Israel's Jewish Enemies - A "Dear Henry Letter"

There have been, are and I will admit, dejectedly, always will be Jews who will fight Israel, its policies, its rasion d'etre and even its existential identity. They think they mean well and will be horrified if accused of being anti- or non-Zionists. They love Israel, they will say. Only its best interests are in their hearts. I am not referring to the very wicked people like the American Council for Judaism or Jewish supporters of the PLO, etc. I am talking about the simpletons. I would classify one of them as Henry Siegman.him,

As I have noted here previously, I have met with Henry Siegman. He is not that bright in that he allows his perverted political world view to alter the facts that he knows are incorrect. His intellect is also a bit weary.

An example?

Here, from the latest issue of The New York Review of Books:-

It is not true, as Israelis often claim, that Palestinians refuse to compromise. (Former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu famously complained that "Palestinians take and take while Israel gives and gives.") That is an indecent charge, not only because so far Israel has given Palestinians nothing, but because Palestinians made the most far-reaching compromise of all when, in 1988, Arafat formally accepted the legitimacy of Israel within the 1949 armistice line (i.e., the pre-1967 border). With that concession, Palestinians gave up their claim to more than half the territory that the United Nations 1947 Partition Resolution had assigned to Palestine's Arab inhabitants. Palestinians have never received credit for this wrenching and historic concession, made well before Israel formally recognized that Palestinians have a right to sovereignty in any part of Palestine. The notion that Palestinians can now be compelled to accept "border adjustments" at the expense of the 22 per cent of the territory that is left them is deeply offensive to Palestinians, and understandably so.

Let's take each of the above four lies in turn.

1. so far Israel has given Palestinians nothing

Nothing, Henry? Nothing?

Handing over Gaza is nothing? Six major Yesha cities (Ramallah, Jenin, Jericho, Tul Karem, Bethlehem and most of Hebron). Guns. Bullets. A proposal to hand over 97% at Wye.

Are you stupid, Henry? Ignorant? Is Mahmoud Abbas paying you to write this drivel?


2. With that concession

Concession? The entire world recognizes Israel, in the territory awarded it by the United Nations, and the Pals. can't recognize Israel at all because they have a difference of opinion, launched a war, lost a war and are now angry with Israel instead of being angry with themselves.

It's a concession to admit you're wrong and you can't bring yourselves to acknowledge Israel's legitimacy? Are you an apologist, Henry?

3. had assigned to Palestine's Arab inhabitants

Not all of "Palestine's Arabs", Henry, not all.

You know that Palestine was much larger than the 1947 territory, don't you? That Great Britain decided unilaterally to size-down the area for a Jewish National Home in 1922-23 and that the Arabs in what we now know as the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan are all so-called "Palestinians", right Henry? Well, not all. The descendants of those Saudi Arabian refugees, you know Henry, Abdullah, his grandson, Hussein, and his great-grandson, Abdullah, - the royal clan. They are the only Arabs who don't ethnically belong to the kingdom.

The kingdom is now over 70% Pals. so maybe Abdullah has a demographic problem and not Israel? Will you watch out for him, Henry?

4. the 22 per cent of the territory that is left them

Continued from above. What 22%? That of the original mandate or the whittled down one. The Arabs - Pals., Jordanians, TransJordanians or whatever - got 75% of the Jewish National Home territory, Henry. Can't you count?

Listen, Henry. If you really want to be serious about being against Israel, try to be correct. It helps, even though there's nothing wrong with the basics of Zionism and Israel.