False Claims, a British Conference and Israel's Right to Exist

....The "existence" of Israel -- the only country in the region with human rights, freedom of expression, and equal justice under law -- is not, and should not, even be in question. The more appropriate question is if organizations that ask questions such as that should exist.

George Phillips..
Gatestone institute..
12 April '15..

The notion of Israel's "right to exist" has been in the news twice in recent days.

First, the University of Southampton, in Britain, announced that due to "safety fears," it was cancelling a conference, scheduled for later this month, to question Israel's right to exist.

Were the "security concerns" related to the fact that the conference would promote the rising infestation of Jew-hatred in Britain? A recent U.K. parliamentary report shows that hate crimes against British Jews have doubled in the past decade, and has called upon the British government to take urgent action.

The second time was when Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, addressing the Obama Administration's nuclear "framework" with Iran, said that in any deal, Iran should recognize Israel's right to exist.

Despite being a member of the United Nations along with Israel, Iran nevertheless does not recognize Israel's right to exist.

Iran has not only been a long-time sponsor of terrorist groups that for years have targeted and killed Israeli civilians (as well as American servicemen in Africa and Lebanon); it has also repeatedly threatened Israel with genocide. The latest announcement came in late March, when Mohammad Reza Naqdi, commander of the Basij militia of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, said that "erasing Israel off the map" was "non-negotiable."

As Netanyahu has continually stated, a nuclear Iran is a threat to Israel's existence and America's existence.

Under such circumstances, that a British university was even thinking of holding such a conference is perplexing, at best.

The Jewish people have historical ties to the land of Israel that reach back nearly 4,000 years, a longstanding nationalist movement, a government in the post-colonial era and recognition by the United Nations -- a similar path to existence as most other countries. Does anyone question, say, Zimbabwe's right to exist?

Responses to statements that might have been raised, if this conference had gone ahead, include:

False Claim #1: Jews were out of Israel for almost 2,000 years.

The Romans crushed a Jewish revolt in 70 AD, and dispersed Jews throughout the Roman Empire. However, a continuous Jewish presence in the region never ceased. Key events recorded in history include: Jews governing Jerusalem when the Persian Sasanian Empire took over in 614; Jewish scribes working on the final text of the Hebrew Bible in the region between the 7th and 11th centuries; Jews enduring the Crusades; and Napoleon's plans to invite Jews to form a state in 1799.

False Claim #2: Israel came about only because of the Zionist movement in the late 19th century.

The 19th century fostered the rise of nationalist movements throughout much of Europe. They led to the creation of modern Greece, Italy, and Germany, and also rose throughout the 20th century, often to end European colonization. In 1914, there were only 62 countries in the world; today there are 196, most of which were formed through nationalist movements, including, recently, Serbia, Croatia and Moldova, among others.

Israel's right to exist is not subject to negotiations

...Kerry and his predecessors never managed to digest the fact that the State of Israel is not a protectorate. Two thousand years of exile was enough for the Jewish nation, 2,000 years in which Jews' fates were left to the mercy and whims of foreigners. Speaking with pride and humility I must explain, to both our enemies and our friends, that the Jewish right to exist with dignity and security is not subject to peace talks.

Dr. Haim Shine..
Israel Hayom..
08 November '13..

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry cautioned Israelis of the awful scenario that could result should Israel decide not to accept the Palestinian conditions for a political settlement. That scenario included a third Intifada, international isolation and even disrupted military and political aid from the U.S.

With such warnings, Kerry joined the ranks of previous secretaries of state who, itching to bring about an agreement between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, caused widespread anger, resulting in many Israeli and Palestinian victims. The victims of the peace process, to use the twisted words of a known Israeli leader.

Kerry and his predecessors never managed to digest the fact that the State of Israel is not a protectorate. Two thousand years of exile was enough for the Jewish nation, 2,000 years in which Jews' fates were left to the mercy and whims of foreigners. Speaking with pride and humility I must explain, to both our enemies and our friends, that the Jewish right to exist with dignity and security is not subject to peace talks.

JCPA - Israel's Rights as a Nation-State in International Diplomacy

by Alan Baker
Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs
Published September 2011
Vol. 11, No. 16 18 September 2011

A concerted campaign is being waged against Israel to question its very legitimacy in virtually every aspect of its historical, political, and cultural life, with the aim of undermining the very foundations of Israel's existence.

In response, several world-renowned experts have joined to present an authoritative exposition of Israel’s Rights as a Nation-State in International Diplomacy, edited by Alan Baker, former legal counsel of Israel's Foreign Ministry and former ambassador to Canada, and published jointly by the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs and the World Jewish Congress.

This book explains clearly why the Jewish people deserve a state of their own and refutes all the major claims against Israel’s rights.

http://jcpa.org/text/israel-rights/index.html


Click here to read full book (PDF) or

Click on highlighted title link below for each article in full. (PDF)

Overview
Amb. Alan Baker

The National Rights of Jews

Prof. Ruth Gavison, Professor (emerita) of Human Rights at the Faculty of Law of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and recipient of the Israel Prize in Law (2011), challenges the often- repeated denial by the Arabs of the rights of Jews to establish their own nation. The Jews have always had the characteristics of a nation, both ethnical and cultural, and not only religious. This was true before Israel was established and it is true today. It is justified for Jews to have sought revival of their political independence in their ancient homeland - Zion.

Zionism is not a colonial or an imperialist enterprise. The Arab population in pre-state Israel had never enjoyed or established political independence, and Jews were at liberty to seek political revival in the only place in the world that had been their homeland.

World Leaders Ignore International Law

Jewish Villages in Judea and Samaria are Perfectly Legal and Legitimate

Eli E. Hertz
www.mythsandfacts.org
21 February '11

http://www.mythsandfacts.org/article_view.asp?articleID=153

The U.S. Administration, the European Union, the United Nations, and Russia's decision to rewrite history by labeling the Territories 'Occupied Territories,' the Settlements as an 'Obstacle to Peace' and 'Not Legitimate,' thus endowing them with an aura of bogus statehood and a false history. The use of these dishonest loaded terms, empowers terrorism and incites Palestinian Arabs with the right to use all measures to expel Israel.

The Jewish People's Right to the Land of Israel
The "Mandate for Palestine" & the Law of War


United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and the European Union Foreign Affairs Chief Catherine Ashton became victims to the 'Occupation' mantra their own organization has repeated over and over in their propaganda campaign to legitimize the Arab position.

Continuous pressure by the "Quartet" (U.S., the European Union, the UN and Russia) to surrender parts of the Land of Israel are contrary to international law as stated in the "Mandate for Palestine" document, that in article 6 firmly call to "encourage ... close settlement by Jews on the land, including State lands and waste lands not required for public purposes." It also requires, under Article 5 of the Mandate to "seeing that no Palestine territory shall be ceded or leased to, or in any way placed under the control of the government of any foreign power."

Any attempt by the World Leaders to negate the Jewish people's right to Palestine - Eretz-Israel, and to deny them access and control in the area designated for the Jewish people by the League of Nations, is a serious infringement of international law, and as such - illegitimate.

Israel's Right to Exist Bubble

Yoel Meltzer
American Thinker
20 June '10

Of all the implications following the Gaza "peace flotilla" episode, perhaps the most important for Israel is that the existence of a growing challenge to Israel's very right to exist has finally been fully exposed. Whether it was the provocation by the flotilla itself, or the subsequent challenge to Israel by the Rachel Corrie ship, or the anti-Semitic remarks by veteran White House correspondent Helen Thomas, the feeling is that Israel's right to exist is no longer a given amongst the international community. Therefore, it should have come as no surprise when in the aftermath of the incident, Israeli leaders repeatedly stressed that Israel has the right to exist and therefore the right to defend itself. This mounting challenge, which has been downplayed for quite some time, can no longer be denied.

The truth is that the writing has been on the wall for several years already. During the heyday of Oslo, the acceptance by the world of our right to exist was something that Israel desperately strove for, and in many ways, it even guided our policies. Time and again we were told of the importance of Israel's "acceptance" by various Arab countries, while concomitantly constant demands were made of Yasser Arafat to publicly express his acceptance of Israel's right to exist. The fact that his gestures were only in English for the international audience -- while in Arabic he continued with his denial and hatred of Israel -- should have caused more than just the "extreme right" in Israel to question his authenticity. However, the show was allowed to go on.

Eventually Israel removed all of its soldiers from Lebanon, but instead of receiving the hoped-for acceptance of its right to exist, rockets eventually reached Haifa. Continuing right along, Israel removed all of its citizens from Gaza, and once again thousands of rockets, rather than the elusive acceptance of its right to exist, was all that Israel could show for its undertaking. Then, after subjecting some of its southern residents to years of rocket attacks, Israel finally reentered Gaza to clamp down on Hamas and stop the rockets. The result, of course, was more international condemnations and the heavily biased Goldstone Report. Finally, there is the ongoing explicit threat by Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to wipe Israel off the the map. In light of the above, it should be clear that any future Israeli withdrawal from all or parts of Judea and Samaria would be just as futile in changing the trend.

Thus, the challenge to Israel's right to exist is certainly not new.

(Read full article)

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