Page 84 - issue
P. 84
sitting on private Arab land, and the Supreme Court, the Court does not So how do the present-day Arabs
Arab owners sued in the Supreme examine the case. It assumes that that find out about their “holdings” if they
Court. The Supreme Court, so as not has already happened, and it sides with never took them seriously before and
to award thieves, ordered it evacuated.” those bringing the suit. didn’t even know they existed?
Unscrupulous Israeli Jewish lawyers,
But that is not the whole story. The Yet, even when the Arabs are not part ambulance chasers and part leftist
right-wing commentators explain a lot lying about their owning the land, their activists, go to the Jordanian land
more. claim to ownership is very weak. Such records and find written references to
claims go back to a time when the Arab X “owning” plot Y. Then they go to
First, at least in the present case of deceased King Hussein of Jordan was the Arabs, tell them what they found,
Amona, the precise area over which the giving out plots of the Land of Israel to and ask their permission to sue the
Arabs claimed ownership was only a Arabs wholesale, as a way to force them Jews. The Arabs lose nothing and have
small fraction of the area where the 40 to pay taxes on it. Thus, the Arabs never no reason to object.
homes were located. took the gifts seriously, never went to
the spots where they had been given Still, even if we say that these Arabs
Second, The Arabs making the land, never cultivated it or lived on it, did in fact knowingly inherit from their
claims may be lying – we’ve seen that and never even told their children or fathers or grandfathers lands given
many times before, as in the Beit grandchildren that it had been given to them by King Hussein, there is still
HaShalom case in Hebron, which went them. In short, they viewed the whole another question. What right did King
through the courts for 10 years until thing as a nuisance and a trick move by Hussein have to give the lands away to
justice was served. “But,” you ask, “if the King Hussein to get their money. The anyone?
Supreme Court ordered the homes Jews of Amona found no signs of previ-
evacuated, doesn’t that mean that they ous life in the soil of the land they In 1918, the British awarded the
have already examined the case and inhabited nor any archaeological evi- Land of Israel, including Jordan, to the
come to the mature conclusion that dence of life from other times during Jewish People via the Balfour
the Arabs were right?” the past 2,000 years. Sometimes, the Declaration. Just three years later, in
Arabs claim, “My grandfather had a 1921, following Arab rioting and
Actually, no. As has been written a farm here,” but the rocky soil in ques- tantrums, the British reneged on part
number of times by right-wing com- tion could never have been a farm. of the Balfour Declaration and made a
mentators, there is a hole in the system new Arab state across the Jordan River,
here, which lawyers take advantage of.
When Arabs bring land claims to the
76 u www.wherewhatwhen.com u
Arab owners sued in the Supreme examine the case. It assumes that that find out about their “holdings” if they
Court. The Supreme Court, so as not has already happened, and it sides with never took them seriously before and
to award thieves, ordered it evacuated.” those bringing the suit. didn’t even know they existed?
Unscrupulous Israeli Jewish lawyers,
But that is not the whole story. The Yet, even when the Arabs are not part ambulance chasers and part leftist
right-wing commentators explain a lot lying about their owning the land, their activists, go to the Jordanian land
more. claim to ownership is very weak. Such records and find written references to
claims go back to a time when the Arab X “owning” plot Y. Then they go to
First, at least in the present case of deceased King Hussein of Jordan was the Arabs, tell them what they found,
Amona, the precise area over which the giving out plots of the Land of Israel to and ask their permission to sue the
Arabs claimed ownership was only a Arabs wholesale, as a way to force them Jews. The Arabs lose nothing and have
small fraction of the area where the 40 to pay taxes on it. Thus, the Arabs never no reason to object.
homes were located. took the gifts seriously, never went to
the spots where they had been given Still, even if we say that these Arabs
Second, The Arabs making the land, never cultivated it or lived on it, did in fact knowingly inherit from their
claims may be lying – we’ve seen that and never even told their children or fathers or grandfathers lands given
many times before, as in the Beit grandchildren that it had been given to them by King Hussein, there is still
HaShalom case in Hebron, which went them. In short, they viewed the whole another question. What right did King
through the courts for 10 years until thing as a nuisance and a trick move by Hussein have to give the lands away to
justice was served. “But,” you ask, “if the King Hussein to get their money. The anyone?
Supreme Court ordered the homes Jews of Amona found no signs of previ-
evacuated, doesn’t that mean that they ous life in the soil of the land they In 1918, the British awarded the
have already examined the case and inhabited nor any archaeological evi- Land of Israel, including Jordan, to the
come to the mature conclusion that dence of life from other times during Jewish People via the Balfour
the Arabs were right?” the past 2,000 years. Sometimes, the Declaration. Just three years later, in
Arabs claim, “My grandfather had a 1921, following Arab rioting and
Actually, no. As has been written a farm here,” but the rocky soil in ques- tantrums, the British reneged on part
number of times by right-wing com- tion could never have been a farm. of the Balfour Declaration and made a
mentators, there is a hole in the system new Arab state across the Jordan River,
here, which lawyers take advantage of.
When Arabs bring land claims to the
76 u www.wherewhatwhen.com u
