A TIME
TO SPEAK
Volume I:5 (No. 5)
May 15 2001 – Iyar 5761
Following are Arab viewpoints
and comments on Israel and Israel-Arab relations as expressed in their own
speeches and writings. Please note that in Arab usage, the terms "Palestine"
and "Palestinian" also mean the entire region from the Jordan River
to the Mediterranean, including all of the State of Israel.
". . . the aggressive and evil disposition rooted in the Jewish
personality . . . the logic of true justice obligates one verdict on them from
which there is no escape - that their criminal intentions be turned against
them with their extermination."
-- 10th-grade textbook in Syria
"Peace
for us means the destruction of Israel. We are preparing for an all-out war, a
war which will last for generations."
-- Yasser Arafat (1980)
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Bassem Eid, Palestinian human rights activist,
advocates "nonviolent civil disobedience"
which he says includes throwing rocks and stones. "In
the last intifada [rocks and stones] gave the Palestinians so much
international support. I do not remember a case that someone was killed getting
hit by a stone."
[Comment:
The record of people "killed
getting hit by a stone"
runs from Goliath to recent victims of Palestinian non-violence.]
In 1974, the PLO (Palestine Liberation Organization) adopted the
Plan-of-Stages:
Stage 1]
Through violent struggle, establish a "combatant national authority" over any territory that is "liberated" from Israeli rule.
Stage 2]
Use the territory of the national authority as a base for attacks on Israel.
Provoke an all-out war to "liberate all Palestinian territory" -- that is, destroy Israel.
In 1993, Arafat on behalf of the PLO signed the Oslo Accords, that
include this commitment:
The PLO
considers that the signing of the Declaration of Principles constitutes a
historic event, inaugurating a new epoch of peaceful co-existence, free from
violence and all other acts which endanger peace and stability. Accordingly,
the PLO renounces the use of terrorism and other acts of violence and will
assume responsibility over all PLO elements and personnel in order to assure
their compliance, prevent violations and discipline violators.
The day
he signed this agreement on the White House lawn, Arafat made a radio broadcast
in Arabic assuring listeners that the Oslo Accords are Stage 1 of the
Plan-of-Stages.
In 1994, Arafat spoke in a mosque in Johannesburg,
South Africa: "This
agreement I am not considering it more than the agreement which had been signed
between our prophet Muhammed and Koraish."
[Comment:
In the Seventh Century, Muhammad contracted a peace treaty with the Arabian
tribe of Koraish. Two years later, he attacked and destroyed the tribe of
Koraish.]
Also
in 1994, Arafat wrote to groups opposing the Oslo Accords:
"In order to obtain the goal of returning to Palestine, all of us sometimes have to grit our teeth. But it is forbidden that this harm the continued struggle against the Zionist enemy. Cooperation and understanding between the PLO and the rejectionist organizations is what will lead to the speedy retreat of Israel from the occupied territories in the first stage, until the establishment of a Palestinian state with its capital in Jerusalem. Only a state like that can then continue the struggle to remove the enemy from all Palestinian lands."
In 1995, he told Arab diplomats stationed in Stockholm, Sweden of the PLO
plan: "[T]o
eliminate the State of Israel and establish a purely Palestinian state. We will
make life unbearable for Jews by psychological warfare and population
explosion; Jews won't want to live among us Arabs."
Arafat in a Voice of Palestine broadcast, 1995: "The struggle will continue
until all of Palestine is liberated."
[Comment: As noted above,
"all of Palestine" always includes Israel.]
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In May 2001, Pope John Paul II
visited Damascus, and was welcomed by its President, Bashar Assad, M.D. Among
the remarks in Dr. Assad's address to the Pope: "They [the Jewish people] try to kill the
principle of religions with the same mentality that they betrayed Jesus Christ
and the same way they tried to betray and kill the prophet Muhammed."
[Comment: The Pope made no comment.]
Other
recent statements by officials of the government of Syria:
"We must be fully aware of what the enemies of God and malicious
Zionism conspire
to commit against Christianity and
Islam."
-- Muhammad Ziyadah,
Minister of Religious
Affairs
"When I see a
Jew before me, I kill him. If every Arab did this, it would be
the end of the
Jews "
-- Mustafa Tlas, Minister of Defense
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* * * * * * * *
In March 2001, an Arab sniper in Hebron took deliberate aim on 10-month-old Shalhavet Pass and killed her. The PLO's Voice of Palestine broadcast the explanation that the baby's own mother murdered her "to get rid of her [because] this baby was retarded".
Compare this to the PLO explanation of the murder of the American Leon Klinghoffer in 1985. Mr. Klinghoffer, who had suffered a severe stroke and was in a wheelchair, was a passenger on the Italian cruise ship Achille Lauro when it was hijacked by PLO terrorists led by Abu Abbas. They killed Mr. Klinghoffer with a gunshot and threw his body and his wheelchair overboard. The PLO spokesman at the United Nations announced that Mrs. Klinghoffer had killed her husband for the insurance money.
Abu Abbas himself, however, states that he ordered his men to shoot Mr. Klinghoffer because "even in a wheelchair, he was making trouble". Abu Abbas now lives free in Gaza, under the protection of the PLO. Neither the United States nor Italy has sought his arrest for his admitted murder of a U.S. citizen aboard an Italian ship.
In May 2001, two 13-year-old boys, Kobi Mandell and Yosef Ish-ram, went for a short hike near their homes in Tekoa. They were set upon, dragged into a cave and beaten to death with rocks. In Egypt, it was reported that the two lads were "Zionist Nazis put to death for crimes against humanity". In Iran the killing was reported as "capture and execution of two terrorists".
Tekoa is the home town of the Prophet Amos, who may once have tended his herd on the very grounds where Kobi and Yosef were hiking. Perhaps in this very place the words came to him:
I will restore My people Israel,
They
shall rebuild ruined cities and inhabit them,
They
shall plant vineyards and drink their wine,
They
shall till gardens and eat their fruits,
And
I will plant them upon their soil,
Nevermore
to be uprooted
From
the soil I have given them,
Said
The Lord your God. (Amos 9:14).
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Items
reported by MEMRI (Middle East Media Research Institute):
Ahmad Ragab, columnist for the Egyptian newspaper
Al-Akhbar, wrote a comment that pleased him so much that he printed it
twice over, on April 20 and April 25, 2001: "Thanks
to Hitler, of blessed memory, who on behalf of the Palestinians, revenged in
advance, against the most vile criminals on the face of the earth. Although we
do have a complaint against him for his revenge on them was not enough."
Egyptian film producer Munir Radhi, is working on
a film called "Matzah of Zion," which accuses Jews of murdering
Christians and using their blood for baking Matzah. Radhi explained that the
primary goal of his film is: . . . to respond to
all of the Zionist films distributed by the American film industry, which is
backed by the Zionist propaganda apparatus. Among the films is
"Schindler's List", which supports the idea of the Jews' right to the
land of Palestine.
Since 1993, there has been a
series of Israel-PLO agreements to refrain from incitement to hatred, violence
and war. Compliance and non-compliance with these commitments is checked by PMW
(Palestinian Media Watch). It reports here on PLO school textbooks, children's summer camp
activities, television programs, and crossword puzzles.
From
PLO school textbooks:
Third Grade: Jerusalem speaking to the students: "I have many Islamic holy places [and] Christian holy places". Islamic and Christian holy places are then listed in the text. There are no Jewish holy places in Jerusalem.
Fourth Grade: I learn from this lesson: I believe that the Jews are the
enemies of the Prophets and the believers.
Fifth Grade: Write
in your exercise book: An event showing the fanaticism of the Jews in Palestine
against Muslims or Christians.
Fifth Grade: There
will be a Jihad [holy war] and our country shall be freed. This is our story
with the thieving conquerors. You must know, my boy, that Palestine is your
grave responsibility . . . . Know, my son, that Palestine is your country . . .
that its pure soil is drenched with the blood of Martyrs . . . . Why must we
fight the Jews and drive them out of our land?
Eighth Grade: Racism:
Mankind has suffered from this evil . . . . Satan has, in the eyes of many people,
made their evil actions appear beautiful . . . . Such a people are the Jews.
Ninth Grade: Treachery
and disloyalty are character traits of the Jews and therefore one should beware
of them.
Tenth Grade: The
Jews deluded themselves that their religious faith was sufficient to turn them
into one nation . . . . The Zionists turn[ed] their attention towards Palestine
as the national homeland of the Jews, while relying on false historical and
religious claims.
Tenth Grade: The
colonial powers [Europe and America] regarded the Zionist Movement as the means
for the attainment of their greedy colonial aspirations . . . imposing their
rule on it in order to exploit its natural resources. The European colonial
powers spread the idea of Zionism among the Jews.
Tenth Grade: Christian European
society's hatred of the Jews has existed since ancient times . . . . [The Jews]
aimed to corrupt and destroy the societies in which they lived. There are a
number of reasons that caused the Europeans to persecute the Jews everywhere .
. . . These are reasons the Jews were persecuted, and are the reasons the
Europeans wanted to be rid of the Jews, which led Europe to support Zionism.
University: This land is for us [Muslims] and for our brother Christians . . . This is our land, in which we have no partners, and no-one aside from us has any historical connection to the land [i.e., no Jews]. . . . We are the owners of the land. – Issam Sesalem, Lecturer in History, Islamic University, Gaza.
[Comment: The "brother
Christians" have in fact almost disappeared from their ancient community
in Bethlehem since it was placed under PLO administration.]
Summer camps for children run by the PLO display flags of "all Palestine" on which the State of Israel does not exist, and the children wear shirts displaying this flag. The children are given military training in use of weapons. They scream "commando" and jump through rings of fire.
Summer camp broadcast, PLO TV: Jihad [holy war] is the principle belief which will never
end regardless of how many fall.
Song lyrics for children at summer camp:
I came to you with my sword in hand
We will oust them [Israel] out to the sea.
Your day is coming, conqueror, then we
will settle accounts.
Our accounts are unending in stones and
bullets.
Long live the intifada,
May your father die (Israel)
All who participated in you (in the
intifada) are heroes
May your father die
PLO-TV BROADCAST – run with the caption "Produced by the [Palestinian] Ministry of Information and Culture and the Palestinian National Fund" -- shows a film of a Palestinian boy on the day he plans to die. This is a nice-looking and smiling boy of about 12 who says goodbye to his family and walks off happily, self-confidently, and purposefully to his death. A song plays in the background:
Don't be angry, my
love, and don't cry over my parting. Oh, my dear father, this martyrdom is on
behalf of my land! For my land I will sacrifice myself! … How sweet is
martyrdom, when I embrace you, my land! [picture: the boy falls on his chest].
My beloved mother, more dear to me than anything [picture: mother wailing], be
happy over my blood, and don't cry for me! Tell my brother [picture: the boy
kisses his brother] that our souls are sacrificed for beloved Jerusalem! We
don't run after wars, but we are great at them . . . .
The
PLO-TV also repeatedly flashes the camera shot of the death of 12-year-old
Muhammad al-Dura. [Comment: This is the
picture shown worldwide by the news media that routinely placed the blame on
Israel despite evidence that he was killed by PLO gunfire.] He is shown calling
to other children:
"I'm waving to you, not to
say goodbye, but to say, 'Come follow me.'" Background accompaniment of a
popular female singer: "How pleasant is the fragrance of the earth, its
thirst quenched by a gush of blood flowing from a youthful body . . . . How pleasant is the aroma of the martyrs . .
. . "
A photograph in the PLO daily newspaper Al-Ayyam shows two very young children, mere toddlers, each wearing a headband with a patriotic slogan. One headband reads "The Is-Addin El-Kassan Brigade" [the Hamas terror squad]. The other headband reads "Palestine from the Sea to the River" [from the Mediterranean to the Jordan].
Crossword
puzzles in PLO publications define cities and geographical features within
Israel as part of "Palestine". Other definitions are based on PLO
ideology.
Clue Answer
Palestinian city with
antiquities, on coastal plain Caesarea
City in Palestinian
land occupied in 1948 Haifa
Occupied Palestinian
city Jaffa
Palestinian city Nazareth
Palestinian lake Kinneret
[Sea of Galilee]
Capital of Palestine
from dawn of history to eternity
Al Quds [Jerusalem]
Stolen homeland Palestine
Jewish center for
eternalizing the Holocaust and the lies Yad
Vashem
The Jewish trait treachery
Accursed English
declaration Balfour
Declaration.
Arab country bombed by
the American aggression Libya
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Friday
sermon in a mosque in Gaza, October 13, 2000, in Gaza,
was
broadcast by the PLO. These excerpts are translated by MEMRI:
"O
brother believers, the criminals, the terrorists - are the Jews, who have
butchered our children, orphaned them, widowed our women and desecrated our
holy places and sacred sites. They are the terrorists. They are the ones who
must be butchered and killed, as Allah the Almighty said: 'Fight them: Allah
will torture them and will humiliate them and will help you to overcome them,
and will relieve the minds of the believers . . .
"Have no mercy
on the Jews, no matter where they are, in any country. Fight them, wherever you
are. Wherever you meet them, kill them. Wherever you are, kill those Jews and
those Americans who are like them - and
those who stand by them -they are all in one trench, against the Arabs and the
Muslims because they established Israel here, in the beating heart of the Arab
world, in Palestine. They created it to be the outpost of their civilization
and the vanguard of their army, and to be the sword of the West and the
crusaders, hanging over the necks of the monotheists, the Muslims in these
lands. They wanted the Jews to be their spearhead. . . .
"Even if an
agreement of Gaza is signed - we shall not forget Haifa, and Acre, and the
Galilee, and Jaffa, and the Triangle and the Negev, and the rest of our cities
and villages. It is only a matter of time. . . . . We will not give up a single
grain of soil of Palestine, from Haifa, and Jaffa, and Acre . . . Let us put
our trust in Allah, close ranks, and unite our words, and the slogan of us all
should be, 'Jihad! Jihad!'"
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Arab analysts have discerned that the word
"Pokemon" is Japanese for "I Am A Jew" and the popular
children's game is a "Zionist Conspiracy". According to Saudi Sheikh
Abdel Moneim Abu Zant: "The Pokemon craze is a
Jewish plot aimed at forcing our children to forgo their faith and values and
to distract them from more important things such as scientific
ambitions."