oatmeal<p>Quoting Uzi Barham: Ben-Gurion, Father of the Nakba? This weighed on him greatly</p><p>Baram acknowledges the historical reality of the <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Nakba" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Nakba</span></a>, but he also attempts to reclaim Ben-Gurion's legacy from those who would use it to justify current policies of displacement. He argues that Ben-Gurion, while not without responsibility for the events of 1948, viewed the Nakba as a problem for <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Israel" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Israel</span></a>, both politically and morally. He cites historical examples of Ben-Gurion's attempts to mitigate the consequences of the displacement, such as his consideration of returning Palestinian refugees.</p><p>[…] Ben-Gurion held a consultation with the political leadership (Golda Meir) and with the agency leadership (Moshe Sharett) and said: "We did not expel Arabs from the Land of Israel. First of all, it is necessary to tell the facts how they fled. To the extent that it was known to me, most of the fleeing did so before the establishment of the state. Only the Arabs of Ramle and Lod left their place or were pressured to leave." In this context, Tom Segev writes in his book "A State at Any Cost" that Ben-Gurion was careful to say in the case of the Arabs of Lod-Ramle that "explicit instructions were given not to expel the residents and it turned out that they were forced."</p><p>Hebrew <a href="https://www.haaretz.co.il/opinions/2025-02-18/ty-article-opinion/.premium/00000195-13e4-d0af-a197-dbf53a8b0000" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://www.</span><span class="ellipsis">haaretz.co.il/opinions/2025-02</span><span class="invisible">-18/ty-article-opinion/.premium/00000195-13e4-d0af-a197-dbf53a8b0000</span></a> or <a href="https://archive.is/PcFhN" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="">archive.is/PcFhN</span><span class="invisible"></span></a></p><p>Interesting defense of Ben-Gurion's legacy. However, critics would undoubtedly argue that the act of fleeing, as occurred after the Deir Yassin massacre, is functionally equivalent to the expulsion of people at gunpoint. The practical consequences and the established status quo have consistently favored Israel, to the disadvantage of the Palestinians.</p><p><span class="h-card" translate="no"><a href="https://a.gup.pe/u/israel" class="u-url mention" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@<span>israel</span></a></span> <br><span class="h-card" translate="no"><a href="https://a.gup.pe/u/palestine" class="u-url mention" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@<span>palestine</span></a></span> <br><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/IsraelOccupation" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>IsraelOccupation</span></a> <br><a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/IsraelWarCrimes" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>IsraelWarCrimes</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/DeirYassinMassacre" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>DeirYassinMassacre</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Zionism" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Zionism</span></a></p>