http://www.tzemach.org/fyi/docs/speak/words.htm In Their Own Words
A Time To Speak [Website]
This issue of Time to Speak presents Arab viewpoints and comments on Israel and Israel-Arab relations, as expressed in their own speeches and writings.
Please note that in Arab usage, the terms "Palestine" and "Palestinian" mean the entire region from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean, including all of the State of Israel.
In the items and texts below, comments in brackets are by Time to Speak.
"I Hate Israel" -- Title of Number 1 popular song in Egypt
". . . the aggressive and evil disposition rooted in the Jewish personality . . . the logic of true justice obligates one verdict on them from which there is no escape - that their criminal intentions be turned against them with their extermination." -- Syrian 10th-grade textbook
"Peace for us means the destruction of Israel. We are preparing for an all-out war, a war which will last for generations." -- Yassir Arafat, El Mundo (Venezuela), February 11 1980
Bassem Eid, Palestinian human rights activist, advocates "nonviolent civil disobedience" which he says includes throwing rocks and stones. "In the last intifada [rocks and stones] gave the Palestinians so much international support. I do not remember a case that someone was killed getting hit by a stone."
[Comment: The record of people "killed getting hit by a stone" runs from Goliath to recent victims of Palestinian "nonviolence".]
In 1974, the PLO (Palestine Liberation Organizaion) adopted the Plan-of-Stages:
Stage 1: Through violent struggle, establish an "combatant national authority" over any territory that is "liberated" from Israeli rule.
Stage 2: Use the territory of the national authority as a base for attacks on Israel.
Stage 3: Provoke an all-out war to "liberate all Palestinian territory" -- that is, destroy Israel.
In 1993, Arafat on behalf of the PLO signed the Oslo Accords, that include this commitment: "The PLO considers that the signing of the Declaration of Principles constitutes a historic event, inaugurating a new epoch of peaceful co-existence, free from violence and all other acts which endanger peace and stability. Accordingly, the PLO renounces the use of terrorism and other acts of violence and will assume responsibility over all PLO elements and personnel in order to assure their compliance, prevent violations and discipline violators."
On the day he signed this agreement, on the White House lawn, Arafat made a radio broadcast in Arabic assuring listeners that the Oslo Accords are Stage 1 of the Plan-of-Stages.
In 1994, Arafat spoke in a mosque in Johannesburg, South Africa: "This agreement I am not considering it more than the agreement which had been signed between our prophet Muhammed and Koraish."
[Comment: In the Seventh Century, Muhammad contracted the treaty of Khudaibiya with the Arabian tribe of Koraish. Two years later, he attacked and destroyed the tribe of Koraish.]
Also in 1994, Arafat wrote to groups opposing the Oslo Accords: "In order to obtain the goal of returning to Palestine, all of us sometimes have to grit our teeth. But it is forbidden that this harm the continued struggle against the Zionist enemy. Cooperation and understanding between the PLO and the rejectionist organizations is what will lead to the speedy retreat of Israel from the occupied territories in the first stage, until the establishment of a Palestinian state with its capital in Jerusalem. Only a state like that can then continue the struggle to remove the enemy from all Palestinian lands."
In 1995, he told Arab diplomats stationed in Stockholm, Sweden of the PLO plan: "[T]o eliminate the State of Israel and establish a purely Palestinian state. We will make life unbearable for Jews by psychological warfare and population explosion; Jews won't want to live among us Arabs."
Arafat in a Voice of Palestine broadcast, 1995: "The struggle will continue until all of Palestine is liberated." [Comment: As noted above, "all of Palestine" always includes Israel.]
In May 2001, Pope John Paul II visited Damascus, and was welcomed by its President, Bashar Assad, M.D. Among the remarks in Dr. Assad's address to the Pope: "They [the Jewish people] try to kill the principle of religions with the same mentality that they betrayed Jesus Christ and the same way they tried to betray and kill the prophet Mohammed."
Other recent statements by officials of the government of Syria: "We must be fully aware of what the enemies of God and malicious Zionism conspire to commit against Christianity and Islam." — Muhammad Ziyadah, Minister of Religious Affairs
"When I see a Jew before me, I kill him. If every Arab did this, it would be the end of the Jews." — Mustafa Tlas, Minister of Defense
In March 2001, an Arab sniper in Hebron took deliberate aim on 10-month-old Shalhavet Pass and killed her. The PLO's Voice of Palestine broadcast the explanation that the baby's own mother murdered her, "to get rid of her [because] this baby was retarded."
[Comment: Compare this to the PLO explanation of the murder of Leon Klinghoffer in 1985. Mr. Klinghoffer, an American confined to a wheelchair, was on a vacation about the Italian cruise ship Achille Lauro when it was hijacked by PLO terrorists led by Abu Abbas. Mr. Klinghoffer was shot to death and his body thrown overboard. The PLO spokesman at the United Nations announced that Mrs. Klinghoffer had killed her husband for the insurance money. Abu Abbas himself, however, states that he ordered his men to shoot Mr. Klinghoffer because "Even in a wheelchair, he was making trouble". Abu Abbas now lives free in Gaza, under the protection of the PLO. Neither the United States nor Italy has sought his arrest for his admitted murder of a U.S. citizen aboard an Italian ship.]
In May 2001, Kobi Mandell and Yosef Ish-ram, both 14-years-old, went for a hike near their homes in Tekoa, and were set upon and most sadistically murdered. In Egypt, it was reported that the two boys were "Zionist Nazis put to death for crimes against humanity"; in Iran the killing was reported as "capture and execution of two terrorists".
[Comment: Tekoa was the hometown of the Prophet Amos, who may once have tended his herd on the very grounds where Kobi andYosef were hiking. Perhaps in this very place the words came to him: "I will restore My people Israel, they shall rebuild ruined cities and inhabit them, they shall plant vineyards and drink their wine, they shall till gardens and eat their fruits, and I will plant them upon their soil, nevermore to be uprooted from the soil I have given them, said the L-rd your G-d." (Amos 9:14).]
Ahmad Ragab, columnist for the Egyptian newspaper Al-Akhbar, wrote a comment that pleased him so much that he printed it twice over, on April 20 and April 25, 2001: "Thanks to Hitler, of blessed memory, who on behalf of the Palestinians, revenged in advance, against the most vile criminals on the face of the earth. Although we do have a complaint against him for his revenge on them was not enough." excerpts from translation by MEMRI (Middle East Research Institute,Washington, DC)
Egyptian film producer Munir Radhi, is working on a film called "Matzah of Zion," which accuses Jews of murdering Christians and using their blood for baking Matzah. Radhi explained that the primary goal of his film is "to respond to all of the Zionist films distributed by the American film industry, which is backed by the Zionist propaganda apparatus. Among the films is 'Schindler's List,' which supports the idea of the Jews' right to the land of Palestine." excerpt from report by MEMRI
Since 1993, there has been a series of Israel-PLO agreements to refrain from incitement to hatred, violence and war.
Itamar Marcus, Director of Palestinian Media Watch (Jerusalem), monitors and reports on compliance or non-compliance with these commitments. The following material is excerpted from his findings on the PLO's school textbooks, children's summer camp activities, television programs, and crossword puzzles.
From PLO school textbooks, arranged according to grade: "Jerusalem" speaking to the students: "I have many Islamic holy places [and] Christian holy places." (Third Grade)
[Comment: Islamic and Christian holy places are then listed in the text, but there are no Jewish holy places in Jerusalem.]
"I learn from this lesson: I believe that the Jews are the enemies of the Prophets and the believers." (Fourth Grade)
"Write in your exercise book: An event showing the fanaticism of the Jews in Palestine against Muslims or Christians." (Fifth Grade)
"There will be a Jihad [holy war] and our country shall be freed. This is our story with the thieving conquerors. You must know, my boy, that Palestine is your grave responsibility . . . . Know, my son, that Palestine is your country . . . that its pure soil is drenched with the blood of Martyrs . . . . Why must we fight the Jews and drive them out of our land?" (Fifth Grade)
"Racism: Mankind has suffered from this evil . . . . Satan has, in the eyes of many people, made their evil actions appear beautiful . . . . Such a people are the Jews." (Eighth Grade)
"Treachery and disloyalty are character traits of the Jews and therefore one should beware of them." (Ninth Grade)
"The Jews deluded themselves that their religious faith was sufficient to turn them into one nation . . . . The Zionists turn[ed] their attention towards Palestine as the national homeland of the Jews, while relying on false historical and religious claims." (Tenth Grade)
"The colonial powers [Europe and America] regarded the Zionist Movement as the means for the attainment of their greedy colonial aspirations . . . imposing their rule on it in order to exploit its natural resources. The European colonial powers spread the idea of Zionism among the Jews." (Tenth Grade)
"Christian European society's hatred of the Jews has existed since ancient times . . . . [The Jews] aimed to corrupt and destroy the societies in which they lived. There are a number of reasons that caused the Europeans to persecute the Jews everywhere. . . . .These are reasons the Jews were persecuted, and are the reasons the Europeans wanted to be rid of the Jews, which led Europe to support Zionism." (Tenth Grade)
"This land is for us [Muslims] and for our brother Christians . . . This is our land, in which we have no partners, and no-one aside from us has any historical connection to the land [i.e., no Jews]. . . . We are the owners of the land" Issam Sesalem, Lecturer in History, Islamic University, Gaza.
[Comment: The "brother Christians" have in fact almost disappeared from their ancient community in Bethlehem since it was placed under PLO administration.]
Summer camps for children run by the PLO display flags of "all Palestine" on which the State of Israel does not exist, and the children wear shirts displaying this flag. The children are given military training in use of weapons. They scream "commando" and jump through rings of fire.
Summer camp broadcast, PLO TV: Jihad [holy war] is the principle belief which will never end regardless of how many fall.
Song lyrics for children at summer camp:
1. I came to you with my sword in hand
we will oust them [Israel] out to the sea.
Your day is coming, conqueror, then we will settle accounts.
Our accounts are unending in stones and bullets.
2. Long live the intifada,
Long live those who participated
May your father die (Israel)
All who participated in you (in the intifada) are heroes
May your father die
PLO-TV BROADCAST run with the caption "Produced by the [Palestinian] Ministry of Information and Culture and the Palestinian National Fund" — shows a film of a Palestinian boy on the day he plans to die. This is a nice-looking and smiling boy of about 12 who says goodbye to his family and walks off happily, self-confidently, and purposefully to his death. A song plays in the background:
"Don't be angry, my love, and don't cry over my parting. Oh, my dear father, this martyrdom is on behalf of my land! For my land I will sacrifice myself! … How sweet is martyrdom, when I embrace you, my land! [picture: the boy falls on his chest]. My beloved mother, more dear to me than anything [picture: mother wailing], be happy over my blood, and don't cry for me! Tell my brother [picture: the boy kisses his brother] that our souls are sacrificed for beloved Jerusalem! We don't run after wars, but we are great at them…'"
The PLO-TV also repeatedly flashes the camera shot of the death of 12-year-old Muhammad al-Dura. [Comment: This is the picture shown worldwide by the news media, routinely placing the blame on Israel despite evidence that he was killed by Palestinian gunfire.] He is shown calling to other children:
"I'm waving to you, not to say goodbye, but to say, 'Come follow me.'" Background accompaniment of a popular female singer: "How pleasant is the fragrance of the earth, its thirst quenched by a gush of blood flowing from a youthful body . . . . How pleasant is the aroma of the martyrs . . . . "
Crossword puzzles in PLO publications define cities and geographical features within Israel as part of "Palestine". Other definitions are based on PLO ideology.
Clue Answer
Palestinian city with antiquities, on coastal plain Caesarea
Occupied Palestinian city Safed
City in Palestinian land occupied in 1948 Haifa
Occupied Palestinian city Jaffa
Palestinian city Nazareth
Palestinian desert The Negev
Highest point in Palestine Mount Meron
Palestinian lake Kinneret [i.e., Sea of Galilee]
Capital of Palestine from dawn of history to eternity Al Quds [i.e., Jerusalem]
Stolen homeland Palestine
Jewish center for eternalizing the Holocaust Yad Vashem
The Jewish trait treachery
Accursed English declaration Balfour Declaration.
Arab country bombed by the American aggression Libya
A photograph in the PLO daily newspaper Al-Ayyam shows two very young children, mere toddlers, each wearing a headband with a patriotic slogan. One headband reads "The Is-Addin El-Kassan Brigade” [the Hamas terror squad]. The other headband reads "Palestine from the Sea to the River" [from the Mediterranean to the Jordan].
A Friday sermon in a mosque in Gaza, October 13, 2000, was preached by Dr. Ahmad Abu Halabiya, Member of the Palestinian Authority-appointed "Fatwa Council" and former acting Rector of the Islamic University in Gaza. These excerpts are from the PLO broadcast of the sermon, translated by MEMRI:
"O brother believers, the criminals, the terrorists - are the Jews, who have butchered our children, orphaned them, widowed our women and desecrated our holy places and sacred sites. They are the terrorists. They are the ones who must be butchered and killed, as Allah the Almighty said: 'Fight them: Allah will torture them and will humiliate them and will help you to overcome them, and will relieve the minds of the believers . . . .
"Have no mercy on the Jews, no matter where they are, in any country. Fight them, wherever you are. Wherever you meet them, kill them. Wherever you are, kill those Jews and those Americans who are like them - and those who stand by them -they are all in one trench, against the Arabs and the Muslims because they established Israel here, in the beating heart of the Arab world, in Palestine. They created it to be the outpost of their civilization and the vanguard of their army, and to be the sword of the West and the crusaders, hanging over the necks of the monotheists, the Muslims in these lands. They wanted the Jews to be their spearhead. . . .
"Even if an agreement of Gaza is signed - we shall not forget Haifa, and Acre, and the Galilee, and Jaffa, and the Triangle and the Negev, and the rest of our cities and villages. It is only a matter of time. . . . . We will not give up a single grain of soil of Palestine, from Haifa, and Jaffa, and Acre . . . Let us put our trust in Allah, close ranks, and unite our words, and the slogan of us all should be, 'Jihad! Jihad!'"
Arab analysts have discerned that the word "Pokemon" is Japanese for "I Am A Jew" and that the popular children's game is a "Zionist Conspiracy". According to Saudi Sheikh Abdel Moneim Abu Zant: "The Pokemon craze is a Jewish plot aimed at forcing our children to forgo their faith and values and to distract them from more important things such as scientific ambitions."