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The Virtual Jewish History Tour Cuba
By Rebecca Weiner, Jewish Virtual Library
History
Communities in Camaguey and Santiago and Havana
The Revolution
Jewish Life
Operation Cigar
Present-Day Jewish Life
History
It is unclear when the first Jews arrived in Cuba, some arrived after the expulsion from Spain in 1492. According to popular lore, three came with Columbus: Luis de Torres on the Santa Maria, Juan de Cabrera on La Pinta, and Rodrigo de Triana on La Nina. All three were Marranos, or forced Jewish converts to Catholicism. Francisco Gomez de Leon, a Jew, was put on trial during the Inquisition in Havana. He was later executed in Cartagena and his large fortune was confiscated. There is little information about Jews in Cuba until the late 19th century, when a larger Jewish community was formed.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, Jews immigrated to Cuba from Brazil. They were persecuted under Portuguese control. New Jewish immigrants established trade in Cuba and, by the 18th century, Cuban Jewish trade reached Amsterdam and Hamburg. Jews continued to be harrassed during this time, and many of the originial Jewish immigrants assimilated into Cuban society.
In the late 1800's, Jews from the Dutch Antilles settled in Cuba. They supported Jose Marti, who liberated Cuba from Spanish colonial rule in 1898. Following the Spanish American War, a number of American Jewish war veterans settled in Cuba and founded a congregation in Havana in 1904.
Cuban Jews were involved in all aspects of Cuban society and economy. Jews were instrumental in the sugar cane business; they brought the sugar cane from Madeira to Brazil and to the Antilles. Jews also were the first ones to use a protective cloth used when growing tobacco to protect the plants from sun and wind. These protective coverings are still used today to produce the highest quality tobaccos leaves in the world.
Many Jewish traders pursuing business in the New World set up outposts on the island. In 1898, after the Spanish-American War, Jews established a permanent presence. American Ashkenazi Jews born in Romania and Eastern Europe came to Cuba to work for U.S.-owned plantations and businesses. In 1906, 11 American Jews founded Cuba's first synagogue, the United Hebrew Congregation, a Reform synagogue that conducted services in English. This is considered the official beginning of the Cuban Jewish community.
A large number of Jews immigrated to Cuba from 1910 until 1920, including Sephardic Jews from Turkey. Many of these Jews came from Eastern Europe and used Cuba as a stopover en route to the United States, which had a strict quota system at that time. Many decided to stay since there was little anti-Semitism in Cuba, as well as good weather. Many of the new immigrants from Europe prospered in Cuban’s garment industry. By 1924, there were 24,000 Jews living in Cuba.
Jews were called "Polacos" (Pollacks) by the Cubans, even if they were not from Poland. In fact, all immigrant Jews and non-Jews without an English accent were called Polacos, including Germans, French, Hungarians and Turks.
In the 1930's, a Central Jewish Committee was founded for all the Jewish groups in Cuba. Jews continued to seek asylum in Cuba during the Holocaust. One Havana-bound German liner, the St. Louis, was denied access and the Jews were unable to depart from the ship. In 1944, Jews from Antwerp who were able to find refuge in Cuba began a diamond-polishing business. In 1952, only 12,000 Jews were living in Cuba.
Communities in Camaguey and Santiago and Havana
Two synagogues were built in Camaguey, in the 1920's. Shevet Ajim served the Ashkenazi, while Tiferet Israel served the Sephardim. The Jewish population of Camaguey grew to more than 800 people before the Revolution.
Ashkenazic Cemetery Monument to the 6 Million
A Jewish community was founded in Santiago in 1924, called the Jewish Society of Eastern Cuba. The society was housed in a rented space until 1939, when it finally moved into a new building, which became the Synagogue of Santiago de Cuba. Two Rabbis served in the synagogue, Senor Isaac Chiprut Confri, from 1924 until 1943, and Senor Victor Farin Sarfati, from 1946 until 1967. Santiago’s Jewish population consisted mainly of Sephardim from Turkey, who came to Cuba seeking a better life. At the beginning of World War II, Ashkenazi Jews from Poland arrived in Santiago fleeing Nazi persecution. The Jewish Society remained active until 1959; after the Revolution, most of the Jews immigrated to other countries.
Havana has the largest Jewish community in Cuba. During its height, more than 12,000 Jews lived in Cuba and, of that, 75 percent lived in Havana. Havana had five synagogues (including one Sephardic synagogue built in 1914), a Kosher restaurant, one Jewish high school and five Jewish elementary schools.
At the time of the Revolution in 1959, Cuba’s Jewish population peaked at 15,000 people.
Tallis salesman in pre-1959 Cuba (Bob Levine)
The Revolution
Approximately 94 percent of Cuba’s Jewish population fled after the Revolution. Some settled in Israel, thanks to secret diplomatic efforts made by the Canadian government. While the Revolution did not target Jews specifically, they did suffer economically along with other members of Cuba’s middle class.
Most the remaining Jews lived in Havana. Those who chose to stay did so because they were either too old or too poor to leave, were assimilated into Cuban society or believed in the Revolution.
An interesting mix of cultural freedom and Anti-Zionist feelings prevailed in Cuba. Cuban Jews were discriminated against, along with other Cubans who were members of religious groups. Jews and Christians and other religious people had restricted access to jobs and universities. Despite school and job restrictions, Jews were able to practice their religion. They were permitted to buy and distribute kosher food and were able to receive donations from Canada and other countries for special Passover and New Years food products. Protection against national, religious and racial hate was also a part of the Cuban criminal code.
On the other hand, Cuba permitted training camps for Palestinians terrorists on its soil, both Abu Nidal and George Habasch trained in Cuba. Cuba also published Anti-Zionist, anti-Israel propaganda pieces and banned the books by Anne Frank, Isaac Bashevis Singer and Elie Wiesel.
Cuba severed diplomatic relations with Israel in 1973, along with other Third World countries. Israel considered Cuba to be one of its worst enemies in the United Nations. Repeatedly, Cuba participated in embargoes and sanctions against Israel and voted for the infamous resolution stating "Zionism equals racism."
In the late 1960's, a number of Jews were sent to forced labor camps for political dissenters, religious peoples, gays and exit applicants. Jewish activists were under constant surveillance.
Jewish Life
Due to this atmosphere, Jewish life suffered in Cuba, but never disappeared. Jews still could pray in shuls and attend Jewish Sunday schools. In the 1970's, the synagogue in Santiago, the school in Havana and the Zionist Union of Cuba were closed. Another synagogue in Havana, the United Hebrew Congregation, was abandoned in the 1980's.
Throughout the 1980's, the Patronato, Havana’s main synagogue, could barely recruit a minyan. Some Jewish families continued to practice Judaism at home and celebrate the major holidays. Cuban Jewry faced increased assimilation and its elders were worried about the community’s future.
In the early 1980's, the Tikkun Olam Hebrew Sunday School opened in Havana to address the needs of Cuba’s disappearing, young, Jewish population. The school grew with time, due to the leadership of Dr. Moises Asis, the principle and one of Cuba’s few Jewish educators.
Operation Cigar
In the early 1990's, Operation Cigar was launched. In the period of five years, more than 400 Cuban Jews secretely immigrated to Israel. Another 200 Cuban Jews are currently in the process of making aliyah. The details surrounding the operation are unclear; some claim Margarita Zapata, a relative of one of Castro’s close colleagues, convinced Castro to permit the Jews to emigrate. Castro did not want to publicize the emigration because it might appear he was allowing special arrangements to be made for Cuba’s Jews. While, officially, Cubans are allowed to emigrate, most do not have the finances to do so.
The first groups of 70 Cuban Jews arrived in Israel in 1994. The Jewish Agency eventually covered the initial exit fee of $150, which was more than fifteen times the average monthly wage in Cuba.
Present-Day Jewish Life
Despite anti-Israel sentiment that existed in Cuba, the only time blatant anti-Semitic attacks occurred in all of Cuban history was during the Gulf War. Arab students threw stones at Adas Israel Synagogue in Havana, but the violence was quelled immediately and no one was physically harmed.
Because of the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War, as well as the economic hardships due to the U.S. embargo, Cuba sought to liberalize some of its policies. In 1991, a law permitted members of the Communist Party to participate in religious associations. This was the first step toward a rejuvenation of Jewish life in Cuba.
The American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) was instrumental in rebuilding Cuba’s Jewish population. Since 1992, the JDC has sent rabbis and community organizers to help with education and to perform ceremonies and has established a computer educational center linking the Jewish communities of Havana, Santiago and Camaguey. The JDC also provides basic commodities, which are scarce in Cuba, such as food and special shipments of items needed for Jewish holidays. Health services and medication is also provided by the JDC, which are distributed through a special pharmacy in Havana. The Castro regime has never stopped U.S. or Canadian Jewish organizations from delivering wheelchairs, school supplies and kosher food to Cuban Jews. Aside from the JDC, B’nai Brith and other international organizations are also providing relief to Cuba’s Jewish community.
Three synagogues in Havana survived the Revolution, one Orthodox, one Conservative and one Sephardic. According to Adela Dworin, president of Havana’s largest synagogue, the Patronato, more than 85 percent of Cuba’s estimated Jewish population of 1,500 lives in Havana. However, sources in Miami estimate that only 600 to 800 Jews remain in Havana, as nearly 700 Cuban Jews have immigrated to Israel in the past 10 years. Havana’s Jewish Sunday school teaches more than 150 students, ranging in age from 4 to 60. Classes are held in the sanctuary because of lack of space.
Havana's Patronato Synagogue (Mindy Shapiro)
Santiago’s synagogue was reopened in 1996 and served 90 members of Santiago’s Jewish population. A women’s organization was started and a Hadassah chapter, run by Cuban Jewish doctors, began distributing medicine to the sick. There is a synagogue in Camaguey, and Shabbat services are held at private homes in Cienfuegos, Guantanamo, and Sancti Spiritus.
Cemetery in Santiago de Cuba (Mindy Shapiro)
Outreach programs have started to reach out to interfaith couples living in Cuba’s remote provinces, in many instances the spouses have converted to Judaism and are raising their children Jewish. More than 60 percent of Cuba’s Jewish population are converts, according to the Joint Distribution Committee. Israel’s Chief Rabbi, Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau, visited Cuba in 1994 and deemed the conversions valid.
Currently, there is no rabbi in Cuba, but Rabbi Shmuel Szteinhendler (a rabbi in Santiago, Chile) is considered the Chief Rabbi. He travels to Cuba several times a year. Services are held on Friday nights and Saturday mornings at the Beth Shalom (El Patronato) Synagogue.
The Hotel Raquel in Havana caters to Jewish visitors. The top floor rooms have names like "Sinai" and "Gallilee." There are stained glass windows with Jewish themes and contemporary paintings by Cuban Jewish artist Jose Luis Farinas. The phone system plays the theme song from Schindler's List when callers are put on hold. There is a kosher style restaurant serving gefilte fish, Israeli salad, cheese blintzes and Hungarian goulash.
There are plans to create a Jewish square on Acosta Street where the Adath Israel Synangogue is located.
In December 2006, the Cuban Jewish community is celebrating its 100th anniversary. Festivities began with a cultural gala at Havana’s National Fine Arts Museum and will continue all month with religious services, music, dancing, parties, and speeches.
Relations with Israel
Although Fidel Castro has been respectful towards the Jews, he has been generally hostile toward Israel. Originally Castro was very supportive of Israel, mostly due to sympathy he had for Jews as victims of facism and his identification of the State of Israel as a socialist country. As a result, Cuban foreign policy was generally sympathetic towards Israel. Following the Six-Day War in 1967, things changed. Castro broke relations with the Israel just before the 1973 Yom Kippur War. He also sent Cuban soldiers to participate in battles on the Syrian side.
In 1974 the Cuban government invited Yasser Arafat to visit Cuba and provided advance training for the PLO and other Palestinian military organizations. On October 12, 1979, Castro made a speech at the U.N. claiming that Israel was committing genocide against the Palestinian people, similar to the "genocide that the Nazis once visited on the Jews."
Opposing Israel has led Castro to aspire to the leadership of non-aligned nations and to gain support from Arab countries in the United Nations. It also has become a way for Cuba's leader to take a stand against yanqui imperialism and express his hatred of the power concentrated in the United States.
By the late 1980s, relations warmed up somewhat. In 1988, an official delegation from Cuba visited Israel to study irrigation methods. In 1994, Israel's chief Ashkenazic Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau visited Cuba and was cordially recieved by Fidel Castro. Israel has also taken advantage of Cuba's new openness to foreign investment, investing in the Cuban citrus industry and inciting the anger of the U.S. government.
Sources: Abel, David. "Cuba’s Jews Take Heart from First New Synagogue Since Revolution. The Jews of Cuba. Jewish Cuba.
Arnold, Michael S. " Castro’s Jewish bargaining chip." Jerusalem Post October, 19, 1999
Asis, Dr. Moises. "Judaism in Cuba 1959 - 1999: A Personal Account." The Jews of Cuba.
Bandler, Kenneth. "Jewish Youth lead the way in a long-isolated community." The Jews of Cuba.
Cuba. The Jews of Cuba.
Frank, Ben G. "The Jewish Traveler: Havana". Hadassah Magazine, January 2005.History of the Community. The Jews of Cuba.
Letter from Havana. The Jews of Cuba.
"Operation Cigar: A Not-So-Secret Cuban Aliya." Jewish Agency for Israel October 14, 1999.
"Castro can’t make it, but Jews in Cuba mark 100 years on island." JTA News, November 30, 2006.
Photos courtesy of Paul Margolis, Mindy Shapiro and Robert Levine.
History
Communities in Camaguey and Santiago and Havana
The Revolution
Jewish Life
Operation Cigar
Present-Day Jewish Life
History
It is unclear when the first Jews arrived in Cuba, some arrived after the expulsion from Spain in 1492. According to popular lore, three came with Columbus: Luis de Torres on the Santa Maria, Juan de Cabrera on La Pinta, and Rodrigo de Triana on La Nina. All three were Marranos, or forced Jewish converts to Catholicism. Francisco Gomez de Leon, a Jew, was put on trial during the Inquisition in Havana. He was later executed in Cartagena and his large fortune was confiscated. There is little information about Jews in Cuba until the late 19th century, when a larger Jewish community was formed.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, Jews immigrated to Cuba from Brazil. They were persecuted under Portuguese control. New Jewish immigrants established trade in Cuba and, by the 18th century, Cuban Jewish trade reached Amsterdam and Hamburg. Jews continued to be harrassed during this time, and many of the originial Jewish immigrants assimilated into Cuban society.
In the late 1800's, Jews from the Dutch Antilles settled in Cuba. They supported Jose Marti, who liberated Cuba from Spanish colonial rule in 1898. Following the Spanish American War, a number of American Jewish war veterans settled in Cuba and founded a congregation in Havana in 1904.
Cuban Jews were involved in all aspects of Cuban society and economy. Jews were instrumental in the sugar cane business; they brought the sugar cane from Madeira to Brazil and to the Antilles. Jews also were the first ones to use a protective cloth used when growing tobacco to protect the plants from sun and wind. These protective coverings are still used today to produce the highest quality tobaccos leaves in the world.
Many Jewish traders pursuing business in the New World set up outposts on the island. In 1898, after the Spanish-American War, Jews established a permanent presence. American Ashkenazi Jews born in Romania and Eastern Europe came to Cuba to work for U.S.-owned plantations and businesses. In 1906, 11 American Jews founded Cuba's first synagogue, the United Hebrew Congregation, a Reform synagogue that conducted services in English. This is considered the official beginning of the Cuban Jewish community.
A large number of Jews immigrated to Cuba from 1910 until 1920, including Sephardic Jews from Turkey. Many of these Jews came from Eastern Europe and used Cuba as a stopover en route to the United States, which had a strict quota system at that time. Many decided to stay since there was little anti-Semitism in Cuba, as well as good weather. Many of the new immigrants from Europe prospered in Cuban’s garment industry. By 1924, there were 24,000 Jews living in Cuba.
Jews were called "Polacos" (Pollacks) by the Cubans, even if they were not from Poland. In fact, all immigrant Jews and non-Jews without an English accent were called Polacos, including Germans, French, Hungarians and Turks.
In the 1930's, a Central Jewish Committee was founded for all the Jewish groups in Cuba. Jews continued to seek asylum in Cuba during the Holocaust. One Havana-bound German liner, the St. Louis, was denied access and the Jews were unable to depart from the ship. In 1944, Jews from Antwerp who were able to find refuge in Cuba began a diamond-polishing business. In 1952, only 12,000 Jews were living in Cuba.
Communities in Camaguey and Santiago and Havana
Two synagogues were built in Camaguey, in the 1920's. Shevet Ajim served the Ashkenazi, while Tiferet Israel served the Sephardim. The Jewish population of Camaguey grew to more than 800 people before the Revolution.
Ashkenazic Cemetery Monument to the 6 Million
A Jewish community was founded in Santiago in 1924, called the Jewish Society of Eastern Cuba. The society was housed in a rented space until 1939, when it finally moved into a new building, which became the Synagogue of Santiago de Cuba. Two Rabbis served in the synagogue, Senor Isaac Chiprut Confri, from 1924 until 1943, and Senor Victor Farin Sarfati, from 1946 until 1967. Santiago’s Jewish population consisted mainly of Sephardim from Turkey, who came to Cuba seeking a better life. At the beginning of World War II, Ashkenazi Jews from Poland arrived in Santiago fleeing Nazi persecution. The Jewish Society remained active until 1959; after the Revolution, most of the Jews immigrated to other countries.
Havana has the largest Jewish community in Cuba. During its height, more than 12,000 Jews lived in Cuba and, of that, 75 percent lived in Havana. Havana had five synagogues (including one Sephardic synagogue built in 1914), a Kosher restaurant, one Jewish high school and five Jewish elementary schools.
At the time of the Revolution in 1959, Cuba’s Jewish population peaked at 15,000 people.
Tallis salesman in pre-1959 Cuba (Bob Levine)
The Revolution
Approximately 94 percent of Cuba’s Jewish population fled after the Revolution. Some settled in Israel, thanks to secret diplomatic efforts made by the Canadian government. While the Revolution did not target Jews specifically, they did suffer economically along with other members of Cuba’s middle class.
Most the remaining Jews lived in Havana. Those who chose to stay did so because they were either too old or too poor to leave, were assimilated into Cuban society or believed in the Revolution.
An interesting mix of cultural freedom and Anti-Zionist feelings prevailed in Cuba. Cuban Jews were discriminated against, along with other Cubans who were members of religious groups. Jews and Christians and other religious people had restricted access to jobs and universities. Despite school and job restrictions, Jews were able to practice their religion. They were permitted to buy and distribute kosher food and were able to receive donations from Canada and other countries for special Passover and New Years food products. Protection against national, religious and racial hate was also a part of the Cuban criminal code.
On the other hand, Cuba permitted training camps for Palestinians terrorists on its soil, both Abu Nidal and George Habasch trained in Cuba. Cuba also published Anti-Zionist, anti-Israel propaganda pieces and banned the books by Anne Frank, Isaac Bashevis Singer and Elie Wiesel.
Cuba severed diplomatic relations with Israel in 1973, along with other Third World countries. Israel considered Cuba to be one of its worst enemies in the United Nations. Repeatedly, Cuba participated in embargoes and sanctions against Israel and voted for the infamous resolution stating "Zionism equals racism."
In the late 1960's, a number of Jews were sent to forced labor camps for political dissenters, religious peoples, gays and exit applicants. Jewish activists were under constant surveillance.
Jewish Life
Due to this atmosphere, Jewish life suffered in Cuba, but never disappeared. Jews still could pray in shuls and attend Jewish Sunday schools. In the 1970's, the synagogue in Santiago, the school in Havana and the Zionist Union of Cuba were closed. Another synagogue in Havana, the United Hebrew Congregation, was abandoned in the 1980's.
Throughout the 1980's, the Patronato, Havana’s main synagogue, could barely recruit a minyan. Some Jewish families continued to practice Judaism at home and celebrate the major holidays. Cuban Jewry faced increased assimilation and its elders were worried about the community’s future.
In the early 1980's, the Tikkun Olam Hebrew Sunday School opened in Havana to address the needs of Cuba’s disappearing, young, Jewish population. The school grew with time, due to the leadership of Dr. Moises Asis, the principle and one of Cuba’s few Jewish educators.
Operation Cigar
In the early 1990's, Operation Cigar was launched. In the period of five years, more than 400 Cuban Jews secretely immigrated to Israel. Another 200 Cuban Jews are currently in the process of making aliyah. The details surrounding the operation are unclear; some claim Margarita Zapata, a relative of one of Castro’s close colleagues, convinced Castro to permit the Jews to emigrate. Castro did not want to publicize the emigration because it might appear he was allowing special arrangements to be made for Cuba’s Jews. While, officially, Cubans are allowed to emigrate, most do not have the finances to do so.
The first groups of 70 Cuban Jews arrived in Israel in 1994. The Jewish Agency eventually covered the initial exit fee of $150, which was more than fifteen times the average monthly wage in Cuba.
Present-Day Jewish Life
Despite anti-Israel sentiment that existed in Cuba, the only time blatant anti-Semitic attacks occurred in all of Cuban history was during the Gulf War. Arab students threw stones at Adas Israel Synagogue in Havana, but the violence was quelled immediately and no one was physically harmed.
Because of the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War, as well as the economic hardships due to the U.S. embargo, Cuba sought to liberalize some of its policies. In 1991, a law permitted members of the Communist Party to participate in religious associations. This was the first step toward a rejuvenation of Jewish life in Cuba.
The American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) was instrumental in rebuilding Cuba’s Jewish population. Since 1992, the JDC has sent rabbis and community organizers to help with education and to perform ceremonies and has established a computer educational center linking the Jewish communities of Havana, Santiago and Camaguey. The JDC also provides basic commodities, which are scarce in Cuba, such as food and special shipments of items needed for Jewish holidays. Health services and medication is also provided by the JDC, which are distributed through a special pharmacy in Havana. The Castro regime has never stopped U.S. or Canadian Jewish organizations from delivering wheelchairs, school supplies and kosher food to Cuban Jews. Aside from the JDC, B’nai Brith and other international organizations are also providing relief to Cuba’s Jewish community.
Three synagogues in Havana survived the Revolution, one Orthodox, one Conservative and one Sephardic. According to Adela Dworin, president of Havana’s largest synagogue, the Patronato, more than 85 percent of Cuba’s estimated Jewish population of 1,500 lives in Havana. However, sources in Miami estimate that only 600 to 800 Jews remain in Havana, as nearly 700 Cuban Jews have immigrated to Israel in the past 10 years. Havana’s Jewish Sunday school teaches more than 150 students, ranging in age from 4 to 60. Classes are held in the sanctuary because of lack of space.
Havana's Patronato Synagogue (Mindy Shapiro)
Santiago’s synagogue was reopened in 1996 and served 90 members of Santiago’s Jewish population. A women’s organization was started and a Hadassah chapter, run by Cuban Jewish doctors, began distributing medicine to the sick. There is a synagogue in Camaguey, and Shabbat services are held at private homes in Cienfuegos, Guantanamo, and Sancti Spiritus.
Cemetery in Santiago de Cuba (Mindy Shapiro)
Outreach programs have started to reach out to interfaith couples living in Cuba’s remote provinces, in many instances the spouses have converted to Judaism and are raising their children Jewish. More than 60 percent of Cuba’s Jewish population are converts, according to the Joint Distribution Committee. Israel’s Chief Rabbi, Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau, visited Cuba in 1994 and deemed the conversions valid.
Currently, there is no rabbi in Cuba, but Rabbi Shmuel Szteinhendler (a rabbi in Santiago, Chile) is considered the Chief Rabbi. He travels to Cuba several times a year. Services are held on Friday nights and Saturday mornings at the Beth Shalom (El Patronato) Synagogue.
The Hotel Raquel in Havana caters to Jewish visitors. The top floor rooms have names like "Sinai" and "Gallilee." There are stained glass windows with Jewish themes and contemporary paintings by Cuban Jewish artist Jose Luis Farinas. The phone system plays the theme song from Schindler's List when callers are put on hold. There is a kosher style restaurant serving gefilte fish, Israeli salad, cheese blintzes and Hungarian goulash.
There are plans to create a Jewish square on Acosta Street where the Adath Israel Synangogue is located.
In December 2006, the Cuban Jewish community is celebrating its 100th anniversary. Festivities began with a cultural gala at Havana’s National Fine Arts Museum and will continue all month with religious services, music, dancing, parties, and speeches.
Relations with Israel
Although Fidel Castro has been respectful towards the Jews, he has been generally hostile toward Israel. Originally Castro was very supportive of Israel, mostly due to sympathy he had for Jews as victims of facism and his identification of the State of Israel as a socialist country. As a result, Cuban foreign policy was generally sympathetic towards Israel. Following the Six-Day War in 1967, things changed. Castro broke relations with the Israel just before the 1973 Yom Kippur War. He also sent Cuban soldiers to participate in battles on the Syrian side.
In 1974 the Cuban government invited Yasser Arafat to visit Cuba and provided advance training for the PLO and other Palestinian military organizations. On October 12, 1979, Castro made a speech at the U.N. claiming that Israel was committing genocide against the Palestinian people, similar to the "genocide that the Nazis once visited on the Jews."
Opposing Israel has led Castro to aspire to the leadership of non-aligned nations and to gain support from Arab countries in the United Nations. It also has become a way for Cuba's leader to take a stand against yanqui imperialism and express his hatred of the power concentrated in the United States.
By the late 1980s, relations warmed up somewhat. In 1988, an official delegation from Cuba visited Israel to study irrigation methods. In 1994, Israel's chief Ashkenazic Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau visited Cuba and was cordially recieved by Fidel Castro. Israel has also taken advantage of Cuba's new openness to foreign investment, investing in the Cuban citrus industry and inciting the anger of the U.S. government.
Sources: Abel, David. "Cuba’s Jews Take Heart from First New Synagogue Since Revolution. The Jews of Cuba. Jewish Cuba.
Arnold, Michael S. " Castro’s Jewish bargaining chip." Jerusalem Post October, 19, 1999
Asis, Dr. Moises. "Judaism in Cuba 1959 - 1999: A Personal Account." The Jews of Cuba.
Bandler, Kenneth. "Jewish Youth lead the way in a long-isolated community." The Jews of Cuba.
Cuba. The Jews of Cuba.
Frank, Ben G. "The Jewish Traveler: Havana". Hadassah Magazine, January 2005.History of the Community. The Jews of Cuba.
Letter from Havana. The Jews of Cuba.
"Operation Cigar: A Not-So-Secret Cuban Aliya." Jewish Agency for Israel October 14, 1999.
"Castro can’t make it, but Jews in Cuba mark 100 years on island." JTA News, November 30, 2006.
Photos courtesy of Paul Margolis, Mindy Shapiro and Robert Levine.
The Jews of Iran
By the Jewish Virtual Library
1948 Jewish population: 100,000
2004: ~25,0001
The Jewish community of Persia, modern-day Iran, is one of the oldest in the Diaspora, and its historical roots reach back to the 6th century B.C.E., the time of the First Temple. Their history in the pre-Islamic period is intertwined with that of the Jews of neighboring Babylon. Cyrus, the first of the Archemid dynasty, conquered Babylon in 539 B.C.E. and permitted the Jewish exiles to return to the Land of Israel, bringing the First Exile to an end. The Jewish colonies were scattered from centers in Babylon to Persian provinces and cities such as Hamadan and Susa. The books of Esther, Ezra, Nehemiah, and Daniel give a favorable description of the relationship of the Jews to the court of the Achaemids at Susa.
Under the Sassanid dynasty (226-642 C.E.), the Jewish population in Persia grew considerably and spread throughout the region; nevertheless, Jews suffered intermittent oppression and persecution. The invasion by Arab Muslims in 642 C.E. terminated the independence of Persia, installed Islam as the state religion, and made a deep impact on the Jews by changing their sociopolitical status.
Throughout the 19th century, Jews were persecuted and discriminated against. Sometimes whole communities were forced to convert. During the 19th century, there was considerable emigration to the Land of Israel, and the Zionist movement spread throughout the community.
Under the Phalevi Dynasty, established in 1925, the country was secularized and oriented toward the West. This greatly benefited the Jews, who were emancipated and played an important role in the economy and in cultural life. On the eve of the Islamic Revolution in 1979, 80,000 Jews lived in Iran. In the wake of the upheaval, tens of thousands of Jews, especially the wealthy, left the country, leaving behind vast amounts of property.
The Council of the Jewish Community, which was established after World War II, is the representative body of the community. The Jews also have a representative in parliament who is obligated by law to support Iranian foreign policy and its Anti-Zionist position.
Despite the official distinction between "Jews," "Zionists," and "Israel," the most common accusation the Jews encounter is that of maintaining contacts with Zionists. The Jewish community does enjoy a measure of religious freedom but is faced with constant suspicion of cooperating with the Zionist state and with "imperialistic America" — both such activities are punishable by death. Jews who apply for a passport to travel abroad must do so in a special bureau and are immediately put under surveillance. The government does not generally allow all members of a family to travel abroad at the same time to prevent Jewish emigration. Again, the Jews live under the status of dhimmi, with the restrictions im posed on religious minorities. Jewish leaders fear government reprisals if they draw attention to official mistreatment of their community.
Iran's official government-controlled media often issues anti-Semitic propaganda. A prime example is the government's publishing of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, a notorious Czarist forgery, in 1994 and 1999.2 Jews also suffer varying degrees of officially sanctioned discrimination, particularly in the areas of employment, education, and public accommodations.3
The Islamization of the country has brought about strict control over Jewish educational institutions. Before the revolution, there were some 20 Jewish schools functioning throughout the country. In recent years, most of these have been closed down. In the remaining schools, Jewish principals have been replaced by Muslims. In Teheran there are still three schools in which Jewish pupils constitute a majority. The curriculum is Islamic, and Persian is forbidden as the language of instruction for Jewish studies. Special Hebrew lessons are conducted on Fridays by the Orthodox Otzar ha-Torah organization, which is responsible for Jewish religious education. Saturday is no longer officially recognized as the Jewish sabbath, and Jewish pupils are compelled to attend school on that day. There are three synagogues in Teheran, but since 1994, there has been no rabbi in Iran, and the bet din does not function. 4
Following the overthrow of the shah and the declaration of an Islamic state in 1979, Iran severed relations with Israel. The country has subsequently supported many of the Islamic terrorist organizations that target Jews and Israelis, particularly the Lebanon-based, Hezbollah. Nevertheless, Iran's Jewish community is the largest in the Middle East outside Israel.
On the eve of Passover in 1999, 13 Jews from Shiraz and Isfahan in southern Iran were arrested and accused of spying for Israel and the United States. Those arrested include a rabbi, a ritual slaughterer and teachers. In September 2000, an Iranian appeals court upheld a decision to imprison ten of the thirteen Jews accused of spying for Israel. In the appeals court, ten of the accused were found guilty of cooperating with Israel and were given prison terms ranging from two to nine years. Three of the accused were found innocent in the first trial.5 In March 2001, one of the imprisoned Jews was released, a second was freed in January 2002, the remaining eight were set free in late October 2002. The last five apparently were released on furlough for an indefinite period, leaving them vulnerable to future arrest. Three others were reportedly pardoned by Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.6
At least 13 Jews have been executed in Iran since the Islamic revolution 19 years ago, most of them for either religious reasons or their connection to Israel. For example, in May 1998, Jewish businessman Ruhollah Kakhodah-Zadeh was hanged in prison without a public charge or legal proceeding, apparently for assisting Jews to emigrate.7
Today, Iran's Jewish population is the second largest in the Middle East, after Israel. Reports vary as to the condition and treatment of the small, tight-knit community, and the population of Iranian Jews can only be estimated due to the community’s isolation from world Jewry.
Notes
1World Jewish Congress (WJC)
2U.S. State Department Report on Human Rights Practices for 1997.
3“Many Jews Choose to Stay in Iran,” Associated Press, (Jan. 18, 1998).
4Jewish Communities of the World. Reprinted with permission of the World Jewish Congress (WJC). Copyright 1997; Institute of the World Jewish Congress. U.S. State Department Report on Human Rights Practices for 1997.
5 Schneider, Howard. "Iran Court Reduces Penalties for Jews." Washington Post, (September 22, 2000).
6Jerusalem Post, (January 16, 2002); Washington Jewish Week, (October 31, 2002).
7U.S. Department of State, 2001 Annual Report on International Religious Freedom, Released by the Bureau for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor Washington, DC, (October 26, 2001).
1948 Jewish population: 100,000
2004: ~25,0001
The Jewish community of Persia, modern-day Iran, is one of the oldest in the Diaspora, and its historical roots reach back to the 6th century B.C.E., the time of the First Temple. Their history in the pre-Islamic period is intertwined with that of the Jews of neighboring Babylon. Cyrus, the first of the Archemid dynasty, conquered Babylon in 539 B.C.E. and permitted the Jewish exiles to return to the Land of Israel, bringing the First Exile to an end. The Jewish colonies were scattered from centers in Babylon to Persian provinces and cities such as Hamadan and Susa. The books of Esther, Ezra, Nehemiah, and Daniel give a favorable description of the relationship of the Jews to the court of the Achaemids at Susa.
Under the Sassanid dynasty (226-642 C.E.), the Jewish population in Persia grew considerably and spread throughout the region; nevertheless, Jews suffered intermittent oppression and persecution. The invasion by Arab Muslims in 642 C.E. terminated the independence of Persia, installed Islam as the state religion, and made a deep impact on the Jews by changing their sociopolitical status.
Throughout the 19th century, Jews were persecuted and discriminated against. Sometimes whole communities were forced to convert. During the 19th century, there was considerable emigration to the Land of Israel, and the Zionist movement spread throughout the community.
Under the Phalevi Dynasty, established in 1925, the country was secularized and oriented toward the West. This greatly benefited the Jews, who were emancipated and played an important role in the economy and in cultural life. On the eve of the Islamic Revolution in 1979, 80,000 Jews lived in Iran. In the wake of the upheaval, tens of thousands of Jews, especially the wealthy, left the country, leaving behind vast amounts of property.
The Council of the Jewish Community, which was established after World War II, is the representative body of the community. The Jews also have a representative in parliament who is obligated by law to support Iranian foreign policy and its Anti-Zionist position.
Despite the official distinction between "Jews," "Zionists," and "Israel," the most common accusation the Jews encounter is that of maintaining contacts with Zionists. The Jewish community does enjoy a measure of religious freedom but is faced with constant suspicion of cooperating with the Zionist state and with "imperialistic America" — both such activities are punishable by death. Jews who apply for a passport to travel abroad must do so in a special bureau and are immediately put under surveillance. The government does not generally allow all members of a family to travel abroad at the same time to prevent Jewish emigration. Again, the Jews live under the status of dhimmi, with the restrictions im posed on religious minorities. Jewish leaders fear government reprisals if they draw attention to official mistreatment of their community.
Iran's official government-controlled media often issues anti-Semitic propaganda. A prime example is the government's publishing of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, a notorious Czarist forgery, in 1994 and 1999.2 Jews also suffer varying degrees of officially sanctioned discrimination, particularly in the areas of employment, education, and public accommodations.3
The Islamization of the country has brought about strict control over Jewish educational institutions. Before the revolution, there were some 20 Jewish schools functioning throughout the country. In recent years, most of these have been closed down. In the remaining schools, Jewish principals have been replaced by Muslims. In Teheran there are still three schools in which Jewish pupils constitute a majority. The curriculum is Islamic, and Persian is forbidden as the language of instruction for Jewish studies. Special Hebrew lessons are conducted on Fridays by the Orthodox Otzar ha-Torah organization, which is responsible for Jewish religious education. Saturday is no longer officially recognized as the Jewish sabbath, and Jewish pupils are compelled to attend school on that day. There are three synagogues in Teheran, but since 1994, there has been no rabbi in Iran, and the bet din does not function. 4
Following the overthrow of the shah and the declaration of an Islamic state in 1979, Iran severed relations with Israel. The country has subsequently supported many of the Islamic terrorist organizations that target Jews and Israelis, particularly the Lebanon-based, Hezbollah. Nevertheless, Iran's Jewish community is the largest in the Middle East outside Israel.
On the eve of Passover in 1999, 13 Jews from Shiraz and Isfahan in southern Iran were arrested and accused of spying for Israel and the United States. Those arrested include a rabbi, a ritual slaughterer and teachers. In September 2000, an Iranian appeals court upheld a decision to imprison ten of the thirteen Jews accused of spying for Israel. In the appeals court, ten of the accused were found guilty of cooperating with Israel and were given prison terms ranging from two to nine years. Three of the accused were found innocent in the first trial.5 In March 2001, one of the imprisoned Jews was released, a second was freed in January 2002, the remaining eight were set free in late October 2002. The last five apparently were released on furlough for an indefinite period, leaving them vulnerable to future arrest. Three others were reportedly pardoned by Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.6
At least 13 Jews have been executed in Iran since the Islamic revolution 19 years ago, most of them for either religious reasons or their connection to Israel. For example, in May 1998, Jewish businessman Ruhollah Kakhodah-Zadeh was hanged in prison without a public charge or legal proceeding, apparently for assisting Jews to emigrate.7
Today, Iran's Jewish population is the second largest in the Middle East, after Israel. Reports vary as to the condition and treatment of the small, tight-knit community, and the population of Iranian Jews can only be estimated due to the community’s isolation from world Jewry.
Notes
1World Jewish Congress (WJC)
2U.S. State Department Report on Human Rights Practices for 1997.
3“Many Jews Choose to Stay in Iran,” Associated Press, (Jan. 18, 1998).
4Jewish Communities of the World. Reprinted with permission of the World Jewish Congress (WJC). Copyright 1997; Institute of the World Jewish Congress. U.S. State Department Report on Human Rights Practices for 1997.
5 Schneider, Howard. "Iran Court Reduces Penalties for Jews." Washington Post, (September 22, 2000).
6Jerusalem Post, (January 16, 2002); Washington Jewish Week, (October 31, 2002).
7U.S. Department of State, 2001 Annual Report on International Religious Freedom, Released by the Bureau for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor Washington, DC, (October 26, 2001).
Monday, February 18, 2008
Why we Jews should oppose the Sandinistas
The Sandinistas were anti-Semitic. They supported the Palestine Liberation Organization [PLO], a terrorist group dedicated to destroying Israel. They were persecuting Jews in Nicaragua and caused them to flee. The Nicaraguan Jewish community is worried about their re-election.
While Political Correct liberals and the Sandinistas complained about America's support of the Contra freedom fighters, the Sandinistas worked with the PLO, a terrorist group fighting for the destruction of Israel and destablized two Arab nations Jordan and Lebanon and started or at least helped create a civil war there. Yet, the Sandinistas had a free pass to persecute and drive out Jews and support the PLO by the PC liberals. the Sandinistas supported terrorism. They were allied with Cuba and countries hostile to Israel. Right-wing anti-Semitism is more public than left-wing anti-Semitism.
Weather you're a right-wing or a left-wing Jew, you should oppose the Sandinistas cause of how they treated the Jews. Jewish blog also commends Jews who stood up to the Sandinista tyranny as well as everyone else who fought them.
We Jews should condemn the PC liberals and the rest of the political left for whitewashing a regime that persecuted us Jews and supported the PLO and were allies with other countries hostile to Israel. Jewish blog also condemns the racist tyrannical Sandinistas for how they treated other people such as the Miskito Indians. Under the Communist racist tyrannical Sandinistas, Jews and Miskito Indians were on the same boat, both being persecuted. To those Jews who go along with the PC liberals in whitewashing the racist Sandinistas, you are whitewashing an anti-Semitic government. Jewish blog stands with Nicaraguan Jews who suffered under the Sandinistas.
While Political Correct liberals and the Sandinistas complained about America's support of the Contra freedom fighters, the Sandinistas worked with the PLO, a terrorist group fighting for the destruction of Israel and destablized two Arab nations Jordan and Lebanon and started or at least helped create a civil war there. Yet, the Sandinistas had a free pass to persecute and drive out Jews and support the PLO by the PC liberals. the Sandinistas supported terrorism. They were allied with Cuba and countries hostile to Israel. Right-wing anti-Semitism is more public than left-wing anti-Semitism.
Weather you're a right-wing or a left-wing Jew, you should oppose the Sandinistas cause of how they treated the Jews. Jewish blog also commends Jews who stood up to the Sandinista tyranny as well as everyone else who fought them.
We Jews should condemn the PC liberals and the rest of the political left for whitewashing a regime that persecuted us Jews and supported the PLO and were allies with other countries hostile to Israel. Jewish blog also condemns the racist tyrannical Sandinistas for how they treated other people such as the Miskito Indians. Under the Communist racist tyrannical Sandinistas, Jews and Miskito Indians were on the same boat, both being persecuted. To those Jews who go along with the PC liberals in whitewashing the racist Sandinistas, you are whitewashing an anti-Semitic government. Jewish blog stands with Nicaraguan Jews who suffered under the Sandinistas.
Dealing with Bob Novak on Israel
Robert D. Novak has for a long time rebuked Israel while turning a blind eye to the problems it faced.
Hamas
Novak has falsely claimed that Hamas, an Islamo-fasciest extremist terrorist group dedicated to the destruction of Israel and all Jews as a group that wants peace in his idiotic article Olive Branch from Hamas just because of one interview he had with Hamas educational minister Nasser al-Shaer. Contrary to Novak’s interpretation, he did not say he recognized Israel’s right to exist. What he told Novak and what Novak wrote in his article is in which he interpreted as him calling for peace with Israel is this:
"We are talking about the government, not groups." He said Hamas was no more relevant to Palestinian policy than the views of extremist anti-Palestinian cabinet member Avigdor Lieberman are to Israeli policy. Unexpectedly, Shaer expressed dismay that "previous attempts at peace were ruined by suicide bombers. Now, we look forward to a sustained peace.
While avoiding Israel-bashing, Shaer conjectured: "I don't think the Israeli government wants a two-state solution. Without pressure from the president of the United States, nothing is going to happen." That sounded like a plea for help from George W. Bush. But will he hear it if Elliott Abrams does not listen?”1
It did not totally say that he recognized the existence of Israel. It’s off the edge on what he says about Israel. Even if he said he did there, how does Novak know he’s not saying another thing [inciting terrorism toward Israel and calling for it’s destruction] to his people? Hamas, Fatah, Hezbollah and other terror groups call for peace when talking to foreigners while advocate terrorism and destroying Israel when talking to their people. The educational minister denied that he said what Novak claimed he said.2
Novak omitted that the Middle East Media Research Institute [MEMRI] had interviews and speeches of Hamas leaders calling for the destruction of Israel. It ‘s first part had an interview in dream TV with Musa Abu Marzouq, the Deputy head Hamas political Bureau, in which the interviewer said that Hamas has to determine it’s position on weather it’s calls for a two-state solution or for Israel’s destruction.3 He said that Hamas calls for a two-state solution to foreigners while calls for the destruction of Israel to their people. Musa said that Hamas is very clear that it calls for the destruction of Israel. 4
The Hamas run schools, media and TV is full of anti-Semitic propaganda; glorify anti-Israel terrorism including suicide bombings as a religious obligation from Allah and calls for the destruction of all of Israel. Hamas has fortunately been caught showing a Mickey Mouse that not only calls for the destruction of Israel but for radical Islam to take over the world. Some Palestinians [the Palestinian Authority leadership] pretended and some really did condemn the program. Al Aqsa TV, the Hamas TV station told NBC that they wouldn’t change the program. 5
That was one example. Hamas has shown other bits of propaganda either demonizing Jews, glorifying terrorism as an Islamic duty or calling for the destruction of Israel.
Novak called Hamas freedom fighters. Ed Koch wrote the following in his article "Don’t call Hamas Killers Freedom Fighters:
“ LAST WEEKEND, 25 Israelis were murdered and hundreds injured in terrorist suicide bombings in Jerusalem and Haifa. The immediate families of those Israelis, like those of the Americans murdered in the World Trade Center attack, will never again lead normal lives.
Two weekends ago, I watched 'Capital Gang' on CNN, featuring Robert Novak. I've known Novak for many years. He interviewed me when I was mayor and a congressman. Novak has always been a very conservative commentator and always hostile to the State of Israel.
On his Nov. 24 show, Novak went ballistic in his ill will toward Israel. While discussing the Israeli assassination of Mahmoud Abu Hanoud, a senior military leader of Hamas on the West Bank directly responsible for dozens of Israeli civilian deaths, Novak denounced Prime Minister Ariel Sharon for ordering Hanoud's assassination. Novak's colleague, Margaret Carlson, rightly called Hanoud a terrorist, and Novak defended him as a freedom fighter. Carlson responded, 'Bob, you're the only person who would call Hamas freedom fighters.'
‘Oh, no,’ Novak rejoined. ‘People all over the world do.’”6
Palestinian Christians
Novak claimed that Israel persecutes and is driving out Palestinian Christians. Israel is mainly seeking to get security and live in peace. Israel has always been willing to [and is still willing to] trade land for peace. The ones who are persecuting Palestinian Christians out and causing them to leave are the Palestinian Authority [PA] and radical Islam. While it is fair to say that not all Palestinian Muslims are persecuting their fellow Christians, it is also not just isolated incidents.
Palestinian Christians and Muslims alike are free to criticize Israel cause they know Israel won’t harm them for doing so. The ones who Novak interviewed did not have to hide their identity. The ones who talk about persecution by the radical Islamists and the Palestinian Authority have to hide their identity for their safety. One Bethlehem Christian leader told World Net Daily [WND] the following:
"All this talk about Israel driving Christians out and causing pain is nonsense. You want to know what is at play here, just come throughout the year and see the intimidation from the Muslims. They have burned down our stores, built mosques in front of our churches, stole our real estate and took away our rights. Women have been raped and abducted. So don't tell me about Israel. It's the Muslims."7
That leader did not show his/her identity for his/her safety.8
Rami Khader Ayyad, the manager of the Christian bookstore, has been murdered by radical Islamist terrorists after the Hamas takeover of the Gaza strip. “Although no group claimed responsibility for the murder, a number of Christians in Gaza City told The Jerusalem Post that Ayyad had received several death threats in the past from radical Muslims who accused him of missionary activity,”9 wrote the Jerusalem Post correspondent Khaled Abu Toameh, who is an Israeli Arab Muslim. According to paragraph 12 of the Jerusalem Post article, Ihab Ghissan, spokesman for the Hamas interior ministry said, "This despicable crime won't pass without punishment of the perpetrators. We will pursue all those involved in this case and make sure that they are severely punished."
However, as I said, Hamas, Fatah, Hezbollah and other groups have said one thing to foreigners and another thing [inciting terrorism] to their own people. It is true that sentence 2 of paragraph 6 does say, “In Bethlehem, Palestinian Authority police are still investigating last week's stabbing of a 27-year-old Christian man, who was seriously wounded in the attack.”
However, there is not much evidence that the PA and Hamas condemn persecution of Palestinian Christians. There is a lot of evidence that they take part in the persecution.
Hamas, Novak’s hero, has also called for the closure of the Young Men Christian Association a year ago. Residents of Qaliqila told the Jerusalem Post that the local campaign against YMCA had been initiated by local Hamas leaders.10
World Net Daily also obtained a petition that says the following
"We the preachers of the mosques and representatives of major families in Qalqiliya ask you to close the offices of the YMCA because the population of Qalqiliya doesn't need such offices, especially since there are not many Christians in our city." 11
Samir Qumsiyeh who ran the only non-governmental Al-Mahd TV station has spoken out against the persecution of Christians by Islamic extremists.
Ahmad El-Akwal converted from Islam to Christianity. He was repeatedly arrested and tortured by the Palestinian Authority [PA]. El-Akwal showed the results of his torture by the hands of the PA before getting killed. “He showed me a the time what were then recent arrests, which included burns all over his body and hut pieces of sheep metal were taken from the fire and touched to his skin. And on January 21, 2004, someone knocked on the door. He opened the door and was he met with bullets. He was shot dead in the entrance of his apartment,’’ human rights attorney Justus Weiner told the Christian Broadcasting News [CBN]. 12
The root cause of the mass-Emigration of Palestinian Christians is the persecution by the Palestinian Authority and radical Islam. After all, if it’s caused by Israel, why is there also not a mass-exodus of Palestinian Muslims? Is it cause Muslims are better at suffering?
Anti-Israel propagandists don’t say that Israel is just singling out Christians. They say that both Palestinian Christians and Muslims alike suffer cause of the Israeli occupation. After all, it’s a “shared suffering” of Christians and Muslims under the Israeli occupation. Robert Novak says the following in his article walled off Christians:
“But this is no Christian problem. During Easter Week, I visited Palestinian territory in Ramallah, Bethlehem and Gaza as well as Aboud. Christians share the harsh fate of Palestinian Muslims in the wake of the disastrous Second Intifada.”13
Why was the mass-exodus there before 1967? Arabs citizens of Israel, who are Christians, Muslims and Druze, have equal rights to Israeli Jews. There are plenty of Arabs in the Israel Defense Forces [IDF], Israel Supreme Court, and Knesset and there are Arab political parties in Israel. Arab Israelis have full voting rights. The Palestinian Muslims are growing. So it’s more logical to believe that the mass-exodus is caused by the persecution of Christians by the radical Muslims and Palestinian Authority [PA]. A Palestinian Christian women, who hid her identity for her safety, told CBN, “A lot of families are leaving cause they can’t do anything about what’s going on. They can’t take it. They can’t handle it.”14 The CBN program about Palestinian Christians goes on to say that she said that half of her family left the West Bank cause of persecution.15 CBN decided to call her Hanan.
Worse than Apartheid, not
Novak titles one of his articles Worse than Apartheid. Israel is willing to trade land captured in 1967 for peace and is fighting Palestinian terrorists who target innocent civilians and fighting to end the Israeli “occupation.” Though they consider Israel’s existence to be part of the occupation. According to them, the occupation began in 1948 when Israel was created but not 1967 when Israel gained new territory from Egypt, Jordan and Syria from the Six-day war.
But the Apartheid governments wanted to have black South Africans treated as second-class citizens. So Israel is not an Apartheid state nor is running an Apartheid system in the Palestinian territories. Apartheid South Africa is much worse. The African National congress [ANC] fought to end the Apartheid system. They, unlike Palestinian terrorists fighting to destroy Israel, did not fight to eliminate a lawful democratic country. Unlike the Palestinian terrorists, they did not target innocent civilians but government buildings.
1 Olive Branch from Hamas Robert D. Novak URL http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/15/AR2007041500563.html. Last two paragraphs
2 http://maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=21290.
3 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OEXQHqXmCRg.
4 Ibid
5 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DaMDfKF2Vd0.
6http://www.likud.nl/press115.html
7 Paragraph 2 of world Net daily article by Aaron Klein. Muslim Grinch steals Bethlehem Christmas. URL http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=48064.
8 Ibid but paragraph 3, which is one sentence
9 Paragraph 3 of JP article Palestinian Christians Found dead in Gaza. URL http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1191257240876&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FshowFull.
10 Ibid but paragraph 7 first sentence
11 Paragraph 9 of World Net Daily article Palestinians burn West Bank Qaliqlya. URL http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=51909.
12 http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4985547126245225031&q=palestinian+christians&total=1306&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=0. Youtube video. See him saying that from 5:15 to 5:49
13 Paragraph 3 first two sentences URL http://www.townhall.com/columnists/RobertDNovak/2006/04/17/walled_off_christians and http://www.theconservativevoice.com/article/13899.html.
14 See footnote 12 but 5:50 to 6:00 in the Youtube video
15 Ibid
Hamas
Novak has falsely claimed that Hamas, an Islamo-fasciest extremist terrorist group dedicated to the destruction of Israel and all Jews as a group that wants peace in his idiotic article Olive Branch from Hamas just because of one interview he had with Hamas educational minister Nasser al-Shaer. Contrary to Novak’s interpretation, he did not say he recognized Israel’s right to exist. What he told Novak and what Novak wrote in his article is in which he interpreted as him calling for peace with Israel is this:
"We are talking about the government, not groups." He said Hamas was no more relevant to Palestinian policy than the views of extremist anti-Palestinian cabinet member Avigdor Lieberman are to Israeli policy. Unexpectedly, Shaer expressed dismay that "previous attempts at peace were ruined by suicide bombers. Now, we look forward to a sustained peace.
While avoiding Israel-bashing, Shaer conjectured: "I don't think the Israeli government wants a two-state solution. Without pressure from the president of the United States, nothing is going to happen." That sounded like a plea for help from George W. Bush. But will he hear it if Elliott Abrams does not listen?”1
It did not totally say that he recognized the existence of Israel. It’s off the edge on what he says about Israel. Even if he said he did there, how does Novak know he’s not saying another thing [inciting terrorism toward Israel and calling for it’s destruction] to his people? Hamas, Fatah, Hezbollah and other terror groups call for peace when talking to foreigners while advocate terrorism and destroying Israel when talking to their people. The educational minister denied that he said what Novak claimed he said.2
Novak omitted that the Middle East Media Research Institute [MEMRI] had interviews and speeches of Hamas leaders calling for the destruction of Israel. It ‘s first part had an interview in dream TV with Musa Abu Marzouq, the Deputy head Hamas political Bureau, in which the interviewer said that Hamas has to determine it’s position on weather it’s calls for a two-state solution or for Israel’s destruction.3 He said that Hamas calls for a two-state solution to foreigners while calls for the destruction of Israel to their people. Musa said that Hamas is very clear that it calls for the destruction of Israel. 4
The Hamas run schools, media and TV is full of anti-Semitic propaganda; glorify anti-Israel terrorism including suicide bombings as a religious obligation from Allah and calls for the destruction of all of Israel. Hamas has fortunately been caught showing a Mickey Mouse that not only calls for the destruction of Israel but for radical Islam to take over the world. Some Palestinians [the Palestinian Authority leadership] pretended and some really did condemn the program. Al Aqsa TV, the Hamas TV station told NBC that they wouldn’t change the program. 5
That was one example. Hamas has shown other bits of propaganda either demonizing Jews, glorifying terrorism as an Islamic duty or calling for the destruction of Israel.
Novak called Hamas freedom fighters. Ed Koch wrote the following in his article "Don’t call Hamas Killers Freedom Fighters:
“ LAST WEEKEND, 25 Israelis were murdered and hundreds injured in terrorist suicide bombings in Jerusalem and Haifa. The immediate families of those Israelis, like those of the Americans murdered in the World Trade Center attack, will never again lead normal lives.
Two weekends ago, I watched 'Capital Gang' on CNN, featuring Robert Novak. I've known Novak for many years. He interviewed me when I was mayor and a congressman. Novak has always been a very conservative commentator and always hostile to the State of Israel.
On his Nov. 24 show, Novak went ballistic in his ill will toward Israel. While discussing the Israeli assassination of Mahmoud Abu Hanoud, a senior military leader of Hamas on the West Bank directly responsible for dozens of Israeli civilian deaths, Novak denounced Prime Minister Ariel Sharon for ordering Hanoud's assassination. Novak's colleague, Margaret Carlson, rightly called Hanoud a terrorist, and Novak defended him as a freedom fighter. Carlson responded, 'Bob, you're the only person who would call Hamas freedom fighters.'
‘Oh, no,’ Novak rejoined. ‘People all over the world do.’”6
Palestinian Christians
Novak claimed that Israel persecutes and is driving out Palestinian Christians. Israel is mainly seeking to get security and live in peace. Israel has always been willing to [and is still willing to] trade land for peace. The ones who are persecuting Palestinian Christians out and causing them to leave are the Palestinian Authority [PA] and radical Islam. While it is fair to say that not all Palestinian Muslims are persecuting their fellow Christians, it is also not just isolated incidents.
Palestinian Christians and Muslims alike are free to criticize Israel cause they know Israel won’t harm them for doing so. The ones who Novak interviewed did not have to hide their identity. The ones who talk about persecution by the radical Islamists and the Palestinian Authority have to hide their identity for their safety. One Bethlehem Christian leader told World Net Daily [WND] the following:
"All this talk about Israel driving Christians out and causing pain is nonsense. You want to know what is at play here, just come throughout the year and see the intimidation from the Muslims. They have burned down our stores, built mosques in front of our churches, stole our real estate and took away our rights. Women have been raped and abducted. So don't tell me about Israel. It's the Muslims."7
That leader did not show his/her identity for his/her safety.8
Rami Khader Ayyad, the manager of the Christian bookstore, has been murdered by radical Islamist terrorists after the Hamas takeover of the Gaza strip. “Although no group claimed responsibility for the murder, a number of Christians in Gaza City told The Jerusalem Post that Ayyad had received several death threats in the past from radical Muslims who accused him of missionary activity,”9 wrote the Jerusalem Post correspondent Khaled Abu Toameh, who is an Israeli Arab Muslim. According to paragraph 12 of the Jerusalem Post article, Ihab Ghissan, spokesman for the Hamas interior ministry said, "This despicable crime won't pass without punishment of the perpetrators. We will pursue all those involved in this case and make sure that they are severely punished."
However, as I said, Hamas, Fatah, Hezbollah and other groups have said one thing to foreigners and another thing [inciting terrorism] to their own people. It is true that sentence 2 of paragraph 6 does say, “In Bethlehem, Palestinian Authority police are still investigating last week's stabbing of a 27-year-old Christian man, who was seriously wounded in the attack.”
However, there is not much evidence that the PA and Hamas condemn persecution of Palestinian Christians. There is a lot of evidence that they take part in the persecution.
Hamas, Novak’s hero, has also called for the closure of the Young Men Christian Association a year ago. Residents of Qaliqila told the Jerusalem Post that the local campaign against YMCA had been initiated by local Hamas leaders.10
World Net Daily also obtained a petition that says the following
"We the preachers of the mosques and representatives of major families in Qalqiliya ask you to close the offices of the YMCA because the population of Qalqiliya doesn't need such offices, especially since there are not many Christians in our city." 11
Samir Qumsiyeh who ran the only non-governmental Al-Mahd TV station has spoken out against the persecution of Christians by Islamic extremists.
Ahmad El-Akwal converted from Islam to Christianity. He was repeatedly arrested and tortured by the Palestinian Authority [PA]. El-Akwal showed the results of his torture by the hands of the PA before getting killed. “He showed me a the time what were then recent arrests, which included burns all over his body and hut pieces of sheep metal were taken from the fire and touched to his skin. And on January 21, 2004, someone knocked on the door. He opened the door and was he met with bullets. He was shot dead in the entrance of his apartment,’’ human rights attorney Justus Weiner told the Christian Broadcasting News [CBN]. 12
The root cause of the mass-Emigration of Palestinian Christians is the persecution by the Palestinian Authority and radical Islam. After all, if it’s caused by Israel, why is there also not a mass-exodus of Palestinian Muslims? Is it cause Muslims are better at suffering?
Anti-Israel propagandists don’t say that Israel is just singling out Christians. They say that both Palestinian Christians and Muslims alike suffer cause of the Israeli occupation. After all, it’s a “shared suffering” of Christians and Muslims under the Israeli occupation. Robert Novak says the following in his article walled off Christians:
“But this is no Christian problem. During Easter Week, I visited Palestinian territory in Ramallah, Bethlehem and Gaza as well as Aboud. Christians share the harsh fate of Palestinian Muslims in the wake of the disastrous Second Intifada.”13
Why was the mass-exodus there before 1967? Arabs citizens of Israel, who are Christians, Muslims and Druze, have equal rights to Israeli Jews. There are plenty of Arabs in the Israel Defense Forces [IDF], Israel Supreme Court, and Knesset and there are Arab political parties in Israel. Arab Israelis have full voting rights. The Palestinian Muslims are growing. So it’s more logical to believe that the mass-exodus is caused by the persecution of Christians by the radical Muslims and Palestinian Authority [PA]. A Palestinian Christian women, who hid her identity for her safety, told CBN, “A lot of families are leaving cause they can’t do anything about what’s going on. They can’t take it. They can’t handle it.”14 The CBN program about Palestinian Christians goes on to say that she said that half of her family left the West Bank cause of persecution.15 CBN decided to call her Hanan.
Worse than Apartheid, not
Novak titles one of his articles Worse than Apartheid. Israel is willing to trade land captured in 1967 for peace and is fighting Palestinian terrorists who target innocent civilians and fighting to end the Israeli “occupation.” Though they consider Israel’s existence to be part of the occupation. According to them, the occupation began in 1948 when Israel was created but not 1967 when Israel gained new territory from Egypt, Jordan and Syria from the Six-day war.
But the Apartheid governments wanted to have black South Africans treated as second-class citizens. So Israel is not an Apartheid state nor is running an Apartheid system in the Palestinian territories. Apartheid South Africa is much worse. The African National congress [ANC] fought to end the Apartheid system. They, unlike Palestinian terrorists fighting to destroy Israel, did not fight to eliminate a lawful democratic country. Unlike the Palestinian terrorists, they did not target innocent civilians but government buildings.
1 Olive Branch from Hamas Robert D. Novak URL http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/15/AR2007041500563.html. Last two paragraphs
2 http://maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=21290.
3 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OEXQHqXmCRg.
4 Ibid
5 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DaMDfKF2Vd0.
6http://www.likud.nl/press115.html
7 Paragraph 2 of world Net daily article by Aaron Klein. Muslim Grinch steals Bethlehem Christmas. URL http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=48064.
8 Ibid but paragraph 3, which is one sentence
9 Paragraph 3 of JP article Palestinian Christians Found dead in Gaza. URL http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1191257240876&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FshowFull.
10 Ibid but paragraph 7 first sentence
11 Paragraph 9 of World Net Daily article Palestinians burn West Bank Qaliqlya. URL http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=51909.
12 http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4985547126245225031&q=palestinian+christians&total=1306&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=0. Youtube video. See him saying that from 5:15 to 5:49
13 Paragraph 3 first two sentences URL http://www.townhall.com/columnists/RobertDNovak/2006/04/17/walled_off_christians and http://www.theconservativevoice.com/article/13899.html.
14 See footnote 12 but 5:50 to 6:00 in the Youtube video
15 Ibid
Problem with Hamas victory
"But the Palestinians chose Hamas. We can't dictate who they elect.'' That's the argument against Israel's and the west's complaint about the election victory of Hamas. They also falsely claimed that the reason why the west and Israel disapproves of Hamas is cause they are not their puppets. No that's not why. The reason why the European Union [EU], the United States [US] and the state of Israel are upset Hamas won is cause they are a well-known Islamic fundamentalist group fighting to eliminate Israel and committing terrorist attacks on Israeli civilians.
Background of Hamas' victory
The problem the west and Israel as well as many people have with Hamas having won the parliamentary election in January 2006 is that Hamas does not want peace with Israel. Israel wants peace really badly and is willing to trade land for peace. The EU, US and Israel decided to place sanctions on the Palestinian territories until Hamas accepts Israel's right to exist, denounce terrorism and honor previous agreements.
Hamas has clearly said that they reject all three conditions. What happened is that in November 2006, Hamas had a civil war with Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah until February 2007 until they formed a unity government between Mahmoud Abbas as Palestinian Authority [PA] president and the Hamas parliament. The agreements became known as the Mecca agreements. Abbas has claimed to the west that the reason why he fought Hamas is cause they refused to recognize Israel's right to exist. Abbas claimed to the west that he offered to have a unity government with Hamas on the conditions that they recognize Israel and that Hamas rejected cause of that condition and that caused his security forces to attack Hamas.
Before Abbas called Hamas, Abbas did call for reelection. Abbas was [and still does] incite terrorism to his own people and call for Israel's destruction. Palestinian Media Watch [PMW] an organization that monitors Palestinian media, [as well as Arab media] has actually found Abbas on an interview in Al-Arabiya, an Arab TV station in Dubai and on PA TV saying that it is not the duty of Hamas, the Popular front or Fatah to recognize Israel. The cause of that civil war is the fact that Abbas wants to get rid of a parliament that did not want to work with him and Hamas sought more power. It was a power struggle.
Israel and the west supported Abbas believing that he was the "moderate" and that he wanted peace with Israel.
The Mecca agreements said nothing about Israel. Abbas signed them while Hamas still made it clear that they reject the three conditions and continued firing Qassem rockets at Israel. The Palestinian Authority both under former and first president Yasser Arafat and under the second and current president Mahmoud Abbas has collaborated with Hamas against Israel until the Hamas victory in 2006 when they gained too much power for the Abbas leadership.
Months later, in June 2007, Hamas captured the Gaza strip. That ended the unity government. Hamas and Fatah started fighting each other again. Like before, it wasn't for Israel but was a power struggle. The west particularly the US and Israel started to strengthen Mahmoud Abbas again and help him to prevent Hamas from gaining Judea and Samaria i.e. the West Bank. Though the money the US owes the Palestinians has been fulfilled. Gaza has remained under sanctions until Hamas accepts the three principles they are still rejecting. The west Bank is no longer under sanctions. Abu Ahmad, leader of the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, which is part of "moderate" Fatah and on the US state department list of terrorist told World Net Daily [WND] [the WND article is on my profile that I pasted from World Net daily and the title I made is Abbas fake recognition of Israel] that Abbas's recognition of Israel temporary. PMW also caught a Fatah video singing about Palestine that included Israeli cities as if they're part of Palestine and another video showing a map of Palestine that includes Israel. Despite this fact, Israel and the west [especially the US] praise Abbas as a moderate and support Abbas over the well-known extremist group Hamas. The Guardian actually revealed that Al Aqsa Martyrs brigade that Abu Ahmad acknowledged as part of Fatah [while the US official interviewed by WND's Aaron Klein denied it] is using Google Earth to fire rockets into Israel. Despite this, Israel and the west believes that there will be peace in the Arab-Israeli conflict if Abbas wins. Abbas calls for the right of return of all Palestinian refugees to demographically destroy Israel and turn Israel into a non-Jewish Arab state.
Israel's and the west's reaction to Hamas and condemnations
Hamas is one of the terrorist organizations in Gaza firing rocket attacks at Israeli cities such as Sderot. The Israelis have responded. People have rebuked Israel for arresting members of Hamas who are in the parliament. They complain that Israel is arresting members of the parliament despite the fact that they are firing rockets into Israel. They complain about Israeli attacks toward Palestinian terrorists firing rockets toward Israel. They say that Hamas is a democratically elected government and therefore, they should get aid to be able to launch more rockets on Israel and try to wipe out a lawfully constructed recognized democracy. According to these people's mentality, no matter how much they fire at Israel, Israel would be bad to target a democratically elected government. It's like saying the world should not have reacted to Hitler and let him create a big German empire with Jews and other non-Aryans in concentration camps, with Hitler trying to wipe out the Jewish race and with Hitler invading and threatening other countries. If governments can do whatever they want if elected, then Israel can also do what they want.
I think it's horrible that the Palestinians were and how Gazans [and other Palestinian civilians who are under the corrupt Fatah leadership] are now suffering economically. I agree about that. But at the same time, giving Hamas money could let them buy more weapons to fight Israel. Humanitarian aid was allowed into the Palestinian territories after the Hamas election victory and is currently allowed into Gaza. The Palestinians were in poverty under the corrupt Fatah leadership under Abbas and Arafat as they get billions of dollars to aid the Palestinian people. That billions of dollars was used to spread the widespread incitement that calls for the murder of Jews, Israel's destruction and praises suicide bombers as religious shahids. It praised Palestinian terrorism as heroic resistance. There were [and are] posters of suicide bombers and other terrorists who fought Israel in the PA.
There are also pictures of them on the wall as praise. There are also cards and trinkets of them. As I said before, the economic conditions of Palestinians especially Gazans right now are horrible. Hamas does not care about the Palestinian people. They rather not have Israel live in peace than have innocent Palestinian civilians doing well off. Many people believe that Abbas is a puppet to Israel and the west. They believe that Hamas is standing up to Israel and the west and is therefore, why both the former and latter has a problem with Hamas. But the reason why the former and latter have a problem is cause Hamas won't accept the three conditions. The reason why is cause Hamas does not want peace with Israel and is clear on that. Hamas does sometimes say one thing to the west that is on the edge and rarely [if anytime] says that they want peace but still incites terrorism on Israel toward their people. Hamas has said it wanted a long-term truce truce to the west but makes clear to their own people that it's just a temporary step to gain the strength they need to destroy Israel. It's still clear that the EU, the US, Israel and to many people that Hamas rejects the three conditions they are being called on to accept.
Remember the Mickey mouse program on Hamas TV known as Al Aqsa Tv that called for the elimination of Israel and the whole world to be Islamic (I'm not saying Islam itself is violent). NPR interviewed Erik Westervelt who paid a visit to Al Aqsa TV. You could hear the background a she translated what Al Aqsa TV said. Hamas TV, like Hezbollah TV Al Manur and the TV stations controlled by Fatah's PA, is full of incitement of terrorism against Israel as well as calling for Israel's destruction. That's the problem many people [including ones who believe Fatah wants peace with Israel] have with Hamas elected, is that Hamas continues its terrorism against Israel and does not want peace with Israel and still fights for the elimination of Israel.
Background of Hamas' victory
The problem the west and Israel as well as many people have with Hamas having won the parliamentary election in January 2006 is that Hamas does not want peace with Israel. Israel wants peace really badly and is willing to trade land for peace. The EU, US and Israel decided to place sanctions on the Palestinian territories until Hamas accepts Israel's right to exist, denounce terrorism and honor previous agreements.
Hamas has clearly said that they reject all three conditions. What happened is that in November 2006, Hamas had a civil war with Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah until February 2007 until they formed a unity government between Mahmoud Abbas as Palestinian Authority [PA] president and the Hamas parliament. The agreements became known as the Mecca agreements. Abbas has claimed to the west that the reason why he fought Hamas is cause they refused to recognize Israel's right to exist. Abbas claimed to the west that he offered to have a unity government with Hamas on the conditions that they recognize Israel and that Hamas rejected cause of that condition and that caused his security forces to attack Hamas.
Before Abbas called Hamas, Abbas did call for reelection. Abbas was [and still does] incite terrorism to his own people and call for Israel's destruction. Palestinian Media Watch [PMW] an organization that monitors Palestinian media, [as well as Arab media] has actually found Abbas on an interview in Al-Arabiya, an Arab TV station in Dubai and on PA TV saying that it is not the duty of Hamas, the Popular front or Fatah to recognize Israel. The cause of that civil war is the fact that Abbas wants to get rid of a parliament that did not want to work with him and Hamas sought more power. It was a power struggle.
Israel and the west supported Abbas believing that he was the "moderate" and that he wanted peace with Israel.
The Mecca agreements said nothing about Israel. Abbas signed them while Hamas still made it clear that they reject the three conditions and continued firing Qassem rockets at Israel. The Palestinian Authority both under former and first president Yasser Arafat and under the second and current president Mahmoud Abbas has collaborated with Hamas against Israel until the Hamas victory in 2006 when they gained too much power for the Abbas leadership.
Months later, in June 2007, Hamas captured the Gaza strip. That ended the unity government. Hamas and Fatah started fighting each other again. Like before, it wasn't for Israel but was a power struggle. The west particularly the US and Israel started to strengthen Mahmoud Abbas again and help him to prevent Hamas from gaining Judea and Samaria i.e. the West Bank. Though the money the US owes the Palestinians has been fulfilled. Gaza has remained under sanctions until Hamas accepts the three principles they are still rejecting. The west Bank is no longer under sanctions. Abu Ahmad, leader of the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, which is part of "moderate" Fatah and on the US state department list of terrorist told World Net Daily [WND] [the WND article is on my profile that I pasted from World Net daily and the title I made is Abbas fake recognition of Israel] that Abbas's recognition of Israel temporary. PMW also caught a Fatah video singing about Palestine that included Israeli cities as if they're part of Palestine and another video showing a map of Palestine that includes Israel. Despite this fact, Israel and the west [especially the US] praise Abbas as a moderate and support Abbas over the well-known extremist group Hamas. The Guardian actually revealed that Al Aqsa Martyrs brigade that Abu Ahmad acknowledged as part of Fatah [while the US official interviewed by WND's Aaron Klein denied it] is using Google Earth to fire rockets into Israel. Despite this, Israel and the west believes that there will be peace in the Arab-Israeli conflict if Abbas wins. Abbas calls for the right of return of all Palestinian refugees to demographically destroy Israel and turn Israel into a non-Jewish Arab state.
Israel's and the west's reaction to Hamas and condemnations
Hamas is one of the terrorist organizations in Gaza firing rocket attacks at Israeli cities such as Sderot. The Israelis have responded. People have rebuked Israel for arresting members of Hamas who are in the parliament. They complain that Israel is arresting members of the parliament despite the fact that they are firing rockets into Israel. They complain about Israeli attacks toward Palestinian terrorists firing rockets toward Israel. They say that Hamas is a democratically elected government and therefore, they should get aid to be able to launch more rockets on Israel and try to wipe out a lawfully constructed recognized democracy. According to these people's mentality, no matter how much they fire at Israel, Israel would be bad to target a democratically elected government. It's like saying the world should not have reacted to Hitler and let him create a big German empire with Jews and other non-Aryans in concentration camps, with Hitler trying to wipe out the Jewish race and with Hitler invading and threatening other countries. If governments can do whatever they want if elected, then Israel can also do what they want.
I think it's horrible that the Palestinians were and how Gazans [and other Palestinian civilians who are under the corrupt Fatah leadership] are now suffering economically. I agree about that. But at the same time, giving Hamas money could let them buy more weapons to fight Israel. Humanitarian aid was allowed into the Palestinian territories after the Hamas election victory and is currently allowed into Gaza. The Palestinians were in poverty under the corrupt Fatah leadership under Abbas and Arafat as they get billions of dollars to aid the Palestinian people. That billions of dollars was used to spread the widespread incitement that calls for the murder of Jews, Israel's destruction and praises suicide bombers as religious shahids. It praised Palestinian terrorism as heroic resistance. There were [and are] posters of suicide bombers and other terrorists who fought Israel in the PA.
There are also pictures of them on the wall as praise. There are also cards and trinkets of them. As I said before, the economic conditions of Palestinians especially Gazans right now are horrible. Hamas does not care about the Palestinian people. They rather not have Israel live in peace than have innocent Palestinian civilians doing well off. Many people believe that Abbas is a puppet to Israel and the west. They believe that Hamas is standing up to Israel and the west and is therefore, why both the former and latter has a problem with Hamas. But the reason why the former and latter have a problem is cause Hamas won't accept the three conditions. The reason why is cause Hamas does not want peace with Israel and is clear on that. Hamas does sometimes say one thing to the west that is on the edge and rarely [if anytime] says that they want peace but still incites terrorism on Israel toward their people. Hamas has said it wanted a long-term truce truce to the west but makes clear to their own people that it's just a temporary step to gain the strength they need to destroy Israel. It's still clear that the EU, the US, Israel and to many people that Hamas rejects the three conditions they are being called on to accept.
Remember the Mickey mouse program on Hamas TV known as Al Aqsa Tv that called for the elimination of Israel and the whole world to be Islamic (I'm not saying Islam itself is violent). NPR interviewed Erik Westervelt who paid a visit to Al Aqsa TV. You could hear the background a she translated what Al Aqsa TV said. Hamas TV, like Hezbollah TV Al Manur and the TV stations controlled by Fatah's PA, is full of incitement of terrorism against Israel as well as calling for Israel's destruction. That's the problem many people [including ones who believe Fatah wants peace with Israel] have with Hamas elected, is that Hamas continues its terrorism against Israel and does not want peace with Israel and still fights for the elimination of Israel.
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