Another Middle Eastern Rant

Who really is David and who is Goliath?

I trust one day historians will put WWI into proper perspective, including its effect on the Middle East after the defeat of the Ottoman Empire (Turkish Empire) and its fall into French, British and Italian hands. Is there a map of the area showing the lands of the various nomadic tribes? I liken this to the various indigenous nations existing before the 1492 invasion of what is now referred to as the Americas. Per the history I have learned, the nomadic Arabs were treated far better than the indigenous Americans. 

What was life like for these nomadic Arab tribes? Was it better or worse before and after WWI? Did these tribes choose which side to support like they did in WWII when they chose to support the Nazis?

The phrase “From the River to the Sea” has been bantered about by various factions, both good and bad. Some claim it to be a harmless nationalistic cry like “G-d bless America”; however, some interpret that phrase to be similar to “From the Arctic to the Yucatán.”

I would never claim to be an expert on the Bible nor The Covenant of the Islamic Resistance Movement (ميثاق حركة المقاومة الإسلامية. ) But I have given both a cursory read, some parts in more detail as circumstances required. 

The problem I see is when you add “Palestine shall be free” to “From the River to the Sea.”  The phrase doesn’t appear verbatim in Hamas’ Charter, but it is paraphrased as, “Palestine, which extends from the River Jordan in the east to the Mediterranean in the west and from Ras al-Naqurah in the north to Umm al-Rashrash in the south, is an integral territorial unit. It is the land and the home of the Palestinian people…the right of the Palestinian people to their entire land and do not entrench any rights therein for the usurping Zionist entity.”

Today, as written in Hamas’s Charter, many try to explain that the phrase is not anti-Israel and not anti-Jewish. They claim it is merely anti-Zionist and give their own definition of Zionism differing from its original intent. They claim that they welcome Arab Jews, Jews of Arab ancestry, to remain in “Palestine” but not Jews with European ancestry. That sounds like the first step in criminalizing DNA, which our generation has been fighting against. Until we accept that we are all equal, DNA testing can be used for evil and racist purposes. Remember, not all countries agree with the American ethos that we are heterogeneous rather than homogeneous. 

My point is, how do you differentiate between Palestine Arabs, Lebanese Arabs, Syrian Arabs…?” The same for Sephardi Jews, Ashkenazim Jews, Kohanim Jews, Levite Jews, Mizrahi Jews, not to mention Jews with Asian, Latino and African ancestry. In short, Jews with Arab ancestry and/or European ancestry? 

What I find is that those who get involved in these type of discussions are unaware that European Jews make up less than half of the Jews in Israel. I bring this up because, based on its Charter, Hamas was formed for the sole purpose of destroying Israel and the people who meet their definition of “Zionists.”

Because there is no particular way of differentiating between Jews of various ancestry, many equate anti-Zionism with anti-Israel and anti-Semitism. It seems like the Jewish people have been discriminated against since the beginning of time. Hamas is merely another chapter in history of anti-Semitism. The only difference is that since 1939, the Jews are fighting back and surprising the world. A rag tag group of people with their backs to the wall have developed formidable military capabilities. In my opinion, the world is suffering from cognitive dissonance. 

Proof of Israel’s capable military, we have to go back to 1947-1948 and the civil war in Mandatory Palestine. The war began with an invasion by Arab League countries of Jewish settlements. The Arab League included mainly Syrians, Lebanese, Palestinians and a few hundreds of Iraqis, Jordanians, Muslim Brotherhood from Egypt, Circassians, and Bosniaks. There were also a few German, Turkish and British deserters. 

The Arab League leaders advised the Arabs living in the British Mandate to flee to safe countries, as the Arab Army might mistakenly consider them to be Zionists. Hundreds of thousands listen and fled, leaving their homes behind, unoccupied. Most pundits only mention the Arabs who fled the Jewish militias as they fought back, clearing out Arab League sympathizers who might join the fight. Over a million Arabs remained cohabitating with the Jews. 

The Arab families who fled per advice from the Arab league were insured that the Arab combined army was formidable. They will shortly defeat the Jews, drive them out and those who fled could then return to their homes, be repatriated. Whether that meant another genocide of Jews, I cannot say. What I do know is that those Arab countries supported the Nazis. 

History tells us that the Arab armies were not victorious and the fleeing Arab families did not return. Their homes remained vacated and unoccupied. They were now located in countries that did not want them, plus Gaza which was under Egyptian rule and Samaria and Judea (the West Bank) which Jordan controlled. 

This was not the foundation for a lasting peace. Instead, it was easy to rile up these displaced Arabs who fled the British Mandate or went to the areas that were controlled by Arabs. 

Over and over again these same Arab states kept attacking Israel, refusing any peace options and a two state solution. Various vigilant Arab gangs were formed and attacked vulnerable Israeli settlements on their own. The Israeli thwarted each invasion and fought back against these terrorist gangs. 

Those now considered Palestinians suffered the most. All foreign aid meant for their survival, for humanitarian purposes, were intercepted, stolen, by these terrorist groups and used to arm themselves for future attacks.  They did not care that Palestinian women and children starved. They saw them as pawns to be used as human shields and suicide bombings. They made no effort to form a government nor a Palestinian state. Instead, their hate fueled their murdering of Jews and keeping Palestinians living in poverty conditions. For this they blamed the Jews, brainwashing the Palestinian population to also hate the Jews for the misery they lived with, for which the terrorist groups, like Hamas, were actually responsible for and supported by Iran.

It appears the more influential Arabs did learn from the Germans. “If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it.” ~ Joseph Goebbels

"Accuse the other side of that which you are guilty." Author Unknown

That brings us to where we are today with Hamas’ propaganda infiltrating the United States and other places in the world. Some are so confused they admit to not knowing what is real anymore. In my opinion, people like Rashida Tlaib believe they are supporting their people, their “country,” and don’t realize the power of propaganda, brainwashing and lies. 

Now do not misunderstand me. I am against the carnage taking place in Gaza, never have supported Netanyahu or his far right wing government. In fact, I have always detested Netanyahu and continually spoken out against him. I wish I could come up with a plan for lasting peace, but it seems no one else can either. When I ask those preaching for a ceasefire from Israel what the next step would be according to their plan, they stare at me like a deer staring into headlights. If you also are calling for, demanding, a ceasefire by Israel, what are you proposing the next step be toward a lasting peace? Or do you support another Oct. 7? I realize many of you do. Own it!