Pic of the day in Israel

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I thought I touched on Irgun in my last post, but apparently not.

Something that many people don't understand about the conflict in the middle east is that both the Jewish and Arab cultures contribute to the ongoing conflict. The Arabs believe that negotiation is a form of weakness, which is why peace talks are generally ineffective. The Jews believe in an eye for an eye, which is why many of them are unwilling to let go.

Also, the desire for peace between Jews and Arabs seems to be more common among the highly educated, rather than among one race in particular.

As for Irgun, it was formed because of the eye for an eye belief of Jews, who thought that the only way to fight back against Arab terrorist attacks (and get the British to leave Palestine, which is a whole different topic) was to hit them back as hard as they hit Israel in the first place, if not even harder.

Other groups, such as Lehi, splintered off from Irgun. Lehi was anti-British rather than anti-Arab, and even proposed allying with Hitler in exchange for the shipment of German Jews to Israel.

However, all these organizations were deemed Criminal by the Israeli government. There has been no similar crackdown on Hezbollah from any Arab governments.

I'm not saying that Israel is blameless in the ongoing conflict, though. I didn't mention that in my other post because I didn't want to weaken my argument against the jew-hater, but he's seemingly been vanquished. I am however saying, and maintain, that the Arabs shoulder the majority of the blame for the current situation. Most Jewish aggression comes out of their belief of their right to hit back, not out of a desire to commit genocide on the Arabs.

HaShomer existed prior to the Arab Riots. They were known to conduct rather nasty raids against Arab civilians.

Israeli Textbooks and Children’s Literature Promote Racism and Hatred Toward Palestinians and Arabs

By Maureen Meehan

Israeli school textbooks as well as children’s storybooks, according to recent academic studies and surveys, portray Palestinians and Arabs as “murderers,” “rioters,” “suspicious,” and generally backward and unproductive. Direct delegitimization and negative stereotyping of Palestinians and Arabs are the rule rather than the exception in Israeli schoolbooks.

Professor Daniel Bar-Tal of Tel Aviv University studied 124 elementary, middle- and high school textbooks on grammar and Hebrew literature, history, geography and citizenship. Bar-Tal concluded that Israeli textbooks present the view that Jews are involved in a justified, even humanitarian, war against an Arab enemy that refuses to accept and acknowledge the existence and rights of Jews in Israel.

“The early textbooks tended to describe acts of Arabs as hostile, deviant, cruel, immoral, unfair, with the intention to hurt Jews and to annihilate the State of Israel. Within this frame of reference, Arabs were delegitimized by the use of such labels as ‘robbers,’ ‘bloodthirsty,’ and ‘killers,’” said Professor Bar-Tal, adding that there has been little positive revision in the curriculum over the years.

Bar-Tal pointed out that Israeli textbooks continue to present Jews as industrious, brave and determined to cope with the difficulties of “improving the country in ways they believe the Arabs are incapable of.”

Hebrew-language geography books from the 1950s through 1970s focused on the glory of Israel’s ancient past and how the land was “neglected and destroyed” by the Arabs until the Jews returned from their forced exile and revived it “with the help of the Zionist movement.”

“This attitude served to justify the return of the Jews, implying that they care enough about the country to turn the swamps and deserts into blossoming farmland; this effectively delegitimizes the Arab claim to the same land,” Bar-Tal told the Washington Report. “The message was that the Palestinians were primitive and neglected the country and did not cultivate the land.”

This message, continued Bar-Tal, was further emphasized in textbooks by the use of blatant negative stereotyping which featured Arabs as: “unenlightened, inferior, fatalistic, unproductive and apathetic.” Further, according to the textbooks, the Arabs were “tribal, vengeful, exotic, poor, sick, dirty, noisy, colored” and “they burn, murder, destroy, and are easily inflamed.”

Textbooks currently being used in the Israeli school system, says Bar-Tal, contain less direct denigration of Arabs but continue to stereotype them negatively when referring to them. He pointed out that Hebrew- as well as Arabic-language textbooks used in elementary and junior high schools contain very few references either to Arabs or to Arab-Jewish relations. The coordinator of a Palestinian NGO in Israel said that major historical events hardly get a mention either.

“When I was in high school 12 years ago, the date ‘1948’ barely appeared in any textbooks except for a mention that there was a conflict, Palestinians refused to accept a U.N. solution and ran away instead,” said Jamal Atamneh, coordinator of the Arab Education Committee in Support of Local Councils, a Haifa-based NGO. “Today the idea communicated to schoolchildren is basically the same: there are winners and losers in every conflict. When they teach about ‘peace and co-existence,’ it is to teach us how to get along with Jews.”

Atamneh explained that textbooks used by the nearly one million Arab Israelis (one-fifth of Israel’s population) are in Arabic but are written by and issued from the Israeli Ministry of Education, where Palestinians have no influence or input.

“Fewer than 1 percent of the jobs in the Education Ministry, not counting teachers, are held by Palestinians,” Atamneh said. “For the past 15 years, not one new Palestinian academic has been placed in a high position in the ministry. There are no Palestinians involved in preparing the Arabic-language curriculum [and] obviously, there is no such thing as affirmative action in Israel.”

In addition, there are no Arabic-language universities in Israel. Haifa University, Atamneh points out, has had a steady 20 percent Arab student population for the past 20 years. “How can that figure have remained the same after all these years when the population in the north [of Israel] has grown to over 50 percent Arab?”

Answering his own question, Atamneh rattles off statistics that reflect excellent high school scores among Arab students which he contrasts to their subsequent lower-than-average performance in Hebrew-language college entrance exams given by the state.

“No major scholarships have ever been awarded to an Arab; there are no dorms for Arabs and no college-related jobs or financial aid programs. They justify this legal discrimination by the fact that we do not serve in the army. There are numerous blatant and official methods used to keep Palestinian Arabs out of the universities.”

Absence of Palestinian Identity in Schoolbooks

Dr. Eli Podeh, lecturer in the Department of Islamic Studies and Middle East History at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, says that while certain changes in Israeli textbooks are slowly being implemented, the discussion of Palestinian national and civil identity is never touched upon.

“Passages from ‘experts’ about the existence of a Palestinian identity were introduced, but in general it appeared that the textbook authors were not eager to adopt it,” said Dr. Podeh, adding that “the connection between Palestinians in Israel and Arabs in Arab countries is not discussed. Especially evident is the lack of a discussion on the orientation of Palestinians to the [occupied] territories.

“While new textbooks attempt to correct some of the earlier distortions, these books as well contain overt and covert fabrications,” said Dr. Podeh. “The establishment has preferred—or felt itself forced—to encourage the cover-up and condemn the perplexity.”

One Israeli public high school student told the Washington Report that the contents of the schoolbooks and the viewpoints expressed by some teachers indeed have a lasting negative effect on youngsters’ attitudes toward Palestinians.

“Our books basically tell us that everything the Jews do is fine and legitimate and Arabs are wrong and violent and are trying to exterminate us,” said Daniel Banvolegyi, a 17-year-old high school student in Jerusalem.

“We are accustomed to hearing the same thing, only one side of the story. They teach us that Israel became a state in 1948 and that the Arabs started a war. They don’t mention what happened to the Arabs—they never mention anything about refugees or Arabs having to leave their towns and homes,” said Banvolegyi.

Banvolegyi, who will be a high school senior this fall, and then will be drafted into the Israeli army next summer, said he argues with his friends about what he regards as racism in the textbooks and on the part of the teachers. He pointed out a worrisome example of how damaging the textbooks and prevailing attitudes can be.

“One kid told me he was angry because of something he read or discussed in school and that he felt like punching the first Arab he saw,” said Banvolegyi. “Instead of teaching tolerance and reconciliation, the books and some teachers’ attitudes are increasing hatred for Arabs.”

Banvolegyi spoke about his schoolmates who, he says, “are dying to go into combat and kill Arabs. I try to talk to them but they say I don’t care about this country. But I do care and that’s why I tell them peace and justice are the only ways to work things out.”

Racist Israeli Upbringing

Considering what the schools have to offer, both Banvolegyi and Atamneh agree that the oral tradition is one of the few ways to get the story straight.

“Unfortunately Israeli children’s books are not an option for promoting equality in this society,” said Atamneh, citing a book written by Israeli writer/researcher Adir Cohen called An Ugly Face in the Mirror.

Cohen’s book is a study of the nature of children’s upbringing in Israel, concentrating on how the historical establishment sees and portrays Arab Palestinians as well as how Jewish Israeli children perceive Palestinians. One section of the book was based on the results of a survey taken of a group of 4th to 6th grade Jewish students at a school in Haifa. The pupils were asked five questions about their attitude toward Arabs, how they recognize them and how they relate to them. The results were as shocking as they were disturbing:

Seventy five percent of the children described the “Arab” as a murderer, one who kidnaps children, a criminal and a terrorist. Eighty percent said they saw the Arab as someone dirty with a terrifying face. Ninety percent of the students stated they believe that Palestinians have no rights whatsoever to the land in Israel or Palestine

Cohen also researched 1,700 Israeli children’s books published after 1967. He found that 520 of the books contained humiliating, negative descriptions of Palestinians. He also took pains to break down the descriptions:

Sixty six percent of the 520 books refer to Arabs as violent; 52 percent as evil; 37 percent as liars; 31 percent as greedy; 28 percent as two-faced; 27 percent as traitors, etc.

Cohen points out that the authors of these children’s books effectively instill hatred toward Arabs by means of stripping them of their human nature and classifying them in another category. In a sampling of 86 books, Cohen counted the following descriptions used to dehumanize Arabs: Murderer was used 21 times; snake, 6 times; dirty, 9 times; vicious animal, 17 times; bloodthirsty, 21 times; warmonger, 17 times; killer, 13 times; believer in myths, 9 times; and a camel’s hump, 2 times.

Cohen’s study concludes that such descriptions of Arabs are part and parcel of convictions and a culture rampant in Hebrew literature and history books. He writes that Israeli authors and writers confess to deliberately portraying the Arab character in this way, particularly to their younger audience, in order to influence their outlook early on so as to prepare them to deal with Arabs.

“So you can see that if you grew up reading or studying from these books, you’d never know anything else,” said Atamneh.

“But in the case of Palestinians, we grow up 500 meters away from what used to be a town or village and is now a Jewish settlement. Our parents and grandparents tell us all about it; endlessly they talk about it. It’s the only way.”

http://www.washington-report.org/backis ... 09019.html

All I can say is: check your sources of information guys. That's all for now, because I'm going on a holiday tomorrow.

PS: I MUST comment on this:

This is not about me.

Regarding that article about Israeli kiddy books... In the last two or three years, since the international community became aware of those books, Israel has edited or removed the offending books to get rid of such racist stuff. So now the local Arabs only have to wait a generation or two for the indoctrination to pass through.

What you mean to say is that your baseless accusations of the Jews "slaughtering their way to Palestine" were easily deflected by about 20 minutes of researching off Wikipedia.

Which begs the question... why do you hate Jews so much? Are you a racist? A Nazi? Did a Jew beat you up when you were a kid?

Since your hate-filled irrationality has nothing to do with anything that exists in reality, I think asking where it all came from is the logical next step. I mean, it HAS to be something from inside your mind, since none of it has anything to do with facts.

That's a start. Now how long will it take the rest of the region? This article says that in Saudi Arabia kids are even taught to hate other Muslims...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/co ... 01769.html

"A review of a sample of official Saudi textbooks for Islamic studies used during the current academic year reveals that, despite the Saudi government's statements to the contrary, an ideology of hatred toward Christians and Jews and Muslims who do not follow Wahhabi doctrine remains in this area of the public school system.

...Some of our sources are Shiites and Sunnis from non-Wahhabi traditions -- people condemned as "polytheistic" or "deviant" or "bad" in these texts -- others are simply frustrated that these books do so little to prepare young students for the modern world."

I have a friend in Suadi Arabia now. She tells me the royal fruitcakes there who run everything are totally nuts. They have their own private armies, they run special operations raids against each other, they do all sorts of crazy things, and the regular people just get caught in the middle.

The civilians are always the ones who have to pay. Sometimes I think politics is a synonym for corruption...

very good point.



true. the zionist movement had a lot of influence in this.

While this is true, the common acceptance of the term anti-semetism is almost always refered to as meaning the Jewish People.

Hezbollah is supported by both the iranian and syrian governments. Who is to say that Iran or Syria planned this, then passed the idea on to Hezbollah and unfortunately Lebanon is attacked while being uninvolved. It would be nice to think thay Lebanon could crack down on Hezbollah, but then they are in the Government there, and it could lead to more problems in the middle east.

Let me guess - you are a white (comfortably off) American? who supports the so called "War on Terror" even though you have not experienced a war in your whole life.

LePetitPrince is on the f*****g front line. He has every right to complain about the Israeli barbarians and their massacre. People talk about the war in Lebanon. Its not a war - its a bloody massacre!!

The Israelis started off as terrorists themselves. We, the British, tried to administor the Middle East back in the late 1940's and set up a small Israeli state (something which never should have been set up in the first place). Then the bastards kicked us out, terrorised the Arabs living there and expanded their borders so their country is ten times as large as the UN intended it to be. All this extra land the greedy bastards aquired meant that millions of Arabs were displaced. Having no state of their own, they took up arms to reclaim Palestine.

Another thing to consider. If I, unilaterally, decided to set up my own state in the UK, and make my own laws and push out people who lived in my area because I claimed the territory as my own and no longer part of the UK, I would fully expect the UK army to come in and shut down my illegal state. This is what the Arabs tried to do in the 1950's - 1960's. Unfortunately, they failed. Israel is an illegal state and continues to be a malignant cancer in the Middle East.

Aren't you that anti-American anti-right wing bigot who got banned because you couldn't put a lid on it?

Yeah.

Nothing that comes out of your mouth is of any worth. I cite the fact that you just reiterated a bunch of Starling's insane statements that I already debunked as proof.

Instead of insulting me perhaps you could come out with something intelligent to say and answer my question.

There is nothing wrong with being anti-American. Most of the world is these days. There is nothing wrong with being left-wing. Again, most of the world outside America is left-wing.

No, I did not get banned for being anti-American. What a stupid assumption to make from someone who was not involved. All I got was my wrist slapped for insulting another member (I am now friends with the said member) - nothing to do with politics.

I notice you are the only one in this thread actually condoning Israel's actions. You must have something mentally wrong with you to support a massacre. Again, I say it is not a war, it is a massacre.

Deleted the posting .....

RobertN, are you schizo?