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KOSHER DELIGHT - YOUR JEWISH ONLINE MAGAZINE!
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KD
MAGAZINE!
Posted: Friday,
July 20, 2007 ב"ה ה' באב, תשס"ז
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July 18, 2007
From Maurice Ostroff
To the Editor,
Cape Times
Reply re South African Minister of Intelligence, Ronnie Kasrils -
defending false myths
I agree with Minister
Kasrils that quotations are appropriate when pertinent and
consistent with the generally stated position of the person
quoted; and backed up by the career and actions of that
individual. (Defending false myths, July 18).
I would add however that it is unethical to use quotations
out of the context in which they were made or to
misinterpret them to serve a writer’s prejudices.
In the correspondence about Minister Kasril’s views on
Israel, it is disappointing to note how quotations have been
used to score debating points rather than to examine his
thesis that Israel is sinful and the Palestinians saintly,
while offering no constructive suggestions to resolve the
terrible conflict.
Using the above parameters about the use of quotations it is
relevant to quote Palestinian, Walid Shoebat, a former
member of the PLO who participated in terror acts and was
imprisoned in Israel. Here are some extracts
“The occupation is in the minds of Children who are
taught hatred...The Israeli Arab Conflict is not about
geography but about Jew hatred; …The Arab refugees are being
used as pawns' to create a terror breeding ground, as a form
of aggression against Israel…The Arab refugee problem was
caused by Arab aggression and not Israel.”
Lest I be accused of quoting out of context, I hasten to
add that the complete text and background may be read on Mr.
Shoebat’s web site
http://www.shoebat.com/
Mr. Kasrils reference to Israel, having been allocated 56%
of British Mandated Palestine by UN Resolution 181, and
expanding to 78% in 1949, is flawed. Present day Israel is
obviously a miniscule percentage of the Mandated Palestine
allocated for Jewish settlement which then included the
territories now known as Jordan, Israel, the West Bank and
Gaza
Article 6 of the Mandate granted by the League of Nations
specifically requires the Administration, while ensuring
that the rights and position of other sections of the
population, to facilitate Jewish immigration and to
encourage close settlement by Jews on the land. See
http://tinyurl.com/6nuc4
Admittedly there are
divided opinions on the precise meaning of the Balfour
Declaration on which Jewish settlement was based but the 78%
figure quoted by Mr. Kasrils is clearly far off the mark.
Kasrils also omits the fact that the Arab states rejected
resolution 181, declaring “Holy War” instead, with the
publicly proclaimed intention of driving the Jews into the
sea and that the moment Israel declared independence,
Lebanese, Syrian, Iraqi, Egyptian, and Transjordanian
troops, supported by Saudi, Iraqi and Yemenite troops,
attacked the nascent Jewish state. Nor does he quote Arab
League Secretary, General Azzam Pasha’s declaration:
"This will be a war of extermination and a momentous
massacre which will be spoken of like the Mongolian
massacres and the Crusades
There can be no doubt that there would be no Palestinian
refugees today if the Arabs had not rejected resolution 181.
http://maurice-ostroff.tripod.com/id136.html |
 Read
more articles by Maurice Ostroff
Mr. Ostroff's website: http://maurice-ostroff.tripod.com
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KOSHER DELIGHT MAGAZINE
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