I'm not a historian. I'm just a Doctor in Philosophy. I'm a Holocaust researcher (specialized in Viktor Frankl) and I can't stand antisemitism. Tergiversating the truth, denial, revisionism, defamation and antisemitism are extremely repulsive. Here are some important facts for these turbulent times.
FACT 1) The "Palestinian" Arabs (or shall I say the Gazan Arabs and the West Bank Arabs?) didn't build a country in "Palestine" (and won't) because they opposed both partition plans: firstly, the Peel Report (1937); and secondly, the UN Resolution 181 (1947).
In the Peel Report, the Palestinian Arabs were offered by the British 80% of the land; the Jewish people were offered 20% of the land; the Jewish Agency agreed; the Palestinian Arabs refused and condemned the partition.
In the UN Resolution 181, the Palestinian Arabs were offered 43% of the land, and the Jewish people were offered 57% of the land; the Jewish Agency agreed; the Palestinian Arabs refused. Why were the Jewish people offered more land? Because 6 million Jewish men, women, and children were murdered by the Germans in the Holocaust, so a big wave of survivors was expected to emigrate to that tiny piece of land. Also, because Jordan was actually part of the British Mandate for Palestine and it was created in 1921 –then it was named the Emirate of Transjordan– and because "Palestinians" and "Jordans" are actually two branches of the same family (this land was renamed in 1946 the Hashemite Kingdom of Transjordan and in 1949 the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan –after Jordan, yes, Jordan, not Israel, annexed the West Bank).
Here are the maps of the two partition plans (1937 and 1947), accepted by the Jewish Agency and unanimously rejected and condemned by the Palestinian Arabs:
FACT 2) The "Palestinian" Arabs sadly don't want peace nor partition: like spoiled little brats, they want either all or nothing; all or war; all or terror. They rejected both partition plans (1937 and 1947) and, also, numerous offers (by the international community and by Israel) for building a state. They are the bullies; not the victims.
FACT 3) In 2000 (the Camp David summit), the Palestinian Arabs were offered another opportunity to build a state (Gaza + the West Bank + East Jerusalem as its capital). What did the Palestinian Arabs did? They turned the offer down and started an "Intifada" (meaning: suicide bombing and terror against Israeli civilians). This offer was never given by Egypt nor Jordan when they controlled Gaza (1949–1967) and the West Bank (1949–1967) –where were the "protests" of the world then?
FACT 4) In 2005, Israel fully withdrew from Gaza in exchange for peace. How did Gazas reacted to this gesture? By starting a terror campaign with rockets and missiles targeting Israeli civilians.
FACT 5) In 2008, the Palestinian Arabs were offered by Israel another opportunity to build a state. They refused again. Olmert said to Abbas: "Remember my words, it will be 50 years before there will be another Israeli prime minister that will offer you what I am offering you now. Don’t miss this opportunity". And Abbas (surprise, suprise) did miss it.
FACT 5) Let's go a bit back. In 1917, the British Empire issued the Balfour Declaration: a historic statement of sympathy for the establishment of a national home for the Jewish people in the Land of Israel. The recognition of the Jewish people’s right to self-determination was then supported too by France, USA, Italy, Japan, and China, and rejected by the Arabs: "This rejection of the legitimate and internationally-mandated and recognized claim of the Jewish people to a national homeland in the Holy Land is the bedrock – the ground zero - of the Arab-Israeli conflict. It is the thread which connects every war, every atrocity, every diplomatic maneuver and every terrorist act initiated by the Arab side, from 1917 to today" (Balfour Declaration. Ministry of Foreign Affairs).
FACT 6) But let's go to the beginning. Here are some maths: Judaism exists for at least 3,500 years (more if you count the TaNaKh); Islam, only for 2,633. Can't do the math? The Jewish people are the INDIGENOUS people of that tiny land. Not the Palestinian Arabs. The Jewish (and Israeli) people are NOT the occupiers, NOT the invaders, NOT the thieves (you can't occupy your own land, you idiot; you can't invade your own land, you idiot; you can't steal your own land, you idiot), but JUST the native people of the Kingdoms of Judea & Israel (kingdoms that date from 1,100 BCE. (Actually, in the 13th century BCE, Pharaoh Merneptah already mentioned "Israel" in the Merneptah Stele -in your face, Gazan Arabs & West Bank Arabs!)
So, can't you count? The Jewish people were in that tiny land at least 1,500 before the Arabs and before the Muslims.
Furthermore, "Palestine" was never EVER a state:
Before Israel, there was a British mandate, not a Palestinian state.
Before the British mandate, there was the Muslim Ottoman Turkish Empire, not a Palestinian state.
Before the Ottoman Empire, there was the Islamic Mameluke state of Egypt, not a Palestinian state.
Before the Islamic Mameluke state of Egypt, there was the Ayyubid Arab-Kurdish Empire, not a Palestinian state.
Before the Ayyubid Empire, there was the Christian Kingdom of Jerusalem, not a Palestinian state.
Before the Kingdom of Jerusalem, there was the Umayyad and Fatimid Caliphates, not a Palestinian state.
Before the Umayyad and Fatimid Caliphates, there was the Byzantine Empire, not a Palestinian state.
Before the Byzantine Empire, there was the Sasanian Empire, not a Palestinian state.
Before the Sasanian Empire, there was the Byzantine Empire, not a Palestinian state.
Before the Byzantine Empire, there was the Roman Empire, not a Palestinian state.
Before the Roman Empire, there was the Hasmonean dynasty, not a Palestinian state.
Before the Hasmonean dynasty, there was the Seleucid Empire, not a Palestinian state.
Before the Seleucid Empire, there was the Macedonian Empire, not a Palestinian state.
Before the Macedonian Empire, there was the Persian Empire, not a Palestinian state.
Before the Persian Empire, there was the Babylonian Empire, not a Palestinian state.
Before the Babylonian Empire, there were the kingdoms of Israel and Judah, not a Palestinian state.
Before the kingdoms of Israel and Judah, there was the kingdom of Israel, not a Palestinian state.
Before the reign of Israel, there was the theocracy of the twelve tribes of Israel, not a Palestinian state.
Before the theocracy of the twelve tribes of Israel, there were independent Canaanite city-kingdoms, not a Palestinian state.
In that tiny piece of land, there was everything but a Palestinian state
FACT 7) Right after the proclamation of the Israeli Independence (May 14, 1948), five Arab nations (Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Egypt and Saudi Arabia –under Egypt) invaded Israel. Israel won the war and gained some land (can't expect to star a war and not lose land when you lose the war). After the war, the Gaza Strip fell under Egypt (not Israel), and the West Bank fell under Jordan (not Israel).
FACT 8) The PLO (who called for Israel's destruction) was born in 1964, three years before the Six-Day War, and launched several terrorist attacks (always aiming at Israeli civilians): 35 terrorist attacks in 1965; 41 terrorist attacks in 1966; 37 terrorist attacks in the first 4 months of 1967, and so on, and so on, and so on. This will actually never end. We can see this now.
It is actually this terrorist organization (the PLO) who gave shape to the (invented and murderous) "Palestinian" identity. They are just Arabs. Muslim Arabs. Gazans and "West Bankers". Most probably: just Jordanians.
FACT 9) Nasser (a fervent antisemite who called for the "eradication of Israel") said in 1965: "We shall not enter Palestine with its soil covered in sand; we shall enter it with its soil saturated in blood", and on May 37, 1967: "Our basic objective will be the destruction of Israel". At the beginning of June 1967, 425,000 Arab troops from Egypt, Jordan, Syria and Iraq were ready to attack Israel.
FACT 10) In six days (5 to 10 of June, 1967) Israel defeated Egypt, Jordan, and Syria, and gained the Sinai Peninsula, the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights (can't expect to provoke a war and not lose land when you lose the war). Olé to Israel, as we say in Spanish.
FACT 11) On October 6, 1973, Egypt and Syria (aided by nine Arab states) attacked Israel on Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Jewish people (the Palestinian Arabs fought together with the Egyptians against Israel). Israel won again. Olé again.
FACT 12) In 1967 the Arab League summit vowed the 3 No's to Israel: “No peace with Israel, no recognition of Israel, no negotiations with Israel”. If this is not blunt antisemitism, then I'm a fish. Bullies!
FACT 13) As I mentioned before, Israel fully withdrew from Gaza in 2005; in 2006 there were democratic elections in Gaza and the West Bank, and Hamas (an Islamist terrorist murderous cowardly group that has vowed to exterminate the Jewish people and that loves to kill and kidnap Israeli men, women, children, and babies) won by the majority of the votes. Yep, the Gazas democratically elected Hamas. Who do you think Hamas are? Hamas are Palestinian (Gazan) Arab terrorists. Furthermore, ordinary Gazans love terrorism and antisemitism (anti-Zionism), and are part of Hamas or support Hamas.
Right after the democratic victory of Hamas in the elections of 2006, Hamas (or shall I say the Gazans?) started a "civil war" with Fatah (or shall I say the West Bank Arabs?) and then "took control" of Gaza in 2007. Hamas (not Israel) has ruled Gaza since 2007, for 16 years, producing nothing (no education, no infrastructure, no schools, no hospitals, no employment, no universities, no culture) but weapons, destruction, indoctrination, antisemitism, terror, and terrorism.
FACT 14) There are MANY terrorist organizations in Gaza and in the West Bank (not only Hamas) that exist with only one purpose: to annihilate Israel and to kill the Jewish people. These Palestinian Arab terrorist Islamist organizations are: Hamas (ew!), Palestinian Islamic Jihad (ew!), the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade (ew!), the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) (ew!), and ISIS-Sinai (ew!). These Palestinian Arab terrorists kill with suicide bombings, shootings and stabbings, and have fired tens of thousands of rockets to Israeli civilians and Israeli houses.
After October 7, widespread attacks on Israeli civilians continue: Hamas has launched more than 9,500 rockets to the Israeli population, with the sole purpose of killing and destroying.
Below, a video from 12 years ago, short and clear ("Debunking the Palestine Lie") for the ones who know NOTHING about the "conflict" and support terrorism and antisemitism:
Here are the 3 D's that makes you antisemite: Delegitimization, Demonization, Double Standards.
If you don't fully stand with Israel and with the Jewish people now, if you don't fully condemn the brutalities perpetrated by Palestinian Arabs members of Hamas and ordinary Gazans (or condemn them with a "but", in a conflict you know nothing about), you are supporting terrorism, Islamism, dictatorship, antisemitism, and anti-Zionism (the new antisemitism, since 1948). And it's OK, really, nobody cares: the world is full of racist people and even fuller of antisemitic people. But you have to know what you are, what you are defending and what you are destroying when you write stupid slogans or excuse terrorism (terrorism exclusively against Jewish people, of course).
Sartre said in Réflexions sur la question juive (written after the Liberation of Paris in 1944) that only the antisemite makes the Jewish person "Jew", meaning, the object of their irrational hatred. As the Jewish World Congress says, "If you are more upset about Israel responding to terrorism than terrorism itself, it's time to check your moral compass"; "If you only speak up against Israel as it takes military action against terrorism, but not against the terrorists who massacred Israeli towns, you are engaging in antisemitism". Antisemitism is a strong irrational force that has existed for millennia. And it will not disappear any time soon. If you support de the 3 D's (Delegitimization, Demonization, Double Standards) then you are embracing the putrid gigantic mass of antisemitic people.
Below, a great video by Oren Cahanovitc (28 minutes, but really worth it) that debunks the misinformation and false facts around the never ending conflict:
[October 19 update: Here's another video that explains with clear language and facts what's happening today in Gaza –only 16 minutes.]
[October 20 update: here is Hamas explained from inside –sorry that comes from Fox News, folks, but since the "Left" turned antisemitic and got rotten, that's what there is]:
[November 4 update: another great video by Oren Cahanovitc (25 minutes, but really worth it) about the "Nakba" and the false Arab narrative]:
[November 5 update: "Why a Ceasefire Would Be A Disaster!", by Mosab Hassan Yousef]:
Antonia Tejeda Barros, Madrid, October 17, 2023
Antonia Tejeda Barros 