-Caveat Lector- > Subject: From an agnostic in New Zealand > Date: Tue, 2 Jul 2002 14:22:50 -0400 > > > A letter from New Zealand > > Jack Lipsman Las Vegas Nevada USA (26 Jun 2002) > <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > > Jerusalem Post > > To the Editor: > > I am sending you a copy of a letter that was part of Moshe's > weekly posting > called "Jerusalem Insights" that is now circulating on the > American internet. > It is an outstanding piece of writing from a man in New > Zealand who claims > to be an agnostic. I have read many essays and arguments on > the subject > but none more cogent than this one. > > I could only hope that every Jew and every Christian (and > hopefully, every > Moslem) throughout the world would understand the issue as > well as he does! If you > choose to print this letter I think it will well serve the > people of Israel, as > well as all honest, right-minded people throughout the world > who crave peace with justice. > > Jack Lipsman > Las Vegas, Nevada > > > Now, the letter................ > > > An Open Letter to the Palestinians from an Agnostic. > Date: Sun, 26 May 2002 18:03:29 -0700 > Speaking Truth to the Powerless: An Open Letter To The > People Commonly > Called "Palestinians". > > Greetings to any Palestinian who may be reading this. My > name is David White. > > I am a citizen of New Zealand, a small, Western, nominally > Christian country > in the South Pacific Ocean. I am not Jewish, or Christian, I > guess I'm > vaguely agnostic. > > Writing this letter is a good way for me to discuss the > horrible mess in the > Middle East, spell out as many relevant points as possible > concerning the > state of the Palestinian people, and to see what can be made > of them I don't > speak Arabic, so I can only communicate with > English-speaking Palestinians. > There aren't many here in NZ, though, and I haven't yet met > any. I don't > know how many will ever see these words, but, here's hoping > someone does. > > I have a post-graduate university education, and I suppose I > could be called > an intellectual. Unfortunately, many such people have > supported abhorrent > ideologies such as Nazism, and continue to support > Communism, so I refuse to > describe myself in this way. I don't want to considered as > just another > "trendy leftie" academic, as we would say in NZ. So, unlike > many > university-educated types, I am anti-totalitarian, pro-peace > up to a > point, pro-democracy, pro-capitalism (except the capitalists > running Enron), > and skeptical about the "cult of victimhood." I'm quite safe > here in New > Zealand, and no-one I know has been killed by a Palestinian. > > My perspective of Palestinians is something like this - > you're Arabs (of > course), mostly Muslim, but with a Christian minority. Many > of you live > outside Gaza/West Bank, mostly in Jordan and other Muslim > countries, with > some groups living in Western countries as well. You feel > that you have been > wronged by Israel and are fighting to destroy them. > > As for my perspective on Israel, I see them like this. They > are a mainly > Jewish, small, free-market democracy with a large Arab > minority surrounded > by hostile Arab dictatorships. They have an ancestral claim > to Israel, their > state was created as a refuge from persecution, they have a > right to exist, > and, having survived a holocaust in Europe, they should not > have to sit > still and wait for another one in the Middle East. > > A Down Under Overview. > > Over the last few months, the conflict in the disputed > territories of Gaza > and the West Bank has turned into a war between the > Palestinian people and > Israel. (I will not apologise for using the term "disputed", > as I believe it > reflects a rather complicated situation more accurately than > "occupied"). > > Your interpretation, as far as I can tell, seems to be > something like this: > You have no state of your own, and you are fighting a war > against those you > call "Zionist oppressors" and "colonial imperialists", in > order to create a > Palestinian state. Accusations of massacre and human rights > violations by > the Israeli Army are being tossed around like confetti. Your > leader, Yasser > Arafat, vows to "martyr" himself rather than "surrender", > and that bungling > and incompetent organization, the United Nations (again, no > apologies for > venting personal opinions), is trying to do what it is > constitutionally > incapable of doing, i.e. "saving future generations from the > scourge of > war". > > The Israelis see things differently, of course. For them, > it's a simple > battle for survival. They offered you a state, and you > attacked them instead. > They have occupied Palestinian towns, have fought it out > with various armed > groups, and desperate attempts are being made by the US, > other Arab > countries and the UN to break the so-called "cycle of > violence". As a > result, the Palestinian situation at the moment generally, > can be explained by putting > it into New Zealand idiom. > > Put bluntly, the Palestinian people are buggered. Munted. > Stuffed. Rooted. > (American equivalent=screwed. British equivalent: done > over). It's like > this: Yasser Arafat turned down the Israeli offer of a > Palestinian homeland in > Gaza and the West Bank. You want, or Arafat claims that you > want, a Palestine > "from the river to the sea;" in other words, "all or > nothing". > > There is one insuperable obstacle to this- Israel. No matter > how eloquent > your arguments or numerous your martyrs, no matter how many > European > diplomats are angered by, or UN resolutions are passed > against, Israel, the > Israelis are not going to pack up and leave. The only way > you will get the > Palestinian state you want is to destroy Israel. > > This is what you have been trying to do since 1948, and the > current > "intifada" launched in 2000 is your latest effort. However, > the Israelis are > not standing there and letting you kill them. They are > fighting back, and if > they have to choose between their own survival and yours, > guess which choice > they'll make. > > A Vast Wringing Of Hands, A Great Fluttering Of Diplomats. > That has been the > overall response to the disaster you have created for > yourselves. You, the > Palestinian Arabs, are obviously hoping for some kind of > international > intervention to save you. As we in New Zealand would say, > "Get Real!". > > The European Union and the UN have demonstrated on numerous > occasions in the > past their incompetence and total incapacity to take any > sort of firm action > without American leadership. Ask your Muslim brothers of > Bosnia-Herzegovina, > about how effective the EU and the UN were in protecting > them without > American intervention. In spite of the impression that > American diplomatic > efforts have created, the US will not take sides against > Israel, and will > eventually abandon its futile attempts at evenhandedness. If > they do join > forces militarily with Israel in their war against > terrorism, your fighters > will be snuffed out like candle flames. > > As for your "beloved Arab brothers" in the Middle East, they > make a great > deal of noise about your "liberation struggle", and have > sent money and > arms, but have not sent a single tank to save you. Their > diplomatic proposals are > ones that could have been offered at any time, and are aimed > at benefiting > them, not Palestinians.The Egyptians themselves will not > declare war on > Israel unless they receive $100 billion to cover their > costs. > > Do you really believe that the rest of your Arab Muslim > brothers think you > are worth that much? Do you really believe they will put > your interests > ahead of their own? Although your friends and Arabs in > Europe are passing > sanctions and burning synagogues in your support, not a > single EU warship has sailed > to your aid, and not a single NATO aircraft has dropped a > single bomb on your > "Zionist oppressors". > > I have noted that large numbers of people, including > university educated > intellectuals support the Palestinian cause. Don't be misled > by this. No > matter how many western intellectuals, news media and > international > organisations may support the Palestinian struggle, none of > this matters > because America stands by Israel. > > The Unbearable Burden of Life > > How did you get into such a mess? As you yourselves would > say and have > indeed said on many occasions, it isn't your fault. It's > always the "Great Satan" > America, and it's "Lesser Satan", Israel, that you blame for > all your woes. > Everything that you do, such as your "martyrdom operations", > are described > as the products of your "rage" at being "dispossessed of > your land", and of > your "helplessness" in the face of "Zionist" might. > > There are only 300 million Arabs against over 5 million > Jews! How unfair! > How unjust, that so many can do so little against so few! > > A number of Western commentators have put Arab failures down > to numerous > cultural factors, not the least being Islam. Your religious > beliefs in > martyrdom and jihad, coupled with a total inability to > accept any blame for > your own predicament, have combined to do you great and > lasting damage. > > Look closely at why Western countries such as Israel have > succeeded, and > Muslim countries have not. Western countries are free-market > democracies. > Muslim countries (other than Turkey) aren't. Surely that > should tell you > something. > > Why I Stand. > > As I said, I do not, and I will not, support the Palestinian > cause. Why not? > I have a number of reasons, and here they are: > > 1. You have made it clear beyond any shadow of doubt that > you intend to > destroy Israel and kill or drive out its Jewish population. > This is > genocide, pure and simple. You justify this by saying that > Israel has committed many > crimes against your people, and that you seek "justice". I > say this in > response- NOTHING WHATSOEVER is an acceptable justification > for genocide. > Loss of land, humiliation at being militarily defeated - > others have > suffered these and moved on to create new nations and > opportunities for themselves. > > Examples abound- the Germans thrown out of East Prussia in > Europe, 1945, the > Nationalist Chinese who fled to Taiwan in 1949, to name but > two. Germans and > Taiwanese have coped with military defeat and the loss of > land. They haven't > warred with their neighbours, nor have they launched > terrorist attacks upon > them. Both countries have more wealth than any Arab nation. > Why can't > Palestinians cope? Are Germans and Chinese better able to > deal with > adversity than Arabs? > > 2. You have accused the Israelis of "genocide" against you. > Here's a question > for you: Israel has atomic bombs and powerful military > forces. If they > really, truly wanted you all dead, they could easily do it. > Why haven't they? > If the Israelis went all-out, you would be, as we say in New > Zealand, "dog > tucker". Why did they spend so much time negotiating with > your leaders? > Because Israel wants peace and secure borders. You refuse to > give them even > those. You plan genocide and accuse Israel of the same > crime. Prove it! > > 3. The use of terrorism. Killing people for being Jewish is > despicable. > Terrorist attacks on innocent civilians are also despicable. > (At this point, > I'd like to pause and get a question of nomenclature cleared > up, regarding > those Palestinians who kill themselves and others with > explosives strapped to > their bodies. You call them "martyrs". Western media sources > and academics > debate the precise term to use in describing them. Others, > including the > Israelis, call them terrorists. > > I have a better, more appropriate term. I prefer to use the > word "kamikazes". > The original kamikazes appeared in 1944, in the war in the > Pacific. They were > Japanese Navy and Army pilots,organised into "Special Attack > Units" with > orders to crash their planes into American warships, in the > hope of > destroying them - "one plane, one ship". Their initial > impact was similar to > that of the Al-Quaeda attacks on New York and the Pentagon- > shock and > horror. (I noted that many Palestinians appeared on Western > TV celebrating the > September attacks). Note: The American response, in both > cases was not the > one hoped for. > > Once the shock had worn off, the US set out to destroy the > kamikazes, and > terrible destruction was rained down on Japan, ending only > with 2 atomic > bombs. (You know what is happening right now in Afghanistan > to the Al-Quaeda > group). > > 4. Using children as suicide bombers. Anyone who teaches > children to kill > themselves in suicide attacks is not worth supporting under > any > circumstances. For you to do this to your children is an > abomination. A > commentator on a Web magazine said that if the Palestinians > laid down their > arms, they would get peace and land. If the Israelis laid > down their arms, > they would be killed. You know that is true, even if most of > Europe doesn't. > Your cause is evil, because it seeks destruction at any > price. Genocide is > not justice. Sacrificing your own children for the sake of > your leader's > personal ambitions is wicked. > > That's why I cannot support you. That's why I stand with > Israel. > > Palestinian Past or Future? > > The Second World War in Europe ended with Hitler's suicide. > He was replaced > by Admiral Doenitz who quickly made peace with the Allies. > Japan's leader, > Emperor Hirohito, decided on surrender rather than see his > nation destroyed. > > If Arafat chooses surrender, though, will the rest of the > Palestinians go > along with it? If he dies, will the war end? If the answer > to both of these > questions is No, then the Palestinian people are doomed. Do > you really prefer > death as a people? Do you fully comprehend what you are > doing? If you are > indeed aware that the path you have embarked on leads to > destruction, and if > you have freely chosen to walk in that direction, then as a > people you are > truly beyond hope. > > Are Palestinians really going to be a "Kamikaze Nation"? Are > you really going > to give Israel no other option except your destruction? If > they must choose, > then as Israeli historian Martin Van Creveld said, "better a > terrible end > than terror without end". > > Do not think that kamikaze tactics can get you what you > want. The Israelis > can tell you all about Masada, if you ask them. Remember > what happened to > the Japanese at places like Okinawa and Iwo Jima. > Palestinians deserve better > than the current mess you are in now - but before you can be > given anything, > you must offer a sincere peace, you must stop teaching your > children to hate, > you must stop believing that "victimhood" justifies > everything and - above > all other things - GIVE UP ISRAEL! Accept that you will > never go there again > except perhaps as workers or tourists. Accept that Jews are > human beings. > Accept the verdict of 1948 and learn to live with it. > > Invest in banks, not bombs. Build computer chips, not > Kalashnikovs. Teach > science and mathematics, not hate. Look to the future, not > the past. Stop > blaming Americans and Jews for all your problems, and take > responsibility > for your own actions. Read those parts in the Quran about > living with the > "peoples of the Book". > > Golda Meir, the former Israeli Prime minister, is quoted as > saying " there > will be peace in the Middle East only when the Arabs love > their children more > than they hate Israel ". Every time I see pictures of > Palestinian children > waving guns and wearing dummy explosives, then I can only > say she is right. > The alternative to peace is not victory but death. > > Think about it- before it's too late. > > From an Infidel to Those Who Submit, and are living in the > Holy Land - May > God grant you steadfastness in the face of things that > cannot be changed, > the capacity to cope with those that can be changed, and the > wisdom and the > ability to tell the difference. > > David White > Auckland, New Zealand
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