Take A Man's Home And ...
The discriminatory laws of Israel lie at the heart of the conflict and house by house, yard by yard, home's are taken from Palestinians in a slow process of ethnic cleansing.
I’m always amazed at how ignorant so many are about the basic history of the Jewish people and the conflict arising out of the “Zionist project”.
The basic driver of Israeli policy and thus, the current conflict is the desire of the state of Israel through hook (force) or crook (law) to “cleanse” the nation of Palestinians by way of ownership of all the land. It’s a form of “manifest destiny” just like in America, driving the native peoples off their land. Equivalent to what the Mormons did to the inhabitants of the Salt Lake Valley when they arrived to their own holy land - killing, torture, enslavement.
What we see happening in Gaza is just a more “in your face” version of what’s been going on slowly, house by house for decades. It is a land grab. And after Gaza has been totally flattened, what will become of it? Maybe a Disney theme park? Maybe a strip mall, maybe a shopping outlet mall?
What would you do if a person came and knocked on the door of the house you’ve lived in for generations and said, “I have papers. I own this house now. You must get out by the end of the day.”?
Newly arrived (Aliyah) in Israel, American Jews (A): Knock, knock.
Palestinian Occupants (P): Yes, hello.
A: We have these papers and now own this building. Please get your things and leave. We are kind-hearted so we’ll give you a few hours.
(5 heavily armed Israeli Defence Force soldiers stand behind the American couple)
P: What? We’ve lived here for 80 years! We have papers too! This is our house. I was born here. We planted the fruit trees and this Cypress is my witness.
A: I’m sorry but the law is the law. The court says we can return and live here.
P: You want to steal our home? Our land? Why? Don’t you have a heart? A soul? Don’t you believe in God? The commandments?
A: We aren’t stealing, as I said, the court said we this house is ours. And no, we don’t believe in God. We believe in Israel. Stealing? We’ll that is semantics and anyway, if we don’t do this, someone else will “steal” it. Sorry, that’s life.
P: We aren’t leaving. Our appeals are in progress. We will call our lawyer.
A: Sorry, but the verdict is final. That’s why these soldiers are here. But we think you should go quietly, don’t you think? We don’t want any trouble, please.
P: Trouble! You come to our house to take it and you expect no trouble? You use violence and expect no violence in return? You sound insane. Our people have been here for millenia, this is our land.
A: Not according to this (the woman holds up a bible). We were here over 2,500 years ago. We are sons of Isaac and Jacob. It’s our land. And now we’ve returned to our home.
P: My home! My home! My home!
………………………………………………………………………………………….
Of course this is an imaginary conversation but the idiocy of it is the picture I wanted to paint.
A forced eviction in July this year, 2023.
I shared the above photo online and received a number of private messages telling me it is a lie, it didn’t happen, the photo is old (yes, it is 5 years old, but the evictions still continue) and when I replied rationally, got back angry replies basically arguing with ideology and simpleton historical knowledge of the region.
The evictions and demolitions of 1,000s of Palestinian homes continues and is done through the discriminatory, apartheid nature of mostly two laws. 1. 1950 Absentee Property Law 2. 1970 Legal and Administrative Matters Law. Read the most recent Human Rights Council report.
Both are arbitrary and allow the war crime of property confiscations under quasi judicial authority. I won’t go into the details but just look at the case of Sheik Jarrah if interested. It is also notable that both these laws apply and give rights to Jews but not Palestinians. Half laws. Racist laws. And let’s not forget the 100s of 1,000s of Palestinians excluded from returning to their homes by lying census taking.
What’s needed is for Israel to be a true state that respects the civil rights of ALL citizens not just the Jewish ones. What is needed is a respect for human life, all human life and an abandoning of the dehumanizing that goes on daily in Israeli life, the media, the schools, the legal system, the government - everywhere. It is this dehumanizing culture that is the fuel driving the cycle of injustice to violence, to terrorism to counter-terrorism to violence … The violence Israel inflicts on Gaza right now is possible because it has “educated” and prepared its population by dehumanizing the Arab and especially the Palestinian Arab.
This advertisment was in major Jewish media in Sept. 1967. Signed by 12 leading Israeli intellectuals. It’s a proper description of what’s going on. We need to break this cycle, now.
Thanks for reading. Yes, I've been watching some of Pappe on Youtube and he's articulate and concise. Of the same ilk would be Moshe Machover, same background and recommend his voice. At its core, it is a kind of flip of the Aryan, racist view - purity above all. The final solution being land in this case.
Well done, David! There are so many pieces to this puzzle. Everything points to the same conclusion. The Zionists have been stealing this land since well before 1948. It is pure "ethnic cleansing". I highly recommend this book. https://www.amazon.com/Ethnic-Cleansing-Palestine-Ilan-Pappe-ebook/dp/B00KT5W342/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2ONA5INU9JC2R&keywords=ethnic+cleansing+of+palestine+ilon+pape&qid=1700485824&sprefix=ethnic+cleansing%2Caps%2C106&sr=8-1
Pappe is a highly respected Jewish Israeli citizen. A distinguished journalist and truth teller.
The Kindle edition can be downloaded and read on your phone if you don't have a Kindle device.
Cheers!