من هناك
05-05-2008, 04:30 PM
1. ZIONIST ISRAEL AT 60 - A HISTORY BUILT ON ETHNIC CLEANSING
[By Dr. Mohamed Elmasry]
=================================== =================================== =====
On May 15 this year, Zionists the world over will celebrate the 60th
anniversary of the establishment of a state for-Jews-only in Palestine.
Throughout the short but turbulent history of this Jewish state, its
Zionist governments have resorted to ethnically cleansing Palestinian
natives in order to maintain the racial "purity" of their nation.
Never in human history, but especially since the Second World War, has such
a massive crime of ethnic cleansing been largely hidden for so long from
the scrutiny of public opinion - this despite the accelerated development
of communication technology over the past half-century.
Only historians seem to know the true scope of the ethnic cleansing of
native Palestinians by the Jewish state; some of them are brave Israeli
Jews like Prof. Ilan Pappe who recently published his findings in "The
Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine."
Even before May 15, 1948 the new Jewish settlers in Palestine lobbied
Britain to use its military and political power to rid "their" land of its
indigenous population, namely native Palestinians; in fact the campaign to
remove Palestinians started as far back as the 1920s.
In 1945, the British declared Emergency Law in what became Israel and used
sections 109-112 of that law to exile any Palestinian who opposed
discriminatory treatment by the British that favored the Jewish settlers.
Shortly after the announcement of the establishment of Israel by Zionist
Jews in 1948, nearly a million (960,000) Palestinians were forced out of
their homes, according to a UN report dated June 30, 1950.
And following its occupation of the West Bank and Gaza in June 1967, Israel
pursued an aggressive policy to ethnically cleanse the rest of Palestine.
This was clearly a war crime under both present current international law
of the time, but Israel used the deceptively soft term of "transfer" to
describe its brutal actions against native people in these areas.
Another revealing book by Labib Qodsia, "Exiling Palestinians from Their
Homeland 1967 - 1993," provides detailed documentation of how Palestinians
were forced into exile or "transferred" by the Jewish state. The author
includes many of their names, home cities, date of exile and even some of
their photographs.
The Zionist policy of "transfer" literally meant taking people by military
escort to the borders of Jordan or Egypt and dumping them there. But those
who reached exile over the border by military escort were the lucky ones.
Many were dumped in the desert to find their own way into Jordan.
The former Israeli PM, Ariel Sharon, used to joke that while he was Defense
Minister in the 1970s, the military in the Occupied West Bank would send
Palestinians toward Jordan by dumping them in the middle of the desert, but
only after giving them "a few dinars [coins], a loaf of bread and a white
flag." It is not rocket science to figure out that many did not make it to
safety as a result of such "humane" treatment.
During the decade-and-a-half between 1967 and 1982 Israel forced more than
300,000 Palestinians into exile through its sinister "transfer" policy,
which included not only unwanted individuals, but in many cases whole
families with women, the elderly and children.
On January 22, 1968 Twadod Abdulhadi, herself a senior citizen, was the
first Palestinian woman sent into exile to Amman, Jordan, after being held
a week in an Israeli concentration camp. But another Palestinian woman,
Rasmia O'da, was imprisoned for an entire decade (1969 to 1979) before
being exiled.
A decade later, the forced transfers were continuing at the same alarming
pace, with women often the most vulnerable victims. A typical example was
the transfer to Jordan on August 22, 1989 of eight Palestinian mothers and
their children. They were all from the village of Deer Abo Meshal, near
Ramallah. Among the youngest were Fardous Syleman, age 20, with her young
baby, and Sabah Mahmoud, 23, with three young children. The oldest included
Fatima Mahmoud and Ma'zoza Awad, both aged 60.
The ethnic cleansing of indigenous Palestinians from 1967 - 1993 not only
victimized those living in the Occupied Territories, but also included
Palestinians returning home from abroad. Raga Abdulraboo is a case in
point. She lived in Abu Dhabi with her family, but returned to Gaza to
marry. On May 13, 1987, immediately after the birth of her baby boy, Israel
sent her to Egypt.
These numerous forced "transfers" of Palestinian natives were done by
Israeli occupation forces in the middle of the night under cover of
darkness and without warning. Any resistance from a person's family was
brutally quashed; in many cases, harsh fines were imposed on family members
who objected to the arrest and transfer process.
Another little-known fact is that the Zionists' ethnic cleansing of the
Occupied West Bank and Gaza did not differentiate between Muslims or
Christians - both were seen as a threat to the only-for-Jews policy adopted
by Israel. Thus in 1967, the exiles included Anglican minister Rev. Alyia
Khury and Greek Orthodox priest Rev. Alydon Kobohe, along with the Muslim
Imam, Sheik Abdulhameed Alsayeh.
When Jordan, Egypt and Syria announced that their refugee resources were
exhausted and they could no longer accept any more forced transfers of
native Palestinians, Israel started to send them instead into Lebanon.
Israel's ethic cleansing program has left destruction in its wake
throughout areas that were once centuries-old Palestinian communities.
After a given area has been ethnically cleansed, the Israeli military blows
up the vacated homes in order to terrorize the remaining population. During
its first year of West Bank occupation, Israel demolished more than 3,000
homes; between 1967and 1985 at least another 13,000 were destroyed in Gaza.
But sadly, only historians seem to know or care about this criminal history
of Zionist ethnic cleansing - and too few are brave enough to write about
it in the public forum.
(Dr. Mohamed Elmasry is national president of the Canadian Islamic
Congress. He can be reached at [email protected])
[By Dr. Mohamed Elmasry]
=================================== =================================== =====
On May 15 this year, Zionists the world over will celebrate the 60th
anniversary of the establishment of a state for-Jews-only in Palestine.
Throughout the short but turbulent history of this Jewish state, its
Zionist governments have resorted to ethnically cleansing Palestinian
natives in order to maintain the racial "purity" of their nation.
Never in human history, but especially since the Second World War, has such
a massive crime of ethnic cleansing been largely hidden for so long from
the scrutiny of public opinion - this despite the accelerated development
of communication technology over the past half-century.
Only historians seem to know the true scope of the ethnic cleansing of
native Palestinians by the Jewish state; some of them are brave Israeli
Jews like Prof. Ilan Pappe who recently published his findings in "The
Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine."
Even before May 15, 1948 the new Jewish settlers in Palestine lobbied
Britain to use its military and political power to rid "their" land of its
indigenous population, namely native Palestinians; in fact the campaign to
remove Palestinians started as far back as the 1920s.
In 1945, the British declared Emergency Law in what became Israel and used
sections 109-112 of that law to exile any Palestinian who opposed
discriminatory treatment by the British that favored the Jewish settlers.
Shortly after the announcement of the establishment of Israel by Zionist
Jews in 1948, nearly a million (960,000) Palestinians were forced out of
their homes, according to a UN report dated June 30, 1950.
And following its occupation of the West Bank and Gaza in June 1967, Israel
pursued an aggressive policy to ethnically cleanse the rest of Palestine.
This was clearly a war crime under both present current international law
of the time, but Israel used the deceptively soft term of "transfer" to
describe its brutal actions against native people in these areas.
Another revealing book by Labib Qodsia, "Exiling Palestinians from Their
Homeland 1967 - 1993," provides detailed documentation of how Palestinians
were forced into exile or "transferred" by the Jewish state. The author
includes many of their names, home cities, date of exile and even some of
their photographs.
The Zionist policy of "transfer" literally meant taking people by military
escort to the borders of Jordan or Egypt and dumping them there. But those
who reached exile over the border by military escort were the lucky ones.
Many were dumped in the desert to find their own way into Jordan.
The former Israeli PM, Ariel Sharon, used to joke that while he was Defense
Minister in the 1970s, the military in the Occupied West Bank would send
Palestinians toward Jordan by dumping them in the middle of the desert, but
only after giving them "a few dinars [coins], a loaf of bread and a white
flag." It is not rocket science to figure out that many did not make it to
safety as a result of such "humane" treatment.
During the decade-and-a-half between 1967 and 1982 Israel forced more than
300,000 Palestinians into exile through its sinister "transfer" policy,
which included not only unwanted individuals, but in many cases whole
families with women, the elderly and children.
On January 22, 1968 Twadod Abdulhadi, herself a senior citizen, was the
first Palestinian woman sent into exile to Amman, Jordan, after being held
a week in an Israeli concentration camp. But another Palestinian woman,
Rasmia O'da, was imprisoned for an entire decade (1969 to 1979) before
being exiled.
A decade later, the forced transfers were continuing at the same alarming
pace, with women often the most vulnerable victims. A typical example was
the transfer to Jordan on August 22, 1989 of eight Palestinian mothers and
their children. They were all from the village of Deer Abo Meshal, near
Ramallah. Among the youngest were Fardous Syleman, age 20, with her young
baby, and Sabah Mahmoud, 23, with three young children. The oldest included
Fatima Mahmoud and Ma'zoza Awad, both aged 60.
The ethnic cleansing of indigenous Palestinians from 1967 - 1993 not only
victimized those living in the Occupied Territories, but also included
Palestinians returning home from abroad. Raga Abdulraboo is a case in
point. She lived in Abu Dhabi with her family, but returned to Gaza to
marry. On May 13, 1987, immediately after the birth of her baby boy, Israel
sent her to Egypt.
These numerous forced "transfers" of Palestinian natives were done by
Israeli occupation forces in the middle of the night under cover of
darkness and without warning. Any resistance from a person's family was
brutally quashed; in many cases, harsh fines were imposed on family members
who objected to the arrest and transfer process.
Another little-known fact is that the Zionists' ethnic cleansing of the
Occupied West Bank and Gaza did not differentiate between Muslims or
Christians - both were seen as a threat to the only-for-Jews policy adopted
by Israel. Thus in 1967, the exiles included Anglican minister Rev. Alyia
Khury and Greek Orthodox priest Rev. Alydon Kobohe, along with the Muslim
Imam, Sheik Abdulhameed Alsayeh.
When Jordan, Egypt and Syria announced that their refugee resources were
exhausted and they could no longer accept any more forced transfers of
native Palestinians, Israel started to send them instead into Lebanon.
Israel's ethic cleansing program has left destruction in its wake
throughout areas that were once centuries-old Palestinian communities.
After a given area has been ethnically cleansed, the Israeli military blows
up the vacated homes in order to terrorize the remaining population. During
its first year of West Bank occupation, Israel demolished more than 3,000
homes; between 1967and 1985 at least another 13,000 were destroyed in Gaza.
But sadly, only historians seem to know or care about this criminal history
of Zionist ethnic cleansing - and too few are brave enough to write about
it in the public forum.
(Dr. Mohamed Elmasry is national president of the Canadian Islamic
Congress. He can be reached at [email protected])