|
Did Israel steal Palestinian
land in 1967 and now refuses to give it back?
Isn't it true that Israeli
"occupation" has caused the Arab hatred, violence and
terrorism?
Isn't the current Palestinian leaders fight terrorism
and lead their people toward peace?
Isn't it the case that Americans
have become targets of Islamic terrorism due to American
support of Israel?
Isn't Israel considered militarily
superior in comparison to its Arab neighbors?
Isn't Israel's presence in
the West Bank and Gaza strip considered to be illegal
occupation?
Why should we believe Israel's
media and not the Palestinians'?
Wouldn’t it be beneficial
to have the U.N. present in Israel to help mediate the
conflict?
Which Came First - Terrorism
or "Occupation"?
Why does Europe hold such
a negative image of Israel?
What is the connection between
the 'terror intifada' and the rise in anti-Israeli and
anti-Semitic incidents in the region and throughout
the world?
Is Israel using excessive
force in its response to the violence?
Shouldn’t all Palestinian
refugees have the right to return to their homes?
Wasn’t Israel created
as a result of the Holocaust?
"Israelis stole Palestinian land in 1967 and now refuse
to give it back."
- 1948-1967 Egypt governed the Gaza
strip; Jordan governed the West Bank and Jerusalem.
Instead of allowing a Palestinian state, the lands
were used to launch terror attacks against Israel.
- May 15, 1967, Egypt ordered U.N peacekeepers out
of the Sinai peninsula and massed the Egyptian army
on Israel’s southern border.
- May 18, 1967, Syria amassed troops on Israel’s
northern border, claiming they are ready "to explode
Zionism." The next week, Jordan sent its army to join
the others.
- May 22, Egypt closed the Straits of Tiran in the
Red Sea to Israeli shipping. Israel's access to the
Indian Ocean was cut-off, a clear act of war against
Israel.
- June 4, 1967, Iraq joined the alliance and declared
it would wipe Israel off of the map. Lebanon and other
Arab states sent troops to "annihilate the Zionist
existence."
- Faced with its destruction, on June 5, 1967 Israel
launched a pre-emptive strike on the armies surrounding
it. The U.S. declared neutrality in the conflict and
cut off arms supplies to Israel.
- Five days later, Israeli army advanced deep into
enemy territory. Israel had taken the Sinai peninsula,
Gaza strip, West Bank, and the Golan Heights.
- Israel eventually returned the Sinai to Egypt in
exchange for a permanent peace.
- Israel recently offered the Palestinians over 95
percent of the West Bank and ALL of Gaza in exchange
for a permanent peace.
The representation of a land-grabbing
Israel, intent on stealing Palestinian land in 1967,
is tragically ignorant.
"Israeli "occupation" has caused the Arab hatred,
violence and terrorism."
- In 1947, the U.N. drew borders for a Palestinian
and a Jewish state, dictated largely by the areas
populated by these groups.
- Jews agreed to live in peace with a Palestinian
state. Arabs refused to allow a non-Muslim state to
exist in their midst, and declared war to destroy
Israel.
- 1948-1967, the West Bank and Gaza were under Arab
rule. Rather than grant Palestinians statehood, the
Arabs spent these years launching thousands of terrorist
offensives to destroy the State of Israel. These include:
- In 1952 alone, Israel absorbed approximately 3,000
cross-border terrorist attacks on its civilians.
- June 8, 1953 the U.N. mediated an agreement for
Jordan to cease terrorist attacks into Israel. The
next day, terrorists threw grenades and sprayed machine
gun fire on Israeli civilians at a farming village
near Lod.
- June 11, 1953, terrorists murdered a civilian couple
in their home in Kfar Hess.
- March 17, 1954, terrorists ambushed an Israeli
bus and walked the aisle shooting each passenger and
spitting on the bodies.
- March 24, 1955, terrorists threw grenades and opened
fire on a wedding in the village of Patish.
- April 11, 1956, terrorists opened fire on children
at a synagogue in the village of Shafir.
- November 7, 1965, a Fatah terrorist cell blew up
a civilian house south of Beit Shemesh.
Before the so-called "occupation," Arabs
refused to live in peace with Israel, and allowed thousands
of terrorists’ attacks against israelis.
"The current
Palestinian leaders fight terrorism and lead their people
toward peace."
- January 2002, during a cease fire, the Karine A,
a ship carrying 50 tons of Iranian-made long-range
missiles, mortars, mines and explosives, was seized
in the Red Sea, heading to the Gaza strip.
- The ship was owned by the Palestinian Authority.
- The captain was a Palestinian naval police officer.
- The arms were purchased by the Palestinian Authority.
v April 2002, in the office of the Palestinian chief
financial officer, soldiers found funding requests
for terrorists involved in murders of Israeli and
Arab civilians.
- Handwritten notations from Yasir Arafat approved
the allotment of funds.
- Arab press declared that these incidents –
as well as the identities of the September 11 terrorists
– were Israeli fabrications intended to stir
resentment of Arabs.
- At a typical Palestinian rally, young boys were
pictured learning to use automatic weapons to kill
Israelis. New York Times, page A1, February 26, 2002.
- "Peace initiatives, the so-called peaceful solutions,
and the international conferences to resolve the Palestinian
problem, are all contrary to the beliefs of the Islamic
Resistance Movement." The Charter of the Hamas, Article
13.
- Palestinian children are taught from maps that
show Israel does not exist and from books that preach
martyrdom.
Until the Arabs love their children
as much as they hate the Jews, we will not have peace.
"Americans are targets of Islamic terrorism due to
American support of Israel."
- Despite this sentiment in frequent letters published
by the Chicago Tribune, the bigotry of Islamic fundamentalists
does not have just a single root.
- This year, Muslim fundamentalists in India burned
a train of Hindu worshippers because of their beliefs.
- This year, Muslim fundamentalists bombed Pakistani
churches to kill Christians in the name of Allah.
- Today, Muslim fundamentalists hold American missionaries
hostage in the Philippines.
- Before September 11, Bin Laden has never mentioned
the Palestinian cause in his preachings.
- Long before September 11, Al Qaeda killed hundreds
of American soldiers simply to protest the presence
of Americans on Saudi soil.
- The Iranian hostage crisis of 1978-1980 had nothing
to do with Israel.
- The Charter of Hamas calls for military jihad until
all three major religions "live under the shadow of
Islam."
- "Eleventh-graders at the elite Islamic Saudi Academy
in Northern Virginia... file into their Islamic studies
class, where the textbooks tell them the Day of Judgment
can’t come until Jesus Christ returns to Earth,
breaks the cross and converts everyone to Islam, and
until Muslims start attacking Jews." Washington Post,
February 25, 2002.
- Israel and America are the targets of Islamic terrorism,
groups like Taliban, Hamas, Fatah and Al Qaeda, for
similar reasons: the perceived threat of democracy
and secular rule to Islamic theocracy.
Supporting Israel did not create Islamic
terrorism.Abandoning Israel will not make them go away.
Isn't Israel considered
militarily superior in comparison to its Arab neighbors?
Israel’s qualitative military edge has declined as
Arab and Muslim states acquire increasingly sophisticated
conventional and unconventional arms. In fact, despite
its pledges to the contrary, the United States is allowing
Israel’s qualitative edge to dissipate. In some cases,
US arms transfers to the Arabs are the reason for this
erosion.
- Myths and Facts, by Mithchell G. Bard
Isn't
Israel's presence in the West Bank and Gaza strip considered
to be illegal occupation?
Jews have lived in the West Bank and Gaza strip since
ancient times. The only time Jews have been prohibited
from living in the territories in recent decades was
during Jordan’s rule from 1948 to 1967. This prohibition
was anti-Semitic and contrary to the Mandate for Palestine
adopted by the League of Nations, which provided for
the establishment of a Jewish state, and specifically
encouraged “close settlement by Jews on the land.”
- Myths and Facts, by Mithchell G.
Bard
Why should
we believe Israel's media and not the Palestinians'?
In a free democracy, which Israel is, the press will
expose lies. In a police state people will be killed
for telling the truth. When journalists are allowed
to pierce the veil of secrecy, the price of access to
dictators and terrorists is often steep. Reporters are
sometimes intimidated or blackmailed. This is not just
the case for Western journalists. During the “al-Aksa
intifada” Israeli journalists were warned against
going to the Palestinian Authority (PA) and some received
telephone threats after publishing articles critical
of the Palestinian leadership. In Arab countries, journalists
are usually escorted to see what the dictator wants
them to see or they are followed. Citizens are warned
by security agencies, sometimes directly, sometimes
more subtly, that they should be careful what they say
to visitors. If a news organization strays from the
pro-Palestinian line, it comes under immediate attack.
-
- Myths and Facts, by Mithchell G.
Bard
Wouldn’t
it be beneficial to have the U.N. present in Israel
to help mediate the conflict?
History has proven that the United Nations does not
have Israel’s best interest at heart. In 1975,
for example, the Assembly approved Resolution 3379,
which slandered Zionism by branding it a form of racism.
In 1991 the General Assembly voted 111-25 to repeal
Resolution 3379. No Arab country voted for repeal. In
1976 the committee recommended “full implementation
of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people,
including their return to the Israeli part of Palestine.”
It also recommended that November 29 – the day
the UN voted to partition Palestine in 1947 – be
declared an ”International Day of Solidarity with
the Palestinian People.” Israel is the object of
more investigative committees, special representatives
and reporters than any other state in the UN system.
- Myths and Facts, by Mithchell G. Bard
Which Came
First - Terrorism or "Occupation"?
Palestinian and Arab spokesmen commonly claim that the
recent Palestinian terrorism is the result of the Israeli
'occupation' of the West Bank and Gaza, adding that
the violence will cease only when the 'occupation' is
ended. Despite this claim, it should be recalled that
the many Palestinian and Arab rejectionist factions
(such as the Hamas and the Hizbullah) repeatedly declare
that even if Israel would fully withdraw from the territories
they will continue their attacks, since they refute
Israel's basic right to exist. More importantly, however,
the basic premise of the Palestinian claim - that the
'occupation' causes terrorism - is historically flawed.
Arab and Palestinian terrorism against Israel existed
prior to the beginning of Israeli control over the West
Bank and Gaza as a result of the Six Day War of June
1967, and even prior to the establishment of the State
of Israel in May 1948. For example, Arab terrorism was
rampant during wave of anti-Jewish riots in 1920-21
(which was characterized by the brutal murder in Jaffa
of the prominent Jewish author Y. Brenner), during the
'Disturbances' of 1929 (which included the massacre
of the Jewish community in Hebron), during the Arab
Revolt of 1936-39, and in many other recorded incidents
of wholesale anti-Jewish Arab violence throughout the
pre-state period. The Palestinian terrorism campaign
was stepped-up on the eve of the UN Partition Resolution
of November 1947, and led to the joint Arab invasion
of 1948-49 which delineated the boundaries of the newly
established State of Israel.
- Jerusalem Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Why does Europe
hold such a negative image of Israel?
One reason may simply be because the Palestinians have
done a much better job with their public relations campaign
then has Israel. Other explanations include: because
Europe fears its immense Muslim population, because
of its own anti-Semitism, because its dependent on Arab
oil, and because America supports Israel.
- Dennis Prager
What
is the connection between the 'terror intifada' and
the rise in anti-Israeli and anti-Semitic incidents
in the region and throughout the world?
The vehement campaign of Palestinian incitement is generating
violence, destroying regional peace efforts and giving
rise to antisemitism throughout the world.
The Palestinian Authority's institutionalized campaign
of incitement constitutes the driving force of the Terror
Intifada, and the main instrument for mobilizing public
participation in the violence and to recruit new terrorists
and suicide bombers. The PA television stations and official
daily newspapers present distorted accounts of Palestinian
casualties, praise the 'martyred' Palestinian suicide
terrorists, spread unfounded rumors, stir up anti-Jewish
fervor, and urge the public to take to the street for
well-orchestrated and violent confrontations with Israelis.
PA-financed clergy use the pulpit to preach hate of Jews
and praise of Jihad (holy war). Senior Palestinian leaders
and spokesmen fabricate and repeat inflammatory lies about
non-existent Israeli 'atrocities', 'massacres', or 'religious
desecrations'. Palestinian education television airs programs
glorifying the murder of Jews, praising child Jihad martyrdom,
teaching nursery rhymes of hate and revenge and calling
on children to "drop your toys and take up arms".
Extensive media coverage is given to rallies and protests
in which mock-up Jewish school buses or villages are destroyed,
leaders urge the crowd to intensify the confrontation
and violence, and religious authorities extol the virtues
of self-immolation and suicide bombings in the name of
Allah. In the face of the overwhelming campaign of incitement,
it is no wonder that the Palestinian public has been swept
up in an ultimately self-destructive vortex of violence
which has been chosen as the preferable course of action
by the irresponsible Palestinian leadership.
The vehement Palestinian anti-Israeli rhetoric has also
had a crippling impact on the support for Arab-Israeli
peace and reconciliation efforts throughout the region.
The intense coverage of the Palestinian perspective of
the events, the incitement of Palestinian spokesmen and
the political pressure of radical Arab regimes has given
rise to an anti-Israeli ground-swell among the Arab public
in general, influencing many pro-peace Arab states to
downgrade their ties with Israel. At a time when all parties
in the Middle East should be working to contain the conflict
and to restore calm to the region, it is of utmost importance
to keep all possible lines of direct communication and
cooperation open. In this light, the limiting of relations
between states runs counter to the interests of the region
and is particularly unfortunate.
Recent Arab press commentary and political dialogue have
revealed a growing frustration in the Arab world. A realization
is dawning that the Terror Intifada is ultimately counterproductive
to the greater Arab cause, as it has only served to reinforce
negative stereotypes of the Arab world as posing a threat
to world peace and stability.
Unfortunately, the effects of the Terror Intifada's campaign
of hate have not been limited to the Middle East. Israel
is gravely concerned by the recent, significant rise in
antisemitism, directed against Jewish communities in Europe
and elsewhere that has been engendered by the virulent
anti-Israeli rhetoric and anti-Jewish violence taking
place in the region. These antisemitic attacks have included
bombings of synagogues, death threats and violence against
Jews, unprovoked assaults including murder, desecration
of Jewish cemeteries and other forms of hate-vandalism.
These incidents should arouse the deep concern of all
civilized peoples. Israel calls on the governments of
countries where the scourge of antisemitism is spreading
to take all measures necessary to ensure the security
of Jewish communities - and to bring the perpetrators
of these deplorable attacks to justice.
- Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Is Israel
using excessive force in its response to the violence?
Every nation must protect its citizens from threats
to their lives. No nation would acquiesce to a situation
in which its citizens are victimized daily by indiscriminate
terrorism. Israel is no exception.
The oft-repeated charge that Israel has used excessive
force against innocent Palestinian civilians is a distortion
of the truth. Israeli soldiers and civilians alike have
had to face thousands of organized, violent and life-threatening
attacks by Palestinians, only a small percentage of
which have been reported in the media. These attacks
have included violent riots, lynchings, machine-gun
fire directed at residential neighborhoods, fire-bombings,
roadside charges and ambushes, mortar barrages, suicide
bombers and car bombs in crowded shopping areas. As
a result of this violence, over 250 Israelis have been
killed and thousands wounded.
Under these difficult conditions, the IDF [Israel Defense
Forces] has acted with the greatest possible restraint,
taking care to target only those responsible for the
violence, and doing its utmost to prevent collateral
civilian injury or loss of life.
Israel has no interest in escalating the violence.
On the contrary, Israel believes it is imperative that
the violence ends so that both parties can return to
constructive negotiations. Israel maintains that a just
and sustainable solution can be found only through dialogue,
not armed conflict. However, as long as the violence
exists, Israel has an indisputable responsibility to
protect its citizens.
The Israeli government regrets the loss of any life,
whether Jewish or Arab, in the present wave of violence.
In the final analysis, however, responsibility for these
casualties lies with the Palestinian Authority, which
has initiated the violence and stubbornly refuses to
bring it to an end.
The inaction of the Palestinian Authority in the face
of widespread terrorism in its areas, coupled with the
PA's public support for this violence, have left Israel
no alternative but to take the necessary action itself
to prevent continued terrorism. Therefore, Israel must
undertake preventive, precisely targeted operations
which are designed to bring about a cessation of these
clear lethal threats.
Whenever possible, Israeli operations are directed
toward arresting terrorists and their accomplices and
bringing them to justice. In a small minority of cases,
when arrests are impossible (mostly due to the lack
of Israeli jurisdiction in PA areas), and when a clear,
specific and imminent terrorist threat must be countered,
Israel is forced to carry out other types of preventative
operations. All civilized nations would act in a similar
fashion given these circumstances.
Israel does not condone or take part in 'assassinations'
or 'extra-judicial killings'. These terms are derived
from spheres unrelated to armed conflict and are blatantly
misleading descriptions of Israel's justified counter-terrorist
operations in a clear situation of armed confrontation.
The widespread use of these terms by Palestinian spokespersons
is intended to portray Israel and its actions in a pejorative
light, while disregarding the legal reality.
Currently, Israel in engaged in a situation best defined
as an armed conflict. International law in general and
the law of armed conflict in particular recognize that
individuals who directly take part in hostilities cannot
then claim immunity from attack or protection as innocent
civilians. By initiating and participating in armed
attacks against Israeli civilians or security personnel,
such individuals have designated themselves as combatants
in the conflict, and have forfeited such legal protection.
An individual who becomes a combatant is considered
to remain a combatant until hostilities come to an end
and not merely during that exact instant when the individual
is carrying out or organizing an attack. They are therefore
to be considered legitimate military targets both when
planning future attacks, and after these attacks have
been committed.
Israel only acts in a manner which is in compliance
with the principles and practice of armed conflict,
and makes every effort to avoid involvement of innocent
civilians, taking action only in conditions where inaction
by Israel would result in additional loss of innocent
lives in imminent terrorist actions.
- Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Shouldn’t
all Palestinian refugees have the right to return to
their homes?
After the 1948 war, no more than 800,000 Palestinians
(and probably considerably fewer) were refugees. Today,
the number has swelled to 3.7 million. Does Israel have
any obligation to accept all of those? Where would they
live? The current Israeli population is 6 million. If
every Palestinian was allowed to move to Israel, the
population would be nearly 10 million and more than
40 percent Arab. Given the Arabs’ significantly
higher birth rate, the Jews would soon be a minority
in their own country, the very situation they fought
to avoid in 1948 and which the UN expressly ruled out
in deciding on a partition of Palestine.
- Myths and Facts, by Mithchell G. Bard
Wasn’t
Israel created as a result of the Holocaust?
A common misperception is that the Jews were forced
into the Diaspora by the Romans after the destruction
of the Second Temple in Jerusalem in the year 70 A.D.
and then, 1,800 years later, suddenly returned to Palestine
demanding their country back. In reality, the Jewish
people have maintained ties to their historic homeland
for more than 3,700 years, including a national language
and a distinct civilization.
- Myths and Facts, by Mithchell G. Bard
Top
|
