Why the west criticizes Israel on its latest Gaza War
By David Verveer
I just realized why the majority of Europeans criticize Israel for the Israel Hamas war in Gaza, last year. I do not think that anybody normal sympathizes with the Hamas, a terrorist group, who was involved in many international terrorist crimes in the last years and is financed and trained by Iran, Syria and the Hezbollah.
Nor do I think that anybody blames Israel for taken finally action after being bombed with missiles for eight long years, but still, most Europeans find Israel the guilty party due to a simple fact of non proportional number of victims in comparison on both sides, namely 9 Israeli soldiers lost their life in this war, while the number of Palestinian victims (civilians, terrorists) soared to 1.300 to 3.000 (depending on the source of information).
This lopsided proportion of victims irritates the romantic European, why only so few Israeli victims and so many Palestinian victims, that is not fair play, they claim.
First of all, the reason for these unequal proportions is mainly because the terrorists fired from behind civilian population centers, with relative primitive weapons, while Israel used hyper modern arsenal, shooting back to positions from where they were attacked, without endangering the lives of their soldiers.
Secondly, does this humane European romantic realizes that in the Afghanistan war, the Nato fights against the Taliban; with the same lopsided proportions in victims. Why are the Afghani victims ignored and the Palestinian victims celebrated, especially in the media?
I don't think Israel has to apologize for winning the war, and trying to prevent the sacrifice of soldiers given their lives in service of the nation, we, the Israelis do not believe in a hero's death, with 72 virgins in heaven attending the fallen hero. Further more, I think that if Israel would have lost the war, or any war for that matter, we would ceased to exist, we would, however received the sympathy from the Europeans, but with compassion alone, one can not survive.
Why the Western society doesn't realize that the modern wars are impersonal, computers on drones are used to find the targets, the shooting is done for the distance of many kilometers, gone are the days of fighting man to man, no modern army of today can afford to fight a duel with the enemy, today war is high tech, and who possesses the best equipment wins the war, even though, the war correspondents try to give a personal touch to the story (generally not very true, as they were not there), but there is a little heroism left in the wars of today.
Showing posts with label Israel and the Palestinians. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Israel and the Palestinians. Show all posts
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Friday, September 11, 2009
Het recht om terug tekomen naar Nederland
Het recht om terug te komen als vluchteling
Door David Verveer
Dit is een zuivere theoretische vraag, maar laten we voor een momentje stellen dat we hier in Israël de oorlog gaan verliezen van de Palestijnen, en de Joden moeten vluchten, naar de landen van afkomst.
In mijn familie is dat een beetje gecompliceerd, daar mijn oudste broer met een Grieks meisje is getrouwd, mijn tweede broer met een dame uit Duitsland, mijn zus (maar die heeft er niets mee te maken, want die leeft in Amerika, en dus is veilig, maar haar man is van Italiaanse afkomst), mijn vrouw, alhoewel in Israël geboren, haar ouders kwamen uit Oekraïne, en zijn hier gekomen via Danzig nu Gdansk, en Frankrijk naar Israël. Mijn oudste dochter is weduwe van een Marokkaanse familie en mijn jongste dochter van een gemengd huwelijk tussen Oostenrijkers en Turken, en mijn kleinkinderen, helemaal gemixt, wat we hier in Israël, “Yisrael Galuyot”, noemen.
Maar laten we deze moeilijkheden in vorige nationaliteit even op zij schuiven, en alleen over mijzelf spreken. Ik ben op 18 jarige leeftijd uit Nederland vertrokken, omdat ik bang was dat op een zekere dag, een andere Hitler, weer op Joden zou gaan jagen, mijn broeders, de Nederlanders die me de eerste keer hebben gered, de volgende keer hun schouders zullen ophalen, en dus vluchten ik naar een land, vol met Joden, die allemaal in het zelfde perikel zijn, en zich zelf kunnen verdedigen.
En nu (theoretisch) moet ik vluchten en kom ik terug als pensionair terug naar Nederland. Heb ik recht om mijn Nederlandse nationaliteit terug te krijgen, kan ik nu op huizing en een pensioen rekenen? Kan mijn vrouw, dochters met man en kleinkinderen mee komen, krijgen ze ook huis vestiging, Nationaliteit en sociale help, werk vergunning, enz.
Ik zie de lezers nu al protesteren, hoe kom je daar nu bij, waarom moeten wij al dit betalen (want natuurlijk in Nederland gaat alles over geld), hebben wij niet genoeg gedonder met de Turken en Marokkanen, en niet te vergeten de Surinamers en de Antillianen, de Ambonezen en de Indonesiërs, het is niet onze fout dat jij gevlucht ben na de oorlog, van ons mocht je blijven, je had zelfs burgemeester van Amsterdam kunnen worden. En natuurlijk dit is een goed argument, en doet het me denken aan de situatie hier in Israël met de Palestijnen, waar hun grootvaders in 1948 de benen namen en vluchten naar de buren van Israël, en daar in kampen werden en worden gehouden, tot ze terug mogen keren 60 jaar later naar hun land van afkomst.
Niemand heeft ze aan geraden om te vluchten, en deze Palestijnen die gebleven waren zijn nu burgers van Israël, met gelijke rechten als de Joden, maar net als ik, waren ze bang dat de Joden wraak zouden nemen op de terreur acties van voor de onafhankelijks oorlog.
Nu eisen de pro Palestijnen (dezelfde Nederlanders die mij en mijn familie niet willen hebben, en ook niet de nakomelingen van de gast arbeiders die men vele jaren geleden naar Holland hebben gebracht om het vuile werk te doen) dat Israël deze vluchtelingen terug neemt, hun huizen en bezittingen terug geven, (niet dat de Internationale wetten dit eisen, maar de humanisten in Holland, die Hamas, Joden aan het gas roepen in spontane demonstraties, eisen dit wel.
Maar maken jullie je geen zorgen, wij kunnen ons zelf verdedigen, en kom ik niet, het regent te veel in Holland, en ik hou van echte Hummus, en niet die pap die ze in de Nederlandse eet tentjes geven.
Ik wou alleen maar even aantonen, dat wat deze Olie B. Bommels schreeuwen, zelfs Tom Poes niet had geaccepteerd.
Hartelijke groeten uit het zonnige Israel,
David Verveer
Door David Verveer
Dit is een zuivere theoretische vraag, maar laten we voor een momentje stellen dat we hier in Israël de oorlog gaan verliezen van de Palestijnen, en de Joden moeten vluchten, naar de landen van afkomst.
In mijn familie is dat een beetje gecompliceerd, daar mijn oudste broer met een Grieks meisje is getrouwd, mijn tweede broer met een dame uit Duitsland, mijn zus (maar die heeft er niets mee te maken, want die leeft in Amerika, en dus is veilig, maar haar man is van Italiaanse afkomst), mijn vrouw, alhoewel in Israël geboren, haar ouders kwamen uit Oekraïne, en zijn hier gekomen via Danzig nu Gdansk, en Frankrijk naar Israël. Mijn oudste dochter is weduwe van een Marokkaanse familie en mijn jongste dochter van een gemengd huwelijk tussen Oostenrijkers en Turken, en mijn kleinkinderen, helemaal gemixt, wat we hier in Israël, “Yisrael Galuyot”, noemen.
Maar laten we deze moeilijkheden in vorige nationaliteit even op zij schuiven, en alleen over mijzelf spreken. Ik ben op 18 jarige leeftijd uit Nederland vertrokken, omdat ik bang was dat op een zekere dag, een andere Hitler, weer op Joden zou gaan jagen, mijn broeders, de Nederlanders die me de eerste keer hebben gered, de volgende keer hun schouders zullen ophalen, en dus vluchten ik naar een land, vol met Joden, die allemaal in het zelfde perikel zijn, en zich zelf kunnen verdedigen.
En nu (theoretisch) moet ik vluchten en kom ik terug als pensionair terug naar Nederland. Heb ik recht om mijn Nederlandse nationaliteit terug te krijgen, kan ik nu op huizing en een pensioen rekenen? Kan mijn vrouw, dochters met man en kleinkinderen mee komen, krijgen ze ook huis vestiging, Nationaliteit en sociale help, werk vergunning, enz.
Ik zie de lezers nu al protesteren, hoe kom je daar nu bij, waarom moeten wij al dit betalen (want natuurlijk in Nederland gaat alles over geld), hebben wij niet genoeg gedonder met de Turken en Marokkanen, en niet te vergeten de Surinamers en de Antillianen, de Ambonezen en de Indonesiërs, het is niet onze fout dat jij gevlucht ben na de oorlog, van ons mocht je blijven, je had zelfs burgemeester van Amsterdam kunnen worden. En natuurlijk dit is een goed argument, en doet het me denken aan de situatie hier in Israël met de Palestijnen, waar hun grootvaders in 1948 de benen namen en vluchten naar de buren van Israël, en daar in kampen werden en worden gehouden, tot ze terug mogen keren 60 jaar later naar hun land van afkomst.
Niemand heeft ze aan geraden om te vluchten, en deze Palestijnen die gebleven waren zijn nu burgers van Israël, met gelijke rechten als de Joden, maar net als ik, waren ze bang dat de Joden wraak zouden nemen op de terreur acties van voor de onafhankelijks oorlog.
Nu eisen de pro Palestijnen (dezelfde Nederlanders die mij en mijn familie niet willen hebben, en ook niet de nakomelingen van de gast arbeiders die men vele jaren geleden naar Holland hebben gebracht om het vuile werk te doen) dat Israël deze vluchtelingen terug neemt, hun huizen en bezittingen terug geven, (niet dat de Internationale wetten dit eisen, maar de humanisten in Holland, die Hamas, Joden aan het gas roepen in spontane demonstraties, eisen dit wel.
Maar maken jullie je geen zorgen, wij kunnen ons zelf verdedigen, en kom ik niet, het regent te veel in Holland, en ik hou van echte Hummus, en niet die pap die ze in de Nederlandse eet tentjes geven.
Ik wou alleen maar even aantonen, dat wat deze Olie B. Bommels schreeuwen, zelfs Tom Poes niet had geaccepteerd.
Hartelijke groeten uit het zonnige Israel,
David Verveer
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
At the Israeli Super market
By David Verveer
I am a little tired on defending Israel on the Internet, not only because I can not persuade anybody, who is already convinced that Israel is an apartheid state and are guilty of all imaginary racist crimes, but also because our daily life (and those of our neighbors) is relatively normal.
Take for example our Super market at the mall, when you shop there, you realize that stories written by passing through, one-day visitors, who are pre-determined to provide a pre- opinioned articles about the actual internal conditions between the local Arab and Jewish population groups. My town, Kfar Saba borders with several Arab town and villages on the north and south side, and in the East to the Green Line (the border between the Palestine Authority run Autonomy and future state of Palestine, with the Palestinian town of Jaljuliah.
The towns Kfar Saba and Jaljuliah are today separated by the famous Wall, and a main toll road that connects the southern and central part of Israel with the North. People living in Jaljuliah were in the past allowed to enter Israel, and many were employed in the building trade.
Since the second Intifada, and result of continues terrorist rates, the Separation Wall was erected, and today, only with permits such as medical emergencies and treatment, the Jaljulians are permitted to enter Israel.
But as mentioned before, I do not want to talk about politics, and I am not trying to defend the history or actions of the politicians and extremists.
Our supermarket, where from the outside you see the town Jaljuliah and the separation wall, 2 km further, is build on the eastern border of the town, however, only 15 km to the west, you find the Mediterranean coast, as this is the waist of Israel, named the Sharon region. Our town is in actual fact the business center for many, the Arab triangle of Arab towns and villages in the neighborhood, the settlers living in settlements on the other side of the Green line, and of course, the local population.
The town has approx. 90,000 inhabitants, but it serves a population of double this number of people, visiting, working and buying in Kfar Saba.
This heterogeneous population can be seen daily at the super-market, were you will see Palestinians in their traditional clothing, religious Jews, non too religious Arabs and Jews, with all skin colors, from very black (Jews from Ethiopia, Arabs who descent from Nubian parentage), to very blond Jews coming from all over the world.
Also the personnel of the super market belongs to different population groups, and can you find that the lady who operates the cash register, with a traditional Arab shawl covering her hair, next to a lady, who's Russian accent is very strong, and immigrated to Israel only a few years back.
In order to keep the clients happy, you can find numerous articles and typical dishes for all sectors, from Iraqi pitas, to Russian types of cheese and yogurts, special salads and pastries, typifying the variation in world taste, and now, with the summer holydays, small children of all colors and greed, run around, trying to persuade their mothers to buy sweets and cokes and ice-cream. And after coming home, having spent two hours of shopping in this population rainbow, I read the comments and attacks on Israel in the media, and wonder, what in heavens name, they are talking about Israeli racists, as more integration is simply impossible.
I am a little tired on defending Israel on the Internet, not only because I can not persuade anybody, who is already convinced that Israel is an apartheid state and are guilty of all imaginary racist crimes, but also because our daily life (and those of our neighbors) is relatively normal.
Take for example our Super market at the mall, when you shop there, you realize that stories written by passing through, one-day visitors, who are pre-determined to provide a pre- opinioned articles about the actual internal conditions between the local Arab and Jewish population groups. My town, Kfar Saba borders with several Arab town and villages on the north and south side, and in the East to the Green Line (the border between the Palestine Authority run Autonomy and future state of Palestine, with the Palestinian town of Jaljuliah.
The towns Kfar Saba and Jaljuliah are today separated by the famous Wall, and a main toll road that connects the southern and central part of Israel with the North. People living in Jaljuliah were in the past allowed to enter Israel, and many were employed in the building trade.
Since the second Intifada, and result of continues terrorist rates, the Separation Wall was erected, and today, only with permits such as medical emergencies and treatment, the Jaljulians are permitted to enter Israel.
But as mentioned before, I do not want to talk about politics, and I am not trying to defend the history or actions of the politicians and extremists.
Our supermarket, where from the outside you see the town Jaljuliah and the separation wall, 2 km further, is build on the eastern border of the town, however, only 15 km to the west, you find the Mediterranean coast, as this is the waist of Israel, named the Sharon region. Our town is in actual fact the business center for many, the Arab triangle of Arab towns and villages in the neighborhood, the settlers living in settlements on the other side of the Green line, and of course, the local population.
The town has approx. 90,000 inhabitants, but it serves a population of double this number of people, visiting, working and buying in Kfar Saba.
This heterogeneous population can be seen daily at the super-market, were you will see Palestinians in their traditional clothing, religious Jews, non too religious Arabs and Jews, with all skin colors, from very black (Jews from Ethiopia, Arabs who descent from Nubian parentage), to very blond Jews coming from all over the world.
Also the personnel of the super market belongs to different population groups, and can you find that the lady who operates the cash register, with a traditional Arab shawl covering her hair, next to a lady, who's Russian accent is very strong, and immigrated to Israel only a few years back.
In order to keep the clients happy, you can find numerous articles and typical dishes for all sectors, from Iraqi pitas, to Russian types of cheese and yogurts, special salads and pastries, typifying the variation in world taste, and now, with the summer holydays, small children of all colors and greed, run around, trying to persuade their mothers to buy sweets and cokes and ice-cream. And after coming home, having spent two hours of shopping in this population rainbow, I read the comments and attacks on Israel in the media, and wonder, what in heavens name, they are talking about Israeli racists, as more integration is simply impossible.
Sunday, July 12, 2009
the world and grandfather's village
The World and my Grandfather's village
By David Verveer
The title of this post might indicate something entirely different than what it really means. I live in a town (about 90.000 inhabitants) in the Israeli coastal Sharon plain, with the romantic name of Kfar Saba (Grandfather's village). The real origin of the name is unknown, but it was already mentioned with this name during the Roman and Byzantine periods, some historians claim that it originates from a Saba clan which lived in the area, but according my grandchildren, Kfar Saba is named Grandfather's village because their grandfather lives there, and whom am I to argue with them.
The site of our town has strategic value, as it was one of the caravan stops on the ancient Spice road to the Far East. The traders would arrive in Egypt and follow the coastal road, and turn inland taking the Salt Valley road, where now the towns of Zichron Yaacov / Furadis are. This coastal road was a small passable strip between the coastal swamps and the Shomron hills. Not only traders use this road but also armies conquering and fighting forces of the Egyptians, the Syrians, the Arabs, Romans, Crusaders and anybody involved in the region.
A Chan - ruins of a hostel from the Byzantine period can be seen, just outside Kfar Saba in an Arab village name Jaljuliah, apparently using the caravans for refreshing horses and getting fresh provisions.
This ancient trader's road became also the green border, after Israel's war of independence, and today is the border between the Palestinian West Bank and Israel.
The towns Qualquilia and Kfar Saba are and were neighbors, today divided by a high wall, as during the second Intifada, Kfar Saba suffered severely from terror acts by Qualquilians.
Kfar Saba is neighboring in the west with Jewish Raanana, and in the north with the Israeli Arab Triangle of a cluster of Arabic villages and towns. To the south we find Jaljuliah, mentioned before, which is the Biblical Gilgal haSharon and the Jewish town Hod hasharon. Kfar Saba is only 15 kilometers from the sea, and the area can be considered the smallest strip of Israel. The distance to Tel Aviv, the commercial capital of Israel is also around 15 Km, this explains the main function of Kfar Saba, as middle class home for people working in the Tel Aviv region.
As I mentioned before, Kfar Saba is nearly surrounded by Arab towns and villages, and provides services (administrative, health, educational and of course shopping) to a wide region of central Israel. Even though, we do not talk about it too much, integration of Israeli Arabs is complete, they sell in shops and malls, and they work at the post office or any other service in town, they work at the Meir hospital as doctors, nurses and medical staff, without any discrimination or racist problems, even not during hectic war times, such as the Gaza offensive, a few months back. I failed to mention that the Palestinian Arabs from the region do most of their shopping in Kfar Saba, and many Kfar Saba citizens go to the Arab towns in order to buy cheaper vegetable and fruits, get their cars fixed or go to dentists, who charge much less than their Jewish counterparts in Kfar Saba.
I don't claim, Kfar Saba is trouble free, we suffer still from car thefts from West Bank criminals, however since the border dividing wall, and it is less often.
In actual fact, even though, a border and wall divide us from Qualquiliah, there is much cooperation between the two towns, with its mayors meeting often in order to discuss neighborhood problems and actions.
Please note, the town Kfar Saba is not built on Arab owned land but was bought during the Ottoman and Mandate period by the Lord Rothschild foundation. The Arabs in the area mostly remained there during the War of Independence, and still live at the same place in relative prosperity, (not withstanding local financial municipal problems, due to failure in getting their citizens to pay their taxes).
When I read in foreign newspapers about the problems and discrimination between Arabs and Jews in Israel, I wonder if we live on another planet and the Israel mentioned in their reports is another place, dark and cruel. As I have lived in many places on our globe, I dare to claim that discrimination in Israel is much less than for example London, Antwerp, Amsterdam, Berlin or Paris.
I think that the foreign press is confusing the environment in Gaza or the West Bank with that of Israel, indeed, there is still a conflict going on, 5 minutes away from Kfar Saba, were Hamas and Fatah fighters kill each other and attack Israeli troops in name of Allah, which you might call occupation, true that extremists settlers behave as dictators in the territories, which we try, not always very successfully, to curb, but that is a temporary situation, as I hope and presume that both forced agreements and pressure from the U.S. and E.U. will solve these disputes. I don't try to white wash the deeds of some of my country men, I am against colonizing, but European opinions claiming massacre and land theft and other war crimes is far from the truth and unfair to the Israeli, remember all wars in the region were instigated by the Arab countries or terrorists organizations, please take in account, Israel can not afford to lose a war, we have nowhere to go, other than drowning in the sea, as some of our enemies still have written in their manifest.
By David Verveer
The title of this post might indicate something entirely different than what it really means. I live in a town (about 90.000 inhabitants) in the Israeli coastal Sharon plain, with the romantic name of Kfar Saba (Grandfather's village). The real origin of the name is unknown, but it was already mentioned with this name during the Roman and Byzantine periods, some historians claim that it originates from a Saba clan which lived in the area, but according my grandchildren, Kfar Saba is named Grandfather's village because their grandfather lives there, and whom am I to argue with them.
The site of our town has strategic value, as it was one of the caravan stops on the ancient Spice road to the Far East. The traders would arrive in Egypt and follow the coastal road, and turn inland taking the Salt Valley road, where now the towns of Zichron Yaacov / Furadis are. This coastal road was a small passable strip between the coastal swamps and the Shomron hills. Not only traders use this road but also armies conquering and fighting forces of the Egyptians, the Syrians, the Arabs, Romans, Crusaders and anybody involved in the region.
A Chan - ruins of a hostel from the Byzantine period can be seen, just outside Kfar Saba in an Arab village name Jaljuliah, apparently using the caravans for refreshing horses and getting fresh provisions.
This ancient trader's road became also the green border, after Israel's war of independence, and today is the border between the Palestinian West Bank and Israel.
The towns Qualquilia and Kfar Saba are and were neighbors, today divided by a high wall, as during the second Intifada, Kfar Saba suffered severely from terror acts by Qualquilians.
Kfar Saba is neighboring in the west with Jewish Raanana, and in the north with the Israeli Arab Triangle of a cluster of Arabic villages and towns. To the south we find Jaljuliah, mentioned before, which is the Biblical Gilgal haSharon and the Jewish town Hod hasharon. Kfar Saba is only 15 kilometers from the sea, and the area can be considered the smallest strip of Israel. The distance to Tel Aviv, the commercial capital of Israel is also around 15 Km, this explains the main function of Kfar Saba, as middle class home for people working in the Tel Aviv region.
As I mentioned before, Kfar Saba is nearly surrounded by Arab towns and villages, and provides services (administrative, health, educational and of course shopping) to a wide region of central Israel. Even though, we do not talk about it too much, integration of Israeli Arabs is complete, they sell in shops and malls, and they work at the post office or any other service in town, they work at the Meir hospital as doctors, nurses and medical staff, without any discrimination or racist problems, even not during hectic war times, such as the Gaza offensive, a few months back. I failed to mention that the Palestinian Arabs from the region do most of their shopping in Kfar Saba, and many Kfar Saba citizens go to the Arab towns in order to buy cheaper vegetable and fruits, get their cars fixed or go to dentists, who charge much less than their Jewish counterparts in Kfar Saba.
I don't claim, Kfar Saba is trouble free, we suffer still from car thefts from West Bank criminals, however since the border dividing wall, and it is less often.
In actual fact, even though, a border and wall divide us from Qualquiliah, there is much cooperation between the two towns, with its mayors meeting often in order to discuss neighborhood problems and actions.
Please note, the town Kfar Saba is not built on Arab owned land but was bought during the Ottoman and Mandate period by the Lord Rothschild foundation. The Arabs in the area mostly remained there during the War of Independence, and still live at the same place in relative prosperity, (not withstanding local financial municipal problems, due to failure in getting their citizens to pay their taxes).
When I read in foreign newspapers about the problems and discrimination between Arabs and Jews in Israel, I wonder if we live on another planet and the Israel mentioned in their reports is another place, dark and cruel. As I have lived in many places on our globe, I dare to claim that discrimination in Israel is much less than for example London, Antwerp, Amsterdam, Berlin or Paris.
I think that the foreign press is confusing the environment in Gaza or the West Bank with that of Israel, indeed, there is still a conflict going on, 5 minutes away from Kfar Saba, were Hamas and Fatah fighters kill each other and attack Israeli troops in name of Allah, which you might call occupation, true that extremists settlers behave as dictators in the territories, which we try, not always very successfully, to curb, but that is a temporary situation, as I hope and presume that both forced agreements and pressure from the U.S. and E.U. will solve these disputes. I don't try to white wash the deeds of some of my country men, I am against colonizing, but European opinions claiming massacre and land theft and other war crimes is far from the truth and unfair to the Israeli, remember all wars in the region were instigated by the Arab countries or terrorists organizations, please take in account, Israel can not afford to lose a war, we have nowhere to go, other than drowning in the sea, as some of our enemies still have written in their manifest.
Saturday, July 11, 2009
The world and my Grandfather's village
The title of this post might indicate something entirely different than what it really means. I live in a town (about 90.000 inhabitants) in the Israeli coastal Sharon plain, with the romantic name of Kfar Saba (Grandfather's village). The real origin of the name is unknown, but it was already mentioned with this name during the Roman and Byzantine periods, some historians claim that it originates from a Saba clan which lived in the area, but according my grandchildren, Kfar Saba is named Grandfather's village because their grandfather lives there, and whom am I to argue with them.
The site of our town has strategic value, as it was one of the caravan stops on the ancient Spice road to the Far East. The traders would arrive in Egypt and follow the coastal road, and turn inland taking the Salt Valley road, where now the towns of Zichron Yaacov / Furadis are. This coastal road was a small passable strip between the coastal swamps and the Shomron hills. Not only traders use this road but also armies conquering and fighting forces of the Egyptians, the Syrians, the Arabs, Romans, Crusaders and anybody involved in the region.
A Chan - ruins of a hostel from the Byzantine period can be seen, just outside Kfar Saba in an Arab village name Jaljuliah, apparently using the caravans for refreshing horses and getting fresh provisions.
This ancient trader's road became also the green border, after Israel's war of independence, and today is the border between the Palestinian West Bank and Israel.
The towns Qualquilia and Kfar Saba are and were neighbors, today divided by a high wall, as during the second Intifada, Kfar Saba suffered severely from terror acts by Qualquilians.
Kfar Saba is neighboring in the west with Jewish Raanana, and in the north with the Israeli Arab Triangle of a cluster of Arabic villages and towns. To the south we find Jaljuliah, mentioned before, which is the Biblical Gilgal haSharon and the Jewish town Hod hasharon. Kfar Saba is only 15 kilometers from the sea, and the area can be considered the smallest strip of Israel. The distance to Tel Aviv, the commercial capital of Israel is also around 15 Km, this explains the main function of Kfar Saba, as middle class home for people working in the Tel Aviv region.
As I mentioned before, Kfar Saba is nearly surrounded by Arab towns and villages, and provides services (administrative, health, educational and of course shopping) to a wide region of central Israel. Even though, we do not talk about it too much, integration of Israeli Arabs is complete, they sell in shops and malls, and they work at the post office or any other service in town, they work at the Meir hospital as doctors, nurses and medical staff, without any discrimination or racist problems, even not during hectic war times, such as the Gaza offensive, a few months back. I failed to mention that the Palestinian Arabs from the region do most of their shopping in Kfar Saba, and many Kfar Saba citizens go to the Arab towns in order to buy cheaper vegetable and fruits, get their cars fixed or go to dentists, who charge much less than their Jewish counterparts in Kfar Saba.
I don't claim, Kfar Saba is trouble free, we suffer still from car thefts from West Bank criminals, however since the border dividing wall, and it is less often.
In actual fact, even though, a border and wall divide us from Qualquiliah, there is much cooperation between the two towns, with its mayors meeting often in order to discuss neighborhood problems and actions.
Please note, the town Kfar Saba is not built on Arab owned land but was bought during the Ottoman and Mandate period by the Lord Rothschild foundation. The Arabs in the area mostly remained there during the War of Independence, and still live at the same place in relative prosperity, (not withstanding local financial municipal problems, due to failure in getting their citizens to pay their taxes).
When I read in foreign newspapers about the problems and discrimination between Arabs and Jews in Israel, I wonder if we live on another planet and the Israel mentioned in their reports is another place, dark and cruel. As I have lived in many places on our globe, I dare to claim that discrimination in Israel is much less than for example London, Antwerp, Amsterdam, Berlin or Paris.
I think that the foreign press is confusing the environment in Gaza or the West Bank with that of Israel, indeed, there is still a conflict going on, 5 minutes away from Kfar Saba, were Hamas and Fatah fighters kill each other and attack Israeli troops in name of Allah, which you might call occupation, true that extremists settlers behave as dictators in the territories, which we try, not always very successfully, to curb, but that is a temporary situation, as I hope and presume that both forced agreements and pressure from the U.S. and E.U. will solve these disputes. I don't try to white wash the deeds of some of my country men, I am against colonizing, but European opinions claiming massacre and land theft and other war crimes is far from the truth and unfair to the Israeli, remember all wars in the region were instigated by the Arab countries or terrorists organizations, please take in account, Israel can not afford to lose a war, we have nowhere to go, other than drowning in the sea, as some of our enemies still have written in their manifest.
The site of our town has strategic value, as it was one of the caravan stops on the ancient Spice road to the Far East. The traders would arrive in Egypt and follow the coastal road, and turn inland taking the Salt Valley road, where now the towns of Zichron Yaacov / Furadis are. This coastal road was a small passable strip between the coastal swamps and the Shomron hills. Not only traders use this road but also armies conquering and fighting forces of the Egyptians, the Syrians, the Arabs, Romans, Crusaders and anybody involved in the region.
A Chan - ruins of a hostel from the Byzantine period can be seen, just outside Kfar Saba in an Arab village name Jaljuliah, apparently using the caravans for refreshing horses and getting fresh provisions.
This ancient trader's road became also the green border, after Israel's war of independence, and today is the border between the Palestinian West Bank and Israel.
The towns Qualquilia and Kfar Saba are and were neighbors, today divided by a high wall, as during the second Intifada, Kfar Saba suffered severely from terror acts by Qualquilians.
Kfar Saba is neighboring in the west with Jewish Raanana, and in the north with the Israeli Arab Triangle of a cluster of Arabic villages and towns. To the south we find Jaljuliah, mentioned before, which is the Biblical Gilgal haSharon and the Jewish town Hod hasharon. Kfar Saba is only 15 kilometers from the sea, and the area can be considered the smallest strip of Israel. The distance to Tel Aviv, the commercial capital of Israel is also around 15 Km, this explains the main function of Kfar Saba, as middle class home for people working in the Tel Aviv region.
As I mentioned before, Kfar Saba is nearly surrounded by Arab towns and villages, and provides services (administrative, health, educational and of course shopping) to a wide region of central Israel. Even though, we do not talk about it too much, integration of Israeli Arabs is complete, they sell in shops and malls, and they work at the post office or any other service in town, they work at the Meir hospital as doctors, nurses and medical staff, without any discrimination or racist problems, even not during hectic war times, such as the Gaza offensive, a few months back. I failed to mention that the Palestinian Arabs from the region do most of their shopping in Kfar Saba, and many Kfar Saba citizens go to the Arab towns in order to buy cheaper vegetable and fruits, get their cars fixed or go to dentists, who charge much less than their Jewish counterparts in Kfar Saba.
I don't claim, Kfar Saba is trouble free, we suffer still from car thefts from West Bank criminals, however since the border dividing wall, and it is less often.
In actual fact, even though, a border and wall divide us from Qualquiliah, there is much cooperation between the two towns, with its mayors meeting often in order to discuss neighborhood problems and actions.
Please note, the town Kfar Saba is not built on Arab owned land but was bought during the Ottoman and Mandate period by the Lord Rothschild foundation. The Arabs in the area mostly remained there during the War of Independence, and still live at the same place in relative prosperity, (not withstanding local financial municipal problems, due to failure in getting their citizens to pay their taxes).
When I read in foreign newspapers about the problems and discrimination between Arabs and Jews in Israel, I wonder if we live on another planet and the Israel mentioned in their reports is another place, dark and cruel. As I have lived in many places on our globe, I dare to claim that discrimination in Israel is much less than for example London, Antwerp, Amsterdam, Berlin or Paris.
I think that the foreign press is confusing the environment in Gaza or the West Bank with that of Israel, indeed, there is still a conflict going on, 5 minutes away from Kfar Saba, were Hamas and Fatah fighters kill each other and attack Israeli troops in name of Allah, which you might call occupation, true that extremists settlers behave as dictators in the territories, which we try, not always very successfully, to curb, but that is a temporary situation, as I hope and presume that both forced agreements and pressure from the U.S. and E.U. will solve these disputes. I don't try to white wash the deeds of some of my country men, I am against colonizing, but European opinions claiming massacre and land theft and other war crimes is far from the truth and unfair to the Israeli, remember all wars in the region were instigated by the Arab countries or terrorists organizations, please take in account, Israel can not afford to lose a war, we have nowhere to go, other than drowning in the sea, as some of our enemies still have written in their manifest.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Wioe zijn de Palesteinen?
Wie zijn de Palestijnen
Door David Verveer
Elke dag lees ik in de Volkskrant blogs die meer of meer anti´Israel zijn, en meestal zijn geschreven door mensen die gedrongen door hun humanistische gevoelens denken dat de huidige toestand van de Palestijnen die leven in de bezette gebieden en in de Gaza strook, onderdrukt worden door het sterke Israëlische leger. Wat ze vergeten (of niet begrijpen) is het feit dat de situatie voor deze mensen is het gevolg van het gedrag van hun leiders, en niet de wil van de inwoners die aan de verkeerde kant van de grens zijn geboren.
Maar laten we aan het begin beginnen, ik, zo als meeste normale Israelis, ben niet anti Palestijn (Arabier of Muslim), in tegendeel, wij zijn tegen de harde behandeling van onze regering tegen de individuele Arabier. En zoals in alle landen, zijn wij niet perfect en niet altijd juist en rechtvaardig, soms is het nodig uit veiligheid redenen, maar vaak komt he slechte uit in de machthebbers, die tamelijk wreed optreden tegen de Palestijnse bevolking, aan beide zijden van onze grenzen.
Maar wie zijn de Palestijnen eigenlijk? Waar komen ze vandaan?
De plaatselijke Palestijnse bevolking is verdeeld in vier hoofd groepen en drie godsdiensten die door elkaar wonen in steden, dorpen en vluchtelingen kampen in de omringende landen rond Israel en het bezette gebied:
1 – De oorspronkelijke bevolking (Semitische stammen – waarschijnlijk meestal de Israëlieten die bekeerd zijn door de zegevierend Muslim macht, ongeveer 800 jaar na de Christelijke Jaar-telling, de Israëlitische leiders, de handelaars enz. zijn door de Romeinen verbannen, maar het gewone volk bleef en werd Mohammedaan of Christelijk tijdens de Kruistochten).
2 – Arabische werkers uit de omliggende landen die kwamen om te werken voor de Zionistische pionieren, (meest uit Syria, Egypte en Soedan).
3 – De Druzen, een aparte godsdienst, die in het noorden van Israel, Syria en Libanon leven (de Israëlische Druzen zijn over het algemeen sterk pro-Israel).
4 – De Beduinen voorheen Nomaden, alhoewel Islamieten, meestal niet politiek gemotiveerd.
De bovenstaande groepen worden als Palestijnen aan geduid, alhoewel ze niet erg goed met elkaar kunnen opschieten.
De eerste groep (de grootste segment) heeft dezelfde DNA Karakteristiek als de Joden, en kan men zien dat ze oorspronkelijk tot de zelfde stammen behoren.
Nu terug naar de politieke situatie.
De Palestijnen leven in families (Hamulas) verband en is het politieke leven meestal beslist door het dorpshoofd (meestal de Sheikh – priester) , de gewone man heeft weinig of geen stem, vooral niet bij de vrouwen en jongeren, behalve dan sommige jonge mensen (gedeeltelijk Universiteit studenten) die in en tegen de familie band, tot extremen groeperingen behoren, inclusief terroristen.
De Palestijnse leiders, zowel Israëlische Arabische Parlement leden, Palestijnse van de PO (Palestijnse Organisatie, die Arafat heeft opgericht) en Terroristen zijn meestal van rijke families, die min of meer met politiek spelen en gesteund worden door Muslim organisaties en landen zoals de Iran, Syria, Hamas, Hezbollah, enz.
De vluchtelingen.
Deze mensen die de derde en vierde generatie van Palestijnse vluchtelingen die gevlucht zijn in 1948, toen Israel voor zijn zelfstandigheid kreeg, meestal op advies van de Arabische leger leiding, maar soms ook door druk van de plaatselijke Israëlische leger commandant. Deze mensen probeerde naar Egypte te komen, maar werden opgevangen in de Gaza strook (toen onder de Egyptische bewind), de West bank en Jordanie, en Libanon. Deze Palestijnen werden in kampen onder gebracht, kregen geen plaatselijke nationaliteit, en werden bewaard als toekomstig wapen tegen Israel. Deze mensen eisen nu het recht van terugkeer, terwijl een zelfde hoeveelheid van Joden uit de Arabische landen zijn gevlucht zonder hebben en houden, die vandaag de dag burgers zijn van de Israel.
Al deze mensen, inclusief de Israëlische bevolking wil leven in vrede, maar worden door individuelen opgestookt voor oorlog. Mooi praters in Nederland, die lamenteren over de puinhopen in Gaza, over de bezetting van Palestina (dat niet bestaat), en over de nederzettingen van Joodse extremisten, en zelf zijn komen kijken hoe erg wij de Arabieren behandelen, hebben geen idee wat hier werkelijk gebeurt, wie is de echte boef is.
Niet als excuus maar wel een punt, Israel is opgericht door vluchtelingen uit Europa en Midden Oosten als gevolg van de tweede Wereld Oorlog, en het uitmoorden van 6 miljoen Joden.
Door David Verveer
Elke dag lees ik in de Volkskrant blogs die meer of meer anti´Israel zijn, en meestal zijn geschreven door mensen die gedrongen door hun humanistische gevoelens denken dat de huidige toestand van de Palestijnen die leven in de bezette gebieden en in de Gaza strook, onderdrukt worden door het sterke Israëlische leger. Wat ze vergeten (of niet begrijpen) is het feit dat de situatie voor deze mensen is het gevolg van het gedrag van hun leiders, en niet de wil van de inwoners die aan de verkeerde kant van de grens zijn geboren.
Maar laten we aan het begin beginnen, ik, zo als meeste normale Israelis, ben niet anti Palestijn (Arabier of Muslim), in tegendeel, wij zijn tegen de harde behandeling van onze regering tegen de individuele Arabier. En zoals in alle landen, zijn wij niet perfect en niet altijd juist en rechtvaardig, soms is het nodig uit veiligheid redenen, maar vaak komt he slechte uit in de machthebbers, die tamelijk wreed optreden tegen de Palestijnse bevolking, aan beide zijden van onze grenzen.
Maar wie zijn de Palestijnen eigenlijk? Waar komen ze vandaan?
De plaatselijke Palestijnse bevolking is verdeeld in vier hoofd groepen en drie godsdiensten die door elkaar wonen in steden, dorpen en vluchtelingen kampen in de omringende landen rond Israel en het bezette gebied:
1 – De oorspronkelijke bevolking (Semitische stammen – waarschijnlijk meestal de Israëlieten die bekeerd zijn door de zegevierend Muslim macht, ongeveer 800 jaar na de Christelijke Jaar-telling, de Israëlitische leiders, de handelaars enz. zijn door de Romeinen verbannen, maar het gewone volk bleef en werd Mohammedaan of Christelijk tijdens de Kruistochten).
2 – Arabische werkers uit de omliggende landen die kwamen om te werken voor de Zionistische pionieren, (meest uit Syria, Egypte en Soedan).
3 – De Druzen, een aparte godsdienst, die in het noorden van Israel, Syria en Libanon leven (de Israëlische Druzen zijn over het algemeen sterk pro-Israel).
4 – De Beduinen voorheen Nomaden, alhoewel Islamieten, meestal niet politiek gemotiveerd.
De bovenstaande groepen worden als Palestijnen aan geduid, alhoewel ze niet erg goed met elkaar kunnen opschieten.
De eerste groep (de grootste segment) heeft dezelfde DNA Karakteristiek als de Joden, en kan men zien dat ze oorspronkelijk tot de zelfde stammen behoren.
Nu terug naar de politieke situatie.
De Palestijnen leven in families (Hamulas) verband en is het politieke leven meestal beslist door het dorpshoofd (meestal de Sheikh – priester) , de gewone man heeft weinig of geen stem, vooral niet bij de vrouwen en jongeren, behalve dan sommige jonge mensen (gedeeltelijk Universiteit studenten) die in en tegen de familie band, tot extremen groeperingen behoren, inclusief terroristen.
De Palestijnse leiders, zowel Israëlische Arabische Parlement leden, Palestijnse van de PO (Palestijnse Organisatie, die Arafat heeft opgericht) en Terroristen zijn meestal van rijke families, die min of meer met politiek spelen en gesteund worden door Muslim organisaties en landen zoals de Iran, Syria, Hamas, Hezbollah, enz.
De vluchtelingen.
Deze mensen die de derde en vierde generatie van Palestijnse vluchtelingen die gevlucht zijn in 1948, toen Israel voor zijn zelfstandigheid kreeg, meestal op advies van de Arabische leger leiding, maar soms ook door druk van de plaatselijke Israëlische leger commandant. Deze mensen probeerde naar Egypte te komen, maar werden opgevangen in de Gaza strook (toen onder de Egyptische bewind), de West bank en Jordanie, en Libanon. Deze Palestijnen werden in kampen onder gebracht, kregen geen plaatselijke nationaliteit, en werden bewaard als toekomstig wapen tegen Israel. Deze mensen eisen nu het recht van terugkeer, terwijl een zelfde hoeveelheid van Joden uit de Arabische landen zijn gevlucht zonder hebben en houden, die vandaag de dag burgers zijn van de Israel.
Al deze mensen, inclusief de Israëlische bevolking wil leven in vrede, maar worden door individuelen opgestookt voor oorlog. Mooi praters in Nederland, die lamenteren over de puinhopen in Gaza, over de bezetting van Palestina (dat niet bestaat), en over de nederzettingen van Joodse extremisten, en zelf zijn komen kijken hoe erg wij de Arabieren behandelen, hebben geen idee wat hier werkelijk gebeurt, wie is de echte boef is.
Niet als excuus maar wel een punt, Israel is opgericht door vluchtelingen uit Europa en Midden Oosten als gevolg van de tweede Wereld Oorlog, en het uitmoorden van 6 miljoen Joden.
Monday, June 15, 2009
What did Bibi actually say?
What did Bibi actually say?
By David Verveer
First of all, I need to confess, every time I hear or see Benjamin Netanyahu he increases my hatred for anything he says or does, and what he represents.
In my opinion he is an opportunist, who with his famous half sentences, and statements which can be interpreted in all directions, keeps a bunch of extremists from right and left together in a coalition with a peculiar pattern of political parties, whose ideals are far apart and only entered this government in order to receive their political spoils handed out by politicians in power.
Last week, it was announced that Bibi will give a speech in the rightist lion den (the University of Bar Ilan) that will decide the future of the Israel / Arab world, and will be a suitable reply to the lecture given by Obama at the Caro University two weeks ago. What he was going to say was kept secret, and unlike the usual development of political speeches, this time nothing leaked out, and the entire world was in anticipation on what Israelis oracle was going to announce. I have an uneasy feeling that even Bibi did not know what he was going to say, and how he could sail between the obstacles and vetoes of his coalition partners, including his own party.
To be fair to Bibi, he had no choice after Obama ordered him to recognize the Palestinians right for independence and self government and to start containing the settlers' expansion on the West Bank. The only thing he could do, in order to survive politically, was to build up statements that can be translated in favor of claims from all directions, (the Americans, The settlers, the far right, the religious parties and the Likud).
I can understand the total frustration of the Palestinians when he announced that he was ready to enter negotiations without previous conditions, provided:
A – the Palestinians agree that Israel is the homeland of the Jewish people,
B – The new Palestinian state will be without army or open borders with the surrounding countries,
C – There will be no right of return for the Palestinian refugees,
D – The settlements will stay and will be allowed to grow due to their natural growth, a privilege which normal citizens don’t have living inside the borders of the country, and Israeli Arabs won't ever get, as the government will not give them the necessary building permits.
E - last but not least, Jerusalem will not be divided and will remain the capital of Israel for ever (including the 300.000 Palestinians living in East Jerusalem).
In actual fact, Bibi is prepared to give the Palestinians a type of mini Bantustans (self government of internal affairs, the solution of the Apartheid Government of South Africa). But don't make a mistake, this is not what he is proposing to the Palestinians, they will need to make also some concessions, or else Bibi won't participate in the negotiations without pre-conditions.
If my forefathers would not have optioned for leaving occupied Roman Palestine for trading opportunities elsewhere, and would have stayed put, with the result of forced conversion to the Islam, we would now have to lose the last straw of hope for independence, taken away by the peace loving Bibi, who tell the Palestinians that if they do not like his proposals, they can lump it.
By David Verveer
First of all, I need to confess, every time I hear or see Benjamin Netanyahu he increases my hatred for anything he says or does, and what he represents.
In my opinion he is an opportunist, who with his famous half sentences, and statements which can be interpreted in all directions, keeps a bunch of extremists from right and left together in a coalition with a peculiar pattern of political parties, whose ideals are far apart and only entered this government in order to receive their political spoils handed out by politicians in power.
Last week, it was announced that Bibi will give a speech in the rightist lion den (the University of Bar Ilan) that will decide the future of the Israel / Arab world, and will be a suitable reply to the lecture given by Obama at the Caro University two weeks ago. What he was going to say was kept secret, and unlike the usual development of political speeches, this time nothing leaked out, and the entire world was in anticipation on what Israelis oracle was going to announce. I have an uneasy feeling that even Bibi did not know what he was going to say, and how he could sail between the obstacles and vetoes of his coalition partners, including his own party.
To be fair to Bibi, he had no choice after Obama ordered him to recognize the Palestinians right for independence and self government and to start containing the settlers' expansion on the West Bank. The only thing he could do, in order to survive politically, was to build up statements that can be translated in favor of claims from all directions, (the Americans, The settlers, the far right, the religious parties and the Likud).
I can understand the total frustration of the Palestinians when he announced that he was ready to enter negotiations without previous conditions, provided:
A – the Palestinians agree that Israel is the homeland of the Jewish people,
B – The new Palestinian state will be without army or open borders with the surrounding countries,
C – There will be no right of return for the Palestinian refugees,
D – The settlements will stay and will be allowed to grow due to their natural growth, a privilege which normal citizens don’t have living inside the borders of the country, and Israeli Arabs won't ever get, as the government will not give them the necessary building permits.
E - last but not least, Jerusalem will not be divided and will remain the capital of Israel for ever (including the 300.000 Palestinians living in East Jerusalem).
In actual fact, Bibi is prepared to give the Palestinians a type of mini Bantustans (self government of internal affairs, the solution of the Apartheid Government of South Africa). But don't make a mistake, this is not what he is proposing to the Palestinians, they will need to make also some concessions, or else Bibi won't participate in the negotiations without pre-conditions.
If my forefathers would not have optioned for leaving occupied Roman Palestine for trading opportunities elsewhere, and would have stayed put, with the result of forced conversion to the Islam, we would now have to lose the last straw of hope for independence, taken away by the peace loving Bibi, who tell the Palestinians that if they do not like his proposals, they can lump it.
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