Israel: Myths and Facts

Parent Cafe
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<p>Israel’s moral war in self defense </p>

<p>No, Israel is not the aggressor. She is the victim who has the courage to strike back. Why is then she is being shunned by the UN and our academia/media/liberals? Here’s a thread dedicated to clear out any myths regarding Israel. This won’t change the minds of any hardcore liberals/terrorist sympathizers. I urge everyone to please look at facts and think instead of being swayed by media images. No flaming please.</p>

<p>This is already in ther cafe. I hope some of you enjoy this.</p>

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<p>Myth 1: “Israel violates the human rights of the Palestinian Arabs.”</p>

<p>Fact: Israel granted full citizenship to all of the Palestinian Arabs who fell within its borders after the War of Independence. Arabic is an official language in Israel. Israel remains to this day one of the few countries in the Middle East where Arabs can legitimately vote–and it is the only one where women can vote.</p>

<p>Myth 2: “The Arab states have had to keep pace with an Israeli-led arms race.”</p>

<p>Fact: Egypt received the Soviet IL-28 bomber in 1955. It was not until 1958 that France provided Israel with a squadron of comparable Sud Vautour twin-jet, tactical bombers. In 1957, Egypt obtained MiG-17 fighter planes. Israel received the comparable Super Mystere in 1959. Egypt had submarines in 1957, Israel in 1959. After the Egyptians obtained the MiG-21, the Israelis ordered the Dassault Mirage III supersonic interceptor and fighter-bomber. Egypt received ground-to-air missiles–the SA-2–two years before Israel obtained HAWK missiles from the United States. Later, Washington reluctantly agreed to sell Israel Patton tanks. </p>

<p>Myth 3: “Israel has been an expansionist state since its creation.”</p>

<p>Fact: Israel’s boundaries were determined by the United Nations when it adopted the partition resolution in 1947. In a series of defensive wars, Israel captured additional territory. On numerous occasions, Israel has withdrawn from these areas. As part of the 1974 disengagement agreement, Israel returned territories captured in the 1967 and 1973 wars to Syria. Under the terms of the 1979, Israeli-Egyptian peace treaty, Israel withdrew from the Sinai peninsula for the third time. It had already withdrawn from large parts of the desert area it captured in its War of Independence. After capturing the entire Sinai in the 1956 Suez conflict, Israel relinquished the peninsula to Egypt a year later. In September 1983, Israel withdrew from large areas of Lebanon to positions south of the Awali River. In 1985, it completed its withdrawal from Lebanon, except for a narrow security zone just north of the Israeli border. That too was abandoned, unilaterally, in 2000. After signing peace agreements with the Palestinians and a treaty with Jordan, Israel agreed to withdraw from most of the territory in the West Bank captured from Jordan in 1967. A small area was returned to Jordan and the rest was ceded to the Palestinian Authority. The agreement with the Palestinians also involved Israel’s withdrawal, in 1994, from most of the Gaza Strip, which had been captured from Egypt in 1973.</p>

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<p>Myth 4: Israel is attacking and killing hundreds of Lebanese civilians.</p>

<p>Fact: Why are civilians dying? Because Hezbollah is hiding among civilians, using villages, mosques and even private homes to store and manufacture weapons caches that include 12,000 missiles.</p>

<p>This creates a conundrum for the Israeli military, where Hezbollah wins either way: If the IDF shies away from attacking because of the proximity of civilians, Hezbollah’s terror infrastructure remains in place. And if the IDF attacks, no matter how carefully, there will be collateral damage – triggering condemnation in the media, and emboldening Hezbollah to operate from civilian areas.</p>

<p>Following the missile strike that killed civilians in Qana, Israeli officials showed aerial footage taken two days earlier of Katyusha rockets being fired near houses in Qana, and of a Katyusha launcher firing missiles and then being driven into Qana and hidden inside a house. Further, two days before the strike, the Israeli military’s Al-Mashriq radio that broadcasts into southern Lebanon warned residents their villages would be “totally destroyed” if missiles were fired from them. Leaflets with similar messages were dropped in some areas one day before.</p>

<p>The link: <a href=“http://www.ynet.co.il/articles/0,7340,L-3283794,00.html[/url]”>http://www.ynet.co.il/articles/0,7340,L-3283794,00.html&lt;/a&gt; </p>

<p>Myth 5: Israel is needlessly targeting Lebanon’s civilian infrastructure.</p>

<p>Fact: Prior to the fighting, Lebanon was recovering from a long, destructive civil war. Last year’s “Cedar Revolution” against Syrian occupation gave the world high hopes for the possibility of a new Lebanon. Tourism was on the rise, business was improving, and national infrastructure was being rebuilt.</p>

<p>Hezbollah has now used this infrastructure to support its own violent agenda. For years, weapons shipments passed through the capitol’s international airport, across the Beirut-Damascus highway, and through various coastal ports. That’s why Israel has been forced to bomb the transportation network, to hinder the arrival of arms from Syria/Iran, and to stop Hezbollah from moving the kidnapped Israelis out of the country.</p>

<p>Other Israeli strikes have targeted telephone links used by Hezbollah to communicate, Hezbollah offices, banks that handle their money, and TV transmitters from which Hezbollah’s Al-Manar station is broadcast. (they’re the ones who spread the story that 9-11 was an Israeli plot – a version of events now accepted by majorities throughout the Muslim world).</p>

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<p>Myth 6: Hezbollah has a justified grievance and is being provoked by Israel.</p>

<p>Fact: Charles Krauthammer said it best:</p>

<p>

</p>

<p>In the meanwhile, Hezbollah has created a mini-state inside of Lebanon – with territory, weapons and soldiers. Over the past six years, Hezbollah has launched dozens of attacks across the internationally-recognized border on both civilian and military targets within Israel. </p>

<p>The current crisis began on July 12, when Hezbollah launched rockets at Israeli towns and cities in an unprovoked attack, and then crossed the border killing eight Israeli soldiers engaged in routine patrol and kidnapping two more.</p>

<p>Hezbollah “claims” that it is fighting over Shebaa Farms, a small tract of land where the borders of Israel, Lebanon and Syria converge. The UN maintains that Shebaa Farms was captured from Syria in 1967, and is subject only to Israeli-Syrian agreement.</p>

<p>Shebaa Farms is a thin smokescreen. Hizbullah’s goal is the total destruction of Israel, plain and simple. (Read the Hizbullah charter, and Hezbollah’s goals in their own words.)</p>

<p>Even Arab states like Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Jordan have now chastised Hezbollah for its “unexpected, inappropriate and irresponsible acts.”</p>

<p>Myth 7: Lebanon bears no responsibility for the actions of Hezbollah.</p>

<p>Fact: According to UN Security Council Resolution 1559, it is the responsibility of the Lebanese government to disarm Hezbollah and to assert Lebanese sovereignty in southern Lebanon. </p>

<p>The Lebanese government has completely failed in this regard, standing by while Hezbollah has assembled weapons stockpiles and entrenched itself in Lebanese towns. </p>

<p>Further, Lebanon cannot claim disassociation: Hezbollah is actually part of the Lebanese coalition government, holding two seats in the cabinet!</p>

<p>The irony of all this is that most of the world – including the Lebanese population – hopes that Israel will succeed in doing the job that the Lebanese army has not: liberating southern Lebanon from Hezbollah rule, and giving it back to the Lebanese.</p>

<p>Let’s all do our part to promote the facts, and to help Israel win its battles on all fronts.</p>

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<p>Myth 8: Israel is no better than Palestine/Lebanon/other Arab states.</p>

<p>Fact: The Israelis and the Palestinians are not morally equal
Israel is the only free country in a region dominated by Arab monarchies, theocracies and dictatorships. It is only the citizens of Israel - Arabs and Jews alike - who enjoy the right to express their views, to criticize their government, to form political parties, to publish private newspapers, to hold free elections. When Arab authorities deny the most basic freedoms to their own people, it is obscene for them to start claiming that Israel is violating the Palestinians’ rights. All Arab citizens who are genuinely concerned with human rights should, as their very first action, seek to oust their own despotic rulers and adopt the type of free society that characterizes Israel.</p>

<p>Myth 9: The land does not belong to Israel</p>

<p>Fact: Israelis have a right to the land
Only Israel has a moral right to establish a government in that area - on the grounds, not of some ethnic or religious heritage, but of a secular, rational principle. Only a state based on political and economic freedom has moral legitimacy. Contrary to what the Palestinians are seeking, there can be no “right” to establish a dictatorship. </p>

<p>As to the rightful owners of particular pieces of property, Israel’s founders - like the homesteaders in the American West - earned ownership to the land by developing it. They arrived in a desolate, sparsely populated region and drained the swamps, irrigated the desert, grew crops and built cities. They worked unclaimed land or purchased it from the owners. They introduced industry, libraries, hospitals, art galleries, universities-and the concept of individual rights. Those Arabs who abandoned their land in order to join the military crusade against Israel forfeited all right to their property. And if there are any peaceful Arabs who were forcibly evicted from their property, they may press their claims in the courts of Israel, which, unlike the Arab autocracies, has an independent, objective judiciary - a judiciary that recognizes the principle of property rights.</p>

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<p>I shall add more if needed. I have to credit my sources, without which the above list would be rather hard to compile. </p>

<p>Myths 1-3: <a href=“http://www.raptureready.com/rr-israel.html[/url]”>http://www.raptureready.com/rr-israel.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Myths 4-7: <a href=“http://www.aish.com/jewishissues/middleeast/Lebanon_Myths_and_Facts.asp[/url]”>http://www.aish.com/jewishissues/middleeast/Lebanon_Myths_and_Facts.asp&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Myths 8-9:
<a href=“http://www.israelismoral.com%5B/url%5D”>www.israelismoral.com</a></p>

<p>Supplemental reading:</p>

<p><a href=“http://capmag.com/article.asp?ID=4751[/url]”>http://capmag.com/article.asp?ID=4751&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p><a href=“http://www.capmag.com/article.asp?ID=4739[/url]”>http://www.capmag.com/article.asp?ID=4739&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p><a href=“http://www.capmag.com/article.asp?ID=4740[/url]”>http://www.capmag.com/article.asp?ID=4740&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p><a href=“http://www.capmag.com/article.asp?ID=4738[/url]”>http://www.capmag.com/article.asp?ID=4738&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>Good post that didn’t get nearly enough attention. To add:</p>

<ol>
<li><p>israel became a state in 1312 b.c., two millennia before islam;</p></li>
<li><p>arab refugees from israel began calling themselves “palestinians” in 1967, two decades after (modern) israeli statehood;</p></li>
<li><p>after conquering the land in 1272 b.c., jews ruled it for a thousand years and maintained a continuous presence there for 3,300 years;</p></li>
<li><p>the only arab rule following conquest in 633 b.c. lasted just 22 years;</p></li>
<li><p>for over 3,300 years, jerusalem was the jewish capital. it was never the capital of any arab or muslim entity. even under jordanian rule, (east) jerusalem was not made the capital, and no arab leader came to visit it;</p></li>
<li><p>jerusalem is mentioned over 700 times in the bible, but not once is it mentioned in the qur’an;</p></li>
<li><p>king david founded jerusalem; mohammed never set foot in it;</p></li>
<li><p>jews pray facing jerusalem; muslims face mecca. if they are between the two cities, muslims pray facing mecca, with their backs to jerusalem;</p></li>
<li><p>in 1948, arab leaders urged their people to leave, promising to cleanse the land of jewish presence. 68% of them fled without ever setting eyes on an israeli soldier;</p></li>
<li><p>virtually the entire jewish population of muslim countries had to flee as the result of violence and pogroms;</p></li>
<li><p>some 630,000 arabs left israel in 1948, while close to a million jews were forced to leave the muslim countries;</p></li>
<li><p>in spite of the vast territories at their disposal, arab refugess were deliberately prevented from assimilating into their host countries. of 100 million refugees following world war 2, they are the only group to have never integrated with their coreligionists. most of the jewish refugees from europe and arab lands were settled in israel, a country no larger than new jersey;</p></li>
<li><p>there are 22 muslim countries, not counting palestine. there is only one jewish state. arabs started all five wars against israel, and lost every one of them;</p></li>
<li><p>fatah and hamas constitutions still call for the destruction of israel. israel ceded most of the west bank and all of gaza to the palestinian authority, and even provided it
with arms;</p></li>
<li><p>during the jordanian occupation, jewish holy sites were vandalized and were off limits to jews. under israeli rule, all muslim and christian holy sites are accessible to all faiths;</p></li>
<li><p>out of 175 united nations security council resolutions up to 1990, 97 were against israel; out of 690 general assembly resolutions, 429 were against israel;</p></li>
<li><p>the u.n. was silent when the jordanians destroyed 58 synagogues in the old city of jerusalem. it remained silent while jordan systematically desecrated the ancient jewish cemetery on the mount of olives, and it remained silent when jordan enforced apartheid laws preventing jews from accessing the temple mount and western wall.</p></li>
</ol>

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<ol>
<li> Israel was around long before Muhommad was even born.</li>
</ol>

<p>I don’t even think Jerusalem is in the Koran, but correct me if I am mistaken. I’d like to know for sure.</p>

<p>Why does everyone have to be against Jewish people?</p>

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<p>very informative posts. Thank you.</p>

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<p>“1. israel became a state in 1312 b.c., two millennia before islam;”</p>

<p>Anyone taking the Torah as literal history needs their head examined.</p>

<ol>
<li>arab refugees from israel began calling themselves “palestinians” in 1967, two decades after (modern) israeli statehood;</li>
</ol>

<p>“3. after conquering the land in 1272 b.c., jews ruled it for a thousand years and maintained a continuous presence there for 3,300 years;”</p>

<p>Ever heard of the Babylonian capitivity? Ever after the return there, while the Israelites might have had limited autonomy, they were always at least nominally under assyrian, persian, Greek or Roman control.</p>

<p>“4. the only arab rule following conquest in 633 b.c. lasted just 22 years;”
Assuming you mean “634AD,” it lasted from 634 to 1095 (the First Crusade) and then from 1187 to 1918. That’s a total of 1192 years. (Okay, technically the Ottoman Turks weren’t Arab, but they certainly were Muslim)</p>

<ol>
<li>for over 3,300 years, jerusalem was the jewish capital. it was never the capital of any arab or muslim entity. even under jordanian rule, (east) jerusalem was not made the capital, and no arab leader came to visit it;"
No. The capital of Israel from 1947 to 1967 was Tel Aviv, and this is still the one recognized by much of the world. Judaism did not have a “capital” in any meaningful sense of the world from 70 to 1947, and during most of the past millenium the de facto cultural and scholarly centers were in Eastern Europe.</li>
</ol>

<p>“6. jerusalem is mentioned over 700 times in the bible, but not once is it mentioned in the qur’an;”
Egypt is mentioned rather more times in the Bible, should Israel have control of that country?</p>

<p>“7. king david founded jerusalem; mohammed never set foot in it;”
Wrong. Even according to the Midrash, Jerusalem was founded by Shem and Eber long before David. The “Jebusites” controlled it before the Jews did. In Islamic tradition, Mohammed was whisked away to Jerusalem one night, though personally I think that’s nonsense.</p>

<p>“8. jews pray facing jerusalem; muslims face mecca. if they are between the two cities, muslims pray facing mecca, with their backs to jerusalem;”
True. It should be noted that very early in Islamic history, muslims did pray towards Jerusalem. </p>

<ol>
<li><p>in spite of the vast territories at their disposal, arab refugess were deliberately prevented from assimilating into their host countries. of 100 million refugees following world war 2, they are the only group to have never integrated with their coreligionists. most of the jewish refugees from europe and arab lands were settled in israel, a country no larger than new jersey;
Yes, and?</p></li>
<li><p>there are 22 muslim countries, not counting palestine. there is only one jewish state. arabs started all five wars against israel, and lost every one of them;
The 1967 war, while probably provoked, was nonetheless intiated by Israel. </p></li>
</ol>

<p>“14. fatah and hamas constitutions still call for the destruction of israel. israel ceded most of the west bank and all of gaza to the palestinian authority, and even provided it
with arms;”
Not really. See <a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Palestine_election_map.PNG[/url]”>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Palestine_election_map.PNG&lt;/a&gt;. The West bank is a crazy patchwork of Palestinian islands in an Israeli sea. It is nearly impossible to travel from city to city without passing through many Israeli checkpoints. Settlements take up a significant percentage of the land.</p>

<ol>
<li>out of 175 united nations security council resolutions up to 1990, 97 were against israel; out of 690 general assembly resolutions, 429 were against israel;
You know, maybe they could be on to something.,</li>
</ol>

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<p>pyroclastic, in your first sentence of your post you just insulted all orthodox jews who take the torah literally, just be careful how you put things-if you don’t take it literally, that is fine, but don’t tell one third of the religion that they need a head screening</p>

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<p>Not just Orthodox Jews, but I believe that Christian fundamentalists also believe the Bible, oh and how about devout Catholics?</p>

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<ol>
<li>israel became a state in 1312 b.c., two millennia before islam;</li>
<li><p>So what? I have an idea, let’s give land back to the people who lived there thousands of years ago. Oh wait, that’ll mean deporting millions upon millions back to Europe, or worse yet, to the Middle East!</p></li>
<li><p>arab refugees from israel began calling themselves “palestinians” in 1967, two decades after (modern) israeli statehood;</p></li>
<li><p>Again, so what? Surely someone attempting to make an educated post would’ve realised that the Arabs were under British and French occupation (and Ottoman rule) before the declaration Israeli statehood. Arabs were not seperated according to state of residence as much as they are now. They were considered Arabs, living in the Arab land. Besides, people who lived in modern day Palestine were called people of Bayt al-Maqdis, or people of al-Quds al-Shareef (a.k.a. Jerusalem). You should also note that there wasn’t a state of Jordan either. Does this mean Israel has a claim to this land as well?</p></li>
</ol>

<p>The rest of your facts were addressed by pyroclastic. Although I should mention that al-Aqsa mosque (which lies in Jerusalem) was mentioned in the Quran, and Jerusalem was mentioned in the Sunnah.</p>

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<p>Iloveagoodbrew must have been drunk when he/she wrote this. Who the heck would waste all their time putting this garbage on a college forum?</p>

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<p>halopeno, I know I’m being un-PC when I say this, but anyone who takes the Torah (Bible, Qur’an, Rigveda, Dianetics) as the literal, non-allegorical Word of God is either:</p>

<p>a) Uneducated
b) Engaging in a degree of self-deception and doublethink worthy of Orwell.
c) Mad</p>

<p>While creationists and flood-literalists are the most egregious examples, really anyone in modern society who ignores the evidence for the documentary hypothesis, the originally henotheistic nature of Judaism, the influence of e.g. the Epic of Gilgamesh on the Bible, etc is fundamentally intellectually dishonest. </p>

<p>Collegialmom, IIRC it’s offical Catholic doctrine that much of the Bible should be interpreted allegorically, not as literal history.</p>

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<p>Iloveagoodbrew: I find the thread interesting and thought provoking. My question is why weaken your position by stating, “Why is then she is being shunned by the UN and our academia/media/liberals? Here’s a thread dedicated to clear out any myths regarding Israel. This won’t change the minds of any hardcore liberals/terrorist sympathizers.”</p>

<p>Isn’t it more effective to do your research carefully, present your case, and let your argument stand on its merit? Name calling is counterproductive and akin to shooting oneself in the foot; more specifically you’re painting with too wide a brush. By doing this you identify yourself as someone incapable of discerning subtle ideas and nuanced arguments. Anyway, I enjoyed the history lesson and look forward to reading the dissenting views.</p>