Palestinian-Israeli Conflict (3 parts)
I have decided to re-publish this post from Wordpress to Medium. The Palestinian-Israeli conflict has been going on for decades with the Zionist propaganda program still successfully deluding American’s eyes to the real truth behind their lies. Palestinian children are still being murdered, family homes are being bulldozed, schools are being destroyed by Israelis as soon as they are built, their entire infrastructure is being eradicated, teenagers are still being incarcerated, and yet the government of the United States still believes they can somehow be mediators and establish a resolution to the conflict when they are providing millions of dollars for weapons development to the Israelis. Furthermore, I am frustrated at the many Christians espousing the right of the Zionists for the Holy Lands while they turn a blind eye to the horrifying genocide that is increasing day by day. Does not the sanctity of life include the Palestinian victims of unwanted genocide? Jerusalem, Oh Jerusalem, Holy City of God — let God restore you to a place where all believing nations will come together in peace.
“Only an internal revolution can have the power to heal our people of their murderous sickness of causeless hatred…It is bound to bring complete ruin upon us. Only then will the old and young in our land realize how great was our responsibility to those miserable Arab refugees in whose towns we have settled Jews who were brought here from afar; whose homes we have inherited, whose fields we not sow and harvest; the fruits of whose gardens, orchards and vineyards we gather; and in whose cities that we have robbed we put up houses of education, charity, and prayer, and while we babble and rave about being the ‘People of the Book’ and the ‘light of the nations…” ~ Nathan Chofshi (Secular Zionist Pacifist and Russian Jewish writer who migrated to Palestine in 1908. Chofshi witnessed firsthand the expulsion of the Palestinian Arabs)
“The blood of Abraham, God’s father of the Chosen, still flows in the veins of the Arab, Jew, and Christian, and too much of it has been spilled in grasping for the inheritance of the revered Patriarch in the Middle East. The spilled blood in the Holy Land still cries out to God — an anguished cry for peace.” The Blood of Abraham, Jimmy Carter
A week ago, I watched a program on the Jewish television network with a rabbi teaching the Kabbalah theme of all people being interconnected. He described it as a hologram with atoms and molecules interwoven. He summarized his teaching with, “all it boils down to, is ‘love your neighbor as yourself.” The program following the Kabbalah teaching was a Jewish documentary regarding Muslim speakers from Palestine at California universities making their case against the “Zionists.” The Jewish students remarked that the message the Arab Muslim speakers were giving to American students was propaganda as most of the Muslim’s complaints about Zionists being racist and arrogant weren’t true. There was an uneasy dichotomy as I mentally compared the teachings of the mystical branch of Judaism with Zionism. As I was listening, I remembered an e-mail sent out by a woman at my church regarding U.S. Christian support of the state of Israel after an episode of violence between Palestine and Israel. Her e-mail requested prayers for Israel. I had just viewed a news report on the violence with a mention of Israeli soldiers stating they intermittently “mow the grass” on the Palestine side which refers to using machine gun fire to kill any Palestinians they can see through the gun’s scope. I replied to her e-mail emphasizing praying for peace, and not explicitly supporting Israel because Israel was not blameless. I knew if there were numerous Palestinians speaking out against Zionists at American universities there had to be much more to this issue. Subsequently, I began researching the Palestinian/Israel conflict from various sources to come to a better understanding of the conflict.
Many Christians support the State of Israel due to the Abraham covenant as stated in Genesis 17:6–8: “I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make nations of you, and kings will come forth from you. I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your descendants after you. I will give to you and to your descendants after you, the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.”
Of course, many Jews did not accept Jesus Christ as the Messiah, who promised an everlasting kingdom with a spiritual temple which would be built with Jesus himself as the cornerstone. The “everlasting covenant” refers to those who follow God’s son, and the “everlasting possession” is the spiritual residence on Mount Zion and the New Jerusalem. The Promised Land in the Old Testament was a physical place which was a type or shadow for the spiritual kingdom as mentioned in the New Testament.
Revelation 3:12 The one who is victorious I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never will they leave it. I will write on them the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down from my God out of heaven, and will also write on them my new name.
Revelation 21:1–4 Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. “He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”
Hebrews 12:22 But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.
Matthew 21:42–43 Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: ‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; this was the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes?’ Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruits.
The Jews resided in the land of Palestine 414 years, while the Arab invaders of the Canaanites in Palestine in the 7th century made Muslim converts with intermarriages with the natives and subsequently settled onto the land for over 1200 years. The creation of Zionism was founded by diaspora European Jews who wanted a centralized place they could live so began purchasing land in Palestine around 1918 but had established settlements even earlier. Before Zionist involvement, the small percentage of Jews in the area lived harmoniously with the Muslims, Christians and Druze. At the very beginning of the Zionist movement the intent was to entirely dispossess the Palestinians at whatever means necessary. Theodore Herzl, the founder of Zionism: “We shall try to spirit the penniless population across the border by procuring employment for it in transit countries, while denying it employment in our own country.” Additionally, the purpose of the Jewish National Fund was to “redeem the land of Palestine as the inalienable possession of the Jewish People.” In 1919, America sent the King-Crane Commission for a 6 week evaluation of the Jewish/Palestine conflict and concluded the Jews intent was to have complete dispossession of all present non-Jewish inhabitants. In 1921, Dr. Eder (Zionist Commission) told the Court of Inquiry, “there can only be one National Home in Palestine, and that a Jewish one, and no equality in the partnership between Jews and Arabs, but a Jewish one, and no equality in the partnership between Jews and Arabs, but a Jewish preponderance as soon as the numbers of the race are sufficiently increased.” “He then asked that only Jews should be allowed to bear arms” (Sami Hadawi, Bitter Harvest).
British Involvement
In November of 1917, the British Foreign Secretary, Arthur James Balfour, after discussing with the British cabinet and consulting Jewish leaders, sent a letter to Lord Rothschild (known as the Balfour Declaration) in support of the creation of the Zionist intent to move Jews back to their “homeland” in Palestine. Edward Said [quoting Balfour] in The Question of Palestine regarding the Balfour Declaration, “The contradiction between the letter of the Covenant (the Anglo-French Declaration of 1918 promising the Arabs of the former Ottoman colonies that as a reward for supporting the Allies they could have independence) is even more flagrant in the case of the independent nation of Palestine than in that of the independent nation of Syria. For in Palestine we do not propose even to go through the form of consulting the wishes of the present inhabitants of the country…The four powers are committed to Zionism and Zionism, be it right or wrong, good or bad, is rooted in age-long tradition, in present needs, in future hopes, of far profounder import than the desire and prejudices of the 700,000 Arabs who now inhabit that ancient land,”
In July of 1922 the Mandate for Palestine was implemented by the British (administered by the League of Nations), and with pressure from the Arabs, the British began limiting land acquisition by Jews. In 1940, even stricter restrictions were implemented by the Land Transfer Regulation. Due to the UN General Assembly’s resolution “resolution to partition Palestine on November 11, 1947, the British terminated the Mandate effective on May 15, 1948. The day before, the Zionists proclaimed the State of Israel.
Ethnic Cleansing?
The European Jews considered the mostly Bedouin Arabs as barbarians, so a foundation of racism based upon Jewish superiority was established upon their arrival to Palestine. Of course, there must have been extreme culture shock for those Jews coming from Europe to Palestine as overtly evidenced by the photos below of Arab Bedouins compared with European Jews. A good comparison can be made of the significant cultural differences when Europeans arrived in the New World and met Native Americans for the first time. Ahad Ha’am (central figure in the movement for cultural or spiritual Zionism) on the European Jews views of Arabs: “Outside Palestine we are accustomed to believing that Arabs are all wild beasts of the desert, a people akin to jackasses who do not understand what is doing on around them.” And from Zionist leader Chaim Weizmann in 1919 at the Paris Peace Conference, “The Arabs will be our problem for a long time. It’s not going to be simple. One day they may have to leave and let us have the country. They’re ten to one, but don’t we Jews have ten times their intelligence?” Ironically, in the present day, it is the Palestinian Arabs in the Middle East who have produced the highest number of college graduates.
“The Talmud states that…two contrary types of souls exist, a non-Jewish soul comes from the Satanic spheres, while the Jewish soul stems from holiness…Rabbi Kook, the Elder, the revered father of the messianic tendency of Jewish fundamentalism said: ‘The difference between a Jewish soul and the souls of non-Jews…is greater and deeper than the difference between a human soul and the souls of cattle.” And, “gush Emunim rabbis have continually reiterated that Jews who killed Arabs should not be punished, [e.g.]…Relying on the Code of Maimonides and the Halacha, Rabbi Ariel stated, ‘A Jew who killed a non-Jew is exempt from human judgement and has not violated the [religious] prohibition of murder…The significance here is most striking when the broad support, both direct and indirect, for Gush Emunim is considered. About one-half of Israel’s Jewish population supports Gush Emunim.” Israel Shahak and Norton Mezvinsky, Jewish Fundamentalism in Israel
Isaiah 1: 17 Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed.
Israel Declares Itself a State (1948)
In 1948, after the declaration of the State of Israel, the Zionist Jews began intensively slaughtering, expelling and dispossessing Palestinians of their property. During the Deir Yassin Massacre on April 9, 1948, Jewish soldiers lined up men, women and children against a wall and shot them. These murderous acts of terror caused a significant number of Palestinians to flee their homes. In 1949, approximately 750,000 Palestinian refugees lived in caves, abandoned huts, and makeshift tents. Many were starving and their refugee camp was only miles away from their own gardens and orchards. Presently, many of these refugees are still residing in camps and ghettos. Zionist writer, Ahad Ha’am quoting Sami Hadawi in his writing, Bitter Harvest: “They treat the Arabs with hostility and cruelty, deprive them of their rights, offend them without cause, and even boast of these deeds, and nobody among us opposes this despicable and dangerous inclination.” Many of the refugees fled to surrounding countries like Jordan (presently 2.7 million Palestinian refugees) where even to this day they don’t have the same rights as the indigenous population. Palestinian refugees in Lebanon were banned from working in 74 professions such that the only jobs they can obtain are in construction, agriculture, or street sweeping.
Uri Milstein, authoritative Israeli military historian of the 1948 war, “In almost every village occupied by us during the War of Independence, acts were committed which are defined as war crimes, such as murders, massacres, and rapes.”
Additionally, Israeli soldiers deliberately destroyed Palestinian villages so they couldn’t return to their homes. On December 11, 1948, the UN General Assembly passed resolution number 194 affirming the rights of Palestinians to return to their homes and property. Unfortunately, this resolution has been re-passed 28 times because the State of Israel is not complying with the UN resolution.
June 1967 6 day war
Tensions increased in 1957 when Israel joined with Britain and France to attack Egypt. Later, the Soviet Union misinformed the Syrian Government by stating Israeli forces were massing in Northern Israel to attack Syria. Subsequently, Israeli leaders decided to attack Syria if Syria continued to allow Palestinian guerilla attacks from their territory. Egypt responded in May of 1967 by entering the Sinai Peninsula bordering Israel and blockaded the Israeli port of Eilat on the Gulf of ‘Aquaba. The next month Israel preemptively attacked Egypt and Syria. Jordan joined the fray and was attacked by Israel as well. Due to Israel’s superior military they were able to capture the West Bank from Jordan, the Gaza Strip and Sinai Peninsula from Egypt, and Golan Heights from Syria. The UN Security Council in resolution 242 called for Israeli withdrawal from the captured territories based on the, “inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by force.” In response, Israel established a military administration to govern Palestinian residents of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. As a result, Palestinians were denied political rights and civil liberties. Jews began creating settlement areas in Palestinian territory against the ruling of international law. However, international law has not been enforced.
Yom Kippur War
In 1973, Egypt and Syria demanded return of their land taken by the State of Israel in 1967. Kissinger, Israeli’s and the US media underestimated the seriousness of Egypt and Syria’s demand such that on October 6, 1973 war broke out. The State of Israel put pressure on Kissinger for support from the U.S., who capitulated to Israel’s demands. It was not difficult for Kissinger to obtain support as the propaganda machine was so strong the U.S. media thought Israel was under siege. The real truth is that no fighting took place on Israeli territory. Direct costs to the U.S. were 3 billion, and indirect costs were 10–15 billion. The amount of financial support the U.S. gave to this war in support of Israel caused unemployment and recession in the U.S.
“In an article published in the Washington Post of 3 October 1978, Rabbi Hirsch (of Jerusalem) is reported to have declared: ‘The 12th principle of our faith, I believe, is that the Messiah will gather the Jewish exiled who are dispersed throughout the nations of the world. Zionism is diametrically opposed to Judaism. Zionism wishes to define the Jewish people as a nationalistic entity. The Zionists say, in effect, ‘Look here, God. We do not like exile. Take us back, and if you don’t, we’ll just roll up our sleeves and take ourselves back.’ The Rabbi continues: ‘This, of course, is heresy. The Jewish people are charged by Divine oath not to force themselves back to the Holy Land against the wishes of those residing there.” Sami Hadawi, Bitter Harvest
Intifada
“In violation of international law, Israel has confiscated over 52 percent of the land in the West Bank and 30 percent of the Gaza Strip for military use or for settlement by Jewish civilians…From 1967 to 1982, Israel’s military government demolished 1,338 Palestinian homes on the West Bank. Over this period, more than 300,000 Palestinians were detained without trial various period by Israeli security forces. Intifada: The Palestinian Uprising Against Israeli Occupation, Lockman and Beinin
In December 1987, there was a mass uprising by the Palestinians (intifada — Arabic for “shaking off”). . As a result of the uprising, the Israeli military fired 1 million live bullets at Palestinians. A bloodier second intifada occurred after Ariel Sharon visited the Temple Mount which caused outraged Palestinians to organize demonstrations. In response, Palestinian civilian neighborhoods were subjected to shelling and aerial bombardment by the Israeli military.
Effects of Israeli Occupation:
“You have to remember that 90 percent of children two years old or more have experienced — some many, many times –the [Israeli] army breaking into the home, beating relatives, destroying things. Many were beaten themselves, had bones broken, were shot, tear gassed, or had these things happen to siblings and neighbors…The emotional aspect of the child is affected by the [lack of] security. He needs to feel safe. We see the consequences later if he does not. In our research, we have found children who are exposed to trauma tend to be more extreme in their behaviors and, later, in their political beliefs.” Dr. Samir Quota, Director of Research for the Gaza Community Mental Health Programme, quoted in The Journal of Palestine Studies, Summer 1996, p. 84
According to a study at Bethlehem University, many Palestinian families go five days a week without running water. Additionally, while the Palestinians living in the West Bank and Gaza have extreme water restrictions, the Israeli settlers have unlimited water usage. Betty Jane Bailey reporting in The Link in December of 1996, “A summer trip to a Jewish settlement on the edge of the Judean desert less than five miles from Bethlehem confirmed this water inequity for us. While Bethlemites were buying water from tank trucks at highly inflated rates, the lawns were green in the [Jewish] settlement. Sprinklers were going at midday in the hot August sunshine. Sounds of children swimming in the outdoor pool added to the unreality.”
From Edward Said writing in The Question of Palestine, “However much one laments and even wishes somehow to atone for the loss of life and suffering visited upon innocents because of Palestinian violence, there is still the need, I think, also to say that no national movement has been so unfairly penalized, defamed, and subjected to disproportionate retaliation for its sin as has the Palestinian. The Israeli policy of punitive counterattacks (or state terrorism) seem to be to try to kill anywhere from 50 to 100 Arabs for every Jewish fatality. The devastation of Lebanese refugee camps, hospitals, schools, mosques, churches, and orphanages; the summary arrests, deportations, house destructions, maimings, and torture of Palestinians on the West Bank and Gaza, these, and the number of Palestinian fatalities, the scale of material loss, the physical, political and psychological deprivations, have tremendously exceeded the damage done by Palestinians to Israelies.”
Sahih Al-Bukhari, Volume 7, Hadith 552 The Prophet Muhammad said: “Feed the hungry, visit the sick and set free the captives.”
Victims Strike Back
After the beginning of the first intifada, or uprising, against Israel’s occupation of the West Bank and Gaza strip, a cohesive group (Hamas which is the Arabic acronym for Islamic Resistance Movement) formed to oppose Israeli occupation and provide social welfare programs. Hamas has gained increasing support among Palestinians due to their more aggressive confrontation of Israeli occupation, and the building and control of new schools which previously were ran inefficiently under corrupt policies by Fatah (President of Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas). However, the United States has provided $84 million in military aid for the Presidential Guard loyal to Abbas in which part has gone to enhance Israel’s arsenal.
Presently, Hamas is building tunnels to go under the Gaza Strip into Israeli territory. President Obama just pledged $40 million for tunnel destruction technology to protect Israel and the “U.S.” I’m not quite sure the impact of tunnels would be dug into U.S. territory from Canada or Mexico to shoot rockets. Obviously, Obama is manipulating the media to partly hide the United States true purpose which has been and is now to support the State of Israel and the Zionists.
Supporting Peace
It is surprisingly ironic that the actual survivors of the Holocaust and their descendants who established the State of Israel and those that are presently residents have displayed the same type of horrific tactics as what the Jews experienced during the Holocaust. The aggressive take-over of the land and property the Palestinian Arabs had lived in and owned for the previous 1,200 years has created a victim who is now fed up with being abused. And the victim’s hatred towards the U.S. stems from the blatant, unilateral support of the State of Israel while turning a blind eye towards the suffering of the Palestinians, some of which are Christians.
The Evangelistic Christian support of the State of Israel feeds the fuel of violence. In using the scripture from Genesis 12:3, “I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you,” those Christians who have supported Israel have provided clear evidence of why it is important not to take a verse out of context and use it indiscriminately. Most Christians I have personally spoken to support the State of Israel, because, somehow, they have the feeling that as a Christian, that is what they are supposed to be doing, without proper exegesis of scripture, researching the history of the establishment of the State of Israel and the far-reaching significant consequences, and praying for discernment and wisdom. In this case, ignorance is not bliss, it is extremely spiritually dangerous.
Donald Neff writing in the November 2002 issue of the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, Israel Created Two of Its Own Worst Enemies — Hamas and Hezbollah, “Thus, without anticipating it, and certainly without wanting it, Israel’s continuing occupation of the West Bank and Gaza, and parts of Lebanon and Syria, contributed to the formation of nationalist groups willing to sacrifice themselves in the name of Islam. The enemies of old, motivated more by nationalism than religion, were now augmented by Islamic extremists bent on the defeat of Israel, and now the United States, in the name of religion.”
Edward Said writing in the May 30, 1996 issue of The Progressive, “It is simply extraordinary and without precedent that Israel’s history, its record — from the fact that it is a state built on conquest, that it has invaded surrounding countries, bombed and destroyed at will, to the fact that it currently occupies Lebanese, Syrian, and Palestinian territory against international law — is simply never cited, never subjected to scrutiny in the U.S. media or in official discourse…never addressed as playing any role at all in provoking ‘Islamic terror.”
And from Jews for Justice in The Middle East:
“The persecution of the Jews for centuries in Europe was the worse of many stains on the European record, and the Zionists’ desire for a place of sanctuary is certainly understandable. Like all other colonial enterprises, however, Zionism was based on the total disregard of the rights of indigenous inhabitants. As such, it is morally indefensible. And, as previously stated, all subsequent crimes — and there have been many on both sides — inevitably follow from this original injustice to the Palestinians.
Given the damage that has been done to the Palestinian people, Israel’s obligation is to make whatever amends possible. Among these should be assisting the creation of a sovereign Palestinian state in the entire West Bank and Gaza with its capital in East Jerusalem. Israel should not object to this state and, in addition, should help with its foundation via generous reparations. Besides being the right thing to do, this would stop the sporadic acts of violence against Israel, as the Palestinians’ legitimate desire for their own state would be realized. Moreover, all laws that discriminate against non-Jews living in Israel should be repealed.
Given the history outlined in this paper, we conclude that the Palestinians have gotten “the short end of the stick” and that justice demands that wrongs should be righted. Full and complete justice would entail allowing any Palestinian to return to Israel if they wished but, practically speaking, we understand that this is a recipe for even more bloodshed. Therefore, recognizing that reality, we join Gush Shalom and other Israeli peace groups in calling for a negotiated, modified right of return with the bulk of Palestinian refugees being settled in a Palestinian state, finance by generous reparations from both Israel and the international community.
As U.S. citizens, we have a special obligation to see that justice is done in this matter. U.S. financial aid to Israel has been, and continues to be, enormous; and our diplomatic support is a crucial factor allowing Israel’s continued occupation of Arab territories. We strongly recommend that you contact your elected representatives in Washington and urge them to insist that, as a pre-condition of continued support, Israel must abide by the consensus of world opinion and withdraw to its 1967 borders, as demanded in numerous UN votes.
American Jews in particular have a special responsibility to acknowledge the Palestinian point of view in order to help move the debate forward. As Chomsky writes in his Peace in the Middle East?, ‘In the American Jewish community, there is little willingness to face the fact that the Palestinian Arabs have suffered a monstrous historical injustice, whatever one may think of the competing claims. Until this is recognized, discussion of the Middle East crisis cannot even begin.’
In the long run, only by admitting their culpability and making amends can Israelis live with their neighbors in peace. Only then can the centuries-old Jewish tradition of being a people of high moral character be restored. And only in this way can real security, peace and justice come to this ancient land.” From The Origin of the Palestine-Israel Conflict
Reparations to the victims of the Holocaust have been enormous, especially to those paid out to Germans. Germany has paid $90 billion in reparations with an additional 80,000 survivors in other countries paid $3,250 in a one-time payment. In October of 2015 President Obama pledged a payment of $12 million in reparations to be paid over the next five years. And yet the mostly Muslim Palestinians loss of life including women and children, property, and human dignity has been ignored by the U.S., and not only ignored, but supported by supporting the State of Israel. The U.S. has created enemies, conflict and continued discord by its support of injustice. Presently, Hamas is refusing a two state solution to the conflict, and is pushing towards living side by side with Christians and Jews in the entire territory that was initially taken by the Zionists. It is easy to understand why Hamas is refusing the two state system due to the Israelis history of continually not following international law by its ongoing occupation of Gaza and the West Bank.
The Ombudsman Association for Palestine (OAP)
جمعية الدفاع عن حقوق الفلسطينيين: “As a Palestinian exile who has been living in Europe for most of his life, I can discern a striking similarity in the way the Palestinian problem is presented in today’s American media and how it was portrayed in European media in the early 1970’s. Back then, there was rarely a reference that Israel was built on the systematic and premeditated destruction of Palestinian homes and farms, that Palestinians were expelled from their land to make room for Jewish immigrants, and that terrorism developed as a peculiarly Zionist specialty. In short, there was no reference that Israel came into existence by the negation of the Palestinians and their right to nationhood. Israel was commonly perceived as a “modern state struggling for its own security.” Its oppressive practices against those Palestinians who managed to stay on after the creation of the state in 1948, and Israel’s aggression against its Arab neighbors, were invariably ignored or excused. Israel’s refusal to allow the Palestinian refugees to return to their homes was also accepted, or at best left unchallenged.
Happily, with the exception of the United States and a handful of other countries– there is now general recognition of the injustices committed against the Palestinians. This significant change in the perception of the Palestinian question came about largely as a result of the exponential growth, both quantitatively and qualitatively, of civil society worldwide.
With time and globalization, more voices are now rising, including those of a growing number of eminent Jewish personalities, calling for an overdue redress of these injustices. Thanks to the internet, the monopolistic grip that the Western media once had on information has loosened. Alternative outlets now courageously offer in-depth coverage of Israeli human rights violations, documenting specific cases of torture of Palestinian prisoners and the unlawful confiscation of land and property.
In addition to today’s expanding networked society, better information and communication technology systems this indicates more voices can be heard and have impact. With the means of communication now available, it is time to work toward peaceful restoration of the Palestinian peoples’ rights and build a future in which Palestinians live in dignity, in freedom, where all their human rights including their inalienable right to self-determination are recognized and respected, and where they are adequately compensated for all the human suffering and material losses they have endured over the last sixty-six years.
“The OAP offers a modest contribution toward achieving that aim by taking the debate of the Palestine question back to basics. In a pamphlet entitled Palestine or Israel that I published when I was an undergraduate in 1971, I ended the forward with the sentence, “Justice is indivisible, and what is justice for the Jews must also be justice for the Palestinians.” This is still my guiding principle in defending the rights of the Palestinian people and will be the basis of OAP’s modus operandi.” Mohammad Tarbush
Quran 49:9 …and act justly. Truly, God loves those who are just. Quran 5:8 …and let not the hatred of others make you avoid justice. Be just: that is nearer to piety… Mosnad Ahmad #5798 and Saheeh Al-Bukhari #2447 The Prophet Muhammad said: “People, beware of injustice, for injustice shall be darkness on the Day of Judgment.”
Memoricide
The term, memoricide, was coined by Ilan Pappe in his book, The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine, to illustrate how the Zionists attempted to erase every aspect of Palestinian culture and history. Thousands of books, paintings, musical recordings, furniture and other artifacts were looted by the Zionist militias from homes, libraries and government offices. Additionally, Moshe Dayan native of Ukraine boasting of the annihilation of villages in Palestine: “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. Nhalal arose in the place of Mahlul; Kibbutz Gvat in the place of Jibta; Kibbutz Sarid in the place of Huneifis; and Kefar Yehushu’a in the place of Tal-al-Shuman. There is not one single place build in this country that did not have a former Arab population” Ha’aretz, April 4, 1969).
While reading about the destruction of Palestinian culture by the Zionists, I thought of the Holocaust and the destruction of Jewish culture and theft of paintings by the Germans. I’m sure as you were reading this the parallel crossed your mind as well. I don’t quite understand how a group of Jews (Zionists) who had just escaped victimization and ethnic cleansing by the Germans, then victimized and pursued ethnic cleansing in Palestine. Typically, going through extreme suffering creates empathy and compassion with a deeper understanding of being an advocate to prevent the same type of suffering in others. In this case, the Zionists hearts were not softened, but hardened such that they could not see the suffering and oppression they committed on the Palestinians was the same suffering their people have gone through for centuries.
The painting of the woman in old Palestine (before 1947) exhibits a feeling of abundance; she is well dressed in cultural Palestinian garb bringing in the harvest. After 1947, Palestinian art changes such that the images overtly show a hope for a return to their homeland, a return to the way things were, a desire for peace, but as in the painting above, a dichotomy of peace with violence seen by holding white doves with a gun. She, unfortunately, is bringing in a different harvest.
I Come From There, by Mahmoud Darwish (1941–2008)
I come from there and I have memories
Born as mortals are, I have a mother
And a house with many windows,
I have brothers, friends,
And a prison cell with a cold window.
Mine is the wave, snatched by sea-gulls,
I have my own view,
And an extra blade of grass.
Mine is the moon at the far edge of the words,
And the bounty of birds,
And the immortal olive tree.
I walked this land before the swords
turned its living body into a laden table.
I come from there. I render the sky unto her mother
when the sky weeps for her mother.
And I weep to make myself known
to a returning cloud.
I learnt all the words worthy of the court of blood
So that I could break the rule.
I learnt all the words and broke them up
To make a single word: Homeland…..
Darwish was born in al-Birwa in Western Galilee from landowning parents. Unfortunately his mother was illiterate, but his grandfather taught him to read. The family fled to Lebanon when Israeli forces assaulted his village in 1948. Their village was completely razed to prevent the Palestinians returning to their homes. A year later, the family settled in Israel, and then Darwish moved to Haifa. Darwish published his first book of poetry at age nineteen (Wingless Birds).
Shalom
Strongs concordance 7965 (shalom): completeness, wholeness, health, peace, welfare, safety, soundness, tranquility, prosperity, perfectness, fullness, rest, harmony, the absence of agitation or discord.
As I researched the history of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict my heart hurt so much I wept. I wept over the lack of wisdom of our U.S. leaders in supporting the State of Israel, but mostly I wept for the pain and suffering of the Palestinian people. I wept over the deeper understanding of the underlying issues that have led to the rise of violence and the creation of terrorists. I wept over the lack of wisdom in jumping into violent strategies as opposed to pursuing true peace. I wept over racism, I wept over the three religions of the Book (Jews, Christians and Muslims), who worship the one true God, but can’t seem to find a way to use their common love of God (or Allah, or YHWH) for peace. Violent conflict is the easy path, but it is a path of never-ending destruction and suffering. The path to peace is a difficult path, but it is the path out of the dark into the light.
The Zionists must come to full repentance of the harm they have done to the Palestinians. They have not been following their own teachings in the Torah regarding justice and mercy. The Christians who support the State of Israel are not following the teachings of Jesus. The Muslims who support violence are not following their beloved Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him. Once there is repentance, then allowing Palestinian refugees to return to their homeland is paramount. Since 1948 many refugees are living in other countries where they don’t have full rights as citizens. They are waiting in a place in between, unable to fully move forward into a new life. The U.S. must quit supporting Israel but gain full wisdom of their role in continually advancing the conflict. The US has been highly active in the peace process between Palestine and the State of Israel, but a country that has allied itself with one side (State of Israel) even to providing financial support for enhancement of weaponry and improved military to be used against the Palestinians (as well as other countries like Jordan and Syria) will not be successful in establishing peace. With one hand the U.S. is involved in peace talks, and the other hand is dropping money into Israeli’s pockets. Any country involved in peace talks between Palestine and the State of Israel should be impartial and objective. Significant reparations must be made to assist the Palestinians. Any future conflict should be a response of non-violent resistance such that pressure internationally will bear down on the aggressor.
My brothers and sisters of the People of the Book. We must pray for the Zionists repentance, reparations, and return of the refugees to their homeland. We must pray for Hamas to accept peaceful resolution. We must do whatever we can in our circle of influence to educate others regarding the truth. Most importantly, pray for understanding and acceptance among Muslims, Jews and Christians through love. Love of our God, love of our neighbor, love of our enemies.
Psalm 10: 16–18
The Lord is King for ever and ever;
the nations will perish from his land.
You, Lord, hear the desire of the afflicted;
You encourage them, and you listen to their cry,
Defending the fatherless and the oppressed,
so that mere earthly mortals
will never again strike terror.
My Prayer
The Creator of the nations, high above the darkness on the earth, residing in glorious light, please be merciful. Guide our nation’s leaders with wisdom and make a way for peace. Look with compassion on the oppressed who cry out to you for help and break the hearts of the oppressors. Flood this land of conflict with rivers of love, rich with wisdom and grace. Bind the hearts of the People of the Book together so they work together to accomplish your purpose and will. Turn sorrow into joy, suffering into gladness, and let this darkness be turned into light. Bring a great harvest of love from animosity, and compassion from hardheartedness, for this is only possible through you, if you are willing, God. We praise you, we sing of your glory, we thank you for your many blessings, for all comes from you, as well as for the beautiful hearts you have created that are willing to take your gifts and use them for your glory. Amen
SHALOM/SALAAM/PEACE
________________________________________________________________
RESOURCES
http://www.ifamericansknew.org/history/origin.html The Origins of the Palestine-Israel Conflict by Jews for Justice in the Middle East
http://www.merip.org/primer-palestine-israel-arab-israeli-conflict-new Historical summary
http://www.wrmea.org/2002-november/israel-created-two-of-its-own-worst-enemies-hamas-and-hezbollah.html Article on the influence of the creation of the State of Israel on the increase of Hamas and Hezbollah
http://www.usc.edu/schools/college/crcc/private/cmje/issues/more_issues/more_issues/JewishMuslim_Relations_Article.pdf Oxford College paper- focus on present day conflict
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/History/balfour.html Balfour Declaration Letter
http://www.middleeasteye.net/essays/stealing-palestine-study-historical-and-cultural-theft-1001196809 Stealing Palestinian culture by the Zionists
http://www.plausibletruths.com/blogging-truth/judaism-or-israel — Writing from a Jew about the July 2014 war and the atrocities committed by Israel.
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-13331522 Excellent, clear summary of the rise of Hamas and the present conflict. Profile: Hamas Palestinian movement
http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/gaza-strip-40-powerful-photos-conflict-between-israel-hamas-1462766 Photographs of the conflict in July 2014
https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/ali-abunimah/disturbing-photos-show-militarization-israeli-children — Article discussing the militarization of Israeli children
http://www.anera.org/locations/jordan/ Relief organization assisting the Palestinian refugees in Jordan
http://www.unrwa.org/ United Nations relief and work agency assisting Palestinian refugees
Books
Against Our Better Judgment by Alison Weir. According to Weir, during the “Second Intifada ” or Palestinian uprising, the news media motivated curiosity for her regarding the conflict. Weir has a background in journalism, and noticed very quickly how one-sided the coverage was. As a result, she began researching further and, “In doing so, I discovered a far more drastic pattern of Israeli violence against Palestinians than mainstream U.S. news organizations were revealing. ” After becoming “disturbed” at what she was finding, especially significant numbers of children being killed by Israeli bombing, etc., she quit her job and traveled extensively as freelance reporter throughout Gaza and the West Bank during the height of the uprising. Weir states: “Americans have given far more of our tax money to Israel than to any other nation, and to the region in general. In addition, the U.S. government frequently vetoes international initiatives on Israel that virtually all other nations endorse. As a result, our support for Israel has created growing hostility against the United States, placing our citizens at increasing risk.” This book is thoroughly researched and details how the United States became pawns to the Zionists.
Blaming the victims: Spurious Scholarship and the Palestinian Question by Edward Said
Lords of the Land: The War Over Israel’s Settlements in the Occupied Territories, 1967–2007 by Idith Zertal and Akiva Eldar
Once Upon a Country: A Palestinian Life by Sari Nusseiben with Anthony Davis
Israeli War Crimes: Getting Away With Murder
Rachel Corrie — Crushed to death on March 16, 2003 by an Israeli military bulldozer when she attempted to block the path to a Palestinian home that they were trying to destroy. Rachel was sitting in front of the Palestinian home with a bright orange reflective vest and made eye contact with the Israeli bulldozer driver as he intentionally drove over her and then backed up over her body.
Part of an e-mail written to Rachel’s mother on February 27, 2003, shortly before she was killed (e-mail in its entirety — http://palsolidarity.org/2016/03/an-email-from-rachel-corrie-to-her-parents/):
Just want to write to my Mom and tell her that I’m witnessing this chronic, insidious genocide and I’m really scared, and questioning my fundamental belief in the goodness of human nature. This has to stop. I think it is a good idea for us all to drop everything and devote our lives to making this stop. I don’t think it’s an extremist thing to do anymore. I still really want to dance around to Pat Benatar and have boyfriends and make comics for my coworkers. But I also want this to stop. Disbelief and horror is what I feel. Disappointment. I am disappointed that this is the base reality of our world and that we, in fact, participate in it. This is not at all what I asked for when I came into this world. This is not at all what the people here asked for when they came into this world. This is not the world you and Dad wanted me to come into when you decided to have me. This is not what I meant when I looked at Capital Lake and said: “This is the wide world and I’m coming to it.” I did not mean that I was coming into a world where I could live a comfortable life and possibly, with no effort at all, exist in complete unawareness of my participation in genocide. More big explosions somewhere in the distance outside.
When I come back from Palestine, I probably will have nightmares and constantly feel guilty for not being here, but I can channel that into more work. Coming here is one of the better things I’ve ever done. So when I sound crazy, or if the Israeli military should break with their racist tendency not to injure white people, please pin the reason squarely on the fact that I am in the midst of a genocide which I am also indirectly supporting, and for which my government is largely responsible.
Wyre Davies (BBC Gaza reporter), writing about the Israeli Operation Pillar of Defense attack in 2012:
“What has shocked me most over the last eight days — during which I have reported exclusively from Gaza, with BBC colleagues complementing in Israel — is the appallingly high number of children killed and injured.”
Prior to 2012, in the December of 2008 conflict, Israeli Operation Cast Lead, were 1,391 Palestinians killed, with 749 deaths of which 32 were minors, and thousands of Palestinians wounded. There was extensive damage to buildings and the overall infrastructure. The electric, water and sewage sytems were barely functioning before the conflict, and afterwards there was no functioning of these important systems for survival. According to a UN report, 3,500 residences were destroyed and “tens of thousands” homeless.
B’Tselem the Israeli Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories, in its report on Human Rights violations during Operation Pillar of Defense, documented 92 incidents of targeted attacks against Palestinian civilians whereby in every case the conclusion by the Military Advocate for Operational Matters provided to B’Tselem that the case-file had been closed once “no suspicion of a criminal offense or well-founded suspicion of violation of laws of war by any military entity had been found.” According to B’Tselem, many of the reports were given “without any accompanying information to support this conclusion.”
A commonly reported civilian attack: The killing of Talal al-‘Asali, 48, his son Ayman,19, and daughter ‘Abir, 11, of Jabalya Refugee Camp (21 November 2012):
On 21 November 2012, the last day of Operation Pillar of Defense
in Gaza, at around 1:00 PM, there was an Israeli air strike on an
agricultural area located near residential homes in Jabalya Refugee
Camp in the northern Gaza Strip. The bombing killed Talal al-‘Asali,
48, and two of his six children — his son Ayman, 19, and daughter
‘Abir, 11. According to testimony given to B’Tselem, at the time of
the strike, the three were out in the fields collecting herbs for tea.
According to testimony collected and additional information obtained
by B’Tselem about the incident, no rockets had been fired from that
location before the al-‘Asali famly was hit. Relatives said that Talal
28 His testimony was taken by Muhammad Sabah on 26 November 2012.
-27- al-‘Asali grew herbs that he then sold in the market, and that he had
no connection to Palestinian armed groups.
The mother of the family, Tamam al-‘Asali, 40, told B’Tselem that
on midday on Wednesday, 21 November 2012, the family had eaten
lunch together and that, after they finished, her husband Talal asked
her to make tea for everyone. Talal went outside to a nearby area
that he cultivates to pick some herbs for tea. Two of his children, his
son Ayman and daughter ‘Abir came along. This is Tamam al-‘Asali’s
account of what happened next:
I began preparing the things for tea when suddenly I heard
a powerful explosion from behind the house. I went outside
immediately and ran to the place where Talal and the children
were. Even before I reached them, I could already see
Talal and Ayman lying on the ground, covered in blood.
The moment I saw them I started screaming and crying. I
was in shock. I couldn’t believe my eyes. I understood that
my husband had apparently been killed instantaneously.
Ayman was still moving a little bit. I didn’t see my daughter
‘Abir. I felt dizzy and weak. Then, apparently, I passed out.29
Tamam al-‘Asali regained consciousness a short time later, at home,
surrounded by neighbors and relatives who had come to offer
condolences. They told her that her husband and son Ayman had
been killed in the bombing. Later, her relatives told her that her
daughter ‘Abir had also been killed. Tamam al-‘Asali told B’Tselem:
I was in shock when they told me that ‘Abir had also been
killed. I screamed and cried hysterically. Three members of
my family killed at one blow. I lost them all in an instant,
for no reason. Every time I recall the incident, I am terribly
sad and I cry for them.
“International Humanitarian Law (IHL), applies to both Israeli and Palestinian armed groups, imposes restrictions on combatants with regard to permissable targets, weapons and circumstances for carrying out attacks. IHL provisions were devised to try to minimize injury to civilians during warfare. Accordingly, the provisions unconditionally prohibit the targeting of civilians or civilian sites. Attacks are permitted only against persons directly involved in combat and military targets making an effective military contribution to the other side.
Even when the target of an attack is a legitimate one, the combatants must, as far as possible, adopt various precautionary measures to prevent harm to civilians. Therefore, the law permits the use only of precise weapons capable of distinguishing military from civilian targets. Furthermore, the provisions stipulate that the civilian population in the area must be given prior warning, as far as circumstances permit, to enable them to protect themselves. In any case, if projected harm to civilians significantly outweighs anticipated military benefit, attacks must not be carried out” (Human Rights Violations during Operation Pillar of Defense, 14–21 November 2012, B’TSelem report on May 2013).
Additionally, B’TSelem reported that based upon their Palestinian fatality statistics, there were at least two times the number of civilian deaths in the last four days of the conflict compared to the first four days which indicates civilians were not warned, and may have been intentionally targeted. However, B’TSelem reports there appeared to be “grave suspicions of misconduct,” but that information provided by the Israeli internal military probe is extremely scant, and “In order to reach reliable conclusions, additional information — which is exclusively in the hands of the military is required.”
Operation Protective Edge July 2014
On July 28, UNICEF released a statement entitled “No safe place for children in Gaza.” In it, the head of the organization’s Gaza field office, Pernille Ironside, declared: “The physical and psychological toll that the violence is having on people is almost indescribable… We see children killed, injured, mutilated and burnt, in addition to being terrified to their core.”
I intentionally chose photos of Palestinian children and babies that have been killed by IDF whose names are provided. This is not the photo of an unnamed baby that we frequently see on news media. Just another death-we glance at the carnage and then think of something else, or turn the channel, or think about what we are going to cook for dinner. These babies and children have names. Their parents are devastated, are helpless and are becoming hopeless in a place, in a world, that just doesn’t care. That is, we don’t care unless it hits home, unless violence has entered our environment of comfort.
John 11:33–35
When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. “Where have you laid him?” he asked.
“Come and see, Lord,” they replied.
Jesus wept.
We have forgotten how to weep. Our hearts have become calloused and hard. Close your eyes and imagine this: You constantly hear the drones overhead, the fighter jets, shelling far away and with full knowledge that your enemy without compunction will shoot civilians, including women and children. You are afraid to leave your home, but you need to provide for your family. You look over at your two beautiful children looking up at you with innocent eyes and have no idea within 24 hours they both will be dead and your wife will have such serious disabilities and be in such sorrow over the death of her children, she will no longer want to live. And you cry and you cry and you cry out to God. Your tears make a puddle on the floor, and your heart feels like it is breaking into a million pieces, and you try to understand how God could not hear the cries of anguished parents.
The Institute to Middle East Understanding, 50 Days of Death & Destruction: Israel’s “Operation Protective Edge” states there were 2,191 Palestinian fatalities, with 1,660 civilian fatalities, including a shocking 527 children killed, and 299 women. During this entire 50 day conflict 70–75% of Palestinian fatalities were civilians. According the the UN there were 1,500 children orphaned, 11,100 wounded, of which were 3,374 children (1000 of which will suffer from lifelong disabilities), 2,088 women, and 410 elderlies. Because of extreme trauma, 373,000 children will require direct and specialized psychosocial support. There were 18,000 housing units destroyed with 12,000 Palestinians still displaced from the 2008–2009 conflict. According to the UN, there is a shortage of 71,000 housing units (2014) and 485,000 Palestinians were displaced during the peak of the conflict.
Additionally, the Gaza’s only power plant was bombed knocking it out of commission indefinitely. Amnesty International condemned the attack as a “collective punishment” against all of the population. Regarding damage done to the Gaza infrastructure as it relates to war crimes, Amnesty International reports, “Damaging or destroying a power plant, even if it also served a military purpose, would be an unlawful disproportionate attack under the laws of war, causing far greater civilian harm than military gain.” Eric Goldstein, deputy Middle East and North Africa director stated, “If there were one attack that could be predicted to endanger the health and well-being of the greatest number of people in Gaza, hitting the territory’s sole electricity plant would be it.” And, “Deliberately attacking the power plant would be a war crime.” For more information: https://www.hrw.org/news/2014/08/10/gaza-widespread-impact-power-plant-attack.
Numerous human rights organizations such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have documented widespread significant violations including “the reckless and disproportionate use of deadly force in densely populated urban areas, attacks on medical facilities and workers and UN schools sheltering displaced civilians, and attacks on civilians and the targeting of civilian infrastructure and the homes of Palestinian political and military officials. (Links to international human rights organizations: Palestinian, Israeli, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch )
Israeli Soldiers Shoot and Kill Fleeing Civilians report on August 4, 2014: “The attacks Human Rights Watch investigated include a missile attack that killed four boys on a Gaza City pier and wounded three others, multiple strikes over several days on a hospital for paralyzed and elderly patients, attacks on an apparent civilian residence and media worker’s car, and four previously documented strikes. In many, if not all, of these cases, Human Rights Watch found no evidence of a military target. Israeli forces’ failure to direct attacks at a military target violates the laws of war. Israeli forces may also have knowingly or recklessly attacked people who were clearly civilians, such as young boys, and civilian structures, including a hospital — laws-of-war violations that are indicative of war crimes.”
Subjective reporting
News reports covering the impetus for Operation Protective Edge against the Palestinians, state this was Israel’s response to Hamas launching rockets toward Israel. The reports go on to say tensions were ignited due to the death of three Israel teenagers in June, one with American citizenship and all seminary students, who were hiking in the West Bank and were assumed killed by Hamas. Shortly after the three teens were killed, a Palestinian teenage was burned alive in Gaza by three Israelis. Israel has extensive sophisticated weapon defense systems partly provided by U.S. financial support which minimizes damage to Israel. The Palestinians have no such protection against Israel’s rockets so historically fatalities, injuries and infrastructure damage has always been significantly greater in Gaza and the West Bank.
The reporting of the above events has several trigger words to influence the reader to support Israel’s devastating, horrifying response. Hamas (terrorists kill Europeans and Americans), Jewish American teenager (an American was killed!), and Seminary students (religious boys). Hamas shot rockets towards Israel… (Israel was only defending themselves). What the reports don’t include is all of the events that led up to the three Israeli teenagers being killed ( and why were these boys hiking in Palestinian territory when if a Palestinian is within shooting range in Gaza of one of the dividing walls or borders between Gaza and the State of Israel they are immediately shot?)
The events in 2013 leading up the conflict in July 2014 are thoroughly documented by Human Rights Watch (https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2014/country-chapters/israel/palestine ) in its World 2014 report on human rights Palestine, which includes:
- Israeli forces killing civilians in the West Bank and Gaza.
- UN reported Israelis damaged Palestinian property.
- Severe restrictions applied by Israeli forces on the Palestinians right to freedom of movement.
- Israelis continued to build unlawful settlements in occupied territory.
- Arbitrarily detained Palestinians, including children and peaceful protesters.
- Israel and Egypt impeded the rebuilding of Gaza’s devastated economy by blocking almost all exports from Gaza which has resulted in more than 70 percent of Gaza’s 1.7 million residents receiving humanitarian assistance.
- Israeli Defense Frorces (IDF) continued to shoot at civilians in the “no go” zone just inside Gaza’s northern and eastern borders and beyond six nautical miles from the shore, wounding farmers and fishermen.
- Israel did not open any criminal investigations against members of IDF for wrongdoing during Operation Pill of Defense in November 2012. Bombs and air-to-surface missiles killed scores of Palestinians civilians in attacks that apparently violated the laws of wars.
- Shot three children in the West Bank and a 16 year old Palestinian student running away from soldiers in the back.
Not included in this report is the May 2014 killing of a Palestinian teenager by Israelis. This list is a partial list so I suggest reading the entire report for an extensive look at events leading up to Operation Protective Edge. Additionally, I am not excusing violence from Hamas, but explaining how the Palestinians believe they need to protect themselves, their families, and especially children from Israeli aggression.
Ethnic Cleansing definitions
According to Ilan Pappe in his book, The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine, “…’ethnic cleansing’ has come to be defined as a crime against humanity, punishable by international law.” Also, “The Hutchinson encyclopedia defines ethnic cleansing as expulstion by force in order to homogenise the ethinically mixed population of a particular region or territory.”
U.S. State Department — “essence of ethnic cleansing is the eradication, by all means available, of a region’s history, ‘The most common method is that of depopulation within ‘an atmosphere that legitimizes acts of retribution and revenge.”
A Palestinian girl reacts at the scene of an explosion that medics said killed eight children.
Russell Tribunal on Palestine’s Emergency Session on Israel’s Operation Protective Edge held on September 25, 2014:
The Russell Tribunal on Palestine’s Emergency Session on Israel’s Operation Protective Edge held yesterday in Brussels has found evidence of war crimes, crimes against humanity, crimes of murder, extermination and persecution and also incitement to genocide.
The Jury reported: ‘The cumulative effect of the long-standing regime of collective punishment in Gaza appears to inflict conditions of life calculated to bring about the incremental destruction of the Palestinians as a group in Gaza.’
‘The Tribunal emphasises the potential for a regime of persecution to become genocidal in effect, In light of the clear escalation in the physical and rhetorical violence deployed in respect of Gaza in the summer of 2014, the Tribunal emphasises the obligation of all state parties to the 1948 Genocide Convention ‘to take such action under the Charter of the United Nations as they consider appropriate for the prevention and suppression of acts of genocide.’
– See more at: http://mondoweiss.net/2014/09/incitement-genocide-humanity/#sthash.0WSGXU1j.dpuf
U.S. Support of the State of Israel
Lindsey Graham at a press conference: “…funding for Iron Dome was intended as a gesture of solidarity with Israel. Not only are we going to give you more missiles — we’re going to be a better friend. We’re going to fight for you in the international court of public opinion. We’re going to fight for you in the United Nations.” Graham is a major recipient of campaign contributions connected to a powerful lobbying group, American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC).
The obvious question is why the United States has continually supported the State of Israel, even in spite of the evidence of war crimes and genocide committed against the Palestinians. Even more disturbing is the increasing support from Christians for the State of Israel. The Christian radio station I listen to has been actively supporting a Christian Music Tour with well known Christian bands that is sponsored by the State of Israel. Obviously, Christian support for the Israelis is based on extreme ignorance and a lack of caring. It is Christians being led by the bridle on a path in a direction that is not Christ centered.
I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go; I will counsel you with My eye upon you. Do not be as the horse or as the mule which have no understanding, Whose trappings include bit and bridle to hold them in check, Otherwise they will not come near to you. Many are the sorrows of the wicked, But he who trusts in the LORD, lovingkindness shall surround him.…Psalm 32:8–10
It doesn’t matter whether you believe Israel somehow is important in the last days, or it is the Jews ancestral lands, etc. What is important is that God does not, nor ever, support cruel, murderous intentional genocide. We are called to defend the oppressed, the orphans, and the widows. It is our responsibility as Christians to do whatever is within our reach to promote peace, and bring the world’s attention and international pressure against a country that is committing genocide.
Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called children of God (Matthew 5:9)
There will be no peace in the Middle East as long as the Israelis continue their campaign of genocide against the Palestinian’s with the U.S. and Canada’s support. I am going to put it bluntly — the U.S. is providing weapons (via financial support) to Israel to kill innocent children, destroy families, create terror, and promote the Zionists attempts at genocide. The blood is all over our hands — the guilt is on our heads. Look your own child in the eyes and tell them you are no longer going to support the rampant, intentional killing of innocent Palestinian children because you wouldn’t want that to happen to your own children, would you?
A Closer Look
“The official name for Israel’s latest assault on Gaza is Operation Protective Edge. A better name would be “Operation Déjà Vu.” As it has on several prior occasions, Israel is using weapons provided by U.S. taxpayers to bombard the captive and impoverished Palestinians in Gaza, where the death toll now exceeds 500. As usual, the U.S. government is siding with Israel, even though most American leaders understand Israel instigated the latest round of violence, is not acting with restraint, and that its actions make Washington look callous and hypocritical in the eyes of most of the world.
This Orwellian situation is eloquent testimony to the continued political clout of AIPAC (American Israel Public Affairs Committee) and the other hardline elements of the Israel lobby. There is no other plausible explanation for the supine behavior of the U.S. Congress — including some of its most “progressive” members — or the shallow hypocrisy of the Obama administration, especially those officials known for their purported commitment to human rights” ( AIPAC is the Only Explanation for America’s Morally Bankrupt Israel Policy).
Stephen M. Walt (Professor of International Affairs, John F. Kennedy School of Government) concluding the article:
“Historians will one day look back and ask how U.S. Middle East policy could be so ineffectual and so at odds with its professed values — not to mention its strategic interests. The answer lies in the basic nature of the American political system, which permits well-organized and well-funded special interest groups to wield significant power on Capitol Hill and in the White House. In this case, the result is a policy that is bad for all concerned: for the Palestinians most of all, but also for the U.S. and Israel as well. Until the lobby’s clout is weakened or politicians grow stiffer spines, Americans looking for better outcomes in the Middle East had better get used to disappointment and prepared for more trouble.”
The insidious nature of AIPAC
“AIPAC has more than a hundred thousand members, a network of seventeen regional offices, and a vast pool of donors. The lobby does not raise funds directly. Its members do, and the amount of money they channel to political candidates is difficult to track. But everybody in Congress recognizes its influence in elections, and the effect is evident. In 2011, when the Palestinians announced that they would petition the U.N. for statehood, AIPAC helped persuade four hundred and forty-six members of Congress to co-sponsor resolutions opposing the idea” (Friends of Israel The lobbying group AIPAC has consistently fought the Obama Administration on policy. Is it now losing influence?)
How powerful is the AIPAC lobby? “In 1996, Brian Baird, a psychologist from Seattle, decided to run for Congress. Local Democrats asked if he had thought about what he was going to say to AIPAC. “I had admired Israel since I was a kid,” Baird told me. “But I also was fairly sympathetic to peaceful resolution and the Palestinian side. These people said, ‘We respect that, but let’s talk about the issues and what you might say.’ The difficult reality is this: in order to get elected to Congress, if you’re not independently wealthy, you have to raise a lot of money. And you learn pretty quickly that, if AIPAC is on your side, you can do that. They come to you and say, ‘We’d be happy to host ten-thousand-dollar fund-raisers for you, and let us help write your annual letter, and please come to this multi-thousand-person dinner.’ “ Baird continued, “Any member of Congress knows that AIPAC is associated indirectly with significant amounts of campaign spending if you’re with them, and significant amounts against you if you’re not with them.” For Baird, AIPAC-connected money amounted to about two hundred thousand dollars in each of his races — “and that’s two hundred thousand going your way, versus the other way: a four-hundred-thousand-dollar swing.” Baird: “They [AIPAC] see us, members of congress, as basically for sale. So they want us to shut up and play the game.” The AIPAC lobby is so powerful it significantly influences congressional policy and causes compassion and empathy for a beautiful people to flow within streams of blood to grow a murderous people.
David Victor, a former AIPAC president told Connie Bruck (reporter for the above-mentioned article), “The face of pro-Israel activists has changed pretty dramatically. In the past eight years, AIPAC has reached out to Hispanics, African Americans, and evangelical Christians, in the hope that greater diversity will translate into continued support in Congress.” The Christian radio station I listen to has been actively supporting a Christian Music Tour with well-known Christian bands that is sponsored by the State of Israel. So, my brothers and sisters in Christ who support the State of Israel, how does it feel to understand you are nothing but a pawn on the political chessboard — that you are being used as a political ally to allow the Israelis to continue with their plan of complete genocide against the Palestinians?
Imad was born in Amman in 1965 and fled Palestine with his family in 1948 where they ended up in the Jerash refugee camp.
From an organization (Musalaha Ministry of Reconcilation — see link below) which is attempting to create peace and reconcilation:
“It is our belief that Christ’s death and resurrection are the foundation for reconciliation, and that forgiveness and healing can only come through following His example and obeying His word. We hope to emulate and teach Christ’s model of forgiveness, mercy, and love, breaking down the walls of enmity that so easily embitter and ensnare.
The challenge lies in the practical application of such Biblical teaching and truths. Palestinian and Israeli believers, who share a common faith and desire to honor the Word of God, often continue to be separated by cultural misperceptions, language barriers, and resentfulness. The years of conflict between nations have allowed a process of dehumanization and demonization of the “other.” How can people, whose images, opinions, and attitudes are so defined by a history of conflict, be reconciled?”
Musalaha brings Palestinian and Israeli youth, adults and leaders on desert treks in an attempt at reconciliation because getting to know the “other” is the first step towards understanding and reconciliation. However, I somewhat feel this is putting the cart before the horse, because there will not be true reconciliation until there is acknowledgment of the Israeli genocide against the Palestinians. There will not be reconciliation until the Israelis begin to perceive the Palestinians as having the same value in the eyes of God as themselves. There will not be reconciliation until the Israelis tear their garments and fall to the ground in mourning for their lack of respect for the sanctity of life.
It is time for Christians to stop supporting the State of Israel and pray and ask God what we can do to help stop the destructive carnage of the Israeli’s genocide against the Palestinians. The first step is clearly looking at the truth- and looking at yourself in the mirror. Why do you accept propaganda and lies so easily? Let’s spread the fire of truth to other churches and start a grassroots movement to oppose the Israeli’s genocide. Let’s put pressure on our elected leaders to oppose the continued financial support for weaponry that is being used on Palestinian civilians. Let’s demonstrate against the power of AIPAC over our own government policy. Let us truly be the peacekeepers that God has called us to be and defend the oppressed!
Palestinian Protest Song based on poem by Tawfeeq Zayyad
Revolutionary Palestinian Protest Song: UNADIKUM (“I call upon you”) — YouTube
Unadikum ( I Call on You )
I call on you
I clasp your hands
I kiss the ground under your feet
And I say: I offer my life for yours
I give you the light of my eyes
as a present
and the warmth of my heart
The tragedy I live is but my share of your tragedies
I call on you
I clasp your hands
I was not humiliated in my homeland
Nor was I diminished
I stood up to my oppressors
orphaned, nude, and barefoot
I carried my blood in my palm
I never lowered my flags
I guarded the green grass over my ancestor’s graves
I call on you
I clasp your hands
RESOURCES
Musalaha Ministry of Reconciliation — Musalaha Mission statement: Musalaha is a non-profit organization that seeks to promote reconciliation between Israelis and Palestinians as demonstrated in the life and teaching of Jesus. We endeavor to be an encouragement and advocate of reconciliation, first among Palestinian and Israeli believers and then beyond to our respective communities. Musalaha also aims at facilitating bridge building among different segments of Israeli and Palestinian societies according to biblical reconciliation principles.
Where Did AIPAC Come From? The following is an excerpt from Foreign Agents: The American Israel Public Affairs Committee From the 1963 Fulbright Hearings to the 2005 Espionage Scandal.
Song for Palestine by Pink Floyd
Deceiving the Elect
“I along with many others throughout the world share Nelson Mandela’s view that the denial of Palestinian rights remain ‘the greatest moral issue of our time.” Quote from speech given by Richard Falk, Albert G. Milbank Professor Emeritus of International Law at Princeton University and Research Fellow, Orgalea Center on Global Studies. UN Special Rapporteau on Palestinian Human Rights. Palestine: Political violence is not the answer
Falk also mentioned in his speech in 2012 that, “It is part of the Palestinian tragedy that the international community and the media are so easily manipulated.” From the very beginning of the establishment of the State of Israel in Palestine the Zionists had muscled their intent through the international community by deception, use of enormous financial reserves, and ongoing manipulation. The most common ruse by the Zionists was and is to accuse any person, group, or country of anti-Semitism if there is opposition or criticism.
“Two other interrelated factors have contributed to the perpetuation of violence and regional upheaval: the condoning of illegal Israeli actions from a submissive White House and U.S. Congress during recent years, and the deference with which other international leaders permit this unofficial U.S. policy in the Middle East to prevail. There are constant and vehement political and media debates in Israel concerning its policies in the West Bank, but because of powerful political, economic, and religious forces in the United States, Israeli government decisions are rarely questioned or condemned, voices from Jerusalem dominate our media, and most American citizens are unaware of circumstances in the occupied territories. At the same time, political leaders and news media in Europe are highly critical of Israeli policies, affecting public attitudes. Americans were surprised and angered by the opinion poll, published by the International Herald Tribune in October 2003, of 7,500 citizens in fifteen European nations, indicating that Israel was considered to be the top threat to world peace, ahead of North Korea, Iran, or Afghanistan” (Palestine Peace not Apartheid, Jimmy Carter, p. 209).
Due to media manipulation, and the U.S. government’s manipulation and propaganda towards its own constituents which is based in part on the significant amount of financial support these elected officials receive to obtain office, Christians who support the State of Israel have entered into dangerous spiritual waters. This is a spiritual battle where evil has spread its heavy, oppressive darkness over the Holy Lands. Growing numbers of Christians are supporting the Israelis due to the overt manipulation of AIPAC (Zionist Lobbying Group) whom are depending on the Christians lack of understanding of scripture to increase their protection from the possibility of international pressure coming to bear down on their continuing activity of crimes against humanity, ethnic cleansing, or genocide against the Palestinians.
The spiritual danger for these Christians who are supporting Israel is they are not taking the important responsibility each one of us has to use scripture to determine God’s will and praying for discernment when we don’t understand. It is so easy to be stuck on a couple of verses of scripture without properly exegeting those particular verses in their expanded context. Subsequently, if we accept the premise Palestine belongs to the Zionists (Jews), therefore, a Christians’s support must be given to the State of Israel, a significant moral question arises: Does God support rape of women,children,and the elderly, murder of innocent families, theft of property, complete destruction of villages and homes, abuse of power by taking away survival resources, murder of international aid workers, deceptive practices, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide? Do you understand the moral/spiritual dilemma?
Abomination of Desolation
“Therefore when you see the abomination of desolation which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand), then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains. Whoever is on the housetop must not go down to get the things out that are in his house. Whoever is in the field must not turn back to get his cloak. But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! But pray that your flight will not be in the winter, or on a Sabbath. For then there will be a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will. Unless those days had been cut short, no life would have been saved; but for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short. Then if anyone says to you, ‘Behold, here is the Christ,’ or There He is,’ do not believe him. For false Christs and false prophets will arise and will show great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect. Behold, I have told you in advance. So if they say to you, ‘Behold, He is in the wilderness,’ do not go out, or, ‘Behold, He is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe them. For just as the lightning comes from the east and flashes even to the west, so will the coming of the Son of Man be. Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.”
The Hebrew expression, “abomination of desolation” refers to an abominable or hateful destroyer. The first fulfillment of Daniel’s prophecy in chapter 11 was the Greek ruler, Antichus Epiphanes (“king of the North”) in 167 B.C.E., as described in I Maccabees, who proclaimed that each nation should renounce its particular customs, and if one didn’t obey the punishment would be death. As a result, many Israelites chose to follow the “one religion” set forth by Antichus Epiphanes and began sacrificing to idols and profaning the Sabbath. Epiphanes banned burnt offerings and sacrifices and set up a statue of Jupiter Olympus on the temple altar where Greek soldiers with women performed sexual acts. Hebrews referred to the statue as the abomination of desolation. Additionally, in an act of further defilement, swine were sacrificed on the altar (Charles Pfeiffer, Between the Testaments, 1974, p. 81).
The second fulfillment of Daniel’s prophecy in chapter 11 occurred in the temple destruction of 70 A.D. (prophesied by Jesus as well) where according to Josephus, 1.1 million Jews were killed with an additional 97,000 enslaved. As an act of desecration of the temple, Titus erected an idol on the destroyed temple altar. In both of these events were extreme destruction, loss of life, idol worship, and defilement of the Temple’s sacred space.
The last fulfillment of Daniel’s prophecy refers to a future time which will be the “end of the age,” or the “last days,” where again will be seen an “abomination that causes desolation …standing in the Holy Place.” According to scripture prophecies, this will come after burnt offerings and sacrifices are stopped in the temple. Since there is no temple presently, it is conjectured the Jews will build a third temple and burnt offerings will resume first. Extrapolating from this prophecy, many Christians believe the Zionists’ aggressive pursuit of ridding the land of the Palestinians including taking over the West Bank and Gaza by whatever means possible is somehow approved by God. The reasoning goes like this (if we draw parallels from Antichus Epiphanes): Daniel prophesied the temple would be destroyed and defiled, and because it was prophesied, God approves, so therefore all people should have supported Antichus Epiphanes. Sounds ridiculous, doesn’t it? The utter destruction and horror of what the Israelis are doing to the Palestinians (which includes Muslims and Christians), exemplifies the definition of “abomination of desolation” — abominable or hateful destroyer.
But [au]instead he will honor a god of fortresses, a god whom his fathers did not know; he will honor him with gold, silver, costly stones and treasures. Daniel 11:38
Israel secretly developed nuclear warheads in a manner that characterizes all of its practices — by manipulation and deception. David Ben-Gurion (founder of the State of Israel and first Prime Minister) made it his mission to make sure Israel was protected from other Middle Eastern countries by promoting a nuclear weapons program. However, the Israeli nuclear program was established with outright lying by foreign minister, Shomon Peres assuring President John F. Kennedy in an Oval Office 1963 meeting that Israel would “not introduce nuclear weapons to the region.”
In fact, the Israeli deception continues to the present time as no other country knows exactly how many warheads Israeli has developed. The figures run from 65–400 as the deception and manipulation runs high with U.S. full participation. Furthermore, Israel has repeatedly refused to sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty even with the United Nations explanation that allowing IAEA inspectors into its facilities would be the best way to progress toward a Middle East nuclear free zone. (Welcome to Israeli Weapons 101)
Additionally, Jimmy Carter stated in 2008 and 2014 he believes the number of warheads to be around 150–300. However, due to federal secrecy rules, “…such remarks generally cannot be made even now by those who work for the U.S. government and hold active security clearances. In fact, U.S. officials, even those on Capitol Hill, are routinely admonished not to mention the existence of an Israeli nuclear arsenal and occasionally punished when they do so. The policy of never publicly confirming what a scholar once called one of the world’s ‘worst-kept secrets’ dates from a political deal between the United States and Israel in the late 1960’s. Its consequence has been to help Israel maintain a distinctive military posture in the Middle East while avoiding the scrutiny-and occasional disapprobation-applied to the world’s eight acknowledged nuclear powers” (Israel’s Worst Kept Secret: Is the silence over Israeli nukes doing more harm than good?)
The Wall around Qalqiliya. A twenty-five foot high concrete cage cuts residents off from their agricultural land, necessary for their survival, and prevents them from traveling even 5 minutes out of the City. A single gate, which opens at the whim of the occupying army, controls 100,000 residents. The Separation Barrier is called the “Apartheid Wall” or “Berlin Wall” by Palestinians. Sections of the Separation Barrie include electrified fencing, two-meter deep trenches, roads for patrol vehicles, elections ground/fence sensors, thermal imaging and video cameras, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV’s), sniper towers and razor wire.
And yet Israeli officials refer to the above Separation Barrier (405 miles long, and 25 ft high) as a “fence” (Hebrew word, gader) or gader hafradeh (separation fence). The Hebrew word, chomah is typically used for protective fortifications (gosh, why don’t we just use the work “fortress?”) which would be more appropriate. Due to the Israeli official's semantic manipulation, U.S. media reporting on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict use the word “fence,” and oftentimes will erroneously state the “fence” runs along the West Bank-Israeli border. In reality, the Separation Barrier does not even run along the Green Line which separates the West Bank from Israel proper but runs through the West Bank on Palestinian land which has created significant agricultural and other issues for the Palestinian people in the West Bank. (Is it a Fence? Is it a Wall? No it’s a Separation Barrier)
Jimmy Carter writing in Palestine Peace no Apartheid, reports the International Court of Justice (judicial arm of the United Nations) in July 2004 determined the construction of the segregation wall was illegal.
“The court acknowledged Israel’s right to protect the lives of its citizens by building a protective barrier within its own national border but based its negative ruling on international law including the Fourth Geneva Convention, which forbids an occupying power from transferring any parts of its civilian population into territories seized by military force. The court called on Israel to cease construction of the wall, to dismantle what has already been built in areas within the occupied Palestinian territory, and to compensate Palestinians who have suffered losses as a result of the wall’s construction. The Israeli Supreme Court has chosen not to accept the International Court’s decision but acknowledged that Israel holds the West Bank ‘in belligerent occupation’ and that ‘the law of belligerent occupation…imposes conditions’ on the authority of the military, even in areas related to security” (p. 193–194).
From B’Tselem: Welcome to Bir Nabala (video)
October 2012
The town of Bir Nabala, next to Jerusalem, is trapped in an enclave of the Separation Barrier. A residential suburb of East Jerusalem since the 1970s, Bir Nabala enjoyed relative prosperity in the 1990s thanks to its central location and easy access to Ramallah and East Jerusalem, and from there to central Israel. Now isolated by the barrier, Bir Nabala lost half its residents, most of them East Jerusalemites who returned to the city, and many of the town’s businesses closed. Using unique archival footage, “Welcome to Bir Nabala” documents the transformation of Bir Nabala into a ghost town, via the stories of two local banquet halls.
Israeli Weapons
From the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948 until now, the Israeli military has expanded and grown their weapon arsenal as well as enhancing weapons technology. In contrast, the Palestinians had very little to defend themselves until the group Hamas was formed as a response to Israeli aggression. The early rockets used by Hamas were few, and primitive in its technology. Within the last five years, Hamas has obtained slightly better rockets, but with limited range and precision which has led Hamas to build tunnels so that their rockets have better reach. Recently, President Obama pledged millions of dollars to the Israelis to develop “tunnel detection and destruction systems.” Subsequently, Israeli fatalities have been minimal and the Palestinians fatalities significant. This has been with the help of the U.S., the who have provided the Israelis with millions of dollars to enhance their weapon technology which paid for the Iron Dome program. The State of Israeli receives three billion annually from the U.S. and received an additional 270 million to establish the Iron Dome system. The system has had significant expansion and improvement with further integration of all aerial defense systems. The Israeli’s are implementing “David’s Sling” which is more advanced technology of their aerial defense system. Additionally, the U.S. has pledged an additional 600 million to assist with that further development. The Palestinians have no such technology, and don’t even have bomb shelters. Additionally, the Palestinians have no tanks or aircraft. And yet from the U.S. government and the media, the emphasis has always been on keeping the State of Israel secure.
In January 2016, the International Atomic Energy Agency detailed a nuclear development arms agreement to effectively stop Iran from developing nuclear warheads by removing some of the previously implemented sanctions against Iran. Zvika Haimovich, Senior Air Force Commander of the Aerial Defence Division, in an article discussing Israeli aerial defense:
“Iran, now enjoying sanctions relief, is behind much of the new deadly missile and rocket threat facing Israel, he added. “After the nuclear agreement, I can see how this is influencing Iran; I see Iran giving much more support to terrorist organizations, in the form of money, and technological and technical assistance, in anything you can imagine. Iran is conducting missile tests and provides close assistance to Hezbollah and Hamas.”
Why would Iran respond with more aggression after the nuclear agreement? Because the State of Israel, fairly small at around the size of Vermont, has developed up to 300 nuclear warheads and refuses to follow international directives to take steps to reduce their nuclear arsenal.
Two Palestinian teenagers throwing rocks at an Israeli armored tank. The second photo is a young Palestinian boy being placed in a choke hold by an Israeli soldier for throwing rocks at a tank. There are hundreds of photos of Palestinians throwing rocks at tanks — in occupied Palestinian territory.
These photos clearly illustrate the helplessness of the Palestinian people which is why the Israelis are encroaching more and more into Palestinian occupied territory as they are like a Goliath facing puny men who are beaten down again and again. It is ironic the Israelis are using the name, “David’s Sling” for their new aerial defense system — just part of their ongoing deception to characterize themselves as the ones being attacked and in danger as opposed to being the inhumane aggressors — they are the Goliath.
End Time Prophecies
I am not pretending I can interpret end time prophecies. However, there are metaphors, visual descriptions, or phrases that can be applied to the present time. For example, I used “he will honor a god of fortresses, a god whom his fathers did not know” from Daniel to explore the State of Israel’s massive focus on fortifying, securing and aggressively pursuing the land that is occupied by Palestinians instead of honoring their Jewish covenant with God and pursuing peace and justice. Another prophecy phrase, “prince of the covenant” also can be used by describing the relationship between the State of Israel and the U.S. “Prince of the covenant” is made up of two Hebrew words, “nagiyd” which refers to a leader, ruler, prince or governor, and “bariyth” which means covenant, alliance, pledge, treaty, league or confederacy. This could possibly pertain to a leader of an alliance or treaty, or a pledge between two countries. The complex relationship between the Israelis and the U.S. has always been wrought with deception, manipulation, and greed with no concern or compassion for the plight of the Palestinians. In fact, I watched an IDF soldier in a video interview state, “We are trained to perceive ourselves as human, and the Palestinians as animals.”
‘Less Than Human’: The Psychology of Cruelty: NPR author interview with David Livingston Stone:
“During the Holocaust, Nazis referred to Jews as rats. Hutus involved in the Rwanda genocide called Tutsis cockroaches. Slave owners throughout history considered slaves subhuman animals. In Less Than Human, David Livingstone Smith argues that it’s important to define and describe dehumanization, because it’s what opens the door for cruelty and genocide.
‘We all know, despite what we see in the movies,’ Smith tells NPR’s Neal Conan, ‘that it’s very difficult, psychologically, to kill another human being up close and in cold blood, or to inflict atrocities on them.’ So, when it does happen, it can be helpful to understand what it is that allows human beings ‘to overcome the very deep and natural inhibitions they have against treating other people like game animals or vermin or dangerous predators.’
Rolling Stone recently published photos online of American troops posing with dead Afghans, connected to ongoing court-martial cases of soldiers at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington state. In addition to posing with the corpses, “these soldiers — called the ‘kill team’ — also took body parts as trophies,” Smith alleges, “which is very often a phenomenon that accompanies the form of dehumanization in which the enemy is seen as game.”
But this is just the latest iteration in a pattern that has unfolded time and again over the course of history. In ancient Chinese, Egyptian and Mesopotamian literature, Smith found repeated references to enemies as subhuman creatures. But it’s not as simple as a comparison. ‘When people dehumanize others, they actually conceive of them as subhuman creatures,’ says Smith. Only then can the process ‘liberate aggression and exclude the target of aggression from the moral community.’
When the Nazis described Jews as Untermenschen, or subhumans, they didn’t mean it metaphorically, says Smith. ‘They didn’t mean they were like subhumans. They meant they were literally subhuman.’
Human beings have long conceived of the universe as a hierarchy of value, says Smith, with God at the top and inert matter at the bottom, and everything else in between. That model of the universe ‘doesn’t make scientific sense,’ says Smith, but ‘nonetheless, for some reason, we continue to conceive of the universe in that fashion, and we relegate nonhuman creatures to a lower position’ on the scale.
Then, within the human category, there has historically been a hierarchy. In the 18th century, white Europeans — the architects of the theory — ‘modestly placed themselves at the very pinnacle.’ The lower edges of the category merged with the apes, according to their thinking.
So ‘sub-Saharan Africans and Native Americans were denizens of the bottom of the human category,’ when they were even granted human status. Mostly, they were seen as ‘soulless animals.’ And that dramatic dehumanization made it possible for great atrocities to take place.”
Excerpt from Stone’s book, Less Than Human: Why We Demean, Enslave, and Exterminate Others:
“The Holocaust is the most thoroughly documented example of the ravages of dehumanization. Its hideousness strains the limits of imagination. And yet, focusing on it can be strangely comforting. It’s all too easy to imagine that the Third Reich was a bizarre aberration, a kind of mass insanity instigated by a small group of deranged ideologues who conspired to seize political power and bend a nation to their will. Alternatively, it’s tempting to imagine that the Germans were (or are) a uniquely cruel and bloodthirsty people. But these diagnoses are dangerously wrong. What’s most disturbing about the Nazi phenomenon is not that the Nazis were madmen or monsters. It’s that they were ordinary human beings…
What is it that enables one group of human beings to treat another group as though they were subhuman creatures?
A rough answer isn’t hard to come by. Thinking sets the agenda for action, and thinking of humans as less than human paves the way for atrocity. The Nazis were explicit about the status of their victims. They were Untermenschen — subhumans — and as such were excluded from the system of moral rights and obligations that bind humankind together. It’s wrong to kill a person, but permissible to exterminate a rat. To the Nazis, all the Jews, Gypsies and others were rats: dangerous, disease-carrying rats.”
In Daniel 11:32 we read, “By smooth words he will turn to godlessness those who act wickedly toward the covenant, but the people who know their God will display strength and action.” As mentioned, the manipulation and deception from the very beginning of the establishment of the State of Israel has been devastatingly significant. Most Americans, especially Christians, either don’t understand what is really happening because of U.S. government leaders and media manipulation or have some idea of what is happening to the Palestinians but feel the State of Israel is justified in their actions towards the Palestinians, because they believe the Holy Lands belong to the Jews. Or Americans believe since terrorism stems from Islam, and the majority of Palestinians are Muslim, the State of Israel and the U.S. are justified in attempting to eradicate the Palestinians because of the supposed threat to the Israelis and the U.S., while clearly not understanding the greatest threat comes from the Israelis.
For false Christs and false prophets will arise and will show great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect. Matthew 24:24
“If possible” doesn’t mean it won’t be possible for the elect to be fooled, but it emphasizes the danger the elect has of being fooled if we do not study scripture, follow the Word, and prayerfully allow to be led by the Holy Spirit. In today’s world, many Christians are in spiritual danger due to allowing culture to determine their understanding and subsequently their spiritual choices. The Christians increasing fascination with all things Jewish as well as falling under the spell of Zionist manipulation, is a good example of the enemy deceiving God’s elect.
The Nature of Deception
In the very beginning of the Bible after Adam and Eve were created there is the story of the serpent deceiving them with the consequence of Adam and Eve being cast out of the Garden of Eden. This is a story of lost innocence, disobedience, and punishment — Adam and Eve are cast out of the Garden of innocence. And in the very next chapter, we read about their child Cain, killing his favored brother, Abel, out of jealousy and then committing the sin of deception to cover up his murder.
In the story of Adam and Eve, both become ashamed after their disobedience is revealed, but yet they admit the truth to God. Because of Eve’s initial innocence, however, they fall into temptation by believing the deception of the Serpent. Cain, however uses deception in an attempt to cover his sin from being revealed by God, and therefore somehow believes the only thing he needs to be afraid of is punishment if he tells the truth, and not shame or guilt for killing his brother out of jealousy. This is an extremely immature spirituality characterized by fear of punishment, and the need for approval. God appears to be revealing Cain’s weakness by pointing out his overt need for approval, which places Cain at risk for committing sin. God teaching Cain, “And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door; and its desire is for you, but you must master it.” Love for his brother, would have Cain being happy for his brother’s offering having favor over his own, but we see the true heart of Cain who piles sin upon sin. There is the problem of lack of love, jealousy, pride, coveting the same favor his brother received, and the sin of deception to cover it all up.
Deception is the sin that goes hand in hand with all other sins. If someone is intentionally sinning, then they will attempt to hide their sin. Furthermore, such deception is an indicator of the spirit of Satan at work. In John 8:39–47, Jesus is telling a group of Jews that because they don’t believe his word and seek to kill him, and God sent him, then their father is not God, but is Satan “Why do you not understand [m]what I am saying? It is because you cannot hear My word. You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks [n]a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of [o]lies. But because I speak the truth, you do not believe Me. Which one of you convicts Me of sin? If I speak truth, why do you not believe Me? He who is of God hears the words of God; for this reason you do not hear them, because you are not of God.”
Part of the reason the Zionists use of deception has been so successful is because many of the elect have been deceived! Those Christian congressmen and women in government leadership have not defended the Palestinians, but I’m sure, have willingly, knowingly taken money from AIPAC for their election campaigns, and then became deceivers themselves who lead their Christian followers to support the State of Israel. The first sin is greed, and lack of trust in God’s providence, and then deception.
This is clearly evident in Jimmy Carter’s book, Palestine Peace Not Apartheid, in the beginning chapters (which were written in his first book on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict), as Carter provides glowing reports of his and Rosalyn’s visits to the Holy Lands, and the hospitality provided by the Israelis (driving them around in a Mercedes “wagon,” or more correctly, a limo). His perceptions of the conflict are overtly slanted toward the Israelis, and he demonstrates a significant lack of understanding of the underlying issues which have led to the conflict and fueled the fire of violence. For example, Carter writes, “Some Palestinians have responded to political and military occupation by launching terrorist attacks against the Israeli civilians, a course of action that is both morally reprehensible and politically counterproductive” (p. 15). This statement indicates no knowledge of the Israeli war crimes against the Palestinians, nor the significant numbers of civilian deaths of the Palestinians, and it shows no understanding of the Israelis continued disregard for any U.N. resolutions, as well as the Israelis continual movement into Palestinian occupied territories using whatever aggressive means possible. For someone who has no prior knowledge of this conflict reading Carter’s book, there would be an assumption that the Palestinians are to blame and are committing atrocities against the Israelis. By Carter using the term, “terrorist,” there is an immediate emotional reaction that the Palestinians are the aggressors, and the Israelis are the victims. This is deception. Is this intentional by Carter, or just ignorance because he has been deceived, or is it both?
Another statement clearly indicating his lack of understanding of the conflict, “Many Israelis, like their neighbors, are eagerly seeking a measure of normalized existence, but the verbal threats from Iran and some radical Arabs and the terrorist attacks in occupied territories and even within Israel have kept alive the feelings of distrust and alienation among Israelis toward their neighbors.” Again, the use of the word, “terrorist,” which completely deceives the readers of the truth of Israeli aggression towards annihilation or genocide against the Palestinian people.
However, later in Carter’s book he examines the Palestinians complaints of the Israelis interception of all international humanitarian funds including from the United States for the Palestinians and acknowledges the Israeli response that taking humanitarian funds intended for Palestinians for security purposes is not valid. Carter does not discuss in his earlier books the destructive role of AIPAC, the U.S.’s ongoing financial support to develop Israeli weaponry (which is used against the Palestinians including bombing schools and hospitals with precision targeting weapons), or any history of the conflict which would reveal Israeli war crimes. This latest book was published in 2006, with an afterword in 2007.
In the afterword, “As a child, I was taught by my father every Sunday about the special status of the Jewish people in the eyes of God, and when I was governor of Georgia, I went with my wife and Jody Powell to the Middle East to learn more about Israel and its mortal threats from Arab neighbors.” Carter briefly mentions AIPAC in the afterword, but not one mention of the horrific actions of the Israelis towards the Palestinians.
In contrast, Alison Weir, author of Against Our Better Judgment: The hidden history of how the U.S. was used to create Israel, traveled to the State of Israel, West Bank and Gaza as a freelance journalist to intensively, objectively research the conflict from its onset, and discovered the significant role the U.S. has played throughout the history of the conflict which has led to the violent instability of the Middle East.
Weir reports that in the fall of 2000 during the Second Intifada she began researching the news regarding the conflict. What she discovered was a “more drastic pattern of Israeli violence against Palestinians than mainstream U.S. news organizations were revealing.” Weir goes on to say that “large numbers of Palestinian children were being killed by Israeli forces, many of them through gunfire to the head — and that they had been killed before the far smaller number of Israeli children who eventually began also to be tragically killed. Similarly, I found that over 140 Palestinians of all ages had been killed before any Israelis in Israel, even though the media consistently were referring to Israeli violence as retaliatory.” Weir, as a result of what she found, quit her job and began an organization called “If Americans Knew” to educate Americans regarding the truth.
“Americans have given far more of our tax money to Israel than to any other nation, and to the region in general. In addition, the U.S. government frequently vetoes international initiatives on Israel that virtually all other nations endorse. As a result, our support for Israel has created growing hostility against the United States, placing our citizens in increasing risk” (preface vi).
From the very beginning when Zionists were looking for a place to settle, to the present day, the Zionists have manipulated with deception which is not only discussed in Weir’s book (half of the book is endnotes because of Weir’s emphasis on being objective), but many other sources as well. Unfortunately, the U.S. has been highly involved in deceptive practices as well, which has deceived Christians as to the true nature of this conflict. The very lands where three religions had their beginnings, Jews, Christians and Muslims, has become a cesspool of hatred, death, and destruction and will most certainly play a role in the end time scenarios. When there is deception, there you will find the workings of Satan. As People of the Book, we have a responsibility to see the truth through the fog of lies.
Barriers to Peace
Many of the attempts by international government officials to establish peace between the Palestinians and Israelis has failed (including Carter). The problem is that the conflict is approached as if both nations are equally to blame for the conflict. This is like a teacher in a schoolyard focusing on making peace between a bully and his victim. The aggressive bully is bigger and stronger and continually picks on the smaller, weaker boy and gets away with it. His bullying continues and becomes worse because the teacher is blind to the truth. The teacher calls in other teachers in an attempt to intervene, but because she secretly likes the bigger boy better, influences the other teachers by describing the conflict as equally promoted by both boys. Will the teachers “peaceful” interventions work? Not as long as the bully doesn’t have to take responsibility for his actions, and there isn’t a teacher who is objective to understand the smaller boy is getting aggressively beat up on. A young Palestinian poet, with the wisdom of an old sage puts it this way, “I’ve grown to learn that peace should be the last discussion, what should be focused on right now is justice, justice is the ultimate solution to the conflict, the oppression and the violence” (Mohammed El-Kurd).
The Prophet Muhammad said:
“There are four characteristics, whoever has all of them is a true hypocrite, and whoever has one of them has one of the qualities of a hypocrite until he gives it up: when he is trusted, he betrays; when he speaks, he lies; when he makes a promise, he breaks it; and when he disputes, he resorts to slander.” (Saheeh Al-Bukhari, Saheeh Muslim)
The only way for Christians to battle the deception of Satan is to pray for wisdom and discernment. Don’t fall away from your faith because of your lack of love, and hard heart. Close your eyes and allow yourself to feel the fading heartbeat of a dying people, allow yourself to hear the cries of dying babies, allow yourself to feel the fear and terror of whistling rockets becoming louder and louder, allow yourself to imagine what the hating eyes of an Israeli soldier looks like, allow yourself to feel what it would feel like for your life to not matter to anyone in the world. Allow yourself to understand that no one cares because of the power of lies and then pray for the lives of the Palestinians. To pray and take intentional action against all genocides to preserve the sanctity and dignity of all human life.