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Ugh, I need a break...
So much anti-Zionism, even from Jews.
"...price of apartments i central Israel shot up in expectation for the wave of relocating settlers."
So a creation of a palestinian state would mean the ethnic cleansing of Jews? That's why I don't trust a one state solution, to be honest...
"Staying put, on the other hand, may or may not lead quickly or directly to a one-state solution with Jews and Arabs being equals under a democratic and secular law."
The author uses sweet words and concepts that are merely wishful thinking. Excuse us Jews, who have family that were expelled from Arab lands, had their business and possessions stolen with no compensation or right of return, for being rather skeptical of this actually happening.
Name one Arab state that is secular and not Islamic, name one that has Jewish national holidays, name one that isn't riddled with antisemitism. Oh, wait, the author won't because it would undermine his position - as would the expulsion of all Jews from palestinian controlled territory. So would bringing up the laws that make it illegal to send land to Jews, or the fact that when palestinians call for deaths, it's of Jews.
So you see, what many people want is what they promise would be one big secular state in which everyone lived equally. It happened before Israel, these proponents insist.
I mean, if you ignore the actual apartheid where Jews, who were viewed as filthy, were literally not allowed to go out when it rained. What if their filth washed out into the street and touched those nice clean Arabs! The horror, the horror.
Yes, I'm bitter about this, because what this man wants us to head back into - willingly, no less - is a state of dhimmi-hood. Yes, you were protected - so long as you paid the taxes that non-Arabs/non-Muslims paid. Or, y'know, if someone really wanted your stuff and then they could legally steal it.
My stomach is turning, and I'm near in tears, but I've got an obsession with the way that palestine is used to demonize Jewish self-determination. This book absolutely ignores the state the Jews lived in under Arab rule, and I suspect it will continue to do so. To shine light on the absolutely disgusting racism Jews lived with would be to expose the lie of a one-state solution in which it's promised the Jews would have equality. I don't believe it.
I also don't believe that all Muslims, Arabs, or even the Arabs who identify as palestinian, are racist against Jews. But I do believe the ADL when they say that 93% of the citizens in palestine - and remember, there are no Jews because they skipped apartheid, and went straight to ethnically cleansing all the Jews - are antisemitic.
As for calling for Jews? They sing about it in gaza.
One song titled 'kill all the Jews'.
The first line is 'stop and kill all the Jews' and continues on with 'exterminate all the Zionists, the world will be better for it.'
They also think you should kidnap kids.
It's supposedly satire. It's really just gross.
Although going through my timeline looking for another song of gazans on the border chanting that they're coming for Jews with molotov cocktails amongst their weapons, I had to laugh when I found this tweet.
For reference: the palestinian information center claimed a doctor was coming to help gaza from France. It was a shot of Kathryn Heigl posing for a Gray's anatomy promotion. (I cannot link to the original source since it was deleted in shame. They did apologize however, here on Facebook.)
I'm not surprised that there are lies of omission in this book. One only has to look at this debunked hoax. The critic was acquitted of libel in 2008 - and it's still used to demonize Israel.
There's more:
"This footage, shot by a Palestinian cameraman working for Reuters, had familiarized me with the Palestinian practice of staging scenes, whose basic sequence ran: Fake a dramatic injury, have people gather around you, pick you up (often brutally, without stretchers) and rush you to an ambulance, helpers eagerly grabbing the injured on the run, in order to get on camera. Those carrying the wounded, then throw him in the back of the ambulance, slam shut the doors, and the driver takes off, sirens blaring. That evening, you all go home and see how many times you made the news.
I already knew that Palestinians faked footage, but what I now understood was that the mainstream news media, whose first imperative was to filter out such blatant propaganda, had accepted it as a normal practice, and used the fakes to tell the “real” story."
From: This tablet article.
From the same article: "Indeed, as one Jordanian editor noted, Arab states have been innovators of fake news."
Again fro this article: "Karsenty is so shocked that fake images were used and edited in Gaza, but this happens all the time everywhere on television and no TV journalist in the field or a film editor would be shocked"
I should note that Karsenty was accused of libel - and found not guilty because he could prove that the film was staged/faked.
Then again, the article also states this: "prevailing [p]alestinian, premodern, attitudes in which manipulating evidence to make accusations of murder, is loyalty to a higher truth"
They believe that demonizing Israel to further their cause is a 'higher truth' and lying the world is okay to portray that truth. The greater truth is that they are perpetual victims if they don't get what they want.
I'm sure, when I say, I need sources - not one, sources plural - for anything coming from within palestine, someone will call me Islamaphobic. Um, no, I'm one of the people standing up for the Muslim woman who is being sued, with Linda Sarsour's help, because she accused a man Sarsour called a good Muslim man. That man sexually harassed this woman and then stalked her.
I believe Muslim woman when they say they were harassed. I've also seen the TV shows from palestine encouraging children to hate and kill Jews. I've also viewed footage showing some staging of pallywood.
I don't take people seriously who whine about me being unfair, while they ignore this side of things. That being said: Israeli politicians have called for the genocide of palestinians. This is gross. Yes, there are occasional acts of actual Israeli terrorism like the family that was burned in their home. (The culprits were caught by the Israeli government, and not paid a monthly salary. They did jail time, although I agree with critics who said it was a minimal time and agree it could have been far more.) Yes, Israel is imperfect, but I like to think it's trying.
Also, do not compare the separation fence - which is mostly a fence, and only at one point a wall - to the wall Trump wants to build to me. I have so much to say about that. Like the people coming to the US border don't have a history of suicide bombing, stabbings, and car rammings, or murdering Jews. The fence had an actual reason for going up and has stopped many terrorist acts and murders. I support the fence, and I don't support the wall, which is meant to keep people out before they've really done anything.
I'm also not as appalled by the tear gas on the US border as many of my friends are. Then again, I'm the one who has interest in the Israel/palestine conflict - and tear gas is used heavily there. Perhaps if so many people weren't calling for the deaths of Jews - not Zionists, and yes, even hamas higher ups are calling for the death of Jews - then I'd be more appalled in the gaza situation. As it stands, I'm all for proactively protecting Jewish lives. And this has made me understand the use of tear gas on the US border: it's a different situation and part of me feels as if I should be more appalled, but I'm not because of so many people's indifference to the desire for the death of Jews. It's hardened my heart a little, to be honest, and made me understand why unpalatable things are sometimes necessary for security reasons.
I'm sure someone is wondering 'why is she reading this book, then?' Someone once told me to listen to palestinian voices. I'm wondering how much pallywood I'll encounter. I also like getting the other side, if only to know what I'll need to counter. I'm fascinated the palestinian side of things, even if I rarely agree with it.
I'm also super depressed, and as anxious as this makes me feel, it also makes me feel like I'm reading gnarly doing something important.
Meanwhile, guess who's finally enjoying her Boston Public Library card? I didn't think they'd have a huge Israeli history section - I secretly thought of it as the 'Jewish section' although that's not so secret now - and I spent a good half an hour just looking at the three or so bays of titles in this section. I ended up getting at least half that had much of the palestinian narrative, possible more, but I think I'll end up debunking much of this.
Yes, I'm going to get super political and people may not like what I have to say - but I'm gonna say my piece. Should you expect super long updates like this all along? Maybe, maybe not.
But this review is gonna be scathing if there isn't a surprise u-turn at the end...
My thriller, Smokescreen, is No 67 on Goodreads' Palestine-Israel Listopia.
If you've read the novel and you have a Goodreads account, I'd appreciate a vote. Each vote brings more awareness to the book. Thank you.
KTIsrael_Palestine Conflict Goodreads' Books
I have a soft spot for memoirs. Not just memoirs, but memoirs of regular people. I love to learn about the many lives that are out there and reality tv just doesn't do it. Memoirs are personal accounts of the things that people have been through. I've read a few already, but even those are mostly from people who are famous (or were by the time the memoir got into my hands). There is a lot more to the human experience than we see on a daily basis, so the next five memoirs that I've chosen to read (though they will be scattered among other reading in the coming months) are about people and experiences vastly different from my own. Here they are:
Do you read memoirs? What are you reading next?
