Updated: Did you know?
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… that non-Jewish Israelis can’t buy or lease land in Israel.
… that Palestinian license plates in Israel are color coded to distinguish Jews from non-Jews.
… that Jerusalem, both East and West, is considered by the entire world community, including the United States, to be occupied territory and NOT part of Israel.
… that Israel allots 85% of the water resources for Jews and the remaining 15% is divided among all Palestinians in the “territories”? For example in Hebron, 85% of the water is given to about 400 settlers, while 15% must be divided among Hebron’s 120,000 Palestinians.
… the United States awards Israel $5 billion in aid each year. Update: Here is a short clip from the documentary “Occupation 101,” exposing US Aid to Israel:
… that yearly US aid to Israel exceeds the aid the US grants to the whole African continent.
… that Israel is the only country in the Middle East that has nuclear weapons.
… that Israel is the only country in the Middle East that refuses to sign the nuclear non-proliferation treaty and bars international inspections from its sites.
… that Israel currently occupies territories of two sovereign nations (Lebanon and Syria) in defiance of United Nations Security Council resolutions.
… that Israel has for decades routinely sent assassins into other countries to kill its political enemies.
… that high-ranking military officers in the Israeli Occupation Forces have admitted publicly that unarmed prisoners of war were executed by the IOF.
… that Israel refuses to prosecute its soldiers who have acknowledged executing prisoners of war.
… that Israel routinely confiscates bank accounts, businesses and land, and refuses to pay compensation to those who suffer the confiscation.
… that Israel blew up an American diplomatic facility in Egypt and attacked a U.S. ship in international waters, killing 33 and wounding 177 American sailors.
… that the second most powerful lobby in the United States, according to a recent Fortune magazine survey of Washington insiders, is the Israeli AIPAC.
… that Israel stands in defiance of 69 United Nations Security Council Resolutions.
… that today’s Israel sits on the former sites of more than 400 now-vanished Palestinian villages, and that the Israeli’s re-named almost every physical site in the country to cover up the traces.
… that it was not until 1988 that Israelis were barred from running “Jews Only” job ads.
… that four prime ministers of Israel Begin, Shamir, Rabin, and Sharon, have taken part in either bomb attacks on civilians, massacres of civilians, or forced expulsions of civilians from their villages.
… that the Israeli Foreign Ministry pays two American public relations firms to promote Israel to Americans.
…that Israel’s government includes a party which advocates expelling all Palestinians from the occupied territories.
… that Israel’s settlement-building increased rapidly since Oslo.
… that settlement building under Barak doubled compared to settlement building under Netanyahu.
… that Israel once dedicated a postage stamp to a man who attacked a civilian bus and killed several people.
… that recently-declassified documents indicate that David Ben-Gurion in at least some instances approved of the expulsion of Palestinians in 1948.
We often hear of Ehud Barak’s generosity about an alleged return of 95% of the Palestinian Occupied Territories. When Palestinians refused, they were blamed for “missing an opportunity.” The Palestinians have already accepted Israel’s existence on 78% of what was Palestine. For those who use the argument of the Bible: God said to Abraham, “Unto thy seed, I will give thy land.” Abraham had two sons. Ismael - the Arab son, and Isaac - the Jewish son. So even if one wants to go to the Bible, the land would belong to both.
… that Palestinian Christians are considered the “living stones” of Christianity because they are the direct descendants of the disciples of Jesus Christ.
… that despite a ban on torture by Israel’s High Court of Justice, torture has continued by Shin Bet interrogators on Palestinian prisoners.
… that Palestinian refugees make up the largest portion of the refugee population in the world.
WELL, NOW YOU DO!
WHAT WILL YOU DO ABOUT IT!?
THE LEAST YOU CAN DO IS LET OTHERS KNOW
Missed previous “Did you know? series” You can find them here!
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18 Comments on “Updated: Did you know?”
Do you have a source for the $5 billion in aid to Israel… I ask because I have usually seen figures closer to $3 billion (around 1/3 of the entire U.S. foreign aid package).
Kris,
There are a lot of sources, you can find by quick google.
In short, $3 billion was the number before 1991 Gulf War, increased by another $2 billion annually after the war federal loan guarantees.
Here is a sample of the reports that you can find:
http://www.ccmep.org/hotnews2/usforeignaid041402.html
Generally speaking, 3 or 5 is not the question, but what is it used for and why they are getting this money, not Americans or other in need more than the ‘wealthy’ Israeli regime.
Ah… I see. This report refers to loan guarantees as “aid”, which is not technically correct… but I see where the figure comes from now. Thanks!
$3 billion is the official U.S. MILITARY aid(subsidy)to Israel. It doesn’t cover secret aid. The U.S. also gives at least three billion in economic aid. As an American, I am disgusted that the U.S. gives one red cent to Israeli terrorists. As former CIA agent Michael Scheuer has said, Israel is not worth one American life or one American dollar.
Israel is not part of the U.S. and the U.S. has no obligation - historical or moral - to Israel.
On another subject, here are some things on Israeli terrorist WMD’s.
http://web.israelinsider.com/Articles/Culture/10389.htm
http://www.disclose.tv/viewvideo/1282/Dimona___Israel_Secret_Nuclear_Bomb_Reactor/?vpkey=&album_id=
bernarda,
Thanks for sharing these links.
Kris,
I just added a short clip to the post. It shed some light on US aids to Israel.
The US supports terrorism in Palestein.
They support Israel.
But they hate Osama bin Laden who supports Muslims.
Osama is a terrorist.
But the Israelis are terrorists.
Where is the leveling reasoning?
Where is the truth?
Where is the honesty?
Where is the acceptance of the true religiosity of both religions?
When will Bush accept Muslims as equals?
When will Islam be a religion accepted by the west?
When will Christianity accept that Islam is another religion?
When will Christianity accept anyone who is not Christian?
As an Atheist: NEVER!
I have talked to Christians and they don’t accept me.
I have talked to Muslims and we get together as brothers.
Christianity is a closed society.
Islam is an open society.
Thank you Haitham for teaching me acceptance.
Excellent as always Haitham. I ‘borrowed’ it for my blog. A million thanks. http://desertpeace.blogspot.com/2007/10/facts-you-may-not-know-about-israel.html
As always, you are welcome
Wow! I’m impressed. Thank you for sharing
Thanks for this, Haitham. I have one quibble - I have been to the West Bank, and it is my understanding that the yellow and blue license plates refer to the citizenship, not the religion or ethnicity, of the holder - yellow ones for Israelis (including Palestinians with Israeli citizenship, non-Jews, Israeli settlers in the West Bank, etc.), and blue ones for Palestinian residents of the West Bank (and Gaza perhaps, I don’t know about that). True?
Oh yes, one more - who considers the Palestinian Christians to be descendants of the DISCIPLES of Christ? Unless by that you didn’t mean his apostles, but just his followers? BTW, let me point out that many Muslim Palestinians also have this ancestry, but their ancestors converted from Christianity to Islam several centuries later. Many ancestors of both Christian and Muslim Palestinians must have been Jews, since the first Christians were Jews. The invading Arabs who brought their language and their religion were quite thin on the ground. This is a war between cousins….
KC,
Here is a link that explains to you the difference between Israeli and non-Israeli license plates (those who live inside Israel, including Arab and those who live in West Bank and Gaza) as well the difference between Arab and Jews (those who live in the same city like Ramallah’s Arab residence and the Jewish settlers in that city) :
http://nigelparry.com/diary/ramallah/plates.html
I love the snickers. Can’t we just make them real and sell them and send the money to Palestinian charities ?
Sophia,
I love it too. He has more here:
http://latuff2.deviantart.com/gallery/
I just read the plate thing.
Just like the Jews wearing arm bands in the Hitler area.
Just like the “nigger” era of the US.
I am lead to believe that Israel is no better than the South African or the US hate of someone different.
I love people.
Israelis hate Palestinians.
The US hate the blacks. Many try to work with them. Except they have to accept them.
Sorry for these prejudiced remarks.