Arabs I
Here is a quote from the "Five Addresses", by Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveichik, p.79:
"There has always existed a hatred of the Jew amongst the peoples of the world. Whoever was in power, Esav or Yishmael, Christians or Moslems, they pursued us. Nonetheless, in the history of Jewish persecution the Moslems were always relatively better then the Christians. We do not find tragedies such as the Jewish martyrology at the time of the Crusades, the Spanish Inquisition, or the Chemelnicky massacres, in the annals of our communities in Islamic lands.
"The position has now been radically reversed. While among the Christians one hears voices of soul searching, tens of millions of Moslems, in particular Arabs, have become Amalekites and Nazis who have engraved on their banner the call: 'Come, let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more a remembrance" (Ps. 83,5) - far be it. It is unnecessary to dilate on this; we all know the facts.
"What has brought about the wave of hatred that has engulfed the Moslem world? We all know it is the founding of the State of Israel."
And the following is from a pamphlet called "Facts About Israel: History", published by the Israel Information Center of the Israeli Information Center in the U.N., p.22:
"The Jewish national revival and the efforts of the Jewish community to rebuild the country were opposed from the outset by extreme Arab nationalists. Their strong resentment erupted in periods of intense violence in 1920, 1921, 1929, and 1936-1939 . . . Attempts to reach a dialogue with the Arabs, undertaken early by the Zionist endeavor, were ultimately unsuccessful. Henceforth, Zionism and Arab nationalism were polarized into a potentially explosive situation. Recognizing the opposing aims of the two national movements, the British, who had already once partitioned the territory under the Mandate (1922) recommended a further partition (1937), dividing the land west of the Jordan River into two states, one Jewish and one Arab. The Jewish leadership accepted the idea of partition and empowered the Jewish Agency to negotiate with the British government in an effort to reformulate aspects of the proposal. The Arabs were uncompromisingly opposed to any partition plan."
So "we all know" that the Arab hatred to the Jews is because of the founding of the State. Just imagine what a holocaust the Arabs would cause if they were to win power over all of Eretz Yisroel tomorrow. But it wasn't always like that. The Arabs did own Eretz Yisroel for about 400 years (from 636 - 1099 CE), beginning just 4 years after the death of Muhammad. During that time, the Arabs did NOT run around killing Jews. In fact, at the beginning of the Arab rule, the Jewish settlement in Jerusalem was resumed, and the Jewish community was given permission to live in peace with property rights and freedom of religion in return for paying extra taxes -- which was the same way the Muslims treated all non-Muslims under their rule.
Later, additional restrictions against non-Muslims made Jewish life economically difficult, and many left the country.
Compare that to what would c"v happen if the Arabs were to take over rule of Eretz Yisroel today. The difference is then, there was no Zionist movement.
Or compare it to how the Christians treated the Jews when they took control of the land from the Arabs in the year 1099 CE.
In July 1099, the Crusaders captured Jerusalem after a 5 week siege and massacred most non-Christians living in the city. The Jews were burnt to death or sold into slavery.
The Crusaders proceeded from there to continue their bloody carnage all over the country.
Except for the five years that Saladin the Kurd grabbed dominion over the land from the Crusaders (the Crusaders took back the land in 1193 after Saladin's death), the Jews lived with no freedom and in constant terror. It was the Muslim Mamluks that conquered the land from the Crusaders in 1291 CE who finally rid the Jews of their bloodthirsty Christian rulers.
No, the Arabs are not the natural enemies of the Jews. They are the most bloodthirsty today, to be sure, but it was not always this way, nor did it have to be. Unfortunately, because of the Zionists, we are now all in grave danger at the hands of murderous enemies.
---
Since the Arabs unfortunately were convinced by the Zionists that all Jews want Israel, and are willing to kill or expel Arabs in order to get it, and have actually done so, the Arabs have therefore become bloodthirsty enemies of all Jews, because of their error that all Jews are Zionists.
And although it is surely a good idea to tell the Arabs that we have no interest in killing them or taking their land, or expelling them from anywhere, and that those who say such things do NOT represent Jews or Judaism or the Torah but rather Zionism and Zionists, until the time when that mission has succeeded, and the Arabs do indeed understand that Jews are not their enemies and that their hatred is misdirected, we cannot endanger Jewish lives by returning the State by political means. And since having the State is a sakanah as much as giving it back, the only solution is for Hashem to intervene and do this "with power from on High." There is no long-term, permanent political or military solution to the Zionist vs. Arab problem, where all Jews have been caught in their crossfire.
---
The Zionists (and Martin Luther King) went around telling people that they represent Jews and Judaism, which told the Arabs that Jews and Judaism wants to go to war with them for the land.
The Arabs are being taught that all Jews are cruel tyrants who want to kill Arabs and take their land.
And Jews are being taught that all Arabs are terrorists that want to kill all the Jews.
They are both evil lies, but unfortunately, they are self-fulfilling prophecies. The more the Arabs hear the lies about Jews the more they hate them, since they believe that they have a legitimate reason to. And the more the Jews hear the lies about the Arabs, the more they hate them, for the same reasons.
To the point where, today, the hate on both sides is so deeply entrenched, I don’t know how it can be eradicated. Good Jews I know tell me, when I tell them that it was wrong to boo Wolfowitz off the stage when all he said was that innocent Palestinians are also being hurt - which is true - and even if you don't want to hear it, why denigrate your best friend in the government (Wolfowitz is exceptionally pro-Israel). The answer I hear from many is "There are no such thing as innocent Palestinians!". Wow.
But if we keep on talking like this, eventually it will be true.
There is no question that the Arabs now want to kill Jews - but that is because they were told - by Zionists and Arabs both - that the "Jews" hold they are entitled to the land and Arabs have to go - plus every action of the Israeli government and military - and with that assumption, hatred grows.
None of this of course justifies the killing of Jews - even if you hate someone, you can't murder them! But as the cycle of mistrust and hatred grows on both sides, it becomes more and more impossible to even have peace.
And without peace, more and more Jews are going to die, c"v.
---
The Arabs are fully aware of the following quotes - which are published in both Arab and Israeli sources! Arab - to prove that the Jews are vicious enemies who want to throw them out of their land. And Israeli - to show how they are not intimidated by Arabs threats and how they will defend themselves against terrorism and attacks from the Arabs.
“The Palestinians are like crocodiles, the more you give them meat, they want more.” (Ehud Barak, Aug. 28, 2000 — when he was prime minister — reported in the Jerusalem Post August 30, 2000.)
“The Palestinians are beasts walking on two legs.” (Menahim Begin, in a speech to the Knesset, quoted by Amnon Kapeliouk, in “Begin and the Beasts” (New Statesman, June 25 1982.)
“When we have settled the land, all the Arabs will be able to do about it will be to scurry around like drugged cockroaches in a bottle.” (Raphael Eitan, chief of staff of the Israeli Defense Forces (New York Times, April 14, 1983))
“How can we return the occupied territories? There is nobody to return them to.” (Prime Minister Golda Meir, March 8, 1969.)
“There was no such thing as Palestinians, they never existed.” (Golda Meir, June 15, 1969)
“The thesis that the danger of genocide was hanging over us in June 1967 and that Israel was fighting for its physical existence is only bluff, which was born and developed after the war.” (Israeli Gen. Matityahu Peled, Ha’aretz, March 19, 1972.)
“If I were an Arab leader, I would never sign an agreement with Israel. It is normal; we have taken their country. It is true God promised it to us, but how could that interest them? Our God is not theirs. There has been anti—semitism, the Nazis, Hitler, Auschwitz, but was that their fault? They see but one thing: We have come and we have stolen their country. Why would they accept that?” (David Ben Gurion — the first Israeli prime minister — quoted by Nahum Goldmann in Le Paraddoxe Juif (The Jewish Paradox), pp121.)
Ben Gurion also warned in 1948: “We must do everything to insure they (the Palestinians) never do return.”
Also from Ben Gurion, in response to the question about what they will do with the Palestinian refugees: “The old will die and the young will forget.”
“Every time we do something you tell me America will do this and will do that. I want to tell you something very clear: Don’t worry about American pressure on Israel. We, the Jewish people, control America, and the Americans know it.” (Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, Oct. 3, 2001, to Shimon Peres, as reported on Kol Yisrael radio.)
“We declare openly that the Arabs have no right to settle on even one centimeter of Eretz Israel... Force is all they do or ever will understand. We shall use the ultimate force until the Palestinians come crawling to us on all fours.” (Rafael Eitan, chief of staff of the Israeli Defense Forces — Gad Becker, Yediot Ahronot, April 13,1983, New York Times, April 14, 1983.)
“We should prepare to go over to the offensive. Our aim is to smash Lebanon, Trans-Jordan, and Syria. The weak point is Lebanon, for the Muslim regime is artificial and easy for us to undermine. We shall establish a Christian state there, and then we will smash the Arab Legion, eliminate Trans-Jordan; Syria will fall to us. We then bomb and move on and take Port Said, Alexandria and Sinai.” (David Ben-Gurion, May 1948, to the General Staff (From Ben-Gurion, A Biography by Michael Ben-Zohar, Delacorte, New York 1978))
“We must use terror, assassination, intimidation, land confiscation, and the cutting of all social services to rid the Galilee of its Arab population.” (Israel Koenig, “The Koenig Memorandum”)
“Jewish villages were built in the place of Arab villages. You do not even know the names of these Arab villages, and I do not blame you because geography books no longer exist. Not only do the books not exist, the Arab villages are not there either. Nahlal arose in the place of Mahlul; Kibbutz Gvat in the place of Jibta; Kibbutz Sarid in the place of Huneifis; and Kefar Yehushua in the place of Tal Al-Shuman. There is not a single place built in this country that did not have a former Arab population.” (Moshe Dayan, address to the Technion, Haifa, reported in Haaretz, April 4, 1969.)
“We walked outside, Ben-Gurion accompanying us. Allon repeated his question, ‘What is to be done with the Palestinian population?’ Ben-Gurion waved his hand in a gesture which said ‘Drive them out!’” (Yitzhak Rabin, leaked censored version of Rabin memoirs, published in the New York Times, Oct. 23, 1979. 18.)
“There are some who believe that the non-Jewish population, even in a high percentage, within our borders will be more effectively under our surveillance; and there are some who believe the contrary, i.e., that it is easier to carry out surveillance over the activities of a neighbor than over those of a tenant. (I) tend to support the latter view and have an additional argument:...the need to sustain the character of the state which will henceforth be Jewish...with a non-Jewish minority limited to 15 percent. I had already reached this fundamental position as early as 1940 (and) it is entered in my diary.” (Joseph Weitz, head of the Jewish Agency’s Colonization Department. (From Israel: an Apartheid State by Uri Davis, p.5.))
“Everybody has to move, run and grab as many hilltops as they can to enlarge the settlements because everything we take now will stay ours... Everything we don’t grab will go to them.” (Ariel Sharon, addressing, as foreign minister, a meeting of the Tzomet Party (Agence France Presse, Nov. 15, 1998))
“It is the duty of Israeli leaders to explain to public opinion, clearly and courageously, a certain number of facts that are forgotten with time. The first of these is that there is no Zionism, colonization or Jewish State without the eviction of the Arabs and the expropriation of their lands.” (Yoram Bar Porath, Yediot Aahronot of July 14, 1972.)
“Spirit the penniless population across the frontier by denying it employment... Both the process of expropriation and the removal of the poor must be carried out discreetly and circumspectly.” (Theodore Hertzl, founder of the World Zionist Organization, speaking of the Arabs of Palestine, Complete Diaries, June 12, 1895 entry.)
Please note that the above quotes are widely known both among Israelis and Palestinians.
And they stir up nationalistic pride in both Israelis and Palestinians.
And they make both Israelis and Palestinians hate each ever more.
And I didn’t even start with quotes from Kahane. (The difference is, though, Kahane was illegalized by Israel. The above rhetoric was not.)
Our Gedolim warned them about saying things like this. The Torah holds that such statements cause Jews to be killed, and generates anti-semitism around the world.
No, not all Palestinians are terrorists. Many just want to live a normal life in peace. And you will find statements like that among many Israelis, including in the government. But there are enough of those who say all Arabs want to kill all Jews because it is their nature, that the more rational voices are drowned out.
And not all Jews are tyrants. But there are so many Palestinians saying that we are all evil, that any semblance of reason that could have hopefully reared its head is shot down immediately. Especially since the only "government" there is Arafat, who is a terrorist, how in the world are the rational voices going to be heard? And how long will they be able to survive?
(A few weeks ago, Arafat actually wrote a letter saying that he is aware of the difference between the "beautiful values of Judaism and the peaceful relationship between Jews and Arabs throughout history" versus aggressive Zionism. But nobody there, including the coward Arafat himself, will publicize it.)
The whole thing is a big mess. The Arabs want to kill or drive out Jews and the Jews want to kill or drive out Arabs. None of this would have happened if we would have listened to the Gedolim.
The only question is, now what do we do?
---
TRUTH AND PEACE
The "Holy Land", upon which the eyes of the L-rd our G-d are from the beginning of the year until the end of the year, the land from which comes forth blessings for all the peoples, and in which the prophets of the L-rd foresaw the promises of the future and the perfection of all humanity, and from which they called for the peace of all creation, has groaned and cried for two years because of pain and insult, and it soil, which is permeated with holy memories of purity of heart and morality of character, has become a witness to racial hatred and strife between neighbors. And the atmosphere of spiritual life is filled with suffocating clouds which poison every understanding heart, and remnant of human love.
The prolonged controversy and distention is repelling the Divine Presence and is removing G-d forbid, the blessing of the L-rd from the beautiful and bountiful land, which is destined and assured by providence. And in its place come aching souls, quarrels between brothers, scheming hearts, lack of faith and trust in the L-rd, and mistaken and misleading suspicions of one another.
As one of the leaders of the "Holy Land", who has been privileged, with G-d's help, to be in this land, now nearly sixty years, and who has been an eyewitness to years of tranquility, security and complete peace between the inhabitants, I permit myself to turn to all the inhabitants of the Holy Land, regardless of race or religion, the people which the Divine Providence has given the privilege of dwelling in the land which is holier than any other land, to ask them, from the depths of my broken and said heart to have pity upon the bountiful land and upon the various ethnic groups that dwell in it, to come together to rebuild the moral ruins and to re-establish the broken fragments of humane feeling and divine ethnics, which have been ruined and shattered during the last few years.
Uproot every grudge from your hearts. Remove the suspicions that come from false prophecies and seductions which nest there, and pave the road to peace. The heads of the Jewish People in the Holy Land will be the first to call for peace, and the hearts of the leaders and heads of the Arab People will in turn be aroused to the restoration of peace to the people.
The blessing of the L-rd will accompany the goodwill of the inhabitants. It will enrich and crown this will with success and saturate the holy ground with the dew of life. And may we be privileged to see the new light which the L-rd will cause to shine on Zion, and nations will go by His light.
As the entreaty of one who awaits and longs for heavenly mercy,
Yosef Chaim Zonenfeld
---
"There has always existed a hatred of the Jew amongst the peoples of the world. Whoever was in power, Esav or Yishmael, Christians or Moslems, they pursued us. Nonetheless, in the history of Jewish persecution the Moslems were always relatively better then the Christians. We do not find tragedies such as the Jewish martyrology at the time of the Crusades, the Spanish Inquisition, or the Chemelnicky massacres, in the annals of our communities in Islamic lands.
"The position has now been radically reversed. While among the Christians one hears voices of soul searching, tens of millions of Moslems, in particular Arabs, have become Amalekites and Nazis who have engraved on their banner the call: 'Come, let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more a remembrance" (Ps. 83,5) - far be it. It is unnecessary to dilate on this; we all know the facts.
"What has brought about the wave of hatred that has engulfed the Moslem world? We all know it is the founding of the State of Israel."
And the following is from a pamphlet called "Facts About Israel: History", published by the Israel Information Center of the Israeli Information Center in the U.N., p.22:
"The Jewish national revival and the efforts of the Jewish community to rebuild the country were opposed from the outset by extreme Arab nationalists. Their strong resentment erupted in periods of intense violence in 1920, 1921, 1929, and 1936-1939 . . . Attempts to reach a dialogue with the Arabs, undertaken early by the Zionist endeavor, were ultimately unsuccessful. Henceforth, Zionism and Arab nationalism were polarized into a potentially explosive situation. Recognizing the opposing aims of the two national movements, the British, who had already once partitioned the territory under the Mandate (1922) recommended a further partition (1937), dividing the land west of the Jordan River into two states, one Jewish and one Arab. The Jewish leadership accepted the idea of partition and empowered the Jewish Agency to negotiate with the British government in an effort to reformulate aspects of the proposal. The Arabs were uncompromisingly opposed to any partition plan."
So "we all know" that the Arab hatred to the Jews is because of the founding of the State. Just imagine what a holocaust the Arabs would cause if they were to win power over all of Eretz Yisroel tomorrow. But it wasn't always like that. The Arabs did own Eretz Yisroel for about 400 years (from 636 - 1099 CE), beginning just 4 years after the death of Muhammad. During that time, the Arabs did NOT run around killing Jews. In fact, at the beginning of the Arab rule, the Jewish settlement in Jerusalem was resumed, and the Jewish community was given permission to live in peace with property rights and freedom of religion in return for paying extra taxes -- which was the same way the Muslims treated all non-Muslims under their rule.
Later, additional restrictions against non-Muslims made Jewish life economically difficult, and many left the country.
Compare that to what would c"v happen if the Arabs were to take over rule of Eretz Yisroel today. The difference is then, there was no Zionist movement.
Or compare it to how the Christians treated the Jews when they took control of the land from the Arabs in the year 1099 CE.
In July 1099, the Crusaders captured Jerusalem after a 5 week siege and massacred most non-Christians living in the city. The Jews were burnt to death or sold into slavery.
The Crusaders proceeded from there to continue their bloody carnage all over the country.
Except for the five years that Saladin the Kurd grabbed dominion over the land from the Crusaders (the Crusaders took back the land in 1193 after Saladin's death), the Jews lived with no freedom and in constant terror. It was the Muslim Mamluks that conquered the land from the Crusaders in 1291 CE who finally rid the Jews of their bloodthirsty Christian rulers.
No, the Arabs are not the natural enemies of the Jews. They are the most bloodthirsty today, to be sure, but it was not always this way, nor did it have to be. Unfortunately, because of the Zionists, we are now all in grave danger at the hands of murderous enemies.
---
Since the Arabs unfortunately were convinced by the Zionists that all Jews want Israel, and are willing to kill or expel Arabs in order to get it, and have actually done so, the Arabs have therefore become bloodthirsty enemies of all Jews, because of their error that all Jews are Zionists.
And although it is surely a good idea to tell the Arabs that we have no interest in killing them or taking their land, or expelling them from anywhere, and that those who say such things do NOT represent Jews or Judaism or the Torah but rather Zionism and Zionists, until the time when that mission has succeeded, and the Arabs do indeed understand that Jews are not their enemies and that their hatred is misdirected, we cannot endanger Jewish lives by returning the State by political means. And since having the State is a sakanah as much as giving it back, the only solution is for Hashem to intervene and do this "with power from on High." There is no long-term, permanent political or military solution to the Zionist vs. Arab problem, where all Jews have been caught in their crossfire.
---
The Zionists (and Martin Luther King) went around telling people that they represent Jews and Judaism, which told the Arabs that Jews and Judaism wants to go to war with them for the land.
The Arabs are being taught that all Jews are cruel tyrants who want to kill Arabs and take their land.
And Jews are being taught that all Arabs are terrorists that want to kill all the Jews.
They are both evil lies, but unfortunately, they are self-fulfilling prophecies. The more the Arabs hear the lies about Jews the more they hate them, since they believe that they have a legitimate reason to. And the more the Jews hear the lies about the Arabs, the more they hate them, for the same reasons.
To the point where, today, the hate on both sides is so deeply entrenched, I don’t know how it can be eradicated. Good Jews I know tell me, when I tell them that it was wrong to boo Wolfowitz off the stage when all he said was that innocent Palestinians are also being hurt - which is true - and even if you don't want to hear it, why denigrate your best friend in the government (Wolfowitz is exceptionally pro-Israel). The answer I hear from many is "There are no such thing as innocent Palestinians!". Wow.
But if we keep on talking like this, eventually it will be true.
There is no question that the Arabs now want to kill Jews - but that is because they were told - by Zionists and Arabs both - that the "Jews" hold they are entitled to the land and Arabs have to go - plus every action of the Israeli government and military - and with that assumption, hatred grows.
None of this of course justifies the killing of Jews - even if you hate someone, you can't murder them! But as the cycle of mistrust and hatred grows on both sides, it becomes more and more impossible to even have peace.
And without peace, more and more Jews are going to die, c"v.
---
The Arabs are fully aware of the following quotes - which are published in both Arab and Israeli sources! Arab - to prove that the Jews are vicious enemies who want to throw them out of their land. And Israeli - to show how they are not intimidated by Arabs threats and how they will defend themselves against terrorism and attacks from the Arabs.
“The Palestinians are like crocodiles, the more you give them meat, they want more.” (Ehud Barak, Aug. 28, 2000 — when he was prime minister — reported in the Jerusalem Post August 30, 2000.)
“The Palestinians are beasts walking on two legs.” (Menahim Begin, in a speech to the Knesset, quoted by Amnon Kapeliouk, in “Begin and the Beasts” (New Statesman, June 25 1982.)
“When we have settled the land, all the Arabs will be able to do about it will be to scurry around like drugged cockroaches in a bottle.” (Raphael Eitan, chief of staff of the Israeli Defense Forces (New York Times, April 14, 1983))
“How can we return the occupied territories? There is nobody to return them to.” (Prime Minister Golda Meir, March 8, 1969.)
“There was no such thing as Palestinians, they never existed.” (Golda Meir, June 15, 1969)
“The thesis that the danger of genocide was hanging over us in June 1967 and that Israel was fighting for its physical existence is only bluff, which was born and developed after the war.” (Israeli Gen. Matityahu Peled, Ha’aretz, March 19, 1972.)
“If I were an Arab leader, I would never sign an agreement with Israel. It is normal; we have taken their country. It is true God promised it to us, but how could that interest them? Our God is not theirs. There has been anti—semitism, the Nazis, Hitler, Auschwitz, but was that their fault? They see but one thing: We have come and we have stolen their country. Why would they accept that?” (David Ben Gurion — the first Israeli prime minister — quoted by Nahum Goldmann in Le Paraddoxe Juif (The Jewish Paradox), pp121.)
Ben Gurion also warned in 1948: “We must do everything to insure they (the Palestinians) never do return.”
Also from Ben Gurion, in response to the question about what they will do with the Palestinian refugees: “The old will die and the young will forget.”
“Every time we do something you tell me America will do this and will do that. I want to tell you something very clear: Don’t worry about American pressure on Israel. We, the Jewish people, control America, and the Americans know it.” (Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, Oct. 3, 2001, to Shimon Peres, as reported on Kol Yisrael radio.)
“We declare openly that the Arabs have no right to settle on even one centimeter of Eretz Israel... Force is all they do or ever will understand. We shall use the ultimate force until the Palestinians come crawling to us on all fours.” (Rafael Eitan, chief of staff of the Israeli Defense Forces — Gad Becker, Yediot Ahronot, April 13,1983, New York Times, April 14, 1983.)
“We should prepare to go over to the offensive. Our aim is to smash Lebanon, Trans-Jordan, and Syria. The weak point is Lebanon, for the Muslim regime is artificial and easy for us to undermine. We shall establish a Christian state there, and then we will smash the Arab Legion, eliminate Trans-Jordan; Syria will fall to us. We then bomb and move on and take Port Said, Alexandria and Sinai.” (David Ben-Gurion, May 1948, to the General Staff (From Ben-Gurion, A Biography by Michael Ben-Zohar, Delacorte, New York 1978))
“We must use terror, assassination, intimidation, land confiscation, and the cutting of all social services to rid the Galilee of its Arab population.” (Israel Koenig, “The Koenig Memorandum”)
“Jewish villages were built in the place of Arab villages. You do not even know the names of these Arab villages, and I do not blame you because geography books no longer exist. Not only do the books not exist, the Arab villages are not there either. Nahlal arose in the place of Mahlul; Kibbutz Gvat in the place of Jibta; Kibbutz Sarid in the place of Huneifis; and Kefar Yehushua in the place of Tal Al-Shuman. There is not a single place built in this country that did not have a former Arab population.” (Moshe Dayan, address to the Technion, Haifa, reported in Haaretz, April 4, 1969.)
“We walked outside, Ben-Gurion accompanying us. Allon repeated his question, ‘What is to be done with the Palestinian population?’ Ben-Gurion waved his hand in a gesture which said ‘Drive them out!’” (Yitzhak Rabin, leaked censored version of Rabin memoirs, published in the New York Times, Oct. 23, 1979. 18.)
“There are some who believe that the non-Jewish population, even in a high percentage, within our borders will be more effectively under our surveillance; and there are some who believe the contrary, i.e., that it is easier to carry out surveillance over the activities of a neighbor than over those of a tenant. (I) tend to support the latter view and have an additional argument:...the need to sustain the character of the state which will henceforth be Jewish...with a non-Jewish minority limited to 15 percent. I had already reached this fundamental position as early as 1940 (and) it is entered in my diary.” (Joseph Weitz, head of the Jewish Agency’s Colonization Department. (From Israel: an Apartheid State by Uri Davis, p.5.))
“Everybody has to move, run and grab as many hilltops as they can to enlarge the settlements because everything we take now will stay ours... Everything we don’t grab will go to them.” (Ariel Sharon, addressing, as foreign minister, a meeting of the Tzomet Party (Agence France Presse, Nov. 15, 1998))
“It is the duty of Israeli leaders to explain to public opinion, clearly and courageously, a certain number of facts that are forgotten with time. The first of these is that there is no Zionism, colonization or Jewish State without the eviction of the Arabs and the expropriation of their lands.” (Yoram Bar Porath, Yediot Aahronot of July 14, 1972.)
“Spirit the penniless population across the frontier by denying it employment... Both the process of expropriation and the removal of the poor must be carried out discreetly and circumspectly.” (Theodore Hertzl, founder of the World Zionist Organization, speaking of the Arabs of Palestine, Complete Diaries, June 12, 1895 entry.)
Please note that the above quotes are widely known both among Israelis and Palestinians.
And they stir up nationalistic pride in both Israelis and Palestinians.
And they make both Israelis and Palestinians hate each ever more.
And I didn’t even start with quotes from Kahane. (The difference is, though, Kahane was illegalized by Israel. The above rhetoric was not.)
Our Gedolim warned them about saying things like this. The Torah holds that such statements cause Jews to be killed, and generates anti-semitism around the world.
No, not all Palestinians are terrorists. Many just want to live a normal life in peace. And you will find statements like that among many Israelis, including in the government. But there are enough of those who say all Arabs want to kill all Jews because it is their nature, that the more rational voices are drowned out.
And not all Jews are tyrants. But there are so many Palestinians saying that we are all evil, that any semblance of reason that could have hopefully reared its head is shot down immediately. Especially since the only "government" there is Arafat, who is a terrorist, how in the world are the rational voices going to be heard? And how long will they be able to survive?
(A few weeks ago, Arafat actually wrote a letter saying that he is aware of the difference between the "beautiful values of Judaism and the peaceful relationship between Jews and Arabs throughout history" versus aggressive Zionism. But nobody there, including the coward Arafat himself, will publicize it.)
The whole thing is a big mess. The Arabs want to kill or drive out Jews and the Jews want to kill or drive out Arabs. None of this would have happened if we would have listened to the Gedolim.
The only question is, now what do we do?
---
TRUTH AND PEACE
The "Holy Land", upon which the eyes of the L-rd our G-d are from the beginning of the year until the end of the year, the land from which comes forth blessings for all the peoples, and in which the prophets of the L-rd foresaw the promises of the future and the perfection of all humanity, and from which they called for the peace of all creation, has groaned and cried for two years because of pain and insult, and it soil, which is permeated with holy memories of purity of heart and morality of character, has become a witness to racial hatred and strife between neighbors. And the atmosphere of spiritual life is filled with suffocating clouds which poison every understanding heart, and remnant of human love.
The prolonged controversy and distention is repelling the Divine Presence and is removing G-d forbid, the blessing of the L-rd from the beautiful and bountiful land, which is destined and assured by providence. And in its place come aching souls, quarrels between brothers, scheming hearts, lack of faith and trust in the L-rd, and mistaken and misleading suspicions of one another.
As one of the leaders of the "Holy Land", who has been privileged, with G-d's help, to be in this land, now nearly sixty years, and who has been an eyewitness to years of tranquility, security and complete peace between the inhabitants, I permit myself to turn to all the inhabitants of the Holy Land, regardless of race or religion, the people which the Divine Providence has given the privilege of dwelling in the land which is holier than any other land, to ask them, from the depths of my broken and said heart to have pity upon the bountiful land and upon the various ethnic groups that dwell in it, to come together to rebuild the moral ruins and to re-establish the broken fragments of humane feeling and divine ethnics, which have been ruined and shattered during the last few years.
Uproot every grudge from your hearts. Remove the suspicions that come from false prophecies and seductions which nest there, and pave the road to peace. The heads of the Jewish People in the Holy Land will be the first to call for peace, and the hearts of the leaders and heads of the Arab People will in turn be aroused to the restoration of peace to the people.
The blessing of the L-rd will accompany the goodwill of the inhabitants. It will enrich and crown this will with success and saturate the holy ground with the dew of life. And may we be privileged to see the new light which the L-rd will cause to shine on Zion, and nations will go by His light.
As the entreaty of one who awaits and longs for heavenly mercy,
Yosef Chaim Zonenfeld
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Labels: Arabs, Zionism related "groups"
posted by Moderator at 6:55 PM
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