Posted on 09/01/2004 7:52:26 AM PDT by SJackson
Don't fall for it: he lays ground for a "Palestinian" claim to property and decades of "suffering in the hands of Israelis." The world will love it.
He pays one million to lay grounds for the future, multi-billion I am sure, claims of Palestinians. It's a good deal, and he offered it.
I thought I could have been knocked over with a feather.
Dear SJackson,
If he actually found a significant number of the 500 Jews, and they accepted the compensation from him, then they will give legitimacy to the claims of every last Arab in Palestine who comes to claim compensation from the Israeli government for all events since 1948.
Every Arab in Palestine who has lost his terrorist-harboring hut in Gaza, every last Arab in Palestine who has lost employment because of security measures taken to prevent other Arabs in Palestine from murdering more Jews, will all have had legitimated their puerile, infinite claims against the Israeli state.
Pretty cheap price to pay to buy that all-important moral wedge.
sitetest
Did anyone think they'd live long enough to ever hear these words from Qadhafi? It must be Bush's fault. LOL
Israel has been willing to negotiate Palestinian claims in the context of compensation to all refugees since the early 50s, when Israel's offer to pay compensation (not taken up by many Arabs) expired. Naturally it's a non starter, since overall Jewish claims against the Arab world far exceed the most generous estimates of palestinian losses.
I'd be skeptical if this is sincere, however Ghadaffi has made noises within the last year indicating he wants to refocus Libya on Africa and away from the middle east. Smart, there's a lot more to be gained and a lot less opposition. This might be part of that effort.
See post 45, Israel has been willing to enter into those negotiations on a comprehensive basis with the Arab world. The issue came up briefly early this year when some members of the Iraqi governing council speculated that maybe they'd allow expelled Jews to return, a crazy idea that was quickly abandoned.
Yep, Qadhafi doesn't care about Jews. Qadhafi cares about Qadhafi and staying in power. The US said "stop your crap and we'll make you rich with trade and defense deals". He said "cool!"
BTW, from Israel's perspective, I believe they'd be discussing compensating the 40,000 or so Jews forced to leave Libya, not the final 500 expelled in 1967.
I suspect Ghadaffi recognizes that the future is brighter attempting to exert a leadership role in Islamic North Africa, with expansion possibilities to the south, rather than as a junior member of the Egyptian, Saudi, Syrian axis opposing Israel.
Hahahaha!!!!
Muammar EXPELLED all the "Palestinians" in Libya in 1995.
Maybe he should try compensating them first??
What a putz.
I don't trust him.
My guess is that if Lybia has to compensate 500 Jews then Israel has to compensate 500,000 (or more) Arabs, in his mind anyway.
ML/NJ
Qaddafi, a terrorist leader, continues with his playbook - basically a carbon copy of Arafat's. The world continues, sadly, to naively believe he has had a change of heart, just like they did with Arafat.
My only guess is that kadaffi has actually done what almost no leader does, even when they rule for life - he has changed.
Who knows why.. it could be the onset of age or other health issues, which certain can and do profoundly alter a person's worldview, or it could be something more subtle, but he has apparently thrown in the activist towel. I do not recall in my lifetime seeing an adversarial country so completely capitulate in order to have economic integration with the west. I guess you could argue russia would be an example but I think that was more an internal reform which impacted external relations, rather than a 'we want to stop this' white flag like libya has done.
"After the Colonials left the Middle East, Jews were kicked out of Arab lands and had all their stuff taken... "
This has happened to many ethnic groups throughout history, including european history. It has certainly happened in a highly disproportionate degree to jews in the last century or so, but in the past 'ethnic cleansing' was the rule, even without a state of open war (the clearances in the Scottish highlands, for example).
I am going to put on my asbestos suit and suggest israel's problem is that they didn't EXPEL (that is code for ethnically cleanse) the residents from the territories acquired in the 1967/73 wars. They tried a more humane approach and as a result have their current problem, with no practical solution in sight. What would the US be like if we had tried this approach with the indigenous indians from day 1?
"but shouldn't they at least have the "right" to if the so-called Palestinians have the "right?" "
While right-of-return as a political tool appears here to stay, it is an absolutely horrible idea in application. Returning to a place of previous residence now filled with people who alternately hate, despite, abhor, or are at best ambivalent towards you is a recipe for further strife. Just in europe, the list of groups which might (and some have) conceivably petition for this for acts from WWII forward is quite large and will create no end of trouble for the eu nannystate to address. (prussians back to poland?) My politically incorrect view is that ethnic expulsion, in terms of providing future political stability, is FAR more desirable than the new in vogue notions of 'peaceful (i.e. Kosovo) enforced co-habitation' that our political class is married to.
Oops. Something tells me that's the end of Liberty Lobby's pilgrimages to Libya.
Yep, my thoughts exactly.
I lived at Wheelus, and was there when Qadhafi took over.
The school superintendent for the base schools smuggled one of the last Jews out of Libya in a box on board a plane that landed in Malta. The box was put on to a truck, taken to the countryside, and I believe the man escaped.
The School Superitendent was arrested and not permitted back in Libya, although his family was there. The were not given an exit visa by the Libyans and couldn't leave.
One day, the OSI (AF Intelligence) showed up at their door, put them in a car, and they escaped, leaving everything behind, including the dirty dishes on the table.
Anything to do with Jews was anathema to Qadhafi. As soon as he took power, all the Jewish servicement on the base were transferred out.
I do as well. See my post # 59.
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