| "Summer marriages" (Islamic prostitution) booming in Egypt under MB rule Posted: 28 Apr 2013 07:48 PM PDT From Now Lebanon: Rich Gulf nationals go to Hawamidiyya, especially during the summer, to contract marriages for a definite period of time in return for a meager amount of money, some of which goes to the broker. The rest goes to the family of a young woman, often a virgin under 18 years of age, so that a rich man about the same age as her father can have sex with her while on vacation in Egypt.
During the years before the 2011 revolution, women's and human rights organizations in Egypt followed several courses of action in their struggle to end such practices, including awareness-raising marches in areas where 'tourism marriage' is popular, in order to disseminate the dangers it entails. Rights groups have also advocated the promulgation of a law that criminalizes marriages if either one of the spouses is under 18 years of age. However, these efforts regressed after the revolution and such practices came back with a vengeance, against a backdrop of economic crisis and weak local authorities. Illegal practices, like changing the young woman's age through falsified medical evidence attesting that she is over 18 years of age has also become widespread.
The growing phenomenon of 'tourism marriage' in Egypt's governorates and towns was profiled in the US Department of State report on human trafficking last year, which estimated the number of such marriages to be in the hundreds. According to the report, "minor girls are entering into temporary marriages with Arab Gulf tourists during the summer in return for money" with "underage girls being taken into sexual slavery and forced to work as servants."
Dr. Hoda Badran, president of the Egyptian Women's Union, told NOW that poverty is the main factor behind the spread of this phenomenon, asserting that "tourism marriage is a form of slavery or of selling women." Badran explained that she met with several "summer wives," some of whom gave birth to children and struggled to inform the husband of his paternity. 'Tourism marriage' victims may have to abandon their newborns at an orphanage or childcare center so as not to become an 'outcast'among her family members, the same people who may have sold her in the first place.
Nohad Abu al-Qomsan, president of the Egyptian Center for Women's Rights, told NOW: "Slavery and servitude have acquired a legitimate cover in some countries, including that of summer marriage, which has spread in many Egyptian villages, not only in Hawamidiyya, due to poverty and other pretexts." Qomsan noted that, in many cases, a girl is married off several times in a sort span of time without heeding the customary waiting period, which might cause confusion as to the identity of the child's father.
Qomsan argued that some Islamists want to "turn the poor into a pool of abominations, which can be traded on the pleasure market, with clients seeking multiple wives or marriage for pleasure." She also underscored the phenomenon of marrying displaced Syrian women in Egypt. This has been a problem for years, but there was some headway being made against the phenomenon before the Islamists took over Egypt. Now it appears to be back.  |
| More Arabs move to Jewish neighborhoods than vice versa in Jerusalem Posted: 28 Apr 2013 03:30 PM PDT The world is up in arms over Jews moving to "East Jerusalem," with countless articles about this "illegal" settlement of Jews in Israel's capital city. But there is a curious silence about Arabs who have been streaming into Jewish neighborhoods of Jerusalem. Not Arab citizens of Israel, but Arabs from across the Green Line who refuse citizenship but are still moving into the "Jewish" part of the city. Israel's Channel 10 counts 2,537 Jews who moved to "Arab" parts of "east Jerusalem" - and 3,378 Arabs who are not even Israeli citizens who moved to "Jewish" neighborhoods. Some move because it is cheaper, and less time consuming than waiting for building permits. Yet, even though there is some opposition to the moves by some Jews, this shows yet again that the idea that there is anti-Arab "apartheid" in Jerusalem is a lie. (h/t Yoel)  |
| Despite threats from haters, St. Andrews holds "Matzah Ball" party Posted: 28 Apr 2013 01:30 PM PDT As mentioned in Friday's linkdump, a hotel in Scotland canceled a Friday night party sponsored by two Jewish college organizations at St. Andrews after receiving threats from Israel haters upset that two of the charities that stood to benefit from the ball were Friends of the IDF and the JNF. I had received word on Friday that the event would go on, but I was asked not to provide any details so the haters couldn't organize against it. Here is what happened: A charity ball held last night and organised by St Andrews' AEPI Jewish fraternity and the Jewish Society was forced to change location from the Golf Hotel after staff received threats from protesters linked to the Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign and several other activist groups.
The activists called for the event organisers and hotel to end their support for two charities, the Jewish National Fund (JNF) and the Friends of Israel Defence Forces (FIDF). Protestors labelled the JNF an "openly racist" organisation, claiming that the JNF takes over Palestinian land and does not lease or sell land to non-Jews. They also described the FIDF as an "occupation force that brutalises, humiliates, kills and maims Palestinians."
Two days before the event was due to take place, the Golf Hotel cancelled the event over safety concerns. Fears arose that the protest would turn violent when anti-Semitic comments were posted on Facebook. One protester wrote: "Friday we send them into hell." Another, commenting on the police's presence at the ball, said: "Mi5 Mossad boot boys don't stand a chance."
We Are All Hana Shalabi, Scotland's Youth and Student Palestine Solidarity Movement and one of the organisations connected with the protest, told The Saint that they had urged the hotel not to host to event but denied that those who threatened staff were linked to the official demonstration.
"We are encouraged that the call for the Golf Hotel to withdraw its support for the event was heeded, it illustrates the increasing anathemitisation of organisations such as FIDF and the JNF, and the scale of opposition to their activities. The hotel only canceled because of the threats - and the haters are pretending that that their thuggish tactics had anything to do with it!  However, despite the reports, The Saint can reveal that the ball took place at a secret location. Guests were not told the venue but were picked up by taxis from pubs and bars around St Andrews. Six members of security were provided for the event, some of whom, a senior member of the organising committee told The Saint, were plain clothed police officers.
A spokesperson for Police Scotland confirmed that "appropriate measures" were taken in case there were protests but she would not confirm if plain clothed officers were present. Guests were asked at the door not to tweet or post on Facebook details of the venue.
The senior member of the organising committee told The Saint: "The safety and security of our guests was always our first priority and we worked closely with St Andrews police, a private security firm and volunteers to ensure that the event could go ahead as planned.
"At no point was the event cancelled and we are delighted that it was such a success, both in terms of the amounts raised for charity and the enjoyment of all our guests."
The organisers had initially aimed to raise around £350 from the event. However, the change of venue and donations received from those who sympathised with the threatened students resulted in a final total of around £1,000. One man donated £230 to cover security and taxi costs to and from the venue to ensure the safety of guests.
A senior member of the Jewish society said she felt disgusted that the protesters had turned to threats of violence rather than engage the organisers in an open dialogue. She said: "I am a firm believer in freedom of expression but the problem came with their extremely offensive comments.
"They latched onto a party of 35 friends and decided that it was a massive Jewish conspiracy. I've lived in Israel, I've worked in Palestinian communities and I've never felt more threatened in my life by people who don't even know who I am," she said.
She described the Golf Hotel's decision to cancel the event as "pathetic." She added: "They [the Golf Hotel] had no right to violate their part of the contract. The Golf Hotel is scared of them. A victory does not come from bullying people into submission, it comes from engaging people and opening their minds."
After speaking to Niall Thompson, the Golf Hotel's manager, Paul Morron of the Glasgow Jewish Representative Council reportedly said: "I conveyed the extent of the concern of the Jewish community that a hotel of its stature had caved in so easily to intimidation – something that would damage its reputation."
"I contacted Inspector Meek, of St Andrews Police, and he told me that they had not had any serious concerns about policing the event.
"We regard this as a very serious incident, setting a worrying precedent in Scotland. "It's not up to others to dictate to the Jewish community what charities they should support. That's just not acceptable."
Scottish Jewish Chaplaincy chairman Nicola Livingston added: "Students should be allowed to go about their ordinary business without fear of intimidation.
"This was purely a social event. Most of the charities are welfare ones, including Save a Child's Heart, which saves the lives of children from around the world, including Palestinian children.
"Giving in to bully-boy tactics doesn't do the reputation of the hotel any good at all."  |
| Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan discriminating against Syria refugees of Palestinian descent Posted: 28 Apr 2013 11:30 AM PDT Al Ahram reports: Dozens of Palestinians refugees fleeing violence in Syria protested at the Palestinian embassy in Cairo, demanding better treatment from Palestinian and Egyptian authorities.
Gathering under a banner reading "don't kill us twice," Palestinian refugees began their open ended sit-in before the Palestinian embassy in Egypt on Tuesday morning, demanding to be recognised as refugees by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
Children held signs spelling out the slogan while protestors broke out in various chants, including "down with the Ambassador." In the afternoon, protestors said they were threatened by police, who told them that "thugs" in the neighbourhood might attack them. Embassy bodyguards also secured the perimeters.
Frustrated over being denied refugee status by UNCHR, protestors, who previously lived in refugee camps in Syria, say that they should be given the same rights as Syrian refugees in Egypt.
"They [protestors] cannot register themselves as refugees. They can't put their children in schools. They're not given healthcare nor do they have any kind of humanitarian services," Hanine Hassan, organiser and Palestinian human rights activist said at the sit-in.
UNHCR cannot register the refugees because the Egyptian government does not officially recognise them as such. The agency refused to comment, saying that the matter lies entirely with Egyptian authorities. Egypt is not one of the states that UNRWA works in, which means that the refugees from Syria who are ostensibly "Palestinian" have no agency that can help them. But UNRWA's existence is not making Syria refugees of PalArab descent any more comfortable in Lebanon: Palestinian refugees who have fled violence in Syria held their weekly sit-in outside UNRWA office in the Beddawi Palestinian refugee camp in north Lebanon, demanding the U.N. agency to do more.
With the tragic living conditions of Palestinians continuing to deteriorate in the camp, the protesters entered the UNRWA offices and disrupted work for two hours.
Representatives of the popular committees and institutions took part in the protest and demanded the U.N. carry out its duty in aiding the refugees, and devise an emergency plan aimed at providing temporary shelter or offer them allowances for rent.
The protesters also demanded health care coverage and the enrollment of Palestinians children in UNRWA-run schools and help college students.
UNRWA has said that more than 40,000 Palestinians from Syria had registered with the agency while activists estimate some 10,000 had not approached UNRWA.
Most of the refugees, who fled after the Yarmuk Refugee Camp in Syria was bombarded last year, are currently living in or near one of the country's already overcrowded 12 refugee camps.
They warned they would take escalatory measures by threatening to enter the office of the UNRWA head, and forcefully turn schools and U.N. institutions into temporary shelters if UNRWA fails to meet their demands, primarily rent allowance. Jordan also singles out Palestinian Arabs from Syria for "special" treatment: Faced with surging numbers of shell-shocked Syrian refugees, Jordanian forces have begun turning Palestinian families away at the border, forcing them to return to a country ravaged by a ruthless dictator and to a civil war with no end in sight.
In a facility known as Cyber City near the border city of Ramtha in Jordan, 200 Palestinian families await their fate. Many of them have already been turned away from the neighboring Zaatari camp, which has stopped accepting anyone without Syrian identification. Anyone with a Palestinian ID is automatically directed to Cyber City, where they are detained until approved for asylum status. Eyewitnesses say the facility looks like a worn-down, six-story dormitory, its occupants forbidden from stepping outside its walls for any length of time.
At Salon, Bill Frelick of Human Rights Watch and Meera Shah at Harvard Law School's International Human Rights Clinic describe the camp's deplorable conditions. In some cases, four families are squashed into one room -- and those are the families that have managed to stay together. The authors spoke with a Syrian refugee who recounted what the Jordanian authorities told him as he approached the border with his family:
"You can come, but she is not allowed because she's Palestinian." I told them our house is burned down and that we have no house to go back to. The Border Patrol officer said, 'That is not our problem.' I begged him. My wife and children were begging and crying not to be sent back. He said, 'It is impossible,' and put us in a military vehicle and took us to the border."
According to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, close to 4,569 Palestinians from Syria have managed to enter Jordan since the conflict in Syria began. But the number that have been turned away at the border is estimated to be significantly larger. However distressing, the government of Jordan has made no secret of its harsh policy of refusal. In October, Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour announced the plan in the Arabic-language daily Al-Hayat, "Jordan has made a clear and explicit sovereign decision to not allow the crossing to Jordan by our Palestinian brothers who hold Syrian documents." The common denominator is that a decision made some six decades ago to treat Palestinian Arab refugees differently from every other refugee in the world has repercussions, today. Two UN agencies, with differing goals, differing definitions, differing rules, different mandates and different budgets being played against each other and the entire Arab world happily discriminating against one type of refugee - all because they want to ensure that Palestinian Arabs remain miserable and stateless.  |
| Sunday Links Posted: 28 Apr 2013 10:00 AM PDT From Ian:
Obama understands that Abbas doesn't want peace deal "U.S. President Barack Obama understands today that Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is not interested in reaching an agreement with Israel," a senior Israeli diplomatic source has said.
According to the official, a regular participant in policy-making, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is willing to make significant progress toward a peace deal, but "everybody knows" that Abbas will not allow this. Italian Jews irked by Abbas's honor in Naples PA president 'denied the Holocaust… and never distanced himself from Palestinian terrorist attacks,' says prominent rabbi PA's 'Moderate' Fayyad Calls to Free All Terrorists PA second-in-command says it is wrong to imprison Arabs for terrorism against Israel.
The Palestinian Authority's outgoing Prime Minister, Salam Fayyad, called Saturday to free all PA resident Arabs imprisoned in Israel. Many are serving time for terror-related offenses, including murder and attempted murder; some were imprisoned for other violent crimes including assault and rape. Marathon as political warfare Palestinian Olympic committee member Itidal Abdul- Ghani told The Times of Israel on April 22, a day after the race, that "Israelis weren't welcome to join the marathon while their military occupies Palestinian lands." Haaretz reported that a number of Israeli runners were turned back and their registration fees returned. Connecting the dots: Hezbollah, Iran's web of plots As the European Union grapples with a ban of the Lebanese Shi'ite organization Hezbollah within its territory, reports emerged last week of foiled Iranian and Hezbollah terror and criminal plots against targets spanning Bulgaria, Nepal, Canada and the US.
Will the mushrooming patchwork of global terrorism push the EU to include Hezbollah in its terror list? An EU designation could deal a one-two punch to the Lebanese group and its chief proxy Iran. Bosnia expels two Iranian diplomats Minister of security declares Iranian embassy secretaries "persona non grata"; unclear involvement in past terrorist plots. Richard Millett: Jon Snow lunges for my phone while I question him about his "Jewish lobby" comment. Last night Channel 4 news presenter Jon Snow was at the London School of Economics to chair a panel of hardcore anti-Israel polemicists but as I was questioning him face to face about his own use of the term "the Jewish lobby" (Clip 1 below) he violently grabbed my mobile phone attempting to dislodge it from my hand accusing me of trying to secretly record our conversation. He then repeatedly called me "a creep" and claimed a breach of his human rights. US, Israel plotting to oust Assad by June, Iranian official claims Legislator in Tehran warns that American intervention would result in blowback against Jewish state Syrian Army Ordered Chemical Weapons Use, Says Defected General Syrian regime ordered use chemical weapons against the Free Syrian Army during select battles, a defected general told Al Arabiya. IDF: Preparing for the unthinkable Although millions of Israelis who are busy with the routine of daily life don't feel it, there are 200,000 rockets and missiles pointed at the country's population, and any future war could involve an initial onslaught of enemy projectiles.
Additionally, while the probability of a missile or terrorist attack on Israel involving unconventional weapons is very low, the threat cannot be dismissed out of hand. This 1,000-Year-Old Minaret Was Destroyed in Aleppo Syria Last Week With few signs of international action to stop the terrible harm to flesh and blood, we add another reminder here of the catastrophe: the great destruction to the mortar and stone of Syria's magnificent historical heritage. The minaret was built almost 1,000 years ago as part of Aleppo's Great Mosque. Beirut bans award-winning Lebanese film shot in Israel Doueiri dismissed the ban as "foolish and unfair", and noted that several Palestinian films shot in Israel with Israeli actors "and even with Israeli financing.. were allowed to screen in Lebanon."
"Why them and not this film? Are the Lebanese supposed to carry the Palestinian flag higher than the Palestinians themselves?" Doueiri asked. Draining cash, Egypt on $30 billion search for aid Egypt's need for funds is dire. After the 2011 uprising that toppled Mubarak, foreign investment in Egypt shriveled and tourism — a top revenue source — took a heavy blow. Neither has recovered since, with investors and tourists still scared away by the country's unrest and political uncertainty. Record attendance at J'lem ANZAC Day ceremony Aussie ambassador at the Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery: Peace and goodwill can flow from even the fiercest of conflicts.
It is customary for Australian and New Zealand diplomats to hold commemorative services for the ANZACs in the countries in which they served, and to pay tribute not only to them but to Australian and New Zealand Forces wherever they have served and died since. Israel Daily Picture: Jews Celebrate Lag B'Omer This Week. How was it commemorated 90 years ago?
Today Jews around the world are celebrating Lag B'Omer, the end of a month-long mourning period when traditional Jews refrain from weddings or joyous gatherings.  |
| Did Jews rule Jerusalem in 614 CE? Posted: 28 Apr 2013 08:00 AM PDT One of the reasons given for today's Lag B'Omer celebrations is to commemorate the Bar Kochba revolt of 132-136 CE. Most Jews believe that this was the last time of Jewish sovereignty over the land of Israel before the 1948 War of Independence. However, there may have been another brief period of Jewish sovereignty over Jerusalem, many centuries later. In "A History of the Jewish People" by Haim Hillel be-Sasson, we learn: In the last days of Byzantine rule over the Land of Israel the Jews made an attempt to exploit the rivalry between the powers ruling the orient - Persia, Byzantium and Rome - in order to regain their political independence. For hundreds of years they had repeatedly hoped that the redemption of the Jewish people would come with the conquest of Palestine by Persia; and now the time seemed to have arrived. At the beginning of the seventh century, the Persians set out on their conquests in the East, and in the year 614 they reached the borders of Palestine. Their approach set off a powerful messianic fermentation, which is reflected in several works written at the time whose theme is the Redemption. The Armenian historian Sebeos reported (Chapter XXIV): 'As the Persians approached Palestine, the remnants of the Jewish nation rose against the Christians, joined the Persians and made common cause with them.' The Jews assisted the invaders materially in their conquest of Galilee. From there the invading army turned to Caesarea and continued its conquests down to Apollonia, then eastwards to Lydda and from there to Jerusalem, which was captured in May 614. Jewish forces also took part in the conquest of Jerusalem. Sophronius, a contemporary monk who lived near Bethlehem, wrote in a poem: 'God-seeking strangers and citizens of the city [Jerusalem]; . When they faced the Persians and their Hebrew friends/Hastened to close the city gates.'
The Persians handed Jerusalem over to Jewish settlers, who proceeded with the expulsion of the Christians and the removal of their churches. At the head of Jerusalem stood a leader whom we know only by his messianic name: Nehemiah ben Hushiel ben Ephraim ben Joseph. The sacrificial cult may even have been resumed. Jewish rule in Jerusalem lasted three years. In 617 there was a reversal of Persian policy. For reasons that are not sufficiently clear, the Persians made peace with the Christians. The Jews, on the other hand, did not, and the Persian authorities were forced to fight them: 'And they waged war against the saints and brought down many of them. and Shiroi [the king of Persia] stabbed Nehemiah ben Hushiel. and sixteen of the just were killed together with him (Book of Zerubabel, page 101). There are other accounts of this episode as well. The Jews saw another opportunity to take back Jerusalem in the early seventh century, just before the rise of Islam. The Persians conquered what had been Judea from the Byzantine Empire, capturing Jerusalem in 614 CE. The Armenian historian Sebeos described the Jews' reaction to the Persian campaign: "As the Persians approached Palestine, the remnants of the Jewish nation rose against the Christians, joined the Persians and made common cause with them." The Persians even installed a Jew, Nehemiah ben Hushiel ben Ephraim ben Joseph, to rule the city.
But this regime was short-lived. Hoping to accommodate their Roman Christian subjects, the Persians apparently withdrew their support for any Jewish self-government. Moreover, in 629 CE the Byzantine emperor Heraclius reconquered Jerusalem, where the former anti-Jewish edicts were again renewed. The city's new rulers banned public recital of Judaism's core prayer, the Shema, and executed many Jews or evicted them to neighboring countries. Five years later, the Byzantines required all the empire's Jews to become baptized. This harsh regime did not last long, however, for in 638 CE Muslim armies from Arabia conquered Jerusalem, thus opening a whole new chapter in the Holy City's history.
Thirteen hundred years would pass between the last Jewish self-government in Jerusalem in 614 and the establishment of a Jewish national home under the British that would later become the State of Israel. During that time, Jerusalem would remain the center of Jewish national aspirations as well as religious ritual. But the quest to return to Jerusalem was not left as an eschatological task for the distant future. Jews returned to Jerusalem whenever the bans on Jewish settlement were lifted; thus many Jews came back to the Holy City after the second caliph of Islam defeated the Byzantines, establishing a new Jewish Quarter that was populated until the First Crusade. Jerusalem's main Jewish synagogue in the first decades of Islamic rule, known as "the Cave," was located under the Temple Mount, at the point along the Western MA closest to the Holy of Holies. The Jewish Encyclopedia does not mention this, however.  |
| There aren't any pro-Western rebels in Syria. None. Posted: 28 Apr 2013 05:45 AM PDT From the NYT: CAIRO — In Syria's largest city, Aleppo, rebels aligned with Al Qaeda control the power plant, run the bakeries and head a court that applies Islamic law. Elsewhere, they have seized government oil fields, put employees back to work and now profit from the crude they produce.
Across Syria, rebel-held areas are dotted with Islamic courts staffed by lawyers and clerics, and by fighting brigades led by extremists. Even the Supreme Military Council, the umbrella rebel organization whose formation the West had hoped would sideline radical groups, is stocked with commanders who want to infuse Islamic law into a future Syrian government.
Nowhere in rebel-controlled Syria is there a secular fighting force to speak of.
Syrian officials recognize that the United States is worried that it has few natural allies in the armed opposition and have tried to exploit that with a public campaign to convince, or frighten, Washington into staying out of the fight. At every turn they promote the notion that the alternative to Mr. Assad is an extremist Islamic state.
The Islamist character of the opposition reflects the main constituency of the rebellion, which has been led since its start by Syria's Sunni Muslim majority, mostly in conservative, marginalized areas. The descent into brutal civil war has hardened sectarian differences, and the failure of more mainstream rebel groups to secure regular arms supplies has allowed Islamists to fill the void and win supporters.
The religious agenda of the combatants sets them apart from many civilian activists, protesters and aid workers who had hoped the uprising would create a civil, democratic Syria.
When the armed rebellion began, defectors from the government's staunchly secular army formed the vanguard. The rebel movement has since grown to include fighters with a wide range of views, including Qaeda-aligned jihadis seeking to establish an Islamic emirate, political Islamists inspired by the Muslim Brotherhood and others who want an Islamic-influenced legal code like that found in many Arab states.
"My sense is that there are no seculars," said Elizabeth O'Bagy, of the Institute for the Study of War, who has made numerous trips to Syria in recent months to interview rebel commanders. So much for the idea that Syria could possibly turn out OK in the foreseeable future. Either Assad will win - or radical Islamists. People still hoping for a secular, pro-Western state have been living in a fantasy world. Seculars or those with a more pragmatic bent are going to get the hell out of the war zone, leaving nobody left but people who thrive on violence. There are now 1.4 million refugees from Syria.  |
| Fatah leader: "Jews do not follow any moral standard of conduct" Posted: 28 Apr 2013 03:06 AM PDT Classic antisemitism from our moderate Fatah friends: Following are excerpts from an interview with Fatah Central Committee member Abbas Zaki, which aired on Al-Mayadeen TV on April 10, 2013: Abbas Zaki: Many institutions have determined that Israel, in its stupidity, attacked the U.S. administration and was responsible for 9/11, and was greatly involved in it. In Europe, there are attacks on Jews these days. In 2011, there were 522 attacks. In 2012, there were 686 attacks. In other words, they caused an increase.
They do not abide by the law, they do not belong to the international community, and they do not follow any moral standard of conduct. So where does the strength of the Jews and Israel lie? Why does Obama want to change the constitution, and establish a Jewish state for all the Jews in the world? They exploit the weakness of the Arabs. The Arabs are non-existent. Therefore, we should negotiate on the basis of non-surrender, and rise to the challenge...
Abbas Zaki's cellphone rings
Interviewer: Saved by your cellphone... Notice how Zaki uses the old excuse for antisemitism, that if people hate the Jews it must be because the Jews deserve it. Zaki often speaks the truth about how "moderate" Palestinian Arabs think but he is too old to know how to censor himself (like substituting "Zionists" for "Jews.") In the past, he has stated that forcing Israel to abandon Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria would be the first step in Israel's destruction: With the two-state solution, in my opinion, Israel will collapse, because if they get out of Jerusalem, what will become of all the talk about the Promised Land and the Chosen People? What will become of all the sacrifices they made – just to be told to leave? They consider Jerusalem to have a spiritual status. The Jews consider Judea and Samaria to be their historic dream. If the Jews leave those places, the Zionist idea will begin to collapse. It will regress of its own accord. Then we will move forward...  |
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