Can you pass the "Israel"-Palestine quiz?

Source: ICH (Information Clearing House), 22-06-2008

By: Jeffrey Rudolph

The 'Israel'-Palestine conflict resonates deeply with many people. Opinions are sharply divided and generally unchangeable. However, as a member of a mainstream 'Israeli' peace group, I often encounter opinionated people who are ignorant of many basic facts. And, while much concerning the conflict remains disputed, there are important, undisputed facts which must underlie any coherent opinion.

Therefore, in the spirit of Senator Daniel Moynihan of New York, who used to remind people that "Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts," I have designed the below quiz which may lead some to reexamine their misconceived opinions. (Indeed, I will deem the quiz a success if it merely reduces the number of times I hear the common refrains of: "the land was empty before the Jews came" and "Barak made a generous offer at Camp David.")

While it is undoubtedly true that carefully selected facts alone do not constitute an informed opinion, answers to the following questions should not be ignored if one is to understand the 'Israel'-Palestine conflict. And, while a strong commitment to a cause can blind some people to contrary facts, I appeal to such people through the words of the famous British economist, John Maynard Keynes: "When the facts change, I change my mind. What do you do, sir?"

The 'Israel'-Palestine quiz questions:

1. Who wrote the following in 1891? "We abroad are used to believing Eretz Yisrael is now almost totally desolate, a desert that is not sowed, and anyone who wishes to purchase land there may come and purchase as much as he desires. But in truth this is not the case. Throughout the country, it is difficult to find fields that are not sowed. Only sand dunes and stony mountains that are not fit to grow anything but fruit trees - and this only after hard labor and great expense ..."

2. Who declared the following in 1930? "Land is the most necessary thing for our establishing roots in Palestine. Since there are hardly any more arable unsettled lands in Palestine, we are bound in each case of the purchase of land and its settlement to remove the peasants who cultivated the land so far, both owners of the land and tenants."

3. Who, in 1919, wrote the following, in a secret memorandum submitted to the British cabinet? "For in Palestine we do not propose even to go through the form of consulting the wishes of the present inhabitants of the country [i.e., we do not accept the principle of self-determination for the Arabs of Palestine] ... the four great powers are committed to Zionism. And Zionism, be it right or wrong, good or bad, is rooted in age-long traditions, in present needs, in future hopes, of far profounder import than the desires and prejudices of the 700,000 Arabs who now inhabit that ancient land ..."

4. According to Mandatory Palestine's first modern census, conducted in 1922, approximately what percentage of the total population were Jews?

5. Approximately what percentage of Mandatory Palestine's inhabitants were Jews in 1947?

6. Approximately what percentage of Mandatory Palestine's land was allocated for the Jewish (Zionist) state by the 1947 United Nations Partition Plan (which supported the division of Palestine into a Jewish state and an Arab state)?

7. Approximately what percentage of Mandatory Palestine's land was owned by Jews at the time of the 1947 UN Partition Plan?

8. Which state, the Jewish (Zionist) State or Arab State, was to include 'Jerusalem' (al-Quds) according to the 1947 UN Partition Plan?

9. During the 1948-49 War, approximately how many Arabs fled or were ejected from the areas that became the 'Jewish' state?

10. After the 1948-49 Arab-'Israeli' War, approximately what percentage of Mandatory Palestine=s land was part of the Jewish state?

11. After the 1967 Arab-'Israeli' War, what percentage of Mandatory Palestine's land was part of, or occupied by, 'Israel'?

12. Which future prime minister of 'Israel' wrote the following in October 1937? "My assumption is that ... a partial 'Jewish' state is not an end but a beginning ... and it will serve as a powerful lever in our historical efforts to redeem the whole of the country."

13. From Israel's victory in the 1967 War to the Likud's electoral victory in 1977, approximately how many Jewish (Zionist) settlers migrated to East 'Jerusalem' and to the West Bank and Gaza Strip?

14. At the time of the signing of the Oslo Declaration of Principles in September 1993, approximately how many Jewish (Zionist) settlers lived in East 'Jerusalem' and the West Bank?

15. When the Camp David Summit began in July 2000, approximately how many 'Jewish' settlers lived in East 'Jerusalem' and the West Bank?

16. In 2007, approximately how many 'Jewish' settlers and how many Palestinians lived in Hebron (al-Khalil)?

17. Approximately what percentage of West Bank land is consumed by 'Israeli' settlements and related infrastructure such as a separate road network for 'Israeli' settlers and the Wall?

18. Approximately how many Lebanese civilians were killed by 'Israel' during its 1982 invasion of Lebanon?

19. Approximately how many cluster sub-munitions (bomblets) were dropped by 'Israel' on Lebanon in the last few days of the 2006 Lebanon confrontation?

20. Who said the following in 1998? "If I were a young Palestinian, it is possible I would join a terrorist organization."

21. Who wrote the following September 18, 1967 Top Secret memo, concerning Settlement in the Administered (or Occupied) Territories, to Mr. Adi Yafeh, Political Secretary of the Prime Minister of 'Israel'? "As per your request ... I hereby provide you a copy of my memorandum of September 14, 1967, which I presented to the Foreign Minister. My conclusion is that civilian settlement in the administered territories contravenes the explicit provisions of the Fourth Geneva Convention."

22. Who wrote the following passage, in an article in one of 'Israel's' leading newspapers, in 2002? "The Six-Day War was forced upon us; however, the war's seventh day, which began on June 12, 1967 and has continued to this day, is the product of our choice. We enthusiastically chose to become a colonial society, ignoring international treaties, expropriating lands, transferring settlers from Israel to the occupied territories, engaging in theft and finding justification for all these activities. Passionately desiring to keep the occupied territories, we developed two judicial systems: one - progressive, liberal - in 'Israel'; and the other - cruel, injurious - in the occupied territories. In effect, we established an apartheid regime in the occupied territories immediately following their capture. That oppressive regime exists to this day."

23. Who wrote the following passage in his 2006 book? "For, regardless of party loyalties and according to most studies, the overwhelming majority of 'Israelis' would support a peace settlement that is based on the Clinton parameters--two states, withdrawal from territories, massive dismantling of settlements, two capitals in 'Jerusalem' --but they trust neither their political system nor, of course, the Palestinian leadership to come to an accommodation on that basis. Which may explain the results of a poll conducted in 2002 by the Steinmetz Centre for Peace at Tel Aviv University indicating that, convinced of the incapacity of their political system to produce solutions, 67% of 'Israeli' Jews would support an American effort to recruit an international alliance that would coax the parties into endorsing such a settlement."

24. Who stated the following on Democracy Now!, a news program, on February 14, 2006? "...Camp David was not the missed opportunity for the Palestinians, and if I were a Palestinian I would have rejected Camp David, as well. ... But Taba is [another matter] ..."

25. Who said the following? "One million Arabs are not worth a Jewish fingernail."