Read below, the following material was written by an American Christian professor. It's important information to know since we don’t get fair and accurate reporting from the media and facts tend to get lost in the jumble of daily events.
Crash Course on the Arab Israeli Conflict
Here are overlooked facts in the current Middle East situation; these were compiled by a Christian university professor. It makes sense and it's not slanted. Jew and non-Jew --it doesn't matter. Thank You.
1. Nationhood and Jerusalem. Israel became a nation in 1312 B.C.E., two thousand 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.E., the Jews have had dominion over the land for one thousand years with a continuous presence in the land for the past 3,300 years.
4. The only Arab dominion since the conquest in 635 C.E. 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 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 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, theirs is the only refugeegroup 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 itself each time and won.
14. The P.L.O.'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.
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 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 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 the Temple Mount and the Western Wall.
These are incredible times. We have to ask what our role should be. What will we tell our grandchildren we did when there was a turning point in Jewish destiny, an opportunity to make a difference?
I can't speak to the first point, but can for the second. Muslims pray towards Mecca. The only Muslims who pray with their backs toward Jerusalem are those who happen to be in a line facing southeast between Jerusalem and Mecca at the time. It would also be true to say that MORE Muslims face Jerusalem during prayer than have their backs turned to it, because those in Turkey would be facing both, as would those who live in Saudi Arabia, southeast of Mecca.
In the entire history of the world, NEVER has a negotiated peace resulted in a stable lasting peace.
Or phrased another way:
The ONLY way to insure a stable, lasting peace is for one party in a conflict to be so soundly defeated that they are forced to surrender UNCONDITIONALLY - no ceasefire to talk about it - UNCONDITIONALLY!
A recent example of the difference in a negotiated peace and an enforced peace can be found at the end of World War I and World War II. Even though the Kaiser and the Germans were soundly defeated at the end of World War I, the Germans were allowed some dignity. In fact, the surrender (armistice) was negotiated. The German delegates were essentially forced to sign the Treaty of Versailles some 7 months later, but the armistice itself was negotiated. Guess what? Although the Germans people felt defeated, their spirit had not been broken and as a result, their anger festered. 20 years later, that same ugly enemy reared his head. But at the end of World War II, both Germany and Japan were so soundly and thoroughly defeated that as a group, they were both a broken people. They were left with no choice but to surrendered UNCONDITIONALLY and essentially throw themselves upon our mercy. We have been at peace with both countries for more than 60 years and there is no reason to believe that condition will change.
If a lasting peace between Israel and the Palestinians is to ever be achieved, such a thorough defeat of one side in the conflict must occur. The defeated party must be so thoroughly routed that group/national pride will be replaced with complete resignation. That state does not have to be and should not be a permanent state. Both the Germans and the Japanese were a completely broken people at the end of World War II, but look at them today. Until the spirit of either the Israelis or the Palestinians is completely broken, a lasting peace will not be possible. Sure, it is possible that achieving such a defeat might possibly require one side decimating the population of the other side, but hopefully it would not take going that far. But, the key is to not stop until it is certain that the enemy spirit is completely broken, even if it does require decimating a large portion of the population. In fact, dropping the atomic bombs on Japan is said to have had the net effect of actually saving hundreds of thousands of lives. Failure of the stronger party in this conflict to finish the job, will only result in many more deaths in the long run, on both sides, over the years that follow.
Now, the only question is, "Which side is the stronger and capable of ending this conflict decisively?"
You guessed it.
Now all that we have to do is to get Dubya to back off and let Israel do what they have every right to do - protect themselves in their own country.
I saw this in the PLO charter sometime back. And it explains Yassir's true motivation.
Also, there was a palestinian state as part of the UN partition plan. and again through the efforts of Carville, Clinton and Barak. These plans were scuttled by the very Palestinians who claim to only want their own state and to live in peace.
And that means they must fish or cut bait. They have conquered their homeland many more times than they should have had to; they should just finish the damn job, fer cryin' out loud! The inherent concern the Jews have for morality is, in many ways, a major problem for them.
By the way, that principle is universal: if you don't have the means to uphold your "rights", then you have no rights at all.
Imal
Incorrect. 2 Samuel 5 explains how Jerusalem, and specifically the citadel of Zion, was a stronghold of the Jebusites - a Canaanite people. David conquered the city and made it his capital.
The archaeological record bears the Bible out on this one - Jerusalem was inhabited for centuries before 1000 B.C., the time most scholars assign to David's reign.
Imprecision hurts an otherwise impregnable case.