Community | August 31, 2009 | 11 comments

If Americans Knew - what every American needs to know about Israel/Palestine

source: http://www.ifamericansknew.org/

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peoplesmovement
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is one of the world’s major sources of instability. Americans are directly connected to this conflict, and increasingly imperiled by its devastation.

It is the goal of If Americans Knew to provide full and accurate information on this critical issue, and on our power – and duty – to bring a resolution.
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11 comments // If Americans Knew - what every American needs to know about Israel/Palestine

  • freecrack
    • 0
      freecrack  

    • with the whole world watching this conflict how can any person suggest to have the definitive truth .
      the very notion is a sign of a meglomaniacal agenda like a kid repeatedly saying look what i can do

    • 2 years ago
  • kjoknoswazzup
    • 0
      kjoknoswazzup  
    • Image

    • Weir delivers bias, bigotry in anti-Israel talk
      Journalist's biased claims go unchallenged
      by Richard Goldberg

      Meet Alison Weir (founder of "If Americans Knew"), self-proclaimed journalist, savior of the Palestinian people and anti-Semite extraordinaire.

      Weir brought shame to the journalist's trade that night as she regaled her sorrowful journey through "Palestine," witnessing the racist treatment and brutal occupation of the innocent, loving Palestinians by the Israel Defense Force. This high-tech presentation was accompanied by a slide show of photos Weir collected during her one month in Gaza and the West Bank-pictures of children on respirators, broken homes and caring families.

      The speech went further than just calling for an end of Israeli occupation or cutting off foreign aid to Israel. (For the record, she did suggest both.) Weir began with a brief overview of Zionism from the late 19th century until the creation of the State of Israel. Her presentation was filled with lie after lie, distortion after distortion, and propaganda after propaganda.

      Zionism, Weir claimed, was a movement founded by Jews who wanted to live in Palestine and forcibly remove the inhabitants of the land. False!

      The true origin begins with...(for those people interested in true facts, the article continues and clarifies "the context" of the Israeli vs. Palestinian saga...)

    • 2 years ago
  • kjoknoswazzup
    • 0
      kjoknoswazzup  
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    • Guess Who Cares about Dead Palestinians? Jews!
      by Dennis Prager

      For those individuals -- such as nearly all members of the world news media -- who, in light of Israel’s invasion of Gaza -- see moral equivalence between Israel and the Palestinians, here are some clarifying thoughts.

      First, it would be difficult nearly to the point of impossibility, to find Israeli or other Jews who celebrate the deaths of Palestinian civilians. Jews both within and outside of Israel cringe when they see pictures of dead Palestinian men, women, and children in Gaza. For thousands of years at their Passover seders, Jews have removed wine from their cups to ceremonially weep for the Egyptians -- their erstwhile slave owners for 400 years -- who died during the Jews’ exodus. Jews have never stopped weeping for enemies.

      The opposite is the case with the large majority of Palestinians. It would be quite difficult to find many Palestinians who do not celebrate the deaths of Israeli Jews or non-Israeli Jews. This is not only reflected in Palestinian polls that show majority support for terrorism -- and terrorism means killing innocent Jews -- it is also reflected in Palestinian media, Palestinian schools, and Palestinian mosques that routinely glorify murderers of Jews, and refer to all Jews as “monkeys” and the like.

      Take for example, Palestinian reaction to the 2001 Palestinian terror bombing of a Jerusalem Sbarro pizzeria in which 15 Jews, five of whom were two sets of parents and their children, were murdered and an additional 130 people were injured, some permanently maimed.

      As reported by the Associated Press, a month later, “Palestinian university students opened an exhibition that included a grisly re-enactment” of that mass murder. The students built a replica of the Sbarro pizzeria, with fake blood, splattered pizza, a plastic hand dangling from the ceiling, and a fake severed leg wearing jeans and a bloody black sneaker.

      “The exhibit also includes a large rock in front of a mannequin wearing the black hat, black jacket and black trousers typically worn by ultra-Orthodox Jews. A recording from inside the rock calls out: ‘O believer, there is a Jewish man behind me. Come and kill him,’” paraphrasing a verse in the Koran. It became a popular tourist attraction for Palestinians, to which Palestinian parents took their little children.

      Here’s the question: Can anyone even imagine Jews, in Israel or anywhere else on earth -- no matter how right-wing they are politically or religiously -- doing something analogous to celebrate the death of Palestinian civilians? I have spoken to Jewish groups on both U.S. coasts since the Israeli invasion of Gaza, and when the subject of Palestinian civilian deaths is mentioned, all I hear is regret and sadness.

      This moral chasm that separates Israel from its enemies, and separates the Jews from their enemies, merely confirms what Hamas repeatedly says about itself: “We love death more than the Jews love life.” This motto is so true that Hamas not only doesn’t weep for dead Israelis, it doesn’t weep for dead Palestinians. It uses living Palestinians as human shields and uses dead Palestinians as propaganda. The moral disequilibrium is such that Jews weep for dead Palestinian far more than Hamas does.

      The second point to be raised is about perspective.

      Continued...

    • 2 years ago
  • kjoknoswazzup
  • kjoknoswazzup
  • peoplesmovement
  • kjoknoswazzup
    • 0
      kjoknoswazzup  

    • I'm embarrased for the people who've put together "If Americans Knew". The "facts" provided on this website CAN be refuted and HAVE been time and time again. Problem is, people are coming into this dysfunctional relationship between the Israelis and Palestinians, w/o much info. except clips seen on TV, rumours & false facts. Some "intellectual" individuals are using this topic like they do other "political" topics -to make themselves feel smart & important. These people are fickle w/o intentionally trying to be fickle. But when you take a side based upon what side is the most popular at the time, to support, as if they were the latest fashion trend, fickleness happens. To someone like me, who has their heart invested in this situation, this is a form of tragedy.

      I won't always resort to the "show me a wounded Palestinian kid and I'll show you a wounded Israeli kid and we'll compare wounds" game. A wounded kid is a wounded kid. If people did their homework (and perhaps used their analytical skills), they'd understand that Palestinians are notorious for not only using their children as "human shields" but also for indoctrinating their children w/ the most extreme hate. This isn't something I have to make up. It's aired on Palestinian TV. Hypocritically, they celebrate child suicide via "martyrdom" but then cry wolf when Israelis defend their own kids. Americans think if the Israelis would just give the Palestinians what they want, then they wouldn't teach their kids to hate. But a parent is responsible for thier own child. These are educated people. Are parents in America putting their kids on TV screaming murderous statements geared towards a particular group of people (even after 9/11)? The KKK is never received well by the majority of Americans yet most are supporting Palestinian parents who do the exact same thing (only worse). For whatever personal reasons, these Americans are standing w/ a side that they themselves would defend their children against exactly how the Israelis do IF put in this situation. Israelis first tried non-violent tactics. Groups w/ a barbaric murderous past need to prove themselves to other groups by showing progress. Israelis have given the Palestinians financial support to start businesses & to build their community. Most of the mess of Gaza/West Bank is caused by internal destruction.

      Americans who don't support Israelis assume the Israelis are to blame for the problems of the world. But perfection is impossible on earth. Evil will always exist. It's hypocritical to curse the idea of a Messiah (a perfect "deliverer" totally righteous and just) only to go on a mission to bring about "world peace." John Lennon was still young when he died in '80. We don't know if his "make love not war" worldview would've changed had he been around to see gay men drop like flies from AIDS between '85-'89?

      Most "facts" on this website have no "context". i.e.: A woman stabs a man to death. The blue bar hit the top for the woman but there wasn't even a bar to fill in for the man b/c he had never killed anyone (yet). Per this bar chart, the woman is in the wrong b/c she's a "killer". W/ no context, this enrages people b/c the woman is alive but not the man. Thus my point - THE CONTEXT - WHY did the woman kill the man? After 20 years of getting almost beaten to death, she realized she'd need to be prepared to defend herself. She was getting older & frail. Is she to blame for not wanting to die? In regards to 2 parties representing 2 sides of 1 story - neither side will ever be 100% in the right or in the wrong. Afterall, we're talking about imperfect human beings. There will always be one side that is MORE RIGHT than the other. Even if we don't like it, life is often about choosing the "lesser of two evils". The bar chart in this case for Side A (Jews & Israelis) would be at 10% and Side B (Arabs, Muslims & Modern-day Palestinians) 90%. Statistical clarification is found IN context.

    • 2 years ago
  • mrEddie
    • 0
      mrEddie [removed]  

    • Israel was the home land of the Jews for over 3000 years, they have had two temples build there for their
      religious ceremonies, now the holiest place is occupied by muslims, who will not allow anyone but Arabs inside.

      sure there is a right side, the right side doesn't treat women worst then animals and make thiers streets look like a dump.

      the right side doesn't intimited other people 5 times a day calling "alla u akbar".

      the wrong side is delivering drugs to 300,000 Israeli's
      per day and doesn't want to give up that market even not for peace.money worth more then anything to the Arabs.

    • 2 years ago
  • kjoknoswazzup
    • 0
      kjoknoswazzup  
    • mrEddie:

      Hypothetically speaking, a Jew says to a Muslim:

      "Elijah visited us after Muhammed visited you. He said to us, 'Mecca belongs to the Jews,' which is why we are here to build a temple on what was formerly Muslim holy ground. If you refuse us, Elijah told us we may kill your people. But the good news is that you don't have to die. That is, if you hand over land that has belonged to you for thousands of years...so, what's it going to be? The end of your religion (and thus, suffering eternal consequences b/c you're disobeying your One True God by handing over your most holy land) or the anihilation of your people? Please feel free to use the modern technology we've designed and reply via email or by cell. Shalom!"

    • 2 years ago
  • bielski
  • peoplesmovement
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