Since the Oslo War began in September, 2000 there have been numerous letters to the editors harshly critical of Israel.  In order to add balance and perspective we feel compelled to clarify basic historical and current facts regarding this latest war.

Historical Facts
· Israel and a (Palestinian) Arab state were proposed by the UN by a resolution of partition in 1947.  Israel accepted this partition and declared statehood in 5/48; the Arabs rejected the partition, resulting in the first of many wars against the Jews.  Armies of 5 Arab countries attacked the nascent Jewish state, not to defeat it but to destroy it.
· The 450,000 Arabs who left became refugees.  The Arabs who stayed are full citizens in Israel and enjoy the rights of every citizen to vote, attend school, own property, etc.
· 750,000 Jews were forced to leave Arab countries. They fled to Israel, which welcomed them. Their former lands were taken by the Arab countries without offered compensation.

Right of Return Perspective
· In the late 1940’s, 12 million people of German ancestry were made to leave their European homes where they lived for centuries.  Simultaneously, 6,000,000 Jews were exterminated
· In 1949 the People’s Republic of China was established.  More than 2 million Chinese fled to Taiwan and Hong Kong
· 18 million Hindus and Muslims were forced to relocate in 1947 when India and Pakistan gained independence from Britain.
· “Any presumption by formerly displaced Muslims, Hindus, and Chinese or their descendents to claim former residences would mean war”, according to current German Foreign Minister Joschka Fisher.
· The Palestinian Arabs are the only people whose brethren refused to accept or absorb them.  This, in spite of the fact that Arabs control 99.9% of the land in the Middle East, with their enormous wealth of oil reserves.

The Myth of Occupation and Jewish Settlements
· In 1967, Israel was forced by Egypt and Syria into the  “6-Day War”.  The so-called West Bank was liberated by Israel.  Jordan’s 1948 seizure of the West Bank was illegal under international law.  The Jordanian occupation was recognized by Pakistan and England and no one else.  During the time of Jordanian occupation, only Arabs were allowed into the Old City of Jerusalem.  Almost all Jewish synagogues and religious sites were destroyed.
· In 1993, the Oslo peace accords, signed by Prime Minister Rabin and Chairman Arafat, provided that the future of disputed territories was to be determined by negotiations between Israelis and Palestinian Arabs.
· 96% of the West Bank (Judea and Samaria to Jews), along with the Gaza strip, was offered at Camp David to the Palestinian Arabs.
· Jewish Settlements in the West Bank and Gaza, which are not barred by Oslo, are illegitimately used by Palestinian Arabs to justify their continued terrorism on innocent Jews.

The Current Situation
· Israelis have repeatedly made clear their desire for peace, in spite of the many wars waged against them by the Arabs.  This includes the countries of Iraq and Iran, which fund terrorism waged against innocent Israeli and American citizens.
· Saddam Hussein and Saudi Arabia currently pays parents of suicide bombers $25,000 for each of their “martyred” children
· Former Prime Minister Ehud Barak made the most generous offer ever proposed to the Palestinian Arabs.   The democratic countries of the free world were appalled this was soundly rejected by Chairman Arafat.  Many Israelis were non-supportive of this proposal, and shocked that their Prime Minister was negotiating during terror attacks.  Consequently, current Prime Minister Sharon was elected by the largest plurality in Israel’s history.
· Israel’s continued ability to take risks for peace depends on the security of its citizens.  This is threatened by uninterrupted violent attacks by Palestinian Arab forces and allied terrorists since September 2000.
· Acts of terror against Israeli citizens have taken place in all major Israeli cities including Jerusalem, Hadera, and Tel Aviv, where 24 teens and young people were slaughtered and Netanya where almost 30 people were massacred as they began their Passover seder
· It has been confirmed by Army Radio that the latest suicide bombers have been injected with highly contagious Hepatitis B, and that some wounded victims, emergency medical personnel, and by-standers have now contracted this disease when they were hit by flesh and body parts of the Palestinian suicide bombers.  Yet the Syrian, Egyptian, and Palestinian media continue to accuse Jews of blood libel.

Failure of the Palestinian Authority
· At the beginning of this latest war, Arafat released countless known terrorists from jail, in violation of his promises, enabling their horrific acts of violence to resume unabated.
· During the few times of Arafat’s call for cease-fire, violence diminished markedly.  This indicates he has more control than his supporters claim.  He pretends not to have control when it is convenient.  (see below for updates as of 5/02)
· The virulent anti-Jewish, anti-Israel, and anti-American rhetoric has been fueled by vicious diatribes in Arabic, which is different than what the PA leaders say in English.
· Since the most recent unilateral cease-fire declared by Prime Minister Sharon in late May, Israel has buried 41 murdered civilians and endured over 150 terrorist attacks. (See update)
· Official Palestinian Authority incitement against Israel has continued to poison the airwaves. According to Palestinian Media Watch, a non-partisan Jerusalem-based organization, the official Palestinian Authority television station continues to broadcast anti-Israel incitement, even on the morning after Arafat's declaration of a cease-fire. The incitement included a video clip containing the song, "Do Not be Saddened, My Dear," in which a young Palestinian boy leaves home, reassuring his family and friends that "We have embarked on jihad... How sweet is martyrdom when I embrace you, O my country! In the intifada we achieved sovereignty through the blood of the people. Victory is my challenge!"

· Editor-in-chief of the Palestinian authority official daily newspaper, Al Hayyat Al Jedida, writes in an editorial of the fifth column in Palestinian society: those who would deter their youth from throwing stones at Israeli soldiers, even parents who forbid their children from
doing so. He classifies these acts of restraint as one of the most severe transgressions, and encourages Palestinians parents to have their children continue with them.
· Even as CIA Director George Tenet met with Palestinian leader Yasir Arafat on June 12, 2001 to secure his acceptance of a cease-fire, Palestinian gunmen killed a Greek monk in the West Bank who was driving a car with Israeli license plates.  And just hours after agreeing to the truce, Palestinian gunmen shot and wounded an Israeli woman in a West Bank drive-by attack.  These murders have continued till today.  Not a day passes without Arab terrorism.

Media and Education
· Since the Oslo accords, Israel has included Palestinian Arab poems, music and education in its public school curriculum.
· The Palestinian Arab school curriculum includes anti-Israel, anti-Jewish and anti-Western propaganda.  The Palestinian media, including Arabic Sesame Street and youth oriented-type programs have ceaselessly dehumanized Israelis
· In early September the Palestinian Autonomous Authority [PA] issued 15 new textbooks, comprising the full curricula for grades 1 and 6. The Center for Monitoring the Impact of Peace [CMIP] has reviewed these books and the preliminary findings that have been published in the world press show that these new books do not educate for peace. They do not reconcile with the existence of Israel as a neighbor state. Israel is still classified in these texts as a colonialist country that conquered "Palestine" in 1948. The maps of the Middle East in these books omit mention of Israel.  All the land between Lebanon and Egypt is labeled "Palestine".
· The Palestinian Arabs still contend in their textbooks and media that the Holocaust never existed.
· On June 8, 2001, a week after the Tel-Aviv suicide bombing and a few days following
Arafat's declaration of a cease-fire, a sermon by Sheik Ibrahim Madhi was broadcast from the Sheik 'Ijlin Mosque in Gaza. In his sermon, Sheik Madhi preached for Martyrdom Operations and for the destruction of Israel, the United States, and Britain.

Hopes for the Future
· A return to the negotiating table depends upon the international community demanding that Palestinian Arab acts of terrorism cease
· Arafat must re-arrest terrorists, confiscate all illegal weapons, and the PA leadership must end all acts of violence and anti-Israel propaganda
· Palestinian Arab textbooks and their state controlled media must end the dehumanizing of Israelis, must call for an end to the “martyrdom” of its youth, and must recognize the state of Israel and its right to exist.

Update as of May 2002
· September 11, 2001-What needs to be said?  Islamic terrorism rears its murderous head as 4                American planes were hijacked, and nearly 3,000 Americans killed
· Continued Palestinian murder of innocent Israelis, and people of other ethnic and religious background numbers close to 500.  This is the proportional equivalent of close to 25,000 Americans massacred
· After the Passover Seder catastrophe where mostly elder Jews began their meal, the military operation to root out Palestinian terrorism began. But Israel did not bomb from the air like America did in Afghanistan and Bosnia, and risk hitting hospitals and schools and embassies. No, Israel sent their kids through the alleyways and byways to face booby traps and snipers and mines.
·   During the time Arafat was holed up in his Ramallah compound, there was no homicide bombings.  Barely one week after his release, there was the Rishon LeTzion massacre, when a Palestinian Moslem suicide terrorist blew himself up on May 7, 2002 and killed 29 people.  Among them wereYitzchak and Esther Bavlar, the husband and wife from Bat Yam who were the 13th husband-and-wife couple to be murdered by Palestinian terrorists since the Oslo War began
· In Bethlehem, the 39 day standoff at the Church of the Nativity finally ended when the13 wanted terrorists were deported to Cyprus and then sent to various other countries. According to the hostages (150 civilians and 30 religious leaders) the Palestinians behaved like animals - consuming food which should have lasted 6 months in 2 weeks, (civilians barely ate one meal a day), drinking every drop of alcohol, stealing religious icons, using Bibles as toilet paper, ransacking the complex without regard to its significance.
· The terrible truth about the Palestinians’ control of Bethlehem is first beginning to see the light of day.  How the Arabs pillaged, raped and  destroyed much of the city
·
The Blood on Arafat’s Hands
· According to information released by the IDF, and based on the questioning of senior Fatah figures now in Israeli custody - Marwan Barghouti (Fatah/Tanzim), Nasser Aweis (Fatah), Nasser Abu Hamid (Al Aqsa Brigade) and Ahmed Barghouti (Fatah/Tanzim) - PA Chairman Yasser Arafat personally approved funding for Fatah operatives, with the knowledge that it would be used to finance terrorist attacks against Israeli civilians. In addition, the information shows that explosive charges used by the terrorists were supplied from the PA's own weapons depots.  Every operative requiring financing was made to fill out a detailed requisition request. Barghouti then added his recommendation and signature, and relayed the requests to PA Chairman Yasser Arafat. Barghouti stressed that every expense, even the smallest sum, required the approval of Arafat himself.
· Nasser Aweis was responsible for the recruiting, arming and handling of terrorist cells. He stated in questioning that he personally, together with other Tanzim terrorist operatives under his command, received funding directly approved by Yasser Arafat
· Monday January 14, 2002 The Israelis commandos intercepted the Karine A, the arms ship, in the Red Sea, heading for Gaza from Iran. The weapons on board the Karine A included 62 rockets with a range of 20km, hundreds of mortars and anti-tank weapons, mines, explosives, rifles and ammunition. The explosives in the 50-ton consignment were enough for3,000 suicide bombs.
 

Truisms about Israel
· It is a democracy with a free press, unheard of in the Middle East. It has reinvigorated the Jewish faith, after European Judaism was all but exterminated in the Holocaust. It has gone from a place where an immigrant's first dwelling was likely to be a tent, to a place where immigrants are upset when they discover that they cannot import a car more than two years old; from a place where Jewish pioneers died while clearing malaria-infested swampland, to a place where modern-day Jewish pioneers are working on a cure for heart disease; it has changed from a place struggling to survive, to a place criticized for doing so too successfully.
· The real secret of the Jewish state, however, is its people. Since the start of 2002 alone, 5,169 Jews have immigrated to Israel from all over the world- approximately 1,500 Argentinean Jews who have come over the past year. In the past weeks, more than 600 new immigrants arrived in Israel from the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, from Ethiopia, Argentina,  France, South Africa, Germany, Mexico, Uruguay, Chile, the U.S., Canada and India. Israel is an amalgam of Jews from all over the world, drawn to it by faith and nationhood, taking part in the great ingathering of the exiles.
· The population of Israel in 1948 was about 600,000 (similar to the number of Israelites that left Egypt in the Biblical Exodus). Within three years, the population had more than doubled, as another 687,000 Jews flooded Israel's shores. Altogether, since 1948, the Jewish State has absorbed close to 3 million immigrants, all the while facing determined enemies intent on its destruction.
·
The UN and Israel
· Of all 188 member countries eligible to sit on the UN Security Council (including Iraq, Iran, Libya), the only country not eligible is Israel.  The Security Council is the world body’s key deliberative group.
· The annual session of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, last week, condemned Israel for "mass killings" of Palestinians, "gross violations" of  humanitarian law" and affirmed the "legitimate right of Palestinian people to resist."
· Of the 175 Security Council resolutions passed before 1990, 97 were directed against Israel.
· Of the 690 U.N. General Assembly resolutions voted on before 1990, 429 were directed against Israel.
· The U.N. was silent while 58 Jerusalem Synagogues were destroyed by the Jordanians.
· The U.N. was silent while the Jordanians systematically desecrated the ancient Jewish cemetery on the Mount of Olives.
· 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

Anti-Semitism in the World Today
· In Belgium, thugs beat up the chief rabbi, kicking him in the face,calling him ''a dirty Jew.'' Two synagogues in Brussels were firebombed; a third, in Charleroi, was sprayed with automatic weapons fire.
·  In Britain, the cover of the New Statesman, a left-wing magazine, depicted a large Star of David stabbing the Union Jack. Oxford professor Tom Paulin, a noted poet, told an Egyptian interviewer that American Jews who move to the West Bank and Gaza ''should be shot dead.'' A Jewish yeshiva student reading the Psalms was stabbed 27 times on a London bus. “Anti-Semitism”, wrote a columnist in The Spectator, ''has become respectable ... at London dinner tables.'' She quoted one member of the House of Lords: ''The Jews have been asking for it and now, thank God, we can say what we think at last.''
· In Italy, the daily paper La Stampa published a Page 1 cartoon: A tank emblazoned with a Jewish star points its gun at the baby Jesus, who pleads, ''Surely they don't want to kill me again?'' In Corriere Della Sera, another cartoon showed Jesus trapped in his tomb, unable to rise, because Ariel Sharon, with rifle in hand, is sitting on the sepulchre.
· In Germany, a rabbinical student was beaten up in downtown Berlin and a grenade was thrown into a Jewish cemetery. Thousands of neo-Nazis held a rally, marching near a synagogue on the Jewish sabbath. Graffiti appeared on a synagogue in the western town of Herford: ''Six million were not enough.''
· In Ukraine, skinheads attacked Jewish worshippers and smashed the windows of Kiev's main synagogue. Ukrainian police denied that the attack was anti-Jewish.
· In Greece, Jewish graves were desecrated in Ioannina and vandals hurled paint at the Holocaust memorial in Salonica. In Holland, an anti-Israel demonstration featured swastikas, photos of Hitler, and chants of “Sieg Heil” and “Jews into the sea.”
· In Slovakia, the Jewish cemetery of Kosice was invaded and 135 tombstones destroyed.
· But nowhere have the flames of anti-Semitism burned more furiously than in France. In Lyon, a car was rammed into a synagogue and set on fire. In Montpellier, the Jewish religious center was firebombed; so were synagogues in Strasbourg and Marseille; so was a Jewish school in Creteil. A Jewish sports club in Toulouse was attacked with Molotov cocktails, and on the statue of Alfred Dreyfus in Paris, the words ''Dirty Jew'' were painted. In Bondy, 15 men beat up members of a Jewish football team with sticks and metal bars. The bus that takes Jewish children to school in Aubervilliers has been attacked three times in the last 14 months. According to the police, metropolitan Paris has seen 10 to 12 anti-Jewish incidents per day since Easter. Walls in Jewish neighborhoods have been defaced with slogans proclaiming “Jews to the gas chambers” and ''Death to the Jews.'' The weekly journal Le Nouvel observateur published an appalling libel: It said Israeli soldiers rape Palestinian women, so that their relatives will kill them to preserve ''family honor.'' The French ambassador to Great Britain was not sacked - and did not apologize - when it was learned that he had told guests at a London dinner that the world's troubles were the fault of ''that shitty little country, Israel.''

Anti-Semitism on Campuses in the USA
· At UC Davis, arsonists attacked the Hillel House.
· At SUNY Binghamton, swatiskas and anti-Israel graffiti were a regular occurance.  A campus magazine printed articles that Jewish Student Union supported Israeli death squads
· At Concordia University in Montreal, the Students’ Union passed anti-Israeli resolutions and created hostile environments for Jewish students
· At the University of Florida, the Muslim Students’ Association took out an ad in the school paper, sponsored by the Islamic Assoc. for Palestine, a Hamas front, comparing Israel to the Nazis, having a thirst for blood.
· Most recently, at San Francisco State University the indignities for Jews include: maps of the Middle East that do not include Israel, posters of cans of soup, with labels on them of drops of blood and dead babies, labeled “canned Palestinian children meat, slaughtered according to Jewish ritesunder American license”, poster after poster calling out Zionism==Racism, and Jews==Nazis.  This week, 5/2002,  the hatred coalesced in a hate mob. A “Peace in the Middle East” rally, completely organized by 18 and 19 year old Hillel students, wearing the new Hillel t-shirt which says"peace" in English, Hebrew and Arabic, became dangerous.  As soon as the community supporters left, the 50 students, some of whom were praying, and some of whom were cleaning up, were surrounded by a large, angry crowd of Palestinians and their supporters. But they were not calling for peace. They screamed to "go back to Russia", they screamed that they would kill us all, and other terrible things.  They surrounded the praying students, and the elderly women who are elder college participants, (who survived the Shoah,  and who helped shape the Bay Area peace movement). Then the Hillel Students were pushed against the wall of the plaza by the threatening crowd, screaming at the Jews to "get out or we will kill you" and "Hitler did not finish the job”.  According to Laurie Zoloth, Director, Jewish Studies Program, she turned to the police and to every administrator she could find and asked them to remove the counter demonstrators from the Plaza, to maintain the separation of 100 feet that had been promised. The police said they had been told not to arrest anyone, and that if they did, "it would start a riot." Zoloth told them that it already was a riot.  But the police could do nothing more than surround the Hillel student and the community members who were now trapped into a corner of the plaza, grouped under the flags of Israel, while an angry, out of control mob, literally chanting for their deaths, surrounded them. The police could not even assure that a peace rally could happen in peace, for a mere two hours, if the Israeli flag and the United States flag were flown.  Not one administrator came to stand with the Jews. If a crowd of Palestinian or Black student had been there, and were surrounded by a crowd of white racists calling out racist threats, protected by police, would the faculty and staff have trouble deciding what side to stand on?
· The Wall St. Journal recently featured an article discussing a course offered at University of California-Berkeley. The course description for English R1A, “The Politics and Poetics of Palestinian Resistance" (4 credits), reads as follows: "The brutal Israeli military occupation of Palestine, [ongoing] since 1948, has systematically displaced, killed, and maimed millions of  Palestinian people. And yet, from under the brutal weight of the occupation, Palestinians have produced their own culture and poetry of resistance. This class will examine the history of the [resistance] and the way that it is narrated by Palestinians in order to produce an understanding of the Intifada... This class takes as its starting point the right of Palestinians to fight for their own self-determination. Conservative thinkers are encouraged to seek other [classes]."

The American Jewish Community, including the Jewish Federation of Ulster County, strongly supports the desire for peace and a willingness to compromise.  We do not accept the cost of innocent Israeli and American lives.  There must be an honest and trusting partnership in order to secure a true peace.

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