Franklin Chan

The Quantum History of Palestine

The Palestinian struggle for freedom is as old as time itself. Actually, it’s outside of time. I’ll explain.

Look at this poster from 1947.

That’s a Zionist poster.

Fine, but how can you not shed a tear at this plea from 1940?

Dang it! That’s also a Zionist poster!

Okay, but this exhibition from 1925 must be…

Oh crap. Tel Aviv. Totally Jewish. Totally Zionist.

Yeah, fine, okay, whatever. But this poster from 1919…

Damn! Zionist!

Fine! But this iconic poster, used by Free Palestiners everywhere is surely…

…the work of Zionist artist Franz Krausz, created to encourage Jewish immigration to Mandatory Palestine.

Turns out that until recently “free Palestine” was a Jewish motto.

You see, the word “Palestine” was first used as a political term by Roman Emperor Hadrian in order to punish the rebellious Jews by renaming Judea after its ancient enemies, the Philistines. Sort of like if someone renamed modern Israel “Naziporkistan.”

While the name was used by both the Roman Empire and the Arab Empire, it wasn’t used by the Islamic Ottoman Empire, which ruled the region from 1517 to 1917.

So how was this region called for half a millenia? Well, It wasn’t called anything. Instead of being a single province like in Roman and Arab times, it was split between the Beirut vilayet, the Jerusalem Mutasarrifate, and the Hejaz vilayet, which also included parts of Egypt, Arabia and Lebanon. The people who lived there had no more national identity than the people of Madison county. 

They were just Ottoman subjects.

So the British didn't conquer Palestine in 1917. They created it.

If you look at the UN partition map from 1947, you’ll see that Mandatory Palestine is divided between Jews and Arabs. No mention of a Palestinian people.

If you called an Arab living in mandatory Palestine, “Palestinian,” he’d be either confused or offended. For example, in the First Congress of Muslim-Christian Associations which met in Jerusalem in 1919, the following resolution was adopted: 

"We consider Palestine as part of Arab Syria, as it has never been separated from it at any time. We are connected with it by national, religious, linguistic, natural, economic and geographical bonds."

In 1937, the Arab leader Auni Bey Abdul-Hadi, told the Peel Commission: 

"There is no such country! 'Palestine' is a term the Zionists invented! There is no Palestine in the Bible. Our country was for centuries part of Syria."

In 1947, the representative of the Arab Higher Committee to the United Nations submitted the following statement to the General Assembly: 

"Palestine is part of the Province of Syria… the Arabs of Palestine were not independent in the sense of forming a separate political entity."

A few years later, Ahmad Shukeiri, first chairman of the PLO, told the Security Council: 

"It is common knowledge that Palestine is nothing but southern Syria."

Okay, so no Palestinians in British times, just Arabs who wanted to make Syria great again. 

Contrary to popular belief, it wasn’t Israel who first occupied Gaza and the West Bank. It was Egypt and Jordan. 

This means that between 1948 and 1967, Gaza and the West Bank were under Egyptian and Jordanian control. The Arabs had also “liberated” these regions from the Jewish communities who existed there for thousands of years. This was followed by 20 years of Judenfrei Arab rule.

What happened to the Palestinian dream during those years?

In 1950, Jordan upgraded its occupation to an outright annexation. Surprisingly, no one had a problem with it. In the words of American diplomat Stuart W. Rockwell:

"The union of Arab Palestine and Jordan had been brought about as a result of the will of the people."

During these 20 years, the hundreds of thousands of Arabs who fled Israel were never resettled by the countries who accepted them (unlike the nearly million Jews expelled by the same countries or the Arabs who remained in Israel). If these people were indeed Palestinians and Gaza and the West Bank were Palestine, why not resettle the Palestinians in this Palestinian territory? Why deny them and their children and their grandchildren citizenship even as their compatriots who stayed in Israel became citizens?

We’re in the ‘60s now. This is still an imperialist struggle by Arab colonizers to reconquer a small bit of land from the unruly natives… except it’s not the kind of story people like to hear so the Palestine Liberation Organization is formed in Cairo.

Its goals include “Arab Unity” and the “liberation of Palestine”. Interestingly, it makes no territorial claims over the West Bank or Gaza, making us wonder what exactly “liberation of Palestine” means?

Here’s a quote from the first speech by its first leader:

"It is either us or the Israelis. We shall destroy Israel and its inhabitants and as for the survivors – if there are any – the boats are ready to deport them."

Only after Israel gained control over Gaza and the West Bank, suddenly they became part of the future Palestinian state. It’s almost as if the borders of Palestine change all the time to correspond exactly with the borders of Israel. If Israel disappeared, Palestine would disappear. I wonder… If Israel moved to Alaska… 

But we digress!

In 1995, prominent Arab anti-Zionist activist and politician Azmi Bishra said:

“I don't think there is such a thing as a "Palestinian nation", I think it's a colonial invention, when were there Palestinians? Where is it? I think there is an Arab nation.”

In 2012 Hamas Minister of the Interior and of National Security Fathi Hammad said:

"Half of the Palestinians Are Egyptians and the Other Half Are Saudis."

Seems that in order to understand Palestinian history and geography, you have to be a time traveling 4D chess player. Nevertheless, I’ll try to summarize: the Palestinians were invented in the ‘60s because imperialism went out of fashion and indigenous struggles became fashionable… but only in the West. This required a degree of chameleonism. 

When talking to a Muslim audience, they’re part of the great Arab nation fighting to reclaim lost Islamic territory. When speaking to a Western audience, they’re an oppressed indigenous minority that existed since dinosaur times.

In short, Palestine is a masterpiece of doublethink!

URI KURLIANCHIK

RIP Hank

images of the Sun captured during the first year of NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) mission.

Credit: NASA/SDO

The Al Jazeera channel saves Israel from the lie that it is responsible for the attack on the hospital.

Attached here is a recording of Aljazeera's live broadcast today against the background of Gaza.

Pay attention to the broadcast time on the right. 18:59 - In the background we can see a failed launch that crashes inside the Gaza strip - exactly at the time when the red alert warning was activated across Israel.

The line of reports running at the bottom of the page talks about the elimination of Iman Nofal so that the broadcast is certainly from today.

Do you remember that I wrote to you that the incident was first reported around 19:10 (I will immediately provide proof)?

That is, a reasonable period of time of about ten minutes from the moment of the impact to the Gaza news channels.

Here is live proof courtesy of Aljazeera - a launch from Gaza is responsible for the impact inside the Gaza Strip

Thanks to the “Hot News” Telegram channel for the video!

Let me say this in the clearest possible terms. If you’re concerned with Israel’s response, if you’re focused on the people of Gaza right now, you’re either ignorant or intentionally hypocritical. 

2005: Israel handed Gaza over on a silver platter. No “occupation”, no Israeli presence, nothing. 100% theirs. If they wanted anything other than dead Jews, they had the chance. 

In what world is it normal to demand a country provide water and electricity to its enemy when there is clear evidence that they are using those water pipes to create rockets that then kill Israelis? 

You’re worried about the electricity and water in Gaza? You can provide it. Don’t want to? Then keep your mouth shut. 

They have nowhere to go those poor Palestinians? Why don’t you go look at a map? They have a border with Egypt. Let them take them in if they care so much.  

Oh, Egypt doesn’t want them? Did you hear that? That was my heart breaking for them. Egypt can take them. They don’t want them? Not my problem.  

You’re worried about a disproportionate response by Israel? Kindly tell me what a proportionate response would look like. 

Because if we did what they did to us, that would require the murder, abduction, and rape of over a thousand people. 

Is that what you’re recommending Israel does? Because that’s pretty sick of you. 

And once and for all, we need to unequivocally reject the false narrative of “They’re not all Hamas supporters so Israel has no right to attack Gaza.”

A- The Palestinian people elected Hamas. Make up your mind. If they’re a people who you believe deserve a state then it’s time you held them accountable as a people. They elected Hamas. They will pay for that tragic decision.  

B- The Palestinian people, not 100, 1,000, or 10,000 of them, give out candies when innocent Jews are murdered. Have you seen thousands of Palestinians speaking out against Hamas? I haven’t. Where are they? Their silence is all I need to know. 

C- In every war in the history of the world, innocent people die. That fact, as sad as it might be, has zero relevance to whether the war is justified or not. Need I remind you how many innocent Germans died in WWII? Israel is fighting Nazis now. Zero difference. In war, innocent people die. 

D- And finally, don’t come at me with the whole “They can’t speak out. Hamas will kill them.” 

Where have we heard that before? “I was just fulfilling orders. I had no choice.” 

Oh yes, that was what the Nazis said. It was not a legit argument then and it’s not a legit argument now. 

What Israel experienced on October 7th was the equivalent of 9/11 times 50. Israel WILL retaliate accordingly and it will not stop no matter how much you throw your double standard at us. 

We not only have every right to do whatever we can to obliterate Hamas, we have a moral obligation to do so.  

You might not know this now, but a world without Hamas is a safer world for you and your children. 

If you didn’t complain when ISIS was defeated, if you think WWII was justified in order to defeat the Nazis, then you can either stand with Israel while we cleanse the world of Hamas savages or you can go ahead and keep your mouth shut while we do the work from which you will benefit. 

If you have any integrity at all, go read the charters of Hamas and the PLO. If you’re honest, ask yourself what “From the river to the sea” means. Look at a map if you can’t figure it out. It means no Israel. Do you support that? Throwing all Israelis into the sea? Because that’s what that means. 

If you are still delusional enough to think they want a state, go Google The Partition Plan. They had one. They rejected it. Then google how many times Israel offered them a state.

And if, after all that, you still think the Palestinian’s agenda is anything other than total genocide of the Jewish people, congratulations, you have earned the privilege of being named a flaming antisemite who supports murder and rape. 

I’m sure your mother is proud.

Hillel Fuld

04_2018_11000010

Zum gestrigen Internationalen Gedenktag an den Holocaust lief in vielen Kinos weltweit der preisgekrönte Dokumentarfilm des verstorbenen Regisseurs Claude Lanzmann SHOAH von 1985.

Als Auszug daraus das Interview mit Jan Karski.

Es lebe Israel!

What’s life like under Hamas? ‘Whispered in Gaza’ offers unique, courageous testimony

In an unprecedented series of animated videos, drawn from interviews carried out by the NY-based Center for Peace Communications, ordinary Gazans tell heartwrenching stories

The short clips — none of them longer than two and a half minutes — offer poignant insights into day-to-day life in the Strip, an area that most outsiders cannot reach and whose residents directly suffer from the consequent lack of understanding.

We meet ordinary people telling authentic stories about common problems that are drastically exacerbated by Hamas’s control, ordinary people with expectations and aspirations and dreams — from running a pharmacy to working as a journalist to simply dancing — that they are forbidden from realizing.

All names have been changed, and CPC employed animation and voice-altering technology to protect speakers’ identity.

The participants consented to be interviewed for the sake of relaying their ideas and experiences to an international audience, noted CPC president Joseph Braude, adding, “They want these stories to be heard.”

You can watch the entire first week’s playlist of eight videos here.