Repenting of the Palestinian Pogrom

Zionists justify Israel's genocide and ethnic cleansing in the name of God. The same God who gave them the Ten Commandments. The same Ten Commandments which the genocide is violating. 

On 29 November 2012, the United Nations voted to admit Palestine as a 'non-member state' of the U.N., implicitly accepting Palestine as a nation state. This was 65 years to the day, after the U.N. passed Resolution 181, from which the modern state of Israel was created.

Since then, a number of nations have told Israel to desist building illegal settlements and the United Nations has requested Israel's nuclear program be opened for access to the International Atomic Energy Commission.

Following the creation of modern Israel in 1948, many Christians claimed that it was a fulfilment of biblical prophecy. Unfortunately, they have used this to deny and ignore the many human rights violations that Israel has committed, and is continuing to commit against Palestinians.

Call me old fashioned, but if you're going to go Old Testament on a people-group then you should at least read ALL of the Old Testament. There is a little section in Exodus 20 that is very well-known ... and even netted God a movie deal. It's called 'The Ten Commandments'.

The crimes of modern Israel have been perpetrated in the name of Zionism, which claims that the Jews have an entitlement to the land because they lived there back in the day ... back in the Old Testament day. I have written on this argument in 'Road to Nakba'.

Rather than justifying these abuses in the name of God and the bible, the modern state of Israel and those who blindly support her, should get down on their collective knees and repent of the following breaches of the Ten Commandments:

• 'You shall have no other gods before me': God has been replaced with Zionism and the modern state of Israel, which are treated with such great religious reverence that critics will apparently incur the curses of God. These curses are based, as a lot of Zionism is, on a misinterpretation of scripture. In Genesis 12:3 God told Abraham he would 'bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you'. Zionists have extended this verse to cover all of Israel, yet it was only ever meant for Abraham.
• 'You shall not make for yourself an idol': yet Israel itself is idolised through Zionism, which is essentially nationalism, an extreme version of patriotism that puts the nation ahead of all criticism, morality and accountability. 
• 'Do not take the Lord's name in vain': Zionists commit genocide and ethnic cleansing in the name of God and justify it through mispresenting scripture. The bible does not give Zionists this land and it certainly doesn't give them the right to commit ethnic cleansing. I have written more on that subject in 'Israel - Superstition, Prophecy and Human Rights'.
• 'Keep holy the Lord's day': the Sabbath has been desecrated as Israel continues killing innocents and waging war on the day of rest.
• 'Honour your father and mother': Zionists have desecrated the memory of those who suffered in the holocaust claiming that 'never again' will there be another holocaust, while they commit genocide and ethnic cleansing of Palestinians.
• 'Do not kill': Murdering Palestinians from 1947 to now, including women and children shot dead at gun-point by the Israeli soldiers and by the indiscriminate bombing of civilian areas. Israel has used white-phosphorous and depleted uranium in civilian areas which is a war-crime. Even the illegal settlers kill Palestinians.
• 'Do not steal': Stealing the land, houses and possessions of Palestinians often at the point of guns, tanks or rockets since 1947. The theft continues with the construction of illegal settlements which breach the Fourth Geneva Convention. 
• 'Do not lie': Zionists have been lying about their genocidal actions and making up terrible lies about Palestine, such as a 'land without a people for a people without a land' to wipe an entire people-group from history and deny their very existence. The land was, and is, inhabited by a people-group who have thousands of years of history in this area.
• 'Do not covet': Coveting land that was, and is, inhabited by others and then actively displacing those people so Zionists could take the land.

The Ten Commandments were handed down to the Jews as they escaped persecution in Ancient Egypt, while the above breaches of the Ten Commandments have been committed by some Jews fleeing persecution in Europe. This persecution was widespread, including being perpetrated by Nazis, Soviets and others. The pogroms and injustices that Jews in Europe faced were terrible, however, they cannot be used as excuses for similar crimes.

The creation of Israel occurred in the name of Zionism, which claims that biblical scripture prophesies the re-establishment of Israel (Zion) and the return of the Jewish diaspora to it. As mentioned previously, Zionists claimed that Palestine was a 'land without a people', that those who lived there had no culture and had not cared for the land.  This mantra was used 100 years ago in the Zionist campaign for the creation of Israel, and is still believed and repeated today.
'Land without a people' is a mantra aimed at legitimising the genocide and ethnic cleansing of Palestine.

It is a lie.

It was particularly evident in the lead-up to the recent U.N. vote on admitting Palestine as a non-member state, in order to discredit any attempt to recognise Palestine as a state.

Contrary to Zionist propaganda, Palestine existed for thousands of years:

• Prior to 1948, currency and passports were issued in the nationality of 'Palestine'.
• In World War II, war in the Middle East was known as the Palestine Campaign and the British military issued a General Service Palestine Campaign Medal .
• In World War I, war in the Middle East was known as the 'Palestine Campaign' and the British military issued a General Service Medal with Palestine clasp.
•  In 1798-1799, Napoleon undertook his 'Palestine campaign' and was defeated.
•  The Crusaders fought in and at one stage ruled Palestine.
• The bible refers to Palestine.
• The ancient Greeks referred to it as Palaistine.
• Ancient Egyptians referred to the area as Peleset.

Many claims have been made by Zionists to discredit Arab claims to the land, including claiming the call for Palestinian nationhood is only a 20th century phenomenon and prior to that there was no common Palestinian identity. However, the same is true for Israeli nationhood and identity.The Zionist movement of the late 19th century was new and in response to antisemitism in Europe which had seen a number of genocidal pogroms waged against Jews. The Jewish diaspora never referred to themselves as Israeli, they referred to themselves as Jews or by the nation that they were living in, e.g. Polish, Russian, German etc.

Arabs in Palestine however, did identify with their location, referring to it as Palestine, to themselves as Palestinian, or by the town they lived in (e.g. Gaza, Jaffa), and of course by their religion, namely Muslim, Christian or Jew. Perhaps they did not call for a nation-state during the last 1,000 years, but neither did 'Israel'. It must also be kept in mind that the 'nation-state' is a modern concept. In Europe for instance, the nation-state only commenced around 360 years ago with the Peace of Westphalia treaties that were signed in 1648.

The 'land without a people' argument will sometimes acknowledge that the land of Palestine existed, but never with its own government. The argument states that the land has always been ruled by others. This does not mean that the land was without people. It also does not mean that the people were without culture. Ironically, the land of Palestine is the same land as Israel, which means all those years of foreign rule apply to Israel as well.

Zionists claim that Israel has a continuous history and the people have inhabited the land for thousands of years. Ironically, the same Zionists will declare that the Jews were exiled some 2,000 years ago which contradicts the 'continuous history' argument.  The land has not been ruled by Jews since 587BC, when Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar captured it. Since then, the land has been ruled by numerous empires, none Jewish. Additionally, the claim of a continuous Jewish identity over thousands of years is misleading, as prior to 722BC, there were separate tribes, such as Judah, Benjamin, Levi and Israel. When the northern kingdom of Israel fell in 722BC, the southern tribe of Judah took control of the area. Nonetheless, the Jews have not ruled this area for at least 2,500 years.

Comparatively, it has been 3,000 years since the area was ruled by Palestinians, or the Philistines as they were known back then. In 1125BC the Israelites conquered the Canaanites. In 1050BC the Philistines conquered the Israelites and ruled until overthrown in 1000BC. While it has been 3,000 years since they ruled, the Palestinians have lived continuously in this area since at least then.

Zionists claim that prior to the establishment of Israel the people in that area had no culture and had not cared for the land. Are they saying that the richness of Islamic culture which is evident throughout Spain, the Middle East, Persia, Eastern Europe and Turkey, did not happen in Palestine? Are they saying that people who lived there for thousands of years did not care enough to grow crops and tend farm animals? Yet, the Palestinians managed to survive for all those thousands of years, did and do have a rich culture and did and do care for the land.
Zionism is a dangerous cult which has hijacked Judaism and Christianity. It is claimed to be of God in order to fulfil biblical prophecy, when it is of man in order to fulfil racist, genocidal policies and expand power and hegemony.

Zionists have a genuine belief that the next holocaust is just around the corner; that the whole world is conspiring to wipe Judaism from the planet. This is fundamentally flawed and inaccurate. The Holocaust was a major tragedy, as were the centuries of European pogroms against the Jews. However, those are no reason to perpetuate the pogroms through the ongoing slaughter and oppression of the Palestinians. It was not the Palestinians who waged these terrible atrocities on the Jews. The Middle East itself has been relatively peaceful with Muslims, Jews and Christians living harmoniously together compared to the violence of Europe in which many Jews found themselves persecuted. I have written in more detail on this in 'Liberty comes with hands dabbled in blood'.

To justify its paranoia, Israel claims that it has been attacked a number of times by its Arab neighbours. Yet, since 1948, there has only been one international attack on Israel; the fourth Arab-Israeli war (or Yom Kippur War) in 1973, in which Egypt and Syria attacked. Prior to that, Israel had initiated the attacks:

• On 30 November 1947, the day after the UN passed resolution 181, Jewish forces immediately attacked Palestinian villages, killing thousands and forcing hundreds of thousands from their homes. The first Arab-Israeli war in 1948 was in response to Israel's ongoing military aggression.
• The second Arab-Israeli war, in 1956, occurred when Israel attacked Egypt and occupied the Gaza Strip.
• In 1967 Egypt moved tanks into position along the border with Israel. The Knesset was briefed by its Generals who advised that Egypt's Army was at least a year away from being combat ready and that Israel's economy could not sustain a protracted war. The Generals recommended a preemptive strike by Israel. Some months later, the Knesset agreed and Israel attacked Egyptian forces, defeating them within 6 days. This was the third Arab-Israeli war, or the '6 day war'. Following this, Israel attacked Jordan and took control of the West Bank, which it continues to occupy to this day. ⁽¹⁾
• In 1982, Israel attacked southern Lebanon because of the PLO headquarters there, even though the PLO had been abiding by a cease-fire until Israel fired rockets at them. The invasion resulted in the deaths of thousands of Palestinian refugees.

Some argue that it is the Palestinians who do not want peace. Yet, the Palestinians are still willing to negotiate after having lost 78% of their land. Hamas has stated 'Hamas is open to permanent peace with Israel if there is total withdrawal to the 1967 borders, 22% of historic Palestine and if the arrangement is supported by referendum of all Palestinians living under occupation'. ⁽²⁾

Isaiah 41:10 tell us 'do not be afraid for I am your God', yet Israel lives in daily self-induced fear generated by its paranoia. The scriptures say to trust in God, but Israel is putting trust in itself, its military might and the billions of dollars provided by the United States. Any claim that Israel's military superiority is a blessing from God contradicts the scriptures, for instance, Hosea 1:7 which states 'Yet I will have mercy on the house of Judah, will save them by the Lord their God, and will not save them by bow, Nor by sword or battle, By horses or horse-men'.

Peace in the region can only be achieved when Israel stops the illegal occupation of Gaza and the West Bank, when it stops the illegal settlements and the brutality it unleashes on the Palestinians. Whether a one-state or two-state solution eventuates the only way to peace is for both Palestinians and Israelis to have the same rights as each other. The international community must hold Israel accountable by hearing allegations of war-crimes through the International Criminal Court.

A good start for peace, is for Israel to acknowledge its crimes, ask forgiveness, repent by removing the illegal settlements and tearing down the inhumane annexation barriers, return to the borders of 1967, or even 1948, and cease the violence by both the IDF and the settlers, opening the way for true love and peace with its neighbours.

Reference:

1. Miko Peled (2012), 'The General's Son - Journey of an Israeli in Palestine', Just World Books

2. Rogers Waters address to the United Nations on behalf of the Russell Tribunal.

     http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9DrSPFYXUfQ&feature=share