Jewish American Heritage Month

Posted By admin on December 11, 2016

The Palestinian Authority held a free, democratic election in 2005. Israel is building the security fence as part of a land grab to control the West Bank and prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state. The demographic threat to Israel posed by Arabs in the West Bank and Gaza is overrated and therefore Israel need not make territorial compromises. Israel is killing Palestinians with radiation spy machines. Unlike other Arab women, Palestinian women are not killed for dishonoring their families. Israel has moved the border so it will not withdraw completely from the Gaza Strip. Hamas should be permitted to participate in Palestinian Authority elections. Israel's disengagement from Gaza was a victory for terror. Israel is obstructing Palestinian elections. Academic freedom means any criticism of Israel is permissible in a university. The Palestinian Authority held a democratic election and Israel and the rest of the world must accept that Hamas was the victor. Israel is digging under the Al-Aksa mosque and intends to destroy it. Israel is responsible for disparaging cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad. The Palestinians have maintained a truce and ceased terror operations against Israel. The PA is entitled to international aid because Hamas was democratically elected and the Palestinian people should not be made to suffer because Israel doesnt like the election outcome. Saudi Arabia has ended its boycott of Israel. Israel is knowingly desecrating a Muslim holy place in Jerusalem by building a museum on top of a cemetery. Hamas is a threat only to Israel. Palestinians have the right to sell land to Jews. Israel has no justification for withholding tax monies due to the Palestinian Authority. If Israel ends the occupation, there will be peace. Israel deliberately targets Lebanese civilians. Israel should exchange Arab prisoners for soldiers kidnaped by Hamas and Hizballah. The media is fairly and accurately covering the war in Lebanon. Israeli forces deliberately targeted civilians during the war instigated by Hizballah. A unity Palestinian government will reinvigorate the peace process. Saudi Arabia has proposed a new formula for a comprehensive peace. A new report proves Israeli settlements are built on Palestinian land. The overwhelming majority of casualties in the war with Hizballah were civilians. Abbas is helpless to stop the terrorists. Israel is obstructing progress toward a Palestinian state. Israeli Arabs are unpatriotic. Women are not recruited to become suicide bombers. Palestinian terrorist groups are committed to a cease-fire. Israel is damaging the Temple Mount and threatening Islamic shrines. Palestinians are moderating their views toward Israel. The Arab peace initiative reflects the Arab states acceptance of Israel. Israel is denying health care to Palestinians. The Hamas takeover of Gaza poses no threat to Christians. Lebanon has abided by UN Resolution 1701 and poses no direct threat to Israel. Israel is once again expelling Arabs from Palestine. The occupation has sapped Israel's morale as reflected by the decline in Israelis willing to serve in the IDF. Israel has nothing to fear from a nuclear Iran. Israels presumed nuclear capability is stoking an arms race. Irans nuclear program threatens only Israel. No state in the world connects its national identity to a religious identity. Arab participation in the Annapolis conference signaled a new attitude toward Israel. Palestinians prefer to live in a Palestinian state. Israel and the Palestinians agree a future Palestinian state will have an army. Gaza settlers greenhouses have bolstered the PA economy. The humanitarian crisis in Gaza is Israel's fault. Israel's actions in Gaza were disproportionate and unprovoked. Israel's enemies must recognize the Jewish state's right to exist. Palestinians are driven to terror by poverty and desperation. Israel must negotiate with Hamas. Mahmoud Abbas has rooted out the corruption in the Palestinian Authority . Hizbollah is a resistance movement whose only interest is fighting Israel. Palestinian terrorist groups agreed to a cease-fire to advance the peace process. Olmert's resignation means the end of peace talks with the Palestinians. Arabs cannot vote in Israel. Israel is intolerant of homosexuality. Hamas will not break a ceasefire. Arab states' sincerity in promoting their peace initiative is reflected in their positions in international forums. Charles Freeman was the right choice for chair of the National Intelligence Council and the Israel lobby was responsible for his not being appointed. Arab states support Iran. Netanyahu is not an advocate for peace. The United States missed an opportunity to address the issue of global racism in its non-participation in Durban II. Abbas is ready to accept a Jewish state in the framework of a two-state solution. Khaled Meshaal seeks peace, not the destruction of Israel. The popes trip to Israel shows that issues between Israel and the Vatican have been resolved. Obama and Netanyahu have irreconcilable visions of peace. Netanyahu's government refuses to honor past agreements on settlements. There is urgency to resolve the Palestinian-Israel conflict. Palestinian leaders are committed to peace. Fatah's Sixth Congress proved the party's rejuvenated committment to peace. Saudi Arabia is on the path to normalizing relations with Israel. The Goldstone Report proves Israel is guilty of war crimes in Gaza. In exchange for a settlement freeze, Arab states are offering overflight rights as a peace gesture to Israel. Jews were responsible for the defeat of Egypt's candidate for UNESCO. The enemies of Israel will not misuse the Goldstone Report. Amnesty's water report fairly portrays Israel. The threat Hizbollah poses to Israel has diminished. Syria is ready for peace with Israel. Settlements are an obstacle to negotiations. Egypt's blockade of Gaza has provoked international criticism. George Mitchell threatened Israel. The U.S. is maintaining Israel's qualitative edge. The Israelis and the Palestinians share equal blame in creating recent obstacles to peace. Israel is an apartheid state. Israels Inclusion of Rachels Tomb and the Cave of the Patriarchs as Jewish Heritage Sites is an attack on Palestinian sovereignty and Islam. The re-dedication of the Hurva Synagogue is an affront to Palestinians. The Palestinian Authority promotes a culture of tolerance and peace. The flotilla bound for Gaza was on a humanitarian mission. The naval blockade of Gaza does not affect Hamas and only hurts innocent civilians. UNIFIL has kept the peace in southern Lebanon. Palestinian Authority leaders have a mandate from the people to pursue peace. Ending the moratorium on settlement construction is designed to torpedo peace negotiations. Renewed settlement construction in the West Bank proves Israel is uninterested in peace. Israel has instituted a racist loyalty oath requiring immigrants to pledge allegiance to Israel as a Jewish and democratic state. The Palestinians can pressure Israel into negotiating on their terms by unilaterally declaring statehood." Israel cannot be both a democratic state and a Jewish state. The UN helps preserve Jewish holy sites in the Palestinian Territories. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is a moderate interested in compromise. Israel is the only country in the Middle East that feels threatened by Iran's nuclear ambitions. "Saudi Arabia is an ally of the West in the war on terror." The viability of a future Palestinian state is severely hampered by the continued construction of Israeli settlements." Israel illegally demolished a Palestinian national landmark in East Jerusalem." Israel is required by international law to supply goods and services to Gaza - its blockade is collective punishment." Israel must accept the demand of Palestinian refugees to 'return' in order for there to be peace." The Egyptian revolution has no impact on Israel's security. Turmoil in Egypt is a result of the failure to solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. America's veto of a UN Security Council resolution condemning settlements undermined peace talks. American media coverage of Israel is proportional with coverage given to the rest of the Middle East. 'Israel Apartheid Week' promotes peace. Palestinian terrorism is a byproduct of the 'cycle of violence' perpetuated by Israel. Israel unnecessarily maintains checkpoints to control and humiliate the Palestinians. Rockets shot from Gaza at southern Israel do not cause enough damage to justify military retaliation . Justice Goldstone remains convinced that Israel committed war crimes documented in the Goldstone Report. The Iron Dome Missile Defense System negates the need for Israel to engage in military operations against Hamas in Gaza The targeted assassination of terrorist leaders is a counterproductive military strategy Hamas-Fatah reconciliation paves the way to peace negotiations with Israel. Israel unjustly responded with violence to the protests of Nakba day. Israel must withdraw to the June 4, 1967 boundaries. "Gaza does not receive necessary humaitarian supplies due to Israel's blockade.&l's blockade." "Palestinian protestors staged non-violents demonstrations on the Israeli-Syrian border." "The 'Flotilla 2' is intended solely to relieve the humanitarian crisis in Gaza." "The United Nations repudiated the claim that Israels naval blockade of Gaza is legal." "A Unilateral Declaration of Independence is the Palestinians only avenue to advance the Peace Process." "Palestinian leaders claim that the future Palestinian state will welcome Jews and Israelis." "Mahmoud Abbas is working toward reaching peace with Israel." "Due to the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Israel's economy has been suffering." - "Gaza does not receive necessary humaitarian supplies due to Israel's blockade." - "The 'Flotilla 2' is intended solely to relieve the humanitarian crisis in Gaza." - "The United Nations repudiated the claim that Israels naval blockade of Gaza is legal." - "A Unilateral Declaration of Independence is the Palestinians only avenue to advance the Peace Process." - "Palestinian leaders claim that the future Palestinian state will welcome Jews and Israelis." - "Mahmoud Abbas is working toward reaching peace with Israel." - "Time is not on Iran's side vis-a-vis its acquiring the atomic bomb." - "Due to the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Israel's economy has been suffering." - "Of the Palestinian prisoners released in the Shalit deal, most who have spoken out say they will renounce terror." - "Israel's proposed rebuilding of the Mugrabi Gate leading to the Temple Mount is an act of religious war." - "The Palestinian leadership wants to normalize ties with Israel." - "The Palestinians agreed to negotiate with Israel without preconditions." - "Palestinians terrorism is no longer a threat to Israel." - "Israel no longer faces any threats from Gaza." - "The rights of Palestinian women are protected in the Palestinian Authority." - "Palestinians are talking about peace with Israelis in Jordan." - "Terrorism against Jews is limited to attacks in Israel and the Palestinian territories." - "Israeli democracy is threatened and Americans need to speak out to save it." - "Iran is the only Muslim nation in the Middle East seeking to develop nuclear technology." - "Women do not have equal rights in Israel." - "Israel's policy of targeted killings is immoral and counterproductive." - "Israel does not support humanitarian development and sustainablity in the Palestinian territories." - "Israel is whitewashing history to promote the judaization of Jerusalem." - "The State Department knows the capital of Israel." - "Israeli policy has caused an exodus of Christians from the West Bank." - "The United States is committed to ensuring a complete halt to the Iranian nuclear program." - "Israel's new unity government reduces the prospect for continued peace negotiations with the Palestinians." - "Palestinians no longer object to the creation of Israel." - "Mahmoud Abbas has rooted out corruption from the Palestinian Authority." - "The rise of Islamists in Egypt's government does not pose a strategic threat to Israel." - "The Palestinian Authority promotes a culture of tolerance and peace toward Israel." - "Egyptian-Israeli security cooperation is at it weakest point in years." - "Israel is culpable in the 2003 death of American activist Rachel Corrie." - "Intelligence about Iran's nuclear program may be as faulty as the information about Iraq's." - "We will know when Iran has a bomb and can take action at that time." - "Iran should be allowed a nuclear weapon since Israel has one." - "Anti-Semitism is on the decline around the world." - "Iran does not believe it can win a nuclear war." - "Iran wants to control its nuclear stockpile and would never give a bomb or nuclear material to terrorists." - "We are seeing accurate media coverage from Gaza." - "Israel is deliberately targeting the media." - "Israel's war in Gaza was immoral because more Palestinians died than Israelis." - "The Israeli construction plan called the E1 project threatens the two-state solution and the contiguity of a future Palestinian state." - "Israeli policies are obstructing peace." - "If Iran has a bomb, it can be deterred the way the U.S. deterred the Soviet Union." - “Israeli settlements are an obstacle to Mideast peace. - “The Palestinians are now ready to make peace with Israel. - “Attacking Iran will create more instability in the Middle East. - “If the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was solved, the Middle East would be at peace. - “Israel has created separate bus lines to segregate Jews and Palestinians. - “The European Union has no reason to name Hezbollah a terrorist organization. - “Non-lethal Palestinian rocket attacks have no impact on Israel's civilian population. - “Israelis overreact to harmless rock-throwing by Palestinians. - “The Palestinian Authority is committed to reforming Palestinian society. - “Now is a good time to revive the Arab peace initiative. - “Syrias chemical weapons pose no threat outside of Syria. - “Israel has refused to discuss a compromise on the future of Jerusalem. - “'Nakba Day' has nothing to do with the peace process. - “An Israeli attack on Iran would endanger U.S. interests in the Middle East. - “The United States helped Israel defeat the Arabs in six days in June 1967. - “The election of Hassan Rouhani eliminates the Iranian nuclear threat. - “The U.S. must be involved in any successful peace process between Israel and her neighbors. - “Israel 'occupies' the West Bank. - “Palestinian leaders enter peace talks with Israel sharing a common desire for democacy. - “Israel must make concessions for the peace process to succeed. - “Christians are a protected minority in the Middle East. - “Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu is disinterested in peace with the Palestinians. - “Palestinians support the boycott and divestment movement against Israel. - “Iran's Supreme Leader Khamenei issued a fatwa against producing nuclear weapons. - “Iran is isolated because of the international sanctions regime. - “Israel is responsible for expelling the Arabs of Palestine during the 1948 War of Independence. - “The Palestinians have made concessions to advance the peace process; Israel has remained uncompromising. - “A third intifada will erupt if Israel does not satisfy Palestinian demands. - “The negotiated compromise with Iran removes Tehran's nuclear weapons threat. - “The Iranian government is committed to fulfilling the terms it agreed to in the Geneva nuclear deal“

MYTH

The Palestinian Authority held a free, democratic election in 2005. top

FACT

Elections are not synonymous with democracy. Several Arab countries hold elections, including Egypt and Syria, but they have only one candidate, and there is no doubt about the outcome. The dictators are always reelected with nearly 100 percent of the vote. In those nations, no one seriously claims the elections are democratic.

In the case of the Palestinian Authority (PA) elections held in January 2005, the standards were higher. These were advertised as an example of democracy and, compared to other Arab states, the voting was a considerable advancement toward free elections.

Still, the election could hardly be called competitive as the outcome was never in doubt. Seven candidates ran for president, but the only question was the size of Mahmoud Abbas margin of victory. He won with 62.3 percent of the vote. His nearest challenger was Mustafa Barghouti with 19.8 percent.1

The election had a much lower turnout than expected (62 percent), and supporters of the Islamic terrorist organizations largely boycotted the vote, as did Arabs living in east Jerusalem. Thus, Abbas was conservatively estimated by al-Jazeera to have received the support of only about one-third of the eligible voters.2

The election process went smoothly and, despite Palestinian predictions of Israeli interference, international observers reported that Palestinians were not obstructed by Israel from participating in the election. In fact, Palestinian and Israeli officials were said to have worked well together to facilitate voting.3

Free elections can only take place in societies in which people are free to express their opinions without fear.

Natan Sharansky4

Immediately after the election, however, 46 officials from the PA Central Election Committee resigned, confirming suspicions of voting irregularities and fraud. The Committee had come under pressure from Abbas staff to extend the vote by an additional two hours and to allow non-registered voters to cast ballots to guarantee a larger turnout and improve Abbas chance of a landslide victory.

The day of the election, gunmen stormed the Committee offices to demand that Palestinians who were not registered be allowed to vote. The deputy chairman of the Committee, Ammar Dwaik, said he was personally threatened and pressured and confirmed that some voters were able to remove from their thumbs the ink that was supposed to prevent double voting.5

While Abbas is now seen as a legitimately elected leader by most Palestinians and the international community, the PA has no history of democratic institutions, so it remains in doubt whether the various terrorist groups will also accept his leadership, and whether the security services will enforce the presidents will.

Natan Sharansky observed that It is important that these elections took place, because it important that the new leadership comes, or will come, not through violence. That can be the beginning of the process of democracy.6 To move closer to true democracy, Abbas will also have to remove his predecessors restrictions on the freedoms of speech, religion, assembly, and the press. Then perhaps the next election will be truly free and democratic.

MYTH

Israel is building the security fence as part of a land grab to control the West Bank and prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state. top

FACT

The purpose of the security fence is the prevention of terror. Its route has been carefully plotted to maximize the security it provides to the citizens of Israel and minimize the inconvenience and harm to Palestinians. The route of the fence must take into account topography, population density, and threat assessment of each area. To be effective in protecting the maximum number of Israelis, it also must incorporate the largest communities in the West Bank.

After the Israeli Supreme Court ruled the government had to more carefully balance security concerns and harm to the Palestinians, the route of the fence was adjusted to run closer to the Green Line. When completed, the fence will now incorporate just 7 percent of the West Bank less than 160 square miles on its Israeli side, while 2,100 square miles will be on the Palestinian side.

If and when the Palestinians decide to negotiate an end to the conflict, the fence may be torn down or moved. Even without any change, a Palestinian state could now theoretically be created in 93 percent of the West Bank (and the PA will control 100 percent of the Gaza Strip after the disengagement is complete). This is very close to the 97 percent Israel offered to the Palestinians at Camp David in 2000, which means that while other difficult issues remain to be resolved, the territorial aspect of the dispute will be reduced to a negotiation over roughly 90 square miles.

MYTH

The demographic threat to Israel posed by Arabs in the West Bank and Gaza is overrated and therefore Israel need not make territorial compromises. top

FACT

A study was recently published that suggested the assumption that Arabs in the West Bank and Gaza pose a demographic threat to Israel has been exaggerated because the actual population in the territories is significantly lower than what is reported by Palestinian Authority (PA) officials. According to a study by a team of independent researchers, the 2004 Palestinian-Arab population was closer to 2.4 million than to the 3.8 million cited by the PA.7

The independent study comes up with its figures largely by deconstructing PA statistics, but Israel's leading demographer, Professor Sergio DellaPergola of Hebrew University, has challenged the result, saying his estimate of 3.4 million Palestinians is based on Israeli data (the CIA estimates the population for the West Bank and Gaza at 3.6 million). According to DellaPergola, 4.7 million Arabs now live between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River out of a total of 10,263,000. The Jewish proportion of this total is 51 percent. DellaPergola argues that because of the higher rate of birth in the Arab community, they have the demographic momentum, and that by 2020, the proportion of Jews is likely to drop to 47 percent and could fall to 37 percent by 2050.8

Even if the new study is more accurate, it only has a minimal impact on the demographic reality. According to Israeli census figures, the population of Israel today is approximately 6.8 million. If we add the 2.4 million Arabs the new study says live in the territories, the total population from the river to the sea would be 9.2 million (including about 1.3 million Israeli Arabs). The Jewish population is roughly 5.2 million or 57 percent, slightly better than DellaPergolas estimate of 51 percent.

These overall statistics also distort the debate over the disengagement from Gaza where the demographic picture is crystal clear. According to the new study, the Arab population there is more than 1.07. The Jewish population, according to the State Department, prior to the evacuation was 7,500, which means the the percentage of Jews in Gaza was a fraction of 1 percent.

The independent study focuses solely on discrediting the PA statistics and does not address the crucial issue of future trends, which DellaPergola shows are clearly in the Arabs favor. The new report argues that the growth rates in Israel and the territories have been lower than previously forecast (though they use figures for only the last four years), but even the new figures show that the growth rate for the Arabs remains higher than that of the Jews, so the proportion of Jews should continue to decline.

Recent data from the Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics suggests the situation may be even worse. The Bureau said that the proportion of Jews within the current borders of Israel is expected to decline from the present figure of 78 percent to 70 percent in 2025 because of the higher birth rate among Israeli Arabs. According to Industry and Trade Ministry data released in March 2007, Jewish women in Israel on average have 2.69 children each and give birth to the first at age 30. Muslim women have an average of four children and give birth to the first at age 27.9

Many proponents of territorial compromise argue that these demographic trends make it impossible for Israel to remain both a Jewish and democratic state if it holds onto the West Bank and Gaza. If a majority of the population of Israel, or even a significant minority, were non-Jews, then the Jewish character of the state would likely change. In fact, the new report states that As in 1967, Israel faces a very real issue on the status of a large minority population in the West Bank and Gaza (emphasis in the original). Extremists have suggested that non-Jews could be prohibited from voting, but this would make the state undemocratic. Since no Israeli leader even those labeled as right-wing fanatics who dream of Greater Israel have found a way to square this circle, Israel has never annexed the West Bank and Gaza. And now one of those hardliners, Ariel Sharon, was moved by the demographic reality to initiate the disengagement plan.

Many people argue that it is impossible to predict the future, and that most past projections were proven inaccurate. Earlier doomsday predictions were upset by large influxes of immigrants, and many Israelis still believe this will be their demographic salvation. After more than one million Jews from the former Soviet Union arrived in the 1990s, this view was temporarily vindicated, however, there only about 8 million Jews in the entire world outside Israel, and a large number would have to decide to move to Israel to offset the demographic trend. This is especially unlikely given that roughly 75 percent of the Jews outside Israel live in the United States from which very few emigrate.

The demographic issue is still only one variable in the Israeli political calculus related to territorial compromise. The other principal concerns are whether Israel can have greater peace and security without controlling some or all of the territories. That is a matter of great debate within Israel. For now, the majority of Israelis have come to the conclusion that withdrawal from Gaza and part of Samaria is in Israels best interest.

MYTH

Israel is killing Palestinians with radiation spy machines. top

FACT

Nazi propaganda chief Joseph Goebbels was the master of the big lie tactic in which a lie, no matter how outrageous, is repeated often enough that it will eventually be accepted as truth. It is a propaganda tool the Palestinians have repeatedly tried to use to tar Israel. Past examples have included specious claims that Israel massacred 500 people at Jenin,10 infects Palestinians with the AIDS virus,11 and drops poison candy for children in Gaza from airplanes.12

The latest calumny from the Palestinians is the claim that Israel is using a radial spy machine at checkpoints, and that the device killed a 55-year-old Palestinian woman.13The charge is apparently related to the Palestinian Authoritys decision to close a checkpoint on their side of the border in Gaza to protest Israels use of advanced radio-wave machines for searching Palestinian travelers.14

The device is the SafeView Millimeter Wave Radar, an American-made portal system that uses millimeter a safe wave holographic technology to screen travelers from Egypt for weapons and explosives. Unlike metal detectors, this system is capable of detecting virtually any man-made object, regardless of the type of material, by transmitting ultra-high frequency, low-powered radio frequency waves as people pass through the portal. The waves penetrate clothing and reflect off of the persons skin and any items being carried. A sensor array captures the reflected waves and uses a desktop computer to analyze the information and produce a high-resolution, 3-D image from the signals.15

Since the allegation is coming from the official Palestinian media, it represents a violation of the Palestinian Authoritys commitment to end incitement against Israel.

MYTH

Unlike other Arab women, Palestinian women are not killed for dishonoring their families. top

FACT

Maher Shakirat learned that one of his sisters was thrown out of the house by her husband for an alleged affair. Shakirat strangled his sister, who was eight months pregnant, and forced two other sisters he accused of covering up the affair to drink bleach. One of those was badly injured but escaped, but the third sister was also strangled by her brother.

Palestinian women who bring dishonor to their families may be punished by male family members. The punishments may range from ostracism and abandonment to physical abuse to murder. Honor killings may be carried out for instances of rape, infidelity, flirting or any other action seen as disgracing the family. By killing the woman, the familys name in the community is restored.

Women are usually not allowed to defend themselves; they are considered minors under the authority of male relatives, and may be killed based on a family members suspicions. An allegation of misbehavior is sufficient to defile a mans or familys honor and justify the killing of the woman. Men who carry out these murders in the Palestinian Authority typically go unpunished or receive a maximum of six months in prison.16

Because these crimes often go unreported, it is difficult to determine the actual number of victims in honor killings, but the Palestinian Authoritys womens affairs ministry reported that 20 women were murdered in honor killings in 2005, 15 survived murder attempts, and approximately 50 committed suicide, often under coercion, for shaming the family.17

According to a June 2005 poll, 24% of Palestinians said that if a family discovered that one of its daughters was involved in a case of family disgrace (e.g., adultery), the family should kill the daughter to remove the disgrace.18

MYTH

Israel has moved the border so it will not withdraw completely from the Gaza Strip. top

FACT

Mohammed Dahlan, the Palestinian Authoritys Minister of Civil Affairs, has claimed that Israel moved the northern border of the Gaza Strip about 1.2 miles, and that Israel's disengagement will not be complete unless it withdraws to the 1949 armistice lines.19 By suggesting that Israel is holding onto a piece of Gaza, the Palestinians are threatening to create a Shebaa Farms issue that could undercut the prospects for peace created by Israel's courageous decision to evacuate all its citizens and soldiers from the area.

Substantively, Dahlans claim is inaccurate. The border of Gaza was originally determined during the 1949 Rhodes Armistice negotiations with Egypt. A year later, Israel agreed to move the border southeast, creating a bulge in the southern part of the Gaza Strip. In exchange, Egypt redrew the border in the north, moving it more than a mile southwest. According to Israel's National Security Council chief, Giora Eiland, the border was reconfirmed in the Oslo accords.20 Today, Netiv Haasara, a community of 125 families, many of which were evacuated from settlements in the Sinai as part of the peace treaty with Egypt, is located in the area Dahlan wants included in Gaza.

In the case of Shebaa Farms, the Lebanese terrorist group, Hizballah, has speciously maintained that Israel did not fully withdraw from Lebanon, despite the UN's verification that it has, and used Israels presence in the Shebaa Farms area as the pretext for continuing its terror campaign against Israel. If the Palestinians adopt a similar policy toward the sliver of land they claim to be part of Gaza to perpetuate their image as victims, and to try to win propaganda points by claiming to still be under occupation, they will once again demonstrate that they never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity.

If the Palestinians continue terrorist attacks against Israel, and make claims to additional territory, rather than focusing on state-building within Gaza and meeting their road map obligations, Israel will have little interest in pursuing negotiations regarding the West Bank.

MYTH

Hamas should be permitted to participate in Palestinian Authority elections. top

FACT

The second Oslo agreement (Oslo II) between Israel and the Palestinian Authority prohibits the nomination of any candidates, parties or coalitions that commit or advocate racism or pursue the implementation of their aims by unlawful or non-democratic means (Annex II, Article II).21 Under this agreement, Hamas, a terrorist organization responsible for the deaths of thousands of Israelis and Palestinians alike, cannot legally participate in Palestinian national elections. The Covenant of Hamas says nothing about democracy or elections. It does say that when enemies (the Jews) usurp some Islamic lands, Jihad becomes a duty binding on all Muslims. In order to face the usurpation of Palestine by the Jews, we have no escape from raising the banner of Jihad.

Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has warned that Israel will not cooperate with the Palestinian Authority during elections if candidates from Hamas are allowed to participate. An armed organization doesn't become democratic once they participate in the election, Sharon said.22

Yossi Beilin, the leader of the Meretz-Yahad Party, and one of the architects of the Oslo accords, said that recognizing Hamas as a legitimate political entity is a gross violation of the Israeli-Palestinian interim agreement, and that in the global struggle against terrorism, it would be surprising indeed if Israel, paradoxically, were to acquiesce in the legitimization of a terrorist organization under its very nose.23

The United States has left it up to the Palestinians to decide who can participate in the Palestinian Legislative Council; however, National Security Council spokesperson Frederick L. Jones II said the U.S. would never have diplomatic relations with candidates from a terrorist organization.We do not believe that a democratic state can be built when parties or candidates seek power not through the ballot box but through terrorist activity, Jones said.24

MYTH

Israel's disengagement from Gaza was a victory for terror. top

FACT

Israel's disengagement from the Gaza Strip and northern West Bank was applauded by the international community as an important and painful step toward resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Even the United Nations, which rarely has anything positive to say about Israel, praised the determination and political courage shown by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon25 in implementing the disengagement plan peacefully and successfully.

In an effort to bolster their standing with the Palestinian public, groups such as Hamas and Islamic Jihad claim it was their terror campaign that forced Israel to withdraw.26 In fact, the terrorist groups did nothing but bring death and destruction to the people of Israel and their fellow Palestinians. Israel was not driven from the territories, it made a calculated decision to leave based on its own interests.

The 8,000 civilians who lived in Gaza were viewed by the terrorists as targets, and Israel had to devote a great deal of its human and material resources to protect these innocent people. In addition, Sharon agreed with those who concluded it would make no sense for Israel to hold on to an area with a Palestinian population exceeding one million. By withdrawing, Israel's security has been enhanced, and the Palestinians have been given the opportunity to govern themselves and demonstrate whether they are able and willing to create a democratic society that can coexist with Israel.

At the time of the disengagement, Israel had dramatically reduced the level of terror, and the security fence around Gaza had a nearly perfect record of preventing the infiltration of suicide bombers. Israeli forces had severely damaged the terrorist infrastructure and killed or jailed most of the leaders of the major terror groups. The disengagement took place after Israel won the Palestinian War the Palestinian Authority had instigated in 2000, and the withdrawal took place from a position of strength, not weakness.

Palestinian extremists can claim whatever they want, but even they know the truth. As Zakariya Zubeidi, the leader of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade terrorist group observed, Not only was the intifada a failure, but we are a total failure. We achieved nothing in 50 years of struggle; we've achieved only our survival.27

And the Palestinian people are not fooled by the rhetoric of the terrorists, as is evident by this comment by Mohammed Ahmed Moussa, a grocer in Jabaliya, who said, Let's be frank. If Israel didn't want to leave Gaza, no one could have forced them out. Those who claim the rockets and attacks made them leave are kidding themselves.28

MYTH

Israel is obstructing Palestinian elections. top

FACT

Israel is a democracy and believes in free elections as the best means of insuring representative government. Consequently, Israel has been supportive of the idea of democratic elections in the Palestinian Authority. In the 2005 presidential election, international observers reported that Israel made no effort to impede the vote. To the contrary, it took a number of measures to facilitate the election.

Similarly, Israel has no intention of interfering in the upcoming legislative elections in the PA. While there is some dispute about whether and how Palestinians living in Jerusalem may participate, a similar issue was resolved before the last election.

The Jerusalem issue, however, is being used as a smokescreen by the Palestinians to obscure their internal divisions. Palestinian officials have been talking for months about delaying the elections scheduled for January 25 because of chaos and disorder throughout the PA, and because of fears that they will lose power and that Hamas will take seats from the dominant Fatah party.

Many Palestinians also legitimately fear the election will not be fair. With just three weeks to go before the election, the Palestinian election commission resigned because the commissioners said Prime Minister Ahmed Korei was interfering with their work. After the last election, 46 officials from the PA Central Election Committee resigned to protest voting irregularities and fraud.

The problem for the PA today is not any Israeli interference in their affairs, it is the Wild West climate that now dominates the Gaza Strip and much of the West Bank. So long as the PA is unable to insure the safety of its residents, it will be unable to hold a free democratic election.

MYTH

Academic freedom means any criticism of Israel is permissible in a university. top

FACT

The one place in America where anti-Semitism is still tolerated is in the university, where academic freedom is often used as a cover to sanction anti-Israel teachings and forums that are anti-Semitic.

In an address on the subject of academic freedom, Columbia President Lee Bollinger quoted from a report that described a professor as someone whom no fair-minded person would even suspect of speaking other than as shaped or restricted by the judgement . . . of professional scholars. He also spoke about the need for faculty to resist the allure of certitude, the temptation to use the podium as an ideological platform, to indoctrinate a captive audience, to play favorites with the like-minded, and silence the others.

Many faculty, however, do not resist temptation; rather, they embrace their position as an ideological platform. Those who abuse their rights, and insist they can say what they want, hypocritically denounce others who exercise their right to criticize them. To suggest that a professors views are inappropriate, or their scholarship is faulty, is to risk being tarred with the charge of McCarthyism.

Legality is not the issue in evaluating the anti-Israel, sometimes anti-Semitic speeches and teachings of faculty and speakers on campus. No one questions that freedom of speech allows individuals to express their views. The issue is whether this type of speech should be given the cover of academic freedom, and granted legitimacy by the university through funding, publicity or use of facilities.

For the last several years, for example, an anti-Semitic forum has been held at different universities by the Palestine Solidarity Movement (PSM). In 2004, the conference was held at Duke University. Organizers were asked to sign an innocuous statement before the event calling for a civil debate that would condemn the murder of innocent civilians, support a two-state solution and recognize the difference between disagreement and hate speech, but refused to do so. By hosting a group that could not bring itself to object to the murder of Jews, Duke gave their views legitimacy and tarnished the universitys academic reputation. The 2006 PSM conference is being held at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.

It is sometimes suggested critics seek to stifle legitimate criticism of Israel. There is a clear distinction, however, between criticism of Israeli policy, which you can read in any Israeli newspaper, and anti-Semitism, in which the attacks against Israel challenge its right to exist, or single Israel out among all other nations for special treatment, as in the case of the PSMs call for the end to Israeli occupation in all of Palestine and divestment from Israel.

A related question is whether the presentations are in any way academic or scholarly. Few people would claim that a conference in which anti-black, anti-gay, or anti-woman sentiments were expressed would be protected by academic freedom, and yet that is the shield used to permit attacks on the Jewish people.

Palestine means Palestine in its entirety - from the [Mediterranean] Sea to the [Jordan] River, from Ras Al-Naqura to Rafah. We cannot give up a single inch of it. Therefore, we will not recognize the Israeli enemy's [right] to a single inch.

Hamas leader Mahmoud Zahar29

MYTH

The Palestinian Authority held a democratic election and Israel and the rest of the world must accept that Hamas was the victor. top

FACT

Winston Churchill said that Democracy is the worst form of government except for all those others that have been tried. It was a step forward, then, for the authoritarian Palestinian Authority to hold elections that by all accounts were conducted fairly. Nevertheless, so long as the Palestinian people continue to be denied by their leaders the freedoms of speech, religion, assembly and the press, the election cannot be considered truly free and democratic.

While democratic outcomes are preferable to the alternatives, the rest of the world is not obligated to have a relationship with elected leaders whose policies and views are dangerous. Adolf Hitler was elected by the German people, but few people would suggest today that the rest of the world should have ignored his genocidal views and treated him as an equal just because he emerged from a democratic process. Similarly, the current Iranian president was elected and is still widely viewed as a pariah because of his threats to destroy Israel and to pursue nuclear weapons in defiance of the rest of the world.

The Palestinian people chose to elect members of an organization whose avowed purpose is the destruction of Israel by violent means. Hamas is recognized throughout the world as a terrorist organization. Since the election, Hamas leaders have reaffirmed their commitment to the Hamas covenant calling for the liberation of all of Palestine and they have made clear it they have no intention of disarming.

Israel now has on its borders a quasi government run by people who oppose negotiations and compromise. Hamas can now take over all of the security services and weapons that have previously been given by Israel and others to the Palestinian Authority to keep the peace. The institutions that were bound by agreements to stop the violence, confiscate illegal weapons, end smuggling and cease incitement are now controlled by the very people most responsible for terror, gun running, and the use of the media and schools to demonize Israel and Jews.

Most of the world understands that Hamas is not a partner for peace and that it is a terrorist group that threatens the stability of the region. The United States and other countries rightly have said that it must recognize Israel and renounce terror before any diplomatic or economic support can be given to the PA. Of course, we went through a similar exercise in 1993 when similar demands were made of the PLO. Yasser Arafat made the necessary commitments in a letter to then Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, but he never matched the words with deeds. The world will be wise not to make the same mistake with Hamas.

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