Israeli Elections Musings #4, Preparing for Third Undecided Panel Discussion-Decisions Still Unknown

Israeli Elections are getting closer, but my decision about which political party to vote for seems further away than ever. Many friends feel the same way. 

I don't want anyone involved in the October 7, 2023 fiasco in power any more, and that's not only Binyamin Netanyahu and his loyal poodles. That includes all the powerful generals who've been leading the IDF, Military Intelligence and other national security honchos for the past decade or more. They're heavily involved in the failures. I'm also suspicious of those who had gone to the USA for "training," better described as brainwashing. They drank the Koolaid claiming that tiny Israel, surrounded by real enemies, only needs a "small, smart army." I guess that's why civilians got to the Nova site and the attacked southern communities faster that the IDF.

In addition, it won't help much to fill the Knesset with people who don't know the system... grrr, yup. That's part of why I'm so UNDECIDED. No party or MK at this point has my full trust aka vote. In Israel we vote for political parties, not for individuals. And no political party ends up with a majority of the one hundred and twenty 120 Knesset seats. Various parties must form coalitions to rule in theory, but Binyamin Netanyahu discovered a way out of that, and he did it a number of times in recent decades. We went through a series of elections that didn't result in a coalition, so Bibi Netanyahu was able to continue to rule as Prime Minister with a select minority of Knesset Members. 

It only ended when Naftali Bennett made history crafting a coalition, while leading a small party of only seven members. Bennett's coalition fell after Bibi "bribed" a couple of MKs with promises of safe places in the Likud list and undeserved cabinet positions in his next government. That's why he had the Likud bylaws amended to give him a large amount of "safe seats" to choose according to his will, rather than the Likud primaries. 

The Undecided Panel will be meeting soon. You can hear our last discussion here.

Hamas/Gaza War Musings #27: Ultimate War Aim VICTORY!

 Recently this sign has been seen on the roads. I agree with it.

SAY NO TO A DEAL OF MEANING SURRENDER!
WE MUST BE VICTORIOUS!!

It's not easy to get these slogans into comprehensible English, but I've tried to get the message across. 

I've been too depressed about Israel's policies to blog about the war recently. That's because Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has not been governing/fighting to win. This isn't new. He has failed as Prime Minister and not for the reasons the antigovernment Leftists keep shouting. Their opposition to him is what keeps me going... they remind me that things could be even worse. Yes, if they were in charge.

Follow the money...

The money bags funding these "anyone but Bibi," anti-Bibi, anti-judicial reform etc demonstrations are a gazillion times worse than Bibi. He's horrendously weak, trying to be "centrist" as he unabashedly stated/bragged at the First International Jewish Bloggers Conference as I blogged when I heard it.

The same money sources are funding the anti-Israel American flag-burning demonstrations in the USA. World stability is in danger. The USA is a major problem. Not that long ago, anyone burning an American flag would be arrested; now they're ignored by the police. Schools are teaching that Israel must be destroyed. Jews are in danger. Anyone who sees the holes, the inequality, the inconsistencies and dangers in their ideology has a problem...

Just like in Israel, when they lose elections they take to the streets. Do you remember the NOT MY PRESIDENT demonstrations? 

Netanyahu has been Prime Minister more years than any other person, and at that position he's a good example of the "Peter's Principle, A person rises to his level of incompetence." His true talents, expertise is oratory, not defense, meaning he's make a good Foreign Minister. He was also a great Finance Minister, another talent.

Under Netanyahu's "leadership" sic, we've quit about a dozen wars without winning them. He and his cohorts called them "operations" and decided that lowering the intensity of the attacks, plus using defensive Iron Domes, equaled "winning." 

I kept seeing those other attacks as "target practice" expecting, as did happen, that our dangerous enemies would get better and better aim, more effective in hitting us. 

Bibi's so terrified of a war that instead of fighting our enemies he plays "games," surrendering our land by pulling people out of their homes. Yes, that's what he has done. 

I must write my review of Netanyahu's speech in the US Congress. It follows the same structure as his speech at the bloggers convention in 2008. Listen carefully until the end, and tell me what you've heard.  Yes, I must write up my review...

Gd willing a miracle, true leadership which is the only way we can destroy our enemies.

Israeli Democracy? Justice? Are You Confused?

Let's start with the easy stuff.

What's Democracy?

I decided to "printscreen" what professor google says about democracy,
so you can trust that I didn't edit/distort the meaning

There's nothing about Right/Left or Conservative/Liberal. It's in the numbers.

Democracy is broadly understood to mean ‘rule by the people’. In practice, it is often defined as people choosing their leaders in free and fair elections. 

Our World in Data

Democracy means that the country's leadership isn't decided in the street.

There are elections.

A democratic government is not chosen by who makes the loudest, most annoying and dangerous demonstrations. Nor does it give priority to people shouting in the street over legal elections.

Now, back to what has been going on in Israel. In the past half a decade plus, we've had multiple elections that ended without a new ruling coalition, and we haven't had a coalition/government that lasted its full term. 

Political parties which had dominated and ruled during the first few decades of the country no longer receive enough votes to be in the Knesset or if they are in, they are anorexic shadows of what they once were. This has been difficult for their supporters to accept. They and their parents, and in some cases grandparents, never liked the Netanyahu family, and they like the Revisionist founders of Herut/Likud even less. This is what is behind the irrational hatred of Binyamin Netanyahu. Remember that the demonstrations had actually begun during Netanyahu's previous terms as Prime Minister. 

We can't ignore the trials against Netanyahu. Even though years and much too much money have been invested in trying to convict him, the chances are nil. That's because they're trumped up charges, to put it mildly. Please ignore the unintended pun. If Bibi was really guilty of corruption, then it wouldn't have been hard to convict him, since the judges don't like him. 

To sum it up, the "anyone but Bibi" movement, along with the anti-Judicial Reform has nothing to do with his competence or honesty. It's the fading Left's attempt to override democratic elections and rule by street mobs with the help of the Leftist Supreme Court Judges.

Yes, the truth is that the opposition are those who are antidemocracy!

The Likud's Time Bomb

Likud-Wikipedia

It's very deja vu hearing all of the complaints frustrations from veteran, loyal Likud MKs once they recognize that yet again there are hardly any senior positions remaining for them. Those who've worked hard and shown their loyalty to Binyamin Bibi Netanyahu and the Likud, some for decades, have had to accept low-ranking or made-up positions, or none at all, as the good stuff has not only gone to coalition partners but also new and relatively inexperienced Likud MKs. At the same time they're not getting any younger. OK, they're not as old as the newly crowned King Charles of England who's barely a year older than Bibi himself.

Charles always knew that as long as he outlived his mother he'd get the crown, but it's not so simple in politics.

Please look at that chart above, which I copied from Wikipedia. Party leadership usually lasts about a decade. OK, yes, I know that Menachem Begin had been a party leader much longer, first Cherut, then GaHa"L and then finally a decade in the Likud. But the Likud party was cobbled together for the 1973/4 elections, and four years later was Begin's first victory and term as Prime Minister. He resigned/retired in 1983 and was replaced by Yitzchak Shamir who was party head for ten years, and then Netanyahu took over. 

Besides the six years of Arik Sharon seriously marred by his notorious Disengagement Plan, for most of that time and until today Binyamin Bibi Netanyahu has been leader of the Likud and Prime Minister of Israel. He was young when he took over the party, all of fourty-four 44 in October of 1993, and now there are many, many talented and aging Likud MKs younger and waiting in the wings for their chance to head the party. It doesn't look like they'll ever get the opportunity. Instead of competing against each other for leadership, there's Bibi holding onto those reins. He first grabbed them when they were still in school.

Anger and frustration are bubbling close to the surface. And it's not healthy for the party to have one leader for thirty years. It reminds me of, if you'll excuse the expression, dictatorships.  OK, I said it. What do you think?

Israeli Elections 2022: The Coalition Competition Will be Fierce

 

Spare Ballots if Needed

Here's the Choice of Political Parties

The previous elections were about a year and a half ago, which seems like ages, considering that the previous few were closer together. Most of those elections ended without coalitions. As I've written a number of times, Bibi Netanyahu and his merry band discovered an easy way to power--- being the interim Prime Minister/Government. 

Well, now Likud hasn't been in power for over a year. For them to return, no matter how many MKs they have, they need to supplement the number so it reaches over sixty to have a majority coalition. But now, the cat's out of the bag, and sitting Prime Minister Yair Lapid can play the same trick if he convinces enough Knesset Members not to join with Netanyahu.

This should be fun to watch.

You may be wondering why I'm not cheering on a specific party or leader. Well, like many Israelis I'm not very enamored with the choices. It's like watching a football or basketball match when you just want to see their skills, and you don't care which team wins.

That may sound strange to you. We are discussing the government which has power over security, growth etc. I'm feeling rather jaded about it. I just keep remembering the excitement when certain people became Prime Minister, and then how they surprised us with policies totally opposed to their platform/ideology, totally opposed to mine, too. So, we'll see what happens and I'll decide issue by issue and pray very hard.

Likud & Cronies Care More About Power Than The Needs of Israeli Citizens

Outgoing Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu refused to politely 
congratulate incoming Prime Minister Naftali Bennett

No doubt you can guess that these are photos of my television screen showing the historic day when Naftali Bennett became Israel's Prime Minister. The dominant figure we see in both pictures isn't Bennett, it is former Prime Minister Binyamin Bibi Netanyahu. You can feel his fury in his eyes and body language.

Bibi showed himself to be a "sore loser." Not only did he lose the office, the political position he cherished and thought would be his for many more years, but he lost the respect of many. Unlike Shimon Peres, whose politics were at the opposite end of the political spectrum from Netanyahu, and in fact unlike all of his predecessors, Netanyahu showed no dignity, no respect for legal process. As we say in Jewish slang:

Bibi's no mensch.

The standard custom in Israel is for the outgoing Prime Minister to publicly congratulate his successor, no matter how far apart they are politically. Afterwards he/she conducts a proper civilized traditional "handover" process in which procedural matters top secret information are passed on so that the government continues to function in an efficient manner.

Netanyahu orchestrated the most disgusting antidemocratic display in the history of the State of Israel. He and his fellow Likud MKs along with the rest of his mafia just screamed, cursed and insulted the incoming government. It was horrifying to see close to half of our Knesset Members acting like drugged/drunk juvenile delinquents. 

Now here we are over a year later, and we have not heard a single apology. In a few days, we will be celebrating the second Rosh Hashanah since that unforgettably horrible scene. According to Jewish Law, a public sin demands a public apology. How anyone can vote for any of them, their parties, ever again is beyond my comprehension! 

If that wasn't proof enough of their moral depravity, the opposition went on a two-pronged attack, macro and micro. The micro* comprised the targeting of various coalition MKs to harass them, taunt them and tempt them, or simply to buy them out with promises of safe spots in the Likud list in the next elections. As proof, former Yemina MKs took their seats from the coalition are now Likud candidates with guarantees to be Likud MKs.

The macro attack required the opposition to vote against all laws proposed by the government, even those which they actually favored. Anything, any political weapon to use against the Bennett government became legitimate in their eyes, no matter what the cost to ordinary Israeli citizens. With a very weakened coalition, see micro*, the so-called Right wing opposition voted against the Settlement Law endangering the security, health and more of Israeli citizens in Judea, Samaria and the Jordan Valley. 

If Netanyahu had really led a Right wing government during the decade plus he had been in power, he would have declared Israeli sovereignty on these areas, and then there would have been no need for periodic renewal of the Settlement Law.

 Naftali Bennett was not willing to risk harming Jews whose security, health and more required the renewal of the Settlement Law, so he stepped down from his position as Prime Minister, which necessitated new elections. According to the coalition agreement he had with Yair Lapid, if the government falls because of the actions of the sitting Prime Minister's MKs, then the other one becomes the sitting Prime Minister. Bennett who is an honorable man honored that commitment. 

Even with the mask on, you can see that Bibi Netanyahu
isn't happy when he discovered that Naftali Bennett 
had become Prime Minister just over a year ago.

 

Why Not To Vote Likud and Its Puppet Parties

My antipathy to the Likud is very old, almost as old as the party itself, which is strange considering my Betar background and has nothing to do with today's politics, or does it? 

Our aliyah, fifty-two 52 years ago this week was very connected to Menachem Begin's Herut Party and Betar, especially considering that we spent the greater part of our first year living in Maon Betar, the Betar Youth/Student Hostel, now known as the Plugat Hakotel building in Jerusalem's Old City. Like our friends from Betar, we joined, and are still members of, Kupat Cholim Leumit, and we became dues paying members of Herut, the Revisionist/Betar party. Herut joined with the Liberal Party making Gush Cherut Liberalim, aka GaHaL, which evolved into Likud.

In 1970, after over twenty years of independence, there was only one dominant party, Mapai/Labor, Leftist, secular and socialist. The National Religious Party, which besides having a few rabbis and a lot of kippot had similar policies and joined them religiously in their coalition governments and the Rabbinate. Only during the time of emergency just before the 1967 Six Days War had Menachem Begin and Gahal been invited to join the government.

Cracks in the close political partnership between Mapai/Labor and the NRP began to surface after the great miraculous 1967 Six Days War victory. The government and its agricultural monopoly chose which land to settle only according to financial export advantages probably chosen by Agrexco which was the export monopoly, the Golan for growing fruit and the warmer Jordan Valley and northern Sinai where melons and summer vegetables could be grown for export in the winter. The National Religious Party and its Bnai Akiva youth movement began pushing to return to its former kibbutzim in Gush Etzion, which had been destroyed by the Arabs in the War for Independence. In addition, there were attempts to settle Hebron and various locations in the Shomron because of their Jewish/Biblical importance. The government opposed such settlements and gave in on just a symbolic few.

Post Six Days War the IDF and government/military leaders were cocky and overconfident. The "conceptziah" was that the Arabs would never dare attack us again after our great victory, so we weren't at all prepared for the surprise attack on Yom Kippur 1973. After a few very difficult weeks and many dead, wounded and captured Israelis, Gd gave us another miraculous victory. 

The Israeli electorate was shell-shocked, mourning and talked of not celebrating the upcoming Independence Day, but they voted for their usual parties, returning the veteran/traditional coalition to power in the elections soon after the war. Israelis have trouble changing political choices. 

Polls had been showing more of the same for the 1977 elections, but when the votes were counted the pundits were totally shocked to discover that Menachem Begin's Likud had gotten the most votes. His longtime supporters were overjoyed expecting government support of new Jewish communities all over Judea and Samaria, besides the exiting ones in the Golan, Jordan Valley and Sinai. Instead of annexing all the land liberated in 1967 and promoting building Jewish communities all over, Begin crossed Mapai's redlines and offered Anwar Sadaat a Judenrein Sinai as a peace deal cheered on by US President Jimmy Carter. The homeless Jews from the Sinai were offered new communities in Gush Katif, and then a few decades later, another Likud Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon, destroyed Gush Katif making a new generation of Jewish pioneers homeless. As a Likud election campaign slogan stated: "Only the Likud can..."

Here we are almost a half a century later... The religious public has changed; the National Religious Party is no more, though the backroom boys keep trying to repackage and resurrect it. We began to see more and more religious MKs, who were members of other political parties, since religious Israelis had begun to see themselves as Israelis first, free to choose a political party by ideology. I see this as a maturation of Israeli society. And on the Left, today the Labor Party is an anorexic shadow of its former self barely getting the minimum votes for Knesset representation. 

During the decade plus that Binyamin Bibi Netanyahu has ruled the Likud and served as Prime Minister, the chareidi political parties give Bibi their full support in exchange for the Rabbinate. Non-chareidi Torah observant Jews are blocked. This concerns, Kashrut, conversion, marriage and many other crucial issues that affect us all. 

The bottom line here is that most Likud voters actually don't like this chareidi monopoly on the Rabbinate, though they support and strengthen it with their Likud vote. The Bennett-Lapid coalition gave Matan Kahane the Ministry for Religion which controls the Rabbinate. I have no doubt that most Likud voters, if they bother checking what he has been doing, really would support him much more than the chareidi control.

Very important is to consider whether or not Binyamin Netanyahu's Likud actually promotes Right wing policies. The truth is that it doesn't, and I for one am not surprised, because I heard Bibi announce that he wouldn't. At the International Jewish Bloggers Conference in 2008, Netanyahu was the guest speaker and told us of his plans for when he would be reelected Prime Minister. I was standing barely a meter from him and heard him very clearly state that:

 "as Prime Minister I will be Centrist."

Netanyahu's stated reason was that he thinks that a "national leader" should have a policy in the middle. Whatever hope and loyalty to Likud that had somehow survived Begin and Sharon's destructive policies was totally wiped out by that, as far as I'm concerned. We've seen since then how when Bibi's campaigning for votes he loves the Right label, but if you look at his policies, riddled with building freezes, Jewish community and housing destruction. 

Most recently we all witnessed the despicable act of ordering his MKs to vote against the Settlement Law, because Bibi and his cronies, Likud and Chareidi MKs, have only one aim-- returning to power. They don't care whom they harm or bribe (with promises of "safe" places on the Likud list) as they do it. Their only principle is preserving their power, and they want to be back in the drivers seat.

Davka, I consider the criminal investigation of Bibi to be a political witch hunt, and I think the street demonstrations telling him to resign to be antidemocratic. There's a legal political process in a democracy, and top office should never be chosen by the police or the street. We vote.

I do see a distortion/loophole that Netanyahu has exploited to preserve power, which goes against the spirit of the law, though it's technically legal. Until Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid put together their coalition, Bibi had established a pattern of serial/perpetual power. It looked like he'd be the "interim" or  caretaker Prime Minister forever alternating with elections that didn't result in MKs who could agree on a coalition. Look carefully at what had been happening before the Bennett-Lapid agreement.

Sorry this is so long; it's the longest blog post I've written in years. I suggest clicking the links to give you more information. I welcome your questions and comments.

Guide To The Perplexed, Israeli Political System Simplified

Prime Minister Naftali Bennett 

After over half a century in Israel, I have a pretty good idea how the political system works. I don't think it's like many others. I'm going to try to simplify it here, aiming to say how it's run in positive rather than negative sentences/points. I will try to use easy to understand terminology.

• The Israeli Political System is a parliamentary democracy.
• The Israeli Political System has only proportional representation.
• Israeli citizens vote for political parties*.
• The 120 Knesset seats are proportionately divided among the political parties that received a legally set percentage of the votes and more.
• After votes are fully counted, the political parties negotiate a coalition government, because no single party has ever gotten a majority of the Knesset seats.
• The Prime Minister is chosen/voted in by the majority of Knesset Members who generally are in the political parties that have joined the coalition. 
• Coalition negotiations decide which participating political parties get which ministries, committee chairmanships and other important positions.
• When a government falls and new elections are called, the sitting government continues until after a new coalition is voted in.**

*Each political party has a numbered list of candidates who become MKs according to election results.

**That interim government cannot be voted out. Netanyahu had spent the last few years as interim Prime Minister, perfectly safe from losing his position as long as no new coalition run by another party could be formed.

Benny Gantz, Yair Lapid and Naftali Bennett

I hope that this explanation is clear. If you have any questions, please write in the comments. 

This isn't the place/post to complain that YOU think it's a dumb system. The purpose of this post is just to explain the existing  Israeli Political System.

Bibi-Gantz Coalition, Political Trick?

When will Israel have new elections?

Odd couple for sure. There's no humor in the present Israeli coalition of Bibi-Gantz, Likud and Blue and White plus the chareidim and a few others. Gantz's political career was founded on and focused on declaring Bibi Binyamin Netanyahu unfit for office and replacing him. But then, after three failed attempts to legally unseat him as Prime Minister, Gantz folded and accepted a deal with Bibi. Bibi trapped him with a newly invented title "Alternate" Prime Minister with all the expensive trappings of the office without any authority or responsibilities. When Gantz and his cronies offer opinions aka "alternative" policies they're accused of "interfering."

In the meantime, polls are showing Gantz and his remaining Blue and White Party dropping, while his former political partner, Yair Lapid, is now holding second place, aka head of opposition.

Politics is a complicated profession. Each country has its very own system, requiring wannabes to learn a complicated lexicon of skills to really succeed. There's no competition between the skills and experience of the Likud MKs with Gantz and his cronies.

Could the downward spiral of Blue and White have been the aim of Binyamin Bibi Netanyahu's offer to Benny Gantz all along?

What do you think?

Sa'ar versus Netanyahu Bad For Likud

I never really thought much of Gidon Saar, the wannabe running against Bibi in the Likud Primaries. I've voted in many Likud Primaries in the past, and this one is bad news.

That's because it's obvious that Blue and White will be marking down all the nasty stuff said against each of Likud's candidates in order to use the dirt against the winner. So whoever wins will lose.

Saar should have declared that although in the future he thinks he'll be Likud leader, but for the good of the country and the party, he's supporting Binyamin Bibi Netanyahu so Likud will win the national Knesset Elections.

Could Saar be a pawn of whoever is bankrolling Blue and White?

GUEST POST: Who Are the Palestinians

(a guest post by Mr. Cohen)

=========================================

TABLE OF CONTENTS:
=========================================
1. Who Are the Palestinians? by Yashiko Sagamori
2. What happened to the Philistines? by Mr. Cohen
3. Josephus and the Philistines by Mr. Cohen
4. Where did the Philistines come from? by Mr. Cohen
5. Where did the Philistines live? by Mr. Cohen
6. Four Quotes about Palestine
7. Why did the Olso peace treaty fail?
8. Articles about the Palestinians from Aish HaTorah (LINKS)
9. More Articles about the Palestinians (miscellaneous) (LINKS)
10. Articles about the Palestinians from Mr. Patrick Condell (LINKS)
11. Pro-Israel Articles from Aish HaTorah (LINKS)
12. Articles Refuting the BDS Movement from Aish HaTorah (LINKS)
13. Articles about Media Bias against Israel from Aish HaTorah (LINKS)
14. Ancient Roman historians connected Jews with the Land of Israel
15. Why Israel’s 1967 Borders are Undefendable (LINKS)
=========================================
Who Are the Palestinians?
by Yashiko Sagamori  --  2002 November 25

Yashiko Sagamori is a New York-based

Information Technology consultant.
=========================================

If you are so sure that "Palestine, the country, goes back

through most of recorded history", I expect you to be able

to answer a few basic questions about that country of "Palestine":

1. When was it founded and by whom?

2. What were its borders?

3. What was its capital?

4. What were its major cities?

5. What constituted the basis of its economy?

6. What was its form of government?

7. Can you name at least one Palestinian leader before Arafat?

8. Was Palestine ever recognized by a country whose existence,

at that time or now, leaves no room for interpretation?

9. What was the [unique] language of the country of Palestine?

10. What was the prevalent religion of the country of Palestine?

11. What was the name of its currency? Choose any date in history

and try and find the approximate exchange rate of the Palestinian

 monetary unit against the US dollar, German mark, British pound,

Japanese yen, or Chinese yuan on that date.

12. Have the Palestinians left any artifacts behind?

13. Do you know of a library where one could find a work

of Palestinian literature produced before 1967 CE?

14. And, finally, since there is no such country today,

what caused its demise and when did it occur?

If you are lamenting the "low sinking" of "once proud"

nation, then please tell me, when exactly was that "nation"

proud and what was it so proud of?

And here is the least sarcastic question of all: If the people

you mistakenly call "Palestinians" are anything but generic

Arabs collected from all over - or thrown out of - the Arab

world, if they really have a genuine ethnic identity that gives

them right for self-determination, why did they never try

to become independent until Arabs suffered their devastating

defeat by Israel in the 1967 Six Day War?

I hope you avoid the temptation to trace the modern-day

"Palestinians" to the Biblical Philistines: substituting

etymology for history won´t work here.

The truth should be obvious to everyone who wants to know it. 

Arab countries have never abandoned the dream of destroying

Israel; they still cherish it today. Having time and again failed

to achieve their evil goal through military means, they decided

to fight Israel by proxy. 

For that purpose, they created a terrorist organization, cynically

called it "the Palestinian people" and installed it in Gaza, Judea,

and Samaria.  How else can you explain the refusal by Jordan

and Egypt to unconditionally accept back the "West Bank"

and Gaza, respectively, in the aftermath of the 1967 war?

The fact is, Arabs populating Gaza, Judea, and Samaria have

much less of a claim to nationhood than the American Indian

tribe that successfully emerged in Connecticut with the purpose

of starting a tax-exempt casino: at least that tribe had a constructive

goal that motivated them.

The so-called "Palestinians" have only one motivation:

the destruction of Israel. In my book that is not sufficient to

consider them a "nation" -- or anything else -- except what they

really are: a terrorist organization that will one day be dismantled.

In fact, there is only one way to achieve piece in the Middle East.

Arab countries must acknowledge and accept their defeat in

their war against Israel and, as the losing side, should pay Israel

reparations for the more than 50 years of devastation they have

visited upon it. The most appropriate form of such reparations

would be the removal of their terrorist organization from the

land of Israel and acceptance of Israel´s ancient sovereignty

over Gaza, Judea, and Samaria.

That will mark the end of the Palestinian people.

What are you saying again was its beginning?

======================================

What happened to the Philistines? by Mr. Cohen
======================================
Some Palestinians claim to be descendants of the Philistines,

an ancient nation that is mentioned in the Bible.  This claim

is very unlikely to be true, because around the year 600 BCE,

King Nebuchadnezzar [king of Babylon] destroyed most of

the Philistines, and the rest were deported to Babylon. 

According to the article titled: “Who Were the Philistines?”

written by Owen Jarus, which appeared in Live Science

magazine on 2016 July 16:

“The Philistines disappear from written history during the 6th century B.C. when the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar II (reign ca. 605 BC – c. 562 BC) conquered the region and destroyed several cities, including Ashkelon [which was their main city].”

======================================

Josephus and the Philistines by Mr. Cohen
======================================
Michael Avioz wrote an essay titled: “The Philistines in Josephus’ Writings”.
In the final paragraph of this essay, which is titled “Conclusion”, he says:

               “Unlike the Egyptians, the
               Philistines no longer existed
             in Josephus’ own life-time.”

Since the famous historian Josephus lived around 2,000 years ago

in the Holy Land [which was then called the land of Judea] this

means that the Philistines were already vanished from the Holy Land

around 2,000 years ago.  Therefore, claims that the Palestinians

are descendants of the Biblical Philistines are very unlikely to be true.

SOURCE: “The Philistines in Josephus’ Writings” by Michael Avioz

www.academia.edu/22646521/The_Philistines_in_Josephus_Writings

======================================

Where did the Philistines come from? by Mr. Cohen

======================================

The ancient Philistines originated from the
AEGEAN area, according to the World Book
Encyclopedia, volume 15 (letter P), page 382, 2017.

The Aegean Sea is part of Greece.  Therefore,
the Philistines were Greeks. They were NOT
indigenous to the Land of Israel; they were foreign.

======================================

Where did the Philistines live? by Mr. Cohen
======================================

The ancient Philistines lived in what is now
southwestern Israel, according to the World Book
Encyclopedia, volume 15 (letter P), page 382, 2017.

 

Therefore, if the Palestinians have any claim
to the Land of Israel that is based on the
ancient Philistines, then that claim is limited to
southwest Israel, also known as Gaza.

======================================
Four Quotes about Palestine

======================================

***** QUOTE 1: *****

Zuheir Mohsen, a leader of the PLO (Palestine Liberation Organization),
said this in an interview with Trouw (a Dutch daily newspaper) in March 1977:

“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. Only for political and tactical reasons

do we speak today about the existence of a Palestinian people,

since Arab national interests demand that we posit the existence

of a distinct Palestinian people to oppose Zionism."

***** QUOTE 2: *****

"From the end of the Jewish state in antiquity to the beginning

of British rule, the area now designated by the name Palestine was

not a country and had no frontiers, only administrative boundaries…"

SOURCE:

Professor Bernard Lewis, Commentary Magazine, January 1975

***** QUOTE 3: *****

"There is no such thing as a Palestinian Arab nation...

Palestine is a name the Romans gave to Israel with the express

purpose of infuriating the Jews...

Why should we use the spiteful name meant to humiliate us?

The British chose to call the land they mandated Palestine,

and the Arabs picked it up as their nation's supposed ancient name,

though they couldn't even pronounce it correctly and turned it into

Falastin a fictional entity."

SOURCE: Golda Meir quoted by Sarah Honig,

Jerusalem Post, 25 November 1995

***** QUOTE 4: *****

"Palestine has never existed . . . as an autonomous entity.

There is no language known as Palestinian. 

There is no distinct Palestinian culture. 

There has never been a land known as Palestine governed by Palestinians. 

Palestinians are Arabs, indistinguishable from Jordanians

(another recent invention), Syrians, Lebanese, Iraqis, etc.  

Keep in mind that the Arabs control 99.9 percent of the Middle East lands.  Israel represents one-tenth of one percent of the landmass. 

But that's too  much for the Arabs.  They want it all.

And that is ultimately what the fighting in Israel is about today . . .

No matter how many land concessions the Israelis make,

it will never be enough."

SOURCE: Myths of the Middle East by Joseph Farah,

an Arab-American editor and journalist,
www.WorldNetDaily.com, 11 October 2000

======================================
Why did the Oslo peace treaty fail?

======================================

“[The] Olso [peace treaty] also failed because the Palestinians,
while talking peace in English, continued to build hate
against Israelis in Arabic, in their mosques and textbooks.

And they continued to draw maps of a future
Palestinian state that erased Israel.” 

SOURCE: Longitudes and Attitudes (page 224)
by Thomas L. Friedman, 2002 April 7

***********************************************
Articles about the Palestinians from Aish HaTorah:

***********************************************
www.aish.com/jw/me/Golda-Meir-on-the-Palestinians.html

www.aish.com/shraga_blog/The_Palestinian_Money_Pit.html
 
www.aish.com/jw/me/The-Truth-about-Palestinians.html

www.aish.com/jw/me/Believing-Palestinian-Lies.html

www.aish.com/jw/mo/Staged-Palestinian-Photos.html

www.aish.com/jw/s/The_Pro-Palestinians_Real_Agenda.html

www.aish.com/jw/me/48882577.html

www.aish.com/jw/me/48897862.html

www.aish.com/jw/me/48883522.html

www.aish.com/jw/me/48908777.html
 
**********************************************

More Articles about the Palestinians (miscellaneous)
**********************************************

The Palestinian Connection to the Nazis
by Wolfgang G. Schwanitz, 2017 May 14
www.algemeiner.com/2017/05/14/the-palestinian-connection-to-the-nazis/
 
How a pro-Palestinian American reporter
changed his views on Israel and the conflict
by Hunter Stuart, 2017 February 15
www.jpost.com/Jerusalem-Report/A-view-from-the-frontlines-480829

Dismantling the Palestinian Lie

by Yaakov Menken,  2018 May 25
https://cross-currents.com/2018/05/25/dismantling-the-palestinian-lie/

Why Palestinian Incitement Matters
by Jonathan Rosenblum, 2009 November 5
https://cross-currents.com/2009/11/05/why-palestinian-incitement-matters/

End the False Israeli-Palestinian Parity
by Daniel Pipes, 2017 July 9  
www.algemeiner.com/2017/07/09/end-the-false-israeli-palestinian-parity/

Palestine: Failing the test of history
Martin Sherman 2018 June 6
www.jns.org/opinion/palestine-failing-the-test-of-history/

Rudy Giuliani said: Terror promotion proves
Palestinian Authority is ‘not entitled to be a state’
www.jns.org/rudy-giuliani-the-pa-is-not-entitled-to-be-a-state/

What is Palestine? Who are the Palestinians?
www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9ReF4UUa4E

********************************************

Mr. Patrick Condell has no Jewish ancestors

and no religion that might cause him to favor Jews.

Please read these short pro-Israel articles that

expose the Palestinians by Mr. Patrick Condell:
********************************************
http://shilohmusings.blogspot.com/2016/09/boo-hoo-palestine-by-pat-condell.html

http://shilohmusings.blogspot.com/2016/09/patronising-palestinians.html

http://shilohmusings.blogspot.com/2016/09/the-great-palestinian-lie.html

http://shilohmusings.blogspot.com/2016/09/useful-idiots-for-palestine.html

http://shilohmusings.blogspot.com/2016/09/israel-and-united-nations.html

http://shilohmusings.blogspot.com/2016/09/why-do-muslims-always-blame-jews.html
http://shilohmusings.blogspot.com/2016/09/liberal-hypocrisy-over-gaza.html

********************************************

Pro-Israel Articles from Aish HaTorah

********************************************

www.aish.com/jw/me/Ten-Ways-Israel-Is-Treated-Differently.html

www.aish.com/jw/me/13-Facts-about-Israel--the-Middle-East.html

www.aish.com/jw/s/The_Pro-Palestinians_Real_Agenda.html

www.aish.com/jw/me/Why-Are-There-Still-Palestinian-Refugees.html

www.aish.com/jw/me/The-Arabs-Real-Grievance-against-the-Jews.html

www.aish.com/jw/me/Col-Richard-Kemp-on-Israels-Moral-Army.html

www.aish.com/ho/i/Menachem-Begin-on-the-Lessons-of-the-Holocaust.html

http://5tjt.com/why-israel-is-the-worlds-best-nation-an-amazing-article-in-an-italian-paper/

***************************************************
Articles Refuting the BDS Movement from Aish HaTorah
***************************************************

www.aish.com/jw/me/The-BDS-Smokescreen.html

www.aish.com/jw/me/BDS-The-Attempt-to-Strangle-Israel.html

www.aish.com/jw/me/BDS-and-Anti-Semitism.html

www.aish.com/jw/me/Fighting-BDS-in-the-Name-of-Human-Rights.html

www.aish.com/jw/s/Winning-the-BDS-Battle.html

www.aish.com/jw/s/10-Ways-You-Can-Fight-BDS.html

*******************************************************

Articles about Media Bias against Israel from Aish HaTorah

*******************************************************

Why is the Media Biased?

www.aish.com/jw/mo/48917482.html

4 Reasons Why the Media is Biased against Israel:

www.aish.com/jw/mo/4-Reasons-Why-the-Media-is-Biased-against-Israel.html

Dishonest Reporting: Media Bias Against Israel

www.aish.com/jw/mo/48932327.html

The Media: Destroying Jerusalem Again

www.aish.com/shraga_blog/The-Media-Destroying-Jerusalem-Again.html

European Media and Anti-Israel Bias

www.aish.com/jw/mo/48924097.html

Palestinians: Western Media's Ignorance and Bias
www.aish.com/jw/mo/Palestinians-Western-Medias-Ignorance-and-Bias.html

Huge source of high-quality pro-Israel videos

https://www.youtube.com/user/PragerUniversity

An Insider’s Guide to the Most Important Story on Earth

by Matti Friedman, 2014/8/26

www.tabletmag.com/jewish-news-and-politics/183033/israel-insider-guide

SUMMARY:

This article exposes intentional anti-Israel bias in the news media.

It is still VERY relevant, even though it was written in 2014.

*********************************************************

Ancient Roman historians connected Jews with the Land of Israel:
*********************************************************
http://shilohmusings.blogspot.com/2016/05/guest-post-cornelius-tacticus.html
https://shilohmusings.blogspot.com/2017/02/guest-post-josephus-vs-muslim-liars.html
*******************************************

Why Israel’s 1967 Borders are Undefendable:

*******************************************
www.algemeiner.com/2017/10/27/israel-cannot-withdraw-from-the-west-bank/
https://shilohmusings.blogspot.com/2017/03/guest-post-why-1967-borders-are-suicide.html