How About the Palestinians?

MYTH

“The Palestinians have never been offered a state of their own.” 

FACT

The Palestinians have actually had numerous opportunities to create an independent state, but have repeatedly rejected the offers:

• In 1937, the Peel Commission proposed the partition of Palestine and the creation of an Arab state.
• In 1939, the British White Paper proposed the creation of a unitary Arab state.
• In 1947, the UN would have created an even larger Arab state as part of its Partition Plan.
• The 1979 Egypt- Israel peace negotiations offered the Palestinians autonomy, which would almost certainly have led to full independence.
• The Oslo agreements of the 1990's laid out a path for Palestinian independence, but the process was derailed by terrorism.
• In 2000, Prime Minister Ehud Barak offered to create a Palestinian state in all of Gaza and 97 percent of the West Bank.
• In 2008, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert offered to withdraw from almost the entire West Bank and partition Jerusalem on a demographic basis.

In addition, from 1948 to 1967, Israel did not control the West Bank. The Palestinians could have demanded an independent state from the Jordanians. The Palestinians have spurned each of these opportunities. 

MYTH

“The Palestinian question is the core of the Arab-Israeli conflict.” 

FACT

In reality, the Palestinian question is the result rather than the cause of the conflict, and stems from Arab unwillingness to accept a Jewish State in the Middle East.
Had Arab governments not gone to war in 1948 to block the UN Partition plan, a Palestinian state would now be celebrating more than 60 years of independence. Had the Arab states not supported terrorism directed at Israeli civilians and provoked seven subsequent Arab-Israeli wars, the conflict could have been settled long ago, and the Palestinian problem resolved.
From 1948–1967, the West Bank and Gaza were under Arab rule, and no Jewish settlements existed there, but the Arabs never set up a Palestinian state. Instead, Gaza was occupied by Egypt, and the West Bank by Jordan. No demands for a West Bank/Gaza independent state were heard until Israel took control of these areas in the Six-Day War.

From: JewishVirtualLibrary.org
           Book by: Mitchell G. Bard 

Palestinian Newspaper Admits: Israel Helps Palestinians

Palestinian Newspaper Admits: Israel Helps Palestinians

From: unitedwithisrael.org
By: Rachel Avraham

Despite the Israeli-Arab conflict, a Palestinian newspaper has recognized how Israel’s Hadassah Medical Center has helped the Palestinian people.

Hadassah Hospital

According to Palestinian Media Watch, the Palestinian Minister of Health, Hani Abdeen visited the Israeli Hadassah Hospital. This is the first visit by a Palestinian minister to one of the most important Israeli hospitals. 

Hospital director Yuval Weiss said "We relate to patients without regard to nationality and religion. We treat Muslims, Christians, Jews, and other nationalities without bias, and 30% of the patients who are children are Palestinians."

Israel’s medical establishment has always worked to save Palestinian lives with the same vigor that they save Israeli lives. In fact, a 2012 report from the World Health Organization found that Israel approved 91.5 percent of all Palestinian applications to receive medical care within the State of Israel. Save a Child’s Heart, an Israeli organization, has saved the lives of 3,000 children, of who half were hailing from the Palestinian Authority. 

IT IS RARE FOR A PA NEWSPAPER TO PRAISE ISRAEL

Hani Abdeen visits Palestinian children
at Israeli Hadassah Hospital

The fact that the official PA daily Al Hayat Al Jadida has recognized these facts is very refreshing, especially given the routine incitement that occurs against Israel in this publication, as well as other Palestinian newspapers. 
For example, in the past, the Al Hayat Al Jadida publication has accused Israel of murdering and poisoning Palestinian prisoners, and declared that Israel withholds “elementary human rights from Palestinian children.” 
Indeed, this one article was a rare example where the Al Hayat Al Jadida publication showed Israel in a positive light, as a country that helps rather than hurts Palestinians.

Part IV History Segment - 1967 Six-Day War

From: Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Previous segments can be found in glossary on the right or by scrolling down the page

Famous Photo of Paratroopers at the Western Wall

     Hopes for another decade of relative tranquility were dashed with the escalation of Arab terrorist raids across the Egyptian and Jordanian borders, persistent Syrian artillery bombardment of agricultural settlements in  northern Galilee, and massive military build-ups by the neighboring Arab states. When Egypt again moved large numbers of troops into the Sinai desert, ordered the UN peacekeeping forces (deployed for the past 10 years) out of the area, reimposed the blockade of the Straits of Tiran, and entered into a military alliance with Jordan, Israel found itself faced by hostile Arab armies on all fronts.

     As Israel's neighbors prepared to destroy the Jewish state, Israel appealed to its innate right of self-defense, launching a preemptive strike against Egypt in the South, followed by a counterattack against Jordan in the East and the defeating of Syrian forces entrenched on the Golan Heights in the North.

     At the end of six days of fighting, previous cease-fire lines were replaced by new ones, with Judea, Samaria, Gaza, the Sinai Peninsula, and the Golan Heights under Israel's control. As a result, the northern villages were freed from 19 years of recurrent Syrian shelling; the passage of Israeli and Israel-bound shipping through the Straits of Tiran was ensured; and Jerusalem, which had been divided under Israeli and Jordanian rule since 1949, was reunified under Israel's authority.

MYTH

“After the 1967 war, Israel refused to negotiate a settlement with the Arabs.” 

FACT

By the end of the war, Israel had captured enough territory to more than triple the size of the area it controlled. The victory enabled Israel to unify Jerusalem as well as capture the Sinai, the Golan Heights, the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.  

Israel hoped the Arab states would enter peace negotiations and signaled to the Arab states its willingness to relinquish virtually all the territories it acquired in exchange for peace. As Moshe Dayan (Israeli soldier) put it, Jerusalem was waiting only for a telephone call from Arab leaders to start negotiations. 

Then in August 1967, Arab leaders adopted a formula of three noes: “no peace with Israel, no negotiations with Israel, no recognition of Israel.”

From: JewishVirtualLibrary.org
Book by: Mitchell G. Bard 

Israeli Defense Forces (IDF)

To learn more, visit the IDF website: http://www.idfblog.com/ 

Formed out of the ashes of the Holocaust when more than six million Jews were murdered, the State of Israel dedicated itself to the ideal of Jewish defense and security for the future. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF), or Tzahal in Hebrew, is the actualization of this ideal.

The IDF is comprised of the Army, Air Force, and Navy and today ranks among the world's most battle-tested and well-trained armed forces. Since its founding in 1948, the IDF has fought in ten wars or extended conflicts and has taken part in some of the most daring missions in the history of modern warfare.

The IDF mission statement is, "To defend the existence, territorial integrity and sovereignty of the State of Israel."

History & Founding

Before the official establishment of Israel in 1948, there were a number of Jewish armed organizations that operated in defense of the land.

The main organizations were the Haganah and its commando-strike forces called the Palmach, which answered to the elected leadership of the Yishuv. Other armed defense groups, namely the Lehi ("Fighters for the Freedom of Israel", also known as the Stern Gang) and the IZL (Etzel or "National Military Organization") operated independently. These organizations were often at ends with the political leadership of the Yishuv and their actions, sometimes described as terrorism, were regularly condemned by David Ben-Gurion and other leaders.

It was only natural that when Israel's independence was declared the new government would establish a single, unified armed force. Thus, on May 28, 1948, the Provisional Government of Israel issued Defense Army of Israel Ordinance No. 4 signed by Prime Minister Ben-Gurion, established the Israel Defense Forces.

IDF dropped warning leaflets over Gaza

The IDF was comprised of the Haganah (in particular, its operational branch, the Palmach) and former elements of the Jewish Brigade that foug
ht under the British flag during World War II.

After the establishment of the IDF, the two Jewish underground organizations, the Etzel and Lehi, joined the defense forces in a loose confederation, but were allowed to operate independently in some sectors until the end of the War of Independence, after which the organizations were disbanded and their members integrated on an individual basis into the IDF.

Technological Prowess

The IDF is one of the most high-tech armies in the world, possessing top-of-the-line weapons and computer systems. The development of a sophisticated defense industry has also led to a great deal of exports, which today account for a majority of Israel's revenues and allows the country's defense industry to compete against some of the largest companies in the world.

The Israeli security industry maintains a very high reputation for its guns, armored fighting vehicles (tanks, tank-converted APCs, armoured bulldozers etc) and rocketry (missiles and rockets). The Air Force is considered one of the world's best. Israel also designs and in some cases manufactures, aircraft (Kfir, Lavi) and naval systems (patrol and missile ships). Much of the IDF's electronic systems (intelligence, communication, command and control, navigation etc.) are also Israeli-developed.

As many believe

The Israeli government-owned defense industries include world-renowned companies such as Israel Military Industries (IMI), Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI), and the Rafael Arms Development Authority. Rafael has become a world leader in such varied categories as passive armor, naval decoys, observation balloon systems, acoustic torpedo countermeasures, ceramic armor, air-breathing propulsion, and air-to-air, air-to-surface and surface-to-surface missiles.

Israel can launch reconnaissance satellites into orbit, a capability shared only by Russia, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, China, India, and Japan. Both the satellites (Ofeq) and the launchers (Shavit) were developed by the Israeli security industries.

Israel is also thought to have a nuclear capability, although the Israeli government has never confirmed this. The Federation of American Scientists estimates that Israel probably has 100-200 nuclear warheads, which can be delivered by airplanes or ballistic missiles. The Jericho II missile is reported to have a range between 1,500 and 4,000 km, and therefore can target sites as far away as central Russia, Iran and Libya.

Myth vs. Fact

From: JewishVirtualLibrary.org
Book by: Mitchell G. Bard

MYTH

“Israelis cannot deny the truth of pictures showing their abuses.” 

FACT

A picture may be worth a thousand words, but sometimes the picture and the words used to describe it are distorted and misleading. Photographers understandably seek the most dramatic pictures they can find, and those suggesting that brutal Israeli Goliaths are mistreating suffering Palestinian Davids are especially appealing, but the context is often missing. 

Iconic, mislabeled photo

In one classic example, the Associated Press circulated a dramatic photo of an angry baton-wielding Israeli soldier standing over a bloody young man. It appeared the soldier had just beaten the youth. The picture appeared in the New York Times and spurred international outrage because the caption, supplied by Associated Press, said, “An Israeli policeman and a Palestinian on the Temple Mount.” It turned out, however, the caption was inaccurate and the photo actually showed an incident that might have conveyed almost the exact opposite impression had it been reported correctly. The victim was not a Palestinian beaten by an Israeli soldier, it was a policeman protecting an American Jewish student, Tuvia Grossman, who had been riding in a taxi when it was stoned by Palestinians. Grossman was pulled out of the taxi, beaten and stabbed. He broke free and fled toward the Israeli policeman. At that point a photographer snapped the picture. 

Besides getting the victim wrong, Associated Press also inaccurately reported that the photograph was taken on the Temple Mount. When Associated Press was alerted to the errors, it issued a series of corrections, several of which still did not get the story straight. As is usually the case when the media makes a mistake, the damage was already done. Many outlets that had used the photo did not print clarifications. Others issued corrections that did not receive anywhere near the prominence of the initial story. 

Part III History Segment- Years of Consolidation

Segments I and II can be found in glossary on the right or by scrolling down the page.

From: Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs  

     During Israel's second decade (1958-68), exports doubled, and the GNP increased some 10 percent annually. While some previously imported items such as paper, tires, radios, and refrigerators were now being manufactured locally, the most rapid growth took place in the newly established branches of metals, machinery, chemicals, and electronics. Since the domestic market for home-grown food was fast approaching the saturation point, the agricultural sector began to grow a larger variety of crops for the food processing industry as well as fresh produce for export. A second deep-water port was built on the Mediterranean coast at Ashdod, in addition to the existing one at Haifa, to handle the increased volume of trade.

Concrete pipe section of the National Water Carrier
(Courtesy Central Zionist Archives)

     In Jerusalem, a permanent home for the Knesset was built, and facilities for the Hebrew University and the Hadassah Medical Center were constructed on alternative sites to replace the original buildings on Mount Scopus, which had to be abandoned after the War of Independence. At the same time, the Israel Museum was established with the aim of collecting, conserving, studying, and exhibiting the cultural and artistic treasures of the Jewish people.

     Israel's foreign relations expanded steadily, as close ties were developed with the United States, British Commonwealth countries, most western European states, nearly all the countries of Latin America and Africa, and some in Asia. Extensive programs of international cooperation were initiated, as hundreds of Israeli physicians, engineers, teachers, agronomists, irrigation experts, and youth organizers shared their know-how and experience with people in other developing countries.

Message to the World: Israel is NOT apartheid

South African Member of Parliament: Israel is Not an Apartheid State
From: unitedwithisrael.org

By: Rachel Avraham

South African MP Rev. Dr. Kenneth Meshoe, a person of color who survived the apartheid regime, explains why Israel cannot be considered an apartheid state. 

South African MP Rev. Dr. Kenneth Meshoe wrote in the San Francisco Examiner, “As a black South African who lived under apartheid, this system was implemented in South Africa to subjugate people of color and deny them a variety of their rights. In my view, Israel cannot be compared to apartheid in South Africa. Those who make the accusation expose their ignorance of what apartheid really is.” Meshoe made this statement upon visiting San Francisco, where he was shocked to learn of posters posted within the city comparing Israel to the apartheid regime in South Africa.

The Americans for Palestine group placed posters on the New York subway not too long ago where Desmond Tutu is quoted as stating, “I’ve been very distressed by my visit in the Holy Land; it reminded me so much of what happened to us black people in South Africa.” The ad then continues, “Americans give Israel $3 billion per year. End Apartheid Now! Stop US aid to Israel!” Yet, Meshoe has very strong arguments why Tutu and various anti-Israel groups wrongly compare the situation in Israel to the apartheid regime in South Africa.

He asserted, “As a black South African under apartheid, I, among other things, could not vote, nor could I freely travel the landscape of South Africa. No person of color could hold high government office. The races were strictly segregated at sports arenas, public restrooms, schools and on public transportation. People of color had inferior hospitals, medical care and education. If a white doctor was willing to take a black patient, he had to examine him or her in a back room or some other hidden place. In my numerous visits to Israel, I did not see any of the above.”

Meshoe pointed out that in Israel, racial equality is enshrined in Israeli law. As the Israeli Declaration of Independence proclaims, Israel will “ensure complete equality of social and political rights to all its inhabitants irregardless of religion, race, or sex.” If one takes a train or bus in Israel, one will witness Muslims sitting next to Jews; Ethiopian Jews of color sitting next to Jews of European and Middle Eastern origin. On university campuses, in work places, and in restaurants, the same scene can be witnessed. No public bathroom in Israel is segregated by race or religion. Furthermore, there are Arabs serving as university professors, doctors, soldiers, and even as government officials. Arabs in Israel have rights and privileges that a black living under the apartheid regime in South Africa can only dream of.

Meshoe concluded, “I am shocked by the claim that the free, diverse, democratic state of Israel practices apartheid. This ridiculous accusation trivializes the word apartheid, minimizing and belittling the magnitude of the racism and suffering endured by South Africans of color.”

Latest BREAKING News- World News as Well as Israeli News

Report: IDF Did Not Kill Palestinian Child in 2000

From: unitedwithisrael.org
By: Rachel Avraham

An Israeli investigative committee appointed by PM Netanyahu has claimed that Mohammad Al Durra wasn’t killed by the Israel Defense Forces in 2000.

The Israeli government has issued a report based on an investigative committee claiming that the Palestinian child Mohammad Al Durra, was not in fact killed by the Israel Defense Forces and may still be alive today. Al Durra’s apparent death in 2000 ignited worldwide hostility towards Israel and his image became a symbol of the Second Intifada. “As opposed to the media reports that stated that the child was killed, an examination of the raw video shot by the France 2 staff shows the child alive,” the committee said. That portion of the video was never shown on television. “In addition, there is a great deal of evidence to indicate that al-Dura and his father were never hit by any bullets. The investigation shows that it is very unlikely that the bullet holes seen in the wall behind the two came from shots fired by IDF soldiers.”

The investigative Israeli committee concluded, “The probe has found that there is no evidence to support the claims that the father, Jamal, or the boy Mohammed, were shot. Furthermore, the video does not show Jamal being seriously wounded.”

Why the Mohammad Al Durra Case is Still Relevant

Even though it has been thirteen years since the Mohammad Al Durra incident, the events which occurred in 2000 are still relevant today. In 2000, former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak went to Camp David in order to conclude a peace agreement that would have led to the establishment of a Palestinian state. Barak offered then PA President Yasser Arafat a more generous deal than any other Israeli prime minister prior to him, which would have included most of Judea and Samaria, Gaza, and great parts of East Jerusalem. The Palestinians would have even had a road connecting Judea and Samaria to the Gaza Strip.

Former Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat turned down this generous offer in order to declare the Second Intifada and start a campaign of suicide bombings targeting Israeli civilians. Over a thousand Israelis were murdered between 2000 and 2005 during the Second Intifada. American officials such as President Bill Clinton and U.S. Middle East envoy Dennis Ross blamed squarely Yasser Arafat for the failure of the peace negotiations, yet much of the western media portrayed the Palestinians, not the Israelis, as the victims. The Mohammad Al Durra case, which portrayed Israeli soldiers as callously shooting at a young Palestinian boy and his father who were seeking shelter from the violence, best symbolized this distorted phenomenon.

Israeli Leadership Responds to Committee’s Findings

According to the Prime Minister’s Office, “the purpose of the committee was to examine the al-Dura affair in light of the continued damage it has caused to Israel, and to formulate the government of Israel’s position with regards to it,” specifying that the incident had been used by anti-Israel activists to “justify terror, anti-Semitism and delegitimization of Israel.” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated, “It is important to focus on this incident – which has slandered Israel’s reputation.” International Relations Minister Yuval Steinitz has referred to the Al Durra affair as “a modern day blood libel against the State of Israel.”

So, Basically . . . Israel Is Cool

From: standwithus.com        

Part II History Segment- State Building

Segment I can be found in glossary on the right 

or by scrolling down the page

From: Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs 

The war over, Israel focused on building the state which the people had struggled so long and so hard to regain. 

The first 120-seat Knesset (parliament) went into session following national elections (25 January 1949) in which nearly 85 percent of all eligible voters cast their ballots.

Two of the people who had led Israel to statehood became the country's leaders:

David Ben-Gurion-head of the Jewish Agency, chosen as the first prime minister

Chaim Weizmann-head of the World Zionist Organization, elected by the Knesset as the first president. 

On 11 May 1949, Israel took its seat as the 59th member of the United Nations.

Above: David Ben-Gurion (GPO/K. Zoltan)​

The gates of the country were thrown open, affirming the right of every Jew to come to the country and, upon entry, to acquire citizenship. 

In the first four months of independence, some 50,000 newcomers, mainly Holocaust survivors, reached Israel's shores. 

By the end of 1951, a total of 687,000 men, women, and children had arrived, over 300,000 of them refugees from Arab lands, thus doubling the Jewish population.

Assistance extended by the United States government, loans from American banks, contributions of Diaspora Jews and post-war German compensations were used to build housing, mechanize agriculture, establish a merchant fleet and a national airline, exploit available minerals, develop industries and expand roads, telecommunications, and electricity networks.

Towards the end of the first decade, the output of industry doubled, as did the number of employed persons, with industrial exports increasing four-fold. Vast expansion of areas under cultivation had brought about self-sufficiency in the supply of all basic food products except meat and grains, while some 50,000 acres of mostly barren land were afforested and trees were planted along almost 500 miles (800 km.) of highways.

 Cultural and artistic activity flourished, blending Middle Eastern, North African, and Western elements, as Jews arriving from all parts of the world brought with them the unique traditions of their own communities as well as aspects of the culture prevailing in the countries where they had lived for generations. 

When Israel celebrated its 10th anniversary, the population numbered over two million.

A new immigrant woman sitting with her children on their luggage at
the main square of Yehud (GPO/K.Zoltan)

1956 Sinai Campaign

The years of state-building were overshadowed by serious security problems: The 1949 armistice agreements had not only failed to pave the way to permanent peace, but were also constantly violated.

In contradiction to the UN Security Council Resolution of 1 September 1951, Israeli and Israel-bound shipping was prevented from passing through the Suez Canal; 

the blockade of the Straits of Tiran was tightened; 

incursions into Israel of terrorist squads from neighboring Arab countries for murder and sabotage occurred with increasing frequency; 

and the Sinai peninsula was gradually converted into a huge Egyptian military base.

Upon the signing of a tripartite military alliance by Egypt, Syria and Jordan, the imminent threat to Israel's existence was intensified. 

In the course of an eight-day campaign, the IDF captured the Gaza Strip and the entire Sinai Peninsula, halting 10 miles east of the Suez Canal (YAY Israel!!).

A United Nations decision to station a UN Emergency Force (UNEF) along the Egypt-Israel border and Egyptian assurances of free navigation in the Gulf of Eilat led Israel to agree to withdraw in stages from the areas taken a few weeks earlier. 

Consequently, the Straits of Tiran were opened, enabling the development of trade with Asian and East African countries, as well as oil imports from the Persian Gulf.