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So, now let's really
begin.
Let's get something straight right from the start...
Mahmoud Abbas's threat to not return to the latest
round of Jew arm-twisting ("negotiations") is only
indirectly related to the freeze in Israel's new
construction in Jerusalem and points east.
That Israel's leaders habitually fail their
resurrected nation and allow enemies to frame the
very language of the debate is an old "hasbara"
problem.
The real issue--and the key to the problem--has
everything to do with whether or not the sole,
miniscule state of the Jews (find it on a globe
without a magnifying glass--I dare you) finally gets
the real, relatively secure, defensible borders it
was promised by UNSC Resolution 242 after the 1967
Arab attempt on its life, or is forced to remain the
9-15 mile wide sub-rump state that it was left as
due to the '49 armistice lines which were drawn up
when the fighting came to a halt after a half dozen
Arab states attacked Israel upon its rebirth in May
1948.
As I repeatedly stress, President Obama has stated
repeatedly that he expects Israel to accept the
alleged Saudi Peace Plan--which the current
negotiations are largely based upon. He has been
quoted as calling Israel "crazy" to reject it.
Two key provisions of that plan call on Israel to
reject the call for it to get the promise of 242--a
bit of justice backed by such Presidents as Johnson,
Reagan, and imbedded, not long ago, in two crucial
letters that President George W. Bush gave to Prime
Minister Sharon as well upon Israel's unilateral
withdrawal from Gaza. Recall the "peace" the Jews
got from that move...
Among other things, Israel had been assured by the
final, accepted draft of 242 that it would not have
to return to that 9-15 mile wide sliver of an
existence again--a constant invitation to be
dissected by its enemies. It was to get more
defensible, real borders--not armistice lines--and
any withdrawal at all was to made in the context of
real treaties of peace--not hudna-type ceasefires,
which even alleged Arab "moderates" claimed were
only a Trojan Horse (their very own words) to be
used in furthering the Arabs' actual, again
openly-stated, destruction-in-stages goals for the
Jewish State.
Subsequently, it was also later made clear that any
resolution to the Arab refugee problem--started by
the Arabs themselves by attacking Israel in
'48--would have to involve Arabs moving to the new,
22nd Arab state--not inundating Israel to
deliberately overwhelm the Jews. Note: More Jews
fled Arab/Muslim lands as a result of the Arab
assault on Israel in 1948 than vice-versa.
The Saudi plan, which President Obama and the
perpetually hostile, Arabist State Department (which
fought President Truman over Israel's very rebirth)
endorse, insists that Israel return to the
indefensible '49 armistice lines and allow itself to
be flooded this way. President Obama, just days ago,
held a news conference in which he once again, for
starters, all but demanded that Israel cave in on at
least that first issue.
The territories in question, Judea and Samaria in
particular, are not, as Arabs like to tell it,
purely Arab land. Keep in mind that Arabs also call
virtually the entire region "purely Arab
patrimony"--despite the presence of scores of
millions of non-Arab peoples (Amazighen/"Berbers,"
Kurds, Copts, black African Sudanese, Assyrians,
Jews, pre-Arab Lebanese, and others)whom Arabs have
subjugated, intimidated, forcibly Arabized, and so
forth.
The territories were known as Judea and Samaria for
thousands of years before the additional name, "West
Bank," was created, as a result of British
imperialist shenanigans, to distinguish them from
the future state the Brits created for Arab
nationalism in 1922 on the east bank of the Jordan
River out of almost 80% of the original 1920 borders
of the Mandate of Palestine--the Emirate of
Transjordan, now Jordan.
No matter how many times Arabs indulge in their
well-known taqiyya (deliberate lying for the cause),
the lands in question are not purely Arab land. They
were open to habitation by all of the Mandates'
residents--Arab, Jews, and others as well. As has
been pointed out repeatedly , Jews have thousands of
years of history tying them to those territories and
lived there until their slaughter by Arabs in the
early 20th century.
A Judean living in Judea should not be a bone of
contention--unless the aim is simply to rid the
entire area of Jews, making it Judenrein...the
Arabs' real goal which is now supported by the Obama
Administration. Recall, as well, that there is
oodles of solid documentation showing that most
Arabs were indeed newcomers themselves coming into
the Mandate from elsewhere in the region...Arab
settlers setting up Arab settlements.
Despite all of the pressure coming even from
"friends," Israel must hold its ground on this
crucial issue.
And there will be shame on any 3,000-mile wide
America, with two vast oceans separating it from
most enemies, which forces its tiny friend and ally
to once again become a mere zipper of a state, ripe
for slaughter by vast numbers of its assorted
enemies.
During these High Holy Days for Jews, let's look at
some excerpts from the Hebrew Bible, I Samuel,
1:1-2:10 for starters, which Jews read on Rosh
HaShanah...
There was a man from Ramathaim of the Zuphites, in
the hill country of Ephraim, whose name was Elkanah
son of Jeroham...He had two wives, one named Hannah
and the other Peninnah; Peninnah had children, but
Hannah was childless. This man used to go up from
his town every year to worship and to offer
sacrifice to the Lord of Hosts at Shiloh. — Hophni
and Phinehas, the two sons of Eli, were priests of
the Lord there.
One such day, Elkanah offered a sacrifice. He used
to give portions to his wife Peninnah and to all her
sons and daughters; but to Hannah he would give one
portion only — though Hannah was his favorite — for
the Lord had closed her womb. Moreover, her rival,
to make her miserable, would taunt her that the Lord
had closed her womb. This happened year after year:
Every time she went up to the House of the Lord, the
other would taunt her, so that she wept and would
not eat.
After they had eaten and drunk at Shiloh, Hannah
rose. The priest Eli was sitting on the seat near
the doorpost of the temple of the Lord. In her
wretchedness, she prayed to the Lord, weeping all
the while. And she made this vow: 'O Lord of Hosts,
if You will look upon the suffering of Your
maidservant and will remember me and not forget Your
maidservant, and if You will grant Your maidservant
a male child, I will dedicate him to the Lord for
all the days of his life; and no razor shall ever
touch his head.'
As she kept on praying before the Lord, Eli watched
her mouth. Now Hannah was praying in her heart; only
her lips moved, but her voice could not be heard. So
Eli thought she was drunk. Eli said to her, 'How
long will you make a drunken spectacle of yourself?
Sober up! And Hannah replied, 'Oh no, my lord! I am
a very unhappy woman. I have drunk no wine or other
strong drink,www.ekurd.netbut I have been pouring out my heart
to the Lord. Do not take your maidservant for a
worthless woman; I have only been speaking all this
time out of my great anguish and distress.' 'Then go
in peace,' said Eli, 'and may the God of Israel
grant you what you have asked of Him.'
Elkanah knew his wife Hannah and the Lord remembered
her. Hannah conceived, and at the turn of the year
bore a son. She named him Samuel, meaning, 'I asked
the Lord for him.' And when the man Elkanah and all
his household were going up to offer to the Lord the
annual sacrifice and his votive sacrifice, Hannah
did not go up. She said to her husband, 'When the
child is weaned, I will bring him. For when he has
appeared before the Lord, he must remain there for
good.' Her husband Elkanah said to her, 'Do as you
think best. Stay home until you have weaned him. May
the Lord fulfill His word.' So the woman stayed home
and nursed her son until she weaned him.
When she had weaned him, she took him up with her,
along with three bulls, one ephah of flour, and a
jar of wine. And though the boy was still very
young, she brought him to the House of the Lord at
Shiloh. After slaughtering the bull, they brought
the boy to Eli She said, 'Please, my lord! As you
live, my lord, I am the woman who stood here beside
you and prayed to the Lord. It was this boy I prayed
for; and the Lord has granted me what I asked of
Him. I, in turn, hereby lend him to the Lord. For as
long as he lives he is lent to the Lord.' And they
bowed low there before the Lord.
Shiloh, dear friends, is in Judea.
Next, consider where four Jews were recently
murdered in cold blood...Hebron.
Genesis 23...
Sarah died at Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron ) in the
land of Canaan, and Abraham went in to mourn for
Sarah...Abraham said to the Hittites, 'I am a
sojourner and foreigner among you; give me property
among you for a burying place, that I may bury my
dead out of my sight.' The Hittites answered
Abraham. 'Hear us, my lord; you are a prince of God
among us. Bury your dead in the choicest of our
tombs. None of us will withhold from you his tomb to
hinder you from burying your dead.' Abraham rose and
bowed to the Hittites, the people of the land. And
he said to them, 'If you are willing that I should
bury my dead out of my sight, hear me and entreat
for me Ephron the son of Zohar, that he may give me
the cave of Machpelah, which he owns; it is at the
end of his field. For the full price let him give it
to me in your presence as property for a burying
place.'
Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham...'No, my lord,
hear me: I give you the field, and I give you the
cave that is in it. In the sight of the sons of my
people I give it to you. Bury your dead.' Then
Abraham bowed down before the people of the land.
And he said to Ephron in the hearing of the people
of the land, 'But if you will, hear me: I give the
price of the field. Accept it from me, that I may
bury my dead there.' Ephron answered Abraham 'My
lord, listen to me: a piece of land worth four
hundred shekels of silver, what is that between you
and me? Bury your dead.' Abraham listened to Ephron,
and Abraham weighed out for Ephron the silver that
he had named in the hearing of the Hittites, four
hundred shekels of silver, according to the weights
current among the merchants.
So the field of Ephron in Machpelah, which was to
the east of Mamre, the field with the cave that was
in it and all the trees that were in the field,
throughout its whole area, was made over to Abraham
as a possession in the presence of the Hittites,
before all who went in at the gate of his city.
After this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the
cave of the field of Machpelah east of Mamre (that
is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan.
And generations later, 2 Samuel, 5:3...
So there at Hebron, King David made a covenant
before the LORD with all the elders of Israel. And
they anointed him king of Israel.
1 Chronicles, 3:1...
These are the sons of David who were born in Hebron:
The oldest was Amnon, whose mother was Ahinoam from
Jezreel. The second was Daniel, whose mother was
Abigail from Carmel.
There are many other references regarding the
importance of Hebron in the history of the Jews as
well.
Now, please keep in mind that Arabs knew nothing of
Hebron until their prophet, Muhammad, took flight
(the hijrah) from his enemies in Mecca and fled to
the date palm oasis of Medina, farther north on the
Arabian Peninsula. Medina was established by Jews
fleeing the Roman conquest of Judea centuries
earlier.
Medina's influential Jewish tribes and their pagan
neighbors (who were also much influenced by them)
gave the future Prophet of Islam refuge from those
who would kill him. Regardless of any conversations
he supposedly had with the Angel Gabriel
(again--like Abraham, Ishmael, Jerusalem, Moses, and
so forth-- another figure or place right out of the
exclusive writings of the Jews with no prior
knowledge to pagan Arabians), the Jews had an
enormous impact upon Muhammad. When they refused to
accept his religio-political leadership, he turned
on them with a vengeance. Before long, with the
exception of Yemen to the south, the Arabs made the
Arabian Peninsula Judenrein. This occurred over
1,300 years before the rebirth of modern Israel.
Next... Genesis 28...
Jacob left Beersheba and set out for Haran..When
[Jacob] reached a certain place, he stopped for the
night because the sun had set. Taking one of the
stones there, he put it under his head and lay down
to sleep. He had a dream in which he saw a stairway
resting on the earth, with its top reaching to
heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and
descending on it. There above it stood the Lord, and
he said: 'I am the Lord, the God of your father
Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and
your descendants the land on which you are lying.
Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth,
and you will spread out to the west and to the east,
to the north and to the south. All peoples on earth
will be blessed through you and your
offspring...When Jacob awoke...he was afraid and
said, 'How awesome is this place! This is none other
than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven.
Early the next morning Jacob took the stone he had
placed under his head and set it up as a pillar and
poured oil on top of it. He called that place
Bethel, {which means 'the house of God}.
Genesis 35:1...
Then G_d said to Jacob, "Go up to Bethel (House of
G_d)and settle there, and build an altar to G_d, who
appeared to you when you were fleeing from your
brother Esau."
Bethel is near the border between Judea and Samaria.
Jacob would later be renamed Israel by G_d nearby as
well--a moving story befitting the High Holy Days,
when man is expected to make true atonement not only
for sins committed against G_d, but also against his
fellow man. Jacob had to conquer his own inner
shortcomings, and not until he made a true peace of
the heart with his brother, Esau, and became a
better human being could he become Israel. That
happened at Penial.
The Jews' most important political leader, King
David, was born in Bethlehem.
Ruth (David's ancestor) the Moabite went to
Bethlehem with her mother-in-law, Naomi, after the
death of her Judean husband, proclaiming, "whither
than goest, I shall do, your people shall be my
people, their G_d, my G_d."
While there are many other examples which could be
used here, let's end this for now with the hottest
potato of all in the land of Judea...
Jerusalem is mentioned over 600 times in the Hebrew
Bible. It is not mentioned even once in the Qur'an.
It is alluded to in the latter in passages about the
Hebrew Kings, David and Solomon, and the destruction
of the Temples of the Jews. Even "moderate" Arabs
deny that Jewish Temple ever existed there. They
call the Temple Mount "Buraq's Mount," after
Muhammad's allegedly winged horse. But a mention of
Jerusalem itself is nowhere to be found in the
Muslim holy book.
Since David made Jerusalem his capital and it became
the site of his son Solomon's Temple, Zion became
the heart and soul of Jewish national and religious
existence. Jews from all over the early diaspora
made their pilgrimages and sent offerings to its
Temple.
"By the Rivers of Babylon we wept..." and "If I
forget thee O Jerusalem, may my right hand forget
its cunning..." were just a few of the many Biblical
expressions of the Jews for Zion. Such yearning
persisted throughout subsequent millennia in the
Diaspora as well. Indeed, "Next Year in Jerusalem"
sustained the Jew throughout countless degradations
and humiliations, culminating in the Holocaust.
There is no doubt among objective scholars that Jews
had an enormous impact on both Muhammad and the
religion that he founded.
As discussed earlier, the holy sites for Muslims in
Jerusalem (i.e., the Dome of the Rock shrine and the
mosque erected on the Temple Mount of the Jews) are
now deemed "holy" precisely because of the critical
years Muhammad spent after the Hijrah with the Jews.
The Temple Mount had absolutely no prior meaning to
pagan Arabs.
While the actual timing of Muhammad's decision on
the direction of prayer (qibla) may never be known,
during his long sojourn with the Jews of Medina, his
followers were instructed to pray towards Jerusalem.
Early prominent Arab historians such as Jalaluddin
came right out and stated that this was done
primarily to win support among the influential
Jewish tribes, the "People of the Book."
When the Jews refused to recognize Muhammad's
claims, after slaughtering the men and enslaving the
women and children, he thus eradicated most of the
Jewish presence from the Arabian Peninsula. The
direction of prayer was then changed away from
Jerusalem towards the Kaaba in Mecca instead...
To say that Jerusalem has the same meaning for
Muslims as it has for Jews is to simply tell a lie.
And to order Jews not to live there is a major
travesty.
While I do not expect everyone to accept the
religious/historical writings and political
aspirations of the Jews as their own, it is
unreasonable to expect the Jews themselves to reject
and totally abandon them as is now being demanded at
current "peace talks." This is precisely what's
being asked when Jews are told that Judea must
become Judenrein, and that they can't live where
they want to in the sole capital of the sole Jewish
State.
That's what's at stake now--not merely apartments or
settlements.
A fair compromise must be reached regarding the
territories in question--regardless of what Arabs
and their supporters demand.
For millennia, Jews have been forcibly converted,
expelled, massacred, humiliated, demonized,
inquisitioned, ghettoized, declared the "deicide
people," "killers of prophets," and so forth, to one
extent or another, in both the Muslim East (where
they are also known as kilab yahud--Jew dogs--and
sons of apes and pigs) as well as the Christian
West.
They are determined that their rights in the land
which is named for their own people--Judea--and in
the sole capital of the sole, microscopic, reborn
state that they possess--Jerusalem--will not be
sacrificed on behalf of any 22nd state created for
Arabs...especially since the latter show, in poll
after poll, that regardless of how much more Jews
will be pressured to bare the necks of their
children for the sake of peace, even the so-called
moderate Arabs will not accept the legitimacy of a
viable Jewish Israel anyway. Indeed, Israel's
alleged "peace partner," Mahmoud Abbas, just
repeated those very words almost at the same time as
President Obama was holding his latest news
conference tightening the screws on Israel yet
again.
Gerald A. Honigman is a Florida educator who has
done extensive doctoral studies in Middle Eastern
Affairs. He has created and conducted counter-Arab
propaganda programs for college youth, has lectured
on numerous campuses and other platforms, and has
publicly debated many Arab spokesmen. His articles
and op-eds have been published in dozens of
newspapers, magazines, academic journals and
websites all around the world. Visit his
website at
http://www.geraldahonigman.com/
Gerald A. Honigman, a longtime contributing writer
for ekurd.net. Honigman has published a major book,
"The
Quest For Justice In The Middle East--The
Arab-Israeli Conflict In Greater Perspective."
By Gerald A. Honigman for eKurd.net,
September 13, 2010. You may reach the
author via email at: honigman6 (at) msn.com.
Copyright © 2010 ekurd.net.
All rights reserved
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Gerald A. Honigman
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A Proper Response To The
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Hallelujah...It's About Time! By Gerald A.
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My Friends, Dare To Think
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Hamas, Fatah, & The
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The 1002nd Arabian
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Imagine For One Moment. By
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Fall Foolishness. By Gerald A. Honigman
20.7.2007
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