Islam (Jim Bramlett)
(Editor's Note: Thanks to Jim Bramlett, via Barbara Richmond's Special
Jerusalem Report for providing these 20 facts which dramatically
illustrate how history has been totally distorted for political and propaganda
purposes in the present Middle East crisis. Unfortunately, for the most
part, the world's news media lets this information pass them by without
critical analysis or incorporating it into their own editorial thrust,
which often goes against Israel.
We recommend that you make a copy of these facts for your own information in discussing the Israeli-Palestinian situation with anyone who may be uninformed. We would also recommend sending it, by e-mail or letter, to the editor of your hometown newspaper, to your senators or congressman and, yes, even to our own United States President at the White House and members of his cabinet, especially Secretary of State Colin Powell.)
1. Nationhood and Jerusalem. Israel became a nation in 1312 B.C, 2,000
years before the rise of Islam.
2. Arab refugees in Israel began identifying themselves as part of
a Palestinian people in 1967, two decades after the establishment of the
modern State of Israel.
3. Since the Jewish conquest in 1272 B.C., the Jews have had dominion
over the land for 1,000 years with a continuous presence in the land for
the past 3,300 years.
4. The only Arab dominion since the Muslim conquest in 635 A.D. lasted
no more than 22 years.
5. For over 3,300 years, Jerusalem has been the Jewish capital. Jerusalem
has never been the capital of any Arab or Muslim entity. Even when the
Jordanians occupied Jerusalem, they never sought to make it their capital,
and Arab leaders did not come to visit.
6. Jerusalem is mentioned over 700 times in Tanach, the Jewish Holy
Scriptures. Jerusalem is not mentioned once in the Qur'an (Koran).
7. King David founded the city of Jerusalem. Mohammed never came to
Jerusalem.
8. Jews pray facing Jerusalem. Muslims pray with their backs toward
Jerusalem.
9. Arab and Jewish Refugees: In 1948 the Arab refugees were encouraged
to leave Israel by Arab leaders promising to purge the land of Jews. Sixty-eight
percent left without ever seeing an Israeli soldier.
10. The Jewish refugees were forced to flee from Arab lands due to
Arab brutality, persecution and pogroms.
11. The number of Arab refugees who left Israel in 1948 is estimated
to be around 630,000. The number of Jewish refugees from Arab lands is
estimated to be about the same.
12. Arab refugees were INTENTIONALLY not absorbed or integrated into
the Arab lands to which they fled, despite the vast Arab territory. Out
of the 100,000,000 refugees since World War II, the Arabs are the only
refugee group in the world that has never been absorbed or integrated into
their own
peoples' lands. Jewish refugees were completely absorbed into Israel,
a country no larger than the state of New Jersey.
13. The Arab - Israeli Conflict: The Arabs are represented by eight
separate nations, not including the Palestinians. There is only one Jewish
nation. The Arab nations initiated all five wars and lost. Israel defended
herself each time and won.
14. The PLO's Charter still calls for the destruction of the State
of Israel. Israel has given the Palestinians most of the West Bank land,
autonomy under the Palestinian Authority, and has supplied them with weapons.
[See Fatah Charter/Constitution.]
15. Under Jordanian rule, Jewish holy sites were desecrated and the
Jews were denied access to places of worship. Under Israeli rule, all Muslim
and Christian sites have been preserved and made accessible to people of
all faiths.
16. The United Nations (U.N.) Record on Israel and the Arabs: Of the
175 Security Council resolutions passed before 1990, 97 were directed against
Israel.
17. Of the 690 U.N. General Assembly resolutions voted on before 1990,
429 were directed against Israel.
18. The U.N. was silent while 58 Jerusalem Synagogues were destroyed
by the Jordanians.
19. The U.N. was silent while the Jordanians systematically desecrated
the ancient Jewish cemetery on the Mount of Olives.
20. The U.N. was silent while the Jordanians enforced an apartheid-like
policy of preventing Jews from visiting their holy sites at the Temple
Mount and the Western Wall.