Jan Willem van der Hoeven, Director
International Christian Zionist Center

THE CURSE OF ARAFAT

And so he launched a new, more deadly intifada against Israel, and this at a time when he was offered more concessions for peace by an Israeli prime minister than were made to him at any previous time in Israel's history.

He releases the worst Hamas killer from prison, gives the green light to kill as much as they want to, then runs weeping to the world when Israel responds with "too much force!" And the world, as sick and as decadent as it is fearful for its own interests, instead of soundly and publicly rebuking him for flagrantly breaching the commitments made in Oslo, Washington DC, Cairo and elsewhere, is willing to go along with his ploy, play and lie as if Israel is to blame for this new outbreak of hostility.

In order to clearly demonstrate to visiting international personalities or committees of investigation just how brazen is Arafat's breach of promise, we need only read what he promised to Yitzhak Rabin before the entire world at the signing of the Oslo Declaration of Principles in 1993:

The PLO considers that the signing of the Declaration of Principles constitutes a historic event, inaugurating a new epoch of peaceful coexistence, 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.

It could not be clearer. Why, then, does Israel humiliate itself by submitting to an international inquiry as if the Jewish state is in any way to blame for the present unrest and violence? Which other nation, having entered into a similar peace agreement with a known terrorist organization like the PLO, would have tolerated violations of the sort listed now, after years of suppression, in the Israeli government's White Paper (or should we call it "black"). The litany of littered promises - which the Clinton administration rebuked Israel for releasing - covers virtually every single commitment the Palestinian Authority made to Israel in numerous international forums!

Arafat, however, plays it both ways as he has always has, never keeping his word to either his often despised fellow Arabs nor his hated Israeli foe. He will use violence when it suits him, whatever promises he may have made to abstain. As a Muslim, he believes that he may break his word especially when made to "the Infidels" - Jews or non-Muslims. But even his Arab kinsmen are not excluded from his threat of violence. During his ignominious career he nearly destroyed Jordan and Lebanon, and through his aid to Iraq, Kuwait. If this is how Arafat treated Arab states, what can Israel and the foolish nations still trying to help push along the peace-process-that-never-was expect to receive from his blood-soaked hands? The answer: More destruction, and perpetrated in so devilish a way that he will still turn to the world to investigate and condemn Israel even as he successfully did after visiting destruction on these other Arab states. For Arafat will ensure that this weak and spineless array of nations always sees his Palestinian people as the poor victim of the horrible Israelis!

The allied forces can bomb entire German cities into ruins to overcome the violence of Hitler and the Nazis. The Americans can bomb Nasally and Hiroshima to reach peace with Japan after all its barbaric cruelty. And, recently, a globally sanctioned force does not hesitate to cripple Yugoslavia by bombing it for weeks to enforce its international will, and this world accuses and criticizes little Israel for using excessive force? Yet Israel, after enduring firing upon its cities and the murder by terrorists of its civilians even then only bombs select buildings of the perpetrators of this horrible violence after warning the residents to vacate the premises. And nearly the entire world, who themselves would never fight in so restrained a way condemns not Arafat, but Israel. It is sick!

But Arafat wants more. He wants the world, the international community, to treat Israel as it treated the Serbs, and in this way plans to create for himself an independent Palestinian state. Thus he is willing to allow, nay encourage, his Palestinian children to go out in front of the militia, there to hopefully be killed in full view of the ever-so-eager cameras of this same world's press, to expose "cruel" Israel - rather than cruel Arafat - which must bring in tanks against these poor, hate-indoctrinated innocents. He has so filled them with hatred as to make them willing instruments of his diabolical plan, which is to see Israel accused and treated as a pariah by all Arafat's sympathizers among the nations, who will eventually be willing to apply force and embargos if necessary, just as they did with the Serbs, until Arafat together with his millions of Muslim friends will be able to complete the takeover of all of Israel, in the name of peace - of course!

THE CURSE OF RAMADAN

Khaled Mashaal, head of the Hamas politburo, told a rally organised by Hizbullah in Beirut to support the Intifada (The Jerusalem Post, Sunday, 3 December 2000):

Great people of Palestine: burn the ground under the feet of the invaders. Ramadan is a great month to escalate.

The drive behind the Intifada is faith, not to return to negotiations seeking better conditions.

The Zionists have no future on our land. They will perish, Allah willing.

What kind of religion of hate is this that when their adherents pray and fast they become most violent, most dangerous and most filled with hatred and jihad to slaughter Jews?

I wonder what the poor Israeli soldiers and policemen have to think when they need thousands to be on guard to defend Jews because the Muslims are praying to Allah. What religion is this where prayer and fasting become tools of hatred and violence? What respect can one have for such prayer and fasting when Jews have to fear and tremble because Muslims fast and pray. Is there no self respecting Muslim that dares to say he is utterly against this misuse of prayer out of real love for the god the Muslims claim is ALL merciful?

It must remind the Jews of many of their experiences among Christians in Europe, when they celebrated their Easter services and streamed out of their churches after having heard that âÄòGod so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son to die for all of us,âÄô but in spite of this all merciful God came out from their churches beating the Jews on their heads with the very crucifix symbolising this all-inclusive mercy slaughtering and humiliating the Jews in the Name of Christ.

When will Muslims and Christians finally rise up to show the kinder face of God, the all merciful, and live accordingly by making peace and reconciliation possible in the Middle East?

At the moment I nearly only see the Jews stretch out their hands in forgiveness and peace towards those who for years have maligned and fought them. It would be so good to see some reciprocity on the other side of the fence instead of stones and hatred.

Address: ICZC
P.O. Box 49063
91490 Jerusalem, ISRAEL

Telephone/Fax: +972.2.540 0133
Email Address: iczc@iczc.org.il