Once again, the international media is breathless over what it perceives as the “moderating” of Hamas.
The source of their barely-contained excitement this time: An ostensibly conciliatory letter from Hamas Authority Foreign Minister Mahmoud al-Zahar to UN Secretary General Kofi Annan.
First reports gleefully declared that in the letter, which was sent Tuesday, Zahar made mention of the “two-state solution,” a de facto recognition of Israel.
On Wednesday Zahar took some of the wind out of the media’s sails, insisting that “such a sentence was not used in the letter.”
He showed a copy to Reuters, which confirmed the letter made no such mention.
But still the media clings to its insistance Zahar is moderating, pointing to his written desire to live in peace with regional neighbors:
“Like all other people in the world, we look forward to live in peace and security for our people to live a dignified live in freedom and independence, side by side with our neighbors in this sacred part of the world.”
However, there is little reason to take this as evidence Hamas is suddenly willing to live in peaceful coexistence with the Jewish state, or is even moving in that direction.
The wording of the allegedly conciliatory portion of the letter doesn’t even mention Israel.
If Hamas were truly moderating then why not simply come out and say, “We no longer seek Israel’s destruction, and respect its right to exist side-by-side with us”?
Everyone insists the “Palestinians” voted for Hamas for purely socio-economic reasons anyway, so they certainly won’t be betraying their voters with such a policy shift.
Zahar’s interview with China’s Xinhua news agency earlier this week also makes it hard to believe he or his Hamas colleagues are undergoing a process of moderation.
“I dream of hanging a huge map of the world on the wall at my Gaza home which does not show Israel on it. …our dream to have our independent state on all historic Palestine will become real one day. I’m certain of this because there is no place for the state of Israel on this land.”
Those remarks received considerably less coverage than Zahar’s letter to Annan, perhaps not surprisingly, as they obviously give the lie to claims that upon assuming power Hamas ceased to be a belligerent terrorist organization.
The honey-coated wording of the last sentence of Zahar’s letter is likely the product of Hamas’ growing adeptness at smooth-talking the Palestinian Authority’s financial benefactors, rather than some kind of conciliatory message.
In other words, its just a sales pitch. And a fairly transparent one at that.
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3 comments so far ↓
1 Messianic Rabbi Henry M. Morse benafuchi@aol.com // Apr 5, 2006 at 5:11 pm
Here is the problem as I see it from a Biblical perspective. Israel refused to drive out the Philistines from the land when God told them to.
Exo 23:31 And I will set thy bounds from the Red sea even unto the sea of the Philistines, and from the desert unto the river: for I will deliver the inhabitants of the land into your hand; and thou shalt drive them out before thee.
Exo 23:32 Thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor with their gods.
Exo 23:33 They shall not dwell in thy land, lest they make thee sin against me: for if thou serve their gods, it will surely be a snare unto thee.
Now, they have people living in that same region for all intents and purposes under the
same name. Palestine is the anglicized version of the word Philistine. It was the name given to the region By Hadrian in 130 AD as an attempt to disassociate the Jew from his land. To make matters worse it was Israel that gave the land to these Philistine
wanna bees. There will come a time when Jerusalem will again be consecrated to the
Lord alone, take hope.
Zec 14:21 Yea, every pot in Jerusalem and in Judah shall be holiness unto the LORD of hosts: and all they that sacrifice shall come and take of them, and seethe therein: and in that day there shall be no more the Canaanite in the house of the LORD of hosts.
2 FERN SIDMAN // Apr 9, 2006 at 11:32 pm
WILL ZIONISM BE VANQUISHED?
BY: FERN SIDMAN
It was recently reported that the leader of Hamas, Khaled Mash’al said in a speech in Damascus that Arab determination and spirit will ultimately vanquish Zionism and bring about the liberation of Palestine.
Mash’al who is the real power behind Hamas, is a former resident of Gaza. After an unsuccessful assasination attempt by the Israeli government in 1997, Israel has barred Mash’al from re-entering the country and assuming any role in the new Hamas government of the Palestinian Authority.
The following are excerpts from his speech:
“Ben Gurion (Israel’s first prime minister) hoped that subsequent generations of Palestinians will forget their defeat in the 1948 War of Independence, commonly referred to by Arabs as the catastrophe.”
“Today’s followers of Ben Gurion know that they have to contend with a Palestinian generation that is stronger than its predecessors. They will see future generations of Palestinians and the Arab and Islamic nation waving the banner of Islam.”
“The liberation of Palestine will come with the help of Allah, until it is attained by the last solider, woman, and child, despite resistance by Israel and the United States… Jerusalem will become Arab and Muslim again, including all the places holy to Islam and Christianity.”
“Today, we are close to attaining Palestinian national rights… When a Palestinian child says that his grandfather or father was born in Nazareth, Haifa, or Jaffa, there’s powerful human force in that. Can any power on earth erase this memory? How can Nazareth, Haifa, Be’er Sheva, Jaffa, and Akko be erased from the Palestinian memory? Therefore, one who says that Palestinian rights will die out, or that the Palestinians will relinquish or sell their rights and values is living an illusion.”
“We and the Zionists have been brought together by destiny. If they want a fight, we’ll be there; if they want a war we’re ready; if they want a conflict we’ll be there however long it takes.”
“We have more determination that Israel… We’ll defeat it, with the help of Allah, and we’ll liberate the land.”
To those who are shocked by these statements, we retort that we’re shocked that you’re shocked. Indeed, the Arab knows time is on his side. He has a deep and abiding belief in Allah, which stirs his nationalism. He confronts an obsequious state of Israel, who is bent on making even more territorial concessions to the Arab. Subsequent to the evacuation and demolition of Gush Katif, while the Arabs celebrated the beginning of the end of the State of Israel, the Kassam rocket attacks started on Israeli settlements near the Gaza border.
Let us remember the words of Rabbi Meir Kahane, ZTK”L, HY”D, who said, “The confrontation will come as the Arabs of Israel constitute one-quarter or one-third of the state. Riots and rebellion will be seen on television screens all over the world. Bombs will go off, and bloody clashes between soldiers and Arab civilians will take scores of lives.” (They Must Go, 1981, page 115)
And to those who are still not convinced of the ultimate goal of the Arab, let us ponder this statement by Rabbi Kahane, ZTK”L, “The Muslims are bitterly anti-Israel and anti-Jewish… They combine fervent anti-Zionist nationalism with the even more fervent Islamic creed. That the Arab youth of Israel are undergoing an Islamic revival is admitted by one and all.” (Israel: Revolution of Referendum?, 1990, page 47)
The government of the State of Israel and our leadership is tired of fighting the enemy. Mr. Olmert has said as much. The weakness and disarray of the government of Israel is clarion call to the Arab. He feeds on this weakness, and views concessions by Israel not as signs of compromise for long term peace, but as admission of defeat.
The Jewish State, unlike the Arab, is not propelled towards nationalism, because they have no connection to the Almighty G-d of Israel. They are not a nation that is fortified in it’s conviction and belief in the power and omnipotence of Hashem. It is not a state that is devoted to the precepts of the holy Torah. It is a nation that does not comprehend faith and trust in G-d. It is not a nation who believes that their ultimate battle for survivial is inextricably tied to the Final Redemption. It is not a state of warriors that goes out to sanctify the name of G-d. It is a state of non-believing, morally bankrupt individuals who are bent on self destruction. The Jewish State is depressed, weary, exhausted and empty. And the Arab knows it.
He knows that he cannot be satisfied with a “Palestinian” state in Judea and Samaria and Gaza. He wants all of his “homeland” liberated from the Zionist oppressors, and that includes Haifa, Tel Aviv, Ashkelon, etc.
“The voices of the Arab revolution are clearly heard in the land, and, as if cursed from heaven, the Jewish leaders of Israel sit, paralyzed.” (Rabbi Meir Kahane - They Must Go, 1981, page 120)
We must wake up and smell the coffee. Only through a mass infusion of Jewish strength and power can we emerge victorious in this battle for our very existence as Jews and for the Land of Israel. Only through belief in and devotion to the G-d of Israel and His Torah can we develop the courage and strength to purge the Arab enemy from our midst. Only through our unwavering and stubborn adherence to the laws of the G-d of Israel can we face our vapid and self destructive leaders with words of truth. And let us ponder these words of hope and inspiration, “The Jewish concept of government is clear: The government exists to serve the people. The people exist to serve G-d.” (Rabbi Kahane, Israel: Revolution or Referendum?” 1990, page 98) “If you love Jews enough, you say the painful things which will save them. No concern what they will do to you, that’s not relevant.” (Rabbi Kahane’s last speech, November 5, 1990)
Let us pray to the G-d of Israel to give us strength and the courage to sanctify His holy name and let us take the actions required for our own self-preservation.
3 FERN SIDMAN // Apr 9, 2006 at 11:33 pm
WILL ZIONISM BE VANQUISHED?
BY: FERN SIDMAN
It was recently reported that the leader of Hamas, Khaled Mash’al said in a speech in Damascus that Arab determination and spirit will ultimately vanquish Zionism and bring about the liberation of Palestine.
Mash’al who is the real power behind Hamas, is a former resident of Gaza. After an unsuccessful assasination attempt by the Israeli government in 1997, Israel has barred Mash’al from re-entering the country and assuming any role in the new Hamas government of the Palestinian Authority.
The following are excerpts from his speech:
“Ben Gurion (Israel’s first prime minister) hoped that subsequent generations of Palestinians will forget their defeat in the 1948 War of Independence, commonly referred to by Arabs as the catastrophe.”
“Today’s followers of Ben Gurion know that they have to contend with a Palestinian generation that is stronger than its predecessors. They will see future generations of Palestinians and the Arab and Islamic nation waving the banner of Islam.”
“The liberation of Palestine will come with the help of Allah, until it is attained by the last solider, woman, and child, despite resistance by Israel and the United States… Jerusalem will become Arab and Muslim again, including all the places holy to Islam and Christianity.”
“Today, we are close to attaining Palestinian national rights… When a Palestinian child says that his grandfather or father was born in Nazareth, Haifa, or Jaffa, there’s powerful human force in that. Can any power on earth erase this memory? How can Nazareth, Haifa, Be’er Sheva, Jaffa, and Akko be erased from the Palestinian memory? Therefore, one who says that Palestinian rights will die out, or that the Palestinians will relinquish or sell their rights and values is living an illusion.”
“We and the Zionists have been brought together by destiny. If they want a fight, we’ll be there; if they want a war we’re ready; if they want a conflict we’ll be there however long it takes.”
“We have more determination that Israel… We’ll defeat it, with the help of Allah, and we’ll liberate the land.”
To those who are shocked by these statements, we retort that we’re shocked that you’re shocked. Indeed, the Arab knows time is on his side. He has a deep and abiding belief in Allah, which stirs his nationalism. He confronts an obsequious state of Israel, who is bent on making even more territorial concessions to the Arab. Subsequent to the evacuation and demolition of Gush Katif, while the Arabs celebrated the beginning of the end of the State of Israel, the Kassam rocket attacks started on Israeli settlements near the Gaza border.
Let us remember the words of Rabbi Meir Kahane, ZTK”L, HY”D, who said, “The confrontation will come as the Arabs of Israel constitute one-quarter or one-third of the state. Riots and rebellion will be seen on television screens all over the world. Bombs will go off, and bloody clashes between soldiers and Arab civilians will take scores of lives.” (They Must Go, 1981, page 115)
And to those who are still not convinced of the ultimate goal of the Arab, let us ponder this statement by Rabbi Kahane, ZTK”L, “The Muslims are bitterly anti-Israel and anti-Jewish… They combine fervent anti-Zionist nationalism with the even more fervent Islamic creed. That the Arab youth of Israel are undergoing an Islamic revival is admitted by one and all.” (Israel: Revolution of Referendum?, 1990, page 47)
The government of the State of Israel and our leadership is tired of fighting the enemy. Mr. Olmert has said as much. The weakness and disarray of the government of Israel is clarion call to the Arab. He feeds on this weakness, and views concessions by Israel not as signs of compromise for long term peace, but as admission of defeat.
The Jewish State, unlike the Arab, is not propelled towards nationalism, because they have no connection to the Almighty G-d of Israel. They are not a nation that is fortified in it’s conviction and belief in the power and omnipotence of Hashem. It is not a state that is devoted to the precepts of the holy Torah. It is a nation that does not comprehend faith and trust in G-d. It is not a nation who believes that their ultimate battle for survivial is inextricably tied to the Final Redemption. It is not a state of warriors that goes out to sanctify the name of G-d. It is a state of non-believing, morally bankrupt individuals who are bent on self destruction. The Jewish State is depressed, weary, exhausted and empty. And the Arab knows it.
He knows that he cannot be satisfied with a “Palestinian” state in Judea and Samaria and Gaza. He wants all of his “homeland” liberated from the Zionist oppressors, and that includes Haifa, Tel Aviv, Ashkelon, etc.
“The voices of the Arab revolution are clearly heard in the land, and, as if cursed from heaven, the Jewish leaders of Israel sit, paralyzed.” (Rabbi Meir Kahane - They Must Go, 1981, page 120)
We must wake up and smell the coffee. Only through a mass infusion of Jewish strength and power can we emerge victorious in this battle for our very existence as Jews and for the Land of Israel. Only through belief in and devotion to the G-d of Israel and His Torah can we develop the courage and strength to purge the Arab enemy from our midst. Only through our unwavering and stubborn adherence to the laws of the G-d of Israel can we face our vapid and self destructive leaders with words of truth. And let us ponder these words of hope and inspiration, “The Jewish concept of government is clear: The government exists to serve the people. The people exist to serve G-d.” (Rabbi Kahane, Israel: Revolution or Referendum?” 1990, page 98) “If you love Jews enough, you say the painful things which will save them. No concern what they will do to you, that’s not relevant.” (Rabbi Kahane’s last speech, November 5, 1990)
Let us pray to the G-d of Israel to give us strength and the courage to sanctify His holy name and let us take the actions required for our own self-preservation.
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