Tonight, The Israel Project holds a dinner with Salaam Fayad,
the man who oversees the worst anti semitic curriculum since the Third Reich,
the man who advocates BDS of IsraelI products,
the man who advocates all of Jerusalem for the Palestinians,
the man who advocates recognition of the rights of refugees and their descendents to return to their homes from 1948,
the man who demands that Israel free all those convicted of murdering Israelis,
and the man who lies about his actual policies when he meets with people from abroad.
The following three pieces should help TIP to form serious questions for Fayad, when TIP meets Fayad.
Please let the world know how Fayad responds to the challenge of these questions.
With warmest regards,
David
David Bedein, Director
THE CENTER FOR NEAR EAST POLICY RESEARCH & ISRAEL RESOURCE NEWS AGENCY
BEIT AGRON INTERNATIONAL PRESS CENTER
37 HILLEL STREET
JERUSALEM 94581 ISRAEL
www.IsraelBehindTheNews.com
Tel.0547 222 661
1.Read the Salaam Fayad plan for what it is: A Plan of War, not of peace:
http://www.miftah.org/Display.cfm?DocId=20388&CategoryId=8
Jerusalem Post: Read the Salaam Fayad plan for what
it is: A Plan of War, not of peace
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?
cid=1255204781394&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
Read the Salaam Fayad plan for what it is
Oct. 12, 2009
DAVID BEDEIN , THE JERUSALEM POST
In a Jerusalem Post article "In the land of miracles, let's
get real"(September 29), Gershon Baskin describes the Salaam
Fayad plan as "one of the most positive and optimistic
developments of recent times".
However, a reading of Fayad's plan, entitled "Ending the
Occupation, Establishing the State: Program of the
Thirteenth Government - August 2009" would seem to belie
Baskin's postulation.
While the preface to Fayad's paper introduces a Palestinian
state that would strive for "peace, security and stability
in our region on the Palestinian territory occupied in 1967,
with east Jerusalem as its capital," Fayad's 38-page
position paper reads like a declaration of war, not of
peace.
Fayad asserts that "Jerusalem" will be the Palestinian
capital of the Palestinian state - not east Jerusalem.
In case anyone was wondering if Fayad had made a
typographical error by not mentioning "east" Jerusalem as
the capital of a future Palestinian state, he repeats - 10
times - that he means Jerusalem, all of Jerusalem. He leaves
nothing to the imagination, and writes that the Palestinian
state will "protect Jerusalem as the eternal capital of the
Palestinian state," because he asserts that "Jerusalem is
our people's religious, cultural, economic and political
center. It is the Flower of Cities and Capital of Capitals.
It cannot be anything but the eternal capital of the future
Palestinian state. Jerusalem."
FAYAD GOES on to claim that Jerusalem "is under threat" and
that "the occupying authority is implementing a systematic
plan to alter the city's landmarks and its geographical and
demographic character in order to forcibly create facts on
the ground, ultimately separating it from its Palestinian
surroundings and eradicating its Arab Palestinian heritage."
Fayad further claims that "Palestinian life in Jerusalem is
under daily attack through systematic violations perpetrated
by the occupation regime" and that "it is the right and the
duty of all Palestinians to protect their land, reject the
occupation and defy its measures," adding that the
Palestinian state "bears special responsibility for
nurturing our people's ability to persevere and protect
their homeland."
He adds that the Palestinian government will maintain
its "unreserved commitment to defending the Arab character
and status of Jerusalem.... The government will continue to
do all that is possible to achieve this goal. The government
will work with all organizations to preserve the landmarks
of Jerusalem and its Arab Palestinian heritage, develop the
city, and secure its contiguity with its Palestinian
surroundings."
Fayad frames Jerusalem as an illegal settlement, postulating
that "the occupying authority is pursuing its intensive
settlement policy in and around Jerusalem.... The occupation
regime has shut down our national institutions, neglected
the development of Palestinian life, continued to demolish
and evacuate Palestinian homes, and restricted access to
sacred Christian and Islamic sites."
He goes so far as to present a practical plan to Arabize
Jerusalem: Maintaining Jerusalem as a top priority on the
government's agenda and· "highlighting its predicament in
the media. Launching programs to promote the steadfastness
of Jerusalemites, including: Strengthen Palestinian
institutions in Jerusalem, providing financial support to
help them deliver services to citizens."
He reassures his readers that a future Palestinian state
would not be satisfied with Jerusalem, the West Bank and
Gaza as the national home for Palestinians, and says that
the Palestinian government will continue to advocate
for "Palestinian refugees in accordance with relevant
international resolutions, and UN General Assembly
Resolution 194 in particular," which mandates that
Palestinian refugees and their descendents have a right to
return to the homes and villages that Palestinians left
during the 1948 war and its aftermath.
Fayad reminds Palestinians that "the refugee issue will
remain under the jurisdiction of the PLO, through its
Department of Refugees' Affairs ... in a manner that does
not exempt the United Nations Relief and Works Agency
(UNRWA) from its responsibilities." In Fayad's view, UNRWA
will therefore continue to confine Palestinian refugees and
their descendants to the indignity of refugee camps, under
the premise and promise of the "right of return."
MEANWHILE, FAYAD expresses full support for Palestinians who
have been convicted of murder and attempted murder, saying
that "the state also has an enduring obligation to care and
provide for the martyrs, prisoners, orphans and all those
harmed in the Palestinian struggle for independence." He
simply cannot understand why Palestinians convicted of
capital crimes should be jailed.
He proclaims that "the continued detention of thousands of
Palestinian detainees and prisoners in Israeli prisons and
detention camps in violation of international law and basic
human rights, is of great concern to all Palestinians," and
declares that "securing the freedom of all these heroic
prisoners is an utmost Palestinian priority and it is a
fundamental duty all Palestinians feel to honor their great
sacrifices and end their suffering," and demands
the "freedom of all Palestinian detainees and prisoners and
will continue to strive to secure their liberty."
He further declares that the Palestinian state will be an
Islamic state and "promote awareness and understanding of
the Islamic religion and culture and disseminate the concept
of tolerance in the religion through developing and
implementing programs of Shari'a education as derived from
the science of the Holy Koran and Prophet's heritage."
In sum, the Palestinian prime minister concludes with a
demand for a Palestinian state in the next two years, along
the parameters that he has outlined - Jerusalem as the
capital of an Islamic Shari'a state that will campaign for
all convicts to be freed, for all refugees to return to the
homes and villages that they left in 1948.
It would be instructive to know whether Baskin even bothered
to read the plan before calling it a 'postive development.'
======
The writer, the Middle East correspondent for the
Philadelphia Bulletin, directs Israel Resource News Agency
and the Center for Near East Policy Research at Beit Agron
Press Center
2. ARE THERE QUESTIONS PEOPLE ARE AFRAID TO ASK FAYAD?
http://israelbehindthenews.com/bin/content.cgi?ID=3789&q=1
y DAVID BEDEIN & ARLENE KUSHNER*
Wed Nov 24 2009
In his column of November 20, "Salam Fayyad builds Palestine,"
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1258624595789&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
Jerusalem Post Editor David Horovitz describes "two staunch Jewish supporters of Israel" - Senator Joe Lieberman, former vice presidential candidate, and Representative Howard Berman, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee - "nodding their encouragement" at a recent Ramallah press conference, where Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad explained how he was preparing Palestinians for statehood. The piece goes on to outline a Palestinian state in formation, regarding security forces, the economy, and civic institutions, with an optimistic sense of what the PA is achieving.
Regrettably, Senator Lieberman and Representative Berman did not use the press conference to raise some troublesome questions.
Since these American elected officials let that opportunity pass, perhaps it was the journalistic responsibility of Mr. Horovitz to explore these matters, to offer a more balanced picture. Instead, he alluded to "staunch supporters of Israel nodding their agreement," conveying the notion that, except for some technical problems, all is well.
Questions that Senator Lieberman, Rep. Berman or Mr. Horovitz could have asked would have included:
Renunciation of the PLO state of war with Israel.
The charter of Fatah - the predominant element in the PLO and the PA - to this day continues to call for the destruction of Israel. Written in 1964, before Israel controlled the West Bank and Gaza, it uses the term "Palestine" to refer exclusively to Israel within the Green Line. The charter declares that "Liberating Palestine is a national obligation," and that "Armed public revolution is the inevitable method" for doing so. This cannot be dismissed as an irrelevant anachronism. Last August, Fatah held its first General Congress in 20 years. Hope was held out for a charter revision, with violence officially renounced, but it never happened. Instead, Fatah continued to unambiguously embrace "armed resistance" to liberate Palestine.
Cessation of incitement via changes in PA-produced textbooks.
The Institute for Monitoring Peace and Tolerance in School Education (IMPACT http://www.impact-se.org ) has issued six reports on new PA textbooks issued over the last eight years. Journalist and scholar Dr. Arnon Groiss, who translated these PA textbooks, has just completed an update. He writes that the new PA texts...
Deny the historical and religious presence of Jews in Palestine.
Fail to recognize the State of Israel.
Demonize Jews and Israel.
Assign blame for the conflict exclusively on Israel, totally absolving Palestinians.
Stress the idea of a violent struggle of liberation rather than a peaceful settlement.
It is disingenuous for Fayyad to profess dedication to peace, while the PA curriculum infuses these ideas within its youngsters. Peace is impossible until the message changes. Why do visiting elected officials and journalists not hold Fayyad and the PA accountable for the new PA textbooks?.
Cessation of PA pursuit of Hamas as a coalition partner.
The PA inclination to participate in a government that includes Hamas remains an "elephant in the room" that the international community, somewhat inexplicably, has chosen to ignore: Hamas is recognized by the US and the entire Quartet as a terrorist entity. Yet in March 2007, Fatah and Hamas briefly formed a "unity government" - negotiated by Saudi Arabia via the Mecca Accord - that saw Fatah acceding to Hamas demands. It fell apart with the Hamas coup in Gaza, but in recent months the news is awash with reports of negotiations via Egypt for a Fatah-Hamas reconciliation. Pursuing negotiations with Israel and Hamas at one and the same time is not acceptable. Why not ask the PA to make a choice?.
Renunciation of the "right of return."
The "right of return," promoted for 60 years by UNRWA and embraced by the PA as a non-negotiable right, remains a recipe for the destruction of Israel from within. If Fayyad and the PA are serious about peace, why not ask them to accept the principle of perma nent resettlement of the refugees? UNHCR, the UN High Commission for Refugees - which oversees all refugees except Palestinians - operates according to this principle. Only Palestinian refugees are not resettled, but instead, for purely political reasons, are forced to linger in a (rage-inducing) state of limbo. Fayyad, in his master plan for a Palestinian state, openly states that he supports the "right of return." Isn't it time to ask Fayyad and the PA to openly embrace the UNHCR policy and pave the way for UNRWA to adjust its mandate?
Lastly, Mr. Horovitz writes that "most of the international community completely supports [PA] demands for a 100% Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank," noting that "Netanyahu...is intent on driving a harder bargain." The reader is left with the impression that Netanyahu is obstinately resisting what the world expects. Left unsaid is that the Israeli electorate is most definitely not in favor of complete withdrawal, and that the prime minister simply reflects the will of the nation in this regard. What is more, Mr. Horovitz neglects to say that neither does international law support this: UN Security Resolution 242, which does not demand full Israeli withdrawal, acknowledges Israel's need for secure borders.
END
*David Bedein works as the Director of the Israel Resource News Agency and the Center for Near East Policy Research, www.IsraelBehindTheNews.com and the Middle East Correspondent for the Philadelphia Bulletin, www.TheBulletin.us.
Arlene Kushner is the senior research analyst for the Center for Near East Policy Research and author of a daily blog, "Arlene From Israel", www.arlenefromisrael.info
3. Questions that Israel Project can ask FAYAD
http://israelbehindthenews.com/bin/content.cgi?ID=4139&q=1
This week, Palestinian Authority leaders Machmud Abbas and Salam Fayyad arrive in Washington. According to reports that have appeared in both the Haaretz and the Jerusalem Post newspapers, the purpose of their trip is to improve their relations with the Jewish community in the United States at a time when negotiations have resumed between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. In that context, the Daniel Abraham Center will be hosting Abbas and the Israel Project will be hosting Fayad in widely publicized press events.
The readiness of Abbas and Fayad to dialogue with the Jewish community provides Jewish groups with a most appropriate opportunity for asking direct questions of these two leaders -- questions that address issues at the heart of possibilities for genuine peace between Israel and the Palestinian Authority.:
Will you arrange for revisions -- beginning immediately -- of official Palestinian Authority textbooks, so that:
All praise of the armed struggle ("Jihad") and all praise of Palestinian terrorists ("martyrs") is removed.
Israeli cities such as Tiberias, Acre, Haifa and Tzfat are identified as such,
rather than as Palestinian
All maps identify Israel as such, at least within the Green Line
Will you order the PBC, the official TV and radio network of the Palestinian Authority, to cease and desist from broadcasting and televising programs that incite the "armed struggle" against the state and people of Israel?
Will you refrain from honoring terrorists by such actions as naming city squares, sports events and schools after them?
Will you change the Palestinian Authority tourist map of Jerusalem, so that the Jewish Quarter, which is currently omitted, is properly identified?
Will you denounce in English and Arabic the decision of the August 2009 Fatah conference, which endorsed the armed struggle against the state of Israel?
Will you renounce in English and Arabic the draft of the Palestinian State Constitution that was adopted by the Palestinian Authority in 2003, which calls for the adoption of Sharia Law -- thus permitting no juridical status for any religion in the future Palestinian State other than Islam?
Will you arrange for an official Palestinian Authority endorsement in English and Arabic of cancellation of those sections of the PLO covenant that call for Israel's destruction?
Will you remove from all Palestinian Authority schools and libraries the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, as well as the PHD thesis written by Abbas that asserts that Zionists worked with the Nazis to conduct mass murder of Jews during World War II?
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