"The Racist Natan Sharansky" says Muwatin,
the Palestinian Institute for the Study of Democracy, defined
former Israeli Minister Natan Sharansky as "The Racist"
in its report on the Medal of Honor Sharansky received from
President George Bush. In the special Muwatin supplement, distributed
with the Palestinian Authority daily Al-Ayyam, the picture of
Bush placing the Medal on Sharansky appears with the following
caption:
|
Introduction:
Fatah leaders have accused Al
Jazeera TV of being biased in favor of Hamas, and of being subservient
to the Islamic extremist movement – the Muslim Brotherhood.
Hamas has been defending Al Jazeera, calling it reliable and
objective. Hamas has even accused senior Fatah officials of
torching three cars belonging to Al Jazeera.
Given Al Jazeera’s global image of moderation, it is noteworthy
that the radical Islamist organization Hamas is defending Al
Jazeera, while Fatah is attacking the network.
The following are two recent articles documenting the debate
over Al Jazeera's alleged support of Hamas. The first item is
from Al-Risalah, the Hamas newspaper, defending Al Jazeera.
The second, attacking Al Jazeera, is from the Fatah-controlled
PA daily Al Hayat Al Jadida.
Al-Risalah [Hamas], December 18, 2006:
"The satellite channel Al Jazeera from Qatar has always been thorough in conveying the suffering of the Palestinians and their message to the world in a professional and respectful manner… This has given the channel its good reputation, and the channel’s broadcasts reach every Palestinian home…
This achievement has been met by Fatah Representative, Muhammad Dahlan with an attack of incitement. He accused it [Al Jazeera] of serving Israel… and that it is subservient to the Muslim Brotherhood. Dahlan’s attack was not the only one to come from the Fatah movement, and most Fatah members 'inside' [the PA areas] attacked the channel.
Following Dahlan’s statements, the Fatah movement published a public statement in which it accuses Al Jazeera of selling its soul to the Muslim Brotherhood, and that it is biased in favor of the Hamas movement at the expense of the truth. A Fatah spokesman in the West Bank, Dr. Jamal Nazzal said: 'Al Jazeera is biased in favor of Hamas, it highlights certain elements of reality, and pushes other elements to the side.'
Al-Risalah, [the Hamas newspaper]… spoke on the phone with the director of the channel’s office in Palestine, Walid Al-Umari, who clarified that his channel is not interested in commenting on Dahlan and Fatah’s statements: '…We do not want to comment on such declarations, this is not the first time that people attack and incite against the channel.' In the past, his [Al-Umari's] car was torched and his office in Ramallah was closed.
It should be noted that the Al Jazeera office in Ramallah was torched by armed militants in June 2006, and later it turned out… that the former [Fatah] Minister of Supplies, Abu Ali Shahin was responsible for torching the office's cars. Abu Ali Shahin had accused the satellite channel Al Jazeera that it is 'Hamas-ized' and is biased in favor of the Muslim Brotherhood.
Many observers link the torching of three cars of the channel in Ramallah to the accusations of the Palestinian Authority’s former [Fatah] Minister of Supplies, Abu Ali Shahin and with the declarations of Jamal Nazzal, Fatah’s spokesman in the West Bank, who accused the channel, from Al-Doha [Qatar’s capital], of being biased in favor of Hamas."
Al Hayat AlJadida, [Fatah] November 4, 2006:
Headline: "Fatah accuses Al-Jazeera of being biased [in favor of Hamas] and of a lack of objectivity… The recruitment and organization office of the Fatah Movement accused the Al Jazeera channel of bias and lack of objectivity and professionalism in Palestinian issues. It is apparent to everyone … the obvious bias and the lack of objectivity… unfortunately, this shift came after Mr. Waddah Khanfar was put… in charge of directing the channel, and he is known for identifying with the Muslim Brotherhood Movement … there is a systematic media preference for the interests of one Palestinian party [Hamas] at the expense of the Palestinian public… We have turned many times to Al Jazeera reporters … and the connected structures and to others, but to no avail. To clarify, we are pointing out that the reporters of Al Jazeera are continuously exposed to threats and intimidation [lit: terror] to the point of being threatened to be fired from their job. We have confirmed reports of an agreement between [Al Jazeera head] Waddah Khanfar and the said Palestinian side [Hamas], to replace the current reporters, especially in the Gaza Strip, with people associated with them [Hamas] … We demand Al Jazeera reconsider its operational procedures … and to fix them, and to stay away from interfering with the internal Palestinian affairs in favor of one side at the expense of other sides."
by Itamar Marcus and Barbara Crook- Dec. 18, 2006
Introduction:
Delegitimizing Israel's existence
as a state continues to be the cornerstone of the ideology the
Palestinian Authority (PA) presents to its own people in Arabic.
Israel is portrayed as a state that was created through immoral
actions, and which has no historical right to exist.
This week, PA TV rebroadcast a particularly hateful segment
of a Palestinian Authority television series showing Israelis
as child murderers. This series depicts events before and during
Israel's War of Independence in 1948. In one of the many historical
distortions, actors portray Israeli soldiers murdering an infant
in cold blood. This hate series was previously broadcast on
Palestinian Authority TV in June 2005 and July 2006.
To see this segment of the PA TV video , click here
by Itamar Marcus and Barbara Crook- Dec. 17, 2006
PMW has documented yet another corroboration in the official Palestinian Authority (PA) paper Al-Hayat Al-Jadida that it was Arab leaders who were responsible for the flight of Arabs from the new State of Israel in 1948.
A backbone of PA ideology, and indeed of anti-Israel propagandists worldwide, is the myth that Israel expelled hundreds of thousands of Arabs from Israel and created the Palestinian "refugee" situation.
However, a regular writer for the official PA paper, Mahmud Al-Habbash, writes in a recent column that in 1948 the Arabs left their homes willingly under the instruction of their own Arab leaders and their false promises of a prompt return. He refers to these promises as “Arkuvian,” after Arkuv – a figure from Arab tradition - who was known for breaking his promises and for his lies – and states that the Arabs who left their homes, and became refugees did so believing their leaders’ deceptive promises. He places the blame and the responsibility on the shoulders of the Arab leaders and does not mention any so-called "Israeli expulsion."
Following is this most recent article, as well as earlier statements by Arab "refugees" that have appeared in the PA press, all of which corroborate Israel's historical narrative. The latter two testimonials are significant because they were corroborated by still other more public Palestinians, indicating that the responsibility of the Arab leaders is known in the Palestinian world. One was confirmed by Arab Member of Knesset, Ibraham Sarsur, who was then Head of the Islamic Movement in Israel, and the other by a Palestinian journalist, Fuad Abu Higla, in the official PA daily.
The following are four statements corroborating that Arabs fled Israel under the instruction and the encouragement of Arab leaders:
1. Journalist writing about
the events of 1948
Mahmud
Al-Habbash, a regular writer in the official PA paper, Al-Hayat
Al-Jadida, indicates in his column “The Pulse of Life” that the
Arabs left Israel in 1948 only after political Arab leaders
persuaded them to do so by promising the Arabs a speedy return to
their homes in Palestine:
“…The leaders and the elites promised us at the beginning of the “Catastrophe” [[the establishment of Israel and the creation of refugee problem] in 1948, that the duration of the exile will not be long, and that it will not last more than a few days or months, and afterwards the refugees will return to their homes, which most of them did not leave only until they put their trust in those “Arkuvian” promises made by the leaders and the political elites. Afterwards, days passed, months, years and decades, and the promises were lost with the strain of the succession of events…" [Term "Arkuvian,” is after Arkuv – a figure from Arab tradition - who was known for breaking his promises and for his lies."] ”
[Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, December 13, 2006]
2. Woman who fled Israel in 1948
"We heard sounds of explosions and of gunfire at the beginning of the summer in the year of the “Catastrophe” [The establishment of Israel and the expulsion from the land in 1948]. They told us: The Jews attacked our region and it is better to evacuate the village and return, after the battle is over. And indeed there were among us [who fled Israel] those who left a fire burning under the pot, those who left their flock [of sheep] and those who left their money and gold behind, based on the assumption that we would return after a few hours."
[Asmaa Jabir Balasimah Um Hasan, Woman who fled Israel, Al-Ayyam, May 16, 2006]
3. Son and grandson of those who fled in 1948
An Arab viewer called Palestinian
Authority TV and quoted his father and grandfather, complaining that
in 1948 the Arab District Officer ordered all Arabs to leave
Palestine or be labeled traitors. In response, Arab MK Ibrahim
Sarsur, then Head of the Islamic Movement in Israel, cursed the
leaders who ordered Arabs to leave, thus, acknowledging Israel's
assertion.
Statement of son and grandson of man who fled:
"Mr. Ibrahim [Sarsur]. I address you as a Muslim. My father and grandfather told me that during the "Catastrophe" [establishment of Israel in 1948 and the expulsion from the land], our district officer issued an order that whoever stays in Palestine and in Majdel [near Ashkelon – Southern Israel] is a traitor, he is a traitor."
Response from Ibrahim Sarsur, Head of the Islamic Movement in Israel:
"The one who gave the order forbidding them to stay there bears guilt for this, in this life and the Afterlife throughout history until Resurrection Day."
[PA TV April 30, 1999]
4. Article by senior PA journalist
Fuad Abu Higla, then a regular columnist in the official PA daily Al Hayat Al Jadida, wrote an article before an Arab Summit, which criticized the Arab leaders for a series of failures. One of the failures he cited, in the name of a prisoner, was that an earlier generation of Arab leaders "forced" them to leave Israel in 1948, again placing the blame for the flight on the Arab leaders.
"I have received a letter from a prisoner in Acre prison, to the Arab summit:
To the [Arab and Muslim] Kings and Presidents, Poverty is killing us, the symptoms are exhausting us and the souls are leaving our body, yet you are still searching for the way to provide aid, like one who is looking for a needle in a haystack or like the armies of your predecessors in the year of 1948, who forced us to leave [Israel], on the pretext of clearing the battlefields of civilians... So what will your summit do now?"
[Al-Hayat Al-Jadidah, March 19, 2001]
Conclusion
It is clear from these statements that there is general acknowledgement among Palestinians that Arab leaders bear responsibility for the mass flight of Arabs from Israel in 1948, and were the cause of the "refugee" problem. Furthermore, the fact that this information has been validated by public figures and the media in the Palestinian Authority confirms that this responsibility is well-known – even though, for propaganda purposes, its leaders continue to blame Israel publicly for "the expulsion."
"Even our women are stronger
than the Zionists." (PA TV)
Special
Report:
Palestinian women terrorists glorified
as heroines and role models
by Itamar Marcus and Barbara Crook- Dec. 14, 2006
The
recent suicide terror attacks by two Palestinian women, including
57-year-old grandmother Fatima Najar, has brought the subject
of women terrorists to the forefront of Palestinian consciousness.
This is part of a longstanding pattern in which PA society routinely
turns terrorists into heroes and role models, naming schools,
sporting events, streets and even poetry collections for terrorists.
TV programming and newspapers, controlled by both Hamas and Fatah, enthusiastically cheer these terrorists and their murders, while endorsing and encouraging women to follow in their terrorist footsteps:
"In Beit Hanun we gave the [world] the Palestinian women's revolution... the Palestinian woman was not satisfied with what she gave, she gave her son and her husband and her brothers – she was not satisfied with that… but she wanted to be on the front lines, next to the man." [PA TV, November 14, 2006]
PA broadcast this interview with a man on the street:
“Our children, our women, our men – they are all potential Martyrs... I say to the entire world – the Jews are weaker than you imagine. Even our women are stronger than the Zionists." [PA TV, November 10, 2006]
The Hamas daily used the following headline to introduce one story:
"The Female Shahida (Martyr) 'Um Tha’ir' said to her sisters: 'Go forward, go forward, as today is my wedding and the Shahada my desire!'" [Al-Risalah, November 13, 2006]
The reference to her wedding is based on the Islamic teaching that the male Muslim Martyr, the Shahid – is rewarded with 72 dark-eyed maidens, and a repeated PA teaching that the female Martyrs will greet and marry a male Martyr.
The current actions
by women have sparked articles recalling the names and actions
of past female terrorists. These earlier terrorists are featured
as the precursors to the new heroines, who in turn are being
portrayed as role models for the future.
Past female terrorists
recently recalled as heroines and role models include:
Dalal al-Maghribi – Her bus hijacking killed 36 vacationing
Israelis (1978)
Wafa Idris – First female suicide terrorist killed 1,
wounded 90 (2002)
Ayaat al-Akhras – Youngest female suicide terrorist, age
17, killed 2 (2002)
Hanadi Jaradat – Suicide terrorist, killed 21, wounded
48 (2003)
Andalib Taqatiqah – Suicide terrorist, killed 6, wounded
60 (2002)
Re'em Al-Riyashi – Suicide terrorist, killed 4, wounded
10 (2004)
HibaDaraghimahSuicide
terrorist, killed 3, wounded 50 (2003)
The repeating theme is that the actions of the new terrorists
are a continuation of the earlier feats of women terrorists,
as well as an inspiration and a precedent for the coming generations:
”In
the streets of Beit Hanun, a side of the beautiful look of the
Palestinian woman was displayed. It is the look of resistance
[terror]. Since beauty has power, as proven in the past by Dalal
[Al-Mughrabi] and her sisters, when they set the precedent for
the Beit Hanun women of the present.” [Al-Hayat Al-Jadida,
November 4, 2006]
Dalal
al-Mughrabi
The
more brazen and successful the attack, the more it is promoted
as heroic and exemplary. Dalal al-Mughrabi, mentioned above,
holds a special place of honor in Palestinian society. She participated
in a 1978 terror attack that killed 36, which remains one of
the most murderous in Israel's history.
There are a number of girls’ schools named for Mughrabi,
and numerous TV programs and quizzes for children have glorified
her since the establishment of the Palestinian Authority. This
recent article glorified her participation in the bus hijacking
and admiringly credits her with the killings:
"… a hostage operation on the Palestinian shore.
She [Dalal al-Mughrabi] managed to get to the main road, leading
to Tel-Aviv, she took over an Israeli bus and its passengers,
who were soldiers and held them hostage… a real war took
place, during which Dalal blew up the bus with all the passengers
inside. They were all killed." [Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, November
7, 2006]
Facts are
often distorted to increase the heroism. In this case, the 36
killed on the hijacked bus were not soldiers, but families on
a vacation outing. Note also that the official PA daily still
defines Israel's Northern coast as "Palestine."
Wafa
Idris
Wafa Idris, the first woman suicide terrorist,
has a unique place among the women's honor roll. Suicide terror
was seen as something that young women dreamed of but never
attempted, until Wafa Idris broke the taboo in 2002 and became
the first woman suicide terrorist. She paved the way for others
in this “magnificent convoy”:
“The Shahada dreams of young women kept coming into the mind of many of them, until Wafa Idris trained this magnificent convoy during the Al Aqsa Intifada in 2002. After that, Darin Abu Ishah followed in her footsteps in 2002. This is how the young women competed amongst themselves and in the skies of Palestine their luster shined: Ayyat Al-Akhras, Andalib Taqatiqah, Hibah Daraghimah, Hinadi Jaradat, Reem Al-Riyashi…” [Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, November 7, 2006]
Palestinian women’s terror today is said to be the model for all Arabs. The actions of these female Palestinian terrorists are presented as a role model for all Arabs, and the vanguard of new approaches to jihad:
“The Palestinian woman continues setting the example and model for preparing Shahids and Jihad warriors… They [women of Beit Hanun] rushed, without even thinking about their lives… or about the death or injury awaiting them. The women left… to set an example and show another way in the art of Jihad and resistance (terror).” [Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, November 7, 2006]
They are compared to Al Khansa, another heroine of Arab history, who celebrated the deaths of her four sons for Allah:
“Oh, Arabs!... Did the Khansas of Beit Hanun not wake you from your deep slumber? When will the Arab weapon appear… to announce the dawn of a new era? The rust ate away at these Arab weapons, which are not displayed except during marches… [Here] these are Zionist soldiers, well armed and well trained, running away from the battle thwarted by the Khansas of Palestine, who accomplished, with their courage and power an Arab victory to serve as an example and model in this time of Arab self-abasement.” [Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, November 7, 2006]
PLO takes pride in being the
source of international terror [2]
by Itamar Marcus and Barbara Crook- Dec. 6, 2006
Introduction:
Last week, PMW distributed this text, citing a PLO leader taking
pride in the fact that terrorists worldwide have copied PLO
terror tactics and techniques. In response to numerous requests we
are sending the video as well.
Ahmed Hales Abu Maher, Secretary of Fatah in Gaza:
“Oh warrior brothers, this is a nation that will never be broken, it is a revolution that will never be defeated. This is a nation that gives an example every day that is imitated across the world. We gave the world the children of the RPG [Rocket Propelled Grenades], we gave the world the children stone [-throwers], and we gave the world the male and female Martyrdom-Seekers [suicide bombers]."[Palestinian Authority TV, November 14, 2006]
Joseph Puder's article is based on a recent lecture given by Itamar Marcus at the Daniel Pipes' Middle East Forum and appears on www.TheEveningBulletin.com site. The article presents an accurate overview of the current Palestinian Authority.
Marcus Discusses
Hate Education
By: Joseph Puder, Special to The Bulletin
12/04/2006
Itamar Marcus, founder and director of Palestinian
Media Watch (PMW), spoke at Philadelphia's Union League last
Tuesday, as a guest of the Middle East Forum/Bob Guzzardi Lecture
Series.
Marcus, a resident of Efrat, Israel, is on a U.S. tour to acquaint
Americans with the hate education produced and delivered by
Palestinian Authority (PA) to its people - with a particular
focus on children. His powerful presentation was accompanied
by vivid images and words of Palestinian clerics, children and
political leaders.
"The Palestinian Authority," Marcus
said, "preaches peace and incites war." Explaining
this phenomenon, Marcus asserted that his organization's main
focus is to expose "the contradiction between what the
PA says in English to the Western world, and what it says in
Arabic to its own Palestinian people."
"We wanted to know," Marcus continued, "what
the PA is delivering to its people and especially to the children."
PMW analyzed music videos, crossword puzzles, children's pages
and sport pages of newspapers, and other cultural and social
phenomena. The examples of which PMW found were shocking, including
a crossword puzzle with the clue: "Name of a city in occupied
Palestine that our Qassam missiles hit ... " The answer
- Ashkelon or Askelan, in the Arabic form. Then there are the
soccer teams named after suicide bombers, a summer camp for
girls named after the first female suicide bomber Wafa Idrissi,
a soccer field funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development
(USAID) and named after a Black September terrorist named Salah
Khalaf.
Under the PA, children are taught to hate Jews. Programs stigmatize
Jews with hateful labels that echo and support the teachings
of the religious authorities. A program with Tarabisho, a charming
talking puppet, teaches preschoolers that, "You cannot
trust the Jews." A child in the studio then shouts, "All
of us join Tarabisho, and say to everyone: Watch out! You can't
trust the Jews, because they can strike us suddenly at any moment.
(PA TV Aug. 23, 2004)"
Dealing with the impact of the Hamas victory
in last January's elections, in which Hamas won 76 seats out
of 132 in the Palestinian Parliament, Marcus pointed out Hamas'
uncompromising views on the conflict with Israel and quoted
excerpts from the Hamas charter that included: "Palestine
has been an Wakf land (Islamic trust, J.P.)." Accordingly,
all of Palestine is part of the Islamic domain. The conflict,
Marcus emphasized, is no longer a nationalist struggle but a
religious war because, as the charter states, "God wants
it that way" or put differently, it is not our (Hamas)
choice, but God's command.
The Hamas charter specifies, "Islam is in conflict with
the Jews." Dr. Ahmed Yousuf Abu Halabiyah, member of the
Palestinian Sharia (Islamic religious law) Rulings Council and
Rector of Advanced Studies at the Islamic University stated
July 28, 2000 on PA TV that, "The hour of resurrection
will not take place until you will fight the Jews and kill them."
Hamas operatives that send suicide bombers to Israel to kill
innocent civilians - mainly women and children, "do not
see people with flesh and blood." Their only consideration
is that "this is God's opinion."
The Hamas charter has 105 references to Allah, 33 quotes from the Quran, six from the Hadith and seven mentions of Muhammad. By way of contrast, the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) charter has none of these references. Recent poll findings presented by Marcus indicate that a vast majority of Palestinian youth wanted an Islamic State. Yet, interestingly, polls also indicate that those educated under Israeli control (before Oslo, J.P.) wanted democracy, while those educated since the PA took control sought an Islamic state. In short, the Palestinians have targeted their education toward the de-legitimization of the Jewish state.
Marcus went on to discuss the role the Palestinian academic community played, in injecting something akin to "replacement theology." He showed a video clip from PA TV of an academic discussion with three leading Arabic archaeologists who negated the Jewish connection to Jerusalem (the Western Wall), any ancient connections to the Land of Israel (asserting that any connections only began in the 16th century) and claimed that the Palestinians are direct descendants of the Canaanites and Hebrews.
Anti-Semitism, the denial of the Jewish state's right to exist and martyrdom are constant staples on PA TV. PA clergy, academics and public officials present unending messages of hate and intolerance. Sheikh Ibrahim Mudayris, head of the Association for Memorizing the Quran at the PA Ministry of Endowments and Religious Affairs, in a sermon on PA TV Sept. 10, 2004 exclaimed, "The hour of resurrection will not come until Muslims fight the Jews, and the Muslims kill them. The Muslims will kill the Jews, rejoice!" The same Sheikh Mudayris charged on PA TV, June 4, 2004 that, "Every time Muhammad came back from his raids, he would find treachery and betrayal by the Jews of Medina, since treachery and betrayal are two character traits of the Jews' nature ... that their descendants inherited from their ancestors until today."
Every agency of the PA serves as a motivating force for the encouragement of suicide killing and martyrdom. Programs on television, radio and in mosques exhort their listeners with messages such as "Oh hero, your enemies seek life, and you seek death." Muhammad Dura, the young boy accidentally killed, most likely, by PA snipers in an exchange of fire with the IDF, is continually immortalized on TV. He has become the PA's poster-child for Shahidism (martyrdom) as he is shown floating in heaven with the message "I am waving to you not in parting but to say follow me."
Marcus underscored today's reality in the PA as he quoted from Hitler's Mein Kampf, "If you want adults to be killers, teach the youth hate."
"The Israeli Left" Marcus charged, "is in denial." They are like "gamblers that double their debt." Likewise, the Israeli media was in denial about the level of PA hate education - an issue that was integral to the Oslo Accords and which should have been monitored from its inception. Only after the recent Intifada, Marcus said, was the Israeli media finally willing to accept PMW materials. And, Marcus added, although the U.S. Congress tightened its rules for aiding the PA, "serious loopholes still exist," especially in the absence of any moderate voices on PA TV."
Marcus' trip to the U.S. is two-fold, to educate and to gain additional support so that PMW can expand its outreach and distribution.
©The Evening Bulletin 2006
PLO takes pride in being the
source of international terror
by Itamar Marcus and Barbara Crook- Nov. 30, 2006
As the world recoils from
international terror, the PLO takes pride in the fact that it
has been the source of world terror, and that terrorists around
the world have copied their tactics and techniques.
It has already been noted by terror analysts that much of world
terror was started by the Palestinian terrorists, and then copied
by other terrorists in their own countries for their own purposes.
Whereas the world views this with contempt, the PLO’s
Fatah faction acknowledges this and even takes pride in it.
The Secretary of Fatah in Gaza, Ahmed Hales Abu Maher, expressed
pride on Palestinian TV that the Fatah "gives daily examples"
that the world has "imitated," from the participation
of children in combat to the widespread use of suicide terror,
all of which started with the Fatah-PLO.
The following is the statement on PA TV:
Ahmed Hales Abu Maher, Secretary of Fatah in Gaza:
“Oh warrior brothers, this is a nation that will never be broken, it is a revolution that will never be defeated. This is a nation that gives an example every day that is imitated across the world. We gave the world the children of the RPG [Rocket Propelled Grenades], we gave the world the children stone [-throwers], and we gave the world the male and female Martyrdom-Seekers [suicide bombers]."[Palestinian Authority TV, November 14, 2006]
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