Final follow-up to our Webinar: 99 Years since the Mandate for Palestine

WE HAVE REACHED OUT TO OUR PANELISTS TO RESPOND TO THE TOP 10 QUESTIONS NOT ADDRESSED AT THE TIME OF THE EVENT. THEY HAVE KINDLY COMPLIED

Question #1: If trust. Can we sue for breach? Anyone ever tried? Does statute of limitations apply?

Response by Prof. Abraham Sion Suing the British Government for breach of trust is neither possible nor practical: Firstly, under international law, states are immune from being tried in courts for their actions. This rule is known as the State Immunity Rule. Secondly, the promise was made to the Jewish people not to a state. None of the High Contracting Parties ever contemplated suing Britain for breach of the trust. Thirdly, Israel did not exist when the mandate was entrusted to Britain.

Question #2: As a Jew I support the state of Israel… when I hear the facts informing me of Israel’s legal rights… I feel stronger about Israel not compromising on a 2 state solution…the problem I see today is that Israel being geographically such a small country is getting more and more pressure for a 2 state solution….I feel that could lead to an end of our Jewish state. What are your thoughts and what can we do?

Response by Eytan Meir A great many people in Israel feel the same way – that a two-state solution would be catastrophic for Israel because it would mean another terror state on its doorsteps. Imagine Gaza, but much worse. You have Arab cities like Tulkarem and Qalqilya slated to be included in a Palestinian Arab state that are a couple of hundred meters away from Highway #6. That means a simple M-16 rifle can be used to shoot at cars and shut down traffic on one of Israel's busiest highways. Similarly, Ben-Gurion Airport would be a frequent target. These attacks would be devastating for Israel's economy, not to mention the cost of life.

Question #3: Why isn’t it found anywhere? [Israel’s Legal Rights] Why doesn’t Israel make it more public? It isn’t even mentioned in the museum in Israel in the Museum of the Jewish people?

Response by Eytan Meir I cannot speak for others, but that is why it is critical to continue speaking out and spreading the word about Israel's legal rights as much as we can.

Question #4:

What do you do with the Palestinians? Syria and Jordan do not want them.
Laws are meaningless unless we get the agreement of the Arabs (Palestinians) in all of the land. What do you do with them?

Response by Eytan Meir a. If I knew how to answer this question and solve the conflict, I would be a millionaire! There is no definitive answer, but a number of solutions have been proposed. You can read a good summary of some of these solutions in this op-ed written by Yishai Fleisher, the international spokesperson for Hebron.

b. Same response as above.

Question #5: Miseducation, propagandizing fake history is rampant and pervasive, by schools, and media, we have utterly failed to counter the false history and lies, even Jews have fallen prey to the fake narrative…that’s THE question, how to spread the truth in the media and the schools?

Response by Ilan Senelnokov Most of the people today don’t bother to read and people tend to believe or learn only from fast sound bites and not from in-depth reading or research. The challenges we face are large, as we try to explain the Jewish connection to the land that dates thousands of years back, and then we hear a sound bite like “Free Palestine” we already find ourselves fighting an uphill battle. For that reason, our messaging and actions need to be short and on point. Only when we will grab the people’s attention first, then we can go into detail and help them understand the reality on the ground.

Providing pamphlets articles and books etc., are only as informative as those willing to actually read them….and understand them, believe, and then willing to teach it. Sad to say…so MANY teachers of our children are ignorant, prejudiced, Antisemitic and totally ill-informed. EDUCATION is NOT going to come from the schools [alone]!

How can we get the adults to read the pamphlets and teach truth?? *** Note from Goldi Steiner Education begins in the home! Parents learn from their kids.

Question #6: People’s attention spans unfortunately are typically short. A review or education of history although valuable is really only consumed by some. We need a short indisputable 5 or so agreed upon statements to publicize everywhere for example “If you don’t agree that Jews are indigenous to the Land of Israel then you are simply anti-semitic.” What are examples of a few other indisputable useful talking points for today’s dialogue if you had to be more focused deliberate and effective?

Response by Liz Berney Note from CILR’s Goldi Steiner: We do have a collection of pamphlets /statements available such as you are suggesting.

a. The Jewish people have the moral, legal, humanitarian and religious right to live, work and pray anywhere in the world - especially including at our holiest sites and in the Jewish heartlands of Jerusalem, Judea & Samaria.

b. Jewish holy books mention Jerusalem 700 times; the Koran never mentions Jerusalem. Jews pray facing the Temple Mount in Jerusalem; Muslims pray facing Mecca.

c. The fact that the Palestinian Authority incites, glorifies, and pays financial rewards and lifetime pensions to Arab terrorists to murder Jews; makes it a capital crime to sell land to Jews; and rejected repeated very generous offers for a Palestinian state, makes it clear that the Palestinian Arab leaders' goal is Israel's destruction - not a state living side by side with Israel.

Qustion # 7: How can we rebut the argument signed by the Oslo Accords, when the Israeli government ceded rights to Judea, Samaria, and Gaza to the Palestinians?

Response by Liz Berney a. Oslo is not a final statute agreement.

b. Oslo does NOT call for a Palestinian state, and merely concerns administration of areas.

c. Oslo left Area C (60% of Judea-Samaria) under Israeli administration.

d. During his last speech to the Knesset in 1995, regarding ratification of the Oslo accords, then-Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin said that he ultimately envisioned, as a permanent solution, a Palestinian "entity which is less than a state, and which will independently would run the lives of the Palestinian Arabs under its authority"; the capital of Israel, under Israeli sovereignty would be united Jerusalem, including Ma'ale Adumim and Givat Ze'ev; the security border of Israel would be in the Jordan Valley "in the broadest meaning of that term"'; and included in Israel would be Gush Etzion, Efrat, Beitar and other communities east of what was the "Green Line"; and establishment of blocs of settlements in Judea and Samaria, like the one in Gush Katif.

e. From the outset, the Palestinian Authority violated and abrogated virtually every provision of the Oslo Accords. For instance; Olso calls for economic cooperation between the PA and Israel - and instead the PA launched BDS economic warfare on Israel. The PA violated numerous agreements in Oslo regarding water rights and waste disposal. The PA's incitement and “pay to slay” payments to Arabs to murder Jews violate the PA/PLO's Oslo agreements to refrain from incitement. Other PLO/PA violations included: Failing to change the PLO Covenant to renounce violence against Israel; PA police initiating and opening fire on Israelis; the PA's failure to confiscate illegal weapons and disarm militias including Hamas; failure to extradite terrorists to Israel; opening offices in Jerusalem; recruiting terrorists to serve as PA police; exceeding limits on PA police numbers; and conducting foreign relations (which Oslo prohibits the PA from doing).

f. In 2015 and 2020 speeches, Mahmoud Abbas specifically stated that the PA is no longer bound by Oslo, thereby abrogating the agreement.

Question #8: How do we engage those in the Jewish community who are apathetic?

Response by Liz Berney Just as we tailor our approaches and responses during the Passover Seder to the 4 different types of children (wise, simple, doesn't know what to ask, and wicked - cuts himself off from the community), there are probably different approaches for different people, depending on their interests and personality. If someone has an interest in history, involve him in Jewish history. If someone loves music, involve him in Jewish music. Show them the beauty of Jewish life. Light Shabbat candles and have a Shabbat meal. Read stories about Jewish heroes and heroines. Bring them to protests. There is a need for more films and plays that tell Jewish stories

Question #9: Our weakness is that our children are not taught the truth so they buy into what they hear on campuses. What do you suggest can be done about it?

Response by Liz Berney Keep telling them the truth, from an early age.

Question #10: For years now I have wondered why Israel has had next to no public relations campaign so to speak of, why the Israeli government hasn’t been loudly proclaiming the legal rights of the country to exist and the rights of the Jewish people to their indigenous homeland. I think it was mentioned at one point during the webinar that there was very little of the Israeli budget actually assigned to PR. I’m wondering why is that? I think it would help tremendously in the fight against the rising tide of vilification of Israel and worldwide anti-Zionism/antisemitism if Israel became more vocal about its and the Jewish people’s rights. It is too difficult a fight for the Diaspora to do alone. We need Israel to be more vocal, especially now when so many lies keep being repeated about Israel and the Jews to the point that the lies have become the truth to the ignorant and uneducated. Is this something that is currently being discussed by others? Has Hananya Naftali discussed this with any Israeli politicians?

Response by Hananya Nafali

1. We must be vocal and neglect the “apologizing” approach. Israel is a world super power, we are no longer the underdog and therefore it is VERY easy for Palestinians to dominate the narrative by simply playing the victim - we cannot follow their footsteps. We must not hide the fact that we are strong and that we have the means to protect ourselves. We must show the facts that the Palestinians are hiding - the pay for slay program, the incitement, the blind hate of Jews. Our target audience is people who do not live in Israel, likely living in Western countries, so we must compare our situation to their lives - what would they do if rockets were fired on their homes and cities? Would they want a strong army to fight back? The media should be the main target and tool to spread the facts, because the very students that go to schools are consuming social media and determining their opinions based on that.

2. It is a problem that we acknowledge. However Israel does have a budget for that (which is too little compared to Western countries of course - because we are a small country while Western countries don’t really need to explain themselves 24/7), but I do agree that Israel needs to invest more in its diplomats, Ambassadors and the media campaign - as they are not less important than the IDF.

When I worked in the Netanyahu administration, there was an entire ‘Hasbara’ system that would meet very frequently to discuss these matters and decide how to deal with them. We are dealing with a problem of explaining ourselves to billions of people - a very hard task that requires creativity even more than the budget itself. Doesn’t matter how much money we would pour into that - we want to convince and see more of what works.

I personally discussed this with several Members of Knesset, Ambassadors and with Former Prime Minister Netanyahu, who is very passionate about how Israel is portrayed on the international arena. The big question that Israel IS working tirelessly to resolve is how to deal with the misinformation and fake news about Israel - this is taking place behind the scenes with the heads of policy of the major social media platforms. We lost the previous battle, we cannot afford losing another battle.

ANTIZIONISM IS RAMPANT EVEN IN THE FAR CORNERS OF THE GLOBE.

THE FOLLOWING INFORMATIVE PUBLICATION WAS SENT TO US BY DAVID LAZARUS – A FRIEND OF CILR

Response by Capetonian David Lazarus to an article in one of South Africa’s national weekend newspapers

Background to the offensive anti-Israel article, to provide context for CILR Bulletin readers.

The South African Jewish community is renowned for its strong Zionist support notwithstanding efforts by the BDS movement to discredit it. However, there is massive prejudice against Israel in our country, fuelled substantially by our governing majority party, the African National Congress (ANC) which, despite having introduced democracy and one of the world's finest constitutions since it buried apartheid in 1994, remains psychologically shackled to its liberationist roots, resulting in deep and unbreakable relationships with its former political and financial supporters, countries which still promote extreme socialist policies, like Cuba and Russia. The ANC leadership is still emotionally and spiritually committed to its former 'freedom-fighter' brothers and sisters, on the African continent and beyond - and this manifests in its unwavering and unconditional backing for 'Palestine' (including its militant offshoots Hamas, Hezbollah and Islamic Jihad).

We thus have frequent differences of opinion on the Israel-'Palestine' issue, creating an uncomfortable and disquieting relationship between, on the one side our Jewish community and our Jewish leadership bodies like the Board of Deputies and the Zionist Federation, and on the other side the ANC.

Aggravating this situation, we have a large Muslim population which is strongly and aggressively pro-'Palestinian', leading to numerous media clashes, especially when Israel justifiably defends itself against terrorist aggression.

The Media Review Network is one of several Muslim groups whose raison d'etre is to demonise Israel, constantly providing fodder to hungry media outlets only too happy to publish, broadcast or televise their lies, disinformation and distortions of history (without any fact-checking, of course).

Iqbal Jassat is their Executive Director and one of his recent op-eds that was published in a national newspaper was devoted to the report, tabled 27 May, at the UN's Human Rights Council by Michael Lynk, the UN's "Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian Territory occupied since 1967". Jassat, who quoted extensively from the report, also used the opportunity to bash the SA Board of Deputies and the SA Zionist Federation, hinting that they may well be liable for prosecution for "financially supporting Israel's 'settlements’ which have been declared war crimes".

Response

Two weeks ago, Iqbal Jassat's article was published in Weekend Argus on Sunday (Settlements are war crimes, says UN special rapporteur, 25 July).

Jassat’s innocently-named Media Review Network in Johannesburg is simply a cover title for Anti-Israel and BDS Propaganda Network, parroting the standard falsehoods of the anti-Israel brigade. READ MORE.

Corrected map, showing Golan Heights. Erroneously cut off in our previous bulletin, was pointed out by one of our ardent followers: Osy Fischler.