have lived in an area called Palestine for the last 2000 years.

• They are unhappy because they were chased off their land in 1948 and don’t have the right to return. While some remain in Israel, most are now dispersed in Gaza, in the West Bank, and in many other countires.

• They want the same thing as most of us – a country, land, a house, economic opportunity for themselves and their kids.

• For the last 64 years they have tried every possible method – from direct negociations, to UN votes and even individual acts of terrorism. But so far, they have not been successful.

What are the main human rights issues Canadians should be concerned with?

1 Freedom for Palestinians living under Israeli occupation.

2 Equality for Palestinians living inside the Jewish State of Israel

3 A fair solution for the refugees (repatriation, or resettlement and compensation)

4 Protecting the human rights of Jews living in Israel today

What can we do?

What can we do?

• Recognize this large, long-standing, man-made humanitarian crisis

What can we do?

• Recognize this large, long-standing, man-made humanitarian crisis

• Dare to break the “taboo”

What can we do?

• Recognize this large, unresolved, man-made humanitarian crisis

• Dare to break the “taboo”• Learn more • Encourage our government (and opposition

parties) to promote a fair solution based on Canadian values of human rights for all

Who are the Palestinians?Who are the Palestinians?Why are they so angry?Why are they so angry? …and what do they want, anyway??…and what do they want, anyway??

Thank You!Peter LarsonChairNational Education Committee on Israel/Palestinepeter.larson@nccar.ca

7 Frequently asked questions

1.Why don’t the Arab countries do more?2.Why don’t the Palestinians just ‘suck it up?”3.Isn’t Israel a democracy? (At least its better than its neighbours, isn’t it??)4.Why do you focus on Israel when there are so many other problems in the world?5.Why is the Harper government so pro-Israel?6.The Arabs and Jews have hated each other forever. Will it ever end?7.OK – I agree its unfair. But I’m not an activist. What can I do?

If you want to know more….

1.Give me your email address, I will send you some ideas for books/articles/films you might find interesting.2.Sign up for my biweekly email 3.Think about coming with me to see for yourself.

•Thanks.•Peter Larson, peter.larson@sympatico.ca