Myths
and Facts - Human Rights in Israel and the Territories
MYTH
"Israel discriminates against its Arab citizens."
FACT
Israel is one of the most open societies in the world. Out of a
population of 6.7 million, about 1.3 million — 20 percent of the
population — are non-Jews (approximately 1.1 million Muslims, 130,000
Christians and 100,000 Druze).1
Arabs in Israel have equal voting rights; in fact, it is one of the few
places in the Middle East where Arab women may vote. Arabs currently
hold 8 seats in the 120-seat Knesset. Israeli Arabs have also held
various government posts, including one who served as Israel's
ambassador to Finland and the current deputy mayor of Tel Aviv. Oscar
Abu Razaq was appointed Director General of the Ministry of Interior,
the first Arab citizen to become chief executive of a key government
ministry. Ariel Sharon's original cabinet included the first Arab
minister, Salah Tarif, a Druze who served as a minister without
portfolio. An Arab is also a Supreme Court justice.
Arabic, like Hebrew, is an official language in Israel. More than
300,000 Arab children attend Israeli schools. At the time of Israel's
founding, there was one Arab high school in the country. Today, there
are hundreds of Arab schools.2
In 2002, the Israeli Supreme Court also ruled that the government cannot
allocate land based on religion or ethnicity, and may not prevent Arab
citizens from living wherever they choose.2a
The sole legal distinction between Jewish and Arab citizens of Israel is
that the latter are not required to serve in the Israeli army. This is
to spare Arab citizens the need to take up arms against their brethren.
Nevertheless, Bedouins have served in paratroop units and other Arabs
have volunteered for military duty. Compulsory military service is
applied to the Druze and Circassian communities at their own request.
Some economic and social gaps between Israeli Jews and Arabs result from
the latter not serving in the military. Veterans qualify for many
benefits not available to non-veterans. Moreover, the army aids in the
socialization process.
On the other hand, Arabs do have an advantage in obtaining some jobs
during the years Israelis are in the military. In addition, industries
like construction and trucking have come to be dominated by Israeli
Arabs.
Although Israeli Arabs have occasionally been involved in terrorist
activities, they have generally behaved as loyal citizens. During the
1967, 1973 and 1982 wars, none engaged in any acts of sabotage or
disloyalty. Sometimes, in fact, Arabs volunteered to take over civilian
functions for reservists. During the outbreak of violence in the
territories that began in September 2000, Israeli Arabs for the first
time engaged in widespread protests with some violence.
The United States has been independent for almost 230 years and still
has not integrated all of its diverse communities. Even today, 60 years
after civil rights legislation was adopted, discrimination has not been
eradicated. It should not be surprising that Israel has not solved all
of its social problems in only 57 years.
MYTH
"Israel discriminates against Israeli Arabs by barring them from buying
land."
FACT
In the early part of the century, the Jewish National Fund was
established by the World Zionist Congress to purchase land in Palestine
for Jewish settlement. This land, and that acquired after Israel's War
of Independence, was taken over by the government. Of the total area of
Israel, 92 percent belongs to the State and is managed by the Land
Management Authority. It is not for sale to anyone, Jew or Arab. The
remaining 8 percent of the territory is privately owned. The Arab Waqf
(the Muslim charitable endowment), for example, owns land that is for
the express use and benefit of Muslim Arabs. Government land can be
leased by anyone, regardless of race, religion or sex. All Arab citizens
of Israel are eligible to lease government land.
MYTH
"Israeli Arabs are discriminated against in employment."
FACT
Israeli law prohibits discrimination in employment. According to the
State Department, all Israeli workers "may join and establish labor
organizations freely." Most unions are part of the Histadrut or the
smaller Histadrut Haovdim Haleumit (National Federation of Labor), both
of which are independent of the Government.
MYTH
"Arabs held in Israeli jails are tortured, beaten and killed."
FACT
Prison is not a pleasant place for anyone and complaints about the
treatment of prisoners in American institutions abound. Israel's prisons
are probably among the most closely scrutinized in the world. One reason
is the government has allowed representatives of the Red Cross and other
groups to inspect them regularly.
Israeli law prohibits arbitrary arrest of citizens, defendants are
considered innocent until proven guilty and have the right to writs of
habeas corpus and other procedural safeguards. Israel holds no political
prisoners and maintains an independent judiciary.
Some prisoners, particularly Arabs suspected of involvement in
terrorism, were interrogated using severe methods that have been
criticized as excessive. Israel's Supreme Court issued a landmark ruling
in 1999 prohibiting the use of a variety of abusive practices.
The death penalty has been applied just once, in the case of Adolf
Eichmann, the man largely responsible for the "Final Solution." No Arab
has ever been given the death penalty, even after the most heinous acts
of terrorism.
MYTH
"Israel uses administrative detention to imprison peaceful Arabs without
trial."
FACT
Israel inherited and continued certain laws adopted by the British. One
is the use of administrative detention, which is permitted under certain
circumstances in security cases. The detainee is entitled to be
represented by counsel, and may appeal to the Israeli Supreme Court. The
burden is on the prosecution to justify holding closed proceedings.
Often, officials believe presenting evidence in open court would
compromise its methods of gathering intelligence and endanger the lives
of individuals who have provided information about planned terrorist
activities.
Administrative detention is not necessary in much of the Arab world
because the authorities frequently arrest people and throw them in jail
without due process. No lawyers, human rights organizations or
independent media can protest. Even in the United States, with its
exceptionally liberal bail policy, people may be held for extended
periods awaiting trial, and special legal standards have .been applied
to allow the prolonged incarceration of Taliban and al-Qaida members
captured in Afghanistan.
“One does not judge a democracy by the way its soldiers immediately
react, young men and women under tremendous provocation. One judges a
democracy by the way its courts react, in the dispassionate cool of
judicial chambers. And the Israeli Supreme Court and other courts have
reacted magnificently. For the first time in Mideast history, there is
an independent judiciary willing to listen to grievances of Arabs — that
judiciary is called the Israeli Supreme Court.”
— Alan Dershowitz3
MYTH
"Israel has long sought to deny residents of the West Bank and Gaza
Strip their political rights."
FACT
While defending its existence against hostile Arab forces, Israel took
control of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Facing a violent insurrection,
Israel has been forced to restrict some activities of Palestinians.
Israel cannot concede to Palestinians all the rights Americans take for
granted in a nation that is not at war, while Arab states maintain a
state of belligerency with Israel, and Palestinians engage in terrorism
against Israelis.
Given the constraints of Israel's security requirements, efforts were
made from the outset to allow Palestinians the greatest possible
freedom. After the Six-Day War, the traditional pro-Jordanian leadership
continued to hold many civil service positions and was paid by Jordan.
Municipal elections were held in 1972 and 1976. For the first time,
women and non-landowners were allowed to vote.
The 1976 election brought Arab mayors to power who represented various
PLO factions. Muhammad Milhem of Halhoul, Fahd Kawasmeh of Hebron, and
Bassam Shaka of Nablus were affiliated with Fatah. Karim Khalaf of
Ramallah represented the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine,
and Ibrahim Tawil of El-Bireh was associated with the Democratic Front
for the Liberation of Palestine.4
In 1978, these mayors and other radicals formed the National Guidance
Committee, which vigorously opposed any accommodation with Israel,
attempted to stir up broad allegiance to the PLO on the West Bank and
incited rejection of the Egyptian-Israeli peace treaty. In 1981, Israel
expelled Milhem and Kawasmeh. They were allowed to return to appeal the
expulsion order, but it was upheld by the Israeli Supreme Court.
Two weeks after his expulsion, Milhem said: "There is no room for the
existence of the Zionists under a situation of true peace. They are only
capable of existing in a situation of tension and war...and that goes
for all the parties...[they are] neither doves nor hawks, only pigs."5
Kawasmeh was appointed to the PLO Executive Committee in 1984. Later
that year, he was assassinated by Palestinian radicals in Amman.
As part of the Camp David negotiations, Israel proposed an autonomy plan
to grant the Palestinians greater control over their affairs. The
Palestinians rejected autonomy as an option, however, holding out hope
for the creation of a Palestinian state.
For the rest of the decade, Israel, nevertheless, attempted to shift
increasing responsibilities from the military to civilian administrators
and to Palestinians. Efforts to give Palestinians greater responsibility
for their affairs were undermined by the intifada. During the uprising,
Palestinian Arabs who wished to cooperate with Israel came under attack
and were silenced either through intimidation or murder. Israeli
government officials sought to maintain a dialogue with many
Palestinians, but those whose identities were discovered became targets.
In secret negotiations in Oslo, Norway, in 1993, Israeli and Palestinian
negotiators agreed to a plan that would give the latter limited
self-government. Subsequent negotiations have resulted in Israeli
withdrawal from nearly half the West Bank and most of the Gaza Strip,
and increasing Palestinian control over their own affairs. The
Palestinian Authority now governs virtually all civil affairs for
approximately 98 percent of the Palestinians in the territories. The
expectation is that a final political settlement will result in the
creation of a Palestinian state in most of the areas once controlled by
Israel.
MYTH
"Israel is stealing water from Arabs in the territories. Israel allows
Jews to drill wells, but prevents Arabs from doing so."
FACT
In the years immediately following the 1967 war, water resources for the
West Bank improved considerably. The water system in the southern Hebron
region, for instance, was expanded. New wells were drilled near Jenin,
Nablus and Tulkarm. More than 60 towns in the West Bank were given new
water supply systems, or had antiquated ones upgraded by the Israeli
administration in the territories.
In the late 1970's and early 1980's, however, the Middle East suffered
from one of the worst droughts in modern history. Water in the Jordan
River and Sea of Galilee dropped to critical levels. The situation
deteriorated further at the beginning of the 1990's and has continued to
be a problem in the new millennium.
Under these conditions, the Israeli government restricted the drilling
of new wells on the West Bank. It had little choice because the West
Bank and Israel share the same water table, and the drawing off of fresh
water resources could promote saline water seepage.
Arab farmers on the West Bank are served by approximately 100 springs
and 300 wells — many dug decades ago and now overutilized. Restrictions
on over-exploitation of shallow wells were meant to prevent seepage or
total depletion of saline water. Some wells were dug so that Jewish
villages could tap new, deep aquifers never before used. These water
pools as a rule do not draw from the shallower Arab sources.
At the end of 1991, a conference was scheduled in Turkey to discuss
regional water problems. The meeting was torpedoed by Syria. The
Syrians, Jordanians and Palestinians all boycotted the multilateral
talks in Moscow in January 1992, which included a working group on water
issues.
Following the Oslo agreements, Palestinians were more interested in
cooperating on water issues. At the meeting of the multilateral working
group in Oman in April 1994, an Israeli proposal to rehabilitate and
make more efficient water systems in medium-sized communities (in the
West Bank/Gaza, Israel and elsewhere in the region) was endorsed. About
the same time, a Palestinian Water Authority was created as called for
in the Israeli-Palestinian Declaration of Principles.
In November 1994, the working group met in Greece and the Israelis,
Jordanians, and Palestinians agreed to begin discussion on principles or
guidelines for cooperation on water issues. Further progress was made on
a variety of issues during the 1995 meeting in Amman and the 1996
meeting in Tunisia. The working groups have not met since.
Israel has not cut the amount of water allocated to the Palestinian
Authority (PA) and is planning to examine the possibility of increasing
it despite the cut in water allocations within Israel and the
requirement of supplying considerable amounts of water to Jordan as
mandated by the peace treaty.
In contrast to claims by the Palestinian side, Israel did not even
determine the amount of water to be supplied to the territories. The
amount was specified in negotiations between the two sides, with the
Americans participating. By the consent of both parties, the amount of
water was increased relative to the situation prior to the Interim
Agreement. Similarly, a formula was decided upon for increasing the
water allocation gradually over the interim period.
The negotiations also led to agreements defining the number of wells
that Israel is obligated to dig, and the number the PA and international
bodies are obligated to dig. Cooperation on issues of sewage and
environment were also defined. It was further decided that jurisdiction
over water would be transferred to the Palestinians in the framework of
the transfer of civil powers, and that the water situation would be
supervised by joint monitoring teams
Israel has fulfilled all of her obligations under the Interim Agreement.
The water quota agreed upon, and more, is being supplied. Jurisdiction
over water was transferred completely and on time, and Israel approved
the additional digging of wells. Israel and the PA carry out joint
patrols to locate cases of water theft and other water-related problems.
The water issue for the Palestinians actually has little to do with
Israel. According to the U.S. Agency for International Development, “The
West Bank and Gaza suffer from a chronic water shortage, preventing
sustained economic growth and negatively impacting the environment and
health of Palestinians. The little water available is inefficiently
used.” The analysis adds that “Palestinian ground water supplies have
increasingly become polluted as a result of inadequate sewage treatment
and over-pumping of wells. Untreated sewage is dumped in valleys and the
Mediterranean Sea, decreasing the quality of the already inadequate
groundwater supply, and polluting the soil, sea, and coastline.”5a
MYTH
"Israel's use of deportations violates the Fourth Geneva Convention."
FACT
The purpose of the Geneva Convention, approved in 1949, was to prevent a
repetition of the Nazis' policy of mass deportations of innocent
civilians to slave labor and concentration camps. Israel, of course,
does no such thing. What it does, on occasion, is expel a select few
individuals who are instigating violence against Jew and Arab alike.
The Geneva Convention itself allows an occupying power to "undertake
total or partial evacuation of a given area if the security of the
population or imperative military reasons so demand." The Israeli
Supreme Court has interpreted this to mean that Israel may expel
instigators of violence if necessary to maintain public order or to
protect the population from future violence. All deportees have the
right to appeal expulsion orders to the Israeli courts, but many
Palestinians prefer not to do so.
“The Israeli regime is not apartheid. It is a unique case of democracy.”
— South African Interior Minister Chief Mangosuthu Buthelezi5b
MYTH
"Israel's treatment of Palestinians is similar to the treatment of
blacks in apartheid South Africa."
FACT
Even before the State of Israel was established, Jewish leaders
consciously sought to avoid the situation that prevailed in South
Africa. As David Ben-Gurion told Palestinian nationalist Musa Alami in
1934:
We do not want to create a situation like that which exists in South
Africa, where the whites are the owners and rulers, and the blacks are
the workers. If we do not do all kinds of work, easy and hard, skilled
and unskilled, if we become merely landlords, then this will not be our
homeland.6
Today, within Israel, Jews are a majority, but the Arab minority are
full citizens who enjoy equal rights. Arabs are represented in the
Knesset, and have served in the Cabinet, high-level foreign ministry
posts (e.g., Ambassador to Finland) and on the Supreme Court. Under
apartheid, black South Africans could not vote and were not citizens of
the country in which they formed the overwhelming majority of the
population. Laws dictated where they could live, work and travel. And,
in South Africa, the government killed blacks who protested against its
policies. By contrast, Israel allows freedom of movement, assembly and
speech. Some of the government's harshest critics are Israeli Arabs who
are members of the Knesset.
The situation of Palestinians in the territories is different. The
security requirements of the nation, and a violent insurrection in the
territories, forced Israel to impose restrictions on Arab residents of
the West Bank and Gaza Strip that are not necessary inside Israel's
pre-1967 borders. The Palestinians in the territories, typically,
dispute Israel's right to exist whereas blacks did not seek the
destruction of South Africa, only the apartheid regime.
If Israel were to give Palestinians full citizenship, it would mean the
territories had been annexed. No Israeli government has been prepared to
take that step. Instead, through negotiations, Israel agreed to give the
Palestinians increasing authority over their own affairs. It is likely
that a final settlement will allow most Palestinians to become citizens
of their own state. The principal impediment to Palestinian independence
is not Israeli policy, it is the unwillingness of the Palestinian
leadership to give up terrorism and agree to live in peace beside the
State of Israel.
Despite all their criticism, when asked what governments they admire
most, more than 80 percent of Palestinians consistently choose Israel
because they can see up close the thriving democracy in Israel, and the
rights the Arab citizens enjoy there. By contrast, Palstinians place
Arab regimes far down the list, and their own Palestinian Authority at
the bottom with only 20 percent saying they admire the corrupt Arafat
regime in 2003.6a
“There is still one other question arising out of the disaster of
nations which remains unsolved to this day, and whose profound tragedy,
only a Jew can comprehend. This is the African question. Just call to
mind all those terrible episodes of the slave trade, of human beings
who, merely because they were black, were stolen like cattle, taken
prisoner, captured and sold. Their children grew up in strange lands,
the objects of contempt and hostility because their complexions were
different. I am not ashamed to say, though I may expose myself to
ridicule for saying so, that once I have witnessed the redemption of the
Jews, my people, I wish also to assist in the redemption of the
Africans.”
— Theodor Herzl7
MYTH
"Black African nations cut relations with Israel because of its racist
policies toward Palestinians."
FACT
Black African nations did not break relations with Israel because of any
concerns about racism; most severed ties with the Jewish State in 1973
because of pressure from the Arab oil-producing nations. Full diplomatic
ties were continued only by Malawi, Lesotho and Swaziland, while a few
other countries maintained their links through Israeli interest offices
at foreign embassies. Commercial ties were also not entirely disrupted,
many black African students continued to train in Israel and Israeli
experts remained active in Africa.
Israel has had a long history of friendly relations with black African
countries. From 1957 to 1973, Israel trained thousands of Africans in
all aspects of life including agriculture, health care and economics.
Thousands of Africans went to Israel for training, while similar numbers
of Israelis were sent to Africa to teach.8
Golda Meir, the architect of Israel's Africa policy, believed the
lessons learned by Israelis could be passed on to Africans who,
particularly during the 1950s, were engaged in the same process of
nation building. “Like them,” she said, “we had shaken off foreign rule;
like them, we had to learn for ourselves how to reclaim the land, how to
increase the yields of our crops, how to irrigate, how to raise poultry,
how to live together, and how to defend ourselves.” Israel could provide
a better model for the newly independent African states, Meir believed,
because Israelis “had been forced to find solutions to the kinds of
problems that large, wealthy, powerful states had never encountered.”9
Once the coercive power of the Arab oil-producers eroded, African
countries began to reestablish relations with Israel and to seek new
cooperative projects. This trend gained momentum with the ongoing peace
negotiations between Israel and its Arab neighbors. Today, 40 African
countries maintain diplomatic ties with Israel, and reciprocal visits by
heads of state and government ministers take place frequently. In May
1994, Israel's President Ezer Weizman attended the historic inauguration
of Nelson Mandela as the first black African president of South Africa.
MYTH
"Israel is pursuing a policy of genocide toward the Palestinians that is
comparable to the Nazis' treatment of the Jews."
FACT
This is perhaps the most odious claim made by Israel's detractors. The
Nazis' objective was the systematic extermination of every Jew in
Europe. Israel is seeking peace with its Palestinian neighbors. More
than one million Arabs live as free and equal citizens in Israel. Of the
Palestinians in the territories, 98 percent live under the civil
administration of the Palestinian Authority. While Israel sometimes
employs harsh measures against Palestinians in the territories to
protect Israeli citizens – Jews and non-Jews – from the incessant
campaign of terror waged by the PA and Islamic radicals, there is no
plan to persecute, exterminate, or expel the Palestinian people.
In response to one such comparison, by a poet who referred to the
"Zionist SS," The New Republic's literary editor Leon Wieseltier
observed:
The view that Zionism is Nazism — there is no other way to understand
the phrase “Zionist SS” — is not different in kind from the view that
the moon is cheese. It is not only spectacularly wrong, it is also
spectacularly unintelligent. I will not offend myself (that would be
self-hate speech!) by patiently explaining why the State of Israel is
unlike the Third Reich, except to say that nothing that has befallen the
Palestinians under Israel's control may responsibly be compared to what
befell the Jews under Germany's control, and that a considerable number
of the people who have toiled diligently to find peace and justice for
the Palestinians, and a solution to this savage conflict, have been
Israeli, some of them even Israeli prime ministers. There is no support
for the Palestinian cause this side of decency that can justify the
locution “Zionist SS.”10
The absurdity of the charge is also clear from the demography of the
disputed territories. While detractors make outrageous claims about
Israel committing genocide or ethnic cleansing, the Palestinian
population has continued to explode. In Gaza, for example, the
population increased from 731,000 in July 1994 to 1,324,991 in 2004, an
increase of 81 percent. The growth rate was 3.8 percent, one of the
highest in the world. According to the UN, the total Palestinian
population in all the disputed territories (they include Gaza, the West
Bank, and East Jerusalem) was 1,006,000 in 1950, and rose to 1,094,000
in 1970, and exploded to 2,152,000 in 1990. Anthony Cordesman notes the
increase “was the result of improvements in income and health services”
made by Israel. The Palestinian population has continued to grow
exponentially and was estimated in 2004 at more than 3.6 million.11
MYTH
“Israel’s policies in the territories have caused a humanitarian crisis
for the Palestinians.”
FACT
It is important to remember that Israel offered to withdraw from 97
percent of the West Bank and 100 percent of Gaza, and it is the
rejection of that proposal, coupled with incessant Palestinian
terrorism, that has forced Israeli troops to carry out operations in the
territories. Though these actions have caused hardship for the
Palestinian population, the IDF has continued to ensure that
humanitarian assistance is provided to Palestinians in need. For
example, during just one 48-hour period (January 5-6, 2003), the IDF:
* Coordinated the movement of Palestinians seeking medical care,
assisting 40 to go to hospitals, including four patients from Gaza who
were transferred to Israel for medical treatment.
* Coordinated the movement of 284 Palestinians in the West Bank who were
transferred by ambulance.
* Coordinated the passage of building materials for the construction of
a hospital in Kalkilya.
* Coordinated the passage of humanitarian goods to Bethlehem.
* Coordinated entry of ration cards sent by an international aid
organization to the residents of Azoun.
* Enabled the distribution of ration cards by the Red Cross in Salfit.
* Coordinated the passage of agricultural produce and food between
Muassi and Khan Yunis.
* Coordinated the passage of an UNWRA team in Gaza to aid in the
disposal of rubbish.
* Arranged entry into Kalkilya for an Israeli Arab family from East
Jerusalem to attend their son’s wedding.
Even at the height of military action, such as the operation to clean
out the terrorist nest in the Jenin refugee camp, Israeli forces have
gone out of their way to assist Palestinian non-combatants. In the case
of the Jenin operation, for example, the hospital there was kept running
with a generator delivered under fire by an Israeli officer.12
The best way to improve the situation for the Palestinians in the
territories is for the Palestinian Authority to take the steps laid out
by the Bush Administration — end the violence, reform its institutions,
and elect new leaders — so that peace talks may resume and a settlement
can be negotiated.
MYTH
“Israel’s complaints about Palestinian terrorists hiding among civilians
are just an effort to justify their murder of innocent people.”
FACT
Israel never intentionally targets civilians. Unfortunately, Palestinian
terrorists have purposely tried to hide among the civilian population in
an effort to use the Israeli army's morality against it. The terrorists
themselves do not care about the lives of innocent Palestinians, which
is why they are not hesitant to use them as shields. This behavior is a
violation of international law. Article 51 of the 1977 amendment to the
1949 Geneva Conventions specifically prohibts the use of human shields:
The presence or movements of the civilian population or individual
civilians shall not be used to render certain points or areas immune
from military operations, in particular attempts to shield military
objects from attacks or to shield, favor or impede military
operations.13
Thus, the Palestinian terrorists are ultimately responsible for
noncombatants who are inadvertently killed or wounded as a result of the
terrorists' practice of hiding among civilians to use them as shields.
MYTH
“Israel demolishes homes in the Rafah refugee camp as part of its
campaign to oppress the Palestinians.”
FACT
Israel has engaged in military operations, including the demolition of
homes, in the Rafah refugee camp, in an effort to curtail Palestinian
smuggling operations. Rafah is a city in the Gaza Strip that is divided
by the border with Egypt. Palestinians began building tunnels in the
area in 1982 to smuggle various items under the Israel-Egypt border
fence. Since 1994, when Israel turned the area over to its control, the
Palestinian Authority (PA) has been responsible for security in the
area. While the PA initially worked to stop the construction of tunnels,
it now actively supports the smugglers.
To avoid detection of the tunnels, the Palestinians build them in
civilian homes. In 2002, the IDF discovered 33 tunnels and, through
mid-October 2003, another 36 were found.
The smugglers bring goods such as cigarettes, automobile parts,
clothing, drugs, electronics, and foreign currency purchased or stolen
in Egypt for resale in the Gaza Strip. Of even greater concern to Israel
is the smuggling of terrorists and weapons such as rocket-propelled
grenades and launchers, rifles, explosives, and ammunition, which often
make their way to the West Bank.
Large-scale Israeli operations against the tunnels coincided with
intelligence reports that the Palestinians were attempting to smuggle
more sophisticated weapons such as Katyusha rockets, which could hit
Israeli cities, and Stinger missiles, which could shoot down Israeli
civilian and military aircraft. These weapons are being brought in to
support the terrorist operations of groups such as Hamas and the PFLP
(with the help of Iran), as well as to arm PA security services.
Smuggling operations have intensified in the last three years as Israel
has blocked other smuggling routes, and as the Palestinians have
escalated their violent campaign against Israel. The reason that the
homes of Palestinians are demolished by Israel is that they are used to
conceal the tunnels connecting Gaza and Egypt. Many Palestinians in
Rafah are impoverished and find involvement in the smuggling operations
an opportunity to improve their economic situation because they are paid
well to excavate the tunnels, transfer goods, and allow their homes to
be used to hide the tunnels.
The PA has given Palestinians an even greater incentive to participate
in smuggling by offering them alternative housing in the nearby town of
Tel-Sultan if Israel demolishes their homes. Some Palestinians have even
lied about constructing tunnels in the hope that the IDF will demolish
their homes and they can get nicer ones from the PA.
MYTH
“Yasser Arafat is directing the Palestinian Authority’s resources to the
health and welfare of the Palestinian people.”
FACT
One of the principal reasons for the suffering of the Palestinian people
is the failure of the Palestinian Authority (PA) to allocate the
billions of dollars in international aid it has received for the health
and welfare of the population. The corruption in the PA has been
extensively documented by both Palestinians and external reviewers such
as the International Monetary Fund, but even setting this important
problem aside, an examination of PA spending shows that a
disproportionate share of the budget is being spent on the president
rather than the public.
In fact, there have been months in which President Yasser Arafat’s
office received nearly as much money as the departments of health and
social services combined.14 In the first half of 2003, Arafat’s office
was allocated 137 million shekels while the total budget for social
affairs was 95 million shekels and for health 185 million shekels.
All parties recognize that a key to peace is fostering prosperity in the
PA and improving the living conditions of the Palestinian people. Israel
has an important role to play in both areas, but the welfare of the
majority of Palestinians is in the hands of the PA, and their present
living conditions, as well as their future in an independent state,
depend on the commitment of their leaders to improve their society
rather than simply enrich themselves.
MYTH
“Israel is a theocracy and should not be a Jewish State.”
FACT
It often makes people uncomfortable to refer to Israel as “the Jewish
State” because it suggests a theocracy and, therefore, the demise of
Israel as a Jewish state is viewed by some people (even in Israel) as a
positive development. Israel is not a theocracy; however, it is governed
by the rule of law as drafted by a democratically elected parliament. It
is informed by Jewish values and adheres to many Jewish religious
customs (such as holidays), but this is similar to the United States and
other nations that are shaped by the Judeo-Christian heritage and also
have expressly religious elements (e.g., church-state separation in the
U.S. does not preclude the recognition of Christmas as a holiday).
Israel has no state religion, and all faiths enjoy freedom of worship,
yet it is attacked for its Jewish character, whereas the Arab states
that all have Islam as their official religion are regarded as
legitimate.
The Jewish people are a nation with a shared origin, religion, culture,
language, and history. And why shouldn’t the Jewish people have a state?
No one suggests that Arabs are not entitled to a nation (and they have
not one, but twenty-one) of their own or Swedes or Germans, or that
Catholics are not entitled to a state (Vatican City) headed by a
theocrat (the Pope). To suggest that Zionism, the nationalist movement
of the Jewish people, is the only form of nationalism that is
illegitimate is pure bigotry. It is especially ironic that the Jewish
nation should be challenged given that Jewish statehood preceded the
emergence of most modern nation-states by thousands of years.
It is also not unusual that one community should be the majority within
a nation and seek to maintain that status. In fact, this is true in
nearly every country in the world. Moreover, societies usually reflect
the cultural identity of the majority. India and Pakistan were
established at the same time as Israel through a violent partition, but
no one believes these nations are illegitimate because one is
predominantly Hindu and the other has a Muslim majority, or that these
nations shouldn’t be influenced by those communities (e.g., that cows in
India should not be treated as sacred).
In the United States, a vigorous debate persists over the boundaries
between church and state. Similar discussions regarding “synagogue and
state” are ongoing in Israel, with philosophical disagreements over
whether Israel can be a Jewish and a democratic state, and practical
arguments over Sabbath observance, marriage and divorce laws, and
budgets for religious institutions. Nevertheless, most Jews take for
granted that Israel is, and must remain, a Jewish state. Arab citizens
also understand that Israel is a Jewish state and, while they might
prefer that it was not, they have still chosen to live there (nothing
prevents Arabs from moving to any of the 180-odd non-Jewish states in
the world). Both Jews and Arabs realize that if Jews cease to be a
majority in Israel, Israel will no longer have a Jewish character or
serve as a haven for persecuted Jews, and that is one of the elements
underlying peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians.
MYTH
“Israeli textbooks are just as bad as those in the Palestinian
Authority, filled with stereotypes, historical inaccuracies, and a
failure to acknowledge alternative political views.”
FACT
More than 20 years ago, it was true that some Israeli textbooks used
stereotyped images of Arabs; however, the books in use in public schools
today are very different.15
Israeli texts go out of their way to avoid prejudices and to guard
against generalizations. In one seventh grade lesson, students are given
the following problem:
"Many people think: The dove is a bird that pursues peace. This belief
is incorrect; it is a prejudice: people believe it without checking it.
There are a lot of prejudices. For example:
1.The Jews control the world and exploit all those who live in it.
2.The blacks are inferior; they are incapable of being scientists.
3.The Arabs only understand the language of force...
Be ready to explain orally why these are prejudices." (I Understand,
1993, p.259)
In an elementary textbook on reading comprehension, students read how a
Jewish girl was saved by an Arab woman. The book notes, “The Arabs are
like the Jews. … There are nasty people among them and there are decent
people and … they should not be labeled” (What is the Interpretation?
Comprehension B, pp. 184-188).
Contrary to suggestions that Israelis do not accept the idea that
Palestinians are a people, Israeli textbooks explain the origins of
Palestinian nationalism. For example, a 9th grade text observes that
“during the 1930's, Arab nationalist movements evolved all over the
Middle East. Many of the Arabs of Eretz Yisrael also began formulating a
national consciousness — in other words, the perception that they are
not just part of the larger Arab nation, but are also Palestinians” (The
Twentieth Century - On the Threshold of Tomorrow, Grade 9, 1999, p.44).
While Palestinian texts omit references to Jewish contributions to the
world, the Israeli books recognize the achievements of Arabs and
Muslims. One text highlights the Arab role as creators of culture:
“...they were the first to discover the existence of infectious
diseases. They were also the first to build public hospitals. Because of
their considerable contribution to various scientific fields, there are
disciplines that to this day are called by their Arabic names, such as
algebra.” Islam’s contributions are also acknowledged in the same
passage: “The Islamic religion also influenced the development of
culture. The obligation to pray in the direction of Mecca led to the
development of astronomy, which helped identify the direction according
to the heavenly bodies. The duty to make a pilgrimage developed
geography and gave a push to the writing of travel books. These books,
and the Arabs' high capability in map drawing, helped develop trade. To
this day, merchants use Arabic words, such as bazaar, check and tariff”
(From Generation to Generation, Vol. b, 1994, p. 220)
Palestinian textbooks also negate the Jewish connection to the Holy Land
while Israeli texts show respect for the Arab/Muslim attachment to the
land. “The Land of Israel in general, and Jerusalem in particular, have
been sanctified more and more in Islamic thought — as Islam has
developed and spread, both religiously and geographically. As Islam
absorbed more and more of the world conquered by it, so it adapted and
Islamized the values that it absorbed, including the holiness of the
Land of Israel, its flora and its water, living in it, the sanctity of
being buried in it and the like. All these became from that time onwards
part of orthodox Islam” (H. Peleg, G. Zohar, This is the Land -
Introduction to Land of Israel Studies for the Upper Grades, 2000, pp.
161-162.)
Israeli textbooks contain a plurality of views, including those that
conflict with conventional research and are critical of Israeli
policies. Controversial topics, such as the disputed territories, the
refugee issue, and the status of Israeli Arabs are covered from multiple
viewpoints. For example, one book quotes historian Benny Morris’s
unconventional position attributing the flight of Palestinians in
1947-1948 more to the actions of Jewish forces than the instructions of
the leaders of Arab countries (From Exile to Independence - The History
of the Jewish People in Recent Generations, vol. 2, 1990, p. 312).
The Arab point of view is also represented. For example, a history text
notes how Israel’s government treated Anwar Sadat’s 1971 peace proposal
“with scorn out of the feeling of power and superiority that had taken
hold of Israeli society following the Six Day War. After his proposal
had been rejected and the political stalemate continued, Sadat decided
to go to war” (K. Tabibian, Journey to the Past - The Twentieth Century,
By Dint of Freedom, 1999, p. 313).
Israeli texts also use simulation games to help students understand
different perspectives on an issue. In one, students are told to divide
into groups representing Jewish and Palestinian journalists and prepare
a report on the discussion in the United Nations leading to the
partition resolution. Students are then asked to discuss the differences
between the reports of the Jewish and Palestinian journalists (K.
Tabibian, Journey To The Past - The Twentieth Century, By Dint of
Freedom, 1999, p. 294).
Israel is not perfect and exceptions do exist. Some generalizations and
patronizing terminology are found in textbooks used in the
ultra-Orthodox schools. These schools comprise less than 10 percent of
the Israeli educational system, and the same Israeli watchdog
organizations that have pointed out problems in Palestinian textbooks
have also publicized the need to remove the handful of inappropriate
references from school books in this system.16
MYTH
“Israel poisoned Yasser Arafat.”
FACT
Farouk Kaddoumi claimed that Israel poisoned Yasser Arafat because it
wants Palestinian leaders who obey it and agree with its policies.17
This was just the most recent of a number of such allegations that have
persisted since Arafat’s death.
We don’t know for sure what killed Arafat because none of his medical
records have been publicly released, but even then Foreign Minister
Nabil Shaath ruled out poisoning.18 At the time of his death, the French
government, constrained by privacy laws, discounted the possibility of
foul play when it announced, “If the doctors had had the slightest
doubt, they would have referred it to the police.”19 Moreover, members
of Arafat’s family, including ones who have made the poisoning charge,
have had access to the records and produced nothing to substantiate the
rumors. Arafat’s wife, Suha, could have released the findings of French
physicians, and you can be sure she would have done so if they would
have implicated Israel in her husband’s death.
It was well-known that Arafat suffered from a number of ailments. At the
time of his medical evacuation to Paris, his aides revealed that he was
suffering from a low platelet count and had undergone a platelet
transfusion. Reporter Elisabeth Rosenthal noted that “since platelets
are involved in blood clotting, patients with low platelet counts are
predisposed to brain hemorrhages, and this may have contributed to
Arafat’s death.” Rosenthal added that “low platelet counts in the blood
are a common finding in a wide range of illnesses, including severe
infections, liver disease, end-stage cancer, and even AIDS.”20
Why has the cause of Arafat’s death remained secret? Rosenthal suggests
a few possible explanations. “Perhaps he suffered from a disease that
they considered embarrassing. Or perhaps the doctors who treated him
during the early phases of his illness in Ramallah missed a treatable
medical condition, letting him deteriorate to the point it was too late
to cure him once he was moved to Paris.”
The first explanation may be the most likely, as it is widely believed
that Arafat died of AIDS. Suggestions that Arafat engaged in homosexual
activity date to at least 1987, when Ion Pacepa, the deputy chief of
Romania’s intelligence service under Communist dictator Nicolae
Ceausescu, published his book Red Horizons, revealing evidence of
Arafat’s proclivities.
If Arafat died of AIDS, it is unlikely Arafat’s records will ever be
released, which will allow conspiracy theorists to continue to blame
Israel.
MYTH
“Israel is persecuting Christians.”
FACT
While Christians are unwelcome in Islamic states such as Saudi Arabia,
and most have been driven out of their longtime homes in Lebanon,
Christians continue to be welcome in Israel. Christians have always been
a minority in Israel, but it is the only Middle East nation where the
Christian population has grown in the last half century (from 34,000 in
1948 to 140,000 today), in large measure because of the freedom to
practice their religion.
By their own volition, the Christian communities have remained the most
autonomous of the various religious communities in Israel, though they
have increasingly chosen to integrate their social welfare, medical and
educational institutions into state structures. The ecclesiastical
courts of the Christian communities maintain jurisdiction in matters of
personal status, such as marriage and divorce. The Ministry of Religious
Affairs deliberately refrains from interfering in their religious life,
but maintains a Department for Christian Communities to address problems
and requests that may arise.
In Jerusalem, the rights of the various Christian churches to custody of
the Christian holy places were established during the Ottoman Empire.
Known as the “status quo arrangement for the Christian holy places in
Jerusalem,” these rights remain in force today in Israel.
It was during Jordan's control of the Old City from 1948 until 1967 that
Christian rights were infringed and Israeli Christians were barred from
their holy places. The Christian population declined by nearly half,
from 25,000 to 12,646. Since then, the population has slowly been
growing.
Some Christians have been among those inconvenienced by Israel's
construction of the security fence, but they have not been harmed
because of their religious beliefs. They simply live in areas where the
fence is being built. Like others who can show they have suffered some
damage, Christians are entitled to compensation. And the fence does not
have any impact on Christian holy places or their freedom of access to
them.
Suggestions that Israel is persecuting Christians were publicized by
columnist Bob Novak, who has a long history of vitriolic attacks on
Israel. Novak actually presented no specific evidence that any
Christians have been harmed or their religious freedom infringed.21 He
cited a single source, whose bias was obvious, to support the charge
that the fence is hurting Christians in East Jerusalem, but failed to
mention that the fence is helping to save Christian lives that might
otherwise be lost in the indiscriminate attacks of Palestinian
terrorists.
The hypocrisy of Novak's latest critique is clear from his failure to
raise the very real concerns about the fate of Christians under Arab
rule, especially under the Palestinian Authority, where a rapidly
declining population of 27,000 Christians live among 3 million Muslims.
The proportion of Christians in the Palestinian territories has dropped
from 15 percent of the Arab population in 1950 to less than 1 percent
today. Three-fourths of all Bethlehem Christians now live abroad, and
the majority of the city’s population is Muslim. The Christian
population declined 29 percent in the West Bank and 20 percent in the
Gaza Strip from 1997 to 2002. By contrast, in the period 1995–2003,
Israel’s Arab Christian population grew 14.1 percent.22
Jonathan Adelman and Agota Kuperman noted that Yasser Arafat “tried to
erase the historic Jesus by depicting him as the first radical
Palestinian armed fedayeen (guerrilla). Meanwhile, the Palestinian
Authority has adopted Islam as its official religion, used shari’a
Islamic codes, and allowed even officially appointed clerics to brand
Christians (and Jews) as infidels in their mosques.” The authors add
that the “militantly Islamic rhetoric and terrorist acts of Hamas,
Islamic Jihad, and Hezbollah...offer little comfort to Christians.”
David Raab observed that “Palestinian Christians are perceived by many
Muslims — as were Lebanon's Christians — as a potential fifth column for
Israel. In fact, at the start of the recent violence in 2000, Muslim
Palestinians attacked Christians in Gaza.” Raab also wrote that
“anti-Christian graffiti is not uncommon in Bethlehem and neighboring
Beit Sahur, proclaiming: ‘First the Saturday people (the Jews), then the
Sunday people (the Christians),’” and that “Christian cemeteries have
been defaced, monasteries have had their telephone lines cut, and there
have been break-ins at convents.”
When Arafat died, Vatican Radio correspondent Graziano Motta said, “The
death of the president of the Palestinian National Authority has come at
a time when the political, administrative and police structures often
discriminate against [Christians].” Motta added that Christians “have
been continually exposed to pressures by Muslim activists, and have been
forced to profess fidelity to the intifada.”
While Novak suggests Israel is bulldozing Christian houses, without any
evidence to support the charge, he ignores reports by journalists such
as Motta who reported, “Frequently, there are cases in which the Muslims
expropriate houses and lands belonging to Catholics, and often the
intervention of the authorities has been lacking in addressing acts of
violence against young women, or offenses against the Christian
faith.”23
It certainly wouldn’t be difficult for Novak to find evidence of
mistreatment of Christians in the PA if he were interested, but unlike
Christians who enjoy freedom of speech as well as religion in Israel,
beleaguered Palestinian Christians are afraid to speak out. “Out of fear
for their safety, Christian spokesmen aren’t happy to be identified by
name when they complain about the Muslims’ treatment of them...off the
record they talk of harassment and terror tactics, mainly from the gangs
of thugs who looted and plundered Christians and their property, under
the protection of Palestinian security personnel.”24
MYTH
“Israel is killing Palestinians with radiation spy machines.”
FACT
Nazi propaganda chief Joseph Goebbels was the master of the “big lie”
tactic in which a lie, no matter how outrageous, is repeated often
enough that it will eventually be accepted as truth. It is a propaganda
tool the Palestinians have repeatedly tried to use to tar Israel. Past
examples have included specious claims that Israel “massacred” 500
people at Jenin,25 infects Palestinians with the AIDS virus,26 and drops
poison candy for children in Gaza from airplanes.27
The latest calumny from the Palestinians is the claim that Israel is
using a “radial spy machine” at checkpoints, and that the device killed
a 55-year-old Palestinian woman.28The charge is apparently related to
the Palestinian Authority’s decision to close a checkpoint on their side
of the border in Gaza to protest Israel’s use of advanced radio-wave
machines for searching Palestinian travelers.29
The device is the SafeView Millimeter Wave Radar, an American-made
portal system that uses a safe millimeter wave holographic technology to
screen travelers from Egypt for weapons and explosives. Unlike metal
detectors, this system is capable of detecting virtually any man-made
object, regardless of the type of material, by transmitting ultra-high
frequency, low-powered radio frequency waves as people pass through the
portal. The waves penetrate clothing and reflect off of the person’s
skin and any items being carried. A sensor array captures the reflected
waves and uses a desktop computer to analyze the information and produce
a high-resolution, 3-D image from the signals.30
Since the allegation is coming from the official Palestinian media, it
represents a violation of the Palestinian Authority’s commitment to end
incitement against Israel.
MYTH
“Palestinians living under ‘occupation’ have the lowest standard of
living in the Middle East.”
FACT
When Israel captured the West Bank and Gaza Strip in 1967, officials
took measures to improve the conditions that Palestinians had lived
under during Jordan’s 19-year occupation of the West Bank, and Egypt’s
occupation of Gaza. Universities were opened, Israeli agricultural
innovations were shared, modern conveniences were introduced, and health
care was significantly upgraded. More than 100,000 Palestinians were
employed in Israel, and were paid the same wages as Israeli workers,
which stimulated economic growth.
The rise in violence during the 1990s, and then the war instigated by
Palestinian terrorists beginning in 2000, has taken a heavy toll on the
Palestinian economy. To protect its citizens from suicide bombers and
other terrorists, Israel was forced to take measures that had a
deleterious impact on the economy in the Palestinian Authority. The most
serious step was to limit the number of Palestinian workers entering
Israel to reduce the risk of terrorists pretending to be workers
slipping into the country. This raised the level of unemployment, which,
in turn, had a negative spillover effect on the rest of the Palestinian
economy.
Despite the collapse of the PA economy from the last five years of war,
Palestinian Arabs are still better off than many of their neighbors. The
most recent Human Development Report from the United Nations ranks the
PA 102nd in terms of life expectancy, educational attainment and
adjusted real income out of the 177 countries and territories in the
world, placing it in the “medium human development” category along with
most of the other Middle Eastern states (only the Gulf sheikdoms are
ranked “high”). The PA is ranked just 12 places below Jordan and one
behind Iran; it is rated ahead of Syria (#105), Algeria (#108), Egypt
(#120), and Morocco (#125).31
Few Palestinians would trade places with Arabs in neighboring countries.
Well, perhaps, with one exception. They might aspire to the standard of
living in the country ranked 22nd by the UN – Israel.
MYTH
“Israeli checkpoints are unnecessarily preventing Palestinians from
receiving medical attention.”
FACT
Israel has instituted checkpoints for one reason – to prevent
Palestinian terrorists from infiltrating Israel. If the Palestinian
Authority was fulfilling its road map obligations to dismantle the
terrorist networks and disarm the terrorists, and its security forces
were taking adequate measures to prevent Palestinians from planning and
launching attacks, the checkpoints would be unnecessary.
Israel tries to balance its security concerns with the welfare of the
Palestinians, and is especially sensitive to the medical needs of
Palestinians. Thus, many Palestinians are allowed to enter Israel to
receive treatment from some of the finest medical facilities in the
world.
Unfortunately, Palestinian terrorists have tried to take advantage of
Israel’s goodwill. In December 2004, for example, a Hamas agent with
forged documents claiming that he was a cancer patient in need of
medical treatment from an Israeli hospital was arrested by security
forces. Hamed A-Karim Hamed Abu Lihiya was to meet up with another
terrorist, obtain weapons from allies inside Israel, and carry out an
attack. That same month, a man recruited by the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade
to plant a bomb on the railway tracks near Netanya tried to use false
papers indicating he needed hospital treatment to enter Israel. Another
Hamas terrorist planning a suicide bombing was arrested in March 2005
after pretending to be a kidney donor.32
On June 20, 2005, 21-year-old Wafa Samir Ibrahim Bas was arrested
attempting to smuggle an explosives belt through the Erez crossing. Bas
aroused the suspicion of soldiers at the checkpoint when a biometric
scanner revealed she was hiding explosives. When she realized they had
discovered the explosive belt, she attempted unsuccessfully to detonate
it.33
Bas had been admitted on humanitarian grounds to Soroka Medical Center
in Beersheva several months earlier for treatment of massive burns she
received as a result of a cooking accident. After her arrest, she
admitted that the Fatah al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade had instructed her to
use her personal medical authorization documents to enter into Israel to
carry out a suicide attack. In an interview shown on Israeli television,
Bas said her “dream was to be a martyr” and that her intent was to kill
40 or 50 people – as many young people as possible.
Nevertheless, Dr. Izzeldin Abuelaish, a Palestinian obstetrician and
gynecologist from the Jabalya refugee camp in the Gaza Strip, who has
worked at the Soroka Hospital, wrote that he was “outraged at the
cynical and potentially deadly suicide bombing attempt.” Dr. Abuelaish
said he does research at the hospital's Genetic Institute and has warm
relations with his colleagues. “I make a point, whenever I'm at the
hospital, of visiting Palestinian patients,” he said. “I also schedule
appointments for other Gaza residents, and even bring medication from
Soroka to needy patients in the Strip....On the very day that she
planned to detonate her bomb, two Palestinians in critical condition
were waiting in Gaza to be taken for urgent treatment at Soroka ”
Dr. Abuelaish added, “Wafa was sent to kill the very people in Israel
who are healing Palestinians from the Gaza Strip and West Bank. What if
Israeli hospitals now decide to bar Palestinians seeking treatment? How
would those who sent Bis feel if their own relatives, in need of medical
care in Israel, are refused treatment?”34
The Israeli checkpoint saved the lives not only of countless Israelis,
but of the Palestinian would-be suicide bomber. By using this tactic,
the Palestinians have reinforced the necessity of retaining the
checkpoints and forced Israel to carry out more stringent inspections,
yet another example of how terrorists are making life unnecessarily
difficult for innocent Palestinians.
“Israeli hospitals extend humanitarian treatment to Palestinians from
the Gaza Strip and West Bank. These efforts continued when all other
cooperation between Palestinians and Israelis came to a halt during the
most recent intifada.”
— Palestinian obstetrician and gynecologist Dr. Izzeldin Abuelaish35
MYTH
“The Palestinian Authority protects Jewish holy sites.”
FACT
Less than 24 hours after the last IDF soldier withdrew from the Gaza
Strip, Palestinian Authority (PA) bulldozers began to raze synagogues
that were left behind by Jewish residents. Thousands of Palestinians
also stormed the former Gaza settlements and set fire to several
synagogues and yeshivot while PA security forces stood and watched.
Several Palestinians belonging to terrorist groups climbed the roofs of
synagogues and placed green flags on top while other members inside set
fire to the buildings and looted items that the Jews left behind.36
The desecration of these Jewish holy places in Gaza came after Israel
decided not dismantle the synagogues there. Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz
stated, “It would be a historic Jewish mistake to destroy the
synagogues.”37
The decision to keep the 19 synagogues and yeshivot in Gaza and the
evacuated northern Samaria settlements standing passed in the cabinet by
a vote of 14-2. United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan was told by
Israel that since the disengagement plan was implemented, the “PA now
had the moral responsibility to protect the synagogues as places with
religious significance.”38 Earlier in the week, Ministry of Defense
workers placed signs that read “Holy Place” in Arabic and English on
synagogue walls throughout Gaza so the Palestinians would know not to
destroy them.39
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas defended the razing of
Gaza synagogues by simply claiming, “There are no synagogues here.”
Abbas said the buildings that were formally synagogues were now emptied
and in danger of collapsing, and must be demolished to build homes for
thousands of Palestinians.40 The PA maintained that the synagogues were
symbols of Israeli occupation, and boycotted the ceremony marking the
handover of Gaza to the Palestinians in protest of Israel's decision to
leave the synagogues intact.41
This was not the first instance when the PA has failed to protect Jewish
holy places:
* In Septemer 1996, Palestinian rioters destroyed a synagogue at
Joseph's Tomb in Nablus.
* Rachel's Tomb near Bethlehem has been repeatedly attacked since 1996.
* In October 2000, Joseph's Tomb was torched after the Israeli garrison
guarding it was temporarily withdrawn. It was subsequently rebuilt as a
mosque.
* Also in October 2000, the ancient synagogue in Jericho was destroyed
by arson and a second historic synagogue was damaged.
PA textbooks continue to teach young Palestinians that Jews have no
connection to the Land of Israel and to disparage Judaism, so it should
not be surprising that Jewish institutions are not shown respect. This
is one reason why Israel is reluctant to make any compromises regarding
Jerusalem that might allow Palestinians to threaten the sanctity of the
shrines of any religion.
Notes
1Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics.
2Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics.
2aAlan Dershowitz, The Case for Israel. (NY: John Wiley & Sons, 2003),
p. 157.
3Speech to AIPAC Policy Conference, (May 23, 1989).
4Newsview, (March 23, 1982).
5El-Wahda, (Abu Dhabi).
5a"Water Resource Development," USAID West Bank and Gaza
5bHaaretz, (September 23, 2003).
6Shabtai Teveth, Ben-Gurion and the Palestinian Arabs: From Peace to
War, (London: Oxford University Press, 1985), p. 140.
6aJames Bennet, “Letter from the Middle East; Arab Showplace? Could It
Be the West Bank?” New York Times, (April 2, 2003).
7Golda Meir, My Life, (NY: Dell Publishing Co., 1975), pp. 308-309.
8Moshe Decter, To Serve. To Teach. To Leave. The Study of Israel's
Development Assistance Program in Black Africa, (NY: American Jewish
Congress, 1977), pp. 7-8.
9Meir, p. 306.
10The New Republic, (December 30, 2002).
11Anthony Cordesman, "From Peace to War: Land for Peace or Settlements
for War," (DC: Center for Strategic and International Studies, August
15, 2003), pp. 12-13.
12Jerusalem Report, (December 20, 2002).
13Washington Times, (February 20, 2003).
14See, for example, August 2003, Palestinian National Authority Ministry
of Finance.
15See, for example, Center for Monitoring the Impact on Peace,
Newsletter, (December 2003 and February 2004).
16Center for Monitoring the Impact on Peace, Newsletter, (February
2004).
17Khaled Abu Toameh, “Kaddoumi claims Israel poisoned Arafat,” Jerusalem
Post, (March 30, 2005).
18Associated Press, (November 17, 2004).
19John Ward Anderson, “Conspiracy Theories Persist on Arafat's Death, ”
Washington Post, (November 18, 2004), p. A36.
20Elisabeth Rosenthal, “Secrecy surrounds diagnosis,” International
Herald Tribune, (November 12, 2004).
21Bob Novak, “Hyde fights for overlooked Christians,” Chicago Sun-Times,
(April 18, 2005).
22Alex Safian, “New York Times Omits Major Reason Christians are Leaving
Bethlehem,” (December 24, 2004), CAMERA.
23“Christians in Palestine Concerned About their future Zenit,” Zenit
News Agency, (November 14, 2004).
24Hanan Shlein, Ma'ariv, (December 24, 2001).
25CNN, (April 17, 2002).
26Al-Hayat Al-Jadeeda, (May 15, 1997).
27Jerusalem Post, (May 23, 2001).
28Palestine News Agency WAFA, (April 28, 2005).
29Al-Quds, (April 27, 2005).
30Endwave Corporation and SafeView, Inc.
31“Human Development Report 2004,” United Nations Development Programme,
2005.
32Jerusalem Post, (June 20, 2005).
33Jerusalem Post, (June 20, 2005); BBC, (June 21, 2005).
34Jerusalem Post, (June 24, 2005).
35Jerusalem Post, (June 24, 2005).
36“PA bulldozers begin razing remaining Gaza synagogues,” Jerusalem
Post, (September 12, 2005).
37Herb Keinon, “Cabinet votes not to dismantle Gaza synagogues,”
Jerusalem Post, (September 12, 2005).
38Herb Keinon, “Cabinet votes not to dismantle Gaza synagogues,”
Jerusalem Post, (September 12, 2005).
39Yoav Stern, “PA to raze synagogues, spokesman says,” Ha’aretz,
(September 12, 2005).
40Khaled Abu Toameh, “PA, Hamas defend synagogue razing,” Jerusalem
Post, (September 12, 2005).
41“PA bulldozers begin razing remaining Gaza synagogues,” Jerusalem
Post, (September 12, 2005).
From:
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/myths/mf18.html
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