I have been contemplating the world lately. Looking at different countries and listening to their leaders, their news, current events, and searching for the "little items" on the back pages of the media outlets that really tell the truth.
Following are a few of the items I have found that I feel are worth sharing.
One news item from JTA reports that 7,000 French Jews signed a petition and sent it to the US Congress requesting political asylum in the US due to fear of religious persecution in France following the racial murder of a young Jew.
http://jta.org/news/article/2007/03/20/100725/Frenchpetition
Spain currently reports that 46% of it's population hold negative opinions of Jews. That figure more than doubles the 21% reported in 2005. Focus that 46% against the 37% who think favorably of Jews and it explains why the 12,000 Jews living in Spain are very quiet about their faith and heritage. It also explains why you have to contact someone in the community before they will tell you where the synagogue is, a building with no address listed and no outward markings to show what it is.
http://pajamasmedia.com/blog/spains-jewish-problem/
Of course, anyone who listens to the BBC can have no doubt of the political mood towards Israel from that front. Perhaps I think, many people confuse the idea that anti-Israel bias may not be the same as anti-semitism. But if the two are unrelated then it makes it difficult to explain the report that anti-Semitism is on the rise as of 2009, averaging 7 events per day in England.
http://www.familysecuritymatters.org/publications/id.2546/pub_detail.asp
In Germany, there are two recognized neo-Nazi poltitical parties. The NPD and the HDJ. Although the HDJ was recently "banned" many in the country feel that the move was only a bandaid on a flooding dike. Germany plans to attend the Durban II conference, which many nations (including the US and Israel) have rejected for it's anti-semetic stance. The Muslim community in Germany is growing, while not all German Muslims are radical, there are certainly centers that preach that "the Jews are the Enemy of Allah" deserving of death. Germany's Catholics have had their struggles recently with anti-semitism also. I've attached several links supporting all of this.
http://news.scotsman.com/world/Germany39s-Jews-claim-fight-against.5163090.jp
http://www.eurojewcong.org/ejc/news.php?id_article=3774
http://www.faithfreedom.org/2009/02/05/the-radical-muslims-of-germany/
http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,605542,00.html
Similar accounts can be found all over Europe, of course Africa, and even Asia.
http://zionism-israel.com/israel_news/2009/03/anti-semitism-in-east-asias-jewish.html
And in the America's
Well Mr. Madoff didn't help us any:
http://www.adl.org/Anti_semitism/financialcrisis.asp
Did we think that Louis Farrakhan would just go away?
http://www.adl.org/PresRele/ASUS_12/5493_81.htm
How about those college campus forums?
http://www.hudsonny.org/2009/03/on-campus-the-pro-palestinians-real-agenda.php
http://octaskforce.wordpress.com/2009/04/23/muslim-student-union-at-uc-irvine-rolls-out-its-carnival-of-haters/
http://www.americanthinker.com/2009/04/we_are_all_antisemites_now.html
I'm sorry for all the links, I hope you can sit down and take some time to read through them all. They are important windows into the mindset of the world.
So what does all this mean? Things seem to be getting really crazy! Many have said that anti-Semitism is the barometer for the world's political climate. When things seem to be getting out of control blame the Jews. It certainly takes the focus off the mistakes of our current and past political leaders (in every nation).
http://www.jcpa.org/phas/phas-26.htm
http://www.thetrumpet.com/index.php?q=6071.0.114.0
But how does this insanity spread?! Simple, ignorance. It's not because there is a lack of accurate information. It is is because too few people access that information. We are in a war, but not one that includes bombs and bullets (though we in Israel are surely familiar with those!) It is a war of words. And the media is the battle front. Any Media, every media. So where we can mount an offensive, present the truth, cause people to read & think, we have an obligation to do so.
Please I ask that each of you search and study and read and share with everyone you know. Find the truth, don't just settle for opinion. There are historical records that support the Jewish past of Israel. There are historical records that support the establishment of the modern day state of Israel, Mediterrean to Jordan. There are historical records that prove the existence of the Holocaust. There are historical records that prove when a society is ignorant genocide is the result.
Israel is so tiny, and yet so bright. All the world is fighting about Israel. It is a remarkably beautiful place. There is something elusively different about it. I haven't met anyone who can accurately describe that difference, but everyone who comes here feels it. Could it be that we really have been touched by the hand of that higher power? I certainly ascribe to that belief. Frankly, there appears to be no other reasonable explanation for why all the world is in a dither over what happens on these 8,522 square miles, when compared to the other 196,991,478 square miles of the planet.
Think about it!
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Where are we now???
Supposedly the war is over. Hamas has declared a ceasefire, but rockets continue to fall in Southern Israel from Gaza, and there has been continued sniper fire that have hurt our dear soldiers.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,486345,00.html
Earlier in the conflict a word coming out of Gaza from Abu Obeida, the leader of Hamas’ military wing, has reported the Islamists would kill Jewish children anywhere in the world in revenge for their own young who have died in the devastating assault.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_east/article5454204.ece
Originally we heard outrageous reports regarding the number of Gazans killed in the conflict.
The reports included more than 1,000 killed including 355 children.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-01/17/content_10673025.htm
But new word is creeping out of Gaza.
An Tal al-Hawa resident told the newspaper's reporter, "Armed Hamas men sought out a good position for provoking the Israelis. There were mostly teenagers, aged 16 or 17, and armed. They couldn't do a thing against a tank or a jet. They knew they are much weaker, but they fired at our houses so that they could blame Israel for war crimes."
"The number of deceased stands at no more than 500 to 600. Most of them are youths between the ages of 17 to 23 who were recruited to the ranks of Hamas, who sent them to the slaughter," according to the newspaper article....
http://www.honestreporting.com/articles/45884734/critiques/new/Gaza_Doctor_Says_Death_Toll_Inflated.asp
And then we have former President Jimmy Carter making inflamitory statements regarding the conflict in an interview on the Today show just last week. He advised that Hamas was justified in it's conflict because Israel was refusing aid to the Gazans. That Hamas is only considered a terrorist group by some, [obviously not himself]. He claims that we should trust Hamas & in his newest book advocates for the release of Marwan Barghouti as a possible partner for peace.
Currently Barghouti is serving 5 consecutive life sentences for the murder of Israeli citizens, and was named as a suspect in the murder of 33 others - though the charges had to be dropped for lack of specific evidence against him. Marwan Barghouti was serving as senior Fatah leader in the West Bank at the time of the murders.
And anyone who is really wanting the facts of the matters regarding the supply of aid to Gaza from Israel, can find that Israel has continually supplied medical aid, food, water and other supplies in spite of the constant rockets coming across the border.
http://outtamymindwithworry.blogspot.com/2009/01/humanitarian-aid-to-gaza-fact-vs.html
Many thanks to the blogger above for her marvelous post and great references!
One wonders why Egypt does not provide aid to their brothers... since they have such a porous border with Gaza.. if arms can flow so freely why cannot aid? In fact - why doesn't the entire Muslim world band together to provide aid that is shuttled thru the Egyptian border. Where is the humanitarian response from that side of the conflict? Doesn't anyone recognize the absurdity that Israel has to provide her enemy with food and aid???!!!!
On the political front here in Israel we are gearing up for national elections. Bibi Netanyahu (Likud) has publicly delared if elected he will do everything in his power to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. http://www.newsmax.com/newsfront/ml_israel_politics/2009/01/31/177143.html
Olmert and Livni (Kadima) who are currently in power have both declared that Israel will continue to retaliate to any new rocket attacks from Gaza - but there has been no response to the continued attacks since the "ceasefire".
Obama is now president of the United States. His repeated rhetoric claims that the reason attempts to reign in Iran's nuclear arms ambitions have failed was because of President Bush's unwillingness to talk directly with Iran. He has proclaimed his desire to sit down at the negotiating table and talk to the terrorist Ahmadinejad. Of course, Ahmadinejad's response has been to call for an official U.S. apology for past U.S. crimes against Iran. I'm not suprised. Obama's policy is seen as a sign of weakness by the Muslim world. How is it he is not savy enough to understand that & I, a lowly Israeli citizen, am???
http://news.theage.com.au/breaking-news-world/ahmadinejad-calls-for-obama-apology-20090129-7s6d.html
So where are we now? In the same place we were before the recent activities in Gaza. We still need to spend our time in prayer.. seeking our G-d and His direction for our lives. We still need to struggle to find the right way between the angry armed response (which I advocate!), and the need for mercy to that Arab family that literally is our next door neighbor, not involved in the conflight & embarrased by the lies their brothers tell. We still need to look & listen for the bias in the media, write the authors and editors providing references that prove their error (thank you HonestReporting.com and CAMERA for your continued work!)
http://www.honestreporting.com/
http://www.camera.org/
We still need to live with emunah and kavana here in the Land, and encourage our brothers and sisters in Galut to join us.
Some would say that I live my life with rose colored glasses on. I hope by reading this post they will see that I have a very clear view of what is going on in the world. I love my life in Israel. Each and every morning I look out at my beautiful view and thank HaShem that I am here. I am working and living in the land, raising my sons with the understanding that they too will serve in the army. I love Israel and I have put my life where my words are. Life is serious here, life is full here, life has real meaning here. Life is precious here.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,486345,00.html
Earlier in the conflict a word coming out of Gaza from Abu Obeida, the leader of Hamas’ military wing, has reported the Islamists would kill Jewish children anywhere in the world in revenge for their own young who have died in the devastating assault.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_east/article5454204.ece
Originally we heard outrageous reports regarding the number of Gazans killed in the conflict.
The reports included more than 1,000 killed including 355 children.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-01/17/content_10673025.htm
But new word is creeping out of Gaza.
An Tal al-Hawa resident told the newspaper's reporter, "Armed Hamas men sought out a good position for provoking the Israelis. There were mostly teenagers, aged 16 or 17, and armed. They couldn't do a thing against a tank or a jet. They knew they are much weaker, but they fired at our houses so that they could blame Israel for war crimes."
"The number of deceased stands at no more than 500 to 600. Most of them are youths between the ages of 17 to 23 who were recruited to the ranks of Hamas, who sent them to the slaughter," according to the newspaper article....
http://www.honestreporting.com/articles/45884734/critiques/new/Gaza_Doctor_Says_Death_Toll_Inflated.asp
And then we have former President Jimmy Carter making inflamitory statements regarding the conflict in an interview on the Today show just last week. He advised that Hamas was justified in it's conflict because Israel was refusing aid to the Gazans. That Hamas is only considered a terrorist group by some, [obviously not himself]. He claims that we should trust Hamas & in his newest book advocates for the release of Marwan Barghouti as a possible partner for peace.
Currently Barghouti is serving 5 consecutive life sentences for the murder of Israeli citizens, and was named as a suspect in the murder of 33 others - though the charges had to be dropped for lack of specific evidence against him. Marwan Barghouti was serving as senior Fatah leader in the West Bank at the time of the murders.
And anyone who is really wanting the facts of the matters regarding the supply of aid to Gaza from Israel, can find that Israel has continually supplied medical aid, food, water and other supplies in spite of the constant rockets coming across the border.
http://outtamymindwithworry.blogspot.com/2009/01/humanitarian-aid-to-gaza-fact-vs.html
Many thanks to the blogger above for her marvelous post and great references!
One wonders why Egypt does not provide aid to their brothers... since they have such a porous border with Gaza.. if arms can flow so freely why cannot aid? In fact - why doesn't the entire Muslim world band together to provide aid that is shuttled thru the Egyptian border. Where is the humanitarian response from that side of the conflict? Doesn't anyone recognize the absurdity that Israel has to provide her enemy with food and aid???!!!!
On the political front here in Israel we are gearing up for national elections. Bibi Netanyahu (Likud) has publicly delared if elected he will do everything in his power to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. http://www.newsmax.com/newsfront/ml_israel_politics/2009/01/31/177143.html
Olmert and Livni (Kadima) who are currently in power have both declared that Israel will continue to retaliate to any new rocket attacks from Gaza - but there has been no response to the continued attacks since the "ceasefire".
Obama is now president of the United States. His repeated rhetoric claims that the reason attempts to reign in Iran's nuclear arms ambitions have failed was because of President Bush's unwillingness to talk directly with Iran. He has proclaimed his desire to sit down at the negotiating table and talk to the terrorist Ahmadinejad. Of course, Ahmadinejad's response has been to call for an official U.S. apology for past U.S. crimes against Iran. I'm not suprised. Obama's policy is seen as a sign of weakness by the Muslim world. How is it he is not savy enough to understand that & I, a lowly Israeli citizen, am???
http://news.theage.com.au/breaking-news-world/ahmadinejad-calls-for-obama-apology-20090129-7s6d.html
So where are we now? In the same place we were before the recent activities in Gaza. We still need to spend our time in prayer.. seeking our G-d and His direction for our lives. We still need to struggle to find the right way between the angry armed response (which I advocate!), and the need for mercy to that Arab family that literally is our next door neighbor, not involved in the conflight & embarrased by the lies their brothers tell. We still need to look & listen for the bias in the media, write the authors and editors providing references that prove their error (thank you HonestReporting.com and CAMERA for your continued work!)
http://www.honestreporting.com/
http://www.camera.org/
We still need to live with emunah and kavana here in the Land, and encourage our brothers and sisters in Galut to join us.
Some would say that I live my life with rose colored glasses on. I hope by reading this post they will see that I have a very clear view of what is going on in the world. I love my life in Israel. Each and every morning I look out at my beautiful view and thank HaShem that I am here. I am working and living in the land, raising my sons with the understanding that they too will serve in the army. I love Israel and I have put my life where my words are. Life is serious here, life is full here, life has real meaning here. Life is precious here.
Sunday, January 4, 2009
They've been Casting lots of Lead at us!
I am always amazed and frustrated by the amount of MISinformation regarding the war in the Middle East. The basic truth is readily available, but the propaganda engine of participating terrorist regimes is incredibly successful, and readily accepted by the fearful and politically correct Left.
So here is yet another attempt to educate the world, to document accurately the facts from history.
First I will start with the Arab world’s insistence that Jews did not live in Ancient Israel, that they have no historic right to be here. This absurd idea is widely taught and believed in the Arab world. It is found in their textbooks, taught in their mosques. However, there is a massive amount of archeological evidence of Jewish existence in ancient Israel. Here for your perusal is a link to a most recent article regarding the identification of a city supporting the biblical account of King David: http://www.elahfortress.com/page26/page26.html
Found at that dig is the oldest known Hebrew text to date, estimated to be 3,000 years old:
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/10/30/news/ML-Israel-Ancient-Inscription.php
More links :
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Archaeology/hebrewalphabet.html
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Archaeology/kfarkana.html
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Archaeology/templemountgarbage.html
http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/History/Early%20History%20-%20Archaeology/Beit%20Alpha%20-%20An%20Ancient%20Synagogue%20with%20a%20Splendid
http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/History/Early%20History%20-%20Archaeology/Archaeological%20Sites%20in%20Israel%20-%20Gamala-%20Jewish%20Ci
http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/History/Early%20History%20-%20Archaeology/Archaeological%20Sites%20in%20Israel%20-%20Jerusalem-%20Burial
These are just a few websites documenting Jewish habitation in Ancient Israel, hundreds more are easy to find. I challenge anyone to produce even one documentable proof that Jews did not live in this land since the time of Abraham!
The Palestinians also claim that they have been in Israel since ancient times, but what is their proof? Rather than taking their word for it, let’s examine the facts.
There has never been a nation called Palestine. The name Palaestina was a name given to the region by the Roman emperor Hadrian following the crushing of Bar Kochba's revolt in 132-135 in an attempt to suppress Jewish national feelings.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palestine
(please take the time to read & study the timeline and documentation in the above link!)
So do modern day “Palestinians” have a link to the land? They claim to be descendants of the Philistines of the bible:
http://www.bga.nl/en/articles/filist1.html
But are they?
http://www.imninalu.net/myths-Arabs.htm
Since there is documentation that the original Philistines were not Arabs & the modern day Palestinians are, how can they be the same people? If you read the timeline in the above wikipedia link you will see that there never has been any Philistinian/Palestinian government in the land of Israel. The Islamics who ruled under the Ottoman Empire (the former Arab nation in the land) were only one of several conquering nations to reside in Israel for a time. At no time did these Islamics claim to be Philistinian or Palestinian. The Ottoman empire ruled over the land from 1517 to around 1917 when the British Empire took occupation during WWI. (Interestingly enough, modern day Palestinians do not claim to be Ottoman descendants – which would give them an actual historical link to the land.) http://archaeology.about.com/od/oterms/g/ottoman.htm.
The Balfour Declaration of 1917 divided the land between Jew and Arab.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balfour_Declaration_of_1917
The original plan looked like this:
http://focusonjerusalem.com/maproom.html
http://www.npr.org/news/specials/mideast/history/history2.html
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1225199622058
http://www.palestinefacts.org/pf_maps.php
Note there are two maps, the second being published in 1926. Originally all of the British Mandate (1917) was intended to be a Jewish Homeland. But due to Arab pressure 75% of the land was ceded to the Arab people under the name of Transjordan, which is today’s modern state of Jordan.
With the exception of King Faisal in 1919 the British Mandate was rejected by the Arab world community. Tensions were high in the area between the occupying English, Jews and Arabs in the years between 1922 and the end of WWII. Jewish immigration into the land was limited by the English despite the overwhelming need due to the Holocaust. Finally in 1948, England withdrew completely from the land. The UN voted to support Israel as a modern state, and the modern war began.
Before we discuss the war, let’s take a look at the basic geography. Modern day Israel (2008) has a land mass of 8,522 square miles (about the size of the state of New Jersey at 8,729 square miles) with a population of 7,282,000 – that’s a population density ratio of 854.5.
Here’s a map of the Middle East, Asia and Africa highlighting Islam:
http://www.islam101.com/dawah/muslim_world_map.html
The influence of Islam is growing.
Israel is the ONLY Jewish state in the world. Israel has 21 Islamic recognized neighbors, but the reality is that there are many neighbors where Islam is the controlling religion. I have listed 23 nations below (with their square miles, population and population density):
Israel's Islamic Neighbors Sq Miles Population Density Year Est
Algeria 919,595 33,769,669 36.722 1962
Saudi Arabia 829,996 27,601,038 33.254 1932
Libya 679,359 6,173,579 9.087 1951
Iran 636,372 70,472,846 110.742 1979
Mauritania 397,954 3,069,000 7.712 1960
Egypt 387,048 75,500,662 195.068 1953
Pakistan 340,403 172,800,000 507.634 1956
Afghanistan 251,772 32,728,376 129.992 1919
Yemen 203,849 23,013,376 112.894 1990
Morocco 172,414 1,541,130 8.939 1956
Iraq 169,234 29,267,000 172.938 1932
Malaysia 127,355 27,730,000 217.738 1965
Oman 119,498 2,577,000 21.565 1651
Syria 71,479 19,405,000 271.478 1946
Tunisia 63,170 10,102,000 159.918 1956
Bangladesh 55,559 150,448,340 2707.902 1971
Jordan 45,495 6,198,677 136.250 1946
United Arab Emerites 32,278 4,621,399 43.175 1971
Kuwait 6,880 3,399,637 494.133 1961
Qatar 4,416 1,541,130 348.988 1971
Lebannon 4,035 4,196,453 1040.013 1943
Bahrain 253 1,046,814 4137.605 1971
Maldives 115 350,000 3043.478 1965
TOTAL 5,518,529 707,553,126 128.214
On May 15th 1948, the day after Israel declared itself an Independent Nation State, 5 countries attacked. Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, and Iraq.
1948 Agressors Sq Miles Population Density Year Est
Egypt 387,048 75,500,662 195.068 1922
Iraq 169,234 29,267,000 172.938 1932
Syria 71,479 19,405,000 271.478 1946
Jordan 45,495 6,198,677 136.250 1946
Lebannon 4,035 4,196,453 1040.013 1943
TOTAL 677,291 134,567,792 198.685
(The facts from these tables are easy to verify - just type the country name into your web browser).
It’s quite clear, when you look at the population density figures from the above tables that the “Land for Peace” premise makes absolutely no sense. If you also review the years these modern states were established – with the exception of Oman, every single one of these Islamic states has a 20th Century inception making them no different from Israel regarding appearance on the international stage as a modern entity.
“Occupation”. Where did this term come from in relation to the War in Israel? In 1967 Israel defended itself against 3 aggressors: Egypt, Jordan and Syria. During the war, Israel as the defender, not the aggressor, took the Sinai Desert, the Golan Heights, the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, and East Jerusalem. In 1979 Israel returned the Sinai Desert to Egypt. In 2005 Israel disengaged from the Gaza Strip. In history, there has been no other country required to return land taken in defensive actions. Defensible borders against it’s aggressing neighbors has required that Israel maintain a presence in the so called “occupied” areas. But please note, that the countries these areas were “taken” from (Golan Heights from Syria, West Bank from Jordan, East Jerusalem from Jordan) technically had no more right to the land than Israel did & lost those areas as a result of their unwarranted aggression. Again, there was no “Palestinian Nation” against which Israel aggressed to occupy these areas. Also note that Jordan is not demanding the return of the West Bank or East Jerusalem. The Gaza strip technically never belonged to any country post the British Mandate:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaza_Strip
Since the Gaza disengagement in 2005 there has been a constant barage of rockets into Israel, targeting innocent civilians:
http://www.sderotmedia.com/
"Peace Partners"? The PLO is not a country. It is a terrorist organization. Hamas is not a county. It is a terrorist organization. Gaza is not a country. Where else in the world is any other country expected to negotiate peace in exchange for land with a terrorist organization?
Aid to the Palestinians. What is rarely reported in the media is that any Arab who applies for Israeli citizenship is awarded the same rights and freedoms of any other Israeli citizen. Freedom of religion, freedom of speech, representative government, socialist support in the form of medicine, aid with food, living expenses, and education among other benefits are available. Before the 1st intifada in 1987 180,000 Palestinians held jobs in Israel. As aggression increased against innocent Israeli civilians that number has been greatly reduced. So what is the basis for the claim of Israeli “oppression” against the Palestinians?
There has been an uneasy but steady peace with Jordan and Egypt 1977 and 1994 respectively. Although it should be noted that Hamas manages to access arms through hidden tunnels between Gaza and Egypt.
So what is this war all about? Keeping in mind all the information above, there is not really a clear answer.
Here are some links to review:
PLO charter – note especially points 15, 19, 21 and 22. In light of the fact that it has been established there has never been a nation of “Palestine” what is this based on?!
http://www.iris.org.il/plochart.htm
Hamas Charter – of course the “people of the Scriptures” are Jews and Christians.
http://www.palestinecenter.org/cpap/documents/charter.html
Iran / Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahmoud_Ahmadinejad
Of Course there is always the ADL’s watch on antisemetic political commentary & satire:
http://www.adl.org/main_Arab_World/Financial_Crisis.htm
http://www.adl.org/PresRele/ASaw_14/5245_14.htm
http://www.adl.org/PresRele/ASaw_14/default.htm
http://www.adl.org/main_Arab_World/asam_jul_dec_qatar_2006.htm
The world loves an underdog. And I suppose those who scream the loudest get the most attention. Media the world wide tends to lean in support of this supposed underdog. Unfortunately it appears to be "politically incorrect" to double check the facts. Militant Islam has no problem acknowledging they are embroiled in a religious war with Jewish Israel. When will the rest of the world acknowledge it?
So here is yet another attempt to educate the world, to document accurately the facts from history.
First I will start with the Arab world’s insistence that Jews did not live in Ancient Israel, that they have no historic right to be here. This absurd idea is widely taught and believed in the Arab world. It is found in their textbooks, taught in their mosques. However, there is a massive amount of archeological evidence of Jewish existence in ancient Israel. Here for your perusal is a link to a most recent article regarding the identification of a city supporting the biblical account of King David: http://www.elahfortress.com/page26/page26.html
Found at that dig is the oldest known Hebrew text to date, estimated to be 3,000 years old:
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/10/30/news/ML-Israel-Ancient-Inscription.php
More links :
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Archaeology/hebrewalphabet.html
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Archaeology/kfarkana.html
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Archaeology/templemountgarbage.html
http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/History/Early%20History%20-%20Archaeology/Beit%20Alpha%20-%20An%20Ancient%20Synagogue%20with%20a%20Splendid
http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/History/Early%20History%20-%20Archaeology/Archaeological%20Sites%20in%20Israel%20-%20Gamala-%20Jewish%20Ci
http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/History/Early%20History%20-%20Archaeology/Archaeological%20Sites%20in%20Israel%20-%20Jerusalem-%20Burial
These are just a few websites documenting Jewish habitation in Ancient Israel, hundreds more are easy to find. I challenge anyone to produce even one documentable proof that Jews did not live in this land since the time of Abraham!
The Palestinians also claim that they have been in Israel since ancient times, but what is their proof? Rather than taking their word for it, let’s examine the facts.
There has never been a nation called Palestine. The name Palaestina was a name given to the region by the Roman emperor Hadrian following the crushing of Bar Kochba's revolt in 132-135 in an attempt to suppress Jewish national feelings.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palestine
(please take the time to read & study the timeline and documentation in the above link!)
So do modern day “Palestinians” have a link to the land? They claim to be descendants of the Philistines of the bible:
http://www.bga.nl/en/articles/filist1.html
But are they?
http://www.imninalu.net/myths-Arabs.htm
Since there is documentation that the original Philistines were not Arabs & the modern day Palestinians are, how can they be the same people? If you read the timeline in the above wikipedia link you will see that there never has been any Philistinian/Palestinian government in the land of Israel. The Islamics who ruled under the Ottoman Empire (the former Arab nation in the land) were only one of several conquering nations to reside in Israel for a time. At no time did these Islamics claim to be Philistinian or Palestinian. The Ottoman empire ruled over the land from 1517 to around 1917 when the British Empire took occupation during WWI. (Interestingly enough, modern day Palestinians do not claim to be Ottoman descendants – which would give them an actual historical link to the land.) http://archaeology.about.com/od/oterms/g/ottoman.htm.
The Balfour Declaration of 1917 divided the land between Jew and Arab.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balfour_Declaration_of_1917
The original plan looked like this:
http://focusonjerusalem.com/maproom.html
http://www.npr.org/news/specials/mideast/history/history2.html
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1225199622058
http://www.palestinefacts.org/pf_maps.php
Note there are two maps, the second being published in 1926. Originally all of the British Mandate (1917) was intended to be a Jewish Homeland. But due to Arab pressure 75% of the land was ceded to the Arab people under the name of Transjordan, which is today’s modern state of Jordan.
With the exception of King Faisal in 1919 the British Mandate was rejected by the Arab world community. Tensions were high in the area between the occupying English, Jews and Arabs in the years between 1922 and the end of WWII. Jewish immigration into the land was limited by the English despite the overwhelming need due to the Holocaust. Finally in 1948, England withdrew completely from the land. The UN voted to support Israel as a modern state, and the modern war began.
Before we discuss the war, let’s take a look at the basic geography. Modern day Israel (2008) has a land mass of 8,522 square miles (about the size of the state of New Jersey at 8,729 square miles) with a population of 7,282,000 – that’s a population density ratio of 854.5.
Here’s a map of the Middle East, Asia and Africa highlighting Islam:
http://www.islam101.com/dawah/muslim_world_map.html
The influence of Islam is growing.
Israel is the ONLY Jewish state in the world. Israel has 21 Islamic recognized neighbors, but the reality is that there are many neighbors where Islam is the controlling religion. I have listed 23 nations below (with their square miles, population and population density):
Israel's Islamic Neighbors Sq Miles Population Density Year Est
Algeria 919,595 33,769,669 36.722 1962
Saudi Arabia 829,996 27,601,038 33.254 1932
Libya 679,359 6,173,579 9.087 1951
Iran 636,372 70,472,846 110.742 1979
Mauritania 397,954 3,069,000 7.712 1960
Egypt 387,048 75,500,662 195.068 1953
Pakistan 340,403 172,800,000 507.634 1956
Afghanistan 251,772 32,728,376 129.992 1919
Yemen 203,849 23,013,376 112.894 1990
Morocco 172,414 1,541,130 8.939 1956
Iraq 169,234 29,267,000 172.938 1932
Malaysia 127,355 27,730,000 217.738 1965
Oman 119,498 2,577,000 21.565 1651
Syria 71,479 19,405,000 271.478 1946
Tunisia 63,170 10,102,000 159.918 1956
Bangladesh 55,559 150,448,340 2707.902 1971
Jordan 45,495 6,198,677 136.250 1946
United Arab Emerites 32,278 4,621,399 43.175 1971
Kuwait 6,880 3,399,637 494.133 1961
Qatar 4,416 1,541,130 348.988 1971
Lebannon 4,035 4,196,453 1040.013 1943
Bahrain 253 1,046,814 4137.605 1971
Maldives 115 350,000 3043.478 1965
TOTAL 5,518,529 707,553,126 128.214
On May 15th 1948, the day after Israel declared itself an Independent Nation State, 5 countries attacked. Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, and Iraq.
1948 Agressors Sq Miles Population Density Year Est
Egypt 387,048 75,500,662 195.068 1922
Iraq 169,234 29,267,000 172.938 1932
Syria 71,479 19,405,000 271.478 1946
Jordan 45,495 6,198,677 136.250 1946
Lebannon 4,035 4,196,453 1040.013 1943
TOTAL 677,291 134,567,792 198.685
(The facts from these tables are easy to verify - just type the country name into your web browser).
It’s quite clear, when you look at the population density figures from the above tables that the “Land for Peace” premise makes absolutely no sense. If you also review the years these modern states were established – with the exception of Oman, every single one of these Islamic states has a 20th Century inception making them no different from Israel regarding appearance on the international stage as a modern entity.
“Occupation”. Where did this term come from in relation to the War in Israel? In 1967 Israel defended itself against 3 aggressors: Egypt, Jordan and Syria. During the war, Israel as the defender, not the aggressor, took the Sinai Desert, the Golan Heights, the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, and East Jerusalem. In 1979 Israel returned the Sinai Desert to Egypt. In 2005 Israel disengaged from the Gaza Strip. In history, there has been no other country required to return land taken in defensive actions. Defensible borders against it’s aggressing neighbors has required that Israel maintain a presence in the so called “occupied” areas. But please note, that the countries these areas were “taken” from (Golan Heights from Syria, West Bank from Jordan, East Jerusalem from Jordan) technically had no more right to the land than Israel did & lost those areas as a result of their unwarranted aggression. Again, there was no “Palestinian Nation” against which Israel aggressed to occupy these areas. Also note that Jordan is not demanding the return of the West Bank or East Jerusalem. The Gaza strip technically never belonged to any country post the British Mandate:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaza_Strip
Since the Gaza disengagement in 2005 there has been a constant barage of rockets into Israel, targeting innocent civilians:
http://www.sderotmedia.com/
"Peace Partners"? The PLO is not a country. It is a terrorist organization. Hamas is not a county. It is a terrorist organization. Gaza is not a country. Where else in the world is any other country expected to negotiate peace in exchange for land with a terrorist organization?
Aid to the Palestinians. What is rarely reported in the media is that any Arab who applies for Israeli citizenship is awarded the same rights and freedoms of any other Israeli citizen. Freedom of religion, freedom of speech, representative government, socialist support in the form of medicine, aid with food, living expenses, and education among other benefits are available. Before the 1st intifada in 1987 180,000 Palestinians held jobs in Israel. As aggression increased against innocent Israeli civilians that number has been greatly reduced. So what is the basis for the claim of Israeli “oppression” against the Palestinians?
There has been an uneasy but steady peace with Jordan and Egypt 1977 and 1994 respectively. Although it should be noted that Hamas manages to access arms through hidden tunnels between Gaza and Egypt.
So what is this war all about? Keeping in mind all the information above, there is not really a clear answer.
Here are some links to review:
PLO charter – note especially points 15, 19, 21 and 22. In light of the fact that it has been established there has never been a nation of “Palestine” what is this based on?!
http://www.iris.org.il/plochart.htm
Hamas Charter – of course the “people of the Scriptures” are Jews and Christians.
http://www.palestinecenter.org/cpap/documents/charter.html
Iran / Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahmoud_Ahmadinejad
Of Course there is always the ADL’s watch on antisemetic political commentary & satire:
http://www.adl.org/main_Arab_World/Financial_Crisis.htm
http://www.adl.org/PresRele/ASaw_14/5245_14.htm
http://www.adl.org/PresRele/ASaw_14/default.htm
http://www.adl.org/main_Arab_World/asam_jul_dec_qatar_2006.htm
The world loves an underdog. And I suppose those who scream the loudest get the most attention. Media the world wide tends to lean in support of this supposed underdog. Unfortunately it appears to be "politically incorrect" to double check the facts. Militant Islam has no problem acknowledging they are embroiled in a religious war with Jewish Israel. When will the rest of the world acknowledge it?
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