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There has been so much misinformation spread about the Israeli/Palestinian conflict by today�s press, it seems to me that a little history and fact is in order. I will not address the pre-1948 history of the Jews for the following reason: It is too long, too complicated and it is, for my purpose, irrelevant. If it was presented and studied, it is my belief that it would result in MORE world wide support of Israel as a nation, rather than less. If we went back to Biblical times to decide who has a right to live where, then we would have to accept that a mass emptying of the white population of North and South America and Africa may also be in order.
In 1948, the United Nations decided that the Jews should have a homeland after 2,000 years of world-wide dispersal and persecution of the Jewish people. This was the conclusion of an attempt to deal with this problem that started pre-WWl and was addressed by the League of Nations. It was a decision made by leading world powers including the United States and Britain. It was made following WWll which exposed the fact that 6,000,000 Jews were imprisoned and murdered for no reason other than that they were Jews. We, as Americans, are against that sort of persecution. May it ever remain so. Why do so many of the press appear to be biased in their reporting today? Maybe they are gullible. Maybe it is just to sell papers. The citizens of the USA have long been swayed in favor of what we see as the underdog. We get excited and speak out when we perceive injustice. We are human beings whose emotions sometimes override our thinking. That leaves us vulnerable when we forget or do not know the facts in a situation. At any rate, stirring us up sells papers. Some of the mainstream press is beginning to say Wait! Is Arafat playing us like a fiddle? Who is this man? What is his history? What does he want? Anyone who has read Arafat�s statements knows what he wants. He wants the complete annihilation of Israel and the Jewish population both in Israel and all Arab countries. His statements about the Jews are chillingly similar to those of Hitler in Mein Kampf. He has made no bones about his purpose. Many of the Arab countries share his desire for that. But let�s look at some other facts. On May 14th, 1948, following the UN decision to create a homeland for the Jews on a tiny strip of land in the Middle East, leaders of Israel met, drafted and adopted a statement of Israeli Independence. On May 15th, they were attacked by a coalition of Arab countries. In July, 1949 that War of Independence ended in an armistice signed with Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and Egypt. Saudi Arabia had also declared war on Israel, but did not fight. Iraq had also declared war and fought, but did not sign the Armistice. The purpose of modern Israel�s very existence was to provide a homeland for Jews who had been persecuted for centuries all over the world. On May 11th, 1949, Israel became the 59th member of the United Nations and opened her doors to those refugees and exiles. 50,000 mainly Holocaust survivors arrived within the first 4 months. In the next 3 and a half years 687,000 refugees from Arab lands arrived. Over the years, Israel welcomed many more, including , in 1984, the black Jews from Ethiopia, brought in mostly at Israel�s expense. The following are some excerpts from the Israeli Declaration of Independence, adopted May 14th, 1949.
It is my opinion that Israel has lived up to the above principles.She has, however, been obliged to defend herself , and she has done it well. She has been attacked repeatedly and continuously by her neighbors and by terrorists. She is a parliamentary democracy. The Knesset is her parliament. Is Sharon unreasonable? It depends on what you call reasonable. The definition of "reasonable " varies according to the political views of those whom you ask. If you asked Chamberlain of Britain in 1939 what was reasonable, you would get a very different answer than if you asked Winston Churchhill at the same time and place. We remember Churchhill as a brave and determined man, we remember Chamberlain as a weak, unwise and ineffective man. There are good reasons for that. Would you want a leader who didn�t take some steps toward self defense and preparedness when Khruschev pounded his shoe on the desk in the United Nations and declared his intention to "bury" the USA? That incident seems comical to us now, but it was not meant to be comedic at the time. Neither are Arafat's statements about destroying the Jews and Israel meant to be comedic. He has taken many concrete steps toward achieving that agenda and urging others to do the same. Would you have wanted a leader on Sept 11, 2001, who said "Oh, these men who attacked us must be sad, impoverished exiles who are lashing out at our wealth?" (They weren�t, by the way. They were mostly men from middle and upper middle class families in some of the oil-rich Middle East countries who despise us and our freedoms as much as they do Israel.) Economics is the reason they do not often openly state so. Israel strikes BACK. They do not start military conflicts, but they respond to terrorist attacks in the same way we did, FINALLY, in 2001. There is no reasoning with unreasonable men. We, nor Israel can go around blinding ourselves to the fact that the world has a large population of people who hate us. Not, if we hope to survive. I have included some maps. They show Israel�s tiny size and her position surrounded by large Arab nations. If the Arabs feel the Palestinians need a homeland, if that was their true belief and purpose, then why has one not been provided long before now from THEIR land? Ask Jordan. Jordan doesn�t want the Palestinians on their border. The Palestinians were a constant pain in the side of Jordan when they lived in what was then TransJordan from 1948-1967 and came close to overthrowing the government of Jordan. None of the Arabs want the Palestinians. If Israel disappeared tomorrow and the Palestinians had their land, there would still be no peace in the Middle East. Peaceful Palestinians have lived unmolested in Israel since 1948. It is mainly those who harbor and train suicide bombers and terrorists who have been jailed and investigated. We have laws that allow our gov�t to protect us against our own citizens who choose to attack us from within also. Sometimes, the citizens who look suspicious are indeed innocent. They are inconvenienced by investigations but most innocent people accept that as a part of the price of freedom. Arafat is a terrorist. He has always been a terrorist. His repeated and often stated goal is the destruction of Israel. He has signed papers and declared how he wants peace but his actions have never matched those stated intentions. Some of my ancestors would say, (and be correct!), that he speaks with a forked tongue. His words to the press do not match his actions. They don�t even match his own words and statements. He says what he has to say to be taken seriously by those who respond to the passion of the moment and do not examine the facts.
Israel signed a Declaration of Principles with The PLO in 1993 which set out the steps for a five year transfer of power for the Palestinians to become self governing. The land that was to become Palestine, was land held by Israel including the Gaza Strip and Jericho and the agreement included the withdrawal of Israeli troops from that area. In 1995 new agreements were reached concerning the elections for the governing of Palestine, police forces, etc. Israel DID AS IT AGREED when it was allowed to and in spite of repeated attacks from Palestinians. In spite of numerous points in those papers in which the Palestinians agreed to adopt a zero tolerance for terrorist activities against Israel, terrorist acts against Israel not only continued, they escalated. The further the implementation of self-rule for Palestine proceeded, the worse the attacks on Israel became. In 2001 Israel offered at least 95% (some say 98%) of the West Bank to Arafat PLUS East Jerusalem. Arafat refused. He has refused multiple offers of peace from Israel. He has stated that he wants ALL of the West Bank and all of Jerusalem and that he wants all Israelis out of the area.. He is not interested in any peace which allows Israel to exist. Contrast that to Israel�s admirable treatment of people of different religion and race. Israel has repeatedly offered The Palestinians autonomy and self rule. The Palestinian leadership has turned down almost every proposal. The ones they agreed to they have not abided by. People who believe Arafat is a man of good intentions should study recent history. Especially Arafat�s own personal history. Arafat signs papers such as the Camp David Accords when there are world leaders and world press covering him simply as a propaganda tool. His actions and his statements to Palestinians about his real goals have never wavered. I heard a man propose last week (somewhat tongue in cheek) that Israel should say OK to the Saudi�s peace proposal and return to the pre-1967 borders which would give the West Bank back to Jordan. Let THEM deal with the Palestinian issue. That would at least, put the ball back in the court it belongs in. Speaking of the 1967 war, Jordan, at that time was still in an armistice agreement with Israel and was asked by Israel to stay out of the 1967 war. Instead Jordan joined other Arab nations in attacking Israel. In consequence, in 6 days, Jordan no longer owned the West Bank. I have included some maps. Please look at them. Please realize the facts. Israel is a country 290 miles long and 95 miles wide at it�s widest point. It has suffered repeated attacks by it�s neighboring nations as well as by terrorists that they harbor. Two years ago, George W. Bush was taken on a helicopter tour in Israel by Ariel Sharon. He was struck by the closeness of "enemy lines" (his words, and rightfully chosen) to major Israeli population centers. It is difficult for USA citizens to comprehend the precariousness of Israel�s situation. A shrinking world and 9/11 should bring us into more awareness of their vulnerability. Although all peace loving people hate war, the facts are this. There are street corner bullies and there are nation bullies. Until such time as racial and religious hatred no longer exist, good people with good intentions must be prepared to defend themselves. To be tentative or weak in their resolve in that self defense is to invite present failure and future attacks. So is Sharon a hatred-filled man who strikes out unprovoked ? Not in my opinion. To me he is a man who knows the history of the world and of his own people. He went into the Palestinian lands that his own country had given to the Palestinians to root out the terrorists who trained and sent the suicide bombers into Israel�s public places daily. We went into Afghanistan in the same way and for the same reasons. We were right to do so. So is Sharon.
  
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