THE BIGGEST LIE?

How many times have you heard someone confidently stating: 'I'm anti Israel; the Jews STOLE the land from the Palestinians'???

People who know nothing about the topic, still feel strangely confident trotting out this accusation. Indeed, it's becoming a veritable mantra among those who oppose Israel's right to exist. After all, they'll insist, she's 'illegal'.

The most peculiar thing about these 'facts' is that...... well, they're not anything of the sort. They are myths. History disproves them.

So, how about we do some mythbusting?


TRUTH: THERE HAS NEVER BEEN A COUNTRY CALLED 'PALESTINE'

Yep, that's right. There was never, in the entire history of Planet Earth, a country called Palestine. It was a region.. Formerly, it was known as Judea; then the Romans conquered it, chucked the Jews out, and in a bid to sever the link between the Jews and the land, changed the name to PALESTINA. They named it after the Philistines, a sea-faring and somewhat warlike people that had already attacked the Jews more than once.


TRUTH: THE TERM 'PALESTINIANS' ORIGINALLY REFERRED TO THE JEWS, AS WELL AS THE ARABS

Again, people often take on trust that the 'native Palestinians' were the Arabs. Wrong. Jews are the native Palestinians. They were living in Jerusalem before Islam even existed. There has been a Jewish community in what was Palestine, for thousands of years. It was certainly NOT a case of the Jews just rocking up in '48 and demanding a state!

The term 'Palestinian' referred to the Jews, and also to the others living in the region; Arabs and Christians.

In 1854 a report in the New York Tribune reported that Jews made up two thirds of the population of Jerusalem.

A travel guide to Palestine and Syria, published in 1906 by Karl Baedeker, illustrates the fact that even when the Islamic Ottoman Empire ruled the region, the Muslim population in Jerusalem was minimal. The book estimates that there were 7,000 Muslims, 13,000 Christians, and 40,000 Jews.

TRUTH: 82% OF THE REGION OF PALESTINE ALREADY BELONGED TO THE ARABS IN 1948

Absolutely correct. The British had the mandate on the region of Palestine. And they had already already given a whopping 82% to the Arabs - today we know it as JORDAN.

So that left 18%. And in 1947, the British in their wisdom declared they were going to divide this part between the Jews, and the Arabs. This, of course
, was the Partition Plan. A tiny sliver went to the Jews - they accepted, and began celebrating. The rest went to the Arabs - they rejected it, and immediately declared war on the new Jewish state.

I'm sure you've picked up on the key point? Yes, that's right: it was the ARABS who REJECTED a Palestinian Arab state! They would not even agree to the idea of a democratic Jewish nation in the Middle East.

And on May 15, 1947, when Israel was less than 12 hours old, the armies of FIVE Arab nations attacked her: EGYPT, SYRIA, JORDAN
, LEBANON and IRAQ. Terrified of being caught in the crossfire, the Palestinian Arabs looked to their Arab brethren for instructions.

Also on May 15th, 1947, the ARAB LEAGUE secretary general, AZZAM PASHA called for 'jihad' and said: 'This will be a war of extermination and a momentous massacre which will be spoken of like the Mongolian massacre and the crusades.

TRUTH: IT WAS THE ARABS WHO ORDERED THE PALESTINIANS TO FLEE

Here's where it gets really interesting. It is a matter of public record that the Israelis pleaded with the Palestinian Arabs to stay; indeed, those that did, are today Israeli citizens.

So what happened to the rest? How did they end up as refugees?

The Economist, an intense critic of the zionist movement, reported on October 2 1948: 'Of the 62,000 Arabs who formerly lived in Haifa, not
more than 5,000 or 6,000 remain. Various factors influenced their decision to seek safety in flight... the most potent one being the announcements made over the air by the HIGHER ARAB EXECUTIVE urging the Arabs to leave... It was clearly
intimated that those Arabs who remained in Haifa and who accepted Jewish protection would be regarded as renegades.'

Time magazine's report was similar. On May 3, 1948: 'The mass evacuation, prompted partly by orders of the Arab leaders, left
the Arab quarter of Haifa a ghost city.'

THE ARAB NATION COMMITTEE in Jerusalem, ordered women, children and the elderly to leave their homes: 'Any opposition to this order is an obstacle to the holy war and will hamper the operations of the fighters in these districts.'

HAG AMIN AL-HUSSEINI, the Mufti of Jerusalem, declared: 'I declare a Holy War, my Muslim brothers! Murder the Jews! Murder them all!'

And the invading Arab armies also sometimes ordered entire villages to depart, so as not to be in their way.

BENNY MORRIS, the historian who documented the Palestinian exodus, states that in early May, the ARAB LEGION ordered the evacuation of all women and children from the town of BEISAN.

Even Jordan's KING ABDULLAH, in his memoirs, blamed the Palestinian Arab leaders for the refugee problem:


'The tragedy of the Palestinians was that most of their leaders had paralyzed them with false promises that they were not alone; that 80 million Arabs and 400 million Muslims would instantly and miraculously come to their rescue.'

In March 1976, MAHMOUD ABBAS, of the Palestinian Authority recalled: 'The Arab armies abandoned the Palestinians, forced them to emigrate and to leave their homeland, and threw them into prisons similar to the ghettos in which the
Jews used to live.'

And what kind of response greets Arabs who confirm what really happened?

Arab American writer, Joseph Farah, has received death threats from his fellow Arabs for stating facts about the creation of Israel. He says:

'Let me state this plainly and clearly: the Jews in Israel took no one's land. Many historical records show that the Jews urged the Arabs to stay and live with them in peace. But tragically, they chose to leave. 54 years later, the sons
and daughters and grandchildren of those refugees are all too often still in refugee camps - not because of Israeli intransigence, but because they are misused as a political tool of the Arab powers.'

And he adds: 'At no time did the Jews uproot Arab families from their homes. When there were title deeds to be purchased, they bought them at inflated prices. When there were not, they worked the land so they could have a place to live. It's a GREAT BIG LIE that the Israelis displaced anyone - one of a series of myths and lies that have the world on the verge of committing yet another great injustice to the Jews.'

SOURCES

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=27338

The Birth Of The Palestinian Refugee Problem Revisited: Cambridge University Press, 2994, page 590, author BENNY MORRIS

Middle Eastern Studies, January 1986

King Abdullah: My Memoirs Completed, 1978

Arab Attitudes To Israel, by Yehoshofat Harkabi, 1972, page 364

Mahmoud Abbas, as quoted in
Falastin a - Thaura

18 comments:

Anonymous said...

Your blog is excellent and fills a real need. In a world in which lies, half-truths and misrepresentations about the Middle East conflict are rife, a factual presentation of Israel's case is a true breath of fresh air. Kol hakavod!

Anonymous said...

http://www.jewsforjudaism.org/web/pdf/RealMessiahBookPages_v4ab.pdf (Read 'A Practical Guide to the Missionary Problem') I thought this would be of some interest to you from your answers that I have read, I certainly thought it was interesting.
Shavua tov!

Unknown said...

Excellent blog. Only one comment (I used to teach web development - pleeeeese - no red on blue or blue on red; the text vibrates!)
OK - enough borching. I enjoy your blog and your Yahoo Answers! Good luck on the degree!
Deb (plushy bear on Yahoo)

Anonymous said...

Jews were in the land that is now the state of Israel from at least 1400 BCE and there has never been a time since then when there weren't Jews in the land. Even during the dispersions, only the majority of the Jews were sent out of the land, forcibly. Only ignorant people can try to assert that the Jews stole the land from the Arabs. I'd give more credence to the statement that we stole it from the Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Girgashites, Amorites, and Jebusites (Book of Joshua). If anyone can prove definitely that they are a member of one of those tribes, I say we give them an acre for their effort (although those tribes were defeated in war... oh wait, so were the Arabs!).

Anonymous said...

This is amazing. Is there anywhere where I can find these original articles? I'm always getting comments about how Israel shouldn't exist, etc., etc. The more sources I have to boost that stuff up, the better! And I would like to discuss it more at my LiveJournal.

I agree with the criticism on blog text colors, but that didn't detract me too much from the content.

RSdaCat said...

Truth!


finally.


I really wish more people understood this. Please keep educating the Yahoo Answers community and all others you have access too. The world needs it.

Anonymous said...

loved it, bring the light to the world

Anonymous said...

Shavua tov, PB :)

Unknown said...

A blessing on your head!! Mazel Tov!!!

Ben Parris said...

I have never seen these facts explained so well.

Anonymous said...

Great job, p_w! Mazal tov and todah rabbah!

Anonymous said...

Liar, Fuck you!

Anonymous said...

If only this could be read at the United Nations! Oh what a tangled web the Arabs have woven.

Anonymous said...

Hello, My name in Cynthia and I am teaching a class on the history of Israel to Grade 8 students. Your blog was terrific! I, along with Jewish Convert would really appreciate if you had any sources available to back up your claims? If you do that would be great as I can't teach information to children without having the sources. Thank you.

kitten said...

I really enjoy reading what you say. You are very opinionated and outspoken. I learn a lot from reading your responses.
Just wanted to say GOOD JOB!

Helen O said...

Have you heard what the French President has been saying lately?

On Wednesday, he declared that "I won't shake hands with people who refuse to recognize Israel," a snub directed at Muslim leaders. On the same day he warned that France may join the U.S. and Canada in boycotting the UN's anti-Israel hatefest (known officially as an "anti-racism conference") in Durban, South Africa: "France will not allow a repetition of the excesses and abuses of 2001."



He has pledged to attend Israel's 60th anniversary celebrations in May, and after the recent suicide bombing in Dimona, sent a condolence letter to Shimon Peres in which he went out of his way to declare that he will always stand with Israel against terrorism.



His rhetoric on Iran of late has surpassed President Bush's in its spirit of determination: "Proliferation is a grave threat to international security. We cannot sit by and do nothing while Iran develops technologies which are in violation of international law."



Sarkozy made some of the above comments at the annual dinner of the CRIF, the umbrella organization of the French Jewish community — it was the first time a French president had ever attended.



And there's more. The opening paragraph of a New York Times story today reads:



President Nicolas Sarkozy dropped an intellectual bombshell this week, surprising the nation and touching off waves of protest with his revision of the school curriculum: beginning next fall, he said, every fifth grader will have to learn the life story of one of the 11,000 French children killed by the Nazis in the Holocaust.



All of this is the opposite of his predecessor's approach, which involved a meticulous attention to detail when it came to denigrating and insulting the Jewish state. It was only a couple of years ago, two days into Israel's war with Hezbollah, that Jacques Chirac sat in a garden in Paris and announced to the press that Israel's opening salvos were "completely disproportionate" and added that "One could ask if today there is not a sort of will to destroy Lebanon." Three days later he sent Dominique de Villepin on a solidarity mission to Beirut.



Chirac, though, was simply following tradition — French leaders have always held Israel in public contempt, such acts being viewed as necessary to earning an advantageous relationship with the Arab world (relations, it's worth adding, that never worked out very well for France — what did Chirac and his predecessors ever get from their courtships of Saddam Hussein, Yasser Arafat, and Ayatollah Khomeini?).



There was only one period in history when France treated Israel with anything approaching Sarkozy's benevolence, and that was during the ambassadorship of Pierre-Etienne Gilbert from 1953 to 1959. Gilbert was the first French diplomat who actually admired the Jewish state. During his time in Israel, he learned Hebrew and lobbied vigorously for a collaborative relationship between the two countries. After the 1956 Suez War, Gilbert helped push through the nuclear deal that supplied Israel with its reactor in Dimona. This brief window of good relations was slammed shut when De Gaulle returned from retirement in 1958 and quickly put French diplomacy back on its historic track, an official policy of obsequience to the Arab states.



In the run-up to the Six Day War, France embargoed arms sales to Israel, and during the war, counting on an Israeli defeat, De Gaulle told British Prime Minister Harold Wilson that eventually the West would thank him, as from then on France would "be the only Western power to have any influence with the Arab governments" — a remark that perfectly captures the central ambition of 200 years of French Middle East policy.



Until Sarkozy, that is.

RSdaCat said...

I am just loving the elloquence and ovbious intelligence of your detractors (geeze there really should be a SARCASAM key here somewhere next to the bold and italics.)

Oh OH OY I love how the dectractors of the TRUTH fight with carniverous bunnies http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J9V1Za8JkKY
Sadistic Bees
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_zrpgl8O1U&feature=related
and their own children
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8dPb1bF-s4M&feature=related

Oh how I wish there was a sarcasam html tag.

Anonymous said...

Excellent post.

Also, have you noticed that Jews post logical and facts with references to back up their arguments, whereas the people enjoy debasing Jews simply use flames and neo-nazi style website "facts" to support their ignorance?

Jews really need to unite more often, but if we did, that would scare the shit out of the jewbashers...

Shalom.