Zibaldone 2024–2025 journal
Journal connection: Israel, Zionism, antisemitism, regional history, propaganda, and current-affairs clippings.
Source boundary: These are captured journal materials; the integration does not independently verify every clipped claim, quotation, or figure.
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Misc/Documents/Israel Notes page 37.png
Observations on Media and Influential People
After seeing the way the media and influential people on Twitter handled the bombing of a hospital’s parking lot by the [PIJ?] Islamic Jihad, people will boldly repeat them, a terrorist organization, and report it on the front of their newspaper and report it on TV and all over the internet. People value their own political positions over truth.
The mind has an incredible ability to protect itself from contrary information—or are many of these people just disingenuous? Do people believe it is ok to tell some lies if it is arrier to what they think is a positive outcome?
Sam Harris - Sin of Moral Equivalence
- The West is at war against Jihad
- Rejoice massacre of innocent civilians
- Dancing in the streets
- Deep regret killing innocent civilians and prosecute their own for it
- Parade hostages
- Revolting
- Desecrate bodies
- Prosecute their own side
- Celebrate and broadcast war crime
- Human Shields
- Rejoice massacre of innocent civilians
Western history is filled with war crimes, yet at this moment some groups at the present don’t have the same ethical norms.
History (How It All Began)
- 1887-1914: 2 million Jews fled Russia to the United States.
- Europe made it uninhabitable for the Jews during 1881-1930s.
- Creation of the Zionist movement to get out of Russia and Europe - fleeing to Israel.
- Palestinians interrupted Jews’ fleeing (colonists), yet they were just refugees since 1881.
- Palestinians think their Czar plotters are German invaders.
- Assumes their European colonialists
- Palestinian terrorism against the Jews started in 1920.
- Israelis are a refugee people with nowhere to go and that is why they can’t be bombed away.
- Jews ran away from many Arab states that kicked them out of Israel.
- After 1948 War:
- West Bank: Ruled by Jordan
- Gaza: Ruled by Egypt
- 1967 - 6 day war:
- Israel now controls West Bank/Gaza
- Palestine issue started
- 1948: PLO is founded, modelled on Algerian FLN who kicked out the French.
- 1982: Oslo Peace Process
- West Bank
- Kingdom broken apart
- Massive waves of suicidal bombers (1/10)
- Still OTSO till this day…
- Second Intifada
- Israel feels after the most recent attack - they’ve failed their essence of their existence to protect Jews etc.
Ceasefire means a reload to Hamas
- Islam has been spread by the sword for 1000 years.
Meme Creation: (fitting to liberal)
- What do you think about a person that believes being gay should be illegal, death for the non-religious, abortion is morally wrong, and a man can never become a woman?
(or add women’s rights etc.) - That person is an evil fascist Nazi!!
- That person is a Muslim
- Head explodes of liberal
How the Radical Islamists use the Western Customs, Standards and Values
- How the radical Islamists use the western customs, standards and values against the West when they don’t believe or hold those values.
- Radical Islam judges us and attempts to shame the West on values they think are wrong.
- Islamists use the ideas of the Enlightenment as a sword against the West while at the same time want to destroy it.
- Western culture holding themselves to the values of the Enlightenment is getting compromised.
Further Observations
- Islam is perfect for the macho crowd.
- Christianity is just wait till Jesus saves us. No expectation to do anything.
- Islam expects you to conquer the world.
- Islam is a disavow of 1400 years of wisdom and insight.
- That in the 7th century - everything to know is known.
- Radical Islamists believe that if they kill innocent Muslims, either directly or indirectly, they’re doing them a favor as they’ll be in Paradise with God.
- Idea of: Martyrdom + Paradise = Death Cult
- The doctrine of victimization and its cousin grievance caused a millennium of stagnation prior to the Renaissance.
Misc/Documents/Israel Notes page 28.png
Talking Points
Occupation of Gaza
- Israel left in 2005
- Gaza made them leave
- Dug up cemeteries
- Was a hope for peace, Israelis left and yet Gaza elected Hamas a year later, 2006.
”Two State Solution”
- Hamas opposes
- Who would even negotiate with?
Moral Equivalence
- There’s no nuance and complexity to beheading kids - Beheading a child. Israel attempting to minimize civilian casualties and killings because Hamas hides behind civilians.
Bombing of Gaza
- Hamas located their HQ under a hospital.
- Place weapon caches in mosques, apartment buildings.
- Fires rockets from heavily populated areas.
Israeli Government’s Response
- The Israeli government doesn’t need to show you graphic videos to prove anything. It’s happened on Hamas’s end. A lot of the barbaric acts themselves.
Hamas False Propaganda
- Fake body at morgue
- Assad Syria photo of dead bodies on Twitter
- Fake Israeli airstrike on road to Gaza exit
Current Views
- The West is now saying why allowing an immigrant in is a bad decision.
- Being kind-hearted ≠ Allow people in your country that hate you & your values.
- 30-40% of Hamas rockets misfire and land short in the Gaza Strip.
Egypt and the Palestinians
- Egypt doesn’t want the Palestinians in Jordan.
- Egypt refuses refugees from Gaza & Jordan.
- At least the Nazis tried to hide their atrocities. Hamas is celebrating it and putting it on social media.
- Evil (Hamas) must be eradicated.
- Compared to 36,000 U.S. deaths in a day.
- Cutting off food, water, electricity is to make citizens leave.
- Sending texts, maps, calls to tell every citizen in Gaza needed to leave before a bombing.
- Gaza encourages citizens to stay.
- Quit telling that 20% of Israel is Arab, and 10% Jews in areas: Gaza, Egypt, Jordan.
- Jewish genealogy dating back to area 2000 BCE.
- Close genetic relationship to Palestinians.
- 5th deadliest attack on Americans in a century.
- Islamic colonizers of Indonesia, Pakistan, Bangladesh.
- Qataris are not friends. Sponsor of Hamas.
- UN doesn’t recognize Hamas as a terrorist org.
- Israel supplied 45% electricity / 10% water to Gaza.
- Gaza head leaks from Egypt: 700 m³/yr, from Qatar: 33m³/month, tax from Israeli waters: 500m³/yr.
- Hamas built 400 km of tunnels for war (but couldn’t build any water wells?).
- Hamas 1988 charter:
- Liberate Israel and establish Islamic state.
- Saudi & Emirates want Hamas destroyed.
- Hamas cartoons for young children on killing Jews.
- Hamas kids training camps.
- 99.6% of the land surrounding Israel is Arab owned.
- Hamas praises Egypt for not opening border.
- Poll: 20% should support Palestine (US).
- Using humanitarian aid bags of rice to smuggle in ammo.
Inspired Terror Attacks
-
Oct 13: French teacher stabbed & killed by Islamist.
-
Oct 13: Israeli embassy staffer stabbed, survived in China.
-
Oct 14: 6 yr old stabbed by American.
-
Oct 16: Two shot in Brussels by Islamist.
-
Oct 21: President of Synagogue killed, stabbed Detroit.
-
European countries imported extremists that Muslim countries didn’t want.
-
Radical Muslims true goal is a Global Caliphate.
Christopher Hitchens Quote
Islam is at once the most and the least interesting of the world’s monotheisms. It builds upon its primitive Jewish and Christian predecessors, selecting a chunk here and a shard there, and thus if these fall, it partly falls also.
Misc/Documents/Israel Notes page 39.png
Casual Historian YT - The History of the Jews
The Traditional Narrative
- Abraham from Mesopotamia
- Promised Land by God in Canaan
- Son Israel - 12 children -> tribes/cities
- All from the Old Testament but it’s not collaborated at all.
- 2000 BCE is very old and hard to find records.
Linguistic Approach
- Semitic
- Classification of Language: Hebrew
Armona Letters
- Habiru (Similar to Hebrew)
- Probably an incorrect theory/only partial connections.
Aryan Theory
- Aryan language seen as dynamic/forward.
- Semitic language seen as conservative/against change.
- Habiru stereotypes played on in Jewish stereotypes.
- Money lending was a profession forced on Jews by European Christians.
Of The Canaanites
- Jews that saw themselves different or purposely.
- Promotes Racism?
- Would conquer the land of Canaan -> Remains Israel.
- Due to this theory rejecting the story of Exodus, many religious types reject it.
Israelites vs Jews
- King David & Temple of Solomon
- Babylonian exile as the breaking point when the transformation from being Israelites to Jews, being forced to relocate to Babylon, from Israel.
To Trust or Not to Trust
- Biblical Minimalist
- Most of the Old Testament of Israel is fiction.
- Biblical Maximalist
- Old Testament is true.
- Modern Jews, by most historians, do have some connection to the Israelites mentioned in the Old Testament.
The Khazar Theory
- Ashkenazi Jews are mostly or entirely descended from a semi-nomadic Turkic group called the Khazars.
- North Caucasus / Southern Russia
- Based on one letter
- Lacking much proof
- Promoted by anti-semites
- DNA doesn’t line up
- European Jews before some Khazar conversions.
Exodus Considered Not Happening by Academia
- Merneptah Stele 1206 BCE
- Stone with text
- Confirms Israelites were a distinct entity in the land of Canaan.
Modern Jew Types
- Mizrahi Jews
- East
- Never left Middle East
- Sephardic Jews
- Spain
- Ashkenazi (Largest group)
- Germany
- Central Europe
Intermarriage
- Why do Jews look white besides coming from the Middle East?
- They inter-married with non-Jewish Europeans.
Historical Events
- Ramesses II 1279-1213 BCE
- The Pharaoh in Exodus
- Battle of Kadesh
Theory: Exodus is an Allegory
- Theory: Exodus is an allegory of the Jews’ exile to Babylon.
Israelite Conquest of Canaan
Theories
- Conquest
- Peaceful
- Revolt
- Agricultural
Evidence
- Tablet discovered in Israel that dated back to 4th century BCE.
- Confirmed existence of King David, Kings of Judea and Israel, and the house of David as a whole.
- Most historians are willing to use the Hebrew Bible from the 4th century BCE forward as a general outline for the history of Israel.
- David takes over Canaan.
- Solomon creates the Temple to consolidate Israelites.
- Results due to taxes.
- Egypt invades and takes treasure for peace.
- Tons of fighting kingdoms within Israel.
- North vs. South - Israel vs. Judea.
- Syrian crushed what was left of Israel.
Babylonian Captivity
- Babylonian captivity is a very important event in Jewish identity. Up until that point being a Jew is tied to living in the promised land.
- God didn’t keep his promise.
- Importance of keeping faith and traditions in exile.
- Ability to adapt and survive.
- Assimilate as much as necessary to unimportant things, hold firm on what’s important.
- Bunch of inner Babylon - to-highlights.
- Jewish exiles taken back by Babylonians to restore Israel and rebuild (prophesied by Cyrus the Great).
- Samaritans vs. Jews on rebuilding Temples.
- Jews doubling down on Orthodox Monotheism.
- Messianism.
![Israel Notes page 41.png]]
Casual Historian - Origin of Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
1919
- British/Arabs Drive Ottomans out of the Levant.
- Levant was a sub-division of Syria (By Lev), Arabs would have identified as “Palestinian”.
- Being Arab wasn’t a strong identity, more clan.
- Southern Syria had dominated by Syrian Arab FamiIies (Notably).
- Jews in the latter half of 19th century in Eastern Europe, to escape anti-Jewish pogroms and immigrate to Ottoman Levant.
- Initially welcomed as they were few and poor.
- But when Jews in Europe and US began to invest in Zionism contributed money, buying land and build farms.
- Arabs started to complain.
- Ottomans placed restrictions on Jewish land ownership and immigration in late years.
- British take over, January 1919.
Balfour Declaration
- British helped the Jews.
- Pan-Arabists refused to cooperate.
- Jews created the Jewish Agency.
1920: Kamil al-Husseini pilgrimage to Jericho
- Included supporters of Syria’s revolt of the British.
- Riots started in Jerusalem.
- Assaulted Jews, Robbing, Vandalizing, Synagogues.
- Idea to Muslim after Syria failed to revolt from British, that Palestine as Southern Syria was now just Palestine.
- July 1920, British military government would be replaced by civilian government.
- British placed a Jew in charge.
- Provided Amnesty to rioters.
- Jews thought they could appease the Arabs by creating independent Arab monarchs.
- Winston Churchill thought giving Iraq and Trans-Jordan would appease the Arabs.
- They were focused on the Jews instead.
Amin Al-Husseini
- Grand Mufti
- Elected radical clerics
- Fostered anti-semitic attitudes
Al-Nabi Riots
- 27 Jews killed.
- Retaliation riots by Jews.
- Arab standard of living grew provided by British and Jews (Population growth).
- Life Expectancy: 37 (1926) to 50 (1944).
- (1-5y) - Child Mortality: 37%, 31%, 57%, 46%, 67%.
- Jews bought land, didn’t steal it.
- Owned total 7% of land, being 30% of population.
- Jews built exclusive Jewish settlements and hired exclusively Jewish workers.
- Partly because to break stereotypes that they just made money by interest, and due to the idea of a socialist collective farms.
- Languages, barter & self-sufficiency.
- Partly because to break stereotypes that they just made money by interest, and due to the idea of a socialist collective farms.
Arabs and Land Sales
- Arabs enjoyed the profit from land sales.
- Would willingly sell, even buying just to sell it to the Jews.
- Figured the Jews would be expelled or exterminated so they’d get it back.
Late 1920s Arab realization
- They realized Jews had international support.
- Tried to increase the importance of the Jerusalem mosque as it was a distant 3rd.
- Western wall prayer restrictions by Arab Muslim Council intentionally increased tension at the wall.
June 1929: Beat up Jew at Wall
August 1929: 200 Arabs beat up Jews at wall and desecrated holy books.
- Jewish teenager killed.
- Arab stabbed, survived.
- 17 Arab mob attacks.
- 2 Jewish mob attacks.
- 2 Jews killed.
- 1 Jew lynched.
- Arab mobs murdered, raped, dismembered defenseless Jews - 67 killed, 50 wounded. After 4 days, 133 killed. Same number of Arabs killed by British to restore order.
- After the violence the British wondered if it was worth governing.
- Condemned the Arabs.
Early 1930s Arab fears of Jewish population overtaking them
- Quotes on Jewish immigration based on Arab employment levels. Restricted land sales.
- Rejected.
- Arabs failure to change British policy lead to more extremist figures.
- Assaults on Jews increased.
- Jews created their own Defense Force/militias.
1932: Independence Party formed as Palestinian arm of a greater Pan-Arabist movement.
- Arabs would raise the Nazi flags in Jerusalem.
- Arab revolt against British.
- British been trying to setup a legislator.
- Jews demanded equal representation despite being a minority.
- Arabs rejected any plan that gave Jews representation at all.
April 1936: Arab roadblock, Jew killed.
- 1st victim of the great Arab revolt.
Quotes
“We must not rest until Palestine is either placed under a British Mandate or is evacuated for the benefit of its original owners. Let us not be deceived by the ‘Balfour Declaration’ that the Jews have received a national charter. That is only camouflage and will prove to be the first step towards Palestine being turned into a Jewish Commonwealth. For this reason, we should not permit the establishment of any kind of council or assembly.”
— Awni Abdel Hadi
“The Jews have come to the country, have taken its citizenship and have become Palestinians. And it is impossible to throw them into the sea. They have also bought and hold national land that will not be deeded, and these must be respected. There is no point in ignoring these clear matters.”
— Husayn Khalidi
Misc/Documents/Israel Notes page 42.png
The Origins of the Two-State Solution
Casual Historian YT
- Allies promised Jews a national home in Palestine.
- Promised Arabs a great federation.
- 1936: Neither promise fulfilled.
- Jews insulated themselves economically.
- Some Jews immigrated illegally.
- The sharp increase in Jewish population alarmed the Arabs into violent reaction.
Arab Response
- Violence ignites.
- Jews had higher death toll.
- David Ben-Gurion / George Antonius negotiations.
- Arabs rejected.
April 1936: Nationalist Conference
- Arabs still killing Jews.
- Land still confined to Jews.
- Strikes by Arabs.
- Supreme Muslim Council spoke for strike and revolt.
- Publicly decried violence.
- Privately recruited fighters and funds to supply them.
Amin Al-Husseini vs Jews & British
- Couldn’t defeat them by themselves.
- Used rhetoric to gain international support.
- 1934: Meets with Baghdad for support.
- Fawzi al-Qawuqji banded together fighters from Lebanon, Syria, and Iraq.
- Ambushing British patrols.
- Murdered Jews.
- Jews would flee and go to Tel Aviv.
- Led Jews to hire even less Arab workers than before.
Zionist Leaders’ Response
- Zionist leaders urged restraint believing it would earn more sympathy, but as more assaults became more frequent it became harder to justify.
- Arab encouragement of money.
- Jewish immigration the #1 priority.
- Weizmann negotiation (1937).
- Arabs rejected.
- British crackdown on Arab killers, their cages and saboteurs.
Strategic Moves
- Arabs trying to get international support.
- Strategic ceasefire by the Arabs.
- British started to train Jews.
- Arab strike did tremendous harm to the Arab economy.
- Arabs did 2/3 of the killing, Jews 1/3.
British Intervention
- October 1936: Strike over.
- Arabs gained the large kingdom out of the West Bank and Jordan.
- British attempt to rule but couldn’t gain any area.
Royal Commission
- Recommendation:
- British partition Palestine.
- First suggestion of the two-state solution.
Response from Arab States
- Mufti wanted Jihad from other Arab states.
- “Wall and Tower” plan for Jews to make settlements.
- September 1937: Assassination by 3 Arabs and put Palestine back into revolt.
Statements and Quotes
“Since the early days of the Zionist movement, Palestinian intellectuals and political figures perceived that Zionism had objectives that could be achieved only at the expense of Palestinian aspirations, whether framed in Ottoman, Muslim or Christian, Arab, Syrian, or narrowly Palestinian terms, and they consequently came to hold a zero-sum view of the conflict.”
— Rashid Khalidi, Palestinian Identity: The Construction of Modern National Consciousness, 1997, p. 120
“We are not questioning the sincerity or the humanity of the Mufti’s motives, but we must emphasize that the assumption of Arab popular sentiment that underlies his words is not shared by other members of the Arab Higher Committee. We are informed that the Committee as a whole holds the Mufti’s belief in contempt and realizes that the Mufti is attempting to exploit this situation to enhance his personal prestige at the expense of the Palestinian population as a whole.”
— Palestine Royal Commission Report, Chapter XI, paragraph 13, p. 144
“The outbreak we have discussed was the direct beginning of that Arab-Jewish violence… Without mitigation, we must cast the blame on the (Palestinian) leadership for not discouraging, already condemning, the outbreak.”
— Shaw Report
“It is impossible to put two swords into one scabbard. It is impossible to ‘solve’ the Palestine problem by the mediation of any Englishman or American. There is no room for both people in Palestine. Those who try to persuade a peaceful settlement do not understand the problem at all. England has put two men in one room, but in different beds. England has put two peoples in one country, but in separate districts.”
— Amin al-Husseini
“My experience is up till now shows that the Jews can do nothing as far as Palestine is concerned… the people who have persuaded a great Government to create a country and to destroy the integrity of an Arab people in it, in order to place it by them on an equal plan that they may realize they become the majority in the country… it is impossible to place two distinct peoples, different from each other in every sphere of their life, in the same country.”
— Amin al-Husseini
“You must be, I am sure, aware of the Arab feeling that the Jews have been unjustly and honorably treated by Great Britain and her noble ally the Arab people. I beg you to thrust in the faces of some of them, one by one, the justice done to the Palestinian by the Zionist demands. You will find, then, that we are not a people of glorious history, profound friendship, devotion and assistance, which is being denied by the Zionists.”
— Awni Abdel Hadi
Misc/Documents/Israel Notes page 43.png
Attempts by Israel for Peace; Arab Rejects
Key Peace Attempts
- 1947 - Partition Plan
- 1979 - Egyptian-Israeli peace deal
- 1993 - Oslo Accords
- 2000 - Ehud Barak’s Camp David Proposal
- Gaza withdrawal in 2005
- 2007 - Holes’ Peace Plan
- Donald Trump’s Deal of the Century
David Hog - Mikhaila Peterson’s Podcast
- Jews in/draw in Palestine
- Jews been returning since the Roman Exile
- Rebirth coincides with the Zionist movement (late 1800s)
- Jews were the first people rooted in the land
- They didn’t call themselves Palestinians
- Arab people couldn’t get along together
- Zionist wanted a way to split the land
- Day one, the Palestinians didn’t want to make it work
Timeline
- 1947
- 1979
- 1993
- 1967
- 2000
- 2007
- Jews said split the land, Arabs reject it
Palestinian Leaders
- Mufti: Wanted Hitler to exterminate the Jews
- Yasser Arafat: Terrorist, final act to reject peace
- Abbas
- None have recognized Jewish claim of the land
- Can’t acknowledge Jews -> Jewish people
- Can’t acknowledge Jews -> Jewish State
- Insists Jews or Just Empire Interlopers
Hamas Charter
- Rejectionist for peace on Palestinian side
- 1947: Jews 52%, Arabs 70% of land
- Rejectionist violence
- 1947: Rejected 50/50 and launched a violent war
- Complained about “Nakba”
- Jews went to fight in their Auschwitz uniforms, all the clothing they had
- 1938 deal were Holocaust survivors
- Palestinians blame the Jews in defeat even though they started it
- 1914-1923: Highest rate of Jewish immigration
Gaza & West Bank History
- 1948 War
- Egypt conquered Gaza
- Jordan conquered West Bank
- They annexed it instead of making a Palestinian state
- 1967 War
- Israel retakes Gaza & West Bank
- In 1967, Palestinians switched to feel they weren’t just Arabs of the larger area, but a separate people. Started to call themselves “Palestinian”.
- Israel wished to either give land back for peace or give it to Palestinians. People are starting to call themselves Palestinians.
The 3 Nos
- Hamas knows it can’t win militarily.
- Israel army goes to specific lengths than any army.
- Hamas has killed many Arabs, many non-Jews.
- Abraham Accords:
- No Jew except for Iran.
- Iran doesn’t want peace, they want the destruction of Israel, evil, Saudi etc.
- Israel does blockade Gaza.
- Israel doesn’t kill civilians.
Boi Context is Key!
- Iran is the major problem, pulling all the strings.
- Why don’t the Arabs ask the protector half about the Uyghur in China?
- Jews in Israel are mostly from the Middle East.
Norman Finkelstein (anti-Israel) - Mikhaila Peterson’s Podcast
- Starts at 1948
- Claims Arabs indigenous to Levant
- Israel expelled 90% of Arabs - 750k (1948 war)
- 250-270k expelled Arabs went to Gaza
- UN Resolution 242: Land of Peace
- 122 PlO demanded to set peace & accept international law and the UN Charter
Israel invaded to provoke Lebanese into war (Lebanon War)
- Israel launched the war: Killed 15-20x/many civilians
- First Intifada: Mostly peaceful
- Israeli violence
- Defenders: Israel so they went to Oslo Accords
- Oslo Accords:
- Israel didn’t fulfill the promises
- Israel increased settlements
- Took half of West Bank
- 2000: Second Intifada
- Overwhelmingly committed at the start
- Israel turned violent on First Intifada, 1m rounds fired
- Then turned violent on both sides
- Palestinian Authority lost to Hamas in election because they were corrupt and controlled by Israel
- Israel put an economic blockade on Gaza when Hamas were elected
- Hillary Clinton said it was a mistake not to rig the election
- Mostly allowed in/out of Gaza - travel restriction
- Operation Protective Edge
1948 War & Arab Refugees
- 7 armies invaded Israel
- Debate:
- Arabs left out of fear, or orders to make way for counter-attack
- Israel was responsible lots of thousands of Arabs
- War decision to ensure Arab armies gain a foothold in areas where some locals had provided Arabs fighters a base to launch attacks on Jewish communities
- Debate:
- Neighboring countries civilian border attacked Jewish communities
- 850,000 Jewish refugees between 1947-1972 to Israel
- Most walked by foot
- Arab countries evicted Palestinian refugees
title: 1st Intifada and Deir Yassin & Nakba
tags: [history, middle-east, Israel, Palestine, intifada, nakba]
1st Intifada
(8 Dec 1987 - 13 Dec 1993)
YT: Unpacked
- PLO leadership and its Fatah brigade were expelled from Jordan in 1970-71 for fomenting a revolt. Returning to Southern Lebanon, resulting in an increase of internal and cross-border violence.
Prior Causes
- PLO attacks
- Gaza/West Bank more militant
- Israel increased building of settlements in Gaza/West Bank
- Israel promoting higher education in West Bank and brings poorer Palestinians into the education system - people who held more radical and militant views are now given a space on University Campus to promote their ideology.
- Although the standard of living in Gaza/WB increased significantly under Israeli control, high levels of unemployment persisted.
- Palestinians saw the emergence of leftist political groups in Israel as an opportunity to change Israeli policy through demonstrations.
- Arab Nationalism
- Was secular but radical Islam overtook
- Riots increased
- Israeli police officer killed in Gaza on 20th anniversary of Six-Day War (Aug 2)
- 6 IDF soldiers killed a few months later
Dec 7
- Israeli truck driver crashed into a row of cars of Palestinian workers. 4 died. Accident.
- Rumors spread it was intentional.
- Protest starts
- Arabs that worked in Israel striked - significant - 60k
- Widespread rock throwings, molotovs, petrol bombs
- No longer non-violent
- PLO’s main role was to incite protests of what kind of violence should be used. More radical groups challenged PLO’s leadership.
- 700 attacks during the first 4 years
- Israel takes tough measures
- Tear gas
- Beatings
- Live ammo
- Mass arrests
- Water cannons
- Curfew
- International support for Arabs as they seemed no match for the IDF
- Almost the same amount of Palestinians would be killed by their own accused of being spies.
- 11/31 or 620 attacks were directed at fellow Palestinians.
- Portrayed the Palestinians as victims.
- Oslo Accords ends.
Misc/Documents/Israel Notes page 44.png
Deir Yassin & Nakba
YT: Unpacked
Nov. 1947: UN Partition Plan
- Arabs rejected
- Arabs violence starts
Nov. 1947 - March 1948
- Arabs increased attacks
- Thousands of volunteer fighters from neighboring countries
- Siege of Jerusalem
March 1948: Jews Desperate
April 1948: Operation Nachshon
- Two pronged attack Deir Yassin
- Israel warned residents
- Battle ensues
- 4 Jews killed - 100 Arabs killed
- Controversy that there were war crimes
- Lies about rape
- Used as propaganda
- Hospital Convoy Massacre
- 77 doctors, nurses, patients, students, fighters killed
- Terrified the Arabs and they fled
- Important to Palestinian identity
- Beginnings of the Nakba
Misc/Documents/Israel Notes page 45.png
Sam Harris x Eric Weinstein
YT: Trigonometry
- Extreme subset of people in the Muslim world love death more than we, the West, love life.
- Nihilism
- Would Hamas or Hezbollah worry about not killing civilians, or shoot through them like Israel does?
- The West is not fighting Islam, it is fighting the Jihad. The radical core of Islam.
- A death cult
- Moderate Muslims desperately need to get their heads around this problem.
- Islam is a religion of conquest.
- Totalizing ideologies are the problem.
- Tolerance not possible
- Provides all answers
- The concept of martyrdom/jihad is the issue.
- Sympathy for insane position from moderate people.
- Failure of empathy from secular rational people.
- They don’t understand what true belief is like.
- So they think it must be something else.
- They don’t understand what true belief is like.
- Quran gives a unified message compared to the Bible.
- Therefore it’s more difficult to modernize.
- You can’t negotiate or make peace with Jihadis.
- Israel & the U.S. aren’t the same as they once were.
- Woke ideology + Oppression leads to poverty.
- Jews are oppressed but successful.
- Jews have a Diaspora mentality: Pushing themselves hard and be a net benefit to their host mentality.
Other Notes
- Blank slate equality is worse than Communism.
- People, cultures, populations are different and are better than others in ways.
Cartoon Meme Ideas
- Leftist crying about cultural appropriation about a Halloween costume
- Leftist celebrating Hamas
Quote from Sam Harris
THE young man boards the bus as it leaves the terminal. He wears an overcoat. Beneath his overcoat, he is wearing a bomb. His pockets are filled with nails, ball bearings, and rat poison. The bus is crowded and headed for the heart of the city. The young man takes his seat beside a middle-aged couple. He will wait for the bus to reach its next stop. The couple at his side appears to be shopping for a new refrigerator. The woman has decided on a model, but her husband worries that it will be too expensive. He indicates another one in a brochure that lies open on her lap. The next stop comes into view. The bus doors swing. The woman observes that the model her husband has selected will not fit in the space underneath their cabinets. New passengers have taken the last remaining seats and begun gathering in the aisle. The bus is now full. The young man smiles. With the press of a button, he destroys himself, the couple at his side, and twenty others on the bus. The nails, ball bearings, and rat poison ensure further casualties on the street and in the surrounding cars. All has gone according to plan.
The young man’s parents soon learn of his fate. Although saddened to have lost a son, they feel tremendous pride at his accomplishment. They know that he has gone to heaven and prepared the way for them to follow. He has also sent his victims to hell for eternity. It is a double victory. The neighbors find the event a great cause for celebration and honor the young man’s parents by giving them gifts of food and money. These are the facts. This is all we know for certain about the young man. Is there anything else that we can infer about him on the basis of his behavior? Was he popular in school? Was he rich or was he poor? Was he of low or high intelligence? His actions leave no clue at all. Did he have a college education? Did he have a bright future as a mechanical engineer? His behavior is simply mute on questions of this sort, and hundreds like them. Why is it so easy, then, so trivially easy—you-could-almost-bet-your-life-on-it easy—to guess the young man’s religion?
— Harris, Sam. The End of Faith: Religion, Terror, and the Future of Reason.
Misc/Documents/Israel Notes page 46.png
Did Israel Steal the Land?
YT: Any Rand Institute
1947
- There is no land owned by a collective. Land is owned by individuals.
- Fallacy by Arguing Context
- White represents where people are living (Israeli):
- But what does the green represent? Most is the Negev Desert.
- Green is just showing a collective ownership.
- Shows there’s no place or size for Israel.
- De-humanizing.
- Lots of evidence showing Jews buying land legally.
UN Plan 1947
- This was just a plan.
- Why is the quality of the state not talked about?
- There was an attempt by many Arab countries to try and grab the land themselves.
- Quality of societies
1949-1967
- The West Bank area was actually occupied by Jordan and took it for themselves.
- Expelled Jews and destroyed Synagogues.
- Egyptians controlled Gaza area.
2005
- Ignoring the Oslo Accords.
- Palestinian Authority is a failed state before it even became sovereign.
- Land for peace worked for Egypt & Jordan but a disaster with Palestinian Authority.
- PA was exploiting its people.
- PA vs Hamas.
- Israel tried to encourage a Palestinian state and it blew up in their face.
- Trap: Land for peace was a mistake.
- Major point: PA evidence cause was not to build a free and prosperous society. They couldn’t build a state because it wasn’t their goal.
Misc/Documents/Israel Notes page 47.png
Questions - Research Further
-
How old is Islam?
- Compared to other religions.
-
Crusades response to Christendom to jihad
- Inquisitions copycat of mihnah, practice started by Caliph Ma’mun
-
The question is if Palestine would have been more successful as a country compared to Israel.
- What is a good society?
- What is a just society?
-
Why is there so attention and vitriol from the international community and millions around the world—yet the Chinese Muslim Uyghurs are ignored?
-
If a ceasefire happens, then what? How does Israel eliminate Hamas?
- They want bombs to stop
- So is it for Israel to enter Gaza on foot without air support?
- Does this mean the strategy of using citizens as shields a good military tactic?
-
Research the settlements, what they are, where, how, agreement or lack thereof inside Israel.
-
Get 1950-1967 quotes from Arab leaders for the destruction of Israel and Jews.
Misc/Documents/Israel Notes page 48.png
Debate Questions
- Do you think Israel is a successful country?
- Should Israel send in their own suicide bombers?
- If the UN and others don’t hold Hamas and other terrorists accountable, why should Israel care or take it seriously?
- Do you agree with immigration as that it’s good for a country?
- If the savagery of Hamas and the PLO are explained away and justified, what about the abhorrent treatment they do to each other?
Misc/Documents/Israel Notes page 50.png
Random Notes
- The idea of proportionality is nonsense.
- Israel is the only country that isn’t allowed to win a war.
“Show me what you accuse the Jews of and I’ll show you what you’ll guilty of.”
- Vasily Grossman
-
Richard Kemp (6/13/22)
- Iran encourages conflict.
- Hamas will initiate conflict with Israel and isolate Israel internationally by forcing them to react, and using human shield tactics and get the UN to condemn Israel.
- Hamas first army in history that deliberately attempt to cause civilian casualties.
- Jihad tunnels
- 2021 War:
- Hamas turned off essential services.
- Shut off power to Sewage.
- 6/12 power lines attacked, humanitarian aid entering Gaza, 2 aid workers killed.
- Hamas turned off essential services.
-
Human Emancipation begins where religion leaves off.
- Look at Israel - Palestine = Bloodshed all because of religion.
-
Israel provides education to prisoners.
-
Britain not allowing Jews to enter Levant and causing many to die during WWII.
-
The far-left and far-right united in hating one thing: hating Jews.
-
“Ethnic cleansing” as a term is untrue and gives a different view of what happened in 1947. It conjures up a systematic policy like in Bosnia.
-
The more I read, the more it seems people want perfection in the hearts, minds, and motivation of every single Israeli no matter the context or time period—yet will dismiss the barbarity and outspoken sentiments of wanting genocide of the Arabs in Palestine.
-
Iran working on converting and cultivating radical Islam in Central & South Americas.
-
Which part of Palestine is occupied? (debate question)
-
Hamas says they don’t care about the civilians in Gaza - on RT channel.
- Hamas says that the 500 kilometers of tunnels in Gaza is for Hamas, not civilians. Can’t answer why they never built bomb shelters for civilians.
-
An open air prison doesn’t get billions in aid.
IDF Measures to Reduce Civilian Casualties
- Leaflets
- Phone messages
- Roof knocking
- Sound bombs
Misc/Documents/Israel Notes page 51.png
Benny Morris: 1948
- Changed the face of the Middle East.
- Culmination of 70 years of rivalry/conflict, starting with first Zionist settlers in the 1880s.
- British supported Zionism (1916-1939).
- British tried to appease Arabs (1939 - mid 1940s).
- British then felt it was hopeless, handed problems over to the U.N.
Conflict Timeline
- Arabs rejected and went to war.
- Nov. 1947: First Arab attacks - Civil war.
- May 1948 - Jan. 1949: War ended.
- Jewish suffered 1% of population dead.
- Arabs dead ~1% guesswork - may be same or double.
Traditional View
- Territorial war - about the whole of the territory - not just the border lands.
- Also a cultural religious war. Exclusively on the side of Arabs.
Jewish Community
- In Palestine in 1948 were mostly secular, 5% religious.
Jihad for Arab Side - Fatwa
Jewish War Aim
- Survive and establish the state.
- Expand more than UN partition (could’ve done any).
- Reduce numbers of Arabs in Jewish State (unofficial).
- Wasn’t a command.
1949
- 700,000 Jews, 150,000 Arabs.
Arab War Aims
- No archives.
- Avert establishment of Jewish State.
Egypt, Iraq, Syria
- Attacked Jews on their land.
War Created Three Refugee Problems
- 700,000 Palestinians displaced.
- 70,000 Jews displaced (most went back).
- Jews from Arab lands (700,000 - 800,000).
- Following ‘47 war.
- Due to oppression.
- Absorbed.
Balance of Forces
-
Arabs: 1.3 million.
-
Jews: 650,000.
- Jews were able to better organize.
- Jewish settlements were built for defense.
- Jews able to smuggle weapons.
-
Arabs at the start had much better weapons.
Various Quotes and Insights
Quotes and Articles
-
“Between 2003 and 2004, according to an article in Commentary, ‘Jewish students were physically and verbally harassed, threatened, shoved, stalked, and targeted by rock-throwing groups and individuals. Jewish property was defaced with swastikas, and a Holocaust memorial was vandalized. Signs were posted on campus showing a Star of David dripping with blood. Jews were chastised for arrogance by public speakers whose appearance at the institution was subsidized by the university. They were called ‘dirty Jew’ and ‘f***ing Jew,’ told to go to Russia and ‘burn in hell,’ and heard other students and visitors to the campus urge one another to ‘slaughter the Jews.’”
-
The last supporting terrorist such as Hamas is not new. Their support of communist countries: Stalin, Mao, Castro.
Articles and Opinions
-
“This is not just because the millions of migrants include more terrorists, although that is part of the problem. Customs and Border Protection has stopped more than 170 people on its terrorist watchlist from trying to enter the United States in the past 12 months, mostly from Mexico. In 2022, there were 98. In 2021, there were 16. You notice a trend.”
-
“Now, despite seeing Hamas’ rape cult, no one gender studies department has defended even one victimized woman. Feminists have long taught that you must believe the accuser and not blame the victim. For years, progressive voices insisted, often with humor, on T-shirts, even on coffee mugs, that when fighting oppression, ‘silence is consent,’ or even that ‘silence is violence.’ On Oct. 7, the violated women shouted, shrieked, cried, begged, rape after rape, cut after cut, fighting off these assaults with their voices and their bare hands as best each could. Some happy masks may still be struggling. By contrast, violating every feminist principle I’ve ever read and respected, today’s feminist movement is violently, silently, consenting to this mass crime against women and against the victims from three-dozen different countries. Some even doubt the testimonials—and the staggering, bloody, heartbreaking evidence of stripped women paraded through Gaza’s streets. Robbing someone of their story is a secondary offense—but nevertheless inexcusable.”
-
“It is Hamas alone that chose to endanger Gaza and Israeli civilians. From his air-conditioned hotel in Doha, Qatar, Hamas chairman Khaled Mashal admitted this in an interview, stating: ‘This kind of attack Hamas carried out is not regular terrorism. It is more like a declaration of war,’ Rashid Khalidi Al-Arabiya told Mashal. ‘So some people ask what Gaza needs in the face of this kind of declaration. They are watching the greatest human tragedy that is unfolding in the Gaza Strip. The people of Gaza who are not part of this war. The people of Gaza were not consulted about this.’”
-
“After explaining that a surprise attack of this magnitude had to be kept secret for strategic reasons, Mashal then explained that sacrifices from civilians were expected. ‘Dear sister, nations are not easily liberated,’ Mashal responded.”
-
“The Russians sacrificed 30 million people in World War II in order to defeat the Nazis. The Vietnamese sacrificed 3.5 million people yet they defeated the Americans. Afghanistan sacrificed millions of martyrs to defeat the U.S.S.R and the United States. The Algerian people sacrificed one million martyrs over 130 years. No nation is liberated without sacrifices.”
-
The Philistines populated the coastal regions of Canaan from the 12th century BCE to their disappearance in 604 BCE. The word “Philistine” derives from the Hebrew ha-Plishtim for the combination of several tribes of Syria and Judea with the older name “Syria-Palestina”. The Latin word for the lands of Canaan became “Palestine” after the Bar-Kochba Revolt (132-136 CE) during the reign of the Roman emperor Hadrian (r. 117-138 CE). The term “Philistine” has come to mean someone uneducated and lacking in culture from the stories concerning them in the Jewish Scriptures.
-
The Sea Peoples are designated Philistines in the biblical books of Judges & 1 Samuel where they are considered the greatest enemies of Israel.
-
Karl Marx’s notorious 1844 essay ‘On the Jewish Question’ exemplifies this tendency. In that work, he called for equal rights for Jews. But he also wrote this: ‘What is the worldly religion of the Jew? Huckstering. What is his worldly God? Money. … Money is the jealous god of Israel, in face of which no other god may exist. Money degrades all the gods of man - and turns them into commodities. … The bill of exchange is the real god of the Jew. … The chimerical nationality of the Jew is the nationality of the merchant, of the man of money in general.’ Such ideas persist in modern far-left thought, often transmuted into attacks on ‘Zionists,’ rather than Jews as such. Just as Marx denounced Jewish ‘moneychangers of our age enlisted on the side of tyranny,’ so some modern radicals claim that Zionists control finance and the media.”
Images and Miscellaneous Notes
- Norm Macdonald Quote: “What terrifies me is if ISIS were to detonate a nuclear device and kill 50 million Americans. Imagine the backlash against peaceful Muslims?”
- Random Image: Dome of the Rock, built on top of Solomon’s Temple.
- Image Caption: “Dome of the Rock built on top of Solomon’s Temple. (See Hebrew side - Arab Colonialism Example).”
- Debate Question: “Why is nobody on the left asking for Hamas to surrender?”
- Miscellaneous Note: Exchange rate: 1 hostage for 100 Hamas US hostages. “Good for Israel, good for USA, good for Hamas. EDUCATIONAL FOR STUDENTS”
Philistine Coffin Lid from Lachish
- Osama Shukir Muhammed Amin (Copyright)
Misc/Documents/page 4.png
title: Piers Morgan / Bassem Youssef pt.4
tags: [history, middle-east, Israel, Palestine, media, criticism]
Piers Morgan / Bassem Youssef pt.4
How does Israel get rid of Hamas?
-
Israel has one of the most advanced military.
-
1000s of civilians killed.
-
Not self-defense.
-
Closer to answer on how to.
-
There’s all these Israeli soldiers that take out a few hundred guerrilla fighters.
- Lie, bad faith.
-
No answer to get rid of Hamas.
- Not military expert.
- Bad faith.
- Not eye for an eye.
-
Israel military incompetent, sucks up US.
- Israel most advanced.
- Irgun - No anger for it.
- IDF and its obscene civilian population.
- Once you say it’s bad.
-
How Israelis talk among themselves.
- Poll - Faith rumps.
- It’s not about Hamas.
- Israel wants to push into Sinai.
-
Say Israel lies about history of lying.
- Terrible.
- So you can’t trust the beheaded babies and everything else from Israel.
- Example:
- 1996: Bombed Beirut - Refugee Camp / Hezbollah Human Shields.
- 2011: Killed 2 teenager checkpoint.
- “Israel deniers”
- CNN said that they had ad reversed.
- 2015: Killed medic, fabricated video.
- True.
- 2010: Killed (act unheard name) - denial.
- 2021: Bombed Gaza media office.
- Denied.
- May 27: Shireen reporter.
- “Outcry Video.”
-
Beleve Israel bombed the hospital.
- Reissued warning.
- Believe that Hamas turned off the 3 bombs.
-
Hamas sent 35,000 rockets over 10 years.
- Killed 61 people - 25% military.
- Hamas tries to the hospital bombing.
- Saying Hamas rockets are glorified “firecrackers.”
-
Why are we holding a militant terrorist group to the only democracy in the Middle East?
- Extremely condescending.
- “I’m an expert.”
- Will switch his beliefs such as Hamas will have to say.
-
Best recruit for Hamas is Israel.
- Dumb argument. So the idea is to just die instead.
-
97% of water not spent for Hamas.
-
50% pop anemic.
-
West in love for food.
- Unable to have a discussion. Doesn’t listen, just emotion.
-
All roads lead to the conditions that created Hamas.
- You would have Hamas if Israel went to Argentina or Uganda. Creating some condition, always moving the goalposts.
-
Terrorism is a virus.
-
Netanyahu gave money to Hamas.
- Misleading and not true.
-
Say only Hamas & Hezbollah are enemies.
- Trickery with cost or releasing.
- Says Israel do anything.
- Doesn’t mention Iran.
-
Shifts between Israel is responsible for not killing Hamas and Israel is one of the most powerful military.
-
Plays on the deconstructed ideology of big bad Israel and poor Gaza/Hamas.
-
Doesn’t answer any question by deflecting and says: “Listen, I’m not an expert.”
- Israel killing a whole population.
- Population is growing.
- Israel wants to clear the Gaza Strip into Egypt.
- Doesn’t think Israel doesn’t want peace.
- False.
- West Bank Settlements
- This is an issue. Need to understand better it is wrong. Israel did win the land in war. They made the desert into viable community.
- Creating little Gaza’s.
- Admission committees who can decide who lives there.
- Brings photo of racism in U.S.
- Talks about an Israeli saying he didn’t want Arabs in their pools.
- Cause of hygiene.
- No serving in Arab pool.
- He apologized then got sued for 2 mil euros.
- This is a great example of the difference between the people. Between Germany and Israel. One says death to Jews and celebrated in their country and the other gets criticized and sued in their country. What country really does have institutional racism?
- Talks about an Israeli saying he didn’t want Arabs in their pools.
- Israel isn’t secular.
- Receipt against own people.
- 2015: Ethiopian Jew giving an exception status because they were the wrong color.
- Israel is a racist, apartheid country.
- Look at Palestinians as lesser people.
- US bend knee to Israel.
- White Privilege mentioned.
- Palestinian flags outlawed in Israel.
- Israel killing a whole population.
Piers Morgan / Bassem Youssef pt.2
-
Because some Jews protested against Israel invading Gaza - that there’s just so much anti-Semitism.
- Criticizing Israel isn’t anti-Semitism.
-
Anti-Zionists are not anti-Semites
- “Self-hating Jews”
-
Say it’s not right that people rejoice over 7 attackers but show sorrow for it.
- All they can do is scream
- Been constantly beaten
- Understandable
-
Claims media is on Israel’s side
- This is a laughable idea when it’s the opposite - Twitter, Fox News, Dailywire vs. the rest of media.
-
“Israel bombed Gaza ‘as usual’” - No mention of the 1000s of Rocket Gaza sent for years.
-
Stories about random stories of Israeli cheering about attacking Palestinians
- True, yet quite telling he can name a few instances. Yet if it were the Arab world the number of occurrences would be incalculable.
-
Putting selves in each other’s shoes.
-
Uganda was first choice instead of Palestine.
- Palestine rejected by Rabbis because only when the Messiah comes.
- Not true, it was proposed in 1903 yet immediately dismissed and could be only a temporary solution until they could get a Zion.
Historical Points
- 1914: 700,000 - 3% Jewish
- 1917: 750,000 - 8-10% Jewish
- 1917:
- Arthur Balfour - Anti-Semitist
- Jewish Parliament member - “We should’ve kicked them out.”
- Turned down by US, pushed to Israel after Holocaust.
- 1948:
- European problem with Jews are in Palestine.
- It was pushed on the Palestine’s Jews took land.
- Ignoring all the Jews that immigrated prior to 1948.
- Zionist militias were killing Arabs.
- Arabs killed way more Jews prior to 1948. Arabs started the ‘47 war.
- Massacre of Deir Yassin
- Tragedy, yet handled correctly. Arabs massacre and their government clap.
- Compare it to Oct 7.
- King David bombed by Irgun Zionist militia
- 91 British died.
- True, Irgun were not good. Did give warning.
- “Overnight Palestine” pushed to be refugees.
- Didn’t mention the whole war that happened.
Piers Morgan / Bassem Youssef pt.3
- Nakba
- Due to war the Arabs started, not flee and most fled to other parts of Palestine.
- Violent Palestinian culture before the Jews and now their erasing it.
- Doesn’t seem all that true, was just an assortment of families and not well organized. Not sure what “culture” it had separate from Ottoman or Islam.
- Israel cancelling a culture.
- Population there are continually firing.
- Doesn’t believe Israel has a just cause.
- What would be a just cause? Not defending yourself? Is immigration wrong?
- No right of return for Nakba refugee’s dispersal.
- The term refugee is so different from normal destinations. Israel did after 100,000 after war. Arabs refused.
- That Palestinians can’t go back to their home cities, yet Jews can land and live in homes that were once Palestinian’s.
- Gave swamp land and desert to Jews.
- 70% of population - UN gives you 40% of the land.
- Palestinian side doesn’t have to do with Islam.
- Some of early suicide bombers were female Christian Palestinians.
- Islamic nationalism did rise with the P. fighter.
- Islamization of the cause happened later.
- Kind of the fetch used upon socialism.
- Yes, as Islam killed them for it.
- Didn’t work.
- “Arabs gave us any chance for peace” was a lie.
- False.
- Israel didn’t give an inch of land by peace.
- Yes - not on both due to self-defense.
- 1974: West Bank Sinai because Egypt instigated the war.
- These retorts are weird to say if your real goal is peace and not the total eradication of Israel.
- 2006: South Lebanon because of resistance.
- Gaza - too much attacking not sending out of next.
- Oslo Accords - PLO because the Intifada.
- “I will never give you anything with peace, you will have to fight for it.”
- Claims he’s not “qualified” after giving a whole one-sided history lesson.
- Shitty debate tactic.
- Oslo Accords.
- Netanyahu video
- Subterfuge
- Hit them hard
- Americans easily manipulated.
- Netanyahu video
- Yitzak Rabin
- Broken bond policy.
- Israel didn’t want peace.
- Talking about peace and take away my land.
- Settlements
- Netanyahu brought giving money to Hamas.
- Money from Qatar, humanitarian, attempts to keep peace or lessen attacks.
- Netanyahu brought giving money to Hamas.
- Worst solution for another country to take Palestinian refugees as “reset” mover.
- Admit this.
- Israel morally corrupted the West.
Arguments Against Israel
- UN & Human Rights Watch reports (how have they condemned Arabs?)
- Indigenous argument
- Israel attacks civilians
- Genocide
- Jews want to kill all Palestinians
- Israel wants Gaza to flee to ethnically cleanse.
- Settlements
- That it’s false that Arabs rejected all peace deals.
- Peel Commission
- Expelling and communities
- 1956: Invades Sinai in Egypt
- Nationalized Suez Canal reasons
- Peel Commission
- 2000 peace process - Control over Temple Mount
- Arafat warned his people would kill him.
- West Bank citizens were still getting killed before Oct 7.
- Break away groups: Local terror groups
- Islamic Jihad in West Bank
- Great March of Return
- AI generated photos
- Wish it was
- Hamas justified in killing citizens
- Gaza is densely populated
- Since 2005, 23 out of 24 conflict deaths have been Palestinian.
- The idea that if one side has more deaths, that side is morally right.
- Israel has been killing civilians for 75 years.
- Jews will live great under Palestinian rule.
- Moshe Dayan wanting to provoke Egypt in 1955.
- Zionists are settler colonial project.
Random Notes
- Hamas has a $500 million real estate portfolio.
- No way to do a two-state solution when one side wants the total destruction of the other.
- Asking: “What do you consider Palestine?” If that is all of Israel - that’s for genocide.
- (From the river to the sea)
- Israel has been firing rockets continuously for about 17 years period spanning govt. from left and right.
- The most liberal people on the Palestinian side to make a peace deal with is the Palestinian Authority - can they pay a stipend for all the terrorist who killed Jews.
- UN official who resigned refused to answer if Hamas did genocide.
- The laws of war entire purpose is to set militaries away from civilians, not hide among them.
- Why hasn’t the media asked for Hamas to surrender?
- “What part of is Palestine occupied?”
- Resources diverted to West Bank because of settlements.
Muhammad
- Monotheist
- Mecca -> Medina
- Similar to Jewish belief
- Jews revolted his teachings when he thought they’d welcome them.
- Massacred Jews -> beheaded -> Women, children enslaved
- Muhammad & 700 followers attack Khaibar
- Largest Jewish community in the Arabian Peninsula
- Burned down date palm groves - livelihood
- Taxed Jews - humiliation
- Conquered the land of Israel and on
- By middle of 8th century, 90% of Jews were under Muslim rule
Peace Deal Offers
- Ehud Barak - 2000
- Ehud Olmert
Real History of Civilian Deaths
-
2 million German civilians
- 350,000 Allied bombing
-
500,000 Japanese WWII
-
1.2 million Korean War
-
365,000 Vietnam War
-
1-2,000 Gulf War
-
1-2,000 Yugoslavia
-
46,000 Afghanistan
-
200,000 Iraq War
-
400 Obama Drone war
-
600 Obama Libya war
-
10,000 ISIS war
-
20,000 - Saudi - Yemen bombings
- 85,000 children died of starvation
-
300,000 - Syria
- 1.2 million displaced
-
1.7 million displaced - Pakistan
The Left’s Long War on Israel (Ayn Rand Institute)
Historical Context
- 1950s: Arabs organize under Pan-Arabism
- Soviet Union
- Egypt Nationalizes Suez Canal
- Israel invades; tells US to leave -> Egypt promises not to do it again.
- 10 years: Contracts with Soviet help -> Egypt -> any war.
- After 1967: Israel has high ground.
- Arab recapture.
- Yet with Soviet help, try one more time - Yom Kippur War.
- Arab recapture.
Israel
- Israel is a basically free country.
- Arab countries keep falling from one type of totalitarian to another.
- Monarchy, Arab-nationalism, Marxist-Leninism, Islamism.
The Left’s Involvement (1967 - )
- Soviet sends military equipment and advisors.
- 20,000 Soviet personnel serve in Egypt.
- Soviet - Israel air dogfights.
Post-1967 Narrative
- Israel did not only face the Arab countries; it also faced the Soviet Union.
- Mao’s China supported the Arabs.
- Arabs changed the narrative after 1967 when the American left sided with the Arabs.
- Narrative: Mighty Israel oppressing Palestine.
- Similar to Vietnam narrative.
- Terrorism is the legacy of the Marxist leftist within the Palestinian movement.
- Arabs understood they couldn’t beat Israel in battle, so they did terrorism to break their will.
- Since 1967: Israel has experienced the equivalent of three 9/11’s.
- Why does the Left side with the radical Arabs?
- Can’t be political as their opposites.
- Not anti-Semitic, as if Israel were Christian, it’d be the same.
- The Underdog Principle.
Quotes
- “In today’s world no one is innocent, no one is neutral. A man is either with the oppressor or he is with the oppressors. He who takes no interest in politics gives his blessing to the prevailing order, that of the exploiters and oppressing forces.” - George Habash, Terrorism
- “Killing one Jew far away from the field of battle is more effective than killing a hundred Jews on the field of battle, because it attracts more attention.” - George Habash
Comparative Analysis
-
Israel:
- Start-up Nation
- Business
- Entrepreneurship
- Shopping Centers
- Night clubs
-
Palestine:
- Weak
- Willing to die than something than himself.
-
How Does Israel Oppress the Left?
- Arabs become better off.
- Israel against itself.
Legitimate Claim from Palestinians
- “In 1948 some Palestinians did lose land. People in the West Bank do live under military occupation. The question is: Who is to blame?”
Douglas Murray
Historical Context
- Marches before Israel even responded.
- Jordanians don’t care about the P.
- Same with Egyptians.
- Jordanians don’t care about the P.
- 100,000s in Yemen in last few years.
- Loathes any war Israel is in and especially wins.
- Muhammad himself massacred many, many Jews.
- Banu Qurayza.
Great Problems in Islam
-
The religion claims to be the last revelation from God to man.
- Quran is the one book you need.
-
Many Muslims realized that even though they have the final revelation - why do they have it so bad compared to the West?
-
Muslims see this: tiny bit of land, Israel, one of the only countries without oil - all see a glowing success compared to the other countries around.
-
The idea of extending tolerance to people who don’t extend it back needs to stop.
-
The massacre of the Peace Prize on Oct 7 is a metaphor of our times.
Comparative Analysis
- Would the history of Christianity been more or less bloody if Jesus was more like Muhammad?
- Jesus: woman caught in adultery, crowd wants to stone her, Jesus says, “He who is without sin, cast the first stone.” And the crowd goes away.
- Muhammad: has her stoned in a very similar story.
- Jesus really only loses his temper once.
- Muhammad beheaded 100s and 1000s of Jews with his own hands.
- Realistic view of man on how Christian inspired nations were founded.
- Islam is about subjugation to Allah.
- From Christianity we get the idea of rights.
- “All mankind is created equal” in the eyes of God.
- Recognition of the well-spring: Christian roots.
- “Civilizational Christianity”
- Reformation like Christianity = Going back to source material = ISIS.
Israel is Racist
Overview
- “Founded by expelling 100,000s of Arab natives.”
- Celebrate exclusion so it fosters a sense of exclusion.
- “Everyday they air videos of Israeli hitting all Arabs etc.”
- Insulting Prophet Muhammad.
- Desecrating Mosques.
- Spitting on Christians.
- Celebrating Palestinian murder.
Statistics & Facts
- 2/3 Israelis believe Arabs are less intelligent, uncultured and violent.
- 1/3 fear Arabs.
- 60% want segregation.
- 50
Palestinian Arguments
-
Ben-Gurion “we will expel the Arabs”
- 1937 Letter
-
Yosef Weitz Quote (p.60)
-
Open Air Prison
-
Genocide
-
Apartheid state
-
Ethnic Cleansing
-
Illegal occupation
-
UN resolution
-
Settlement
-
The idea that there’s a limit to “reproach” civilian casualties that is too much and any army could survive. Essentially, more civilians died in war.
-
Safe Zones are being hit.
-
Israel doesn’t care about civilians.
- Hamas hype & kill P. if they leave.
- IDF: 20,000 phone calls, 1.5 mil leaflets, 4,000 texts, 6 mil voicemails to Gaza civilians.
- Hamas hype & kill P. if they leave.
-
Pair anti-Semitism & Islamophobia.
- Separating Israel, Jews, Zionism.
1967 War Unjustified
- Threat of closing of Straits of Tiran & build up of troops anecdotal.
- Plausible attempt at diplomacy.
- (Finkelstein arguments)
- Nasser said he was building up troops.
- Noller knew closing Strait meant war.
- (Finkelstein arguments)
Quotes
- “A land without people for a people without land.”
- Wasn’t even originally from a Zionist - attributed Palestine. (And was commonly used.)
- At the time people claim Israel was a neglected part of Ottoman Empire and 30 yrs before anything was happening.
- Wasn’t even originally from a Zionist - attributed Palestine. (And was commonly used.)
British were Pro-Israel and blamed the Jews.
- Due to 1929 riots of Jews - the British policed Jews for the Arabs but then supported against others (Germany).
- British trained the Jews in what became the Army allied with Hitler.
Issue UN Partition Plan: Arabs rejected because it wasn’t good.
- Jews did not get the most fertile land in 1948 - a lot of the land was desert and swamp land infested with malaria.
Der Yassin
- As this is the only example P. can use to argue that it was a genocide, or ethnic cleansing, shows that it wasn’t the norm - just an extreme event that the Jews apologized for.
- 20 killed surrendering - grenades used to clear houses.
- Arabs used it as propaganda to recruit - not fear.
Israel helped create Hamas
- Wanted to undermine the PLO (Fatah Party)
- Tolerated professor & money under.
- Hoping it would be peaceful and if not would divide the P. movement.
Oslo Accords (1993)
Goal
- Goal was modest to make a process for a future time for agreement that permanent.
Main Provisions (Declaration of Principles)
- Mutual recognition.
- Formation of interim Palestinian gov. that would administer territory under its control (militants).
- Israel agrees to withdraw parts of West Bank/Gaza.
-
Hope it be a base for the tough issues:
- Jerusalem
- Right of Return
- Settlements
- Palestinian State.
-
Controversial:
- Israel: Because of Arafat, terrorist.
- Giddy control of Biblical Israel.
- Palestinians: Recognizing Israel right to exist because it didn’t recognize P. statehood.
- Israel: Because of Arafat, terrorist.
-
Remains unfulfilled.
- P. gained self-rule in some West Bank towns.
- Rabin assassinated.
- Negotiations stalled after Camp David talks.
-
Oslo wasn’t fully fulfilled but did accomplish significant steps forward.
- PLO acknowledged Israel.
- P. national authority was born.
- P. got rule in Gaza and parts of West Bank.
- Direct talks established.
-
Rabin was a war hero.
-
Secret meetings in Oslo.
-
Arafat promised to revoke some of the violent sections of PLO charter.
-
Infrastructure was a stepping stone to a P. country.
-
8 months after signing, Arafat gave a speech in South Africa, calling for them to come and fight and start Jihad to liberate Jerusalem.
- (PLO)
-
Israelis were furious at the participants of Oslo when violence reignited.
Oslo II
-
Divided West Bank into 3 Areas.
- Controversial.
-
Rabin assassinated.
- What could of been?
-
Terror stepped up by P. in 1996.
-
Netanyahu elected. Protested Oslo since the beginning.
-
2000 with relentless violence of Second Intifada - had ended any real hope for peace.
-
Did Oslo accords accomplish anything?
- Israel & P. in same room.
- Disappointed them equally.
-
Israeli public moved further to the right - convinced peace was a mirage.
Where Would You Rather Live?
UN Human Rights Council
- Passed more resolutions targeting Israel than any other nation.
- Compared this to the truly terrible regimes.
Underdog Theory vs. Taking justice seriously.
-
Comparison to Surrounding Nations.
- Thought Control (Morality police):
- Saudi Arabia - None; Torture.
- Iran - None; Torture & Death.
- Jordan - Little to none.
- Kuwait - Little; Jail.
- Qatar - Jail.
- UAE - None.
- Egypt - None.
- Thought Control (Morality police):
-
Censorship is the norm in the Middle East.
- Used to negate your independent judgement.
Intellectual Freedom
Gender Apartheid
-
Institutionalized, legally mandated gender discrimination.
- Subordinated to men (Female Genital Mutilation).
- Saudi Arabia.
- Iran.
- Egypt.
- Sexual Harassment.
- Sexual Assault 83-97%.
- Bringing it on - Hamla; 5-8% of men.
- 62% of men admitted it.
- Sexual Harassment.
- Jordan - Raped get lesser punishment if he agrees to marry the woman he violated.
- Lebanon.
- Kuwait - 3 years for honor killing.
- Bahrain.
-
Israel:
-
Golda Meir - First woman to lead a modern Western country.
-
50% Judges/Lawyers are women.
-
4 justices on Supreme Court are women.
- 1 Chief Justice.
-
90% of positions in IDF are open to women.
-
Women can’t drive in Saudi Arabia; women fly fighter jets in Israel.
-
Dehumanizing Gays
-
Saudi Arabia: Max penalty of death.
-
UAE: Gay sex is a crime.
-
Kuwait: 7 years.
-
Qatar: 7 years.
-
Iran: Death.
-
Egypt: Drive gays back underground.
-
Lebanon: Crime -> Jail.
-
Israel:
- 3rd most companies listed on Nasdaq.
- High-tech, Life Science.
- Start-up ethos.
- Scientific, Technical Journal Articles.
- 2013 (per capita):
- Israel: 1402 per mill; US: 1305.
- UK: 1162.
- Iran: 426; Egypt: 102.
- 2013 (per capita):
- 8 Israeli Nobel Prize (peace prizes) - 1st in Middle East.
- Giant lack of books translated into Arabic.
- Infant Mortality:
- US: 5.6.
- Israel: 2.9.
- Libya: 11.
- UK: 3.7.
- Saudi: 11.1.
- Iran: 13.
- Egypt: 19.4.
- Life Expectancy at Birth:
- Israel: 82.1.
- US: 78.7.
- Saudi: 74.6.
- Egypt: 73.3.
- France: 82.7.
Monarchy: Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Gulf States, Jordan.
-
To be a Saudi citizen, you must be Muslim.
-
Arbitrary power.
- Torture is routine in Middle East states, not because of National Security.
- Law is politicized. Judges heed the wishes of the king.
- Rely on fear and brutality.
-
Dictatorship: Egypt, Lebanon, Turkey.
-
Theocracy: Afghanistan, Iran.
-
Common theme: Religious subjugation of the individual.
Additional Notes on Israel and the Middle East
Demographics are a Major Long Term Issue for the Future of Israel
-
Arafat had said that the womb of the Palestinian woman was a “biological weapon,” which he could use to create Palestine state by crowding people into the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.
-
“Hopefully the Council will meet a much needed death,” said Naomi Chazan, a member of the Knesset from the opposition Meretz Party.
- “It revives the notion of a womb for hire—I thought that went out with bodies. It is tangibly, patently racist.”
- For Naomi, the solution to Israel’s demographic problems is not to try to defeat the Arabs in a battle of wombs. The answer, she says, is the establishment of a Palestinian state.
- “We would not have to worry about being outnumbered if there were two states,” she said. “If we want to keep democracy and a Jewish state then we need a Palestinian state. We should be investing in coexistence and not in distorting birth patterns.”
-
Obama Administration: talked down to and alienated the Sunni coalition that the US has worked for long time to build (Iraq) to warm up to Iran.
Random Notes
-
Nazi’s tried to cover up their crimes, had to get drunk at night after committing massacres -> Nazi high command worried about morale.
- Yet, Hamas killed with glee on Oct 7.
-
When you see the success of Middle Eastern minorities, and you yourself are unsuccessful, you either have to hide yourself or hate them -> Thomas Sowell.
The U.N. still hasn’t passed a single resolution to condemn Hamas. (11/13/23)
- Half a million Syrians have died in this decade, you just don’t hear about it because you can’t blame Israel.
- Reporters are happy to report from Israel as it’s safe to do so.
- If Human Rights orgs had some balls, they’d report from Yemen, Syria, China, America, 50+ Muslim dictatorships.
- Assad: 300,000 killed.
Personal Thoughts
11/8/23
-
Concerning the conflict over so many years - the idea of the constant pressure Israel has been under and the need to be perfect in the eyes of the international community must be extremely difficult. Add to that the Arab side isn’t held to the same standard.
- Israel does something wrong or questionable = Genocide, terrible, 1000 news articles and UN resolution report.
- Arabs do much worse = “Look at how they live, poor them!”
-
How Radical Islam uses the west against the west.
- International Law -> Freedom of Press.
- UN -> Reporting the gov. own mistakes.
- Human Rights -> Self-investigating.
- Laws.
- Morality.
11/18/2023
- You hear the many ways Hamas uses tactics to benefit themselves militarily by properly positioning themselves at the disadvantage of civilians. Is this not proof that Hamas uses human shields? This very tactics people say Hamas uses.
Making Sense of Israeli-Palestinian Conflict - Elan Journo (Ayn Rand YT)
Timeline
The Conflict: Who
- Egypt
- Syria
- Jordan
- Iraq
- Saudi Arabia
- Lebanon
- Israel
- PLO factions:
- Fatah
- UFFP
- DFLP-General
- DFLP
- ONLP
- ALF
Arab Cause
-
Arab cause rose because Arab countries were trying to conquer territory.
-
Dictatorships trying to conquer democracy.
- Use terrorism as a tactic.
- Islamist movement.
-
Mainstream view: The West has done wrong against Palestinians.
- Bad visa.
- Poor moral judgement.
-
How do you find the middle ground between a group that wants to live and one that wants to kill you?
- All compromises will lead one side to get stronger.
-
Way forward requires taking moral judgement seriously.
- Freedom is a good thing.
-
Palestinian cause has exploited some illegitimate goals and some legitimate wrongs.
Right of Return Refugees
-
They lost the war.
-
Very small percentage are truly refugees.
-
Palestinians are not fighting for freedom - they are fighting for authoritarianism and slavery.
-
Lack of moral support from US to Israel.
-
People have a warped view of morality when they say “Justice for Palestine.”
- Weak ≠ needy ≠ victim.
Security Buffers
- 1967: First settlement on West Bank
- Kfar Etzion – was massacred in 1947
- Were returning home
- 1974: Gush Emunim
- Built on the faith
- New found pride in their ancient homeland
- 1929: Hebron Massacre
- Cemented Zionism and united Jews in the thought that a state with both Arabs and Jews was not possible
- Redemption of the Jewish People
- Religious settler movement
- Rabin called it a “cancer”
- Shimon Peres: Use settlements as proximity defense
- Defense against Jordan
- Israel’s government didn’t allow these religious settlements, but couldn’t block them if people were persistent
- Left-wing labor for policy
Palestinian Settlements
- “Occupation”
- Thought it was a slow invasion after six-day war
- Fedayeen attacking Jews 1950s
- “The Gaza Occupation” 1967-1973
- Better than being governed by Jordan
- Frustrated by settlements
- Checkpoint after First Intifada
- Barrier separating West Bank and Israel after Second Intifada
- Concrete wall and fence
- Dramatic drop in attacks
- “Apartheid” Wall
Two Types of Refugees
- 1945-1949: 10,000,000 refugees after WWII
- 4,000,000 dead in mass migration
Why did the Palestinians Revolt?
- 1936: Arabs were not happy that up until recently
- The Jews were second-class citizens
- Wealth and experience in an underdeveloped economy
- Jews insulated themselves economically
- British restricted immigration permits
- Jews illegally immigrated
- Alarmed the Arabs
Mufti tried to make peace
- Sought help from Nazis and Italians
- Pressured British to take stricter immigration laws
- Incited Arab rebellion
- Jews fought back
New doctrine of Zionism - Ben-Gurion
- Limitations on Jewish immigration
Appeasement of Arabs by the British
- Limitation on Jewish immigration
- Legislative Council Arab majority
Antonius proposed Arab federation with autonomous Jewish majority province
- Ben-Gurion had made a similar proposal earlier but Arabs refused
- Arab fighting against Jews
Benny Morris — The Creation of the Palestinian Refugee Problem, 1947-1949
Created 3 refugee problems
- 70,000 Jews (10% of pop.)
- They returned
- 1947-64: Jewish communities in Arab lands after getting expelled
- 800,000 absorbed in Israel
- Palestinians
- 700,000 (2/3 moved to other places in Palestine) - 500,000
- By normal definitions, they would not be refugees
- 200,000 displaced outside Palestine
Calculating the children, great-grandchildren is unique to Palestinians – not normal calculation
Two Explanations on why Palestinians had refugees
- Arab argument: Expulsion
- Jewish:
- Fled because of war
- Arab leaders ordered them to leave
Essentially the reason the Arabs left was because of war and the Arab countries invading
- Much more violence from the Arabs to the Jewish settlers up to 1948
Expulsion thinking from Ben-Gurion & Weitzman in the mid-1940s
- From some of all Arabs from Jewish state areas
- Preferably voluntary, compensated
- Peel Commission recommend transfer, even forcefully
- 17% Jewish, 83% Arab state
- Reinforced Zionist thinking
- Arabs thought in terms of transfer
- Few Jews as possible
- Disenfranchisement, slaughter, expel
Weakness of Arab Society
- No democracy – basically no formal government
- No cohesion – no organizations
- 10% of Christian Arabs didn’t want to live under Muslims
- Better educated, preferred by British
- No taxation, no military
Stages of the Palestinian Refugee Problem
- Arabs started shooting Jews (Nov. 1947)
- 75,000 Palestinians fled their homes
- Much of the Palestinian middle class
- 1936, 1939 when Arabs rebelled against the British
- 30-40,000 wealthier Palestinians fled to other Arab countries
- Essentially left Palestinian society leaderless and headless
April, May, June 1948: Zionist Offensive
- Civil war -> Conventional war
- Arab countries invade
- Had to defeat the Palestinian before Arab countries invade once the British leave
- Attacks on villages that are the bases for the Palestinian militia
- Villagers fled
- July 1948: Israeli army conquers Lydda, Ramle
- Mass Arab flight
- Biggest expulsions by Israeli Army
- 50,000 expelled (sustained) over a few hours
- Altogether 100,000
- Oct-Nov 1948: South offensives
- Another 200,000
- Some expelled, most flee
You won’t find in any documents that there were any plans to expel the Arabs from Palestine
- If there were such a decision, there would be a split in the Cabinet – Ben-Gurion didn’t want that
Decision to not allow refugees to return unless there’s a peace treaty after the war
Arabs States didn’t absorb refugees
- Thought if they absorb them and the refugee problem, they couldn’t use them against Israel
- Reduce power of Claim of Justice
Zionist policy prior to 1948
- Arabs caused refugee problem announcing Arabs to leave
- Untrue except Haifa
- Arab High Command did order Arabs to stay
Palestinian trees that refugees fleeing may pressure Arab States to intervene
- Jews wrote everything down - Soldier to all the way up
- Arab State and Arab Chest
- Palestinians didn’t have organization to keep records
Atmosphere of transfer once Zionists are on the offensive
- Due to Arab invasion, constant attacks, having to leave troops to every village
- Never turned into policy
- Ben-Gurion rejected one his generals’ commands to expel Arabs from Nazareth
Major cause of displacement is fear of Israeli attack and living under Jewish rule. They think the Arab countries will attack, and they’ll come back.
Benny Morris — The Creation of the Palestinian Refugee Problem, 1947-1949
Many women and children sent away by Arabs
Deir Yassin
- 100 killed
- Most not combatant
- Caused democratization of Arabs
Plan D – Plan Dalet was not a plan for expulsion
- Remember this was a war for survival: Reason there wasn’t a policy of expelling Arabs, yet some were. Generals on the field weren’t micromanaged
1949: Israel said it would officially allow 100,000 Arabs for return
- Arabs rejected
British invited the Palestinian to create an Arab Agency like the Jews did. Arabs refused and lacked preparation for statehood.
To mid-1930s: British were pro-Zionist
- 1937-39: Changed to anti-Zionism
- 1937-1970s: Zionist willing to do partition plan
- 1977: Right of Israel political party wants the whole land of Israel
- Poll says Israelis want a two-state (60%)
The History and Ethics of the Israel-Palestine Conflict with Dr. Benny Morris
Ottoman Empire
- Wasn’t friendly to Zionists but were corrupt and you could buy land
- Didn’t curtail the emergence of Zionists and slowly grew to 50,000 Jews by 1914
Jew & Arab relations before WWI
- After WWI, nationalism grew in the Arab area
- Jews were viewed as British agents
Letting all the refugees come back in 1949 would demographically destroy the Jewish state
- Arabs already have 23 states
Israel isn’t the bully as it surrounded by hostile countries and hostile people
- Israeli Arabs have equal rights to Jews
- Few build on Jewish land
- Not an apartheid state as Israeli Arabs have rights
- West Bank is occupied
- Problem if Israel leaves West Bank then Hamas will take an election
What Caused the Lebanese Civil War? | Casual Historian
Set many of the conflicts 50 years ago to fraternal now. Web of blame.
Maronite Christians – Muslims took over and made them second-class citizens
- 17th Century: France protector of the Maronites
- Druze: Minority – on edge – violent towards Christians
- Shia Muslims
1958: Druze rebelled against Maronites due to Claims over entitled land as their due.
- Druze massacre 11,000 Maronites
- Napoleon III sent troops to protect Maronites (French protectorate)
- Mount Lebanon turned into autonomous province
- Christian Governor
Ottoman Empire & previous Muslim empires had a province called Greater Syria (Syria, Lebanon, Jordan)
- After WWI, French played favorites
- Maronites privileged – business monopolies
- Greater Lebanon – Expanded territory for farm land
- 1932: Maronite win election
- Ottoman established political sects and divided among groups – Napoleon & European census
- Based on census: Christians 54%, Muslim 46%
- Soviet Union, Syria, Pan-Arabists, Communists, Egypt: Rejected the census
- 1943: Maronite won election
- France leaves
- Arab nationalism on the rise (1950s)
- “Couldn’t be a good Arab and a good Christian”
- South Christians as western
- Lebanon only Arab countries where Christians were equal under the law
- First Civil War
Pre-cursor: President Camille Chamoun signed up to anti-Soviet Pact
- Plotted to rig election to run again – CIA funding
- May 1958: Journalist assassinated – President suspected
- Anti-gov. protest Tripoli – 35 dead
- Labor strikes
- Pres. mobilized army – Protected armed militias
- Pro-western King Faisal II of Iraq overthrown
- U.S. sends 10,000 troops to Lebanon
- Civil war fizzles out
Israel policy of holding neighbor responsible for terrorist attacks
- Syria use this policy against them – Attack from Jordan & Lebanon
- Lebanon Pres. Chehab didn’t join Arab common regime
- In the Six-Day War and agreed with Maronite pop
- Influx of Palestinian refugees into Lebanon allowed the PLO to spread throughout refugee camps
- Attacks from Lebanon to Israel
- Lebanese army engaged southern PLO bases
- Protests in Beirut – Arab countries protest
- Agreement PLO would be allowed to govern refugee camps
- PLO attacks in Israel (Lebanon)
- PLO expelled from Jordan – relocate to Beirut
Why the Camp David Accords Matter | Casual Historian
Pre-Cursers
- Egypt Sadat elected
- Carter elected President
- Rabin knew peace with PLO wasn’t possible as they wanted Israel’s total destruction
- Possible peace with Sadat but never full relations
- Israeli Settlements in the Sinai
- Begin Government, Golan Heights
- Feb. 1978: Talks with Sinai Settlements
- March 1978: PLO attack in Tel Aviv
- Israeli invader Lebanon
- Carter wanted to pull out of Sadat
- Double speak all around (Public vs. Private)
- Resolution 242 for Rabat – Carter
- Sadat’s Demands
- Right of Return
- 1967 borders
- Divided Jerusalem
- Begin threatened to leave
- Focus on Sinai
- Begin didn’t want to abandon the settlements or airfields
- Carter offered U.S. construct two bases in Negev if all Sinai withdrawn
- All continued Begin
- Begin softened, but if a general PLO would take over West Bank & Gaza in 24 hours
- All parties would concede
- Framework for a peace treaty
- Sinai for diplomatic recognition
- Egypt Claim to Gaza no longer
- Gradual withdrawal from Sinai – 3 years
- West Bank, Gaza – Self-governance
- Military restrictions in Sinai for Egypt
- Free Ship passage
- Sadat Backlash - more demands
- Wants timeline for P. questions
- 1979: Side letter for P. question
- Ending – Treaty Signed
- Arabs retaliation against Sadat
- Arab League
- Soviet
- Some Israelis protested due to settlements
- Israel couldn’t fulfill the P. part, couldn’t find peace partners
- Sadat assassination because of peace
- March 1978: PLO attack in Tel Aviv
1972: PLO vs. Army
- Syria closed border
- New agreement: Melkart Protocols – More PLO attacks
- 1972: Year PLO attacked Israel – Lebanese supported the PLO
- Thought they would create a Palestinian state and finally leave
- Lebanese Muslims no longer content with Christian dominance
- Arab Islamic rise increase
- No longer protesting minority – Fighting Arab majority
- Israel supports Maronites
- 1975: Christians: 54%, Muslim: 54%
- Sadat vs. al-Assad
- Syrian control of Lebanon
- 1975: Fishermen strike in Sidon: Mayor assassinated
- Muslims blame Maronites
- Soldiers vs. protestors
- Army seen as tool of Maronites
- Muslim militias
- April 1975: Somebody attacks Phalange Christian militia – attack back – kill 27 – war broke out
- Civil war begun
- 1972: Year PLO attacked Israel – Lebanese supported the PLO
The Palestinian Civil War | Palestine Mandate Part 3
Peel Commission Report Released
- Gamaliza (Ryzar Boks): Jews worked with local Arabs to help stop the Mufti’s rebellion
- “Any man who sets to divide the government will be put to death…any man who destroys Jewish property will be put to death.”
- Arab informant to the Jewish Agency
- “The opposition, which was prepared to agree to partition, had to flee for their lives…the decision is murder everyone who supported that opinion.” – Arab informant
- Hagana moved to Lebanon border to build a settlement as a base to prevent Arab mobilization from coming from Lebanon
- Neville Chamberlain with Weizmann, British were still committed to partition plan
- King Abdullah secretly receiving payments from Jewish Agency
- Offer plan to annex Palestine and allow Jewish immigration and give them some land. Jews interested in parts.
Grand Mufti Conductor to assassinate Andrews’ death
- British removed from Arab council and escaped to Beirut due to British controlling the rebellion
- Mufti would release orphans denying the Lebanese origin of the Jews and denying the prosecution they encountered in Europe
October 14, 1937
- Rebel ambush two buses outside Jerusalem
- Part of the:
- Sabotage pipeline
- Attacking airport
- British would need to be prepared to teach the Jews their lot
- Collective punishment
- British justified collective punishment based on belief that Arabs placed a greater value on the collective than the individual
November 9, 1937
- Arabs kill 5 Jews
- 5 days later - David Ben-Gurion fights back
- Hagana becoming more aggressive in their rhetoric – in contrast to the restrained policy advocated by Jewish Agency
- 1938: Haganah 25,000 members
British troops begin to shift in Palestine but Hitler advancing
Arab sentiment
- Arabs are not a mere handful of aborigines who can be disregarded by the “white colonizer.” They represent a dying civilization. They have a latent force and vitality which is stirring into new activity. They have produced, and are still producing, great leaders, and are capable of patriotism, which it may be unwise to ignore and difficult to suppress. The ultimate importance of Arab patriotism and Muslim religious sentiment should not be underestimated.
- “Are we not, then, by creating this little Jewish state, simply placing on the coast of Asia a kind of time-bomb, which must inevitably explode…it is a thankless task to prophesy disaster, but I have seldom seen a case where disaster is approaching more inexorably.” – George Rendel
- British looking for a way to walk back the partition plan
What Caused the Lebanese Civil War? | Casual Historian
Set many of the conflicts 50 years ago to fraternal now. Web of blame.
Maronite Christians – Muslims took over and made them second-class citizens
- 17th Century: France protector of the Maronites
- Druze: Minority – on edge – violent towards Christians
- Shia Muslims
1958: Druze rebelled against Maronites due to Claims over entitled land as their due.
- Druze massacre 11,000 Maronites
- Napoleon III sent troops to protect Maronites (French protectorate)
- Mount Lebanon turned into autonomous province
- Christian Governor
Ottoman Empire & previous Muslim empires had a province called Greater Syria (Syria, Lebanon, Jordan)
- After WWI, French played favorites
- Maronites privileged – business monopolies
- Greater Lebanon – Expanded territory for farm land
- 1932: Maronite win election
- Ottoman established political sects and divided among groups – Napoleon & European census
- Based on census: Christians 54%, Muslim 46%
- Soviet Union, Syria, Pan-Arabists, Communists, Egypt: Rejected the census
- 1943: Maronite won election
- France leaves
- Arab nationalism on the rise (1950s)
- “Couldn’t be a good Arab and a good Christian”
- South Christians as western
- Lebanon only Arab countries where Christians were equal under the law
- First Civil War
Gaza & Global Order: A Conversation with Yuval Noah Harari (Episode #341)
National Mood in Israel
- Rise of Netanyahu
- Result of 14 years of previous statesmen
- Personal interest > National interest
- Divided national against itself
- Appointing people based on political loyalty
- Elite = traitors according to Netanyahu
Netanyahu
- Strengthen Hamas
- 32 battalions guarding West Bank
- 2 battalions guarding Gaza border
- Wants control over all the land more than they want peace
- Disarming Hamas is the only way for peace
- Hamas launches attacks every time peace is close
- Getting Saudi treaty - relationship
- West Bank
- Only place not claimed by any country in the world
- Eternal refugees
- Most Israelis are not from Europe, they are from expelled Arab states in 1948
After WWII
- Took parts of Poland and Ukraine and created new countries
- Why aren’t they warring?
- Poland had a conscious policy that they didn’t want to focus on the past. They wanted to be friends.
- The curse of history is to correct and save the past.
Where did the Jews Come From? | Casual Historian | Jewish History
Abraham from Mesopotamia
- God promised child to Abraham, but old
- So Abraham’s wife had son, Ishmael with slave
- Did have son with wife, Isaac
- Ishmael vs. Isaac
- Isaac son Israel
- Israel has 12 sons – 12 tribes of Israel
Could be Canaanites – proto-Israelites
Israelites vs. Jew
- Babylon exile caused Israelites to become Jews
Settling the Facts: A Deeper Look At Israeli Settlements DOCUMENTARY
Only 20% of the land was privately owned. The rest was public.
Jews living in the British mandate were known as Palestinians as well just like the Arabs.
Jordan ethnically cleansed the Jews from the West Bank during the War of Independence (1948).
PLO Charter (1964)
- Liberation of Palestine
- Overall talk about West Bank
People in settlement stories of how they could be friends with an Arab, work side by side for 20 years, and they’d stab you still.
1920 - International Law to settle where they are now.
- If you disagree there is no state of Jordan, Iraq.
1922 League of Nations mandate that allocated Israel
Territory captured in a defensive war is legal to be taken.
- Article 49 - Made for the Nazis shipping Germans to other territories
- Used against Israelis
- Doesn’t apply because it wasn’t under any recognized sovereignty.
- Not being “forceful” moved, voluntary.
- Double standard and not applied anywhere else in international law.
Illegal Palestinian construction in Area C
BDS helps the Israeli economy
Benny Morris on the 1948 Arab Israeli War
Arab propaganda points to 1917 - Balfour Declaration - as the beginning of the conflict. Link it to British Imperialism.
- Wrong
- Conflict began in the 1880s when Zionist settlers arrive
- Small clashes
- Balfour is a milestone but not the origin of the conflict
Unique: Civil War & Conventional War
Arab War Aims:
- War for the whole of a country
- Religious War
- University of Al-Azhar fatwa
Jewish War Aims
- Survival
- Expansion
- UN Partition Plan: 6,000 sq/miles out of 10,000
- At end Jews occupied 8,000 sq/miles
- Not 10,000 as they didn’t take West Bank
- Could of - but Ben-Gurion said no
- Maybe due to Jordan mutual defense pact with British
- Would vastly increase the Arabs in the state
- Maybe due to Jordan mutual defense pact with British
- At end Jews occupied 8,000 sq/miles
- Reduce number of Arabs in state at end of war
- Expulsion
- Not loyal
- Long-term demographic
- Atmosphere of transfer but no policy
- Arabs didn’t say they wanted to kill all the Jews, only later the propaganda did
- Jordan didn’t attack the Jewish State territories.
4 Arab countries invaded
- Lebanon never crossed border
- British were impartial in the 1948 war
Ashkenazi vs Sephardic
Ashkenazi
- Cold weather
- Eastern European
- Similar but different musical melodies
- Yiddish (Language)
- Hebrew + German
Sephardic
- Warmer weather
- Colorful, spicy
- Ladino / Haketia (Language)
- Hebrew + Spanish
Laws/Rules
- Darché Moshe
- Beit Yosef
Movements
- Reform
- Conservative
- Orthodox
The History of the Ottoman Empire (All Parts) - 1299 - 1922
Turkish Empire
- 600 year rule
- Islamic
- 1299 start
- Osman I – First leader/founder
- War against Byzantine Empire (Christian)
- Modern standing army
- Used by taking Christian children, converting to Islam, and training to be soldiers
Fighting Crusaders
- Ottomans loved to expand
- 1400s: Mongol War – lost – Ottomans turned into turmoil
- Civil War
- Co-Emperors – they fought
- Lots of brothers fighting and killing each other
- Finally conquering Constantinople
- Bayezid II: Welcome all refugees (Sephardic Jews)
- Lead to more skill/success in empire
- War against Venetians
- 1500s: Conquered Levant, Egypt, Mecca
- 1520: Suleiman I reformed laws
- Dropped taxes
- Protection for Christians and Jews
- Killed Hungary King
- Put in Ottoman puppet leader
- Ottoman vs. Austrians
- vs. Persians -> Treaty
- Naval war in France
- Prosperous period
- Austria peace (1568)
- Russia peace
- Austria war (1570)
- Constant conflicts = Higher taxes
- Egyptian monarch peace
- Peace with Dutch, French, Venetians, English (1600)
- Revolt inside by military
- Safavid war
- Siege of Baghdad
Venice War over Crete (1645)
- High taxes
- Two big losses against Austria
- Take down revolts
- Losses of territory (1699)
- Austria/Russia treaties
- Lots of internal crises
- Focus on internal issues (1700) instead of external expansion
- Persia war (1730)
- Crimea conquer
- Austria losses
- Russia invades Crimea
- Russian treaty
- Peaceful with Europe (1757)
- Russia vs. Ottomans – Bad loss
- Reforms (1790)
- Embassies in Europe
- Napoleon invaded Egypt (1800)
- Alliance with unexpected people
- Power weakening
- Russia war
- Western reforms
- Loss (land) to Russia
- Greek war for Independence
- Russia vs. Ottoman war
- Greek independence
European style Turkey
- Egyptian fight for Independence (1877)
- Russia invades – Russo-Turkish war
- Russia wins – Grabs Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria
- British conquers Egypt (1882)
- Young Turk Revolution (1908)
- Constitutional Monarchy & Sharia
- Political Parties
- Revolt Balkan war
- Italy war for Libya
- Loser war for most of Europe territory
- World War I – British invading from Canal and Saudi area
- Armenian Genocide
- Unstable
- Allies invading – Conquered Constantinople (1922)
- Turkish Nationalists
- Treaties
- Creation of Turkey
The Lebanese Civil War, Explained | History Documentary
1975
- Israel supports Maronite in Lebanon
- Civil War
- Massacres common
- Syria + PLO threat = Ceasefire
- LNM + PLO = Syria + PLO vs. Maronites + ZLA
1976
- State of Anarchy
- LLA = New militia allied with Maronite
- West couldn’t help – tired of war
- Syrians vs. PLO
- Andy/Soviets condemn Syria for cooperating with U.S. and Israel
- Syria says it was all a ploy by Israel/US to kill Palestinians, and it had to conquer Lebanon as part of Syria
- Lebanon President puppet of Syria
- LNM + PLO + LAA + Syrians allied with Lebanese gov.
- Maronite holding east Beirut
1977
- Israel supporting Saad Haddad
- Maronite conference
- Refuse Cairo Agreement
- Expulsion of Palestinians
- Refuse to coop with Arab Defense Force
- Maronite conference
- “Good Fence” Policy
- New Right wing Israeli gov. – would be more active in combating them
- Syria arming PLO
- President Carter attempts to get ceasefire
1978
- 13 PLO landing boats in Tel Aviv
- Kills Gail Rubin, an American
- Purpose to derail peace talks between Israel & Sadat
- 38 Israelis dead; 3 children
- Largest terrorist attack in country’s history
- Israel’s first right-wing gov. wasn’t going to take it lying down
- 3 days later – IDF goes into Lebanon
- Create a 10 km buffer zone along border
- 1,000 deaths and 100,000 displaced
1979
- Carter wanted U.N. Resolution
- Israel arms shipments
- IDF withdraws
- Phalangist massacre Frangie family
- ADP attacks Lebanese Front
- 200,000 Christians displaced
1979
- Israel bombing PLO
- Less attack but more collateral and international condemnation
- PLO strategy of isolating Israel
1980
- Maronite in-fighting
- Syrian - al-Assad - Stop PLO getting attacked
- Iran – Iraq war
1981
- Reagan
- Israel destroys Iraq nuclear reactor, annexes Golan Heights
- Syrian counter-attack ADF
- Tensions cooling – Israel - Syrian
- PLO tunnel in Southern Lebanon
- Ceasefire - but didn’t include international actions
- PLO reloads during ceasefire
1982
- Bashir secretly peace treaty with Israel
- Syrians can’t remove SAMs from South Lebanon
- Israel airstrike on RD - PLO attacks officer in Tyre/Paris
- Ceasefire didn’t end
- Israel Ambassador shot injured
- Israel Invasion of Southern Lebanon
- 2 decades – Vietnam like
- Soviets blame U.S. – U.S. blame Soviets for not supporting
- Camp David Accords & supporting Syria
- Israel had more casualties due to trying to protect civilians
- Destroys the SAMs
- Syrians retreat
- IDF sieges Beirut to eliminate PLO
- Talks for solution
- Arab League didn’t want Palestinian refugees
- PLO & Israeli mentors, pretty demoralized
- If doubt, PLO will leave
The Lebanese Civil War, Explained | History Documentary (Pg. 2)
1982
- PLO initially prolongs negotiation process
- IDF disciplined to only fire in retaliation – PLO not
- Nobody wanted the PLO – except Tunisia
- Evacuation of PLO – 2,800 in Beirut
- PLO strategy revealed: Popular discontent in Israel to force IDF to pull out
- Strategy similar to use discontent against itself = win by protests
Sabra & Shatila (Refugee Camps)
- Bashir assassinated
- Search camps for PLO
- Phalangist to search camps for PLO
- History of massacres – IDF was worried
- Reports of massacres
- Phalangist killing civilian
- 300 - 3,500 estimate killed
- Kahan Report: Phalangist responsible
- UN Report: Says inaction means guilt
- 1970 - 1980s: Anti-Semitic period in UN
- 1975: UN Resolution 3379: Zionism = Racial Discrimination
Reagan wanted a free Lebanon
- Reagan withdrew from Beirut
- IDF would leave in S. Lebanon
- Hezbollah formed
- New tactic: Car suicide bombers
- Iranians vs. Lebanese Army
- Druze vs. Christians
- Soviets re-arming Syrians
1983
- “Many in Middle East didn’t want peace if it meant Israel’s right to exist” – Reagan
- Beirut Embassy bombed: 63 dead – 17 Americans
- U.S. troops trying to get Lebanon-Israel treaty
- Lebanon – Israel accord
- Soviets & Syrians determined to see region remained a tense and dangerous place
- IDF left Beirut to protect south since Lebanon President was hinting accord heritage
- Shouting resigites once IDF moved south
- Druze vs. Christians
- Ground situation deteriorating
- Marine Barracks Attack (Hezbollah)
- 241 U.S. Marines killed
1984
- IDF HQ in Tyre – Car Bomb
- 29 Israelis killed
- Lebanese Army vs. Druze & Shia militias
- U.S. saved Lebanese Army again
1984
- Lebanese Army defect on mass
- Purpose of Marines in Lebanon was to keep the peace and free Lebanese Army to go after militias – Reagan
- Reagan announces withdraw – with France, Italy, UK
- Pres. Gemayel and gov. at mercy of Syrian militias
- Beirut sieged and Pres. abrogates accords with Israel
1984
- CIA Bill Buckley kidnapped by Hezbollah
- U.S. Embassy in East Jerusalem – Car Bombed & killed
- Pres. + Syria: Ceasefire
- Lebanese Army vs. Druze
- Moslems vs. Christians around Beirut
- Shia vs. Israelis in south
- Civil War among Palestinian exiles
- PLO split up – Arafat in Tunisia – Return to Beirut
- Fatah form – Arafat/PLO loses – Join again
1985
- IDF retreating
- Hezbollah claiming victory
- IDF keeps soldiers for negotiations
- Druze + Fatah vs. PLO
- Hezbollah seizes bases in South Lebanon
- Airline hijack – Hezbollah
- Reagan tries to establish ties with Iranian moderates
- Iran – Contra
- Syrian domination of Lebanon
The Lebanese Civil War, Explained | History Documentary (Pg. 3)
1986
- A bunch of militias attacking each other in Beirut
- Amal vs. Hezbollah
- Syria saved Pres. Lebanon from destruction
1987
- Cairo Pact - Signed by Nasser & Arafat in 1967, unleashed the cause of Civil War & Israeli invasion was abrogated
- PLO was no longer a player
- Assad vs. PLO camps
- PLO to Sidon
1988
- Syria occupying West Beirut
- New Presidential elections
- Israel guns to Maronites
- Iraq guns to Lebanese Army – Revenge for Syria siding with Iran
- Christian alliance too powerful for Assad
- Drama in Presidential election
- Instability due to in-fighting, Syrian involvement and Saddam hoping it’d provoke Syria to attack
1989
- Syria urged to withdraw
- Army vs. Lebanese Front
- Aoun trying to remove Syria
- Syrian war in Lebanon
- Christians 1/3 of population
1990 and Beyond
- Lebanese Army vs. Aoun
- Christian in-fighting
- Inflation skyrockets
- Lebanese Army conquers Palace in Beirut
- Aoun overthrown
- Civil war over
- Syria allowed Eli Hobeika to seek revenge and murder rape and loot – Christian of East Beirut
- Lebanese Army consists mostly of Muslims
- Lines between East & West Beirut
- Beirut in dire situation
- But at peace
The Origins of Moderate and Radical Palestinians | The Palestine Mandate
1936: Murders by Arabs lead to crackdown
- Open Rebellion by Arabs
- Royal Commission (Peel)
- Grand Mufti al-Husseini: “Any Arab supporting Partition Plan was a traitor to Arab Nationalism”
Labor Zionism
- David Ben-Gurion
Revisionist Zionism
-
Ze’ev Jabotinsky
-
David Raziel
-
People moved over due to persecution grew in Europe
1938: 25,000 Haganah members
July 1938: First time Jews were killing more Arabs than the reverse.
Appeasing the Arabs to Prepare for Hitler | Palestine Mandate Part 4
1938
- Mufti wanted a one Palestine to do to the Jews whatever he saw fit
- Munich Agreement gave British a chance due to a now known temporary peace from Hitler – to focus on putting down the revolt in Palestine
- In many rural areas, Arabs created their own governments with their own laws and courts
- Oct 2: Arab Muslims calling themselves “mujahideen” attack Jewish city Tiberius
- Calls of “Allah Akbar”
- 17 Jews died; 10 children
- Leader of Arabs got order from Damascus
- Central Committee for National Jihad
- Rebels show trials
- Mandate Palestine had seen the largest increase of the standard of living in all of the Arab world
- Due to Jew immigration
- Skills & tax revenues
- George Antonius – Anti-Zionist book
- Horrible persecution by Nazis shifted support to Jews
- St. James Conference
- Arabs were intransigent and extremist spirit
- Arabs didn’t want an agreement – wanted all of Palestine
- British obligation to build a Jewish national home would be over after the transitional period – yes – reversal of policy
- Jews could not count on British support
- Arabs continued to attack Jewish communities in Palestine
- Palestinian civil war between themselves
- 1939: After White Paper – Begin of Jewish Resistance against British
- White Paper unpopular in U.S.
“During the three years of Arab terror, which began in April 1936, the Yishuv has established fifty new settlements, built a Jewish port overnight, organized large-scale defense, and achieved a greater measure of economic independence. The Jews will stand united in defense of their rights in the Land of Israel, rights based on international agreements and the eternal link between the people and their Homeland.”
- Chaim Weizmann
David Ben-Gurion, Israel: A Personal History, (1972)