Taking With One Hand, Killing With The Other
ByIf anyone wonders why the US, Europe and Israel should think twice before giving money to the Palestinian Authority, perhaps they should question whether putting cash in the hands of people like Sheik Ahmad Bahr, acting Speaker of the Palestinian Legislative Council, is a good thing. This is what he told a crowd in Sudan on Friday, according to MEMRI:
“‘You will be victorious’ on the face of this planet. You are the masters of the world on the face of this planet. Yes, [the Koran says that] ‘you will be victorious,’ but only ‘if you are believers.’ Allah willing, ‘you will be victorious,’ while America and Israel will be annihilated. I guarantee you that the power of belief and faith is greater than the power of America and Israel. They are cowards who are eager for life, while we are eager for death for the sake of Allah. That is why America’s nose was rubbed in the mud in Iraq, in Afghanistan, in Somalia, and everywhere.”
[...]Oh Allah, vanquish the Jews and their supporters. Oh Allah, count their numbers, and kill them all, down to the very last one. Oh Allah, show them a day of darkness. Oh Allah, who sent down His Book, the mover of the clouds, who defeated the enemies of the Prophet, defeat the Jews and the Americans, and bring us victory over them.
Mr Bahr is entitled to his opinion. But isn’t it a little cheeky to expect America and Israel to foot the bill for their own destruction?
(The Jerusalem Post via Anorak.)
9 Comments
May 2nd, 2007 at 9:40 pm
Paul: the money that is being held is mainly from TAX and I agree it is up to America and Israel to give any other money. I think the Arab world is capable of giving the Palestinians aid if it was not for Britain and USA stopping it.
Do you know how much aid money Israel gets from USA?
On the other hand I attended a seminar http://www.makeitanissue.org.uk where we discussed issues such as defence, welfare system and aid. One of the problem I have is UK and USA government handing money to corrupt governments like Pakistan and Ethiopia and on the other hand stopping aid getting through to Innocents Palestinians,I don’t think that is fare? Do you?
May 3rd, 2007 at 11:41 am
Ermiyas, it’s not about fairness.
I don’t think Israel should give any money to a neighboring government that is bent on its destruction.
Let me just repeat one part of the statement of the acting Speaker of the Palestinian Legislative Council:
Now, tell me, if someone was saying that about your country, would you want to help them?
May 3rd, 2007 at 12:33 pm
“we are eager for death for the sake of Allah”
Good. Kill yourselves then. (Preferably somewhere isolated where there are no innocent bystanders).
May 4th, 2007 at 7:57 am
Paul: the principle is not about a country that needs aid for the sake
of it, this are people who are unable to feed, get essential medication,
housing etc… Just because someone in power have an opinion of Israel
does not have to mean the rest have to suffer, and the Israel Palestine
issue can not be seen in the same perspective if someone has said about
my country. It is to complicated to look at it lightly. I don’t know if
you have heard about Rage Against the Machine saing
http://enjoyment.independent.co.uk/music/features/article2499591.ece
where they perform about killing Bush and the right wing media (Fox)
alike are crying about it. I think Speaker said it out of frustration
and simply to attract the arab donors add to that at least the Israeli
are suffering through words but Palestinians are suffering through the
IDF hand.
May 4th, 2007 at 9:47 am
Ermiyas:
“add to that at least the Israeli
are suffering through words but Palestinians are suffering through the
IDF hand.”
The Israelis are also suffering through rockets. You know, the explodey kind. Nice try, but the Palestinians are anything but innocent.
May 4th, 2007 at 9:58 am
Ermiyas:
“…this are people who are unable to feed, get essential medication,
housing etc…â€Â
The Palestinians driven from Israel during the 1947-48 war was estimated by the UN to be approximately 700K in size. That population today is, as of 2002, estimated by the UN to be 4.2 million (excluding the West Bank). Starving populations do not typically increase themselves by 500 percent in the span of 2 generations. The conditions of the refugee camps are wretched by our standards; but if the Palestinians are concerned enough with such problems, perhaps they should concentrate more on civil governance than insurrection.
“…I think Speaker said it out of frustration and simply to attract the arab donors…â€Â
This is an extremely charitable assessment of the Speaker’s motives, especially given that the pleas for annihilation of Israel and America have been repeated multiple times in this speech (and many others). But even if correct, donations from other countries in the Middle East regularly find their way to the Palestinians. Unfortunately, these usually are spent on munitions and weaponry. Infrastructure is clearly not a priority of the Palestinian Authority (see earlier).
“… Just because someone in power have an opinion of Israel
does not have to mean the rest have to suffer…â€Â
Why not? Why should Palestinians bear no consequences for their choices? The Hamas government has openly advocated a war of extermination against Israel since the establishment of their political wing (the views of their paramilitary organization are far more established and equally extreme if not moreso). Fatah is different only in that they espouse the same viewpoint in Arabic while attempting in English to convince the West they do not hold this view. The Palestinians have refused to consider any political options other than these two parties, knowing full well their goals and priorities.
“…at least the Israeli are suffering through words but Palestinians are suffering through the IDF hand…â€Â
Israel suffers from more than words, but they elect governments to deal with these issues, and those governments are held responsible when they fail to address those issues adequately (witness Olmert’s current difficulties). Palestinians elect governments that a) function as plutocracies, stealing what little public monies are not spent on bombs and bullets, b) reject peace treaties that would return 97% of the territories taken from them in favor of continued bloodshed and death, c) align themselves with trans-national terrorist organizations openly pursuing warfare against their largest donor nation (US), and now d) openly call for that nation’s destruction alongside Israel.
One may feel sorry for the plight of these people – I did once (although I clearly do not any longer). But it is one thing to have sympathy, and another to subsidize the behavior that keeps the Palestinians in their current condition. It is another still to fund our enemies, and this is what they have become.
May 4th, 2007 at 8:02 pm
I did a history project when I was at school it was about the holocaust and here is quote from one of the prisoner of Nazi concentration camp.
“First they came for the Communists, but I was not a Communist – so I said nothing. Then they came for the Social Democrats, but I was not a Social Democrat – so I did nothing. Then they came for the trade unionists, but I was not a trade unionist. And then they came for the Jews, but I was not a Jew – so I did little. Then when they came for me, there was no one left who could stand up for me.”
Martin Niemoeller, Church Dissident Leader
So as a human being we have the duty to serve or help those who don’t have a voice.
And why do the UK and USA governments dislike the democratically elected Hamas government? When they actually allowed Sinn Fein and the likes to peacefully flourish?
I am not advocating the Hamas stance in regards to Israel, but a democratically elected government should be allowed to function.
May 5th, 2007 at 9:02 am
Ermiyas – a majority vote is not the same as a democracy. Democracies protect the right of minorities. For example in Israel if you are a gentile your rights are equal in the eyes of the law. Not so with Palestenian government. Palestenians reaped what they sowed when they elected Hamas. But to call the Palestenians a democratic people is a joke. Yes, we should let them function in their own meager way. By not giving them money we are allowing it function, we are just not helping.
I don’t really understand the context of that very famous quote. Please explain how it applies here and to the arguments HobbesDFW offered?
May 5th, 2007 at 3:23 pm
Petitedov: the reason I mentioned the quote was to show that ignoring those who need my support was not a good idea as there might be one day I might need their support.