You accuse Ben-Gurion of lying without addressing the broader, well-documented historical reality: the 1948 war wasn’t initiated by Israel - it was a response to coordinated Arab aggression. You can try to rewrite the timeline, but the fact remains that within 24 hours of Israel’s declaration of independence, five Arab armies invaded a sovereign UN-recognized state with the goal of destroying it.
Yes, some Arabs fled or were expelled before May 15, 1948 - but why? Because fighting had already begun months earlier, with Arab militias attacking Jewish communities immediately after the UN Partition Plan was passed in November 1947. The civil war phase of the conflict was brutal and chaotic, and both sides suffered.
As for your rejection of Arab leaders’ roles in urging flight - that’s not “Ben-Gurion’s lie.” It’s documented by:Arab sources themselves, including Jordanian newspapers, and the testimony of British diplomats and intelligence officers at the time.Even Khaled al-Azm, former Syrian PM, admitted Arab countries encouraged the exodus and promised return after victory.
Were there expulsions? Yes - in some places, especially during intense fighting. But were all refugees “expelled” as you suggest? No. The causes were mixed, as most serious historians (including Palestinian ones like Benny Morris) acknowledge.
Lastly, it’s not a “lie” to say that Arab rejectionism and military aggression played a major role in creating the refugee crisis. What’s dishonest is pretending that 1948 began in a vacuum, or that Israel’s war of survival was some premeditated campaign of ethnic cleansing.
You don’t have to like the truth, but don’t call it a lie just because it challenges your narrative.
