oatmeal<p>CAMERA [The Zionist Watchdog] vs. JPS [and Ilan Pappé): </p><p><a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/CAMERA" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>CAMERA</span></a>'s relentless pro-Israel activism has drawn significant criticism, yet some mainstream media outlets continue to quote the organization as if it is a neutral arbiter on Middle East issues. </p><p>This is one example of how they work.</p><p>The Journal of Palestine Studies (<a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/JPS" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>JPS</span></a>) published an article by Ilan Pappé in 2006 that contained an inaccurate citation of a quote attributed to David Ben-Gurion. <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/CAMERA" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>CAMERA</span></a> jumped at the opportunity. </p><p>Upon further review, JPS found an even more serious error - a misplaced quotation mark that significantly changed the meaning of the Ben-Gurion quote. To correct this and provide more context, JPS obtained a full translation of Ben-Gurion's 1937 letter to his son, which discusses Ben-Gurion's views on partition, the need to transfer Arabs, and using force if necessary.</p><p>The full letter shows that Pappé's portrayal of Ben-Gurion's thinking on transfer was accurate, and that the quotes attributed to Ben-Gurion are well-supported by the historical record.</p><p>"We must expel Arabs and take their place."</p><p>"If the Arabs stand in our way, we shall have to push them aside with the use of force, if need be."</p><p>"Our strength vis-à-vis the Arabs will likewise increase. The possibilities for construction and multiplication will speedily expand. The greater the Jewish strength in the country, the more the Arabs will realize that it is neither beneficial nor possible for them to withstand us."</p><p>"If we are compelled to use force - not in order to dispossess the Arabs of the Negev or Transjordan, but in order to guarantee our right to settle there - our force will enable us to do so."</p><p>The letter shows Ben-Gurion explicitly supporting the idea of forcibly transferring Arabs out of areas designated for a future Jewish state, even if it required the use of military force. </p><p>“JPS Responds to CAMERA’s Call for Accuracy: Ben-Gurion and the Arab Transfer.” Journal of Palestine Studies, vol. 41, no. 2, 2012, pp. 245–50. JSTOR, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1525/jps.2012.xli.2.245" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">doi.org/10.1525/jps.2012.xli.2</span><span class="invisible">.245</span></a>. Accessed 18 Apr. 2024.</p><p>More information on the letter, Ben-Gurion's intent. Of interest is Rabbi Chaim Simons , who concludes:</p><p>"But at no point during the 1930s and 1940s did Ben-Gurion ever go on record against the idea or policy of transfer. On the contrary, Ben-Gurion left a paper trail a mile long as to his actual thinking, and no amount of ignoring, twisting and turning, manipulation, contortion, and distortion can blow it away." </p><p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1937_Ben-Gurion_letter" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1937_Ben</span><span class="invisible">-Gurion_letter</span></a> </p><p><span class="h-card" translate="no"><a href="https://a.gup.pe/u/histodons" class="u-url mention" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@<span>histodons</span></a></span> <br><a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Israel" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Israel</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/EthnicCleansing" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>EthnicCleansing</span></a></p>