Special Dispatch - Israel
December 9, 2001
No. 310

"The Arabs Are Responsible"
Post-Zionist Historian Benny Morris Clarifies His Thesis

For the past two decades, Benny Morris - a prominent
Israeli and international academic, and a leading figure in
Israel's Post-Zionism camp - has been advocating the notion
that Israel's official version of history is filled with
misconceptions and misleading myths. However, in a
surprising recent interview, Morris now argues that others
have misconstrued his thesis. He argues that the
Palestinians, not Israel, are to blame for the ongoing
conflict and for the current state of affairs.

In an interview with Yediot Ahronot, Morris clarified his
positions regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict (this
interview followed a September 2001 lecture at UC Berkley's
Theological Institute in which Morris first articulated
these positions). Following are excerpts from the article,
which included an interview with Morris:(1)


"The audience at UC Berkley's Theological Institute thought
it knew what they were in for. They were promised a
lecture on the peace process by Professor Benny Morris -
an Israeli historian, well-known leftist, who had a hard
time finding a niche in Israel's academia due to his
extreme opinions, which reject [Israel's] official Zionist
history. Berkley is still the stronghold of America's
radical left [and] all the listeners who filled the lecture
hall were sure that the lecturer would say exactly what
they wanted to hear: that Israel is to blame for
everything, that Israel is the aggressor and the evil
perpetrator, that the Palestinians are the good guys..."

"Morris had different plans. He knew exactly what was in
store for his audience: a surprise, a big surprise. [In the
lecture] he told them that the Palestinians have been
obstinately refusing to accept any compromise since the
1930's. They refused to accept the 1937 Partition Plan of
the Peel Commission (a Jewish State on 20% of the Sharon
and Galilee regions of territorial Palestine), they
rejected the 1947 UN partition plan (an Arab state on 40%
of the territory), they did not even want to hear about
Sadat and Begin's [1979] Autonomy Plan (which was a part of
the Camp David Accord and which was never implemented), and
they rejected Bill Clinton's generous offer (which included
95% of the West Bank). To make a long story short, [Morris
said that] the Jews always agreed [to various compromise
offers] whereas the Arabs always refused to accept them,
and the blame falls squarely on the Palestinians. They have
been making historic mistakes for seventy years now, and
there is a price for historic mistakes..."

"Yes, the Palestinians are to blame. And this is true not
only because they rejected Ehud Barak's generous offer but
also because they are unwilling to come to terms with
Israel's existence here. They want to throw [the Jews] into
the ocean, and anyone who holds a different opinion is
mistaken. These are the words of the Historian."

Were The Palestinians Forced to Leave?

"One has to go back in time thirteen years in order to
understand how surprising [Morris'] statements are. Morris
- a Jerusalem Post reporter at the time, a Cambridge
University Ph.D, and a Kibbutz and [Israeli Defense Force]
Paratroopers veteran - published his book The Birth of The
Palestinian Refugee Problem in 1988. His book created an
immediate outburst [of an acute debate in Israel]."

"Up until then, it was generally assumed that 700,000
Palestinians left their homes voluntarily during the 1948
War of Independence, following promises by their leaders
that they will be able to return and plunder Jewish
property when the war was over. According to what Morris
wrote in his 1988 book, that never happened; these stories
are nonsense. The leaders of the Yishuv [the Jewish Zionist
community in pre-state Israel] believed in a transfer, and
in their actions contributed much to the fleeing of the
refugees. Some ran away to escape the battles, others left
after the Jews made their lifes difficult, and still others
were simply expelled. [According to Morris' 1988 book], the
Palestinians did not leave and did not run away, these
words are too soft. They were also not expelled - that word
is too harsh. The Palestinians "were driven out."

"[After the book was published,] Morris became [Israel's]
public enemy number one, and the price he paid was
considerable. He was fired from The Jerusalem Post and he
had a hard time finding a job in Israel's academia despite
the success of his book outside of Israel..."

"In the heart of every Palestinian exists a desire that the
State of Israel will not be here anymore."

"[Morris] is denying that his views have shifted. He claims
that this was his opinion all along. However, no one knew
it. Even when he expressed his opinion, the interviewers
preferred not to quote him on that. 'It is not politically
correct,' he says. Nevertheless, he admits, he has a lot of
built up anger over the past two years against the
Palestinians since they rejected Clinton's proposal. He
says that Barak also made mistakes but that these were
marginal. The bottom line is that Barak accepted Clinton's
generous proposal which demanded [of him] to give up 95% of
the West Bank, 100% of Gaza, and to divide Jerusalem."

"By the way, with regards to Jerusalem, Morris disagrees
with Barak. Morris would not be willing to give up the
Temple Mount."

Morris: "If there is a nation that deserves the title to
the Temple Mount it is we. But injustice was perpetrated
and two mosques were erected on the ruins of the [Jewish]
Temple 1,400 years ago, and [now] the Arabs [also] have a
claim to the Temple Mount. I accept a compromise in which
both Jews and Arabs will control the Temple Mount. But why
should the Palestinians have sole control over there? Why?
What kind of justice is that?"

"In any case, everything shrinks when compared with Yasser
Arafat's mistake [when he] rejected the Clinton proposal.
"Both people - Israelis and Palestinians - are paying with
their lives for [the Palestinian] mistakes" Morris says..."

"In Camp David and Taba the issue of the 'right of return'
emerged; it was prominent [in the discussions]. The
Israelis claimed that the Palestinian demand to allow
millions of refugees to return into Israel destroys any
possibility for peace, since this demand translates into
the destruction of the state of the Jews. The Palestinian
spokespersons tried to downplay the gravity of the dispute.
Publicly they continued to demand the 'right of return,'
while at the same time they were hinting [to the Israelis]
that it would be possible to reach an agreement on this
issue. In his book A Guide for the Wounded Dove, Yossi
Beilin - who headed the Taba negotiation team in charge of
the refugee issue - claims that he reached satisfactory
agreements on this issue with the Palestinians."

"Morris, the one who brought this issue to public
awareness, is very determined regarding this question. [He
believes that] any mentioning of the right of return is a
disaster, a recipe for the destruction of the State of
Israel. Even if Arafat will agree that Israel will only
recognize its responsibility in creating the refugee
problem while the Palestinians give up the actual right to
implement it, Israel must still object to such a proposal."

Morris: "If you recognize the responsibility, millions will
demand their lands in return immediately thereafter. If the
notion of the right of return will be recognized, there is
also going to be an attempt to utilize that notion, and
that will be the end of the State of Israel. [If that
happens], there won't be a Jewish State here."

Yediot Aharonot (Y.A.): "In Taba it was proposed that
Israel would recognize its responsibility in creating the
refugee problem, but that the refugees will not be absorbed
in Israel, except for a very small number on which Israel
will decide. Do you think that this is also a bad idea?"

Morris: "The Palestinians told Beilin that they are willing
to consider all kinds of formulas regarding refugees, but
they lied to him. They will never back away from [the
demand for] the right of return. They cannot come to their
people in the refugee camps and tell them: 'We gave in on
the right of return.' They are unable to do this."

Y.A.: "[But] Sari Nusaiba, head of the PA office of
Jerusalem Affairs said it himself."

Morris: "He is an exception. His statements are putting
his life in danger. He is not one of the first rank senior
leadership. I never heard Mohammad Dakhlan, Jibril Rajoub,
or Abu Allah and their guys saying this. Even if they will
sign on such a text at one stage or another, a new
generation will emerge in ten or twenty years and will
argue that they had no right to give up [the right of
return]."

Y.A.: "You are the man who revealed to the Israelis that
they have responsibility for the refugee problem. Are you
asking them to ignore what you revealed to them?"

Morris: "I revealed to the Israelis the truth of what
happened in 1948, the historic facts. But the Arabs are
the ones who started the fighting, they started the
shootings. So why should I take responsibility? The Arabs
started the war, they are responsible."

Y.A.: "Should we ignore this issue in a permanent
agreement?"

Morris: "We need to give some kind of a solution to the
Palestinians but we must not recognize the right of return.
Arafat and his generation cannot give up on the vision of
the greater land of Israel for the Arabs. [This is true,
because] this is a holy land, Dar-al Islam. It was once in
the hands of the Muslims, and its inconceivable [to them]
that infidels like us would receive it. And besides, even
if Arafat will sign an agreement, I find it hard to
believe, in view of his behavior during the last two years,
that he or his heirs will abide by it."

Y.A.: "Is that because they are Arabs?"

Morris: "Not because they are Arabs, but rather because
they don't understand that justice exists on the other side
as well. We do understand that justice exists on the other
side. Have you ever heard a senior Palestinian official
who says that the Jewish demand for the State of Israel is
justified? I have never heard that being said..."

"We will not reach a compromise in this generation, and I
have a sneaking suspicion that we will never reach a true
and permanent agreement. In the heart of every Palestinian
exists a desire that the State of Israel will not be here
anymore. For many of them this translates into more than
just a desire. As far as they are concerned, all of their
misfortunes are a consequence of our deeds, and our
destruction will bring about their salvation. Their
salvation is the whole of Palestine."

Y.A.: "Do they not understand the reality? Do they not
understand that they absorb all these blows as a
consequence of their unwillingness to compromise?"

Morris: "Every nation has its own particular way to
understand reality, and their reality is very fluid. They
feel that demographics will defeat the Jews in one hundred
or two hundred yeas, just like the Crusaders. Or [the
Palestinians are hoping that] the Arabs will have nuclear
weapons. Why should they accept a compromise that is
perceived by them as unjust today?"

Y.A.: "And when you hear Palestinian leaders, like Abu
Mazen and others, who say that they are willing to accept
Israel, and living alongside it, do you not believe them?"

Morris: "Not really. I do believe them when they cheer
for bin Laden..."

Endnotes:
(1) Yediot Ahronot, November 23, 2001.

************************
The Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) is an
independent, non-profit organization that translates and
analyzes the media of the Middle East. Copies of articles
and documents cited, as well as background information, are
available on request.

The Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI)
P.O. Box 27837, Washington, DC 20038-7837
Phone: (202) 955-9070
Fax: (202) 955-9077
E-Mail: memri@memri.org
www.memri.org