NY Times Alternative Facts: Area C

Posted on March 22, 2021 by First.One.Through

The New York Times has an aggressive re-education effort about the world. It distorts history and facts in its enterprise, particularly when it comes to Israel.

A March 21, 2021 article was designed to elicit empathy for Palestinian Arabs, which is the anti-Israel’s paper common practice and right. What is unfortunate is not simply the bias but distortion of truth.

March 21, 2021 New York Times article about Palestinian sheep hearders suffering under Israeli “occupation”

The paper’s background to the area commonly known as the “West Bank” was as follows:

“The Israeli government’s explanation for the demolitions dates back to the 1990s Oslo Accords with the Palestinians. The agreement gave Israel administrative control over more than 60 percent of the West Bank, including most of the Jordan Valley, pending further negotiations which were meant to be completed within five years.

“But over two decades of talks, the two sides have failed to agree on a deal, so Israel retains control of the lands – known as Area C – and has the right to demolish homes built there without planning permission.”

The 1993 and 1995 Oslo Accords did not “give Israel administrative control” over area C; the Accords gave the Palestinian Authority (PA) control over Areas A and B. Israel has had administrative control of the West Bank for over fifty years. The Israelis gave the Palestinians the opportunity to control an area for the first time in history.

The Israelis were willing to give the PA more lands, including the vast majority of Area C in 2000. Not getting 100% of their stated desires, the Palestinians launched what is gently described as the “Second Intifada,” a murderous guerilla war waged for four years until Israel was able to halt the Palestinian killers by constructing a security barrier.

Israel handed additional lands to the Palestinians in 2005, as it withdrew from the Gaza Strip. That action led to wars from Gaza in 2008, 2012 and 2014 followed by West Bank car ramming and stabbing attacks in 2015 and 2016. The Palestinian actions destroyed any notion of Israel ceding control of more land to an entity hell-bent on murder. This reality is a far cry from the Times narrative that “the two sides failed to agree on a deal.”

Lastly, the Times, which forever likes to use harsh terms like “occupation” and “illegal” for Israel, is loathe to point out Palestinian terrorism and illegal activities. Like “illegal aliens” in the United States being called “undocumented immigrants,” the Times sanitized the illegally built Arab structures by claiming they were simply completed “without planning permission.”

The New York Times is deliberately posting ahistorical information to sway its readership to take a positive view of Palestinian Arabs and a negative view of Israel. It is part of the left-wing mantra to engage globally by distancing America from allies like Israel and warming relationships with state sponsors of terrorism like Iran.

Related First One Through articles:

Names and Narrative: It is Called ‘Area C’

Importing Peaceful Ideas to the West Bank

The 1967 War Created Both the “West Bank” and the Notion of a Palestinian State

American Leaders Always Planned on Israel Absorbing Much of the West Bank

The New York Times Excuses Palestinian “Localized Expressions of Impatience.” I Mean Rockets.

Names and Narrative: The West Bank / Judea and Samaria

Extreme and Mainstream. Germany 1933; West Bank & Gaza Today

NY Times Alternative Facts on Palestinian Elections

NY Times Will Not Write About Arab Pogroms

The NY Times Will Not Write About the Preferred Violence of Palestinians

NY Times Disgraceful Journeys

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Christians Love the Jewish State

Posted on March 7, 2021 by First.One.Through

The Catholic Pope went to Iraq in March 2021 to visit the land that used to be home to nearly two million Christians. A country which was at one time an example of coexistence, routed its Jews in the 1940’s and 1950’s and other religious communities over the past decades. The Christian population has plummeted by 80 per cent.

Upon arriving in Iraq, Pope Francis said “Iraq has suffered the disastrous effects of wars, the scourge of terrorism and sectarian conflicts often grounded in a fundamentalism incapable of accepting the peaceful coexistence of different ethnic and religious groups.” He used the term “fundamentalism” without tying it to Islam, so as to not offend his hosts and trying to build bridges to salvage the remains of the Christian community.

No one is confused about the situation.

Open Doors, a Christian advocacy group, published its 2021 World Watch List highlighting the 50 worst countries for Christians. Other than North Korea (#1) and India (#10), all of the worst anti-Christian countries had a Muslim majority. Not surprisingly, almost all of these countries have seen their Christian populations decline.

Yet, about 500 miles away from Iraq, next to war-torn Syria, lies the new Garden of Eden, a sanctuary for Christians in the center of the Middle East/ North Africa (MENA): the Jewish State of Israel.

When the Modern State of Israel was founded in 1948, there were 34,000 Christians in the country. That number has grown by 5.2 times, to 177,000 today. It is a rate higher than the growth of the Christian population worldwide and dwarves the rate of change of Christians in the MENA region.

Christian tourists also love visiting Israel. In 2018, Christians made up 56% of the tourists visiting the modern Jewish State. The country actively encourages Christians to come visit to see the birthplace of Christianity and visit sacred sites.

Being baptized in the Jordan River are Latin celebrities, from left, Zuleyka Rivera, Luis Alfonso Borrego, Andrea Escalona, Sherlyn González, and Carlitos Perez-Ruiz (Luis Fonsi’s manager). Photo courtesy of America’s Voices in Israel

In 2015, the Christian community built a new museum in the heart of Israel’s capital of Jerusalem, the Friends of Zion Museum. It is designed to “tell the stories of both the dream to restore the Jewish people to their historic homeland and of the brave non-Jews who assisted them in the realization of this dream.” It is a feat of religious harmony enabled by the Israeli government in Judaism’s most holy city. It stands in sharp contrast to the treatment of Christians and Christianity elsewhere in the Middle East and North Africa.

The Pope’s tour of the Muslim Middle East is a reminder to Christians everywhere of the uniqueness of the one Jewish State and reasons to continue its commitment to see Israel thrive.

Related First One Through articles:

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The New York Times Thinks that the Jews from Arab Countries Simply “Immigrated”

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Israel, the Liberal Country of the Middle East

The Arguments over Jerusalem

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Shooting the Mob in Gaza and D.C.

Posted on March 1, 2021 by First.One.Through

January 6, 2021 was anything but a regular day in the United States, but it did showcase the routine and pervasive anti-Israel attitudes in the media.

D.C. Mob

The day began with thousands of Americans who were upset about both the result of the presidential election and how the vote was carried out amidst the pandemic. While the protestors filed for a permit to conduct their protest in front of the US Capital, an unruly mob soon stormed the building and pushed their way inside. In the mayhem, police opened fire on the surging crowd, killing a woman. Investigators recommended that the police officer not be charged in the shooting, as the action was deemed to be appropriate.

The media would not identify the officer. However, the woman, Ashli Babbit, was described as being consumed with “radical conservative topics and conspiracy theories” and “a loyal Fox News watcher” who “engaged on social media with the conspiracy site InfoWars.” The media called her en extremist who came to D.C. with the intent to do harm.

The media was clear as to the good and bad actors in the episode and championed the actions of the capitol police. If anything, they bemoaned there not being enough police to stop the mob infiltrating the halls of Congress.

The media took the exact opposite approach in describing Israel’s defense of its border from thousands of attackers from Gaza in 2018 and 2019.

Gaza Mob

Gaza is the home to Arabs hell-bent on destroying Israel and killing Jews.

Israel left the Gaza Strip in 2005 to local Arab rule. In 2006, the Arabs in the Strip and West Bank voted Hamas, the terrorist group sworn to the destruction of Israel, to 58% of the Palestinian parliament. In 2007, Hamas took over ruling the area from the Palestinian Authority and subsequently launched wars against Israel in 2008, 2012 and 2014. The militants also built numerous tunnels underground into Israel used to kidnap Israelis, sent fire-kites into Israel in arson attacks and launched hundreds of missiles into Israel in between all-out battles.

So when Hamas sent thousands of people – including teenagers – out to the fence which separates the Strip from Israel, with the stated desire to invade the country, Israel sent its army to confront the mob.

A picture taken on March 30, 2018 from the southern Israeli kibbutz of Nahal Oz across the border from the Gaza strip shows Palestinians participating in a protests, with Israeli military vehicles seen below in the foreground. (AFP PHOTO / Jack GUEZ)

The intent of the vicious mob was quite clear, manifest in the 1988 Hamas Charter which calls for the killing of Jews and total destruction of Israel under the banner of Islam. Armed with wire cutters to cut the fence, blazing tires to set it on fire, mines and bombs to attack Israeli trucks and rocks to pelt the soldiers, the Israeli Defense Forces opened fire, as necessary to protect the country from invasion.

The press did not write about the story that way.

The Guardian called the violent mob “protestors” who had just “turn[ed] out to commemorate mass displacement of people in 1948.” Hamas was never described as a terrorist group and their political status was portrayed as just: “Palestinian political factions and civil society groups have demanded an end to a severe Israeli-Egyptian blockade on Gaza and for Palestinian refugees to be allowed back to their ancestral homes in Israel.” There was no description of the stated intent to destroy Israel.

TRTWorld showed pictures of Israelis with guns and wounded Palestinians in their reporting, rather than the thousands of Gazans amassed at the fence. It made light of Israeli security concerns stating “Israeli forces often fire on demonstrators, under the pretext of preventing the border from being infiltrated, but among those killed are medics and journalists.“

Al Jazeera wrote that the “protestors” were simply on a “march” as part of a “a coalition of civil organisations” when they were shot by Israeli forces. The Arabs take part in such marches because “People have lost hope. There is only despair and misery all around them.“

The United Nations once again took up the cause of their historic wards and stated that it “has found reasonable grounds to believe that Israeli security forces committed serious violations of human rights and international humanitarian law.“

The press and U.N. wrote that it was shocked at Israelis shooting teenagers and never wrote nor condemned Hamas for putting minors at the front of a battlefield.

The Mobs at D.C. and Gaza

The situation and reaction to the mobs in D.C. and Gaza could not have been more different.

Citizens vs. Invaders. The mob at the U.S. Capitol began the day with peaceful protests of Americans at their representative body, before mob mentality set in. The mob in Gaza were foreigners who reject Israel’s right to exist who want to kill Israelis who were seeking an invasion.

Unarmed versus Armed. The mob at the Capitol had to use poles and barricades found on site to break into the building whereas the Gazans all came heavily armed.

One day versus years. The attack on the capitol happened on a single day. The attacks from Gaza have been raging since 2008.

Vilification versus Defense. Despite the differences, the press vilified the Americans and defended the Gazans. It pointed out the conspiracy theories and hateful ideologies of some American protestors but never called Hamas a terrorist group or referenced its Nazi-themed foundational charter. The press zeroed in on Americans wearing anti-Semitic t-shirts but never on the Arabs hoisting swastikas.

Palestinian flags and a swastika are seen amid the black smoke of Gaza demonstrations, April 6, 2018 (IDF Spokesperson Unit)

More defense versus stripping defense. American politicians supported the shooting of the American mob and were furious that there were not more police officers to defend the Capitol, however, the United Nations believes that Israel has no right to self-defense and must allow these Arabs to enter Israel – which is why the temporary agency UNRWA continues to exist 70 years after it was formed.

The hypocrisy of attitudes towards condemning the mob at the U.S. Capitol and defending the rioters from Gaza once again demonstrated the systemic anti-Israel orientation of much of the liberal press, politicians and United Nations.

Related First One Through articles:

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Quantifying the Values of Gazans

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Shut UNRWA in Gaza Immediately

The United Nations Can Hear the Songs of Gazans, but Cannot See Their Rockets

Cause and Effect: Making Gaza

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Exports from Gaza Through Israel Hit Record

Posted on February 24, 2021 by First.One.Through

Much of Gaza’s economy relies on exporting goods like textiles and agricultural products. After the terrorist group HAMAS took over the area in 2006, Israel and Egypt put a blockade in place to limit the importation of weapons. After three wars from the Gazans in 2008, 2012 and 2014, as well as intermittent rocket fire and arson balloons launched into Israel and attacks against the separation fence, Israel limited exports to the strip as well.

From June 2007 to October 2014, an average of 13.5 trucks left Gaza each month according to Gisha. As part of the “hudna,” or truce after the summer 2014 war, Israel began to allow more exports to the West Bank through the Kerem Shalom Crossing. The monthly average soon jumped to 113 truckloads of goods in 2015 and to 178 truckloads in 2016. The numbers continued to grow.

In December 2019, Gazan exports broke the 400 truckload milestone for the first time, and did so again in January 2020. In September 2020, Israel began to increase its purchase of Gaza’s exports. In December 2020, Israel purchased over 100 truckloads of Gazan goods.

Last month, in January 2021, Gazan exports broke the 500 monthly truckloads milestone for the first time. There were 143 truckloads destined for Israel and 361 and 4 bound for the West Bank and other locations, respectively.

Despite the attacks on Israel and Gazans support for killing Israeli civilians, Israel is actively engaged in supporting the Gaza economy. It’s a story that will not be told by the mainstream media.

Related First One Through articles:

Quantifying the Values of Gazans

Looking at Gaza Through Swedish Glasses

CNN Makes Clear the Attackers and Victims in Gaza-Israel Fight

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Every Picture Tells a Story: Israel Is Scared of Female Iranian Shoppers

Posted on February 20, 2021 by First.One.Through

The New York Times has begun its latest battle with Israel and other Arab countries which seek to ensure that Iran does not obtain nuclear weapons and threaten the region, now that Joe Biden is president. The paper’s game plan is seemingly to make Iran appear as a benevolent actor, akin to other nuclear powers like France.

The February 20, 2021 print edition of The New York Times had an article called “Israel Reacts to U.S. Strategy on Iran Quietly, but Warily.” The article contained two black and white pictures with the larger top picture featuring two Iranian women shopping, while the bottom picture featured Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu surrounded by security people. The caption read “Above, a bazaar in Tehran. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, left, avoided direct comment on the U.S. plan to reopen negotiations with Iran.“

For a story about the Iranian nuclear deal, the “news”paper opted to showcase a couple of women shopping to “educate” its readership about the nature of Iran. It declined to use footage which would have actually added context to the story such as:

a map of the Iranian nuclear sites and enrichment facilities
pictures of the Iranian centrifuges enriching uranium
a picture of Iran’s “supreme leader” together with his quote that Israel is a “cancerous tumor” to be “wiped out“
a picture of Iran’s proxy Hezbollah in Lebanon next to Israel
a picture of the bus carrying Israeli tourists in Bulgaria which Hezbollah blew up, killing five Israeli civilians
a picture of the Jewish community center in Argentina which was blown up by Iran and Hezbollah, killing 85

There are many pictures which would have been appropriate to include with the article as to why Israel is against the leading state sponsor of terrorism which threatened to wipe it off the map, gaining nuclear weapons. However, The NY Times wants to portray Israel as unduly nervous and paranoid about Iran, perhaps even racist. For the Times, Iran is much like France where women like to shop for handbags. Perhaps the Times will re-launch its tourism junket to Iran (which it billed as a “powerful country [which] has entranced, mystified and beguiled the world. Discover the ancient secrets and modern complexities of this influential land”) as soon as the pandemic winds down.

Related First One Through articles:

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Every Picture Tells a Story: Goodbye Peres

Every Picture Tells a Story: Anti-Semitism

Every Picture Tells a Story: No Need for #MeToo for Palestinians

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Every Picture Tells a Story: The Invisible Killed Terrorists

Every Picture Tells a Story: Arab Injuries over Jewish Deaths

New York Times’ Lost Pictures and Morality for the Year 2015

Every Picture Tells a Story: Versions of Reality

Every Picture Tells A Story: Only Palestinians are Victims

Every Picture Tells a Story: The Invisible Murdered Israelis

Every Picture Tells a Story- Whitewashing the World (except Israel)

The New York Times’ Buried Pictures

Every Picture Tells a Story, the Bibi Monster

Every Picture Tells a Story, Don’t It?

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Importing Peaceful Ideas to the West Bank

Posted on February 17, 2021 by First.One.Through

While the Arab-Israeli Conflict has been going on for 100 years, there have been notable breakthroughs. Peace treaties with Egypt and Jordan in 1979 and 1994, respectively, were watershed moment which were unfortunately followed by the Two Percent War/Second Intifada (2000-2004), 2006 Lebanon War and Gaza Wars of 2008, 2012 and 2014. But in the waning years of the Trump Administration in 2020, Israel forged normalization agreements with several Arab countries including the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco.

Democrats offered a tepid reaction to the new Arab-Israel peace announcements because there was no similar announcement with the Palestinians. However, a review of how Palestinians viewed their Israeli neighbors over the past several years shows interesting movements precisely when such archaic negative thinking is rejected.

Gazans consistently view Israel as an enemy. Palestinian polls show Gazans in favor of armed attacks inside of Israel against Jewish civilians by a majority ranging from two-thirds to over three-quarters, a shocking figure which should alarm the world (imagine if 75% of Pakistanis were in favor of killing civilians in India).

Arabs from the West Bank have a more nuanced attitude towards Israel. Their opinions change depending on current events.

results from Palestinian polls since mid-2015

The chart above shows how West Bank Arabs changed their attitudes in regards to launching an armed “Intifada” (blue line) and supporting the killing of Jewish civilians inside of Israel (orange line).

The “Stabbing Intifada” which included running over soldiers and civilians in the summer/fall of 2015 was popular among West Bank Arabs and saw a peak support level for terrorism at 47%.
The Trump administration announcement of its intention to move the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem saw an uptick supporting terrorism that had been dropping since the 2015 peak.
The lowest support for terrorism occurred after Trump cut funding for UNRWA. UNRWA is much more popular in Gaza where roughly 85% of Gazans get service from the UN agency, compared to only roughly 35% in the West Bank.
Support for Hamas and attacks against Israel spiked shortly thereafter, when Israel botched a military operation in Gaza. Palestinian Arabs widely viewed Hamas as being the victor in the contest, and with that perceived win, support for terror rose.
Support for attacking Israelis among West Bank Arabs declined since then and reached a low with the signing of the Abraham Accords

Interestingly, the Trump years saw a sharp decline in attitudes among West Bank Arabs supporting “lone wolf” attacks against Israeli Jewish civilians. Those four years saw the lowest Israeli death toll from terrorism in modern Israeli history. Meanwhile, the West Bankers support for an armed “Intifada” held somewhat constant.

Ending UNRWA’s mandate and fostering peace with more Arab nations seemingly directly impacts West Bank Arabs abandoning terrorism. Conversely, perceived “wins” for HAMAS in battles with Israel breathes new life for armed conflict. The path towards peace is clear: international peace brings peace while international meddling brings terror.

Related First One Through articles:

The 1967 War Created Both the “West Bank” and the Notion of a Palestinian State

American Leaders Always Planned on Israel Absorbing Much of the West Bank

Israel Has Much Higher Claims to The West Bank Than Golan Heights

The EU’s Choice of Labels: “Made in West Bank” and “Anti-Semite”

Names and Narrative: The West Bank / Judea and Samaria

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Gazans Support Killing Jewish Civilians

Posted on February 15, 2021 by First.One.Through

The International Criminal Court decided last week that it has jurisdiction to try Israel for its actions in Gaza and the West Bank. Israel disputes the claim as it is not a member of the ICC and the Palestinian Authority is not a state so should not be able to submit claims in such forum.

The PA had asked the ICC to investigate Israel for war crimes, particularly for Israel’s actions during the 2014 Gaza War. The PA hopes to win on multiple fronts with its action, both against Israel and its political rival in Gaza, Hamas.

Hamas is a designated terrorist organization by the United States, Israel and several other countries. Its 1988 foundational charter remains the most anti-Semitic ruling document ever written, including that of Nazi Germany in the 1930’s. Unperturbed, Palestinians voted Hamas to a majority of parliament in 2006 with that charter in the hopes of destroying Israel as the Two Percent War/ Second Intifada which started in 2000 came to a close.

The people of Gaza lust for Jewish blood has not abated. In the latest Palestinian poll conducted on December 15, 2020, a remarkable 77% of Gazans responded that they very strongly support (30.8%) and strongly support (45.9%) armed attacks against Israeli civilians inside of Israel. The fact that such a question can even be posed should be viewed as incitement to violence and a crime against humanity. That more than three-quarters of Gazans support killing Jewish civilians inside Israel should settle any discussion about the nature of the Hamas ruling authority and the people who live in Gaza.

Results of PCPRS poll 78 of December 2020. The first column shows overall results, the second shows results from the West Bank and last column is Gaza

The United Nations and liberal media falsely state that Gazans are “resorting” to violence and that Gaza rocket fire into Israel is “indiscriminate” but the will of Palestinian Arabs is clear that their aim is to kill Jewish civilians. The appropriate response from Israel – and from the ICC should they pursue the matter – is also abundantly clear.

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Quantifying the Values of Gazans

Looking at Gaza Through Swedish Glasses

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Biden Ignores Own Comments Hiring Vilifier of Netanyahu

Posted on February 11, 2021 by First.One.Through

President Joe Biden has opted to ignore his own past comments by proposing to hire into his administration someone who attacked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

In November 2015, Biden berated Israel about a prospective member of the Israeli administration who had said derogatory things while he was a private citizen, about US President Obama (that his actions are akin to “modern anti-Semitism”). Biden waved his finger and scolded Israel: “There is no excuse, there should be no tolerance for any member or employee of the Israeli administration referring to the president of United States in derogatory terms. Period, period, period, period!”

Yet today, Biden has proposed hiring Matt Duss, a foreign policy adviser to Sen. Bernie Sanders, to a senior post in the U.S. State Department. Duss has a long history of anti-Israel and anti-Netanyahu statements including his criticism of the Abraham Accords which ushered in normalization agreements between Israel and several Muslim Arab countries. Duss’s 2020 tweets read:

“Netanyahu is right at home among these authoritarian rulers, who openly express disdain for liberal principles and incite against internal enemies supposedly plotting against them.“
“It was unsurprising that Netanyahu’s advocates would hail the deal, since they’re all basically racists who see despotism as Arabs’ natural state. What was disappointing was seeing how many liberal Democrats who should know better joining in.“

Duss had called Netanyahu a racist several times before, including his 2019 tweet:

“Netanyahu’s racist campaign now includes this ad about how he disrespected the first black president in his own house,” seeking to inflame the Black community against Israel.

In 2017, Duss said that U.S. President Donald Trump and Netanyahu were two racist peas in a pod in a tweet:

“Let’s be fair: Trump is America’s Netanyahu. Bibi has been a racist demagogue his entire career. Trump just makes it safe to point this out.“

Matthew Duss, Israel critic, being considered for position in Biden Administration’s State Department

Netanyahu pulled his candidate from assuming a role in the Israeli government so as to not to offend a key ally. Should Biden welcome a fierce critic of Israel who has insulted the leader of Israel many times into his foreign policy team, he is either a hypocrite or doesn’t view Israel as an ally anymore.

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The Lies Conflating the Holocaust and The Promised Land

Posted on January 4, 2021 by First.One.Through

The Holocaust decimated the Jewish population in Europe from 1939 to 1945. After the war, the vast majority of the remnant of European Jewry moved to either France, the United States or the Mandate of Palestine. Just three years after the end of the genocide of the Jews, the modern state of Israel was born.

Many people believe that the world endorsed the notion of a Jewish State because of the terrible tragedy which befell the Jews. While some countries may have indeed voted at the United Nations in favor of recognizing Israel because of the Holocaust, its reestablishment was sponsored by the global community years before World War II.

First by the British in the 1917 Balfour Declaration, then by the League of Nations in the 1920 San Remo Agreement and the 1922 Mandate of Palestine, the leading countries of the world supported Jews reestablishing their homeland. In the late 1930’s the British specifically called for creating a distinct Jewish State in Palestine. All of these actions were taken before the genocide of European Jewry.

Similarly, God’s promises of the land of Canaan to the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob predated the Children of Israel becoming slaves in Egypt. The divine promises for a particular family to have a particular plot of land are found throughout the Book of Genesis and include:

“The Lord appeared to Abram and said ‘To your descendants I will give this land.’” (Genesis 12:7)
“For all the land which you see, I will give it to you and your descendants forever.” (Genesis 13:15)
“To your descendants I have given this land.” (Genesis 15:18)
“And I will give to you and your descendants after you, the land of your sojourning, the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.” (Genesis 17:8)
“To your offspring I will give this land” (Genesis 24:7)

The Promised Land is an integral part of Judaism. It is a unique dynamic among world religions that a particular people is tied to a specific parcel of land. The history of Jews in their holy land goes back thousands of years.

Yet people confuse the nature of the Jewish State and how it came to be reestablished in 1948. The global community did not create Israel as a safe haven for Jews after the Holocaust; it voted to reestablish the Jewish homeland years before the Holocaust. Further, Zionists do not aspire for a Greater Israel from “the Nile to the Euphrates” the way anti-Semites at the United Nations claim; they want to live, pray and have autonomy in their small patch of the world promised to them by God.

The relevance of the Holocaust to Israel today is about underscoring the absolute imperative of Israel’s security, which means ensuring that the country’s neighbors cannot threaten it. Critical features include: Israel having full control of its borders and airspace; no military for a possible future Palestinian State; no ability for terrorist groups like HAMAS in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon to attack Israel; and most significantly, no nuclear weapons for Iran, the leading state sponsor of terrorism which has threatened to wipe Israel off of the map.

The anti-Zionist false narrative connecting the Holocaust and the Promised Land spins a web of lies that European countries created a safe haven – a metaphorical “Promised Land” – for Jews as a gift to allay its guilt in permitting and participating in the Holocaust, an act of charity taken on the backs of Palestinian Arabs. The slander of original sin of the theft of “Arab Land” to create a Jewish State leads to noxious claims that Jews will continue to try to steal more land as “colonialists” as well as demands that the British apologize for the Balfour Declaration. It falsely inverts the indigenous Jews to invaders; those needing protection to aggressors who must be held in check.

The Promised Land of Israel is an eternal gift from God to the Jewish forefathers thousands of years ago and to their descendants in the present day, not from European nations in response to the Holocaust. The critical lesson of the Holocaust is to protect the Jews in Israel from neighbors who wish to do them harm, politically, economically, militarily and most definitely, journalistically.

Israeli soldiers prepare to enter Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Memorial in Jerusalem, Israel (photo: First One Through)

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The Cultural Appropriation of the Jewish ‘Promised Land’

Seeing the Holocaust Through Nakba Eyes

The Holocaust and the Nakba

From Promised Land to Promised Home

The Shrinking Modern Jewish Homeland

Squeezing Zionism

The Calming Feeling of Palestinian Refugees: Rashida Tlaib in Her Own Words

Israel was never a British Colony; Judea and Samaria are not Israeli Colonies

Will the UN Demand a Halt to Arabs Moving to Jerusalem?

Posted on December 30, 2020 by First.One.Through

On December 21, 2020, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) spoke about Israel building houses for Israeli Jews in an area it calls “East Jerusalem,” an entity that had a shelf life of just eighteen years (1949-1967) in the city’s 4,000+ year history. The stale name recalls the period when Jews were evicted and barred from the eastern half of the city is both non-factual and insulting to Jews.

The insults and hypocrisy continued throughout the discussions.

Nickolay Mladenov, Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process stated “that a two-State solution is not only necessary, but still possible. There is no other way to resolve the conflict in a way that is just for both peoples. Israel must preserve its nature as a Jewish State, while ‘the Palestinian people will not go anywhere, this is their home.‘” But he then went on to call for additional funds to UNRWA, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, which is caring for 5.7 million Palestinian Arab “refugees” until they move into Israel. How Mladenov squares the circle of encouraging nearly 6 million Arabs to move into Israel while simultaneously wishing for Israel to “preserve its nature as a Jewish State” is beyond comprehension.

Several countries spoke about Israeli “settlement” activity and bemoaned Israel’s building homes for Israeli Jews, even in “East Jerusalem.” The inanity is despite the fact that the Arab population in Jerusalem was only 26% of the city in 1967 when Israel reunited the city and grew to 36% of the population by 2016. If the 1967 “status quo” is the most important dynamic for the UN, perhaps the UNSC should demand that no new Arab housing be permitted in the city until a peace agreement is signed by the two parties.

Mladenov and several countries also voiced concern that more settlements “undermine the prospect of a two-State solution.” It is a curious proposition. If the concern is about territory, the 1949 Armistice Lines/ The Green Line left Israel with a strip of land even more narrow than a new Palestinian state would have if Israel annexed an area called “E1” up to, and including Ma’ale Adumim. If the concern about “viability” is related to the number of Jews living in an Arab State, why do these same UNSC countries continue to fund UNRWA and encourage Arab “refugees” that they will move into Israel which already has 25% non-Jews living in the country? Why is viability of a Palestinian State surrounded by tens of millions of Arabs a greater concern than a small Jewish State?

Further, Mladenov finally began calling out the “indiscriminate launching of rockets and mortars towards Israeli civilian population centres by Hamas [and] Palestinian Islamic Jihad,” but the speakers (with the exception of Niger) refused to speak about the attacks. Each country picked up the Mladenov themes about settlements, UNRWA and Gaza, but fell silent on the massive attacks against Israel.

The United Nations continues to show it has no concerns about the security and basic human rights of Israelis. Until it can clearly condemn HAMAS and discuss the rights of Jews to live and pray in Jerusalem, there is no reason for the Jewish State to heed an iota of criticism as the global body has shown it has no interest in the peace or security of Israel.