Responding to Common Questions

PDF version here. 

QUESTION 1: 

If Israel is the chosen land for all religions, and the Jews do want to live in unity with everyone - why do the Jews have the right to declare it a Jewish state and not a Muslim state? 

ANSWER:

First off, we declare it a Jewish state because we have that right. Do not forget that the British had control over the land that is now Israel. They then gave the responsibility to the UN and the UN had decided to make a Jewish state. They gave land to Jews and Palestinians. Jews accepted and Palestinians/Muslim countries rejected. Muslims chose war. What were Jews to do? Die?

The Jews won in the War of Independence. They declared statehood. Why can’t they? There are 22 MUSLIM STATES. NO ONE EVER DENIED THEIR RIGHT TO DECLARE MUSLIM STATEHOOD. WHY CAN’T JEWS DECLARE JEWISH STATEHOOD? 

The people who refuse to live in unity are the Palestinians and Arabs who do not want to come to the table and negotiate, have rejected peace offers, and REJECTED THE ORIGINAL 2 STATE SOLUTION WHICH WAS 1947 UN PARTITION PLAN.  The Palestinians had opportunities for statehood so many times and rejected. That is the sole reason there is no Palestinian state. It is not Israel’s or the world’s requirement to make them happy. Making them happy would be to “wipe Israel off of the map.” Why does the world have to do as the Palestinians demand just because they were displeased with the LEGAL partitioning of the land?

Jews do not deny anyone else’s relationship to the holy site. NOT SO WITH THE PALESTINIANS. During the 2000 Camp David Summit, Yasser Arafat said that no Jewish Temple ever existed on the Temple Mount. A year later, the Palestinian Authority–appointed Mufti of Jerusalem, Ikrima Sabri, told the German publication Die Welt, “There is not [even] the smallest indication of the existence of a Jewish temple on this place in the past. In the whole city, there is not even a single stone indicating Jewish history.”  HISTORY AND ARCHEOLOGY PROVE OTHERWISE. Its identity with the site of Solomon’s Temple is beyond dispute. This, too, is the spot, according to universal belief, on which David built there an altar unto the Lord, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings.” More authoritatively, the Koran—the holy book of Islam—describes Solomon’s construction of the First Temple (34:13) and recounts the destruction of the First and Second Temples (17:7). Just to name a few examples, though I shouldn't have to give a rundown of history. 

Jews were even going to allow the internationalization of Jerusalem! When Jordan invaded East Jerusalem, it divided the city for the first time in its history and drove thousands of Jews—whose families had lived in the city for centuries—into exile. Jordan barred Jews and Israeli Muslims from their holy sites. TALK ABOUT NOT LIVING IN UNITY WITH OTHERS! PREPOSTEROUS! Consequently, the UN partition plan, including its proposal that Jerusalem be internationalized, was overtaken by events. Side note: these are also the people who celebrated in the streets passing out candy when 9/11 occurred. 

Jews are not the ones who create issues of not living in unity with everyone. Jews have 4 quarters for 4 different groups of people. Even the Temple Mount- Muslims won't let anyone but themselves there- they claim it is there’s even though it is holy to others too. Israel does not do that, yet is blamed for not being fair! While Jews allow everyone to come to the Kotel. Israel does not deny access to anyone. Even recently, there have been more citizens of Muslim countries visiting Israel, while several Muslims countries do not allow Israelis to visit there’s. There are 13 countries that do not recognize the state of Israel and do not admit Israeli passport holders (photo below). 

AND IF THE SITES ARE SO HOLY TO THE MUSLIMS, WHY DO THEY DISRESPECT THEM? When Jordan took over Jerusalem, the place was in ruins!! No way to treat one’s holy site, eh? Many Muslims, with the approval, and sometimes incitement, of the Waqf and Mahmoud Abbas’s Palestinian Authority, have desecrated their own holy places by using them as armories and instigating riots against non-Muslim visitors and the police trying to protect them. “We contaminate our mosques with our own hands and feet, and then blame Jews for desecrating Islamic holy sites,” according to Middle East scholar Bassam Tawil. “If anyone is desecrating Islamic holy sites, it is those who bring explosives, stones, and firebombs into Al-Aqsa Mosque. The Jews who visit the Temple Mount do not bring with them stones, bombs, or clubs. It is young Muslim men who are desecrating our holy sites with their ‘filthy feet’” (a reference to Abbas’s slur against Jews visiting the Temple Mount).One explanation for Palestinian violence on the Temple Mount is that riots are a proven method for provoking an Israeli reaction with the intent of tarring Israel’s reputation. 

Israel is holy to all religions- specifically Jerusalem- but it is not THE holiest for the Muslims as they claim it to be. They only started claiming that to be true when Jews came into the picture. Jerusalem is only Islam’s 3^rdholiest site and they do not even pray towards it like Jews do. Only after the destruction of the Second Temple, control of the Temple Mount passed through several conquering powers. It was during the early period of Muslim control, in the seventh century, that the Dome of the Rock was built on the site of the ancient temples. And they don’t even treat it that well while claiming everyone else is the issue.

QUESTION 2:

Why does it have to be a Jewish run government if the indigenous people are Muslim and according to their beliefs, it is their chosen land as well? 

ANSWER:

Muslims are not indigenous to Israel. It is the Jews who are the aboriginal tribe based on their presence in the Holy Land for more than two thousand years. Of all the people who lived in the area at that time, such as Phoenicians, Moabites, Philistines, only the Jews remain today. The Arabs, however, are not native to “Palestine”; they are aboriginal to Arabia. “Judaism, the Hebrew language, and the Jewish people were established in the Holy Land for about a thousand years” BEFORE THE EMERGENCE OF ISLAM. 

If it is their chosen land then they can live there too. They had opportunities for peace and refused. So I am not so sure they really want it so bad. It seems they claim they do because they need to claim the Israelis are causing issues for their desire for “freedom” and “statehood.” If they want to live peacefully among others, then stop bombing us and sending terrorists to murder us. If they want to move around peacefully, stop threatening Israelis. What are Israelis supposed to do? Allow terrorists to enter and murder them? Americans wouldn't allow this. British wouldn’t. Why do Israelis have to? GAZA WAS GIVEN TO PALESTINIANS AND LOOK WHAT THERE IS NOW. CHAOS! This answers your question. 

Why can’t it be a Jewish government? (I want an actual answer to this.) What is the issue with it being a Jewish state? It was created to be. 

Besides, there ARE Arabs and Christians sitting in the government. An Arab in the past has even sentenced a Jew to prison. Arabs have so many freedoms and rights in Israel that they don't even have in Muslim countries!

On July 19, 2018, Israel adopted a new Basic Law: Israel – The Nation State of the Jewish People. The law provoked controversy inside and outside of Israel. 

This clause is consistent with the League of Nations Mandate for Palestine, which sought to “encourage . . . close settlement by Jews.” It does not “prescribe or authorize any particular policies” unlike, for example, the state constitution of Hawaii, which authorizes land policies to promote homesteading by ethnic Hawaiians and provides preferential land policies for them. Israel’s Supreme Court has ruled that Arabs have a right to create residential communities in Israel that exclude Jews but Jews do not have the same right to exclude Arabs.

One indication of the double standard applied to Israel is that no international uproar followed Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’ declaration that not “A SINGLE ISRAELI” would be permitted to live in a Palestinian state (Noah Browning, “Abbas wants ‘not a single Israeli’ in future Palestinian state,” Reuters, July 29, 2013).). WHY IS NO ONE CALLING OUT ABOUT THIS STATEMENT OF HIS (besides for me, of course). 

In the case of the Nation State Law, members of Knesset voted by a 62-55 majority to approve the legislation. This is democracy in action. Still, like Americans, Israelis can challenge laws in court, and three Knesset members have already done so, one sign of the health of Israel’s democracy. Another indication is the ability of Israelis to vote for new representatives who could revoke or alter the law if they can convince a majority of all Knesset members a change is warranted.

 Source: Jewish Virtual Library

At What Point Does Israel’s Being Moral Actually Become Immoral?

I wrote this exactly a year ago in November, which reminded me that the recent escalation we just had in Israel marked a year since last year's major escalation with Gaza. I figured I'd share it since I spent the time writing it and never actually did anything with it. Perhaps some of you will agree with my views. PDF here. 
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Opinion: At What Point Does Israel’s Being Moral Actually Become Immoral?

In light of the current events in southern Israel along the Gaza border, there is much frustration consuming not only members of the Israeli government but also Israelis and Zionists alike.

November of last year saw a record-high number of rockets targeting southern Israel, making it the heaviest bombardment since the 2014 war between Israel and Hamas, the terrorist organization governing the Palestinians living in Gaza. This attack came after months of Palestinians flying incendiary kites and balloons into Israel and starting fires along the Gaza border, both of which have resulted in an overwhelming amount of agricultural terrorism. This attack came several days after Israel allowed $15 million to enter Gaza from Qatar, in order to get Hamas to stop the riots on the border and the burning of Israeli land.

When Hamas called a cease-fire right after targeting Israel with about 460 rockets, Israel accepted it. It is a common practice for Hamas to attack Israel, receive an equal and restraint-focused response from Israel, and then to decide to pause its little game when it can't face what it essentially asked for.

Israel’s Security Cabinet on Wednesday reversed its decision not to permit the Qatari transfer of $15 million, the third installment approved by Israel’s government, in order to ease tensions and avoid a potential humanitarian crisis in Gaza. The initial decision not to permit the funding stemmed from renewed Palestinian rioting and violence along the Gaza-Israel border

Despite multiple opportunities for statehood and peace, continuous aid and support from Israel, as well as receiving international aid- the Palestinian people are still represented under refugee status. In fact, they have held this status for the longest amount of time out of all refugee populations to ever exist. This isn't too surprising, considering the fact that humanitarian aid is used to fund rockets, terror tunnels and incendiary devices, and to pay terrorists and their families. While Abbas continues to admit to using the money for these reasons alone, the international community and Israel sustain this practice directly through their actions.

Israel even gave up Gaza for peace back in 2005. Thousands of Israelis were forcibly removed from their homes by the Israeli government, and those families are now the ones dealing with rockets being sent from the very land they gave up so that they would never have to deal with such terror at all. The government that forced them out of their homes for peace is the very same government that now will not take the necessary steps to protect them from harm and imminent death. Despite all of this, Israel continues to provide the Palestinians with humanitarian aid because the Palestinian leadership does not.

Although there are Palestinians who want peace and are willing to work alongside Israelis, can we rely on this argument alone? Look what happened just several months ago with the Barkan terrorist. Can we take chances with Israeli lives? Do their lives not matter as much as the Palestinians'? Although much of the world seems to think so, why does Israel seem to accept this view? Even if the government states that it does not hold this view, its actions (or its lack thereof) send a different message.

While some argue that it is important for Israel to provide aid for those in the Gaza Strip who are suffering at the hands of their government, others argue that Israel must put its people first- as any other country would and should do. They question why Israel must hold up its moral standards when so many Palestinians do not. Why the double standard?

Why is Israel, a country of good moral standing, negotiating with terrorists? Why does the fate of the security of the state of Israel have to be under the terms of Hamas? Even more critical, is it moral to give those who hate you and could potentially cause more harm to you and others (sending children as suicide bombers, targeting civilians, forcing civilians to enter what are essentially war zones) any form of aid?

It is unfortunate that one must even grapple with the concept of morality, however, what more can be expected when dealing with terrorists? While I feel an innate desire to maintain a "moral" view on this issue and feel pain at the thought of others suffering, I do not view these ideas as a lack of moral clarity. Not anymore. Not at this point in the game. I can no longer bear to see Israelis living in bomb shelters and crying out for help. They have sacrificed more than enough. Nobody else will help them. How could the people running the single Jewish state abandon them too?

We must question what our sensitivity has done for the betterment of the situation, people's lives, our country, and the peace process. Our sensitivity does not seem to have helped us all that much.

At what point has Israel's being moral actually become immoral? Israel has continued along this path of providing aid for so long, and Israeli lives are still threatened and directly affected by the actions of those who the country is upholding. How can we sacrifice the safety and wellbeing of our people, for those who would not consider, even for a moment, sacrificing for us?

How can Israel justify the sending of millions of dollars and aid when Hamas is still holding the bodies of Israel’s captured soldiers and when the Palestinian people celebrate the murder of Israeli civilians? What kind of message does this send to our soldiers, those who have died for Israel, to Israelis in the south and in general, and to the world?

"Palestinians"

All people born in British Mandatory Palestine between 1923-1948 (today's Israel) had "Palestine" stamped on their passports at the time. But when they were called Palestinians, the Arabs were offended. They complained: "We are not Palestinians, we are Arabs. The Palestinians are the Jews".

After invading Arab armies were routed and the Arabs who had fled the war wanted to return, they were considered a fifth column and not invited back. The Arabs who had loyally remained in Israel during the war, however, and their descendants, are still there and make up one fifth of the population. They are known as Israeli Arabs; they have the same rights as Christians and Jews, except they are not required to serve in the army unless they wish to.

"The Palestinian people does not exist. The creation of a Palestinian state is only a means for continuing our struggle against the state of Israel for our Arab unity. In reality, today there is no difference between Jordanians, Palestinians, Syrians and Lebanese." – PLO leader Zuheir Mohsen, interview in the Dutch newspaper Trouw, March 1977.

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/11401/palestinian-people

When People Cry Out "Abuse"

What’s abuse is Hamas taking international aid meant for the Palestinians and using it to murder Israel’s people.

What’s abuse is allowing a terrorist organization to bring women and children to another country’s border in order to throw stones, as well as incendiary kites and balloons at it.

What’s abuse is putting guns into Palestinian children’s hands and teaching them how to use them.

What’s abuse is Hamas using Palestinian people as human shields- hiding under hospitals, schools, and civilians’ homes.

This woman should be ashamed for ignoring the root of the problem and for turning a blind eye.

She should be ashamed for working against the only democratic country in the Middle East-Israel 🇮🇱- the only country in the region fighting for the interests of the free world.

In response to an old article that is still relevant today: US Lawmaker Calls to End Military Aid to Israel, Claims Abuse of Palestinian Children

PIJ and Hamas- Their Relationship

Hamas has officially joined PIJ in firing rockets. Read on to understand the relationship between PIJ (Palestinian Islamic Jihad) and Hamas, and what is currently going on in Israel:

⚠️The Iranian-backed Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), whose senior commander Bahaa Abu al-Ata was killed by Israel on Tuesday, has been causing headaches not only for Israel but also for the Egyptians and Hamas.

⚠️Hamas, meanwhile, seemed to be very cautious in its response to the assassination. By Tuesday afternoon, it remained unclear whether Hamas has officially joined PIJ and other groups in firing rockets at Israel. Hamas is reluctant to engage in a new war with Israel because it knows that would mean the end of its rule. 

⚠️The PIJ decision to keep the conflict with Israel on low flames has worried Hamas, some of whose leaders seem to be worried that an all-out military confrontation with Israel would end their rule over the Gaza Strip. In recent weeks, sources close to Hamas said that the movement has been exerting pressure on PIJ to refrain from launching any attack on Israel that could lead to another war in the Gaza Strip.

⚠️HAMAS IS aware that Palestinians living under its rule have yet to recover from the 2014 war with Israel. Hamas has since failed to adequately compensate thousands of families whose houses were destroyed or damaged during the war. Moreover, Hamas has failed to provide real solutions to the economic crisis in the Gaza Strip, where Palestinian activists have recently been planning to renew protests against the high cost of living, increased taxes and soaring unemployment.

⚠️Hamas wants to preserve the ceasefire understandings with Israel so as to remain in power. PIJ, on the other hand, wants to continue launching terror attacks against Israel for two reasons. First, to appease their patrons in Tehran, and, second, to scores points on the Palestinian street by showing that, unlike Hamas, they are not prepared to make any concessions to the “Zionist enemy.”

⚠️PIJ is hoping that even if it suffers major military losses, it will nevertheless make political and popular gains from a confrontation with Israel. PIJ sees itself as the natural replacement for Hamas, if and when the latter’s rule over the Gaza Strip ends. A mini-war with Israel, PIJ believes, will further strengthen its standing among Palestinians.

⚠️All eyes are now set on Cairo, whose General Intelligence Service has previously managed to arrange a number of ceasefire agreements between the Gaza-based groups and Israel.

@jpost