A little over 50 years ago, Palestine ceased to exist and became present-day Israel. Why did this happen? The Israelis said God had promised them that land, and the Zionists, a political movement dedicated to establishing a Jewish state, proved it to the world. The sympathy built up from the atrocities committed in World War II helped convince everyone that the Jews deserved their own land, so, under the United Nations, Israel was born.
It sounds like a happy ending, but not many Americans know that hundreds of thousands of Palestinians were deported, and several thousand were even killed. But, hey, the Jews are justified in their widespread destruction of another land because of what happened to them.
To see whether what the Israelis did was justified, I researched the Ten Commandments (
Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America), since I myself am not Christian or Jewish. Of these Commandments, Israelis violate 6, 8, 9 and 10. If Israel is a Jewish state, doesn't that mean they believe in the Old Testament? Israelis kill innocent people, steals land, bears false witness against their neighbors and covets homes.
Israelis kill. Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon demonstrated this in Sabra and Shatila, failing to prevent -- with his absolute control -- the slayings of at least 800 Palestinians, perhaps many more. You can find this particular statistic at the Human Rights Watch homepage (
Human Rights Watch - Defending Human Rights Worldwide).
Israelis steal land. From the religious standpoint of the Old Testament, God promised the land of Israel/Palestine to the descendents of Abraham.
The resident Palestinians are more closely related to Abraham than the Russian, German, Austrian, Polish and other Jews who claim the land.
Israelis bear false witness. They have indoctrinated Americans (I single out the United States because we are the only ones in the world who support Israel) into believing that they are the innocent ones while the Palestinians are evil creatures that demand Israeli blood, but Israelis never mention the Palestinians who die. This strips the indigenous residents of their dignity.
Israelis covet. They do this by bulldozing Palestinian homes and building their own settlements over the rubble. Every Israeli settlement in Gaza and the West Bank is illegal. Furthermore, Israelis defame the Palestinians by claiming they are terrorists who kill innocent Israelis. The Israelis that die shouldn't legally have been where they were in the first place.
Now that Israelis have labeled Palestinian militants as terrorists, let's look at this "terrorism" from the Palestinian side and the Israeli side.
When Palestinians resort to "terrorism," you must realize that hundreds of thousands of their people have been kicked out of their homeland for no legitimate reason, and those who are left are living in less than poverty. Nevermind being allowed to attend college; they are not even allowed easy access to food, hospitals or water. There are Palestinian towns that only have wells for water, but are within eyesight of swimming pools in illegal Israeli settlements. Would you let your family live this way? Would you sit around and watch your son die in the streets from a stray Israeli bullet just for protesting their occupation?
Now ask yourself how Israel resorts to terrorism. There are many ways. One is the systematic extrajudicial slayings of Palestinian militant officials, which is a war crime. As a matter of fact, Israelis have slain over a dozen this way. In another instance of terrorism, Israelis recently bulldozed about 20 homes and an olive tree field in my mother's hometown. Israelis justified this by claiming a sniper was housed somewhere within the town. Collective punishment, assassination, embargoes, sanctions and just about everything else Israelis do are the epitome of terrorism.
Israel claims that the root of Palestinian "terrorism" lies with Yasir Arafat, the leader of the Palestinian Authority. Israel contends that if Arafat were to tell the Palestinians to stop the attacks and arrest militant leaders, then the violence would stop. Little does Israel know that the assumed control Arafat allegedly has to stop this violence does not exist! Arafat cannot just arrest the militants, because that is political destruction and would be the downfall of the PA.
If one is gung-ho about democracy and justice, believing firmly in the United Nations and nothing else, then one must also realize that Israel has violated countless U.N. resolutions. Israel constantly defies the U.N., and Israel's leader, Sharon, has the gall to publicly declare no recognition of the War Crimes Tribunal in The Hague, which is investigating him for his massacres at Sabra and Shatila.
One thing that must always be kept in mind is that Israel is not the innocent little lamb it plays itself out to be. Israel does not recognize Palestinian claims to the Universal Code of Human Rights as declared by the Fourth Geneva Convention. Israel has and continues to commit war crimes, almost as bad as those of Germany in World War II, and much worse than those of South Africa during its apartheid.
Israel at 60: Remembering the Palestinian Nakba
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