Is Israel really the problem?

Larry Elder has written an extraordinarily lucid, information-packed columns exposing the lie behind the Arab world's claims that all their hostility and terrorism will be over, if Israel would just revert to the Arabs, and the Jews would quietly remove themselves from the face of the earth. He includes some information that I didn't know, and I pay fairly close attention to these things:

The former Syrian prime minister, in his 1972 memoirs, candidly wrote, "Since 1948 it is we who demanded the return of the refugees . . . while it is we who made them leave. . . . We brought disaster upon . . . Arab refugees, by inviting them and bringing pressure to bear upon them to leave. . . . We have rendered them dispossessed. . . . We have accustomed them to begging. . . . Then we exploited them in executing crimes of murder, arson, and throwing bombs upon men, women and children -- all this in the service of political purposes. . . . " In 1960, King Hussein of Jordan admitted: "Since 1948 Arab leaders have approached the Palestine problem in an irresponsible manner. . . . They have used the Palestine people for selfish political purposes. This is ridiculous and, I could say, even criminal." *** Many Palestinian terrorists speak openly and bluntly about their intentions. "Moderate" Yasser Arafat aide Faisal Husseini said in 2001, "Our ultimate goal is the liberation of all historical Palestine from the [Jordan] river to the [Mediterranean] Sea, even if this means that the conflict will last for another thousand years or for many generations." The New York Times interviewed several Hamas leaders in Gaza three years ago. Dr. Mahmoud al-Zahar, a surgeon, told the Times the Jews could remain, but living "in an Islamic state with Islamic law. From our ideological point of view, it is not allowed to recognize that Israel controls one square meter of historic Palestine." Abu Shanab, an engineer, said, "There are lots of open areas in the United States that could absorb the Jews." Dr. Abdel Aziz Rantisi, a medical doctor (later assassinated by Israel), said, "[W]e in Hamas believe peace talks will do no good. We do not believe we can live with the enemy." Do these remarks reflect the sentiments of "the Palestinian streets"? Unfortunately, yes. According to the latest polls by the Jerusalem Media & Communication Center, 49.7 percent of Palestinians support "suicide" bombing against Israel, and 45.5 percent believe the Intifada's purpose is to liberate all of historic Palestine.

The problem isn't Israel; the problem is that the Left has blithely accepted what the Arabs say in English ("yes, we want peace; yes, we'll share the land") and stubbornly refused to listening to the information the Arabs are broadcasting amongst themselves.