Quick Quiz: Did I write 'West Bank'?

Did I write "West Bank"?

Here:

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On A Name Change: Judea and Samaria

I, along with many others, refer to areas of the historic Land of Israel (Eretz Yisrael), that region which the international legal and diplomatic community in 1920 (San Remo) and 1922 (League of Nations) recognized should be reconstituted as the Jewish National Home, which lie outside the borders of sovereign Israel, as Judea and Samaria.

They were termed that even in the United Nations' partition plan.

Historical geography experts attest to the use of Judea and Samaria throughout the ages.

We all know that Palestine as the name for the country began in 135 CE by Roman occupiers.

Filastin is not even an Arabic word.

But for many, the area is either the West Bank or Palestinian Territories (see the itinerary of Prince William's upcoming visit).

The West Bank was coined only in April 1950 when Jordan, the illegal occupier, annexed the region and so called it.

Is there hope that the original genuine terms will return?

Perhaps.

Read on:

Ever since the Republic of Macedonia declared its independence in 1991, Greece has been fighting the country over its name. Today the 27-year impasse ended as two nations finally came to a resolution: The former Yugoslav republic is getting a new name, the Republic of North Macedonia.

"There is no way back," Macedonian Prime Minister Zoran Zaev said in a press conference, Reuters reports, after he spoke with his Greek counterpart Alexis Tsipras. "Our bid in the compromise is a defined and precise name, the name that is honorable and geographically precise — Republic of Northern Macedonia."

And the US State Department reacts:

The United States congratulates Prime Ministers Alexis Tsipras and Zoran Zaev and welcomes the historic agreement to resolve the name dispute. This resolution will benefit both countries and bolster regional security and prosperity. Prime Ministers Zaev and Tsipras demonstrated vision, courage, and persistence in their pursuit of a mutually acceptable solution. We also commend the commitment of UN mediator Matthew Nimetz for his steadfast efforts over more than two decades to end this dispute.We stand ready to support this agreement, as requested by the two countries.

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What's in a Name - A Fictional Story

The Washington Post has finally begin to semantically get with it.

In this story on the Israel government's decision to authorize a construction go-ahead, we read:

"...Oded Revivi, the foreign envoy for the Yesha Council, which represents Jewish settlers in the West Bank, which most Israelis refer to as Judea and Samaria..."

As was pointed out to me, the significance of this is the phrase: "'which most Israelis refer to". 

Thankfully, it's not couched as being "the Biblical term".

Getting close earlier was this New York Times story from February 1, 2017:

"“We are in a new era, where life in Judea and Samaria goes back to its normal and proper course,” the defense minister, Avigdor Lieberman, said in a statement, using the biblical name for the West Bank...Shilo Adler, the head of the Yesha Council, which represents settlers in the area,"

In there is "Judea and Samaria", "Yesha" and "biblical name".  Close. Good. But could be better.

In 2009 we had read

Buying homes in the settlement of Kiryat Netafim in the northern West Bank (known in Israel as Samaria) or in Tekoa in the southern West Bank (known as Judea)...The head of the Yesha settlers council, Daniel Dayan, says the growth of West Bank Israeli population is due to rapid population increase...

Let's remember, "West Bank" is an artificial geo-political name, created in April 1950 when Jordan annexed Judea and Samaria and incorporated it in his kingdom - which he himself first entered in November 1920 - an act considered illegal.

Are Judea and Samaria legitimate terms?

In the Mandate annual reports to the League of Nations, as here, the geography of the country was described so:

...to the south are the mountains of Samaria and Judea, which in places reach heights little less than those of Galilee...

...The capital of Palestine is Jerusalem, situated in the midst of the hills of Judea, and the principal towns are Haifa, with its modern harbour, in the north at the entrance to the plain of Esdraelon; Jaffa, a second port which lies some 40 miles west- north-west of Jerusalem; Tel Aviv, which is contiguous to Jaffa; and Nablus, the ancient Sichem, in the hills of Samaria. Jerusalem has a majority of Jewish inhabitants; in Haifa the Arab and Jewish elements are approximately equal in numbers; Tel Aviv is an entirely Jewish township of 150,000 inhabitants. In Jaffa a large majority of the people are Arabs, and in Nablus, apart from a small community of Samaritans, all the people are Arabs. 

In its report for 1938, it was recorded that in June, 1938, terrorist activities continued and

there was also a marked increase in isolated murders of Jews, the majority being settlers in the Plain of Sharon and northern Galilee; in arson of Jewish crops and property; in attacks on Jewish settlements; and in shooting at police and military patrols. An Italian priest was killed by armed brigands in the Judaean foothills and a British soldier was killed and six others wounded by the explosion of a land mine on a country track in Samaria. 

The United Nations, in delineating the boundaries between the proposed partition of the Mandate territory into two states, also used the terms "Judea" and "Samaria" and not West Bank (and as pointed out to me, there really is but OneWest Bank and that has nothing to do with a "Palestine").

Jordan's "West Bank" appellation is a fiction and its annexation was an illegal act which, moreover, but one country, Great Britain, fully recognized and accepted.

Jesus did not live on the "West Bank".

It should be relegated to a side note in any reportage story.

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You're Wrong and Unhelpful Yourself, Mr. Ambassador

Former U.S. Ambassador to Israel Daniel Shapiro spoke to a crowded ASEAN Auditorium at The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts this week.

Among the things Shapiro said was this about "expanding settlements in the West Bank Judea and Samaria"

“It’s unhelpful both because it changes the map over time … but also because of the political impact and the way it suggests to Palestinians that decisions are being made before they are at the negotiating table.”

You see, Mr. Ambassador, calling the territory of regions of the historic Land of Israel as the "West Bank", a geo-political term of obfuscation created in April 1950 when the illegal occupier of Judea and Samaria, Jordan's King Abdallah I annexed that land to his kingdom, is unhelpful, an interference with the neogtiaons for a peaceful settlement, discriminatory to Jewish rights and claims as well as being unauthentic as even the United Nations 1947 Partition Plan used the terms Judea and Samaria to delineate the borders of the future two states (a compromise plan rejected by the Arabs, incidentally, and due to their subsequent aggression, the map changed).

Using "West Bank" has quite a negative impact.

It affords the Arab side an ability to claim, before they are at the negotiating table, that they have a right to all of that territory.

But I suspect you intended that.

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Wondering About NYTimes Terminology

I wondered after reading this in the New York Times:

“Altogether, we are moving on a very good vector. We are close to half a million people in Judea and Samaria,” said Shilo Adler, the head of the Yesha Council advocacy group, using biblical names for the West Bank."

if, when the NYT quotes someone who says "in the West Bank", it will add

"using the 1950 terminology of Jordan when it illegally annexed the region"

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My Letter That DIDN't Make It Into the JPost Magazine

Sent July 9:

In his letter contra David S. Galdi (May 27), Shai Ben-Tekoa asserts, mistakenly, that prior to 1967, "there was no 'West Bank'" and that "it was not yet in use". Of course there was and it was indeed in use.

The term "West Bank" was created in April 1950 when Jordan's King Abdallah I annexed, illegally, that portion of the former Mandate of Palestine that was to become an independent Arab state. Jordan was on the East Bank and so, Judea and Samaria, the terms actually used in the 1947 UN Partition recommendation, became the "West Bank".

I add that one need not be an exuberant right-wing nationalist and mistaken in historical facts.

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Shiloh; Bank; But Not "West Bank"

Tracking down news items relating to Shiloh, where I live, can be hilarious at times.

Like this one:-

First Bank robbed in Shiloh

Shiloh police are offering a $500 reward for the identity of the man who robbed a First Bank branch inside the Dierberg's supermarket on Greenmount Crossing Drive shortly after 1 p.m. on Thursday.

That township is just east of St. Louis, Missouri.

Not in Binyamin Regional Council.

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P.S.

Yikes!

Residents in Calumet County [Wisconsin] living near Plum Creek are being warned their water may be contaminated because of farm runoff.  The state is advising people in the area to keep themselves, their pets and farm animals away from the site....The DNR [Department of Natural Resources] says the runoff occurred after it rained."Manure left the field, probably due to precipitation and got into concentrated flow channels and tributaries to Plum Creek," said Ben Uvaas, DNR Agricultural Specialist...The DNR says Shiloh Dairy spread the liquid manure, and is responsibe for the clean-up.

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Why the "West Bank"?

.

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Jeremy (J Street) Ben-Ami Coming to the West Bank

Really.  He'll be on the West Bank:

Jeremy Ben-Ami, president and founder of J Street, will speak on “Prospects for Arab-Israeli Peace in the Wake of the Israeli Elections” 5 p.m. Tuesday, April 14
 in the Humphrey Forum
 at the Humphrey School of Public Affairs, 
301 19th Ave. S., on the U of M West Bank campus, in Minneapolis.  Ben-Ami will be joined by Humphrey School Professor Brian Atwood, chair of Global Policy and former dean.

I presume the construction and residency there on that West Bank is legal?


(kippa tip: JW) 

-----------------------------

A response:

__________________

Seems that George Washington University also has a problem with J Street.

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Shiloh.... West ______

So, you presumed that my title ended as:

West Bank

right?

Nope.

A functional oasis: 

Shiloh Conservation area opens 

on West End

Don't be prejudicial.

That's in Montana.

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Do You Always Need a Bank to Settle?

If it is a matter of finance, yes:

British bank Barclays agreed to pay $20 million to settle a class-action suit from investors who lost money in the Libor interest rate-rigging conspiracy, according to a US court filing.

But if you are a Jewish nationalist, Judea and Samaria will do fine.

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Headline of the Week: West Bank; Construction; Site Plan Approval

Here it is:

Construction should start soon on West Bank

That's in West Des Moines

Site plan approval was granted last month by the West Des Moines Plan and Zoning Commission for construction of a new West Bank and a Casey’s General Store near First Street and Grand Avenue in West Des Moines.

If plans continue to progress smoothly, both projects could be completed by the fall.

The new bank branch — just west of the existing West Bank building — and a convenience store with seven fuel pump islands have been in the works for several years. A building on the corner was cleared of its businesses several years ago in anticipation of replacing it with what was then going to be a Short Stop convenience store. Short Stop was purchased in October 2010 by Casey’s, which gave its name to the six existing Short Stops in Iowa.

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Not All West Bank Violence Is Our Fault

There are other "Westbank"s, like this one in Canada:

A Westbank man who killed his girlfriend by strangling her has lost his appeal of his murder conviction.

In June 2010, James Gordon Feil was found guilty of the October 2008 second-degree murder of Tiffany Fedechko, 23, a single mother.

The Crown’s theory was that prior to the slaying, Feil and Fedechko argued with one another because the accused wanted to have sex and she did not.

Feil lost his temper and proceeded to beat and then strangle her to death.

The accused waited 2 1/2 days before turning himself in to police, who then discovered the victim’s body in Feil’s Westbank home.

Police also found a notepad on the floor by the foot of the bed, with the words: “She pushed me too far. I’m an a..hole.”

At trial, Feil admitted he killed her but insisted that he lacked the necessary intent for murder and that he was guilty of the lesser offence of manslaughter.

A B.C. Supreme Court jury in Kelowna, however, found Feil guilty of murder...

Read more.

Another Westbank Museum To Receive Gov't Funding

As reported:

District provides Westbank Museum with additional $15K


But that museum is not in Judea or Samaria.

It's in British Columbia, Canada.

...After postponing an initial decision during the grants-in-aid process, the District of West Kelowna agreed to provide the Westbank Museum with an additional $15,465 to help them fund a full-time staff person with managerial experience.

The grant-in-aid request from the museum will be added to their existing contract with the district of $57,020 for 2012.

Margaret Jackson of the Westbank Musuem explained to district council why the museum needed the district’s help in attaining a qualified full-time manager to help out with the museum’s ambitious goals. “To go forward, the museum needs strong management leadership with diversified skill,” Jackson told council on Tuesday.

The district’s contribution will help the museum to be able to offer a paycheque that is “closer to industry standards,” according to Jackson.

Just saying you know.

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West Bank Mardi Gras?

That's what is says:-

Mardi Gras parade-viewing stands being erected on West Bank

But, again, that's down in New Orleans.

On the West Bank, a crew from Center Staging has been working since Saturday to erect the Mardi Gras reviewing stands...The 120 foot x 40 platform is being built in advance for the upcoming parade season which kicks off Friday, February 10...The parade will begin at Kabel Drive and Gen. DeGaulle in Algiers and end at Lafayette Street and the West Bank Expressway. The crew started on Saturday, January 21,2012 and expected to be done by Thursday.

And don't forget, in our "West Bank", the beads are used for praying:

Credit

Not for other uses.

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West Bank Rip-off and Stink

Westbank Businessman Decries City Sanitation Fees

NEW ORLEANS -- A Westbank businessman said he thinks the way city sanitation fees are collected stinks.

Warren Munster said the city is charging him garbage fees at homes where no one lives. Munster owns the Old Point Bar in Algiers Point and argues that the way the city collects garbage fees is convoluted and cumbersome. He owns several apartments and commercial properties in Algiers Point that have been vacant since Hurricane Katrina.

"If your building is vacant, you shouldn't pay any garbage," Munster said. Munster said he uses a small amount of water for his garden, but officials said using any amount of water automatically tacks on a monthly sanitation fee to the water bill. "People are getting ripped off in the city with Sewerage and Water Board," said Munster.

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West Bank Floods Recede

In Guayana:

No gov’t word on West Bank flood losses, say upset farmers

The farmers of the north and south sections of Canal Number 2 Polder and also De Buff Village, on the West Bank Demerara are still awaiting word on compensation for losses suffered as a result of recent flooding.

Farmers say now that the canals have been cleared of the weeds and the floodwater receded after eight days

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Israel Can Do No Right? Ask the Hookah

Israel can't win in the media.

It tries sincerely to care for the health of not only its own citizens but those under its administrative supervision in Judea and Samaria and still the story is spun in a negative fashion, even if the moral basis is included in the story, far down the column:

Rising Tobacco Prices Cause Stir in West Bank

Mustafa Jum'a, who runs a coffee shop in Ramallah in the West Bank, began to worry about his business as the prices for hookah smoke rise due to an extra tariff imposed on tobacco.

Israeli authorities suddenly raised import tariffs on tobacco, a move the Palestinians have to follow because of the Paris Economic Protocol signed with Israel in 1994, which states the two must have bond import tariffs in the light with the unified customs framework.

The rise has caused a reduction of customers, said Jum'a, adding most of his customers are public employees that used to come to the coffee shop twice or three times a day. "(They) now come here only once, if not every other day," he said.

The hookah price in Jum'a's coffee shop has risen from seven shekels (around 1.8 U.S. dollars) to 12 shekels (3.4 dollars). He made money when hookah smokers order tea, coffee or other drink, so now he makes less profit due to the reduction of customers.

Head of the tobacco customs department in the Ministry of Finance Bandi Dahdah said the new customs tariff requires the payment of 279 shekels (73 dollars) per kilogram, compared with the previous 50 shekels (13 dollars). Since the best tobaccos are imported from Egypt and Bahrain, almost all hookah smokers are affected by the new regulation...

Sounds almost evil.

However...

the Ministry of Health welcomed the decision, Dahdah said, noting the health ministry hopes the move would encourage smokers to quit smoking. According to an official study, the number of smokers in the Palestinian territories are estimated at 800,000.

"My young children smoke hookah, even my 16-year-old child smokes behind my back. I hope this decision will help them get rid of it," said Nadia Karim, a 45-year-old mother in Bethlehem.

Go easy on the smoke.

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I Admit: There's Apartheid in the 'West Bank'

That's right, apartheid in the West Bank:

PA bans Druse singer from Ramallah New Years bash

Oops, was that Arab apartheid or Islamic apartheid?

In any case, in was in the 'West Bank'.

The details:-

The Palestinian Authority banned a well-know Israeli Druse singer from appearing at a New Year’s Eve party in Ramallah. The decision to ban Mike Sharif, known as “The Druse Boy,” was taken following strong protests and threats by many Palestinians who oppose “normalization” with Israelis.

...The Palestinians were angered by the fact that Sharif was presented as an Israeli and that some of his songs were in Hebrew...Others said they didn’t like the fact that a member of the Druse community, whose sons serve in the IDF, would appear at a party in Ramallah.

PA policemen raided the hall where the party was supposed to take place and ordered the owners to cancel Sharif’s appearance, eyewitnesses said.

The organizers of the event were forced to replace the Druse singer with another performer.

And what happened last year in Tel Aviv?

As reported by pro-Pal. 972:-

Artists playing Tel Aviv should insist on Palestinians attending

So Macy Gray decided to perform in Tel Aviv. After sharing her hesitation with her fans on Facebook, Gray apparently made up her mind not to cancel the gigs she planned to have in Israel. One of her tweets implies she was also turned off by some of the messages she got from the pro-Palestinian side. On Wednesday night, Gray posted a response to one of her followers: “@bahebakyagaza See I’m willing to listen – really listen – but some of you so called boycotters are just assholes.”

...Many artists believe that music transcends political boundaries and everyday reality, so they are unwilling to submit their work even to political causes they believe in. Artists also tend to think that fans shouldn’t be punished for their governments’ actions, and some think that it’s not a good idea to mix politics and music. What’s more, most people were educated to believe that banning someone – anyone – is a bad thing, and they are inclined to think that this goes for states too.

And remember the last time music was banned in Ramallah?

July 2010. Boney M. "Rivers of Babylon" was banned.

Here:

Lead singer Maizie Williams said Palestinian concert organizers told her not to sing "Rivers of Babylon." The song's chorus quotes from the Book of Psalms, referring to the exiled Jewish people's yearning to return to the biblical land of Israel.

"I don't know if it is a political thing or what, but they asked us not to do it and we were a bit disappointed that we could not do it because we know that everybody loves this song no matter what," she said.

(k/t=DF)

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Maen R Arekiat: No Jews Today and Tomorrow

Remember Maen Rashid Areikat, the representative of the Palestinian Liberation Organization to the United States?

No?

Well, besides being a liar, he was interviewed by USA Today saying "no Jews allowed in 'Palestine'" that was later either denied or fudged.

Well, he's back and you know what, he still doesn't like Jews in his neighborhood as he told the Chicago Sun-Times-

Hundreds of thousands of Jews live in communities in the disputed West Bank territories. To Israelis, the West Bank is known as Judea and Samaria, reflecting its crucial role in the ancient and modern history of the Jewish people. If a peace settlement is ever reached — a big if given the history of Palestinian intransigence — could some Jews living in the West Bank choose to opt to remain and pursue their lives under a new Palestinian state?

No, according to Maen Rashid Areikat, the representative of the Palestinian Liberation Organization to the United States. In a recent meeting with the Chicago Sun-Times editorial board, he condemned the Jewish residents of the West Bank — he put the number at 550,000 — as unlawful settlers and declared that all of them must leave as part of any Israeli-Palestinian settlement.

Areikat did acknowledge that a settlement would involve “minor” land swaps that could incorporate some of the communities in Israel. And he did say that at some point in the future, Jews might live in a new Palestinian state.

But a settlement would require Jews living in the Palestinian-governed West Bank to leave. In other words, a peace deal will be followed by ethnic cleansing of the West Bank, where Jewish history is measured in millennia and where Jews had lived before being expelled in the Arab world’s 1948 war to destroy Israel...

Actually, is that a pun?  That "a settlement would require Jews living in the Palestinian-governed West Bank to leave"?

Remind me, who is practicing apartheid in our region?

(k/t= ChallahHuAkbar)

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