ABSTRACT

The history of the United States and Israel is built

on the bloodshed of the Native people. In this
document, I relate issues American Indians have
faced, which reoccurred a century later, with the
struggle of the Palestinians and the creation of
the State of Israel.

HISTORY WAHBEH, NADEEM

REOCCURENCE
An analysis of the injustice faced by Native
Americans and Native Palestinians under the
hands of two oppressive force.
Abstract

History has taught us how to critically think when it comes to highly controversial issues.

History is a matter of perspective. We choose how we want to think, we choose what to

believe and what to neglect. It’s not about believing everything we read, but learning how to

interpret words and have proof to justify assumptions and beliefs. In their books ‘A People’s

History of the United States’ and ‘A Patriot’s History of the United States’, Zinn and Schweikart

have supported this previous statement, since they provided the reader with two different

perspectives. Learning about US history through the eyes of two famous authors can help us

tie history to modern times and believe that history does indeed repeat itself. As a Palestinian,

I understand the struggle of Native Americans. I know how it feels to have your people wiped

off their own land. The struggle of Native Americans has repeated itself with the struggle of

Palestinians. If US history can be summarized into a series of short stories, the first chapter

would be Columbus’s discovery of the New Land. Similarly, Palestine’s dark days started in

1917, when Sir Arthur Balfour promised the Jews living in Europe an eternal safe homeland

in Palestine. The second chapter is where the violence, racism, discrimination, and hatred

takes place. Two modern day countries, America and Israel, were both built on blood of Native

Americans and Palestinians, respectively. The two most powerful military powers in the world

have a disappointing history that many choose to neglect.

Introduction

“History repeats itself”, a statement many people may have heard, but struggle to make the

connection of what exact aspects of history are being repeated in the modern world. The

history of some countries in the world is, without doubt, open to debate. There is always two

sides of telling a story. The truth in our eyes may be the myth in the eyes of others. It has

always been challenging for people to come towards a common belief. In Palestine, the

history of Palestinians is taught from the perspective of the native people, while in other

countries, the same history is interpreted differently. Similarly, two American history books

can inform you about the history of the United States from two completely different lenses.

Consider Zinn’s “People’s History of the United State” and Schweikart’s “A Patriots History of

the United States.” Both authors are American citizens, but their interpretation of history is

based on what they truly believe is truthful and justifiable. When you have two complete

different beliefs, you begin to wonder which one is truly correct. The fact is, it is difficult to

find a balance between both. Finding a neutral opinion is difficult because in the end, the

“neutral” opinion will be as if we are committing injustice against others. Since it is quite

impossible to find a balance that justifies all parties involved in history, it is necessary to begin

developing different opinions, interpretations, and analysis of certain issues. If a person only

reads Schweikart’s or Zinn’s book, then he/she may obtain knowledge that is based on biased

opinion. However, if the same person reads both books, then he/she may obtain enough

knowledge to come up with their own opinion and analysis of problems. In this paper, I

analyze a few historical incident in the history of Palestine and the United States, which have

always been open for debate and interpretations. My views are entirely based on my opinion

and views I developed by reading biased history books, hearing the opinion of others, and

learning how to critically think when it comes to highly controversial issues.

Arthur Balfour: Palestine’s Christopher Columbus

US history often starts with the classical story of Christopher Columbus, a ‘heroic talented

Seaman’, as authors such as Larry Schweikart. Christopher Columbus, who sailed to the ‘New

World’ with his Nina described by many pro-American, Pina, and Santa Maria ships, had one

objective in mind, involving wealth and status. Many history books fail to mention the cons

and negative aftermath, including the violence, racism, slavery, and death that resulted as

soon as Columbus set foot in the Americas. What resulted after Columbus’s discovery is highly

controversial. The European began to migrate to the Americas, hoping to achieve a better life,

to climb political and economic ladders, as well as achieve goals they failed to accomplish in

Europe. Many people decided to go to the Americas for economic opportunities, curiosity,

and intellectual interest. Land was considered an important element to climb political,

economic, and social ladders. Many historians, such as Larry Schweikart, believe that with

land comes political status.

After approximately 425 years since Christopher Columbus discovered the Americas, one of

the most controversial events of modern history took place in Britain. Sir Arthur Balfour

signed a letter promising the Jews a homeland in the Palestine, or as it was known back then:

‘The British Mandate of Palestine.’ The letter, which was specifically sent to the Zionist

federation reads as follows:

Dear Lord Rothschild,

I have much pleasure in conveying to you. On behalf of His Majesty's Government, the

following declaration of sympathy with Jewish Zionist aspirations which has been

submitted to, and approved by the cabinet.

 His Majesty's Government view with favour the establishment in Palestine of a

national home for the Jewish people, and will use their best endeavours to facilitate

the achievement of this object, it being clearly understood that nothing shall be done

which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities

in Palestine, or the rights and political status enjoyed by Jews in any other country.

I should be grateful if you would bring this declaration to the knowledge of the Zionist

Federation.

Sincerely,

Arthur James Balfour

Balfour’s declaration was the first step towards conflict that will include violence and hatred.

The declaration was in response to the status of the Jewish people in Europe at the time.

Jews, who were scattered across Europeans countries such as Russia, Austria, France,

believed that they deserve a homeland where they would not be discriminated against. To

many people, Palestine was a safe solution, since many Jews already coexisted with Muslims

and Christians in the land of Philistine.

Two events: Columbus’s discovery and Arthur’s letter. Two events that served as turning

points in history. Two events that would begin a chapter of happiness to some and sadness

to others. Two events that laid the foundations of countries. Two events that led to racism,

violence, ethnic cleansing, and greed.

Europeans, at the time of Christopher Columbus’s discovery, had several ‘push’ and ‘pull’

factors. The push factors for Europeans included racism and discrimination. Fast forward 400

years, you find that the Jews were also struggling with such factors. Anti-Semitism during the

1900s was spreading like a disease. The biggest and most important example of this
discrimination is, of course, the holocaust, where more than 50% of the Jewish population

was wiped out. Europeans believed that the Americas will protect them, help them find gold,

while the Jews believed that Palestine was a land they had to own due to religious reasons.

Native’s vs Oppressors: Native Americans and Palestinians Shared Struggle

Many history books can go on, discuss the pros and cons of Columbus’s voyage, the migration

of the Jews in 1917, without mentioning a single phrase about the natives. Many Americans

go to school to learn that this nation was ‘discovered’ by Columbus. If the American’s weren’t

so proud of what Columbus achieved for them, then they would not have a national holiday

after his name. Israeli children go to school every day to learn the history of their great

country. They have ‘IDF’ soldiers come to their school, let them know that once they grow up

they too will have to fight for the Israeli army, to protect the nation that was ‘gifted’ to them

by God; to somehow neglect the presence of the enemy. The way history is taught in America

and Israel can and may be misleading. The fact is, historians are biased and finding an

unbiased history book is quite impossible, especially in the modern times. Israeli citizens grow

up brainwashed, believing that the Palestinian Arabs are anti-Semitic, that the Palestinians

should not exist and that the Palestinian land should all be owned by Israel. This ideology is

what has led to violence and hatred in that area.

The arrival of Columbus to the Americas resulted in a complete genocide and bloodshed. In

the first chapter of his book “A People’s History of the United States”, Zinn mentions how

Europeans believed that the bloodshed that resulted from Columbus’s discovery was

“necessary for the progress of human civilization.” Zinn condemns the violence and prejudice

acts committed against those who are different. However, we have seen this repeat in the

example of the Palestinians and Israelis. Many Israelis believed that the wars that happened
prior to the creation of the state of Israel are ‘accomplishments.’ They believe the wars helped

them reunite with the holy city of Jerusalem. Israelis justify all the bloodshed by claiming it’s

the land promised by God and that they are the ‘chosen people’ for that land. There seems

to be a connection between the justification placed by Europeans at the time of Columbus

and the Israelis at the time of their migration to Palestine. Both people believed that they are

doing something right, because they knew it somehow will benefit them. However, the fact

that they neglected the presence of the Natives does not justify the reason behind their

mission. Upon colonizing the Americas, Europeans dehumanized the native people for various

reasons. One of the reasons has to do with ethnocentrism, the idea that one’s culture is

superior to others. Europeans believe that they were advanced and the American Indians are

savages, who are not advanced to the level of the Europeans at the time. This led many

Europeans, especially Columbus, to enslave Indians. Europeans saw themselves as fathers of

the American Indians simply because they are deceivable and child-like. In his book ‘A Patriots

History of the United States”, Schweikart sees the Portuguese and Spanish at the time as

courageous and confident people who were extremely superior in terms of military power.

Despite the fact that most of the deaths that struck the Native Americans at the time was due

to diseases, Schweikart’s opinion of the Europeans at the time proves that he is very

ethnocentric and strong believes that Europeans were far more superior and better. Similarly,

Israelis dehumanized Palestinians during the Nakba war, when they attached homes and

villages of thousands of Palestinians. The reason behind this could be due to ethnocentrism,

but it also has a few other factors. One factor was due to the discrimination many Jews were

facing around the world, which led many Jewish people to embrace the idea of Zionism. The

Jewish migration to Palestine increased drastically when Hitler came into the picture. This is

where the ‘push’ and ‘pull’ factors come into play. Jewish people wanted to escape Europe,
so they began to migrate to Palestine, where they knew they would be safe and away from

harm. However, they were surrounded completely by Arab countries and this is what caused

discrimination and violence from both parties, resulting in the first of a series of wars, Al

Nakba.

Nakba: The Palestinian’s Trail of Tears

1948 is the year Palestinians will never forget. The painful year is tattooed in the hearts of

every Palestinian worldwide. The darkest year and the start of many dark year for each

Palestinian. 1948 was the year lives were ended, the year families were separated, the year

thousands of Palestinians were forcefully separated from their own homes, with the hopes

that one day they may have the right to return. Al Nakba of 1948, without doubt, is the trail

of tears of Palestinians. In 1948, the Arab-Israeli war caused many terrorist Zionist

groups/gangs, such as Haganh, Irgun, and The Lehi, to attack Palestinians and displace them.

These violent gangs managed to displace well over 700,000 Palestinian refugees. Even before

World War 2, Britain had Haganah listed as a terrorist organization. These violent groups killed

many Palestinians and British soldiers in Palestine long before 1948. Some of the violent acts

of these groups include the bombing of hotels in Jerusalem prior to 1948, kidnapping of British

soldiers, killing of innocent Palestinians in Deir Yassin massacre in Lebanon. In 1948, Albert

Einstein, who in fact was once asked to become the President of Israel, wrote a letter to the

New York Times condemning the violence Haganah and Irgun are constantly undergoing.

Members of Haganag and Irgun were experienced fighters from World War 2, and

surprisingly, they were well equipped. Before Al-Nakba, when Arab countries fought against

these terrorist groups, no one expected Haganah and Irgun to be well equipped. These groups

had around 50 Avia S-199 warplanes from Czechoslovakia, around 4 B-19 bombs from the
USA (3 of which were used to bomb Cairo), and other advanced military equipment. It's

unfortunate that these groups won the war, making Israel a country of its own. Arab leaders

thought this was an easy victory, so they didn't send their best forces or their best weapons

at the time. In other words, they underestimated Haganah and Irgun. This resulted in the

displacement of thousands of Palestinians worldwide. Palestinians, who were forced to flee,

left all their belongings behind. Many Palestinian families were separated in the process.

Thousands of Palestinians had to leave their homes, thinking that this is only temporary and

that one day, they would be able to return. Many Palestinians had to flee to nearby countries

such as Lebanon, Jordan, and Egypt. Since the journey was very long, many died along the

way. The land theft and the displacement of Palestinians was justified by the state of Israel as

a ‘result of a war’ and that the land, which Israel now occupied is as a result of their superior

victory.

Rewinding the tape 400 years, we see violence, displacement of innocence, and land theft.

The main event that can be recalled is the Trail of Tears of the Native Americans. Europeans,

of course, viewed Indians as savages and uncivilized people. However, the American Indians

had something valuable that the Europeans admired: land. They believed that land bring

status, power, and money. They were willing to sacrifice anything they had in order to acquire

more land. By controlling more land, this would cause more Europeans to migrate to the

Americas, with the hope of climbing the economic and political ladders. The greed of the

Europeans resulted in a series of wars and conflicts between neighboring Indian communities.

The Europeans used violence against the Indians in order to drive them out of their

communities. They burned crops and houses in order to show Indians that they are more

capable when it comes to military power. One of the saddest events in history is the Trail of

Tears which resulted in the removal of thousands of Indians by the Europeans. Many Indian
tribes, such as the Cherokee Indians, were displaced into nearby territories and they were

forced to leave their homes and belongings behind. Thousands of Indians died along the

journey, while many starved to death, and many children were incapable of continuing the

journey.

Photographs of the journey of the Indians and Palestinians during the Trail of Tears and the

Nakba, respectively, is shown below in Figure 1.

Figure 1

These two events occurred in two different centuries, yet the image that was left behind

seems almost identical. The Palestinians had to go through a similar struggle faced by

colonizers, who wanted to take away their land. Displacing natives was the main goal of

oppressors such as Europeans and Zionists. Until this day, thousands of Palestinians hope to

return to their homes. They hold the key to their homes. This key became the symbol of the

right to return and the desire of Palestinians to someday be able to go back to Palestine.

Separation: The Proclamation Line vs The Green Line

The term ‘green line’ refers to the border of Israel that resulted after the creation of the state

in 1948. The border simply isolated Israel from the neighboring Arab countries such as Jordan,

Egypt, and Lebanon. Any Palestinians who lived inside the green line after 1948 officially
because known as the Arab citizens of Israel. This was officially the border of the state of

Israel. However, Palestinians and Arab countries did not accept these border of Israel and did

not recognize or approve of the creation of the State of Israel. Countless acts of violence

resulted and people from both sides of the border were killed. In 1967, as a result of the

countless violence acts committed, Israel had a six-day war with Syria, Egypt, and Jordan. The

Arab countries lost the war against Israel, which meant that Israel now controlled the West

Bank, Gaza Strip, Golan Heights, and Sinai Peninsula. This meant that Israel controlled well

beyond the green line. Palestinians refer to this date as ‘Al-Naksa’, which means ‘the set back.’

The result of the war meant that Israel had control over 100% of Palestine. The result of the

second war caused 400,000 more Palestinians to become refugees. The majority of refugees

were the Arabs living in part of Palestine that became Israel after 1948. More than one third

of the Palestinians living in West Bank and Gaza strip were displaced. The remaining were a

part of a census Israel conducted in West Bank, Jerusalem, and Gaza. Anyone who was

registered by Israel was legal in the occupied territories. The Oslo Accords gave Palestinians a

little bit of land back and established the Palestinian authority now the West Bank and Gaza

strip. These territories are surrounded by the Israeli wall, which was built to separate the

Palestinian territories from Israeli territories in the West Bank. This of course, resulted in more

racism and violence. Despite violating the international law, Israel continue to build

settlement beyond the green line. This has taken more land from Palestinians and resulted in

the destruction of thousands of homes around the West Bank. The image below shows the

green line, as well as the Palestinian controlled areas prior to 1948, 1967, and as of today.
 Figure 2.

Another line that has caused controversy in history if the Proclamation line of 1763, which

resulted after the French Indian war. After winning the war, the British gained more land from

the French. Most Native American in the nearby land did not really like the British, which is

why they sided with the French during the war. King George III was the king at the time and

he decided to issue a proclamation which forbids colonists from trading with Indians settling

to the west of the proclamation line, which was essentially along the Appalachian Mountains.

In his book, ‘A People’s History of the United States’, Zinn mentions that the British were

driven into establishing the proclamation line in order to destroy the will of Indians who did

not give up the fighting ‘…..despite this, and the burning of villages, the British could not

destroy the will of the Indians, who continued guerrilla war. A peace was made, with the

British agreeing to establish a line at the Appalachians, beyond which settlements would not

encroach on Indian Territory.’ The proclamation line also forbid the colonists from settling in
those area. British hoped that this proclamation would control the Native American’s violence

and make the colonists become more dependent on the government. However, this line

cause the Americans at the time to become more frustrated with the British and cause more

violence to occur. The Proclamation line did more harm than good since it cause many

rebellions, made the Americans extremely frustrated with British rule, and essentially led to

the American Revolution. An image of the 1967 proclamation line is shown below in Figure 3.

These two lines in history not only resulted in racism and violence, but they also caused many

people to revolt. The lines set by Israel in 1948 angered the Palestinians, while the 1967

proclamation line angered many colonists and American Indians who depended on factors

such as trading. The idea of drawing an imaginary line on a map does not really help

government minimize acts of violence. If for anything, lines such as the green line and the

proclamation line separated people who used to interact with each other for trade. It caused

more discrimination and violence. The green line separated Palestinian families from each

other. It resulted in more Palestinians resisting and condemning this line.

The Aftermath: Working Towards Recognition

Years after the discovery of Columbus, the United States of America has become the most
powerful nation in the world. The Americans are extremely proud of their history, which they

believe was built on the idea of liberty and freedom. The history of the United States,

however, is not all that peaceful and it was as a result of continuous acts of violence, racism,

and discrimination. The ethnocentric ideas that Europeans came to the Americans with made

them dehumanize and enslave the American Indians. They did not respect the fact that the

Natives do have the right to this land. Several push and pull factors resulted in thousands of

Europeans to colonize the Americas in order to gain political status. American authors such

as Schweikart strongly believe in that land gives power. With colonization comes violence.

The American Indians and Europeans had a series of wars, which brought more violence and

discrimination. Until this day, the history of the United States may be taught in schools which

neglect the presence of Native Americans. Schweikart’s book for example, barely mentions

the American Indians in the introduction.

Similarly, the Palestinians have faced similar injustice under the hand of Zionist. Prior to the

Balfour declaration, Jews began migrating to Palestine in order to seek protection. However,

several factors led Jewish people to accept the idea of Zionism and work towards establishing

a Jewish homeland on the land of Palestine. This resulted in slow ethnic cleansing, with the

climax being the 1948 Al Nakba war resulting in the displacement of thousands of Palestinians

worldwide.

The American Indians still do exist in small areas in the United States, but their history and

the pain they struggled will forever be there. The Palestinian people have been losing more

and more land as the years progress. It may be just a matter of time until more Palestinians

are displaced, more land is taken by oppressors, and more people are killed as a result. At the

end of the day, we must never forget that certain ideologies do result in violence and ethnic
cleansing. The ideas of ethnocentrism and Zionism are what led to the destruction of two

Native people.

Many history books will neglect facts that display the innocence of American Indians and

Palestinians. Therefore, it is important to always see the bigger picture, related ideas, and

come up with a personal opinion. Historians are not the only biased people around the world.

We are all biased and we all have a perspective that is different than others. History teaches

people about others, but it also teaches them about themselves. In the end, it is always

important to acknowledge facts, accept reality, and see the truth that history does in fact

repeat itself.