This Is Why Ukraine and “Palestine” Are Not the Same

Watch video version here.

Middle East affairs (particularly that of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict), terrorist organizations, human rights abuses, and information warfare are topics that I have been studying and blogging about for 9 years now. To see uneducated, ill-informed, selfish people compare the goals of terrorist organizations to that of the Ukrainian people is absolutely unacceptable and dangerous. We cannot downplay the murderous acts of terrorists and extremists who attack Israeli civilians (by the way these terrorists are of the same breed as those who terrorized Americans on 9/11 and attempted to in 1993- if you know then you know or look it up), by claiming those terrorists are in any way in the same position as the Ukrainians are in now. Here are some reasons why. 

 
Earlier this week Gigi Hadid compared the Ukrainian cause to that of the Palestinians’. She and her counterparts have clearly been struggling with some sort of amnesia because comparing the situation in Ukraine to the situation in the Middle East- specifically that of Israel and the Palestinian Territories- is an absolute disrespect to all of the people not only suffering from Russia’s actions (which at this point may as well be every human being), but also to Jews all over the world who are directly affected by the false claims of Israel’s existence being comparable to Russia breaking international laws and committing war crimes while attacking its neighboring sovereign country Ukraine.
 
Let’s get some things straight here. 
 

It is both Ukraine and Israel, not Russia and the Palestinian Territories- that are examples of freedom including that of speech, sexuality, religion, press, and self-expression. Palestinians are living in territories under the leadership of terrorist organizations such as Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (both of which are Iranian proxies and offshoots of the Muslim Brotherhood which are both leading sponsors of terrorism). They are absolutely not free to express themselves in these ways. LGBTQ individuals are murdered mercilessly, civilians are used as human shields, children are taught to murder and women and young individuals are encouraged to act as self-sacrifices for the sake of murdering their unwelcome neighbors… who by the way are there legally (will get to that later). 
 
Israel is the only Democracy in the Middle East, and gives Palestinians and Arabs more freedom than their own countries do. Over the past several days, Israel has brought Arabs and Muslims home to their countries in the rest of the Middle East, when their countries left them stranded. There are many Israeli former soldiers who are fighting in Ukraine right now. It was Russia, by the way, who oppressed Jews- not allowing them to hold certain jobs or to practice Judaism. Today, the Ukrainian President is himself a proud Jew and has even said, “We know what it’s like not to have an own state. We know what it means to defend one’s own state and land with weapons in hand, at the cost of our lives. Both Ukrainians and Jews value freedom, and they work equally for the future of our states to become to our liking, and not the future which others want for us. Israel is often an example for Ukraine.”
 
There are Ukrainians guarding synagogues and Torah scrolls during this war. Israel is sending a ton of aid to Ukraine and accepting Ukrainians into Israel. The Palestinian “leadership” is nowhere in sight. Except when trying to compare their “cause” to that of the Ukrainians’.
 

Putin said that he wants to de-Nazify Ukraine (as if he is one to talk) and has many Russians believing that what he is doing is not just acceptable, but right! He has enforced a law that will have people thrown in to jail for up to 15 years for using certain words in regards to the WAR or speaking out against it. He has officially criminalized independent war reporting and anti-war protests. He has censored and blocked non-government media. 
 
Same with Palestinian territories. Palestinians are brainwashed, made to believe that Israel is their worst enemy, so much so that it is worth committing suicide if could even kill even just one Israeli (as we have seen this week Palestinians committing stabbing attacks in Jerusalem risking their own lives for the sake of their country when all along, they have had many opportunities for normal negotiations aka communicating and setting standards as opposed to murdering people right and left). It is dangerous to support Israel as a Palestinian. Lies upon lies are fed into the minds of Russians and Palestinians alike. As a child of former refugees from Russia, I have heard first-hand about the lack of freedom and equal opportunity experienced by those who were living in the former Soviet Union. Putin is now returning Russia to Soviet-era operations and way of life. 
 
We haven’t yet even mentioned the holding of power in office. The last elections for the Palestinian Legislative Council were held in 2006. Mahmoud Abbas is in the 17th year of his Palestinian presidency. Putin first became president in 2000 and was reelected in 2004. At the time, Russian presidents were limited to two terms in power, so Putin returned to being PM before becoming president again in 2012 – an election embroiled by allegations of fraud. He has been president ever since, after being re-elected in 2018. In 2021 he signed constitutional amendments into law, allowing him to run for president two more times, potentially extending his presidency to 2036.
 
Also let’s talk about where these two individuals come from, and their ties to terrorism. This isn’t even a comprehensive list. 
 

Putin is a former KGB spy. The KGB was the main security agency for the Soviet Union. “The Soviet Union, through KGB personnel and its allies, provided training, weapons, and funding to guerilla and terrorist groups throughout the world to undermine the interests of the United States and its allies in strategic countries” (US Department of Justice). 
 
“In the battle for empire between East and West, the Soviet security services had long been deploying what they called their own “active measures” to disrupt and destabilize their opponent. Locked in the Cold War but realizing it was too far behind technologically to win any military war, ever since the sixties the Soviet Union had found its strength in disinformation, in planting fake rumors in the media to discredit Western leaders, in assassinating political opponents, and in supporting front organizations that would instigate wars in developing countries such as the Middle East and Africa and undermine and sow discord in the West” (Politico). 
 
“Among these measures was support for terrorist organizations. Across the Middle East, the KGB had forged ties with numerous terror groups, most notably with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a splinter group of the Palestine Liberation Organization that carried out a string of plane hijackings and bomb attacks in the late sixties and seventies. Top-secret documents illustrate the depth of some of these connections. They show the then-KGB chief signing off three requests for Soviet weapons from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine leader Wadi Haddad, and describing him as a ‘trusted agent’ of the KGB” (Politico). 
 
The Palestinians today, by the way, as well as other Middle East countries, are the ones who are siding with Putin. 
 
Historic ties bind many Palestinians with Moscow- those who studied in the former Soviet Union, which provided aid and comfort for years to the Palestine Liberation Organization. In the early 1970s, several groups affiliated with the Palestine Liberation Organization carried out numerous international terrorist attacks. US policy accepts that elements of the Palestine Liberation Organization have advocated, carried out, or accepted responsibility for acts of terrorism. The Palestine Liberation Organization was responsible for the murder of 11 Israeli athletes at the 1972 Munich Olympic Games. Today, the Palestine Liberation Organization continues to exist; however, most of its leaders have now become top Fatah officials in the Palestinian Authority. Fatah-related militia groups, such as the Tanzim, Force 17 and the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade played a leading role in Palestinian violence during the Second Intifada, including suicide terrorist attacks, ambushes, and shootings of Israeli vehicles and facilities. Current Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas was a long-time secretary general of the Palestine Liberation Organization and is now also its Chairman (Anti-Defamation League). 
 

Ukrainians have bravely joined together to fight for their home, culture, history, safety, freedom and rights to self-determination. So too with Jews living in Israel. 

 
The British Mandate incorporated the “Balfour Declaration” of 1917. It called for the establishment of a national home for the Jewish people on land to which they have always had historical ties. Jewish people have maintained ties to their historic homeland for more than 3,700 years. A national language and a distinct civilization have been maintained. 
 
Many Jews, mainly from Eastern Europe were immigrating (more like returning after their ancestors had been expelled) there in increasing numbers especially due to WWII. Arabs demanded resistance to immigration and that led to rebellion in 1937, followed by continuing terrorism and violence from both sides. The UK considered various options to bring independence to a land devastated by violence, but handed the issue over to the UN.
 
The Jewish people were given land under the UN Partition Plan of 1947. The land, mainly what is now Israel, was split between Palestinians and Jews. The Jews accepted the offer from the UN, while the Palestinians rejected it. That led to 5 major Arab countries attacking Israel, with Israel ultimately winning its War of Independence- a true miracle. The “refugee crisis” was created by the Arab countries who told Palestinians to leave so that they could destroy the newly created state of Israel and then have the Palestinians return to the lands they claimed to own although that land was controlled by the British before they handed it to the UN. 
 
When the Arab countries lost, instead of taking in the Palestinian refugees they created, they left them on the doorsteps of a country they failed to destroy. And blamed that on Israel not allowing itself to be annihilated. The Palestinians have rejected opportunities to live in peace with Israel, time and time again. 
 
Why are Gigi and Bella Hadid, multimillionaires living in California, considered Palestinian refugees? Because Palestinians refugee status gets passed down through offspring. Well, I am a child of refugees and so are majority of my Jewish friends. Even many non-Jews. However, we do not have refugee status. I don’t want it. I have no desire to be classified as a refugee. But this tells you something about the Palestinians. Instead of choosing peace, they choose war. This is not about land for them, it is about from the river to the sea… there will be no Jewish state whatsoever. This issue of refugees could have been solved, just like other refugee crises. Instead, they resort to terrorism and harassment of those they failed to murder because they were unhappy with the partitioning of a land that did not even belong to them. This says a lot. 
 
It was Zelensky who even asked Israeli PM Naftali Bennet to mediate conversations between Ukraine and Russia. Bennet met with both parties on Saturday and refrained from personally condemning Russian offensive in Ukraine in order to maintain Israel’s ability to operate against Iranian proxies in Syria, where Russia controls the skies (Ukraine and Israel essentially share the SAME ENEMIES). 
 

If anyone is looking to destroy foreign entities, it is Russia and the Arab countries that are aligned with Palestinians. Ukraine and Israel have been and continue to defend themselves in order to survive. 
 
It is the Palestinian leaders and Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad who refuse to negotiate with Israel. Just like Russia- using force over innocent civilians instead of sitting down at the table to talk. It was Putin who signed an agreement recognizing Ukrainian sovereignty. Palestinians won’t recognize Israel’s right to exist in any shape or form. Clearly this is the case of Putin with Ukraine. Only difference is that Ukraine gave up its nukes, while Israel continues to be one of the strongest countries which is why it still continues to exist (thank G-d). Now for some reason America is making it easier for Iran to get nuclear weapons. Haven’t we seen what happens when bad guys get such power?
 
And Russia has the audacity to state that Western sanctions imposed over the conflict in Ukraine have become a stumbling block for the Iran nuclear deal. Russia wants a written guarantee from the United States that Russia's trade, investment and military-technical cooperation with Iran will not be hindered in any way by the sanctions (Reuters). 
 
Why are we giving so much power to terrorists?
 
The Russian mission in the United Nations (why is Russia still in the UN?) even had the audacity to state their concern over Israel’s legal and peaceful control over the Golan Heights (which by the way was annexed by Israel after preemptively striking Egypt in 1967 and winning that war). Soviet Union military alliances in the 1950s and 60s- mainly supplying Arab countries with military aid- as well as their supplying false intelligence to Egypt stating that Israel was massing troops to attack Syria- were some factors that led up to that war in the first place (Jewish Virtual Library).
The hypocrisy never ends. The more the media and others entertain this game of lies and murder played by terrorists, the more dangerous the world becomes. 
 

We may not have missiles flying over our heads right now, but we know that we are not untouchable. 9/11 was not an attack that happened because some people were bored and had nothing better to do. It was a thought-out master plan that succeeded in its goal: attack the West. 
 
There is a reason Israel is America’s strongest ally in the Middle East. There is a reason why the Arab world sees Israel as the Little Satan and America as the Great Satan. Fighting Israel, especially now, would be shooting ourselves in the foot. We need to stand together as free nations, as those who enjoy the benefits of freedom, to prevent terrorist entities from acquiring even more power. 
 
Israel is not perfect, but it has always stood for freedom and Western values- which both the Arab world and Russia are vehemently against. We are seeing this from Russia in the worst way right now. These are extremely important points to understand. Don’t fall into the trap of thinking Israel is the same as Russia. It is Israel that has been fighting Russia indirectly all along. It is Israel that is on the side of truth when it comes to this play of powers. 
 
Better yet, focus on Ukraine right now. The reason I write this is to respond to people who want to create hatred towards Israel, by using current events in Ukraine to support their own rhetoric. This is shameful and disgusting. Gigi and Bella Hadid should be held accountable for ignoring the true pain and suffering of the Ukrainian people by instead trying to create nonexistent ties with Palestinians who are nowhere to be found in support of Ukrainians as they fight for everything they have. Also, for siding with groups that have called for the destruction of freedom- both in Ukraine and here in the US. This is extremely concerning. 
 
Take a stand. Share the truth. Your personal safety ultimately relies on it. 

If You Hate Israel, You're No Friend of the Jews

In his latest video, Dennis Prager explains why If You Hate Israel, You're No Friend of the Jews. Transcript, and facts sources and sources sheet available as well.

🇮🇱Zionism is the name of the movement that advocates for the return of Jews to their historic homeland. As defined by the Anti-Defamation League, Anti-Zionism is “a prejudice against the Jewish movement for self-determination and the right of the Jewish people to a homeland in the State of Israel.”

🕎The modern state of Israel was legally founded in 1948 after the U.N. General Assembly officially approved its creation in 1947 with Resolution 181. Prior to Israel’s legal founding, the region was already home to 80,000-90,000 Jews.

🌈Anti-Zionists single out Israel as an illegitimate country, failing to apply the same standard for legitimacy to the rest of the more than 200 countries in the world, no matter how controversial or bloody its origins. For example, anti-Zionists do not level the same “illegitimate” claim against Pakistan, which was formed in 1947 when India was partitioned into a Muslim state, Pakistan, and a Hindu state, India. Unlike Israel, Pakistan had never existed before. The creation of Pakistan created some 7 million Muslim refugees and another 7 million Hindu refugees and resulted in around a million Arab deaths.

Ireland 🇮🇪 has become the most anti-Israel nation on the planet outside of Iran and the Middle East.

It is about to enshrine into law the modern equivalent of discrimination against Jews: BDS. It is the first national parliament in Europe to do so.

Article can be found here: Is Ireland setting a dangerous precedent on Israel?

Seven Reasons to Support Israel

How to Speak Up for Israel (video)

How-to: Speak up for Israel 101
From the Youtube page of: Jerusalem U

"Every individual can be an advocate for Israel. Learn how to speak on Israel's behalf and counter claims made against Israel with three practical and effective tools of communication."

Video For Pro-Israel Students

Pro-Israel Students Need to Watch This

From the youtube page of: standwithus

"Do you have an active anti-Israel group at your campus? If you do, a malicious new campaign called Divestment may be coming your way next. Learn the basics about Divestment and BDS here and contact StandWithUs for help at campus@standwithus.com. For more information visit www.standwithus.com."

10 Things to Know About Israel

KNOW THESE POINTS ABOUT ISRAEL.

    Use them in your conversations about the Arab-Israeli conflict.

POINT: Israel’s size is 1/6 of 1% of the Arab World.

POINT: Israel has 1,300,000 Israeli -Arab citizens, who are 20% of its population.

Israel also officially recognizes and gives privileges to 15 different religions.

POINT: Palestinian Arabs living in the territories are not citizens of Israel.

POINT: There was no Security Fence along the West Bank prior to the relentless violence in 2002, and since it was built, terrorism has dropped by 85%

POINT: Israel wants peace and is willing to make painful compromises by giving away land as it did for peace with Egypt and Jordan.

Today it is unilaterally withdrawing from Gaza.

POINT: Where is the money? Arafat was given billions of dollars to improve living conditions for the Palestinians. He did not build schools, roads or hospitals. He did not improve housing or sewage systems. Those billions are missing. The 20 million dollars a year promised to Arafat’s widow in Paris comes from the coffers of the PA. Why?

POINT: Peace Must Be Taught The PA must immediately change the message being taught by its clerics who call for the murder of Jews and by its teachers who deny Israel’s right to exist. PA schoolbooks must promote peace, not hatred.

POINT: The PA Charter Must be Changed. It still calls for the destruction of Israel, just as the Hamas Charter does.

POINT: Israel is a re-establishment of the Jewish State Jews have lived in and identified with this land for thousands of years. The Old Testament, New Testament and Koran all refer to this area as the land of the Jews. Even if one is not religious, these old documents are another way to show that Jews are indigenous to Israel and the surrounding area.

POINT: The Definition of Zionism: If you believe that Jews have a right to self- determination and to their own country in the area that is ancient Israel where they have maintained a presence for thousands of years, then you are a Zionist.
Most Jews are Zionists, as are many non-Jews.

Produced by StandWithUs

10 Most Common Misconceptions About the Middle East Conflict

The Israeli Palestinian Conflict: 10 Myths Preventing Peace (Calev Myers)

By: Jerusalem institute of Justice 

If you are ever confronted by somebody whose argument is one of these common misconceptions, you should know what to say. 
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