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Posted by avideditor on April 27, 2009
From Eye of the World
Palestinians vandalize Joseph’s Tomb with swastikas and other anti-Semitic graffiti
Their favorite Nazi symbols aside, this is how they respect other people’s holy sites, all the while whining about nonexistent threats to and disrespect of theirs.
Posted in anti-semitism | Tagged: anti-semitic, Israel, Joseph Tomb, Palestinians | Leave a Comment »
Posted by avideditor on January 12, 2009
Hamas indoctrination of children is sick. Watch them teach there kids that “Bombs more precious than children” with you own eyes.
Posted in Israel, video | Tagged: Bombs more precious than children, Gaza, Gaza strip, Gaza War, Hamas, Palestinians | 2 Comments »
Posted by avideditor on June 5, 2008
Just look at the actions of the “Palestinians.” They just want to want to kill Jews. Any concession to these jihadis is going to result in more innocent people dying. I found this at Israel Matzav
The IDF found 1300 liters of sulfuric acid in a truck stopped for inspection at yet another one of those terrible ‘roadblocks’ that infringes on the ‘freedom of movement’ of the ‘Palestinian people’ on Thursday. This time, the roadblock was in Kalkilya, less than one kilometer (0.6 miles) from the large Jewish town of Kfar Saba. Kalkilya and Kfar Saba face each other on opposite sides of the ‘green line.’
Sulfuric acid is used in – you guessed it – bomb making.
The World Bank (which has blamed Israel’s ‘roadblocks’ for the collapse of the ‘Palestinian economy’) was not available for comment.
Hat Tip: Arutz Sheva.
/Give the ‘Palestinians’ ‘freedom of movement’ so they won’t ’suffer’ from ‘poverty’ any more.
Posted in Israel | Tagged: Condi Rice, Islam, Israel, Jihadis, news, Palestinians, politics, road blocks, west bank | Leave a Comment »
Posted by avideditor on May 27, 2008
This is some great news from Israel from Israel Matzav.
Even the left is getting tired of the ‘Palestinians.’
Anyone who has read this blog for any period of time has seen me refer to Haaretz as Israel’s ‘Hebrew ‘Palestinian’ Daily‘ (a term which was not coined by me, but by Steven Plaut). Bradley Burston is one of Haaretz’s most left-wing writers. But look what he’s telling the ‘Palestinians’ now.
We in the post-modern West have spent years educating ourselves to believe that all cultures are equally valid – with the possible exception, of course, of our own. We have taken it on faith that to criticize the culture of an indigenous people is obscenely imperialist, paternalist.
Read the rest here
Posted in Israel | Tagged: Israel, Israel's Left, Palestinians | Leave a Comment »
Posted by avideditor on May 26, 2008
Olmert is trying to sell out the jewish people and state in his last days in office. Luckly the jihadis calling them selves the ‘Palestinians’ refused. Jihadis want war not peace. Olmert needs to be kicked out off office and the jihadis need to be kicked out of Israel now!
Here is the report from Israel Matzav:
Despite some denials that have been coming in throughout the evening, it appears that Prime Minister Ehud K. Olmert has offered the ‘Palestinians’ 91.5% of Judea and Samaria, and has offered them land between Hebron and Gaza (for ’safe passage’) in return for the rest. The ‘Palestinians’ have turned down the offer as not good enough.
Palestinian officials close to peace talks said Sunday that Israel has offered a West Bank withdrawal map that leaves about 8.5 percent of the territory in Israeli hands, less than a previous plan but still more than the Palestinians are ready to accept.
Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat and other PA officials, however, told The Jerusalem Post that the report is unsubstantiated.
Also Sunday, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas was quoted as telling backers that the negotiations have achieved no progress since they were restarted last November with a pledge to US President George W. Bush to try for a full peace treaty by the end of the year.
The Palestinian officials said that Israel presented its new map three days ago in a negotiating session. The last map Israel offered had 12 percent of the West Bank remaining in Israel. Israel wants to keep West Bank land with its main settlement blocs, offering land inside Israel in exchange. The land would be between Hebron in the southern West Bank and Gaza – at least part of a route through Israel to link the two territories.
The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because the negotiations are being conducted behind closed doors, said Palestinians were ready to trade only 1.8% of the West Bank for Israeli land.
Israeli officials refused to comment.
I’ll comment. I don’t see any reason to offer that much. In fact, it’s suicidal, because somewhere in that 8.5%, just about every bit of what’s left of the rump State of Israel – God forbid – will be exposed to ‘Palestinian’ terror attacks. Including the airport. So what the heck is Olmert offering them? By the way, this does not include Jerusalem, which they hope to agree on later.
But ‘moderate’ ‘Palestinian’ President Mahmoud Abbas Abu Mazen is losing patience again.
Abbas indicated skepticism about the prospects of the renewed talks.
“Nothing has been achieved in the negotiations with Israel yet,” Abbas told a meeting of the Fatah Revolutionary Council, according to a report Sunday in the Fatah-associated al-Ayyam daily and confirmed by meeting participants.
Domestic issues in both Israel and the US are diverting attention from peacemaking, Abbas told Fatah leaders.
“I fear the (corruption) probe against Olmert and the American preoccupation with the (presidential) elections will negatively affect the negotiations,” Abbas said, according to a member of the council, Salah Taameri.
Awwww….
The problem with these kinds of ridiculous offers is that even if the ‘Palestinians’ say no, they just become starting points for the next time. In fact, one of the reasons they are saying no now is because Ehud Barak offered them about 98% in 2001 at Taba (plus control of the above ground part of the Temple Mount and all the Arab neighborhoods in the Old City of Jerusalem) and they still turned it down. The ‘Palestinians’ figure there has to be a better offer on the way. And with Olmert negotiating with himself and the prosecutors, they are probably right.
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged: Israel, Jihadis, Judea, occupied, Olmert, Palestinians, Samaria, terrorist | Leave a Comment »
Posted by avideditor on May 19, 2008
A May 15th CNN report by Ben Wedeman on Israel’s 60th birthday parrots many similar segments in the media which focus not on Israel, but on the Palestinians’ view of the event. An Arab man emotively and inaccurately claims that the “establishment of Israel” caused the Palestinian refugee problem. Wedeman fails to note that it was actually the Arab attack against the reborn Jewish state which created the war and refugee problem. If the Arabs had not attacked the Jews, there would not be a single Palestinian Arab refugee.
Click here to submit a complaint to CNN.
This is what I wrote:
I will no longer watch your station as long as you keep lying about the creation of Israel. On May 15th CNN report by Ben Wedeman he blamed the refugee problem on Israel. However if the arabs did not start fighting then there would not have been a single refugee. How dare you call it a catastrophe that all the jews where not killed. Please email me when you make an on air correction. Look at your ratings people are turning you off due to your anti-semitic bias. Please promote truth and the news.
I would advise you write your own letter. But if you don’t have much time feel free to copy and paste what I have wrote.
Posted in Israel, Media Bias | Tagged: CNN, Israel, lies, Media Bias, Palestinians | 2 Comments »
Posted by avideditor on May 18, 2008
Israel lifted check points vital for Israeli security. The more you give and reward terrorist the more they are going to attack you. It is time for Israel to change its policy. First they planted a bomb, and now rocks.
Palestinians hurl stones at Israeli vehicle north of Hebron Palestinians hurled stones at an Israeli vehicle near Halhoul, north of Hebron on Sunday.
It is time to implement the solution to the “Palestinian” curse on Israel
Posted in Israel | Tagged: check points, Islam, Israel, Jihadis, Palestinians, rock throwing | Leave a Comment »
Posted by avideditor on May 18, 2008
In accordance with the road map Israel removed check points yesterday. Guess what? Today the IDF found a bomb. Lucky no one was injured.
Repeating the same mistake over and over with out learning is insane. Just look at the map. There is enough land for jihadis outside of Israel. Jews have been living in Israel for 3,000 years. It is time we no longer negotiate with terrorist. Read my short essay on what Israel should do here: The solution to the “Palestinian” curse on Israel
Posted in Israel | Tagged: appeasement, Islam, Israel, Jihadis, Middle East, middle east war, Olmert, Palestine, Palestinians | 1 Comment »
Posted by avideditor on April 22, 2008
It looks like Egypt has realized that it needs to separate itself from the fake group of people that it helped create. It looks like the hate filled propaganda of the “pali” is deadly to both arab and jew now.
Egypt is Building an Apartheid Wall: “Is Egypt beginning to understand terrorism? Soon after Hamas broke through the border crossing into Egypt, Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit seemed to ease up on Israel’s West Bank security fence, ‘Whoever wishes to build a security fence on his land is free to do that.’ Right after that it was announced that Egypt, with $23 million in U.S. assistance, would build its own fence along the border with Gaza. Teams from the Army Corps of Engineers are expected in Egypt shortly to advise the project. Whats behind Egypts acceptance of an ‘Apartheid Fence’ on its border with Gaza? Maybe its the recognition that Hamas is like the Muslim Brotherhood–ON Steroids:
Egypt Builds a Wall, Changes Its Tune on Israels Barrier
By David Schenker
Weekly Standard, April 28, 2008
Much ado has been made of the Israeli security fence isolating the West Bank. When it is completed in 2010, the barrier — which runs roughly along the 1967 border between Israel and Palestinian territory — will span nearly 500 miles. Israelis say the purpose of the structure is to curtail terrorist attacks against the Jewish state. Theres little reason to doubt them: Despite a March attack that killed eight students at a Jerusalem seminary, statistics suggest that the barrier and a corresponding one around Gaza are working.
West Bankers condemn the structure because it encroaches into pre-1967 Palestinian territory, limits mobility, and separates farmers from their fields. Hamas, which has controlled Gaza since June 2007, describes its territory as ‘a big prison.’ Until recently, Egypt too was a vociferous critic. In 2003, Egypts foreign minister at the time, Ahmed Maher, described the structure as ‘defying international legitimacy and world public opinion.’
Even as Israel moves expeditiously to seal off its West Bank threat, however, Palestinians face the prospect of another wall hemming them in. This latest wall is not being constructed by the Israelis, though, but by Egypt, which seeks more protection from its Palestinian neighbors in Gaza.
Cairo has every reason to be concerned. In January 2008, Hamas demolished the Gaza-Egypt border fence, allowing an estimated 700,000 Palestinians — nearly half of Gazas population — to stream into the Sinai desert. Initially, Cairo viewed the Gaza breach as an opportunity to solidify its pro-Palestinian bona fides. Then reality set in. Egypt, it seems, was concerned that Palestinians entering the Sinai might exacerbate Egypts own terrorism problem. In April 2006, 23 tourists were killed in a car-bomb attack in the Sinai resort town of Dahab; two days later, U.N. Multi-national Force Observers, enforcing the Egypt-Israel peace treaty, were targeted by suicide attacks.
For Cairo, the threat extends beyond Sinai. Islamists in Egypt — led by the Muslim Brotherhood — have been making significant political gains in recent years, winning an unprecedented 88 of 444 elected parliamentary seats in 2005. The prospect of Hamass hooking up with the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood terrifies the government of Egypt. As one Egyptian political analyst describes it, ‘Hamas is the Muslim Brotherhood on steroids.’
Less than two weeks after the Gaza breach, Cairo took draconian measures to return the Palestinians to Gaza. It arrested dozens — including a group of armed Palestinians reportedly planning to attack Israeli tourists in the Sinai — and quickly resealed the border with miles of barbed wire. Hamas cried foul and pledged that it would not allow the border to remain sealed. In February, two Egyptian border guards were injured by Palestinian gunfire and several more were treated for broken bones after being hit by rocks thrown across the border.
With tensions along the border increasing, Egypt has softened its position on Israels West Bank barrier. In March, Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit said, ‘Whoever wishes to build a security fence on his land is free to do that.’ Subsequently, it was announced that Egypt, with $23 million in U.S. assistance, would build its own fence along the border with Gaza. Teams from the Army Corps of Engineers are expected in Egypt shortly to advise the project.
At least in part, Cairos change in attitude was driven by Washington. For more than a decade, weapons have moved freely into Gaza via ubiquitous smuggling tunnels linking Sinai to Palestinian areas and bypassing Israeli scrutiny. Since Hamass Gaza takeover, though, the issue has increasingly garnered attention, as longer-range katyusha rockets — presumably transported via these tunnels — have started falling on Israeli cities with greater frequency. During the 2008 budget discussions, Congress was so concerned about perceived Egyptian inaction on the tunnels that a clause was inserted to condition nearly $100 million in U.S. aid on Cairos countering these smuggling routes.
For Cairo, the U.S. pressure was a blessing in disguise. The Egyptian government gives a lot of lip service to the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, while privately it is apprehensive about the militant nature of Hamas-ruled Gaza. These sentiments have only been heightened by recent political and social inroads made by Egypts own Islamists.
At the end of the day, the Gaza border is above all else a matter of Egyptian national security. So despite the obvious comparisons that will be drawn between the Israeli and Egyptian barriers, Cairo had few alternatives other than to move ahead with a wall of its own. As Israel learned some time ago, good fences make good neighbors, especially when your neighbors are your enemies.
David Schenker is senior fellow and director of the program in Arab politics at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.
Posted in Israel | Tagged: Apartheid Wall, Egypt, Israel, Palestinians | Leave a Comment »
Posted by avideditor on April 13, 2008
Here is more information and a better take on an earlier post.
The Economics of Mid East Refugees: “
The Right of return for Palestinian Refugees is the ultimate Straw Dog. First of all the term refugee give you the indication of people sleeping in tents carrying their clothes on their backs. They live in permanent houses, and the condition of their living quarters has more to do with former Egyptian President Nassar than any war with Israel (for more on this see The PLO was Born in Egypt, Raised by the KGB)
I have seen the Jewish vs Palestinian Refugee Issue debated many ways, of course never in the Mainstream Media, but never in the way described below by Economist Sidney Zabludoff. In the article below, he looks at the FACTS not the emotions underlining the refugee issue and explains if there is compensation for either group, it should probably come from the Oil producing states, not from Israel:
The Palestinian Refugee Issue: Rhetoric vs. Reality Sidney Zabludoff
The Palestinian refugee issue has festered for sixty years and remains a major stumbling block in reaching an Israeli-Palestinian accord. At the same time, there has been little discussion of the larger number of Jews who were forced out of Middle Eastern and North African countries where they had lived for thousand of years. The reality of the issue has given way to cloudy political motivations, and the facts about the numbers of refugees and assets lost in both cases are little known.[1]
The Facts
Number of Refugees
The exact number of Palestinians who fled Israel from November 1947 to December 1948 will never be known. The estimates range from about 400,000 to one million. The most plausible is some 550,000. Based on census figures and demographic trends, in 1947 there were most likely about 740,000 Palestinians living in the area that became Israel.[2] About 140,000 remained and roughly 50,000 soon returned after 1948 (estimates range from 30,000 to 90,000).[3] About two-thirds of those who left Israel went to the West Bank and Gaza with the remainder mainly going to Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria.[4]
The number of additional Palestinian refugees resulting from the 1967 war is also based on rough approximations. Most observers use some 300,000, of whom nearly 100,000 returned in the months following the war.[5] In addition, about half of those fleeing were already refugees from the 1948 war. The result is that new refugees probably amounted to about 100,000. Thus, the net total of refugees created by both wars was some 650,000.
Within Israel, there were also internally displaced persons (IDP). These were Palestinians who fled their homes but did not regain them upon returning. Estimates of IDPs vary widely. Various Israeli scholars indicate 10,000 to 23,000; international organizations (International Red Cross and UN Relief and Works Agency-UNRWA), 25,000 to 46,000; and Palestinians, 150,000 to 300,000. Using the international organizations’ estimate, the IDPs would roughly equate to the 40,000 Jews forced out of the West Bank and Gaza during the 1948 war.
Before 1948, there were slightly more than one million Jews in the Middle East and North Africa outside the area that became Israel, including the 40,000 in the West Bank and Gaza.[6] The total number fell by half in the years following the 1948 war and then declined to some 100,000 following the 1967 conflict. The Jewish population fell further in the ensuing years and by 2007 amounted to just 15,000 to 35,000. The bulk of those remaining reside in Iran. Thus roughly one million Jews became refugees because of actions of Middle Eastern and North African countries.
When the two refugee exoduses are compared, it can be concluded with a high degree of likelihood that the number of Jewish refugees was some 50 percent greater than that of Palestinian refugees.
Value of Assets Lost by Refugees
A considerable number of estimates exist as to the value of the assets lost by the Jewish and Palestinian refugees. This includes numbers published by both groups that are well above any realistic amount and as such are likely politically motivated. Determining the value of property, businesses, financial holdings, and movable assets such as automobiles and furniture will under any circumstance be susceptible to a wide range of estimates. The best estimates are usually bank accounts if the data are available.
The most solid estimate for assets given up by Palestinians fleeing the 1948 war was by John Measham Berncastle, who undertook the task in the early 1950s under the aegis of the newly formed United Nations Conciliation Commission for Palestine (UNCCP). He was a British land value estimator who had worked in Palestine since 1935. His estimate was 120 million Palestinian pounds of which about 100 million was for land and buildings and 20 million for movable property.[7] Other estimates would add some 4-5 million Palestinian pounds for Arab bank accounts blocked by the Israeli government.[8]
The total of 125 million Palestinian pounds amounts to $350 million in 1948. This is equal to some $650 per 1948-1949 refugee. This number seems reasonable when compared to similar data. For example, per capita assets for Poland, the Baltic states, and southeast European countries during the late 1930s ranged from $550 to $700,[9] these being the most equivalent asset statistics available.
To this must be added the asset losses for those additional 100,000 who fled in the aftermath of the 1967 war and the 40,000 IDPs. The latter are included even though they often were given new property and/or compensation.[10] At a realistic $700 per capita that would amount to another $100 million in lost Palestinian assets. Thus the total of assets lost by Palestinians is some $450 million. In 2007 prices this would amount to $3.9 billion. In per capita terms for 2007, this would be $4,740 or for a family of seven more than $33,000. The 2007 values used in this article are calculated by using the U.S. Consumer Price Index.[11]
There also are no precise global figures of the assets lost by the Jewish refugees from the Middle East and North Africa. Using a similar methodology, the minimal amount would be $700 million at period prices and $6 billion at 2007 prices. For the Jews of the above East European countries the per capita range is $700-$900. Jews had higher per capita assets than for the country as a whole because most lived in urban areas and held a large share of the professional jobs. The same demographic structure existed in most countries of the Middle East and North Africa. For example, while Jews made up 3 percent of the Iraqi population in 1948, they accounted for 20 percent of the population of Baghdad.
There are two key reasons for the higher value of assets for Jewish refugees. Most important, the number of Jewish refugees from Middle Eastern and North African countries is some 50 percent higher than that of Palestinian refugees. Second, the demographic nature of the two groups varied, as explained. A higher percentage of the Jewish population was urban, mainly traders and professionals, which would tend to accumulate more assets than the Palestine population that was more rural.
For both Jews and Palestinians, there are also two factors that somewhat reduced the amounts that needed to be repatriated. Assets, especially financial ones, were sometimes saved by moving or smuggling them out of the country. Both sides did so. Many wealthy Arab families from Jerusalem, Haifa, and Jaffa left Palestine soon after the November 1947 UN partition resolution, taking with them their financial and other movable assets. Those fleeing after the fighting began obviously took whatever financial assets and other movable assets they could carry. There were no limits on the amount of money and goods. As a result, by the end of September 1950, $26.7 million ($229 million in 2007 prices) in Palestinian pounds was converted in Jordan to Jordanian currency.[12]
In the early days many Jews fleeing Middle Eastern and North African countries, mainly the wealthy ones, were able to smuggle money out of the countries in which they lived. For example, a number of Iraqi Jews moved money into Iran. But when it came to the mass exodus, each Middle Eastern or North African country had stringent regulations on the value of currency and high-valued goods, such as jewelry, that the refugees could take with them. In some countries Jews had a longer time to sell their property than did the Palestinians. But most often the transactions were at substantially reduced prices-less than 10 percent of their market value-and thus the losses were still substantial.
The second factor concerns assets repatriated. Israel returned more than 90 percent of Palestinian blocked bank accounts. The process started in 1953 under the UNCCP and was mainly completed by 1959, with the small remainder being paid out during the early 1960s. Similarly, for the most part contents of safe deposit boxes and items held in custody by the banks also were returned. The amounts returned exceeded $10 million ($86 million in 2007 prices).[13] There also were a few cases where Jewish property was restored. Egypt did pay some claims for compensation for nationalized Jewish property, mainly to Jews who had English or French citizenship, normally at prices at the time of confiscation. For example, an undisclosed sum was paid in 2007 to a French-Egyptian-Jewish family for a hotel in Alexandria that the Nasser regime seized in 1952.[14] In the case of Algeria, refugees who fled to France, including Jews, after independence in 1962 received resettlement support.
A major unknown is community property such as hospitals, mosques, synagogues, and religious schools. One estimate put the value of such Jewish-owned property in Egypt at $550 million in 2007 dollars.[15] It can be assumed, however, that the Jewish amounts are larger than those of Palestinians because of the higher number of refugees and a larger number of locations.
Other financial demands were made by both sides, none of which were seriously considered. The Israelis wanted compensation for direct damage caused by the Arab attack on Israel ($463 million in 2007 prices), of which 65 percent involved the heavily damaged Jewish Quarter of Jerusalem and the economic damage caused by the closure of the Suez Canal to Israel ($5.3-$5.9 billion in 2007 prices).[16] Other claims that had no determined value included direct expenditures incurred in repulsing the Arab invasion, indirect war damages on individuals, companies, and government due to the invasion, and losses caused by Arab boycott of firms doing business with Israel.
The Palestinians have mentioned psychological damage to individuals as well as the lost income. When these are added to property losses, the total according to one Arab estimate runs from $181-$290 billion in 2007 prices.[17] Some estimates by Jewish groups also seem to be high. For example, the World Organization of Jews from Arab Countries indicates that the value of the properties they lost was some $100 billion (2006 values)[18] and another estimate is $300 billion in 2007 values.[19]
It should be noted that it is impossible to determine an exact value for asset losses and an argument can be made for higher asset values. The roughly $10 billion in current value losses by both sides described above is determined by bringing the 1949 value up to 2007 value by adjusting for inflation. Often, however, prices of property increase faster than inflation and interest on financial assets is greater than the price increases. One method of determining current value is to use government long-term bond yields instead of inflation rates. This would increase the combined Jewish and Palestinian losses to some $36 billion in 2007 prices. The bottom line, however, is that no matter what methodology is used the losses of Jewish refugees from Middle Eastern and North African countries are almost certainly at least 50 percent higher than those of Palestinian refugees.
Reality vs. Political Machinations
In understanding the refugee issue, it is necessary to distinguish between the reality of the circumstances and political hopes and machinations.
Causes of the Refugee Outflow
Clearly, Israel in 1948 acted in self-defense against Arab states that wanted to eradicate the new country created by the United Nations. Many Palestinians fled in 1948 because Arab states said they should get out of the way of the war until the new state was defeated. Others took flight to avoid the fighting. Instances did occur in which Jewish forces drove the Palestinians out of their homes and Palestinian civilians were killed. But these occurrences were comparatively rare and take place in all wars. Unquestionably, the prime responsibility lies with those who started the war-in this case the Arab states.
By contrast, the expulsion of the Jews from Arab states was purely vindictive. Attacks on Jews and their property in these countries intensified in the 1920s with the discussion of a possible Jewish state in Palestine. The killings and property losses grew worse in the 1930-1945 era partly because of the added factor of Nazi propaganda and the Nazi and Vichy occupation of North Africa. During this period there was a small but steady increase in the number of Jews from Arab countries migrating to Palestine.
It was the extreme Arab violence and discriminatory government measures in reaction to the 1948, 1956, and 1967 wars that lead to the huge exodus of Jews. Throughout the region there were anti-Jewish riots involving harassment and killings reminiscent of East European pogroms. Moreover, often there was confiscation of property, along with limitations on employment and economic opportunities similar to Nazi German actions in the 1930s. Added to this was the independence from France of North African countries, which removed the French protection. Actions against Jews in Iran were much more limited than in Arab countries. Nevertheless, there was a steady outflow after 1948 that accelerated after the increased discrimination that followed the 1979 Islamic Revolution. The current Jewish population in Iran is about one-fifth that of 1948.
Perceptions of the Jewish and Palestinian Refugee Issues
Why does the Palestinian refugee issue remain strong while the larger expulsion of Jews is a backburner issue? The answer is simple and straightforward. Whereas the Jews who were forced out of Middle Eastern and North African countries were effectively and quickly resettled in Israel and Western nations, most of the Palestinians who fled and their descendants-some 4.7 million in 2006[20]-are still considered refugees after sixty years or three generations. About one-third are in the West Bank and Gaza and the remainder in nearby countries, most prominently Jordan.
Calling these people refugees makes no sense. Few if any live in tent camps or temporary residences. Most own their homes and live in areas of towns that can be classified as working class neighborhoods. Rather than refugees, they are simply the recipients of assistance, mainly for education and health. Outside of the West Bank and Gaza, only Jordan has granted citizenship to all Palestinians and fully integrated them into the local society. But even those assimilated into Jordan and elsewhere are still considered refugees by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNWRA).
The political motivations are clear. In the years after the 1948 war, the refugee issue was kept alive partly because the Arab countries felt disgraced by having lost the war they had initiated. This sense was further aggravated by a strong nationalism that persisted for decades. After all, Jordan and Egypt could have absorbed the Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza, which they controlled as part of their own countries. Meanwhile, both Arab governments and the Arab League opposed granting citizenship to Palestinian refugees in their countries because it would undermine the use of the right of return to eliminate the Jewish state. In addition, it was quickly forgotten that the Arab states were the aggressors who bore the prime responsibility for causing the Palestinian refugee problem. The end result was that the Palestinian refugees became political pawns.
This fact was stated succinctly by the former head of UNRWA, Ralph Galloway, when he said: ‘The Arab states do not want to solve the refugee problem. They want to keep it as an open sore, as an affront to the UN, and as a weapon against Israel. Arab leaders do not give a damn whether Arab refugees live or die.’[21]
Meanwhile, Israel did not aggressively pursue the Jewish refugee issue. Although it raised the matter in the early years of the new state,[22] after that the issue seemed to wane. Israel was eager to absorb those forced out of Middle Eastern and North African countries since it bolstered the Jewish population in Israel. Meanwhile, at first some Palestinian spokesmen denounced the expulsion of the Jews from Arab countries and even suggested a Jewish right of return.[23] They realized that the Jewish eviction undermined their own arguments.
The Palestinian and Arab leaders continued to press the Palestinian refugee and right-of-return issue, especially after the Oslo accords led to discussions of a two-state solution, mainly as a major bargaining chip in these negotiations. The more extremist leaders gave the issue great prominence as a means of achieving their goal of eliminating the Jewish state by creating an Arab majority. In all these cases, pushing the refugee issue cost them nothing since UNWRA, which was supporting the refugees in their countries, was financed largely by Western nations.
These political machinations made the Palestinian refugee situation unique. It is the oldest refugee situation handled by the United Nations and is the only one in which refugee status is granted to descendants. Moreover, the prolonged emphasis on refugee camps and the right of return goes against historical reality. Massive displacements of individuals across borders have occurred throughout human history. In most instances the refugee issue was dealt with by their absorption in other countries. Some were resolved by the conflicting nations.
For example, during the 1920s 1.75 million Greeks and Turks moved across new boundaries based on their religious beliefs-Greek Orthodox and Muslim. Others exchanges were tacitly agreed to. Such a case involved the fourteen million Hindus/Sikhs and Muslims exchanged in 1947 between the newly formed countries of India and Pakistan. Indeed, from World War I to the 1950s, it was a widely held global view that the separation of ethnic and religious groups by moving them across borders would reduce tensions among countries and the chances of war.
In other cases the moves were forced as a result of border changes. For example, at the end of World War II, at the insistence of the USSR, the Polish borders were moved west as the Soviets took over Polish territory and Poland took over areas previously in Germany. Millions were forced to move from their homes to new areas and no compensation was paid.
Normally, although initially the refugees faced poverty and difficult times, within one generation the resettled population assimilated into their new country. A case in point is the current president of Pakistan, Pervez Musharraf. He was born in New Delhi and at age four was one of the many Muslims who moved to Pakistan. The story of refugees (survivors) of the Holocaust, by far the most devastating event inflicted on any group during the twentieth century, also followed a similar pattern. Most survivors just wanted to get on with their lives in a new and secure environment.
In all these cases there is a natural tendency of each dispossessed group to remember the past and what they lost. Although such feelings are passed down through generations, it does little to affect these groups’ absorption into their new setting. Like others, the Palestinians would probably have followed the same course if not for the disruptions caused by terrorism bolstered by incessant anti-Israeli propaganda.
The Economic Ingredient
Soon after Israel occupied the West Bank and Gaza following the 1967 war, the plight of the Palestinian refugees improved. Overall, the area’s economy grew significantly. Israeli government economic assistance helped, but an even more important factor was the natural heavy dependence of the Palestinian economy on the Israeli market for its labor and goods. In addition, Palestinian wages were high compared to those of nearby Arab countries making Palestinian goods less competitive in these countries. Indeed, as Hebrew University economics professor Nadav Halevi stated at a UN conference in Cairo: ‘The Palestinian economy needs the Israeli one more than the Israeli economy needs the Palestinian one.’[24]
As a result of the improved post-1967 economic situation, by 1974 90 percent of Palestinian refugees owned their own homes and their spending was close to that of nonrefugee families.[25] Refugees made up nearly half of the Palestinian population of the administered territories.
The favorable economic trend lasted until the First Intifada in the 1980s, when terrorist activity led to a downturn until the mid-1990s. Then, as a result of the Oslo accords, a more peaceful period emerged leading to resurgent economic activity and a 6-7 percent annual rise in GNP per capita.[26] During both growth periods, the economy benefited significantly from the enhanced integration of the Israeli and Palestinian economies.
The favorable Oslo period ended with the Second Intifada in 2000. There was some recovery from 2003 to 2005 but this soon diminished when Hamas came to power and then took over Gaza. From September 2000 to mid-2007, the Palestinian GNP per capita declined about 30 percent.[27] Clearly, terrorism has been a main factor undercutting economic opportunities for refugees as well as the entire Palestinian economy. Israeli antiterror measures hamper the movement of goods and labor between Israel and the territories.
Compensation for Refugee Losses
All refugee crises since World War I have involved considerable discussions of how to compensate for the property and other asset losses of individuals. International agreements on the subject have increased dramatically, especially since World War II and the founding of the United Nations. During World War II, a number of Allied agreements called for the return of property stolen by the Nazis and their collaborators. The United Nations and its agencies have passed several resolutions on returning property and the right of return of refugees.
In all these cases the agreements have had little effect, becoming no more than idealistic pronouncements. Moreover, all parties to the issue have different interpretations of the language used. This is true of the 1948 UN resolution 194, which refers to the right of return of Palestinian refugees. Finally, there is no balance since the United Nations has passed numerous such resolutions relating to the Palestinians but not one referring to the dispossessed Jews of the Middle East and North Africa.
The examples of compensation falling short are numerous. Less than 20 percent of asset losses by Jews in Nazi-occupied Europe have been returned despite the fact that the Holocaust was an event unequaled in modern history-the extermination of more than two-thirds of continental European Jewry.[28] The nine hundred thousand French pied-noirs who fled Algeria in 1962 lost property valued at $20 billion. Only about 10 percent of that was reimbursed by the French government in the form of assimilation assistance over the next fifteen years.[29]
More akin to the Arab-Israeli situation was the division of the British-ruled Indian subcontinent in 1947 into two states, India and Pakistan. Killings, riots, and property destruction led to the flight of Muslims in India to Pakistan and of Hindus and Sikhs from Pakistan to India. Among the more than fourteen million refugees, less than 2 percent returned and/or recovered their land or business. Although there was considerable discussion of individual compensation, it never worked out. Again in the Greek-Turkish population exchange of 1923, individual compensation was suggested but dropped because of its complexities in favor of a global settlement between the parties. In both cases, the land and shops abandoned by those fleeing were turned over to the incoming refugees.
Such an exchange of property also took place between Jewish and Palestinian refugees. Israel used previously owned Palestinian land to absorb Jewish refugees. The Syrian government seized Jewish property and turned it over to Palestinian refugees.[30] But more commonly in other Middle Eastern and North African countries, seized Jewish property was not used to resettle Palestinians. Governments and local individuals simply took over the Jewish property and profited by not paying compensation.
A fairer resolution of the compensation issue involved the Israeli government’s settlement with the Palestinian IDPs. In 1953, it reached an agreement with UNRWA to take over responsibility for resettling these Palestinians. As a result they were no longer considered refugees but rather citizens of Israel. During the next ten years the Israeli government provided the IDPs either their original property and/or compensation for the losses. Although some Palestinians felt the offers were too small and have raised the issue in recent years, the group as a whole has become an integral part of Israeli society.
For most refugee crises of the post-World War II era, compensation came mainly in the form of temporary assistance. Such rehabilitation efforts usually lasted for several years while the refugee groups were becoming assimilated into their new surroundings. It is only the Palestinian one in which such support continued for a prolonged period. In 2007 prices, UNRWA has spent $13.7 billion since its inception in 1950.[31] Its 2007 budget exceeds $500 million. The result is that UNRWA, over the past fifty-seven years, has spent 3.5 times more than the Palestinian refugees lost in assets, and this excludes assistance they received through other aid programs provided to the Palestinians mainly by Western countries.
Lessons Learned
Most important, the refugee issue is not only bogus but a major distraction from the real issues: establishing a Palestinian state and eliminating terrorism. Only these steps would provide Israel security and allow the Palestinian economy to flourish as it did following the 1967 war and the signing of the Oslo accords.
Restoring such a reality would mean:
Obviously, however, negotiations to reach an Israeli-Palestinian settlement will have to deal with the refugee issue and its subparts such as the right of return and/or compensation. Put into perspective, it remains as a bargaining chip for Arab and Palestinian negotiators who continue to emphasize the issue via their political drumbeat. The only way to move toward the reality of how such events have been handled in the past is to stress the clear fact that there were more Jews who fled Middle Eastern and North African countries than Palestinians who left Israel.
If it is decided to establish a fund to reimburse the original Jewish and Palestinian refugee families or their heirs for the asset losses, there are two options. The most just method would be to pay each family/heir what it lost. Such a procedure, however, would be extremely complicated and take many years to determine each person’s losses. The second alternative is to establish a global fund in which each family/heir receives an equivalent amount. This would be unfair to the few Jews and Palestinians who in each society held the bulk of the wealth. This is a common situation in all countries. For example, in Iraq in the late 1940s, 2 percent of the Jewish population held 44 percent of the group’s assets.[32] To overcome this problem, a higher award could be paid to those who could prove they possessed assets worth more than a stipulated amount.
Under either option an estimated $10 billion would be needed to support an asset restitution fund. Realistically, only a small portion could be expected to come from the countries from which the refugees fled. Most funds would have to be provided by developed or oil-rich Arab countries. During the peace negotiations in 2000, the Clinton administration suggested such a fund should be financed by developed countries. The Arab countries, Israel, and the Palestinians all quickly approved that idea since they would not have to contribute. This is reality!
* * *
Notes
[1] The amount of material produced, especially on the Palestinian refugees, is huge, and much of it highly slanted to support political views. These books and articles provided the most useful research and analysis for this article: Avi Beker, UNRWA, Terror and the Refugee Conundrum: Perpetuating the Misery (Jerusalem: WJC Institute, 2003); Avi Beker, ‘The Forgotten Narrative: Jewish Refugees from Arab Countries,’ Jewish Political Studies Review, Vol. 17, Nos. 3-4 (Fall 2005); Randy Belinfante, ‘Resources for Research on Jews in Arab Countries,’ Proceedings of the Annual Convention of the Association of Jewish Libraries, Toronto, 2003; Eyal Benvenisti, ‘Principles and Procedures for Compensating Refugees,’ PRRN/DRC Workshop on Compensation as a Part of the Comprehensive Palestinian Refugee Problem, Ottawa, July 1999; Rex Brynen, ‘The Funding of Palestinian Refugee Compensation,’ FOFOGNET Digest, March 1996; Michael Comay, Zionism, Israel and the Palestinian Arabs: Questions and AnswersRefugees and World Politics (New York: Praeger, 1985); Michael Fischbach, Records of Dispossession: Palestine Refugee Property and the Arab-Israeli Conflict (New York: Columbia University Press, 2003); Moshe Gat, The Jewish Exodus from Iraq, 1948-1951 (London: Frank Cass, 1997); Sami Hadwi, Palestinian Rights and Losses in 1948: A Comprehensive Study (London: Saqi Books, 1988); Nadav Halevi, ‘Prospects for Palestinian Economic Development and Middle East Peace Process,’ paper presented at a United Nations conference in Cairo, June 2000; Andre Jabes, Jews in Arab Countries: A Survey of Events since August 1967 (London: Institute of Jewish Affairs, 1971); Arie Kacowicz and Pawel Lutomski, eds., Population Resettlement in International Conflicts: A Comparative StudyUNRWA: A Report (Wellesley, MA: Center for Near East Policy Research, 2003); Ruth Lapidoth, ‘Legal Aspects of the Palestinian Refugee Question,’ Jerusalem Letter/Viewpoints, 485, 1 September 2002; Luke Lee, ‘The Issue of Compensation for Palestinian Refugees,’ PRRN/DRC Workshop on Compensation as a Part of the Comprehensive Palestinian Refugee Problem, Ottawa, July 1999; Itamar Levin, Confiscated Wealth: The Fate of Jewish Property in Arab Lands (Jerusalem: WJC Institute, 2000); Itamar Levin, Locked Doors: The Seizure of Jewish Property in Arab Countries (London: Praeger, 2001); Emanuel Marx and Nachmias Nitza, ‘Dilemmas of Prolonged Humanitarian Aid Operations: The Case of UNWRA,’ Journal of Humanitarian Assistance, 22 June 2004; Ya’akov Meron, ‘Why Jews Fled the Arab Countries,’ Middle East Quarterly, September 1995; Benny Morris, The Birth of the Palestinian Refugee Problem Revisited (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003); Ori Nir, ‘What Is a Refugee? What Is a Displaced Person?’ Haaretz, 7 March 1995; Walter Pinner, How Many Refugees? (London: McGibbon & Kee, 1959); Walter Pinner, The Legend of the Arab Refugees (Tel Aviv: Economic and Social Research Institute, 1967); Terence Prittie and Bernard Dineen, Double Exodus: A Study of Arab and Jewish Refugees in the Middle East (London: Goodhart Press, 1974); Maurice Roumani, The Case of the Jews from Arab Countries: A Neglected Issue (New York: WOJAC, 1977); Joseph Schechtman, Arab Refugee Problem (New York: Philosophical Library, 1952); Joseph Schechtman, On Wings of Eagles: The Plight, Exodus and Homecoming of Oriental Jews (New York: Yoseloff, 1961); Joseph Schechtman, The Refugee in the World: Displacement and Integration (New York: A. S. Barnes, 1963); Malka Hillel Shulewitz, ed., The Forgotten Millions: The Modern Jewish Exodus from Arab Lands (London: Cassel, 1999); Norman Stillman, The Jews in Arab Lands in Modern Times (Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 1991); Milton Viorst, Reaching for the Olive Branch: UNRWA and Peace in the Middle East (Washington: Middle East Institute, 1989); www.Wikipedia.org/wiki/Palestinian_refugees. (Jerusalem: Keter Books, 1983); Elizabeth Ferris, ed., (Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, 2007); Arlene Kushner,
[2] See Prittie and Dineen, Double Exodus, 8-9; Schechtman, Arab Refugee Problem; Schechtman, Refugee in the World, 199.
[3] See Morris, Birth.
[4] See Shulewitz, Forgotten Millions, 140.
[5] See Nir, ‘What Is a Refugee?’
[6] The total for 1948 is 1,036,000. This includes 856,000 from Arab countries (see Roumani, Case of the Jews from Arab Countries, 2), 140,000 from Iran, and 40,000 from the West Bank and Gaza. For other years, see the American Jewish Year Book.
[7] See Fischbach, Records, 128.
[8] See ibid., 98.
[9] Sidney Zabludoff, And It All But Disappeared: The Nazi Seizure of Jewish Assets (Jerusalem: WJC Institute, 1998).
[10] See Kacowicz and Lutomski, Population Resettlement, 136-50.
[11] US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer Price Index, 1982-1984=100.
[12] See Schechtman, Arab Refugee Problem, 95.
[13] See Fischbach, Records, 198-209.
[14] World Jewry Dateline, WJC Foundation, September 2007, 2.
[15] See Levin, Locked Doors, 137.
[16] See Fischbach, Records, 193.
[17] See Hadwi, Palestinian Rights.
[18] Jerusalem Post, 23 October 2006.
[19] Jerusalem Post, 16 November 2007.
[20] UNRWA as of 31 March 2006.
[21] See Roumani, Case of the Jews from Arab Countries, 50.
[22] See Schechtman, Arab Refugee Problem, 111-12.
[23] See Shulewitz, Forgotten Millions, 96; Meron, ‘Why Jews Fled.’
[24] See Halevi, ‘Prospects,’ para. 40.
[25] See Marx and Nachmias, ‘Dilemmas.’
[26] World Bank, Two Years after London: Restoring Palestinian Economic Recovery (Washington, DC: World Bank, 2007).
[27] Ibid.
[28] Sidney Zabludoff, ‘Restitution of Holocaust-Era Assets: Promises and Reality,’ Jewish Political Studies Review, Vol. 19, Nos. 1-2 (Spring 2007).
[29] See Kacowicz and Lutomski, Population Resettlement, 50.
[30] See Levin, Locked Doors, 182-84.
[31] Individual years from UNRWA reports with each year increased to 2007 prices using the US Consumer Price Index; see n. 11.
[32] See Gat, Jewish Exodus, 74.
Posted in Israel | Tagged: Israel, Media Bias, Mid East Refugees, Palestinian Refugees, Palestinians, Refugees | Leave a Comment »
Posted by avideditor on April 13, 2008
Finally Israel admits to providing fuel to the terrorist group Hamas. Hopefully, they will stop shipping fuel to Gaza until Hamas is no longer in control. Elder of Zion wrote:
Israel finally admits Hamas stealing fuel: “Ha’aretz reports:
Hamas seizes half the fuel Israel sends to the Gaza Strip and uses it in part for its military wing’s vehicles, Israeli and Palestinian Authority officials said Thursday.
Israel cut off the only source of fuel for Gaza’s 1.4 million people Thursday after Wednesday’s deadly attack on the only fuel transfer point into the territory.
But Israeli defense officials indicated that the cutoff would not last past the weekend.
Nir Press, commander of the military liaison unit for Gaza, said Hamas takes about half the fuel transferred to the Gaza Strip.
Hussein al-Sheikh, a PA official, told Haaretz that Hamas seizes some 400,000 of the 800,000 liters of diesel transferred to Gaza weekly and intended for uses such as generators, hospitals, water pumps and sewage pumps.
Israeli sources said Hamas was preventing the pumping of all the fuel from the Nahal Oz depot’s reserves and funneling it to the Strip’s gas stations. In the past week, only a small amount of fuel and diesel was pumped from the depot, leaving some 820,000 liters of diesel and 200,000 of gas in the depots, they said.
‘Hamas is trying to create a false fuel crisis in the Gaza Strip,’ a senior government source said. ‘The simulated strike by Gaza’s gas-station owners is also organized by Hamas. They want to create long lines for gas and a feeling that Israel is tightening the siege on Gaza, although this is not the case,’ he said.
Funny, I’ve been mentioning these facts for months.
Posted in Israel | Tagged: fuel, fuel shortages, Gaza blockade, Gaza strip, Hamas, Israel, Palestinians, terrorist | Leave a Comment »
Posted by avideditor on April 13, 2008
Israel should destroy Hamas ASAP. Fatah should also not be trusted. They have the same goals as Hamas. You can see a spokes man revealing them here. Or read the transcript
Following are excerpts from an interview with Abbas Zaki, Palestinian Authority representative in Lebanon, which aired on NBN TV on April 9, 2008:
Abbas Zaki: We believe wholeheartedly that the Right of Return is guaranteed by our will, by our weapons, and by our faith.
Interviewer: Do you still believe in weapons, not just in negotiations?
Abbas Zaki: The use of weapons alone will not bring results, and the use of politics without weapons will not bring results. We act on the basis of our extensive experience. We analyze our situation carefully. We know what climate leads to victory and what climate leads to suicide. We talk politics, but our principles are clear. It was our pioneering leader, Yasser Arafat, who persevered with this revolution, when empires collapsed. Our armed struggle has been going on for 43 years, and the political struggle, on all levels, has been going on for 50 years. We harvest U.N. resolutions, and we shame the world so that it doesn’t gang up on us, because the world is led by people who have given their brains a vacation – the American administration and the neocons.
[...]
Young Palestinian: As I recall, the invasion of 1982 and the destruction of South Lebanon was not just in response to missile attacks, but in response to operations as well. Israel does not use only the missiles as a pretext. It uses any activity of the resistance as a pretext.
Abbas Zaki: The important thing is that in any operation, Israel will pay a price. We don’t want cases in which you don’t kill even a chicken, but Israel kills 20 of you. I salute any operation that makes Israel pay a heavy price.
[...]
The P.L.O. is the sole legitimate representative [of the Palestinian people], and it has not changed its platform even one iota. In light of the weakness of the Arab nation and the lack of values, and in light of the American control over the world, the P.L.O. proceeds through phases, without changing its strategy. Let me tell you, when the ideology of Israel collapses, and we take, at least, Jerusalem, the Israeli ideology will collapse in its entirety, and we will begin to progress with our own ideology, Allah willing, and drive them out of all of Palestine.
Update the Hamas video doesn’t work with some browsers sorry. you can see the video at Israel Matzav
Posted in video | Tagged: Arabs, Fatah, Gaza, Gaza strip, Hamas, Islam, Israel, Jews, Middle-east peace, Palestine, Palestinians, west bank | Leave a Comment »
Posted by avideditor on April 10, 2008
I found this reassuring article at Israel Matzav: I hope Israel changes its leadership before it is too late.
The Peace Index Project is conducted at the Tami Steinmetz Center for Peace Research and the Evens Program in Mediation and Conflict Resolution of Tel Aviv University, headed by Prof. Ephraim Yaar and Prof. Tamar Herman. It has been issued monthly since the heyday of Oslo ‘peacemaking’ efforts. This month, they surveyed Jews separately and those those who run the ‘peace index’ had a bit of a shock.
While most of the Jews (68%) still support what’s called the ‘two-state solution,’ when you get beyond that basic question, it becomes clear that Israeli Jews have a very different idea than the ‘Palestinians’ of what a ‘two-state solution’ means:
About three-quarters do not believe the negotiations will lead to an Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement, and an identical proportion says that even if an agreement is signed it will not, from the Palestinians’ standpoint, end the historic conflict with Israel.
This pessimism is apparently what fosters the hard-line positions that most of the Jewish public now takes on central aspects of the conflict and the chances of resolving it. It turns out, for instance, that in retrospect only among Meretz, Labor, and Kadima does a majority say the decision to launch the peace process at the beginning of the 1990s was correct. In the public overall, the number of those who think so (40%) is lower than the percentage of those who believe it was a mistake to enter the peace process that enabled the Oslo accords (47%). We found a similar mindset among those who say that if a peace treaty entails difficult concessions, it’s preferable to remain in the existing situation (49%, with 43% preferring an agreement even if its price is difficult concessions).
We were surprised to discover that even though, over the years, the concept of “occupation” has become more common both in the political discourse and the media, [Translation: Even though the leftist media has done its best to brainwash the Israeli public. CiJ] today a majority of the Jewish public defines the West Bank as “liberated territory” (55%) and not as “occupied territory” (32%). This may explain the new popularity of the position (57%) that the Green Line should not be considered the future border between Israel and the Palestinians, and that a new borderline should be established so that most of the settlements will be on the Israeli side and large Israeli Arab communities would move to the Palestinian side (only 23% of the Jewish public currently favors the Green Line as the future border; only among Meretz voters does a majority take the opposite view).
Interestingly, even among those who see the West Bank as “liberated territory” there is a clear majority-albeit small compared to the majority among those who see it as “occupied territory”-of supporters of a two-state solution. Here too the pessimism about the chances of ending the historic conflict with the Palestinians is widespread among both groups, though, as expected, more so among those who view the West Bank as liberated.
Moreover, if a peace agreement is signed on the basis of the two-states-for-two-peoples formula, the majority (65%) would want the border between the two states to be a closed one, without free passage from state to state. [Under current circumstances, that would leave the 'Palestinians' without an economy and - depending on arrangements between Judea and Samaria on the one hand and Gaza on the other - without a port. CiJ] The desire for segregation of the two peoples also emerges in the broad opposition (75.5%) to the idea of a binational state as an alternative solution to the two-state formula.
Finally, a considerable majority (61%) does not believe in Prime Minister Olmert’s sincerity when he says he intends to reach a peace agreement with the Palestinian Authority by the end of this year. Indeed, only among Labor voters (not even among Kadima voters) does a majority credit the sincerity of his intentions.
…
The telephone interviews were conducted by the B. I. Cohen Institute of Tel Aviv University on March 31 and April 1, 2008, and included 588 interviewees who represent the adult Jewish and Arab population of Israel (including the territories and the kibbutzim). The sampling error for a sample of this size is 4.5%.
You can’t fool all of the people all of the time.
Posted in Israel | Tagged: Israel, Jews, Judea, Judea and Samaria, Middle East, Palestine, Palestinians, Samaria, west bank | Leave a Comment »
Posted by avideditor on April 10, 2008
Israel should not give up any of Jerusalem to terrorist. Olmert is trying to sell Israel’s soul for the illusion of peace. He must be stopped.
O Jerusalem! America drafts plan to cut in 2: “Aaron Klein
WorldNetDaily
JERUSALEM – The United States, which has been mediating negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority here, has proposed a plan to divide Jerusalem, WND has learned.
The plan, divided into separate phases, among other things calls for Israel eventually to forfeit parts of the Temple Mount, Judaism’s holiest site.
According to the first stage of the U.S. plan, which was obtained by WND, Israel would give the PA some municipal and security sovereignty over key Arab neighborhoods in eastern Jerusalem.
The PA would be allowed to open some official institutions in Jerusalem, could elect a mayor for the Palestinian side of the city and would deploy police forces to maintain law and order. The initial stage also calls for the PA to operate Jerusalem municipal institutions, such as offices to oversee trash collection and maintenance of roads.
After five years, if both sides keep their certain commitments called for in a larger principal agreement, according to the U.S. plan the PA would be given full sovereignty over the eastern Jerusalem neighborhoods and also over sections of the Temple Mount. The plan doesn’t specify which parts of the Temple Mount would be forfeited to the Palestinians.
After the five year period, the PA could deploy official security forces in Jerusalem separate from a police force and could also open major governmental institutions, such as a president’s office, and offices for the finance and foreign ministries.
The U.S. plan leaves Israel and the PA to negotiate which Jerusalem neighborhoods would become Palestinian. According to diplomatic sources familiar with the plan, while specific neighborhoods were not officially listed, American officials recommended sections of Jerusalem’s Old City as well as certain largely Arab Jerusalem neighborhoods such as Jabal mukabar, Beit Hanina, Shoafat, Abu Dis and Abu Tur become part of the Palestinian side.
As WND reported previously, many of the Arab neighborhoods of Jerusalem, including all of Shoafat, a large Arab section, were constructed illegally on property owned by the Jewish National Fund, a Jewish nonprofit that purchases property using Jewish donors funds for the stated purpose of Jewish settlement.
According to diplomatic sources, the plan is being discussed by Israel and the PA but has not yet been accepted.
The sources said the plan was delivered earlier this month by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice during her trip to the region to push Israeli-Palestinian negotiations started at last November’s U.S.-backed Annapolis summit, which aimed to create a Palestinian state before the end of the year.
Since Annapolis, negotiating teams including Israeli Foreign Minister Tzippy Livni and chief Palestinian negotiator Ahmed Qureia have been meeting weekly while Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and PA President Mahmoud Abbas have been meeting biweekly.
The U.S. is ‘very deeply involved’ in all aspects of the negotiations, according to a top diplomatic source.
To demonstrate the level of U.S. involvement, the source pointed to recent U.S. supervision of Israeli commitments to dismantle about 50 West Bank anti-terror roadblocks and to bulldoze what are called illegal outposts, or West Bank Jewish communities constructed without government permits.
‘The U.S. oversaw the removal of each and every roadblock, making sure the roadblocks were actually removed,’ said the source.
‘Also, even though Israel prepared a report of all illegal outposts and handed it to the Americans, U.S. officials have been doing their own very specific independent investigating to find each and every illegal outpost and then oversee their dismantlement,’ the source said.
Olmert’s government has hinted a number of times it will divide Jerusalem.
In December, Israeli Vice Premier Haim Ramon said the country ‘must’ give up sections of Jerusalem for a future Palestinian state, even conceding the Palestinians can rename Jerusalem ‘to whatever they want.’
‘We must come today and say, friends, the Jewish neighborhoods, including Har Homa, will remain under Israeli sovereignty, and the Arab neighborhoods will be the Palestinian capital, which they will call Jerusalem or whatever they want,’ said Ramon during an interview.
Positions held by Ramon, a ranking member of Olmert’s Kadima party, are largely considered to be reflective of Israeli government policy.
Olmert himself recently questioned whether it was ‘really necessary’ to retain Arab-majority eastern sections of Jerusalem.
Israel recaptured eastern Jerusalem, including the Temple Mount – Judaism’s holiest site – during the 1967 Six Day War. The Palestinians have claimed eastern Jerusalem as a future capital; the area has large Arab neighborhoods, a significant Jewish population and sites holy to Judaism, Christianity and Islam.
About 231,000 Arabs live in Jerusalem, mostly in eastern neighborhoods, and many reside in illegally constructed complexes. The city has an estimated total population of 724,000.”
Posted in Israel | Tagged: America, Islam, Israel, Jerusalem, Jihadi, Judaism, news, Palestine, Palestinians, politics, terrorist | Leave a Comment »
Posted by avideditor on April 6, 2008
I find this deeply disturbing. I hope people can change this. Write to your representatives and make a difference. Have our government stop giving terrorist money to kill jews. This is like the US building Gas chambers for Hitler during WW2.
Your federal government at work … for Palestinians: “
‘Consistent with current foreign policy,
certain transactions otherwise prohibited …
are being authorized …’
The Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has determined that Hamas, a terrorist entity whose property and interests in property are blocked under three separate OFAC-administered economic sanctions programs, has a property interest in the transactions of the Palestinian Authority. Accordingly, pursuant to the Global Terrorism Sanctions Regulations, 31 C.F.R. Part 594, the Terrorism Sanctions Regulations, 31 C.F.R. Part 595, and the Foreign Terrorist Organizations Sanctions Regulations, 31 C.F.R. Part 597, U.S. persons are prohibited from engaging in transactions with the Palestinian Authority unless authorized, and may not transfer, pay, withdraw, export or otherwise deal in any assets in which the Palestinian Authority has an interest unless authorized. Consistent with current foreign policy, certain transactions otherwise prohibited pursuant to the Regulations are being authorized by general license to facilitate limited transactions by U.S. persons with the Palestinian Authority. General licenses or statements of licensing policy will be issued as appropriate to authorize additional transactions with the Palestinian Authority or to indicate limited circumstances under which other transactions may be considered for favorable licensing treatment on a case-by-case basis. Information on complying with specific aspects of these general licenses, including a list relevant to compliance with General License No. 4(b), is available on OFAC’s website.
And lest you think ‘certain [otherwise prohibited] transactions’ are merely being ‘authorized,’ think again. They’re being encouraged, promoted and assisted… all over our federal
dot-GOV. Here’s just one thread, in addition to that Treasury Department loophole.
Yes, you can do business in the West Bank and Gaza! Dozens of American firms have established agencies and distributorships, and Palestinian consumers have a strong preference for a wide variety of U.S. goods and services.
Many American companies have reoriented their marketing efforts to acknowledge the Palestinian market as culturally, economically, and commercially distinct from the Israeli market.
The U.S. Commercial Service in Jerusalem strongly encourages American exporters wishing to market their goods in the West Bank & Gaza to use local Palestinian agents and distributors….
We can help you find well qualified Palestinian agents and distributors for your products.
…. The U.S. Commercial Service in Jerusalem offers invaluable assistance to U.S. companies seeking to export products and services to the West Bank and Gaza and expand their business in the market. We have developed excellent contacts with private sector representatives, and are able to provide U.S. companies with necessary introductions, market reports and guidance to facilitate doing business in the West Bank and Gaza.
So … In addition to directly funding the Palestinian Authority [$150 million already released + $405 million more in the US.gov pipeline] our government is in the business of promoting doing business … with the Palestinians. There are tons of U.S. government programs; I’m just starting to scratch the surface.
The Department of Commerce will not only help U.S. companies do business in the terror-tories, it’s also out there soliciting Palestinians to do business with us! Consider for example this Reverse Gold Key program at the United States of America Department of Commerce website. Federal employees (need I mention that they are paid with your tax dollars?) will bend over backwards and hold your hand … if you are Palestinian.
Just READ THIS. You’ll flip (I did).
Looking for a U.S. partner?
If you are a Palestinian importer or agent looking for a U.S. manufacturer, or a Palestinian manufacturer with an innovative technology looking for a U.S. partner for joint R and D or product development,
we offer you the Gold Key USA.
Gold Key USA is the domestic version of the Gold Key Matching Service. It is designed to match Palestinian companies traveling to the U.S. with pre-screened, pre-qualified U.S. exporters or U.S. partners located in a specific area.
The fee for the service varies by location.
U.S. Commercial Service Trade Specialists at our Export Assistance Centers (EAC’s) will provide you with:
The market briefing is a consultation by a trade specialist about the industry market conditions in the USEAC coverage area for the product or service you are seeking to purchase.
The delivery time for this service is approximately five weeks from receipt of payment.
The most effective Gold Key USA results require your substantial involvement and follow-up. We strongly suggest that you work closely with the Commercial Specialist at the U.S. Commercial Service in Jerusalem and the Trade Specialist in the USEAC to clearly outline the type of international partner that you believe will be most useful to your company and establish an effective strategy for continuing communication with potential international partners.
If you are interested in this service, please go to our ‘Meet our Staff’ section to send a message to one of our specialists.
Just more thing before I go back to doing my taxes (don’t let the irony escape you). See the top link here, on the left, where it says ‘New!’ in red?
Palestine Investment Conference
PIC-Palestine May 21-23, 2008
The Palestine Investment Conference, PIC-Palestine, May 21-23, 2008, aims to highlight investment opportunities in the Palestinian economy. It is a platform to share innovative business designs, forge genuine partnerships between investors in and outside Palestine, and encourage the already strong relationship between Palestine’s public and private sectors. The conference seeks the active support of entrepreneurs from the Arab world, the region, and the international community. It also aims to tap into the rich and varied experience of participants. The PIC-Palestine, May 21-23, 2008 message is simple: ‘You can do business in Palestine.’ High-ranking members of the public and private sector from the West Bank/Gaza, Middle East, United States and elsewhere will participate in this conference to help encourage growth of a private –sector led Palestinian economy.
More information about PIC-Palestine-2008 is available at http://www.pic-palestine.ps1.
Click on it … go ahead.
partner / sponsor:
Dear Investors:
The Palestine Investment Conference promises to be a historic event….
That’s pretty ‘historic,’ alright — holding a conference in a country that doesn’t even exist.
With my money. And yours.
Just thought you’d wanna know.
“
Posted in America, Palestinian | Tagged: funding terrorism, Israel, Jihadi, news, PA, Palestinian Authority, Palestinians, politics | 1 Comment »
Posted by avideditor on April 1, 2008
I know there is no such thing as a “Palestinian” that is why I use the quotes when I remember. Check out this funny german parody of the “palestinians” it is great. Don’t worry subtitles are included 
Posted in video | Tagged: flag burning, Israel, Israel video, Jihadi, news, Palestinian video, Palestinians, Pali, politics, USA, video, video flag burning | Leave a Comment »
