Recently, the Prime Minister of Israel Benyamin Netanyahu was on CNN and made the outrageous claim that since under Israeli control from 1967, for the first time the holy city of Jerusalem is open to all three Abrahamic faiths. This statement is, of course, a lie typical of Netanyahu’s propagandist nature. And if you watched the interview you can distinctly tell that Bibi knows he is lying and pauses for a second to reflect on his lie. The CNN interview Wolf Blizter did not challenge Bibi’s assertion. Blizter is a former employee of the pro-Israel lobby AIPAC, but that isn’t why [most likely] that Blizter didn’t follow up. Blizter is simply an awful journalist who believes journalism is just balancing talking points between different people instead of calling Bullshit.
Jerusalem was a free city under Muslim rule for centuries. In fact, when Saladin liberated Jerusalem from the Crusades he let the Christians stay and accepted everyone one of their demands expect one: The Christians wanted the Jews kicked out but Saladin refused.
It was been under Israel, on the contrary, where a systematic campaign was been launched to kick out Arabs, both Muslims and Christians, from the city in order to unite it exclusively under Jewish rule. In fact, in 1967 after taking Jerusalem one of the first things Israel did was destroy the entire Morocco Quarter, then home to over 800 Palestinians, so make more room for Jewish worshipers. So Arabs lose their homes with NO compensation so that Jews can have more elbow room near the Western Wall, this is the meaning of Zionist supremacy in the Holy Land. By the way, the Western Wall is also held in esteem by Muslims.
The Moroccan Quarter before Israel demolished it.
Israel recently has been demolishing Arabs homes in the predominantly Arab East Jerusalem. Two Arab families recently lost their homes to make way for illegal settlers, an entire neighborhood is threatened to make way for an archeological park and a Muslim cemetery has been bulldozed to make way for a museum of tolerance; which, of course, is only concerned with bigotry against Jews and not bigoted committed by Zionist Jews.
Furthermore, Israel requires that Christians and Muslims de facto observe Jewish holidays. Arabs in Israel are for all purposes prevented from driving during Yom Kippor and then there is entire lock down for millions of people:
“The Israeli army will close off the West Bank from Saturday on the eve of Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar which starts at sunset on Sunday, a military spokesman said.”
What would the world say if Muslims ever forced non-Muslims to not eat during Ramadan? But Zionism can get away with this. Maybe today, but not for long.
About Yom Kippur: we went through this last year, after the riots that took place in Akko.
There is no law against driving on Yom Kippur, period. It is a custom, not a law. Anyone with the slightest respect for another’s religion doesn’t drive in Jewish neighborhoods on Yom Kippur, just as one doesn’t walk through Arab neighborhoods eating a sandwich at midday during Ramadan.
Mutual respect is obviously something you neither understand nor desire– you want it all one way.
Which only proves the point I often make: Arabs and Jews, Muslims and Jews have lived, more or less, in peace until arrogant European, I emphasize European, Zionist Jews came to the Holy Land and decided to forcibly kick out Arabs and create a Jewish state. It was the Zionists who started the conflict, it was they that created the bad blood between peoples.
And you are inaccurate in saying that Christians were also prevented from visiting their holy sites. I know that you know that is a lie and you only wrote such falsehood to create the image of some Muslim bigotry against Jews AND Christians. Palestinians are, of course, both Muslims AND Christians. Some of the ”stars” of the Palestinians resistance have been Christians: George Habash, ect... But there is no need to even elaborate on that. The Jordanian action was to blockade Jordanian-occupied East Jerusalem from Jews only. Palestinians, Arabs, regardless of their faith were allowed to room freely. You know that and were just caught in a lie. But Zionists have long wanted to divide Palestinians into Christians and Muslims: divide and conquer. But the Palestinians remain united. And Netanyahu was also lying, but this is common among Zionist hoodlums.
As for Yom Kippur. Do Jews stop eating when they walk through East Jerusalem during Ramadan? I am for no prohibitions against any people. Practice your faith if you want, but don’t force anyone to do likewise. I would be opposed to any Muslims preventing non-Muslims from public eating during fasting hours. And, even if we accept such illiberal standards - people can eat in their home but one can only drive on the streets. Preventing non-Jews, 23% of the population, from not driving in Israel through Jewish neighborhoods is preventing from moving anywhere. What Zionist/Jewish supremacist bullshit.
Then why was it impossible for any Jew from any country, not just Israel, to obtain a visa to visit East Jerusalem? Did a Jew living in Argentina, Canada or France have anything to do with the conflict? You talk so much about the Israeli “ethnic cleansing”, yet never admit that the declared Arab aim for that war was not just “ethnic cleansing”, but genocide. What exactly do you think “we will drive the Jews into the sea” means?
Try to be honest for once: if the Arab armies had won, you would not have one single word to say against the “right of conquest”. Returning the land legally owned by Jews would never cross your mind, just as compensating Jews expelled from Arab countries for the almost 35,000 square miles of land they owned in those countries has never occurred to you (to put that number into perspective, the area of Israel is about 7,500 square miles—that means the Arab states stole a land area almost five times the area of Israel from Jewish owners). What of the 900,000 Jews expelled from Arab states after divestment and disenfranchisement? Those refugees went elsewhere and made new lives for themselves, most of them in Israel. Why couldn’t the Arab countries accept their defeat and move on?
MV: “Which only proves the point I often make: Arabs and Jews, Muslims and Jews have lived, more or less, in peace until arrogant European, I emphasize European, Zionist Jews came to the Holy Land and decided to forcibly kick out Arabs and create a Jewish state. It was the Zionists who started the conflict, it was they that created the bad blood between peoples.”
True to the party line but far from the truth. You know it and I know it. How were the Yemenite, North African and Middle Eastern Jews emigrating to Palestine before statehood considered “Europeans”? They did NOT leave the countries of their birth because those countries were so wonderful to them—they left because of oppression, anti-Jewish laws and dhimmi status—and make up well over 60% of the Jewish population of Israel today. The “European” claim is pure fiction—a heap of fertilizer lying in the middle of the road.
Muslim countries have a rich history of anti-Jewish riots, starting in the tenth century and continuing up to the present. Just Google “Arab massacres of Jews” to see the tip of the iceberg. It goes back more than a thousand years.
MV: “And you are inaccurate in saying that Christians were also prevented from visiting their holy sites. I know that you know that is a lie and you only wrote such falsehood to create the image of some Muslim bigotry against Jews AND Christians. Palestinians are, of course, both Muslims AND Christians. Some of the ”stars” of the Palestinians resistance have been Christians: George Habash, ect... But there is no need to even elaborate on that. The Jordanian action was to blockade Jordanian-occupied East Jerusalem from Jews only. Palestinians, Arabs, regardless of their faith were allowed to room freely.”
Yes, of course—that’s why churches weren’t allowed to make repairs or renovations under Jordanian rule, nor were European or Western hemisphere pilgrims given visas for Christmas and Easter services. Look at the oppression of Christians in the Gaza Strip today. A community of over 10,000 before the Hamas takeover is now shrunken down to less than 3,000. Is that because of the great equality you claim? Christian schools, churches and businesses have been attacked in Gaza purely because they are Christian. Oddly enough, many of those Gaza Christians have settled in the Galilee under the “oppressive Israeli regime”, where they can at least practice their religion openly and in safety—something they couldn’t do in Gaza. Open your eyes and see the truth for once—IF you can.
MV: “As for Yom Kippur. Do Jews stop eating when they walk through East Jerusalem during Ramadan? I am for no prohibitions against any people. Practice your faith if you want, but don’t force anyone to do likewise. I would be opposed to any Muslims preventing non-Muslims from public eating during fasting hours. And, even if we accept such illiberal standards - people can eat in their home but one can only drive on the streets. Preventing non-Jews, 23% of the population, from not driving in Israel through Jewish neighborhoods is preventing from moving anywhere. What Zionist/Jewish supremacist bullshit.”
As a matter of fact, most Jews I know avoid eating on the street in the East city during Ramadan. So do I. It’s a question of common courtesy, not law, at least in Israel. Again, there are no laws against anyone driving on Yom Kippur, but it’s an issue of common courtesy to avoid Jewish neighborhoods on this day—one single day a year, yet some people seem incapable of even that (including some rabidly anti-religious Israeli Jews). Of course, driving around with your car radio blaring music at top volume is inconsiderate at any time, no matter who you are. But compare that with not being able to walk around with a Christian Bible in Saudi Arabia on ANY day of the year to put it in perspective. Other Arab countries prohibit the sounding of church bells. The Copts in Egypt certainly don’t have “equal rights” when it comes to religion. The list of religious discrimination in Arab countries is endless.
MV: “And when have you ever shown respect for anyone? You like to pretend you’re all for tolerance and respect, but your comments are filled with anti-Muslim, anti-Arab, anti-Palestinian hatred. You are a self-righteous phony and practice all the things you condemn and your words indict you.”
For starters, I think I have shown you more respect up to now than you have shown me. I am for live and let live, but you and your ilk won’t let us live.
Even if my 50-some-odd posts were purely virulent anti-Muslim propaganda (which they aren’t), they couldn’t hold a candle to your 1,500-plus posts over a shorter period of time. This is really a case of the pot calling the kettle black, Mr. Villa. You want to see a bigoted, biased person spouting hatred? Look in your mirror.
Worse than that, you spout your hatred without ever having seen the facts for yourself, without ever having the courage of your convictions to make the trip to visit Israel/Palestine. You, sir, show all the signs of a coward, a liar and a cheap revolutionary wannabe, sitting behind your keyboard and spouting hatred against people you don’t know, don’t want to know and wish were dead. Don’t even bother to try and deny that—you posted here more than once that you “can’t wait until Iran drops one on you.” That says it all.
Respect has to be EARNED, Mr. Villa, it is not automatic. On the pages of this forum, you have done nothing to earn my respect. Spouting hate, twisting facts and telling outright lies is not the way to “win friends and influence people”. Step back, take a deep breath and look at yourself and your actions closely before you condemn others.
Earn your respect? We’ve been through this already. I don’t give a shit what you think. Get over yourself. I don’t care whether you respect me or not, I am not trying to earn anything from you or any Israeli or Zionist. Your delusion and arrogance is outstanding, I do not even understand where you get off suggesting such a thing.
I think nothing of you, I do not even care to respond to your comments 99% of the time and all the while you write whole papers under my posts (which I often do not read) and now you have the temerity to suggest I am trying to seek, no less earn, your respect. Where is this delusion coming from? Do you think your some person I care about. I don’t even know you, and even if I did I could care less. This is the ”Chosen People” complex again.
And your posts has whole errors, but I am too busy to respond. Lying and a lack of humility often go hand-in-hand.