A minaret in Timbuktu, Mali.
Photograph: UN photo/Evan Schneider/EPA
Timbuktu world heritage site attacked by Islamists
Al-Qaida-linked Ansar Dine group destroys mausoleums and tombs
with pick-axes at centuries-old site in Mali.
Islamists
armed with Kalashnikovs and pick-axes have destroyed the centuries-old
mausoleums of saints in the Unesco-listed city of Timbuktu in front of
shocked locals, witnesses say.
The
attack by the al-Qaida-linked Ansar Dine
group came days after Unesco placed Timbuktu on
its list of heritage sites in danger and will recall the 2001 dynamiting by the
Taliban of two sixth-century statues of Buddha carved into a cliff in Bamiyan
in central Afghanistan.
"They
are armed and have surrounded the sites with pick-up trucks. The population is
just looking on helplessly," said a local journalist, Yeya Tandina.
Tandina
and other witnesses said Ansar Dine had already destroyed the mausoleums of
three local saints – Sidi Mahmoud, Sidi el-Mokhtar and Alfa Moya – and at least
seven tombs.
"The
mausoleum doesn't exist any more and the cemetery is as bare as a soccer
pitch," a local teacher, Abdoulaye Boulahi, said of the Mahmoud burial
place.
"There's
about 30 of them breaking everything up with pick-axes and hoes. They've put
their Kalashnikovs down by their side. These are shocking scenes for the people
in Timbuktu,"
said Boulahi.
Ansar
Dine backs strict sharia law, and considers the shrines of the local Sufi
version of Islam to be idolatrous. Sufi shrines have also been attacked by
hardline Salafists in Egypt
and Libya
in the past year.
Locals
said the attackers had threatened to destroy all of the 16 main mausoleum
sites. The Unesco director general, Irina Bokova, called for an immediate halt.
Late on Saturday, Tandina said Ansar Dine had halted the attacks. Attempts to
contact members of the group were unsuccessful.
Ansar
Dine has gained the upper hand over less-well-armed Tuareg-led separatists
since the two joined forces to rout government troops and seize control in
April of the northern two-thirds of the inland west African state.
The
sites date from Timbuktu's
golden age in the 16th century. Located on an old Saharan trading route that
saw salt from the Arab north exchanged for gold and slaves from the south, Timbuktu blossomed as an
Islamic seat of learning, home to priests, scribes and jurists.
Mali had in recent years sought to
create a desert tourism industry around Timbuktu,
but even before April's rebellion many tourists were being discouraged by a
spate of kidnappings of westerners in the region claimed by al-Qaida-linked
groups.
Unesco's
world heritage committee said this week it had accepted the request of the
Malian government to place Timbuktu
on its list of endangered heritage sites.
"The
committee … also asked Mali's
neighbours to do all in their power to prevent the trafficking in cultural
objects from these sites," it said.
The
rebel seizure of the north came as the southern capital, Bamako, was struggling with the aftermath of
a coup on 22 March.
Mali's neighbours are seeking UN backing for a
military intervention to stabilise the country but security council members say
they need more details on the mission being planned.
Jewish, Muslim leaders blast German court's decision to outlaw circumcision
District court in Cologne says practice constitutes physical
harm against newborns after Muslim doctor botches circumcision of four-year-old.
A
German court has sparked outrage among both Jewish and Muslim communities in
the country after it ruled that circumcision was illegal.
The
controversy began after a district court in Cologne deemed the practice illegal,
constitutes physical harm against newborn babies and is defined as
"irreversible damage against the body." The court further stated that
freedom of religion and the rights of the parents of the circumcised cannot
justify the practice itself.
The
ruling was passed after a botched circumcision by a Muslim doctor on a
four-year-old boy in Cologne.
The boy was rushed to the emergency room after he bled for two straight days.
Upon hearing of the incident, German authorities decided to sue the doctor.
After
lower court rejected suit on the grounds that the circumcision took place with
parental consent and was based on a "traditional ritual belonging to the
Muslim community," the authorities appealed the ruling to the district
court. The latter ruled that doctors could only perform circumcisions for
health-related reasons. The district court justified the ruling by stating that
it was for the "good of the child who would be able to decide for himself
which religious community he or she would belong to."
The
doctor was acquitted, as he acted out of innocence and due to the fact that the
legality of the act was unclear.
The
Hamburg-based Financial Times Deutschland, which revealed the controversial
ruling, stated that thousands of children are circumcised in Germany, and
until now, the concept of circumcision was somewhat of a legal "gray
area", as no court had ever convicted anyone for carrying it out.
"This
ruling has enormous significance for doctors," said Professor Holm Putzke,
an expert on law from Passau University in Germany. "For years there has
been a call to ban circumcision for religious reasons. The court, as opposed to
many politicians, was not afraid of criticism that its ruling was anti-Semitic
or harmful to religion."
Putzke
further stated that the decision "may not only influence future rulings,
but also brings about a change in the worldview of religious people regarding
basic rights of children."
On
the other hand, Rabbi Aryeh Goldberg of the Brussels-based Rabbinical Center
of Europe harshly criticized the ruling, saying that it "is fatal to
freedom of religion, contravenes the EU's Convention on Human Rights, to which Germany
is subservient and harms the basic freedom of religion enshrined in the German
constitution."
Menachem
Margolin, Director of the Rabbinical Center of Europe called the ruling a "brutal
attack on freedom of religion," adding that a "public relations
campaign in cooperation with the Muslim community will do away with
misunderstandings and will prevent both conscious and unconscious harm to
freedom of religion in Europe."
The
practical and legal significance of the ruling is unclear at this point, and no
details were revealed about the future of the legal battle.
What about the botching of operations other than circumcision where parents' consent has been taken....Are they going to be banned, too, or this is just a political game as a part of attack on religions everywhere like the attack on mosque minarets???!!
I did work in old folks homes, and I happened to find penises of circumcised males cleaner than uncircumcised ones where you have to push back the foreskin and clean underneath it.
Apparently the
Department of Canadian Heritage needs to do a better job with due
diligence before doling out money to Canadian musicians and art groups.
According to the Toronto
Sun, MusicAction, a
non-profit organization primarily funded by the Department of Canadian
Heritage, contributed more than $100,000 to a francophone artist who produced a
rap video glorifying the Taliban and applauding the slaughter of Canadian
soldiers in Afghanistan.
"The enemy approaches,"
rapper Manu Militari says during the video."I recognize Canada's colours."
Later he says, "In a few
seconds they'll understand how much I hate them."
The slick production, according to
the Sun, is set for official release on the 11th anniversary of
al-Qaida's 2001 terrorist attacks.
In response to the story, late
Thursday, the Prime Minister's office sent out this email:
Shocking Music Video Glorifies
Taliban Terrorists
Rapper Manu Militari has released a
song and music video that glorify Taliban terrorists in Afghanistan. The shocking video
includes a reenactment of a roadside bomb attack on a Canadian military vehicle
and the murder of Canadian soldiers.
This music video is outrageous and
offensive and our government denounces it in the strongest terms.
Our men and women in uniform have
fought and 158 have died in Afghanistan
in defence of the values that we hold dear.
Canadian soldiers have been
fighting in Afghanistan
for over 10 years, longer than both World Wars.
This music video glorifies
terrorism and shows an utter lack of support to those who have sacrificed
everything for us.
On Friday afternoon, heritage
minister James Moore tweeted that "Music Action's contribution does not
meet the conditions funding. We expect measures will be taken in
response."
Unfortunately, the Taliban-touting
rapper isn't the only artist to have embarrassed the government.
Last May, it was learned that the
government funded a punk rock group from Vancouver
to produce an album
called "Holy Sh#t". The album was subtitled "The Poo
Testament," and had liner notes that recreated the Ascension with Christ
portrayed as a turd.
In February, Radio Canadawas slammed
for airing "Hard," a soft-core porn drama produced in France,
on their taxpayer funded web portal.
Other ridiculous examples of
funding come from Telefilm -- Canada's
film funding body. In recent years, they have funded movies such as
"Young people F#%ing," "Suck" and "Masturbators,"
and a website called "Bitching Lifestyle."
All this would actually be funny if
it wasn't our tax dollars they were spending.
Notwithstanding the Taliban video,
there seems to be something seriously wrong with Canadian Heritage's funding
mechanisms and adjudication processes.
Syria,
Ambassador Ford and a Crusaders' Castle by Felicity Arbuthnot
"Diplomacy: The conduct of the relations of one state with another by
peaceful means; skill in the management of international relations ..."-
"Duplicity: deception; double dealing." (Collins Dictionary.)
Remember that "Crusade"? It is back, it seems - if it ever went away.
On the 16th of September 2001, George W. Bush announced, ". . . this
Crusade, this war on terrorism, is going to take a while."
Six months later, that designated "dove" of the Bush Administration,
General Colin Powell, gave an ultimatum to Pakistan's
President Pervez Musharraf demanding he be on board to topple the Taliban and
neutralize al-Qaeda in Afghanistan.
Powell, in testimony before a Commission investigating the September 11th
attacks (24th of March 2004) stated that, "We gave them twenty-four (or)
forty-eight hours, and then I called President Musharraf and said, 'We need
your answer now. We need you as part of this campaign - this Crusade.' "
Now, Robert S. Ford, US Ambassador to Syria, has imaginatively resurrected the
"Crusade" as diplomatic representative of a President who pledged, at
Cairo University in June 2009: "I've come here to Cairo to seek a new
beginning between the United States and Muslims around the world ... America is
not - and never will be - at war with Islam."
In his article, "The Salvador Option for Syria," Michel
Chossudovsky gives a crash course on the multiply diverse Ambassador Ford, to
whom, it must be said, diplomacy would seem to be yet another far away land..
However, even the insightful Professor Chossudovsky was unlikely to have
forseen that after Ambassador Ford slunk out of Syria in October last year,
having indulged in ten months of provocative, divisive, inflammatory and
politically confrontational actions. He would set up a Facebook page
(iii), its massive profile picture being the UNESCO World Heritage listed site
of what T.E. Lawrence ("Lawrence of Arabia") described as,
"Perhaps the best preserved and most wholly admirable castle in the world
(which) forms a fitting commentary on any account of the Crusading buildings of
Syria."
This dominant image on the Ambassador's social networking site is of the Krak
de Chevaliers, a Crusaders' castle considered perhaps the finest example of
such anywhere. The current fortress was completed in 1031, but captured in the
First Crusade in 1099 by Raymond IVth of Toulouse.
Robert Ford's choice for visual statement of his vision for dominance of Syria could
surely, hardly be more symbolic and enlightening.
Via Facebook, the Ambassador accuses, incites and rambles to the Syrian people
and the world.
On the 20th of June, with an arrogance that should be breathtaking - but little
but that comes from the US
any more - he lectured Syria's
armed forces:
"For this posting, I want to address the members of the Syrian military
and their role in this crisis. The role of any nation's military is to defend
the country and to protect the people, not to harm them. The United States believes the Syrian military
should have an invaluable, integral role to play in the new democratic Syria, if it
decides to fulfill its true purpose and stand with the Syrian people now."
Ford queries the army wanting " to help secure the role of the
professional military in a democratic Syria by supporting the Syrian people and
their transition ..."
He talked of them being used in "President Assad's campaign of torture and
terror," of "destruction, massacre," thus: "abhorrent
(running) counter to international law and the ethics of military
professionalism ... Soldiers should know that under international law, they
have a responsibility to uphold basic human rights and that they do not escape
responsibility for violations simply because they are subject to orders."
Quite. Has the Ambassador glanced toward the behaviour of US forces in
neighbouring Iraq or in Afghanistan?
The massacres, rapes of young and old, the use of children as human shields,
often luring them with sweets,toys - now well documented - plus torture,
disappearances and Stalinesque "re-education centres"?
It has never been adequately established what the scary name
"re-education" centre did or taught.
Prior to invading Iraq,
prominent military leaders such as Lt. Gen. William Boykin also described the
war in evangelical terms, casting the U.S. military as the "army of
God."
Indeed Mikey Weinstein, President of the Military Religious Freedom
Foundation, has stated that a cadre of forty U.S.
chaplains took part in a 2003 project to distribute 2.4 million Arabic-language
Bibles in Iraq.
A 2003 newsletter for the group notes that, "The goal is to establish a
wedge for the kingdom of God in the Middle East,
directly affecting the Islamic world." (iv)
A Lt. Colonel Gary Hensley expounded on the need to spread the Gospel:
"The special forces guys - they hunt men basically," he said.
"We do the same things as Christians, we hunt people for Jesus. We do, we
hunt them down. Get the Hound of Heaven after them, so we get them into the
Kingdom. That's what we do, that's our business."
Back to the Ambassador who hit the "road to Damascus" on his personal
Crusade and who clearly subscribes to the "activists say"school of
"fact" gathering, since his claims come from barely a single named
source on the ground, and from "informants" in Paris, London and Washington
who have risen without trace.
The Syrian military was also, opined Robert Ford: "acting as a leading
destabilizing force." That should win the hearts and minds of a proud
army, from a proud country, losing numerous friends and colleagues fighting a
seemingly foreign fomented insurgency.
Ford should know a bit about destabilizing: "A few short weeks after his
arrival" (surely coincidentally) "a wave of pro-democracy protests
swept through the Middle East and public protests in Syria launched an uprising.
Ford's robust diplomacy on the ground in Syria centered on a strong show of
support for the Syrian opposition movement.
Ford's physical presence in Hama,
without official sanction from the Syrian government, functioned as a visible
statement of support (for the opposition). Ford continued to
support the opposition by attending protestor funerals, speaking with Syrians
on the ground and through social media, and educating Americans via satellite
images and descriptions of the conflict on the Embassy's official
website."
Former CIA intelligence officer, Michael Scheuer, has alleged that prior to
Ford's flight from Syria,
he was traveling across the country inciting groups to overthrow the
government.
On the 15th of June, the Facebook update displayed a map: "This map is an
update of the one we originally posted on April 27 which shows the number of
people displaced by the violence in Syria. The Assad regime is a
destabilizing force both within Syria
and throughout the region." Verifiable facts were noticeable by omission.
Of course, no US
propaganda campaign would be complete without a mass grave, so an aerial view
of a patch of land which contextually means absolutely nothing, is obligingly
declared one. (Don't mention Falluja, Najav, Kerbala, Basra,
Baghdad, Mosul,
Tel Afar ...).
On the 22nd of June, the entry cited Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
accusing Syria
of: "... not doing enough to stop slavery ..." That one really does
come from the "Must do better" collection.
The following day was the gleeful announcement that, "The head of the
Syrian Olympic Committee, General Mowaffak Joumaa, has been refused a visa to
travel to London for the Olympic Games." (Given London's missile-loaded
war ships, ground to air missiles on the roofs, the attack helicopters, the
drones, the experimental "sonic weapon" and thousands of twitchy,
armed to the teeth FBI agents, for the Olympics, he may anyway feel safer in
Syria).
The Ambassador without an Embassy is also worried about the Crusaders' castle.
His entry on the subject reads:
"The Krak de Chevaliers/Qala'at al-Hosn was chosen as a UNESCO World
Heritage Site because it is a gem of Crusader ... architecture. Are the Syrian
authorities fulfilling their obligations to the Syrian people and to the international
community when it comes to site preservation and protection?"
This is apart from the fact that the "Syrian authorities" may have
other things on their minds and the Castle has stood for approaching a thousand
years, perhaps Robert Ford's concern for the regional heritage of the
"international community" should also address America's destruction
of Babylon, damage to Ur (ongoing under his watch whilst serving at the US
Embassy in Baghdad 2004-2005), the sacking of Iraq's treasures in the National
Museum, the looting of libraries, which has been compared to the historic
tragedy of the destruction of the great Library of Alexandria up to sixteen
centuries ago. (vi)
The Ambassador's outreach, however, is not getting an entirely glitch free
ride, there are persistent dissenters. One, Brian Souter, leaves uncomfortably
insightful one-liners, they disappear, but he doggedly returns. Another Anas
Salih, left this:
"Hey Yankees, I'm an Iraqi and know all your Hollywood stories in Iraq, so you
better not fall in the same mistake again. Al Qaeda in Syria killing
hundreds of people each day in the name of their belief - there is no way that
the Syrian regime is doing all this to stay in power.
"It is crystal clear now that this is not a revolution, it is insurgency
and terrorism. Every day, Kuwait,
Saudi Arabia, and Qatar are
providing funding of millions of dollars to arm the opposition ... no matter
how hard those terrorists will try, eventually you will see that Bashar (al
Assad) has nothing to do with any killing or bombing.
"Hopefully not too late because each day another soul is being taken from
its body. The lives we have lost in Iraq, kids ,women, men and animals all
because of you, USA, so don't try to be a hero and show compassion (sic)
now ... " (Removed in last twenty-four hours, but copied directly
and only spelling corrected.)
Ambassador Ford has written that there are "parallels" with Syria and the
Balkans. The cynic might say the "parallel" is the alleged
"hired hands." Historian, David Halberstam, ("War in a Time of
Peace" pb 2003, p347) quotes deputy to the Balkans "Tzar"
Richard Holbrooke, Bob Frasure - regarding US training and arming of the Croats
- who passed Holbrooke a scribbled note in a meeting, on the back of a place
card, "Dick, we 'hired' these guys as our junkyard dogs because we were
desperate ... this is no time to get squeamish ..."
On the 7th of May, "Robert S. Ford was presented with the John F. Kennedy
Profile in Courage Award at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library by Caroline
Kennedy. He was honored for his bold and courageous diplomacy which has
provided crucial support to Syrians ..."
Crusade: "Medieval military expeditions undertaken by the Christian powers
... to recapture the Holy Land from the Muslims."
______________________________________________
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
(Cairo,Egypt)
FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE
June 4, 2009
REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT ON A NEW BEGINNING
Cairo University Cairo, Egypt
1:10 P.M. (Local)
PRESIDENT OBAMA: Thank you very much. Good
afternoon. I am honored to be in the timeless city of Cairo, and to be hosted by two remarkable
institutions. For over a thousand years, Al-Azhar has stood as a beacon
of Islamic learning; and for over a century, Cairo
University has been a source of Egypt's
advancement. And together, you represent the harmony between tradition
and progress. I'm grateful for your hospitality, and the hospitality of
the people of Egypt.
And I'm also proud to carry with me the goodwill of the American people, and a
greeting of peace from Muslim communities in my country: Assalaamu
alaykum. (Applause.)
We meet at a time of great tension between the United States
and Muslims around the world -- tension rooted in historical forces that go
beyond any current policy debate. The relationship between Islam and the
West includes centuries of coexistence and cooperation, but also conflict and
religious wars. More recently, tension has been fed by colonialism that
denied rights and opportunities to many Muslims, and a Cold War in which
Muslim-majority countries were too often treated as proxies without regard to
their own aspirations. Moreover, the sweeping change brought by modernity
and globalization led many Muslims to view the West as hostile to the
traditions of Islam.
Violent extremists have exploited these tensions in a small
but potent minority of Muslims. The attacks of September 11, 2001 and the
continued efforts of these extremists to engage in violence against civilians
has led some in my country to view Islam as inevitably hostile not only to
America and Western countries, but also to human rights. All this has
bred more fear and more mistrust.
So long as our relationship is defined by our differences,
we will empower those who sow hatred rather than peace, those who promote
conflict rather than the cooperation that can help all of our people achieve
justice and prosperity. And this cycle of suspicion and discord must end.
I've come here to Cairo to
seek a new beginning between the United States
and Muslims around the world, one based on mutual interest and mutual respect,
and one based upon the truth that America and Islam are not exclusive
and need not be in competition. Instead, they overlap, and share common
principles -- principles of justice and progress; tolerance and the dignity of
all human beings.
I do so recognizing that change cannot happen
overnight. I know there's been a lot of publicity about this speech, but
no single speech can eradicate years of mistrust, nor can I answer in the time
that I have this afternoon all the complex questions that brought us to this
point. But I am convinced that in order to move forward, we must say
openly to each other the things we hold in our hearts and that too often are
said only behind closed doors. There must be a sustained effort to listen
to each other; to learn from each other; to respect one another; and to seek
common ground. As the Holy Koran tells us, "Be conscious of God and
speak always the truth." (Applause.) That is what I will try
to do today -- to speak the truth as best I can, humbled by the task before us,
and firm in my belief that the interests we share as human beings are far more
powerful than the forces that drive us apart.
Now part of this conviction is rooted in my own experience.
I'm a Christian, but my father came from a Kenyan family that includes
generations of Muslims. As a boy, I spent several years in Indonesia and
heard the call of the azaan at the break of dawn and at the fall of dusk.
As a young man, I worked in Chicago
communities where many found dignity and peace in their Muslim faith.
As a student of history, I also know civilization's debt to
Islam. It was Islam -- at places like Al-Azhar -- that carried the light
of learning through so many centuries, paving the way for Europe's
Renaissance and Enlightenment. It was innovation in Muslim communities --
(applause) -- it was innovation in Muslim communities that developed the order
of algebra; our magnetic compass and tools of navigation; our mastery of pens
and printing; our understanding of how disease spreads and how it can be
healed. Islamic culture has given us majestic arches and soaring spires;
timeless poetry and cherished music; elegant calligraphy and places of peaceful
contemplation. And throughout history, Islam has demonstrated through
words and deeds the possibilities of religious tolerance and racial
equality. (Applause.)
I also know that Islam has always been a part of America's
story. The first nation to recognize my country was Morocco.
In signing the Treaty of Tripoli in 1796, our second President, John Adams,
wrote, "The United States has in itself no character of enmity against the
laws, religion or tranquility of Muslims." And since our founding,
American Muslims have enriched the United States. They have
fought in our wars, they have served in our government, they have stood for
civil rights, they have started businesses, they have taught at our
universities, they've excelled in our sports arenas, they've won Nobel Prizes,
built our tallest building, and lit the Olympic Torch. And when the first
Muslim American was recently elected to Congress, he took the oath to defend
our Constitution using the same Holy Koran that one of our Founding Fathers --
Thomas Jefferson -- kept in his personal library. (Applause.)
So I have known Islam on three continents before coming to
the region where it was first revealed. That experience guides my
conviction that partnership between America and Islam must be based on
what Islam is, not what it isn't. And I consider it part of my
responsibility as President of the United States to fight against
negative stereotypes of Islam wherever they appear. (Applause.)
But that same principle must apply to Muslim perceptions of America.
(Applause.) Just as Muslims do not fit a crude stereotype, America is not
the crude stereotype of a self-interested empire. The United States
has been one of the greatest sources of progress that the world has ever
known. We were born out of revolution against an empire. We were
founded upon the ideal that all are created equal, and we have shed blood and
struggled for centuries to give meaning to those words -- within our borders,
and around the world. We are shaped by every culture, drawn from every
end of the Earth, and dedicated to a simple concept: E pluribus unum --
"Out of many, one."
Now, much has been made of the fact that an African American
with the name Barack Hussein Obama could be elected President.
(Applause.) But my personal story is not so unique. The dream of
opportunity for all people has not come true for everyone in America, but
its promise exists for all who come to our shores -- and that includes nearly 7
million American Muslims in our country today who, by the way, enjoy incomes
and educational levels that are higher than the American average.
(Applause.)
Moreover, freedom in America is indivisible from the
freedom to practice one's religion. That is why there is a mosque in
every state in our union, and over 1,200 mosques within our borders.
That's why the United States
government has gone to court to protect the right of women and girls to wear
the hijab and to punish those who would deny it. (Applause.)
So let there be no doubt: Islam is a part of America.
And I believe that America
holds within her the truth that regardless of race, religion, or station in
life, all of us share common aspirations -- to live in peace and security; to
get an education and to work with dignity; to love our families, our
communities, and our God. These things we share. This is the hope
of all humanity.
Of course, recognizing our common humanity is only the
beginning of our task. Words alone cannot meet the needs of our
people. These needs will be met only if we act boldly in the years ahead;
and if we understand that the challenges we face are shared, and our failure to
meet them will hurt us all.
For we have learned from recent experience that when a
financial system weakens in one country, prosperity is hurt everywhere.
When a new flu infects one human being, all are at risk. When one nation
pursues a nuclear weapon, the risk of nuclear attack rises for all
nations. When violent extremists operate in one stretch of mountains, people
are endangered across an ocean. When innocents in Bosnia and Darfur
are slaughtered, that is a stain on our collective conscience.
(Applause.) That is what it means to share this world in the 21st
century. That is the responsibility we have to one another as human
beings.
And this is a difficult responsibility to embrace. For
human history has often been a record of nations and tribes -- and, yes,
religions -- subjugating one another in pursuit of their own interests.
Yet in this new age, such attitudes are self-defeating. Given our
interdependence, any world order that elevates one nation or group of people
over another will inevitably fail. So whatever we think of the past, we
must not be prisoners to it. Our problems must be dealt with through
partnership; our progress must be shared. (Applause.)
Now, that does not mean we should ignore sources of tension.
Indeed, it suggests the opposite: We must face these tensions
squarely. And so in that spirit, let me speak as clearly and as plainly as
I can about some specific issues that I believe we must finally confront
together.
The first issue that we have to confront is violent
extremism in all of its forms.
In Ankara, I made clear that America is not
-- and never will be -- at war with Islam. (Applause.) We will,
however, relentlessly confront violent extremists who pose a grave threat to
our security -- because we reject the same thing that people of all faiths
reject: the killing of innocent men, women, and children. And it is
my first duty as President to protect the American people.
The situation in Afghanistan
demonstrates America's
goals, and our need to work together. Over seven years ago, the United States
pursued al Qaeda and the Taliban with broad international support. We did
not go by choice; we went because of necessity. I'm aware that there's still
some who would question or even justify the events of 9/11. But let us be
clear: Al Qaeda killed nearly 3,000 people on that day. The victims
were innocent men, women and children from America and many other nations who
had done nothing to harm anybody. And yet al Qaeda chose to ruthlessly
murder these people, claimed credit for the attack, and even now states their
determination to kill on a massive scale. They have affiliates in many
countries and are trying to expand their reach. These are not opinions to
be debated; these are facts to be dealt with.
Now, make no mistake: We do not want to keep our
troops in Afghanistan.
We see no military -- we seek no military bases there. It is agonizing
for America
to lose our young men and women. It is costly and politically difficult
to continue this conflict. We would gladly bring every single one of our
troops home if we could be confident that there were not violent extremists in Afghanistan and now Pakistan determined to kill as many
Americans as they possibly can. But that is not yet the case.
And that's why we're partnering with a coalition of 46
countries. And despite the costs involved, America's commitment will not
weaken. Indeed, none of us should tolerate these extremists. They
have killed in many countries. They have killed people of different
faiths -- but more than any other, they have killed Muslims. Their
actions are irreconcilable with the rights of human beings, the progress of
nations, and with Islam. The Holy Koran teaches that whoever kills an
innocent is as -- it is as if he has killed all mankind.
(Applause.) And the Holy Koran also says whoever saves a person, it is as
if he has saved all mankind. (Applause.) The enduring faith of over
a billion people is so much bigger than the narrow hatred of a few. Islam is
not part of the problem in combating violent extremism -- it is an important
part of promoting peace.
Now, we also know that military power alone is not going to
solve the problems in Afghanistan
and Pakistan.
That's why we plan to invest $1.5 billion each year over the next five years to
partner with Pakistanis to build schools and hospitals, roads and businesses,
and hundreds of millions to help those who've been displaced. That's why
we are providing more than $2.8 billion to help Afghans develop their economy
and deliver services that people depend on.
Let me also address the issue of Iraq. Unlike Afghanistan, Iraq was a war of choice that
provoked strong differences in my country and around the world. Although
I believe that the Iraqi people are ultimately better off without the tyranny
of Saddam Hussein, I also believe that events in Iraq
have reminded America
of the need to use diplomacy and build international consensus to resolve our
problems whenever possible. (Applause.) Indeed, we can recall the
words of Thomas Jefferson, who said: "I hope that our wisdom will
grow with our power, and teach us that the less we use our power the greater it
will be."
Today, America
has a dual responsibility: to help Iraq
forge a better future -- and to leave Iraq to Iraqis. And I have
made it clear to the Iraqi people -- (applause) -- I have made it clear to the
Iraqi people that we pursue no bases, and no claim on their territory or
resources. Iraq's
sovereignty is its own. And that's why I ordered the removal of our combat
brigades by next August. That is why we will honor our agreement with Iraq's democratically elected government to
remove combat troops from Iraqi cities by July, and to remove all of our troops
from Iraq
by 2012. (Applause.) We will help Iraq train its security forces and
develop its economy. But we will support a secure and united Iraq as a
partner, and never as a patron.
And finally, just as America can never tolerate violence
by extremists, we must never alter or forget our principles. Nine-eleven
was an enormous trauma to our country. The fear and anger that it
provoked was understandable, but in some cases, it led us to act contrary to
our traditions and our ideals. We are taking concrete actions to change
course. I have unequivocally prohibited the use of torture by the United States, and I have ordered the prison at Guantanamo Bay closed by early next year.
(Applause.)
So America
will defend itself, respectful of the sovereignty of nations and the rule of
law. And we will do so in partnership with Muslim communities which are
also threatened. The sooner the extremists are isolated and unwelcome in
Muslim communities, the sooner we will all be safer.
The second major source of tension that we need to discuss
is the situation between Israelis, Palestinians and the Arab world.
America's
strong bonds with Israel
are well known. This bond is unbreakable. It is based upon cultural
and historical ties, and the recognition that the aspiration for a Jewish
homeland is rooted in a tragic history that cannot be denied.
Around the world, the Jewish people were persecuted for
centuries, and anti-Semitism in Europe
culminated in an unprecedented Holocaust. Tomorrow, I will visit Buchenwald, which was part of a network of camps where
Jews were enslaved, tortured, shot and gassed to death by the Third
Reich. Six million Jews were killed -- more than the entire Jewish
population of Israel
today. Denying that fact is baseless, it is ignorant, and it is
hateful. Threatening Israel
with destruction -- or repeating vile stereotypes about Jews -- is deeply
wrong, and only serves to evoke in the minds of Israelis this most painful of
memories while preventing the peace that the people of this region deserve.
On the other hand, it is also undeniable that the
Palestinian people -- Muslims and Christians -- have suffered in pursuit of a
homeland. For more than 60 years they've endured the pain of
dislocation. Many wait in refugee camps in the West Bank, Gaza, and neighboring
lands for a life of peace and security that they have never been able to
lead. They endure the daily humiliations -- large and small -- that come
with occupation. So let there be no doubt: The situation for the
Palestinian people is intolerable. And America will not turn our backs on
the legitimate Palestinian aspiration for dignity, opportunity, and a state of
their own. (Applause.)
For decades then, there has been a stalemate: two
peoples with legitimate aspirations, each with a painful history that makes
compromise elusive. It's easy to point fingers -- for Palestinians to
point to the displacement brought about by Israel's founding, and for Israelis
to point to the constant hostility and attacks throughout its history from
within its borders as well as beyond. But if we see this conflict only
from one side or the other, then we will be blind to the truth: The only
resolution is for the aspirations of both sides to be met through two states,
where Israelis and Palestinians each live in peace and security.
(Applause.)
That is in Israel's
interest, Palestine's interest, America's
interest, and the world's interest. And that is why I intend to
personally pursue this outcome with all the patience and dedication that the
task requires. (Applause.) The obligations -- the obligations that
the parties have agreed to under the road map are clear. For peace to
come, it is time for them -- and all of us -- to live up to our
responsibilities.
Palestinians must abandon violence. Resistance through
violence and killing is wrong and it does not succeed. For centuries,
black people in America
suffered the lash of the whip as slaves and the humiliation of
segregation. But it was not violence that won full and equal
rights. It was a peaceful and determined insistence upon the ideals at
the center of America's
founding. This same story can be told by people from South Africa to South Asia; from Eastern Europe
to Indonesia.
It's a story with a simple truth: that violence is a dead end. It
is a sign neither of courage nor power to shoot rockets at sleeping children,
or to blow up old women on a bus. That's not how moral authority is
claimed; that's how it is surrendered.
Now is the time for Palestinians to focus on what they can
build. The Palestinian Authority must develop its capacity to govern,
with institutions that serve the needs of its people. Hamas does have support
among some Palestinians, but they also have to recognize they have
responsibilities. To play a role in fulfilling Palestinian aspirations,
to unify the Palestinian people, Hamas must put an end to violence, recognize
past agreements, recognize Israel's
right to exist.
At the same time, Israelis must acknowledge that just as Israel's right to exist cannot be denied,
neither can Palestine's.
The United States
does not accept the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlements.
(Applause.) This construction violates previous agreements and undermines
efforts to achieve peace. It is time for these settlements to stop.
(Applause.)
And Israel
must also live up to its obligation to ensure that Palestinians can live and
work and develop their society. Just as it devastates Palestinian
families, the continuing humanitarian crisis in Gaza
does not serve Israel's
security; neither does the continuing lack of opportunity in the West Bank. Progress in the daily lives of the Palestinian
people must be a critical part of a road to peace, and Israel must
take concrete steps to enable such progress.
And finally, the Arab states must recognize that the Arab
Peace Initiative was an important beginning, but not the end of their
responsibilities. The Arab-Israeli conflict should no longer be used to
distract the people of Arab nations from other problems. Instead, it must
be a cause for action to help the Palestinian people develop the institutions
that will sustain their state, to recognize Israel's legitimacy, and to choose
progress over a self-defeating focus on the past.
America
will align our policies with those who pursue peace, and we will say in public
what we say in private to Israelis and Palestinians and Arabs.
(Applause.) We cannot impose peace. But privately, many Muslims
recognize that Israel
will not go away. Likewise, many Israelis recognize the need for a
Palestinian state. It is time for us to act on what everyone knows to be
true.
Too many tears have been shed. Too much blood has been
shed. All of us have a responsibility to work for the day when the
mothers of Israelis and Palestinians can see their children grow up without
fear; when the Holy Land of the three great faiths is the place of peace that
God intended it to be; when Jerusalem is a secure and lasting home for Jews and
Christians and Muslims, and a place for all of the children of Abraham to
mingle peacefully together as in the story of Isra -- (applause) -- as in the
story of Isra, when Moses, Jesus, and Mohammed, peace be upon them, joined in
prayer. (Applause.)
The third source of tension is our shared interest in the
rights and responsibilities of nations on nuclear weapons.
This issue has been a source of tension between the United States
and the Islamic Republic of Iran. For many years, Iran has
defined itself in part by its opposition to my country, and there is in fact a
tumultuous history between us. In the middle of the Cold War, the United States
played a role in the overthrow of a democratically elected Iranian
government. Since the Islamic Revolution, Iran
has played a role in acts of hostage-taking and violence against U.S. troops and
civilians. This history is well known. Rather than remain trapped
in the past, I've made it clear to Iran's leaders and people that my
country is prepared to move forward. The question now is not what Iran is
against, but rather what future it wants to build.
I recognize it will be hard to overcome decades of mistrust,
but we will proceed with courage, rectitude, and resolve. There will be
many issues to discuss between our two countries, and we are willing to move
forward without preconditions on the basis of mutual respect. But it is
clear to all concerned that when it comes to nuclear weapons, we have reached a
decisive point. This is not simply about America's interests. It's
about preventing a nuclear arms race in the Middle East
that could lead this region and the world down a hugely dangerous path.
I understand those who protest that some countries have
weapons that others do not. No single nation should pick and choose which
nation holds nuclear weapons. And that's why I strongly reaffirmed America's
commitment to seek a world in which no nations hold nuclear weapons.
(Applause.) And any nation -- including Iran -- should have the right to
access peaceful nuclear power if it complies with its responsibilities under
the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. That commitment is at the core of
the treaty, and it must be kept for all who fully abide by it. And I'm hopeful
that all countries in the region can share in this goal.
The fourth issue that I will address is democracy.
(Applause.)
I know -- I know there has been controversy about the
promotion of democracy in recent years, and much of this controversy is
connected to the war in Iraq.
So let me be clear: No system of government can or should be imposed by one
nation by any other.
That does not lessen my commitment, however, to governments that reflect the
will of the people. Each nation gives life to this principle in its own
way, grounded in the traditions of its own people. America does
not presume to know what is best for everyone, just as we would not presume to
pick the outcome of a peaceful election. But I do have an unyielding
belief that all people yearn for certain things: the ability to speak
your mind and have a say in how you are governed; confidence in the rule of law
and the equal administration of justice; government that is transparent and
doesn't steal from the people; the freedom to live as you choose. These
are not just American ideas; they are human rights. And that is why we
will support them everywhere. (Applause.)
Now, there is no straight line to realize this
promise. But this much is clear: Governments that protect these
rights are ultimately more stable, successful and secure. Suppressing
ideas never succeeds in making them go away. America respects the right of all
peaceful and law-abiding voices to be heard around the world, even if we
disagree with them. And we will welcome all elected, peaceful governments
-- provided they govern with respect for all their people.
This last point is important because there are some who
advocate for democracy only when they're out of power; once in power, they are
ruthless in suppressing the rights of others. (Applause.) So no
matter where it takes hold, government of the people and by the people sets a
single standard for all who would hold power: You must maintain your
power through consent, not coercion; you must respect the rights of minorities,
and participate with a spirit of tolerance and compromise; you must place the
interests of your people and the legitimate workings of the political process
above your party. Without these ingredients, elections alone do not make
true democracy.
AUDIENCE MEMBER: Barack Obama, we love you!
PRESIDENT OBAMA: Thank you. (Applause.)
The fifth issue that we must address together is religious freedom.
Islam has a proud tradition of tolerance. We see it in
the history of Andalusia and Cordoba
during the Inquisition. I saw it firsthand as a child in Indonesia,
where devout Christians worshiped freely in an overwhelmingly Muslim
country. That is the spirit we need today. People in every country
should be free to choose and live their faith based upon the persuasion of the
mind and the heart and the soul. This tolerance is essential for religion
to thrive, but it's being challenged in many different ways.
Among some Muslims, there's a disturbing tendency to measure
one's own faith by the rejection of somebody else's faith. The richness
of religious diversity must be upheld -- whether it is for Maronites in Lebanon or the Copts in Egypt.
(Applause.) And if we are being honest, fault lines must be closed among
Muslims, as well, as the divisions between Sunni and Shia have led to tragic
violence, particularly in Iraq.
Freedom of religion is central to the ability of peoples to
live together. We must always examine the ways in which we protect
it. For instance, in the United
States, rules on charitable giving have made
it harder for Muslims to fulfill their religious obligation. That's why
I'm committed to working with American Muslims to ensure that they can fulfill
zakat.
Likewise, it is important for Western countries to avoid
impeding Muslim citizens from practicing religion as they see fit -- for
instance, by dictating what clothes a Muslim woman should wear. We can't
disguise hostility towards any religion behind the pretence of liberalism.
In fact, faith should bring us together. And that's why we're forging
service projects in America
to bring together Christians, Muslims, and Jews. That's why we welcome
efforts like Saudi Arabian King Abdullah's interfaith dialogue and Turkey's
leadership in the Alliance of Civilizations. Around the world, we can
turn dialogue into interfaith service, so bridges between peoples lead to
action -- whether it is combating malaria in Africa,
or providing relief after a natural disaster.
The sixth issue -- the sixth issue that I want to address is
women's rights. (Applause.) I know –- I know -- and you can tell
from this audience, that there is a healthy debate about this issue. I
reject the view of some in the West that a woman who chooses to cover her hair
is somehow less equal, but I do believe that a woman who is denied an education
is denied equality. (Applause.) And it is no coincidence that
countries where women are well educated are far more likely to be prosperous.
Now, let me be clear: Issues of women's equality are
by no means simply an issue for Islam. In Turkey,
Pakistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia, we've seen
Muslim-majority countries elect a woman to lead. Meanwhile, the struggle
for women's equality continues in many aspects of American life, and in
countries around the world.
I am convinced that our daughters can contribute just as
much to society as our sons. (Applause.) Our common prosperity will
be advanced by allowing all humanity -- men and women -- to reach their full
potential. I do not believe that women must make the same choices as men
in order to be equal, and I respect those women who choose to live their lives
in traditional roles. But it should be their choice. And that is why the United States
will partner with any Muslim-majority country to support expanded literacy for
girls, and to help young women pursue employment through micro-financing that
helps people live their dreams. (Applause.)
Finally, I want to discuss economic development and
opportunity.
I know that for many, the face of globalization is
contradictory. The Internet and television can bring knowledge and
information, but also offensive sexuality and mindless violence into the
home. Trade can bring new wealth and opportunities, but also huge
disruptions and change in communities. In all nations -- including America -- this
change can bring fear. Fear that because of modernity we lose control
over our economic choices, our politics, and most importantly our identities --
those things we most cherish about our communities, our families, our
traditions, and our faith.
But I also know that human progress cannot be denied.
There need not be contradictions between development and tradition. Countries
like Japan and South Korea
grew their economies enormously while maintaining distinct cultures. The
same is true for the astonishing progress within Muslim-majority countries from
Kuala Lumpur to Dubai. In ancient times and in our
times, Muslim communities have been at the forefront of innovation and
education.
And this is important because no development strategy can be
based only upon what comes out of the ground, nor can it be sustained while
young people are out of work. Many Gulf
states have enjoyed great wealth as a consequence of
oil, and some are beginning to focus it on broader development. But all
of us must recognize that education and innovation will be the currency of the
21st century -- (applause) -- and in too many Muslim communities, there remains
underinvestment in these areas. I'm emphasizing such investment within my
own country. And while America
in the past has focused on oil and gas when it comes to this part of the world,
we now seek a broader engagement.
On education, we will expand exchange programs, and increase
scholarships, like the one that brought my father to America. (Applause.) At
the same time, we will encourage more Americans to study in Muslim
communities. And we will match promising Muslim students with internships
in America; invest in online
learning for teachers and children around the world; and create a new online
network, so a young person in Kansas can
communicate instantly with a young person in Cairo.
On economic development, we will create a new corps of
business volunteers to partner with counterparts in Muslim-majority
countries. And I will host a Summit on
Entrepreneurship this year to identify how we can deepen ties between business
leaders, foundations and social entrepreneurs in the United States and Muslim
communities around the world.
On science and technology, we will launch a new fund to
support technological development in Muslim-majority countries, and to help
transfer ideas to the marketplace so they can create more jobs. We'll
open centers of scientific excellence in Africa, the Middle East and Southeast Asia, and appoint new science envoys to
collaborate on programs that develop new sources of energy, create green jobs,
digitize records, clean water, grow new crops. Today I'm announcing a new
global effort with the Organization of the Islamic Conference to eradicate
polio. And we will also expand partnerships with Muslim communities to
promote child and maternal health.
All these things must be done in partnership.
Americans are ready to join with citizens and governments; community
organizations, religious leaders, and businesses in Muslim communities around
the world to help our people pursue a better life.
The issues that I have described will not be easy to
address. But we have a responsibility to join together on behalf of the
world that we seek -- a world where extremists no longer threaten our people,
and American troops have come home; a world where Israelis and Palestinians are
each secure in a state of their own, and nuclear energy is used for peaceful
purposes; a world where governments serve their citizens, and the rights of all
God's children are respected. Those are mutual interests. That is
the world we seek. But we can only achieve it together.
I know there are many -- Muslim and non-Muslim -- who
question whether we can forge this new beginning. Some are eager to stoke
the flames of division, and to stand in the way of progress. Some suggest
that it isn't worth the effort -- that we are fated to disagree, and
civilizations are doomed to clash. Many more are simply skeptical that real
change can occur. There's so much fear, so much mistrust that has built
up over the years. But if we choose to be bound by the past, we will
never move forward. And I want to particularly say this to young people
of every faith, in every country -- you, more than anyone, have the ability to
reimagine the world, to remake this world.
All of us share this world for but a brief moment in time.
The question is whether we spend that time focused on what pushes us apart, or
whether we commit ourselves to an effort -- a sustained effort -- to find
common ground, to focus on the future we seek for our children, and to respect
the dignity of all human beings.
It's easier to start wars than to end them. It's
easier to blame others than to look inward. It's easier to see what is
different about someone than to find the things we share. But we should
choose the right path, not just the easy path. There's one rule that lies
at the heart of every religion -- that we do unto others as we would have them
do unto us. (Applause.) This truth transcends nations and peoples
-- a belief that isn't new; that isn't black or white or brown; that isn't
Christian or Muslim or Jew. It's a belief that pulsed in the cradle of
civilization, and that still beats in the hearts of billions around the world.
It's a faith in other people, and it's what brought me here today.
We have the power to make the world we seek, but only if we
have the courage to make a new beginning, keeping in mind what has been
written.
The Holy Koran tells us: "O mankind! We
have created you male and a female; and we have made you into nations and
tribes so that you may know one another."
The Talmud tells us: "The whole of the Torah is
for the purpose of promoting peace." \
The Holy Bible tells us: "Blessed are the
peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God." (Applause.)
The people of the world can live together in peace. We
know that is God's vision. Now that must be our work here on Earth.
Thank you. And may God's peace be upon you.
Thank you very much. Thank you. (Applause.)
END
2:05 P.M. (Local)
_______________________________________________
Christian
Soldiers
Jun 18, 2009 8:00 PM EDT
The
growing controversy over military chaplains using the armed forces to spread the
Word.
Ever since former president George
W. Bush referred to the war on terror as a “crusade” in the days
after the September 11 attacks, many have charged that the United States was conducting a holy
war, pitting a Christian America against the Muslim world. That perception grew
as prominent military leaders such as Lt. Gen. William Boykin described the
wars in evangelical terms, casting the U.S. military as the "army of
God." Although President Obama addressed the Muslim world this month in an
attempt to undo the Bush administration's legacy of militant Christian rhetoric
that often antagonized Muslim countries, several recent stories have framed the
issue as a wider problem of an evangelical military culture that sees spreading
Christianity as part of its mission.
In the aftermath of that report,
the Pentagon responded that it had confiscated and destroyed the Bibles and
said there was no effort to convert Afghans. But while the military dismissed
the Bagram Bibles as an isolated incident, a civil-rights watchdog group,
Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF), says this is not the case.
According to the group's president, Mikey Weinstein, a cadre of 40 U.S. chaplains took part in a 2003 project to
distribute 2.4 million Arabic-language Bibles in Iraq. This would be a serious
violation of U.S.
military Central Command's General Order Number One forbidding active-duty
troops from trying to convert people to any religion. A Defense Department
spokeswoman, in an e-mail to NEWSWEEK, denies any knowledge of this project.
The Bible initiative was handled by
former Army chaplain Jim Ammerman, the 83-year-old founder of the Chaplaincy of
Full Gospel Churches (CFGC), an organization in charge of endorsing 270
chaplains and chaplain candidates for the armed services.
Ammerman worked with an evangelical
group based in Arkansas, the International Missions
Network Center,
to distribute the Bibles through the efforts of his 40 active-duty chaplains in
Iraq.
A 2003 newsletter for the group said of the effort, "The goal is to
establish a wedge for the kingdom of God in the Middle East,
directly affecting the Islamic world."
J. E. Wadkins, vice president of
student life at Ecclesia College who oversees the International Missions
Network Center,
says they have worked with Ammerman for 20 years and reached out to him as part
of their "Bibles for the Nations" mission. He estimates that in the
end, between 100,000 and 500,000 Arabic Bibles were distributed in under one
year, beginning not long after Saddam Hussein's ouster. "It was a really
early effort there," says Wadkins, "when things first opened
up."
The effort is an example of what
critics call a growing culture of militarized Christianity in the armed forces.
It is influenced in part by changes in outlook among the various branches'
2,900 chaplains, who are sworn to serve all soldiers, regardless of religion,
with a respectful, religiously pluralistic approach. However, with an estimated
two thirds of all current chaplains affiliated with evangelical and Pentecostal
denominations, which often prioritize conversion and evangelizing, and a marked
decline in chaplains from Catholic and mainstream Protestant churches, this
ideal is suffering. Historian Anne C. Loveland attributes the shift to the
Vietnam War, when many liberal churches opposed to the war supplied fewer
chaplains, creating a vacuum filled by conservative churches. This imbalance
was exacerbated by regulation revisions in the 1980s that helped create
hundreds of new "endorsing agencies" that brought a flood of
evangelical chaplains into the military and by the simple fact that evangelical
and Pentecostal churches are the fastest-growing in the U.S.
The chaplains minister to flocks
that are, on the whole, slightly less religious than the general population and
slightly less evangelical. According to a 2008 Department of Defense survey, 22
percent of active-duty members of the military described themselves as
evangelical or Pentecostal (although the actual number of evangelical-minded
believers is likely higher when encompassing personnel who follow more
evangelical expressions of mainline Protestant denominations, as well as a
sizable percentage of the additional 20 percent that describe themselves simply
as "Christian").
US
troops urged to share faith and filmed with local Bibles despite
anti-proselytising rules.
Last Modified: 04 May 2009 08:40 GMT
US soldiers have been encouraged to spread the message of their Christian
faith among Afghanistan's
predominantly Muslim population, video footage obtained by Al Jazeera appears
to show.
Military chaplains stationed in the US air base at Bagram were also
filmed with bibles printed in the country's main Pashto and Dari languages.
In one recorded sermon, Lieutenant-Colonel Gary Hensley, the chief of the US military chaplains in Afghanistan, is
seen telling soldiers that as followers of Jesus Christ, they all have a
responsibility "to be witnesses for him".
"The special forces guys - they hunt men basically. We do the same
things as Christians, we hunt people for Jesus. We do, we hunt them down,"
he says.
"Get the hound of heaven after them, so we get them into the kingdom.
That's what we do, that's our business."
Local language Bibles
The footage, shot about a year ago by Brian Hughes, a documentary maker and
former member of the US
military who spent several days in Bagram, was obtained by Al Jazeera's James Bays,
who has covered Afghanistan
extensively.
Bays also obtained from Hughes a Pashto-language copy of one
of the books he picked up during a Bible study lesson he recorded at Bagram.
A Pashto speaker confirmed to Bays that it was a Bible.
In other footage captured at Bagram, Sergeant Jon Watt, a soldier who is set
to become a military chaplain, is seen giving thanks for the work that his
church in the US did in getting Bibles printed and sent to Afghanistan.
"I also want to praise God because my church collected some money to
get Bibles for Afghanistan.
They came and sent the money out," he is heard saying during a Bible study
class.
It is not clear that the Bibles were distributed to Afghans, but Hughes said
that none of the people he recorded in a series of sermons and Bible study
classes appeared to able to speak Pashto or Dari.
"They weren't talking about learning how to speak Dari or Pashto, by
reading the Bible and using that as the tool for language lessons," Hughes
said.
"The only reason they would have these documents there was to
distribute them to the Afghan people. And I knew it was wrong, and I knew that
filming it … documenting it would be important."
Pentagon officials have so far not responded to a copy of the footage
provided to them, but the distribution of Bibles in a place as politically
sensitive as Afghanistan is
bound to cause deep concern in Washington,
our correspondent says.
Guidelines
It is not clear if the presence of the Bibles and exhortations for soldiers
to be "witnesses" for Jesus continues, but they were filmed a year
ago despite regulations by the US military's Central Command that expressly
forbid "proselytising of any religion, faith or practice".
But in another piece of footage taken by Hughes, the
chaplains appear to have found a way around the regulation known as General
Order Number One.
"Do we know what it means to proselytise?" Captain Emmit Furner, a
military chaplain, says to the gathering.
"It is General Order Number One," an unidentified soldier replies.
But Watt says "you can't proselytise but you can give gifts".
The footage also suggests US
soldiers gave out Bibles in Iraq.
In his address to a Bible study group at Bagram, Afghanistan,
Watt is recorded as saying: "I bought a carpet and then I gave the guy a
Bible after I conducted my business.
"The Bible wasn't to be 'hey, I'll give you this and I'll give you a
better deal because that would be wrong', [but] the expressions that I got from
the people in Iraq
[were] just phenomenal, they were hungry for the word."
The footage has surfaced as Barack Obama, the US
president, prepares to host Hamid
Karzai, Afghanistan's
president, at a summit focusing on how to tackle al-Qaeda and Taliban bases
dotted along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.
Asif Ali Zardari, Pakistan's
president, will also take part in the talks in Washington, scheduled for May 5 and 6.
Source: Al Jazeera
US troops urged to share faith in Afghanistan - 04 May 09
US soldiers in Afghanistan have been filmed with local language Bibles and urged to be
"witnesses for Jesus" despite anti-proselytising rules.
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War Room With Owen Shroyer & +BN! March 15 2024
___________________________________ More Vids! +BN Vids Archive! HERE!
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SILENCING THE LAMBS. HOW PROPAGANDA WORKS.
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In an address to the Trondheim World Festival in Norway, John Pilger charts
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FAREWELL …… BUT HOPEFULLY NOT FOREVER
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Unfortunately WordPress has changed its format making it almost impossible
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Sameh Habeeb is a senior consultant with a number of European and
International NGOs. In 2017, he also founded the International Centre for
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Stop Pandering to Israel
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Pandering to Israel Has Got to Stop Pledges of Loyalty to Israel are
Un-American:
http://www.unz.com/pgiraldi/pandering-to-israel-has-got-to-stop/ Saw
fol...
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Surging
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*We're Number One*
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CHILD ABUSE NETWORKS - PART TWO
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*Frits Salomonson (left) and Prince Claus*
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Is Obama Trying to Start Israel-Syria War?
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*Israel using Iran threat to distract from tensions with Syria *
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CLAIM 01:"A pregnant non-Jew is no better than a pregnant animal." Coschen hamischpat 405.
RESPONSE: The above quote is a wrong inference from a fiscal law in Shulchan Oruch, Choshen Mishpat 405.3, that relates to times when slavery was a standard and accepted practice across the world.
BLOGGER: Response is BS. Even during the time mentioned above, the quote of Talmud, which is supposed to be a holy book, should not be as it is.
CLAIM 02: "It is permitted to take the body and the life of a Gentile." Sepher ikkarim III c 25.
RESPONSE: This is a misquotation. Rabbi Yosef Albo (the author) was asked by a Christian thinker about seeming injustice of the laws of Judaism dealing with charging interest on a loan. (According to Deuteronomy 23:20 and 23:21, a Jew is not allowed to lend with interest to another Jew, but may do so to a Gentile).
R. Albo answers: The "Gentile" or "heathen" in the above passage refers to idolater, who refuses to keep seven Noahide laws. The laws are universal for all mankind: A) prohibition of idolatry, B) prohibition of blasphemy, C) prohibition of murder, D) prohibition of immorality and promiscuity, E) prohibition of theft, F) establishment of judicial system, G) prohibition of cruelty to animals.
Such a person, who does not respect other's rights, places himself apart from human community and therefore can expect to be treated according to his own rules. He is a threat to everyone around and hence if somebody kills him, that person is not charged. On the contrary, even according to non-Jewish philosophers in those days (14th and 15th century, Spain), as R Albo brings, such a person should be killed. So it is regarding money matters: the prohibition of taking interest, that applies to everybody, including a non-Jew who keeps the Noahide laws (as R. Albo mentions a few sentences earlier), do not apply to him.
BLOGGER: What a crackpot full of steaming shit. First, an idolater is not obliged to follow the Nohide laws. Second, even if he is, but violates them all or part thereof, he does not deserve to be killed by someone. Third, one can not just kill someone who has a different belief. Anybody is free to believe in whatever he wants as far as no harm is done to those living around him when the belief is carried out into action.
CLAIM 03: "It is the law to kill anyone who denies the Torah. The Christians belong to the denying ones of the Torah." Coschen hamischpat 425 Hagah 425.
RESPONSE: This is from the Shulcan Aruch and applies to killing Jewish heretics. The following line in this passage is that this law does not apply to anyone non-Jewish and it is forbidden to harm any gentile. The Jewish heretics are people which are a potential cause of harm and trouble to the Jewish nation. The penalty is designed to demonstrate the severity with which heretical views were considered, rather than a practical penalty as such penalties were rarely imposed. E.S./David S. Maddison.
BLOGGER: The quote says, “anyone who denies the Torah”, then immediately followed by, “The Christians belong to the denying ones of the Torah.” I cannot find any reference to Jewish heretics, or “it is forbidden to harm any gentile”. Response is nothing but hogwash.
BB: Monthly news of rabbis sexual perversion & other crimes.
Click on picture!
BB: Pervert Rabbis
BB: Cases of shame
CASES OF SHAME: What is a rabbi?
The word "Rabbi" refers to one of the ancient scribes - supposedly a holy man - who participated in writing the "Talmud". In Arabic, which is a Semitic language and a cousin to Hebrew, the word is"Rabbanie", or "Rabbie", means a godly man. My question is, are they really godly? I strongly doubt that. Below are some of their news…
Israel's new Ashkenazi chief rabbi case: JERUSALEM: Israel's new Ashkenazi chief rabbi is facing growing calls to step down amid allegations of misconduct. The allegations center on sexual harassment charges against Yona Metzger, as well as charges that he engaged in fraud and is not qualified for the post. Aides to Metzger have rejected the allegations as a smear campaign fueled by political rivals.
Metzger and his Sephardi counterpart, Rabbi Shlomo Amar, were elected as Israel's chief rabbis April 14 by a 150-member public committee. Since then, however, opposition to Metzger has grown. In the latest development, a Tel Aviv accountant filed a petition Monday in the High Court of Justice challenging Metzger's appointment. It will be heard by a three-judge panel.
The petition claims that allegations of fraud and other improprieties involving Metzger were not fully investigated because of his 1998 pledge not to stand for chief rabbi of Tel Aviv. Metzger's spokesman, Roni Rimon, told the Israeli daily Ma'ariv that the petition was full of "lies, lies and more lies" produced by "professional slanderers.". Metzger had been accused of forging witnesses' signatures on marriage contracts and unlawfully demanding payment for performing weddings, the daily Ha'aretz reported. As a result of the allegations, Metzger's permit to serve as a chief rabbi of a major city was revoked. However, it was reinstated several months later after a hearing before three senior Israeli rabbis -- including Eliyahu Bakshi - Doron, a former Sephardi chief rabbi -- who accepted Metzger's explanations and his commitment to leave the Tel Aviv race, the paper said.
The petition also argues that the Metzger, 50, who previously was rabbi of north Tel Aviv, was not qualified to fill the chief rabbi's duties as head of the country's rabbinic court system because he never had been a religious judge or rabbi of a major city. The petition maintained that the elections committee for the chief rabbi was not adequately informed of the misconduct allegations against Metzger. In related development, Ma'ariv recently published what it said were sexual harassment allegations involving Metzger. Three weeks before Metzger's election as chief rabbi, the paper reported, it learned of complaints from four adult men who claimed Metzger had touched their arms, legs and chests and expressed admiration for their muscular physiques.
Park Avenue rabbi Case:A prominent Park Avenue rabbi had a mistress nearly half his age sign a bizarre cohabitation contract - promising she’d get liposuction, become better educated and continue their already hot-and-heavy sexual relationship in exchange for half his house, the woman claims in a bombshell lawsuit. Janet Pizzo says she had a seven-year affair with the married Metropolitan Synagogue Rabbi Joel Goor - which included recurring steamy sex in his rabbinical office while he lied to his wife about his whereabouts. But their courtship crumbled when she suspected him of having another girlfriend, and he’s since become vindictive. She even caught him on audio tape threatening to prance around their Bronxhome naked in front of her 17-year-old daughter.
You’ve got to move,” Goor says, according to an audio tape reviewed by The Post. “This is my house . . . I’m allowed to walk around nude in my house. So you better tell [her daughter] Mary,” Goor told Pizzo.“I’m allowed to walk round this house . . . and I’m going to.”. Goor’s lawyer declined to comment on the allegations. “I truly loved this guy, I really did,” said a weepy Pizzo, 48, complaining how the 73-year-old Man of God locked her out of their bedroom, removed the cushions from her couch and vowed to unplug the refrigerator. http://www.canonist.com/?p=1245
BB: More corruption: human organ trafficking and money laundering case.
1.
"There is a huge gap between us (Jews) and our enemies, not just in
ability but in morality, culture, sanctity of life, and conscience. They are
our neighbors here, but it seems as if at a distance of a few hundred meters
away, there are people who do not belong to our continent, to our world, but
actually belong to a different galaxy." Israeli president Moshe Katsav.
The Jerusalem
Post, May 10, 2001
2.
"The Palestinians are like crocodiles, the more you give them meat, they
want more".... Ehud Barak, Prime Minister of Israel at the time - August
28, 2000. Reported in the Jerusalem
Post August 30, 2000
3.
" [The Palestinians are] beasts walking on two legs." Menahim Begin,
speech to the Knesset, quoted in Amnon Kapeliouk, "Begin and the
Beasts". New Statesman, 25 June 1982.
4.
"The Palestinians" would be crushed like grasshoppers ... heads
smashed against the boulders and walls." Isreali Prime Minister (at
the time) in a speech to Jewish settlers New York Times April 1, 1988
5.
"When we have settled the land, all the Arabs will be able to do about it
will be to scurry around like drugged cockroaches in a bottle." Raphael
Eitan, Chief of Staff of the Israeli Defence Forces, New York Times, 14 April
1983.
6.
"How can we return the occupied territories? There is nobody to return
them to." Golda Maier, March 8, 1969.
7.
"There was no such thing as Palestinians, they never existed." Golda
Maier Israeli Prime Minister June 15, 1969
8.
"The thesis that the danger of genocide was hanging over us in June 1967
and that Israel
was fighting for its physical existence is only bluff, which was born and developed
after the war." Israeli General Matityahu Peled, Ha'aretz, 19 March 1972.
9.
David Ben Gurion (the first Israeli Prime Minister): "If I were an Arab
leader, I would never sign an agreement with Israel. It is normal; we have taken
their country. It is true God promised it to us, but how could that interest
them? Our God is not theirs. There has been Anti - Semitism, the Nazis, Hitler,
Auschwitz, but was that their fault ? They see
but one thing: we have come and we have stolen their country. Why would they
accept that?" Quoted by Nahum Goldmann in Le Paraddoxe Juif (The Jewish
Paradox), pp121.
10.
Ben Gurion also warned in 1948 : "We must do everything to insure they (
the Palestinians) never do return." Assuring his fellow Zionists that
Palestinians will never come back to their homes. "The old will die and
the young will forget."
11.
"We have to kill all the Palestinians unless they are resigned to live
here as slaves." Chairman Heilbrun of the Committee for the Re-election of
General Shlomo Lahat, the mayor of Tel Aviv, October 1983.
12.
"Every time we do something you tell me America
will do this and will do that . . . I want to tell you something very clear:
Don't worry about American pressure on Israel. We, the Jewish people,
control America,
and the Americans know it." - Israeli Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon,
October 3, 2001, to Shimon Peres, as reported on Kol Yisrael radio. (Certainly
the FBI's cover-up of the Israeli spy ring/phone
tap scandal suggests that Mr. Sharon may not have been joking.)
13.
"We declare openly that the Arabs have no right to settle on even one
centimeter of Eretz Israel...
Force is all they do or ever will understand. We shall use the ultimate force until
the Palestinians come crawling to us on all fours." Rafael Eitan, Chief of
Staff of the Israeli Defense Forces - Gad Becker, Yediot Ahronot 13 April 1983,
New York Times 14 April 1983.
14.
"We must do everything to ensure they [the Palestinian refugees] never do
return" David Ben-Gurion, in his diary, 18 July 1948, quoted in Michael
Bar Zohar's Ben-Gurion: the Armed Prophet, Prentice-Hall, 1967, p. 157.
15." ... we should prepare to go over to the offensive with the aim of
smashing Lebanon,
Trans-jordan and Syria...
The weak point in the Arab coalition is Lebanon [for] the Moslem regime is
artificial and easy to undermine. A Christian state should be established...
When we smash the [Arab] Legions strength and bomb Amman,
we will eliminate Transjordan, too, and then Syria will fall. If Egypt still dares to fight on, we shall bomb Port Said, Alexandria, and Cairo." " David
Ben-Gurion, May 1948, to the General Staff. From Ben-Gurion, A Biography, by
Michael Ben-Zohar, Delacorte,
New York 1978.
16.
"We must use terror, assassination, intimidation, land confiscation, and
the cutting of all social services to rid the Galilee
of its Arab population." Israel
Koenig, "The Koenig Memorandum"
17."Jewish villages were built in the place of Arab villages. You do not even
know the names of these Arab villages, and I do not blame you because geography
books no longer exist. Not only do the books not exist, the Arab villages are
not there either. Nahlal arose in the place of Mahlul; Kibbutz Gvat in the
place of Jibta; Kibbutz Sarid in the place of Huneifis; and Kefar Yehushua in
the place of Tal al-Shuman. There is not a single place built in this country
that did not have a former Arab population." Moshe Dayan, address to the
Technion, Haifa,
reported in Haaretz, April 4, 1969.
18.
"We walked outside, Ben-Gurion accompanying us. Allon repeated his
question, What is to be done with the Palestinian population?' Ben-Gurion waved
his hand in a gesture which said 'Drive them out!'" Yitzhak Rabin, leaked
censored version of Rabin memoirs, published in the New York Times, 23 October
1979.
19.Rabin's description of the conquest of Lydda, after the completion of Plan
Dalet. "We shall reduce the Arab population to a community of woodcutters
and waiters" Uri Lubrani, PM Ben-Gurion's special adviser on Arab Affairs,
1960. From "The Arabs in Israel"
by Sabri Jiryas.
20.
"There are some who believe that the non-Jewish population, even in a high
percentage, within our borders will be more effectively under our surveillance;
and there are some who believe the contrary, i.e., that it is easier to carry
out surveillance over the activities of a neighbor than over those of a tenant.
[I] tend to support the latter view and have an additional argument:...the need
to sustain the character of the state which will henceforth be Jewish...with a
non-Jewish minority limited to 15 percent. I had already reached this
fundamental position as early as 1940 [and] it is entered in my diary."
Joseph Weitz, head of the Jewish Agency's Colonization Department. From Israel: an Apartheid State
by Uri Davis, p.5.
21.
"Everybody has to move, run and grab as many hilltops as they can to
enlarge the settlements because everything we take now will stay ours...
Everything we don't grab will go to them." Ariel Sharon, Israeli Foreign
Minister, addressing a meeting of militants from the extreme right-wing Tsomet
Party, Agence France Presse, November 15, 1998.
22.
"It is the duty of Israeli leaders to explain to public opinion, clearly
and courageously, a certain number of facts that are forgotten with time. The
first of these is that there is no Zionism,colonialization or Jewish State
without the eviction of the Arabs and the expropriation of their lands."
Yoram Bar Porath, Yediot Aahronot, of 14 July 1972.
23.
"Spirit the penniless population across the frontier by denying it
employment... Both the process of expropriation and the removal of the poor
must be carried out discreetly and circumspectly." Theodore Herzl, founder
of the World Zionist Organization, speaking of the Arabs of Palestine,Complete
Diaries, June 12, 1895 entry.
24.
"One million Arabs are not worth a Jewish fingernail." -- Rabbi
Yaacov Perrin, Feb. 27, 1994 [Source: N.Y. Times, Feb. 28, 1994, p. 1]
25.
"We Jews, we are the destroyers and will remain the destroyers. Nothing
you can do will meet our demands and needs. We will forever destroy because we
want a world of our own." (You Gentiles, by Jewish Author Maurice Samuels,
p. 155).
26.
"We will have a world government whether you like it or not. The only
question is whether that government will be achieved by conquest or
consent." (Jewish Banker Paul Warburg, February 17, 1950, as he testified
before the U.S. Senate).
27.
"We will establish ourselves in Palestine
whether you like it or not...You can hasten our arrival or you can equally
retard it. It is however better for you to help us so as to avoid our
constructive powers being turned into a destructive power which will overthrow
the world." (Chaim Weizmann, Published in "Judische Rundschau,"
No. 4, 1920)
28.
"Our race is the Master Race. We are divine gods on this planet. We are as
different from the inferior races as they are from insects. In fact, compared
to our race, other races are beasts and animals, cattle at best. Other races
are considered as human excrement. Our destiny is to rule over the inferior
races. Our earthly kingdom will be ruled by our leader with a rod of iron. The
masses will lick our feet and serve us as our slaves." - Israeli prime
Minister Menachem Begin in a speech to the Knesset [Israeli Parliament] quoted
by Amnon Kapeliouk, "Begin and the Beasts," New Statesman, June 25,
1982
29.
"Tell me, do the evil men of this world have a bad time? They hunt and
catch whatever they feel like eating. They don't suffer from indigestion and
are not punished by Heaven. I want Israel to join that club. Maybe the
world will then at last begin to fear us instead of feeling sorry. Maybe they
will start to tremble, to fear our madness instead of admiring our nobility.
Let them tremble; let them call us a mad state. Let them understand that we are
a savage country, dangerous to our surroundings, not normal, that we might go
wild, that we might start World War Three just like that, or that we might one
day go crazy and burn all the oil fields in the Middle East. Even if you'll
prove to me that the present war is a dirty immoral war, I don't care. We shall
start another war, kill and destroy more and more. And do you know why it is
all worth it? Because it seems that this war has made us more unpopular among
the civilized world.We'll hear no more of that nonsense about the unique Jewish
morality. No more talk about a unique people being a light upon the nations. No
more uniqueness and no more sweetness and light. Good riddance." -- Former
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon
30.
"The Modern Age is the Jewish Age, and the twentieth century, in
particular, is the Jewish Century." -Yuri Slezkine, Professor of History
at University of California,
Berkeley, "The Jewish Century"; Princeton University Press
31.
"What shocks and worries me is the narrow-mindedness and the
shortsightedness of our military leaders. They seem to presume that the State
of Israel may or even must-behave in the realm of international relations
according to the laws of the jungle- -the long chain of false incidents and
hostilities we have invented, and so many clashes we have provoked;" - From
Diary of Moshe Sharett, former Primer Minister of Israel in Livia Rokach,
Israel's Sacred Terrorism published 980
32.Hebrew essayist Achad Ha-Am, after paying a visit to Palestine in 1891:
"Abroad we are accustomed to believe that Israel is almost empty; nothing
is grown here and that whoever wishes to buy land could come here and buy what
his heart desires. In reality, the situation is not like this. Throughout the
country it is difficult to find cultivable land which is not already
cultivated."
33.The Balfour Declaration to Baron Rothchild, on the 2nd of November, 1917:
"His Majesty's Government view with favor the establishment in Palestine
of a national home for the Jewish people, and will use their best endeavors to
facilitate the achievement of this object, it being clearly understood that
nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of
existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine, or the rights and political
status enjoyed by Jews in any other country."
34.Lord Sydenham, Hansard, House of Lords, 21 June 1922: "If we are going to
admit claims on conquest thousands of years ago, the whole world will have to
be turned upside down."
35.1923:Vladimir Jabotinsky, The Iron Wall, "Zionist colonization must
either be terminated or carried out against the wishes of the native
population. This colonization can, therefore, be continued and make progress
only under the protection of a power independent of the native population - an
iron wall, which will be in a position to resist the pressure to the native
population. This is our policy towards the Arabs..."
36.
Vladimir Jabotinsky, founder of Revisionist Zionism (precursor of Likud), The
Iron Wall, 1923: "A voluntary reconciliation with the Arabs is out of the
question either now or in the future. If you wish to colonize a land in which
people are already living, you must provide a garrison for the land, or find
some rich man or benefactor who will provide a garrison on your behalf. Or
else-or else, give up your colonization, for without an armed force which will
render physically impossible any attempt to destroy or prevent this colonization,
colonization is impossible, not difficult, not dangerous, but IMPOSSIBLE!...
Zionism is a colonization adventure and therefore it stands or falls by the
question of armed force. It is important... to speak Hebrew, but,
unfortunately, it is even more important to be able to shoot - or else I am
through with playing at colonizing."
37.David Ben Gurion, future Prime Minister of Israel, 1937, Ben Gurion and the
Palestine Arabs, Oxford University Press, 1985: "We must expel Arabs and
take their places."
38.
Joseph Weitz, head of the Jewish Agency's Colonization Department in 1940. From
"A Solution to the Refugee Problem": "Between ourselves it must
be clear that there is no room for both peoples together in this country. We
shall not achieve our goal if the Arabs are in this small country. There is no
other way than to transfer the Arabs from here to neighboring countries - all
of them. Not one village, not one tribe should be left."
39.Israeli official Arthur Lourie in a letter to Walter Eytan, director general of
the Israeli Foreign Ministry (ISA FM 2564/22). From Benny Morris, "The
Birth of the Palestinian Refugee Problem 1947-49", p. 297: "...if
people become accustomed to the large figure and we are actually obliged to
accept the return of the refugees, we may find it difficult, when faced with
hordes of claimants, to convince the world that not all of these formerly lived
in Israeli territory. It would, in any event, seem desirable to minimize the
numbers...than otherwise."
40.David Ben-Gurion, May 1948, to the General Staff. From Ben- Gurion, A
Biography, by Michael Ben-Zohar, Delacorte,
New York 1978: "We should
prepare to go over to the offensive. Our aim is to smash Lebanon, Trans-Jordan, and Syria. The weak
point is Lebanon,
for the Moslem regime is artificial and easy for us to undermine. We shall establish
a Christian state there, and then we will smash the Arab Legion, eliminate
Trans-Jordan; Syria
will fall to us. We then bomb and move on and take Port
Said, Alexandria
and Sinai."
41.BenDavid -Gurion, one of the father founders of Israel,
described Zionist aims in 1948: "A Christian state should be established
[in Lebanon],
with its southern border on the Litani river. We will make an alliance with it.
When we smash the Arab Legion's strength and bomb Amman,
we will eliminate Transjordan too, and then Syria will fall. If Egypt still dares to fight on, we shall bomb Port Said, Alexandria and Cairo... And in this
fashion, we will end the war and settle our forefathers' account with Egypt, Assyria, and Aram"
42.
[Begin, and Yitzhak Shamir who were members of the party became Prime
Ministers.] Albert Einstein, Hanna Arendt and other prominent Jewish Americans,
writing in The New York Times, protest the visit to America of Menachem Begin,
December 1948: "Among the most disturbing political phenomena of our time
is the emergence in the newly created State of Israel of the Freedom Party
(Herut), a political party closely akin in its organization, method, political
philosophy and social appeal to the Nazi and Fascist parties."
43.Martin Buber, Jewish Philosopher, addressed Prime Minister Ben Gurion on the
moral character of the state of Israel
with reference to the Arab refugees in March 1949. "We will have to face
the reality that Israel
is neither innocent, nor redemptive. And that in its creation, and expansion;
we as Jews, have caused what we historically have suffered; a refugee
population in Diaspora."
44.Moshe Dayan (Israel
Defense and Foreign Minister), on February 12 1952. Radio "Israel.":
"It lies upon the people's shoulders to prepare for the war, but it lies
upon the Israeli army to carry out the fight with the ultimate object of
erecting the Israeli Empire."
45.Martin Buber, to a NewYork audience, Jewish
Newsletter, June 2, 1958: "When we [followers of the prophetic Judaism]
returned to Palestine...the
majority of Jewish people preferred to learn from Hitler rather than from
us."
46.Aba Eban (the Israeli Foreign Minister) stated arrogantly. New York Times June
19, 1967: "If the General Assembly were to vote by 121 votes to 1 in favor
of "Israel"
returning to the armistice lines-- (pre June 1967 borders) "Israel"
would refuse to comply with the decision."
47.Dr. Israel Shahak, Chairperson of the Israeli League for Human and Civil
Rights, and a survivor of the Bergen Belsen concentration camp, Commenting on
the Israeli military's Emergency Regulations following the 1967 War. Palestine, vol. 12,
December 1983: "Hitler's legal power was based upon the 'Enabling Act',
which was passed quite legally by the Reichstag and which allowed the Fuehrer
and his representatives, in plain language, to be what they wanted, or in legal
language, to issue regulations having the force of law. Exactly the same type
of act was passed by the Knesset [Israeli's Parliament] immediately after the
1067 conquest granting the Israeli governor and his representatives the power
of Hitler, which they use in Hitlerian manner."
48.
Joseph Weitz, Director of the Jewish National Fund, the Zionist agency charged
with acquiring Palestinian land, Circa 194. Machover Israca, January 5, 1973
/p.2: "The only solution is Eretz Israel
[Greater Israel], or at least Western Eretz Israel
[all the land west of Jordan River], without
Arabs. There is no room for compromise on this point ... We must not leave a
single village, not a single tribe."
49.
Israeli Rabbi Yitzhak Ginsburg, Inferring that killing isn't murder if the
victim is Gentile. Jerusalem Post, June 19,1989: "Jewish blood and a goy's
[gentile's] blood are not the same."
50.Benyamin Netanyahu, then Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister, former Prime Minister
of Israel, tells students at Bar Ilan University,
From the Israeli journal Hotam, November 24, 1989: "Israel should have exploited the repression of
the demonstrations in China,
when world attention focused on that country, to carry out mass expulsions
among the Arabs of the territories."
51.
Former Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir declares at a Tel Aviv memorial service
for former Likud leaders, November 1990. Jerusalem
Domestic Radio Service: "The past leaders of our movement left us a clear
message to keep Eretz Israel
from the Sea to the Jordan River for future
generations, for the mass aliya [immigration], and for the Jewish people, all
of whom will be gathered into this country."
52.
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, quoted in Associated Press, November 16,
2000: "If we thought that instead of 200 Palestinian fatalities, 2,000
dead would put an end to the fighting at a stroke, we would use much more
force...."
53.Ben Gurion: In 1899, Davis Triestsch wrote to Herzl: " I would suggest to
you to come round in time to the "Greater Palestine" program before
it is too late... the Basle program must contain the words "Great
Palestine" or "Palestine and its neighboring lands" otherwise
it's nonsense. You do not get ten million Jews into a land of 25,000 Km2".
" The present map of Palestine
was drawn by the British mandate. The Jewish people have another map which our
youth and adults should strive to fulfill -- From the Nile to the Euphrates."
54.Vladimir Jabotinsky (the founder and advocate of the Zionist terrorist
organizations), Quoted by Maxime Rodinson in Peuple Juif ou Problem Juif.
(Jewish People or Jewish Problem): "Has any People ever been seen to give
up their territory of their own free will? In the same way, the Arabs of
Palestine will not renounce their sovereignty without violence."
We
enthusiastically chose to become a colonial society, ignoring international
treaties, expropriating lands, transferring settlers from Israel to the
occupied territories, engaging in theft and finding justification for all these
activities. Passionately desiring to keep the occupied territories, we
developed two judicial systems: one - progressive, liberal - in Israel; and the
other - cruel, injurious - in the occupied territories. In effect, we
established an apartheid regime in the occupied territories immediately
following their capture. That oppressive regime exists to this day.
BB: MOSSAD
BB: ADAM YAHIYE GADAHN: A Jew who pretended to have converted to Islam assumed different aliases.
BB:They Pretended to have converted to Islam, and started talking violently to smear Islam Muslims.
BB: They call themselves Jews though their ancestors never set foot in Palestine.