When the US Information Agency Referred to "Palestine"

As I, and others, have consistently pointed out, the United Nations SC Resolution 242 does not mention "Palestine" as a state.

It does mention "the refugee problem" but without characterizing any specific nationality.  As we now know, some 60,000 Jews were cause to be refugees as a result of the 1947-49 hostilities, initiated by the Arabs, not to mention several thousands more expelled and ethnically cleansed from their homes in locations throughout Judea, Samaria and Gaza during the Mandate years, also by Arabs in a terror campaign.

Below, I have found, perhaps, the first mention of "Palestine" in what could be called, in a very qualified manner, a "state".  

The document is a "talking points" summary, dated August 7, 1967. It was composed or at least authorized by Leonard Marks, director of the US Information Agency at the time.*  It was presented to Averell Harriman, Ambassador at Large, under cover of an attached August 9 typewritten note informing him that the Talking Paper had been “released for us in all posts on the U.S. position in the Middle East.” The note indicates that copies of the Talking Paper were also sent to Walt Rostow and Eugene Rostow.

The questions he poses, and then provides answers for, are illuminating in that they largely reveal that rumor, bias and misinformation seems always to be at the basis of attacks on Israel.

The 18th question is formulated:

What about the Arab refugees from Palestine?

That might, to some people, to indicate a state of "Palestine" existed.

But reading the answer, it is obvious that that is not the case:

ANSWER: Secretary of State Rusk proposed that the refugees have a free and private choice of their future. The U.S. is firmly opposed to permanent eviction of the refugees, and to barring their return.

It is probable that not all would want to return to the Palestine area—especially if they were offered an opportunity for resettlement, with the required financial backing, in other Arab states.

It should be remembered that the United States has contributed over a third of a billion dollars to Palestinian refugee relief since 1950. This is about 70 per cent of the total funds made available for this purpose. So it cannot be said that the U.S. is not interested in the welfare of the refugees, or in a permanent solution of their problems.

In other words, the "Palestine" referred to is just an "area" and it is obviously the former Mandate area. "Arab states" are mentioned, but not a "Palestine". Moreover, the only framework for discussing those persons from an area called "Palestine" are "refugees".

Incidentally, question 19, deals with Jerusalem.  The question is phrased

The U.S. didn’t vote for condemnation of the Israeli annexation of Jerusalem by the U.N. General Assembly. Does this mean the U.S. concurs in the Israeli annexation?

The talking point reply notes that 

The United States has made it clear that the U.S. will not accept Israel’s unilateral action as a determinant of the future of Jerusalem.

However, it also notes that

The Israeli Government has said that its arrangements for the administration of Jerusalem were not an annexation. It seemed to the United States that the proposed U.N.G.A. resolution, which condemned annexation and called for its recision, was not directed to the situation on the ground.

On that, see here where official US statements are quoted, among them

On June 19, President said: “There must be adequate recognition of the special interest of the three great religions in the Holy Places of Jerusalem”. A White House statement on June 28 said that the President “assumes that before any unilateral action is taken on the status of Jerusalem there will be appropriate consultation with religious leaders and others who are deeply concerned … The world must find an answer that is fair and recognized to be fair. That could not be achieved by hasty unilateral action and the President is confident that the wisdom and good judgment of those in control of Jerusalem will prevent any such action.” 

Interestingly, the religious rather than the political and diplomatic aspects are paramount.

That is evident in the words of UN Ambassador Goldberg quoted there:

“During my own statement to the General Assembly on July 3, I said . . . the safeguarding of the holy places and freedom of access to them for all should be internationally guaranteed and the status of Jerusalem in relation to them should be decided not unilaterally but in consultation with all concerned. These statements represent the considered and continuing policy of the United States Government.”

There is there, however, this, too:

We do not recognize Israeli measures as having effected changes in formal status of Jerusalem.(a)Israelis are in that city, as they are in other recently occupied territory, as a result of hostilities last month.(b)Israel may thus be said to be an occupying power with duty under international law to conform its administration as closely as possible to existing local law.(c)Israeli action to establish a unified municipal administration of Jerusalem cannot be regarded and will not be recognized as a valid annexation, or a permanent change in legal status of Jerusalem in any sense.(d)It should be considered an interim administrative measure to provide a more convenient and efficient occupation regime for area formerly under Jordanian control, using Jordanian police and other officials wherever possible.(e)Government of Israel has made it clear that it does not claim that its unified administration of Jerusalem is an annexation.

President Trump's decision altered that policy, but not completely.

P.S.  Already way back when, they knew internationalization was wrong for Jerusalem and the Partition Plan was really dead.


_____________________________
* By the way, Marks foresaw the rise of alternative media in that 

he once implemented an unusual plan to explain US policy directly to the Vietnamese.

He wrote in his 2004 memoir, ``The President Is Calling," that ``the Vietnamese household was well served with gossip and information when the women gathered each morning at the fish market and swapped stories about local events. At the suggestion of one of our employees, I retained the services of talented storytellers who, each day, would compose stories describing the issues of the Vietnam conflict and report on the progress being made in repulsing the communist invaders.

``At night, singing troubadours would go to Vietnamese guesthouses, churches, and other gathering places. We eliminated daily newspapers and replaced them with live fish market correspondents."

^

Chanukah: the "Anti-We're-Occupiers" Festival

From I Maccabees 15:32-34

32So Athenobius, the king’s Friend, came to Jerusalem and on seeing the splendor of Simon’s court, the gold and silver plate on the sideboard, and his rich display, he was amazed. When he gave him the king’s message,33Simon said to him in reply: “It is not foreign land we have taken nor have we seized the property of others, but only our ancestral heritage which for a time had been unjustly held by our enemies.34Now that we have the opportunity, we are holding on to the heritage of our ancestors.

^

^

Israeli Jews Can Apply?

To participate in a newly offered program to train comics illustrators one condition principle, admirably, is

Inclusion of ethnic and religious minorities of the Middle East and North Africa, recent immigrants, and those without formal art training

That program is 

Call for Artists: FREE Dearborn Comics Workshop (Ages 16+)Application deadline: Monday, Dec. 17 2018
Applicants of Middle Eastern and North African descent ages 16+ living in the Dearborn/Detroit area are invited to participate in a FREE 8-week comics workshop from Jan. 11 to Mar. 3, 2019! No experience necessary; all levels welcome to apply.
Workshop sessions will be held every Saturday from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m., followed by optional open studio time from 1 to 5 p.m., at the Dearborn City Hall Artspace Lofts. 
The workshop will be led by Palestinian graphic novelist Leila Abdelrazaq and Lebanese artist and designer Aya Krisht, as part of Abdelrazaq’s residency with the Arab American National Museum's Artists + Residents program.
Participants will create personal, autobiographical comics and self-publish them. They will then have the chance to sell copies of their comics at AANM's second annual Book & Print Fest in spring of 2019.

Israeli Jews can apply?

Comics of 'Palestine':

(H/T=JW)

^

Consulate Is Chanukah Non-Friendly

I checked the three major social media platforms used by the United States Consulate General in Jerusalem.

No Chanukah greetings.

Facebook. 

Twitter.

Instagram. There's a Christmas one up already.

Jews don't count?

_____________________

UPDATE

Checked in at the Consulate's Instagram account today, Thursday, at 13:30.

There's a Christmas greeting.  No Chanukah. 

There's a similar Ramallah tree-lighting ceremony post at Facebook. No Chanukah.

At Twitter, Jason Greenblatt's Chanukah greeting is up, as a retweet.

^

Arabs as "Settlers"

From a House of Commons speech delivered by Earl Jowitt, a Labour politician who served as Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain on December 1. 1954:

...I visited the old Jerusalem and the Holy Places...I was deeply moved—I have never been more moved in my life, and this is what leads me to speak of it to-day—with what I saw in regard to the refugees. I saw them in old Jerusalem and I saw them in Jericho. I saw them, after seven years, still living in their inadequate tents. I am going to make an appeal from the heart to your Lordships' House, to this country and to the United Nations to try to do something to tackle and solve this problem. For seven years this has been going on. Some of the Jews will say, "The Arabs left voluntarily." I do not think that is an adequate answer. At Haifa and in the area around 41 there are large numbers of Arabs still living under Jewish rule. I went to the cadi's court and saw the cadi. He said he had 50,000 Arabs there still patronising his court. I spoke to him privately, and he told me that he had no sort of complaint to make about what was being done for them. It is obvious that they are happy and contented living under the Jews. He added: "The one thing we want is that there shall be peace, like we have here, throughout the Holy Land."

In the course of the war, for which the Arabs must bear a great deal of responsibility, there were undoubtedly incidents...one of the features of war that incidents do take place. It was the fear that incidents might happen that induced a large number of these Arabs to leave the country. I am bound to say (I feel it should be said) that I found amongst the Arabs intense bitterness. I found, I regret to say, a distrust of this country and of her promises. 

...With regard to the work of U.N.R.R.A. (and this should be said, because that work is due shortly to come to an end), I am afraid I was not impressed with what has been done, although many admirable people have devoted themselves to that work. I thought I found—these are only impressions—a good deal of over-lapping organisation. There had been in the past some peculation, almost inevitably, I suppose. In order to try and prevent peculation, they now insist on the filling of forms to an extent and complexity which I have rarely seen, with the result that the charitably disposed people who are trying to administer the funds given to them by U.N.R.R.A. are beset by these forms, and have to engage extra staff to fill them up, with little advantage to anyone. I hope that what I am about to say will not be used in evidence against me hereafter, but I am bound to admit that the individual effort which I saw being made by some individuals was, to my mind, far more effective than the work which U.N.R.R.A. were doing.

...The weakness of the U.N.R.R.A. position is that they have concentrated on maintaining these people and not on settling them. I can well understand the reason why—indeed, I saw and heard it: the reason is that there are some Arab politicians who are not anxious that this matter should be settled. When I talked about trying to resettle some of the people of these villages...and trying to get them to the fertile lands in the interior, the Arabs said, "No, we regard them as our first line."

I want to say this to your Lordship quite definitely. You cannot resettle these people in Israel. Do let us be quite clear about that. You cannot do it, because in Israel, where they used to be, new settlers have come; and you would not solve this problem at all by trying to resettle them there. You would merely have to remove the existing settlers, and you would have the same problem all over again. As I have said, though you put them on the same land you would find, generally speaking, that that land is very different from what it was; and, moreover, is now full of new houses. I think the Arabs realise this. What they said to me was that they ought to be given the chance to go back. I said, "Supposing they were given the chance to go back, would they go?"; and they answered, "No." So we have this situation...There is there a population of something of the order of 800,000 to 900,000 refugees, because a large number of children are born every year. They are without hope; they are without prospects, and they are carrying on a miserable existence on an inadequate supply of food. It is a festering sore. That situation cannot do anything to improve the character of the people who are receiving food but are denied any chance of doing any work or any hope of work in the future. They look back on the past and long to go back to their own lands which, in their imagination, have become now far greater and more wonderful than they ever were.

My Lords, I am quite satisfied that we cannot afford to allow this state of affairs to go on, and I beg you to end this situation. Whether or not they will settle in Jordan—and I did not see any of Jordan, except in the course of my trip from Jerusalem to Jericho and down to Jordan and the Dead Sea; I did not go further north—I cannot bring myself to think that, if they showed the same energy and initiative and had the same capital resources as the Jews, it would not be possible to settle them on the east of Jordan. If I am wrong on that, there can be no question whatever that they could be settled in Syria. I beg the Government to use their influence. I realise that it is not a matter for this country alone, but I beg the Government to use their influence to try to get something done about this matter. All your Lordships will agree that to have something like 800,000 or 900.000 people in this condition is a most serious situation for the peace and well-being of the world. I am not making the smallest criticism of the Government—I want them to understand that. All I am asking is for help in dealing with a problem which strikes me as being the most urgent problem with which I have ever come face to face in my life.

^

It's Gelt. It's Gold. It's Chanukah

As received from the Israel Antiquities Authority:


Hanukkah Gelt:

A cache of rare gold coins and a 900 year old gold earring were discovered at the port of Caesarea.

..."The cache is a silent testimony to one of the most dramatic events in the history of Caesarea -- the violent conquest of the city by the Crusaders. Someone hid their fortune, hoping to retrieve it -- but never returned."

This rare and important treasure, a small bronze pot holding 24 gold coins and a gold earring, was uncovered a few days ago at the Caesarea National Park...The gold cache was found hidden between two stones in the side of a well, located in a house in a neighborhood dating to the Abbasid and Fatimid periods, some 900 years ago.

According to the directors of the excavation, Dr. Peter Gendelman and Mohammed Hatar of the Israel Antiquities Authority, "The coins in the cache dating to the end of the eleventh century, make it possible to link the treasure to the Crusader conquest of the city in the year 1101, one of the most dramatic events in the medieval history of the city. According to contemporary written sources, most of the inhabitants of Caesarea were massacred by the army of Baldwin I (1100–1118), king of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem. It is reasonable to assume that the treasure’s owner and his family perished in the massacre or were sold into slavery, and therefore were not able to retrieve their gold."

...At the center of the excavation and conservation activity...[i]s part of a sacred compound first built by Herod more than two millennia ago, as a tribute to his Roman patron, the emperor Augustus, and the goddess Roma. The newly discovered treasure was found in this area.

The well where the treasure was found was part of a house within the Fatimid and Abbasid neighborhoods, built some 1,000 years after Herod's reign, below the western façade of the Herodian temple. These neighborhoods also extended to parts of the inner harbor of the Caesarea port, which had already silted up by that time.

According to Dr. Robert Kool, coin expert at the Israel Antiquities Authority, "The cache is of a unique combination of coins not yet seen in Israel consisting of two types of coins: 18 Fatimid dinars, well known from previous excavations in Caesarea where it was the standard local currency of the time; and a small and extremely rare group of six Byzantine imperial gold coins. Five of the coins are concave and belong to the reign of the Byzantine Emperor Michael VII Doukas (1071–1079).

The Arabs Started Shooting on November 30, 1947

The newspapers in Mandate Palestine reported in the editions of December 1, 1947 that the previous evening Arabs had attacked Jews, shooting and killing and injuring them.

In Jerusalem, as Davar reported, at 8:45 PM, nurses being transported to Hadassah Hospital on Mount Scopus were shot at while driving through the Nashashibi neighborhood:

The bus was riddled with eight bullets. The Nashashibi neighborhood is today's Sheikh Jarrah. The first Nashashibi clan house was built where now the Ambassador Hotel stands. They were driving along the road that later would be the site of the Hadassah Convoy Massacre, now called Derech Har HaZeitim*.

The Palestine Post reports, it would seem, an additional incident in Jerusalem as well as the major terror attack on Tel Aviv's border with Jaffa:

*
There were Nashashibi houses near St. Stephens' (Flowers) Gate so it may have been along today's Suleiman Sultan Street.

^

Clarifying "River to the Sea"

From the Arabic:

Meshaal to CNN: Palestine land from the sea to the river Saturday, 22 December 2012

DUBAI (Reuters) - Khaled Meshaal, head of Hamas's political bureau, denied to CNN that his movement was behind the bombing of a bus in Tel Aviv on Wednesday...

"The Israeli side is responsible for the escalation in Gaza and we are not targeting civilians," Meshaal said in an interview with Christian Amanpour, CNN reported that Israel is responsible for the recent escalation in the Gaza Strip after it carried out incursions and assassinations of the military wing of the movement. I do not like shedding any point of blood. "

When asked about the extent to which the movement considers its right to kill civilians in Israel, Meshaal said: "The resistance is not targeting civilians. We must return to the root of the issue. The Palestinian people lived in peace before the Israelis occupied their land. In accordance with international law, Israel has an advanced army and has committed many massacres from Deir Yassin to Sabra and Shatila."

"We are defending our people and we are responding. I am the Hamas leader. I say on CNN that we are ready to conduct peaceful means without shedding blood or using weapons if we get our Palestinian national demands of ending occupation, establishing a state and meeting all other national goals," he said...

Asked about the movement's earlier decision not to recognize Israel and the possibility of returning later, Meshaal said the recognition should come from "the party that launches the attacks and has a military arsenal, not the victim."

He explained his point of view by saying: "We have only two paths. Either there is an international will from America, Europe and the international community that will push Israel to the path of peace and the establishment of a Palestinian state on the 1967 borders with the right of return. We continue to resist, I accept a state on the 1967 borders, but how can I accept Israel as a land occupant? I need recognition, not Israel. "

Meshaal stressed that his movement will not back down on the issue of the "right of return" for the Palestinians, saying: "Why is the international community silent about laws that allow the return of the Israelis and silence about it?"

"I want to establish a state for the Palestinians. After that, this state will decide its position on Israel. This question can not be addressed to me (recognizing Israel). I am in prison and under Israeli pressure," he said.

Meshaal said: "Palestine from the sea to the river and from the north to the south is my land and the land of my fathers and my grandfathers...

__________________

And also the PLO

Faysal Al-Husseini in his Last Interview: The Oslo Accords Were a Trojan Horse; The Strategic Goal is the Liberation of Palestine from the [Jordan] River to the [Mediterranean] Sea'

Q: "What are the borders of the Palestinian state you are referring to, and what kind of 'Jerusalem' would you accept as the capital of your state?"

A: "With this question you are dragging me into talking about what we refer to as our "strategic" goals and our "political" goals, or the phased goals. The "strategic" goals are the "higher goals," the "long-term goals," or the "unwavering goals," the goals that are based on solid Pan-Arab historic rights and principles. Whereas the "political" goals are those goals which were set for a temporary timeframe, considering the [constraints of] the existing international system, the balance of power, our own abilities, and other considerations which "vary" from time to time."

"When we are asking all the Palestinian forces and factions to look at the Oslo Agreement and at other agreements as "temporary" procedures, or phased goals, this means that we are ambushing the Israelis and cheating them. However, the truth is that we are doing exactly what they are doing. The proof for that is that they are aware of, and are not trying to hide, the fact that there is nothing that unites them more around the territory which extends from the Nile to the Euphrates, than their slogan, which was taken from the Torah, and reads: 'These are the borders of the greater land of Israel.'"

"If, for some reason, they had to temporarily declare their state over "a part" of the greater land of Israel, they would publicly declare that this is their "political" strategy, which they will have to temporarily accept due to international circumstances. On the other hand, their "higher strategy" is always "The Greater Land of Israel."

"We are [acting] exactly like them. In 1947, in accordance with [the UN] Partition Plan, they decided to declare statehood on 55% of the land of Palestine, which they later increased to 78% during the War of 1948, and then again [increased it] to 100% during the War of 1967. Despite all that, they never attempted to make secret of their long-term goal, which is "Greater Israel" from the Nile to the Euphrates. Similarly, if we agree to declare our state over what is now only 22% of Palestine, meaning the West Bank and Gaza – our ultimate goal is [still] the liberation of all historical Palestine from the [Jordan] River to the [Mediterranean] Sea, even if this means that the conflict will last for another thousand years or for many generations."

"In short, we are exactly like they are. We distinguish the strategic, long-term goals from the political phased goals, which we are compelled to temporarily accept due to international pressure. If you are asking me as a Pan-Arab nationalist what are the Palestinian borders according to the higher strategy, I will immediately reply: "From the river to the sea." Palestine in its entirety is an Arab land, the land of the Arab nation, a land no one can sell or buy, and it is impossible to remain silent while someone is stealing it, even if this requires time and even [if it means paying] a high price."

"If you are asking me, as a man who belongs to the Islamic faith, my answer is also "From the river to the sea," the entire land is an Islamic Waqf which can not be bought or sold, and it is impossible to remain silent while someone is stealing it …"

"If you are asking me as an ordinary Palestinian, from the "inside" or from the Diaspora, you will get the same answer and without any hesitations. However, what I am able to achieve and live on right now, due to [constraints of] the international system, is not, of course, Palestine "From the river to the sea." In order for us to fulfill all of our dreams regarding Palestine, we must, first of all, wake up and realize where we are standing. On the other hand, if we will continue to behave as if we are still dreaming, we will not find a place to put our feet on..."

"As I once said in the past: our eyes must continue to focus on the higher goal. The real danger is that I might forget [it], and while advancing towards my short-term goal I might turn my back on my long-term goal, which is the liberation of Palestine from the river to the sea…"

______________

UPDATE

See this

^

M Lamont Hill is Looking for a Verb

According to the official press release

Marc Lamont Hill, a representative of civil society, stressed:  

“Our solidarity must be more than a noun; our solidarity must become a verb.”  

So, how would that be, linguistically?

Solidarize?

Solidarate? 

Solidare?

And if we are engaged in language and Hill said that

solidarity means recognizing the Palestinian right to self-defence, stressing that Palestinians must not be shamed for resisting in the face of State violence and ethnic cleansing. 

he should know that "resistance" in the history of the Arabs of historic Palestine means one thing and one thing only, killing Jews. Violently.

Oh, and "historic Palestine" includes Jordan. So what do we do with the King?

P.S.  Does he know that thousands of Jews had been ethnically-cleansed from their Historic Homeland in Judea and Samaria and also Gaza during 1920-1948 by...Arabs?

P.P.S.  The sole national group who has had its "historic" connection to Historic Palestine is...the Jews:

recognition has thereby been given to the historical connection of the Jewish people with Palestine and to the grounds for reconstituting their national home in that country

^

Did You Read "Quo Vadis"?

Quo Vadis is the historical novel of Henryk Sienkiewicz published in 1896 and the basis for the 1951 film.

Due to it being mentioned by Jabotinsky in an article I am editing, "Exchange of Compliments", I looked through it for a reference Jabotinsky made regarding two Rabbis.

As one scholar has noted,

there is not a single friendly reference to the Jews anywhere in the novel. What is worse, nearly every mention of them is tied to some ugly rumor or malicious deed. But it must be recalled that Sienkiewicz merely followed the received opinions of his day. 

And these are the sections I found relating to Jews:

1.
Vinicius ceased talking and rode on.

“O lord,” said Chilo, after a while, “thou wouldst not have found the maiden but for me, and if we find her now, thou wilt not forget the needy sage?”

“Thou wilt receive a house with a vineyard at Ameriola.”

“Thanks to thee, O Hercules! With a vineyard? Thanks to thee! Oh, yes, with a vineyard!”

They were passing the Vatican Hill now, which was ruddy from the fire; but beyond the Naumachia they turned to the right, so that when they had passed the Vatican Field they would reach the river, and, crossing it, go to the Flaminian Gate. Suddenly Chilo reined in his mule, and said,--

“A good thought has come to my head, lord!”

“Speak!” answered Vinicius.

“Between the Janiculum and the Vatican Hill, beyond the gardens of Agrippina, are excavations from which stones and sand were taken to build the Circus of Nero. Hear me, lord. Recently the Jews, of whom, as thou knowest, there is a multitude in Trans-Tiber, have begun to persecute Christians cruelly. Thou hast in mind that in the time of the divine Claudius there were such disturbances that Cæsar was forced to expel them from Rome. Now, when they have returned, and when, thanks
to the protection of the Augusta, they feel safe, they annoy Christians more insolently. I know this; I have seen it. No edict against Christians has been issued; but the Jews complain to the prefect of the city that Christians murder infants, worship an ass, and preach a religion not recognized by the Senate; they beat them, and attack their houses of prayer so fiercely that the Christians are forced to hide.”

“What dost thou wish to say?” inquired Vinicius.

“This, lord, that synagogues exist openly in the Trans-Tiber; but that Christians, in their wish to avoid persecution, are forced to pray in secret and assemble in ruined sheds outside the city or in sand-pits.
Those who dwell in the Trans-Tiber have chosen just that place which was excavated for the building of the Circus and various houses along the Tiber. Now, when the city is perishing, the adherents of Christ are praying. Beyond doubt we shall find a countless number of them in the excavation; so my advice is to go in there along the road.”

2.
[Vinicius]commanded the slaves to hasten; and along the road he thought without order, now of Lygia, now of revenge. He had heard that Egyptian priests of the goddess Pasht could bring disease on whomever they wished, and he determined to learn the means of doing this. In the Orient they had told him, too, that Jews have certain invocations by which they cover their enemies’ bodies with ulcers. He had a number of Jews among his domestic slaves; hence he promised himself to torture them on his return till they divulged the secret.

3.
Petronius meditated a while and added,--“Poppæa, it is said, follows the religion of the Jews, and believes in evil spirits. Cæsar is superstitious. If we spread the report that evil spirits carried off
Lygia, the news will find belief, especially as neither Cæsar nor Aulus Plautius intercepted her; her escape was really mysterious. The Lygian could not have effected it alone; he must have had help. And where could a slave find so many people in the course of one day?”

“Vatinius described to us a remarkable fight of gladiators, which is to take place in Beneventum. See to what cobblers rise in our time, in spite of the saying, ‘Ne sutor ultra crepidam!’ Vitelius is the
descendant of a cobbler; but Vatinius is the son of one! Perhaps he drew thread himself! The actor Aliturus represented Oedipus yesterday wonderfully. I asked him, by the way, as a Jew, if Christians and Jews were the same. He answered that the Jews have an eternal religion, but that Christians are a new sect risen recently in Judea; that in the time of Tiberius the Jews crucified a certain man, whose adherents increase daily, and that the Christians consider him as God. They refuse, it seems, to recognize other gods, ours especially. I cannot understand what harm it would do them to recognize these gods.

Vinicius promised him once more the desired sum, forbidding him to mention Glaucus again; but asked what other news he brought, where he had been all the time, what he had seen, and what he had discovered. But Chilo was not able to tell much. He had been in two more houses of prayer,--had observed each person carefully, especially the women,--but had seen no one who resembled Lygia: the Christians, however, looked on him as one of their own sect, and, since he redeemed the son of
Euricius, they honored him as a man following in the steps of “Christ.”  He had learned from them, also, that a great lawgiver of theirs, a certain Paul of Tarsus, was in Rome, imprisoned because of charges preferred by the Jews, and with this man he had resolved to become acquainted.

“Peace be with thee, faithful servant of the Lamb! True, it is permitted to forgive wrongs done ourselves; but who has the right to forgive a wrong done to God? But as a serpent engenders a serpent, as malice breeds malice, and treason breeds treason, so from the poison of Judas another traitor has come; and as that one delivered to Jews and Roman soldiers the Saviour, so this man who lives among us intends to give Christ’s sheep to the wolves; and if no one will anticipate the treason,
if no one will crush the head of the serpent in time, destruction is waiting for us all, and with us will perish the honor of the Lamb.”

4.
The Christians, however, hide themselves from Jews, and from the populace, who, as is known to
thee, accuse them of crimes and hate them.”

5.
when Nazarius went out to get water for the birds, he said,--“Lygia, canst thou endure that he should give thee gifts? Dost thou not know that the Greeks call people of his nation Jewish dogs?”

“I do not know what the Greeks call them; but I know that Nazarius is a Christian and my brother.”

6.
Petronius went home. Nero and Tigellinus went to Poppæa’s atrium, where they were expected by people with whom the prefect had spoken already. There were two Trans-Tiber rabbis in long solemn robes and mitred, a young copyist, their assistant, together with Chilo. At sight of Cæsar the priests grew pale from emotion, and, raising their hands an arm’s length, bent their heads to his hands.
“Be greeted, O ruler of the earth, guardian of the chosen people, and Cæsar, lion among men, whose reign is like sunlight, like the cedar of Lebanon, like a spring, like a palm, like the balsam of Jericho.”

“Do ye refuse to call me god?” inquired Nero.

The priests grew still paler. The chief one spoke again,--

“Thy words, O lord, are as sweet as a cluster of grapes, as a ripe fig,--for Jehovah filled thy heart with goodness! Thy father’s predecessor, Cæsar Caius, was stern; still our envoys did not call him god, preferring death itself to violation of the law.”

“And did not Caligula give command to throw them to the lions?”

“No, lord; Cæsar Caius feared Jehovah’s anger.”

And they raised their heads, for the name of the powerful Jehovah gave them courage; confident in his might, they looked into Nero’s eyes with  more boldness.

“Do ye accuse the Christians of burning Rome?” inquired Cæsar. “We, lord, accuse them of this alone,--that they are enemies of the law, of the human race, of Rome, and of thee; that long since they have threatened the city and the world with fire! The rest will be told thee by this man, whose lips are unstained by a lie, for in his mother’s veins flowed the blood of the chosen people.”

So, what do you think?

Did he have to portray Jews that way?

^

I Apologize to the Residents of Samaria

I didn't know until this Airbnb affair broke out, the delisting decision of accommodations in Judea and Samaria, that there was a Samaria Gorge National Park. 

In Crete.

I found that out by searching to see if indeed Judea and Samaria Jewish listings were delisted.

I hope they don't suffer due to geographical misunderstandings. I apologize.

There's a Bethlehem in Tauranga, New Zealand.  I hope they don't mixed up with the original in Judea.

There's a Shiloh, IL, USA.

In short, I want to express apologies to all those seeking guest rooms in places that can mistakenly be identified as in Judea and Samaria, the heartland of the Jewish people for over 3000 years, where there is a dispute which cause Airbnb to err by discriminating against the area (which they do not do in other areas of land disputes, as maybe it's a Jewish thing?).

^

The Way to Your Heart

There's a new cookbook published.

PC sent me a review:

So, I had to check it out. Previously, I had blogged about a restaurant with Palestinian-themed dishes.

The cover:

Palestine:

On her 2009 trip, she couldn't get in to Gaza as, well, she couldn't as it was shut, she claimed.  Maybe there were Hamas-instigated hostilities?

A review notes:

...when Khan returned for research trips for Zaitoun (Arabic for “olive tree”), she was shocked by how much the situation had deteriorated since her first visit in 2009. “It’s so much more dire than when I used to work on it,” she says. “I think history is going to look back on what’s happened to Palestinians in the last century with…” she pauses, choosing her words, “with a lot of shame, actually.”

Another review provides a bit of a warning:

The recipes are interspersed with Khan’s recollections of her travels in Palestine, which follow (I think) some kind of geographical trajectory. I found these interesting but their relation to the rest of the book – helpfully ordered by courses, beginning with starters and winding towards desserts – was occasionally somewhat confusing.

Nigella Lawson is aware that it is

 a politically engaged and hungry travelogue

Yes, there are politics in the book

but there are great recipes as well that can be adapted. How many are exclusively "Palestinian" rather than Middle Eastern (or even Jewish), I do not know.

Just be careful about kashrut requirements when cooking.

^

Quaint Qumran Bothers the BDSers

In an Al Jazeera piece attacking tourism that, supposedly, brings tourists to visit "an illegal settlement", that is, Qumran, and that "only six mention or imply that one will be outside Israeli territory" and that "Thomas Cook, Collette and On the Go Tours, for example, make stops at the Ahava Visitor Center without telling tourists they are leaving Israel", you can read this:

For the unsuspecting visitor, it is not easy to tell that one is no longer within the internationally recognised borders of Israel, but in the occupied West Bank, in an Israeli settlement, illegal under international law.

The same goes for nearby Qumran, a popular tourist attraction where a Bedouin shepherd once found the famous Dead Sea Scrolls.

Notwithstanding it being situated in the West Bank, Israel now controls the site,

And someone really wants to threaten these tourists:

According to John Dugard, professor of international law and former UN special rapporteur on Palestinian human rights, the travel agencies' customers are unknowingly "aiding and abetting" the crime of establishing illegal settlements.

"In theory, this exposes tourists to prosecution for having purchased illegal goods," said Dugard, who added that although holidaymakers are not going to be prosecuted before the International Criminal Court for such an offence, travel agencies should be warning tourists that they are about to commit a crime.

"The tourists ought to have a cause of action against the tour companies and claim compensation for having been fraudulently misled and exposed to criminal activity," Dugard said.

Dugard is a long-time opponent of Israel's rights to its historic national homeland. And some international law he gets wrong. And he's been called a 'racist'.

Let's start with "internationally recognised borders".

Israel had none.

Today, its borders with Egypt and Jordan are and, to a great extent also Lebanon, through UN agreements, are "internationally recognized".  But not so as regards the areas of Judea and Samaria, and Gaza for that matter.

They were defined by armistice lines, cease-fire boundaries, etc. which would not "in any way prejudice the rights, claims and positions of either Party hereto in the ultimate peaceful settlement of the Palestine question". No peace treaty or any final settlement arrangement exists as regards that territory.

But more to the issue, Qumran had nothing to do with Palestine if what is meant is an Arab entity. It is a Jewish site.

As we all should know, 

The Hellenistic period settlement [!] was constructed during the reign of John Hyrcanus (134–104 BCE) or somewhat later, and was occupied most of the time until it was destroyed by the Romans in 68 CE or shortly after. It is best known as the settlement nearest to the Qumran Caves where the Dead Sea Scrolls were hidden

The Dead Sea Scrolls are Jewish documents. The residents were Jewish. No Arabs lived there although some nearby Bedouins stole some of the Dead Sea scrolls created at Qumran in the 1940s.

If not for Israel's archaeological units, little of Arab remains would be preserved.

Of course, Israel could simply term the area the "Holy Land" and avoid the whole concern of these BDSers:

^

Who Triggered That War?

Sometimes, you read something that just takes your breath away.

Here's an example:

three decades later, British forces withdrew from Palestine and Israel declared independence shortly after, triggering a civil war and heralding the Israeli-Arab conflict, rendering the prospect of an independent Arab Palestine a distant mirage. 

That's just one snippet of history misrepresented in an op-ed in Haaretz:

In Palestine, World War I Has Never Really Ended

Let's ignore violent murderous riots in 1920, 1921, 1929, 1936-1939 which could be described as a "civil war" if, indeed, the Arabs thought that Jews belonged in what they thought was their country, which they didn't. And let's ignore that that period was very much one of a Jewish-Arab conflict.

But the violence of 1948 when Israel was declared began at least on November 30, 1947, the day after the UN vote on Partition which was actually still before midnight Nov. 29 in Palestine. Arabs started shooting at Jews already then.

Here's from the Palestine Post's December 1 edition:

Here's a second:

The Arabs rebels were fighting against the Ottomans on a promise of British support for Arab interdependence after the war, as envisioned in the famous Hussein-McMahon Correspondence of 1915–16. The British were indeed keen to fulfill their promises - but not to the Arabs.

The British promise was that the entire Middle East from east of Egypt that had been in Ottoman hands would become a free and independent state albeit at first under a Mandate system just as Palestine would be a Mandate. Abdullah became Emir and then King of Jordan and Feisal was King of Iraq. That the Husseins were kicked out of Saudi Arabia was not Britain's fault.

When history is treated in such a cavalier fashion, you know you simply cannot trust anything the author promotes.

----
Thanks to EH

^

How To Solve the BDS Labeling Difficulty

You've read this?

Israeli farmers take fight against BDS to consumersThey plan to combat anti-Israel boycott efforts by more aggressively appealing to shoppers in Europe and America • Plan includes increasing product visibility, hosting public-opinion leaders in tours of Judea and Samaria, Golan and Jordan Valley.

My solution:

A previous 2009 idea.
^