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In 1999, then-U.S. senator from Florida Connie Mack gave a speech describing the PA leadership’s incitement of hatred, terrorism against Jews and Israel.
By Morton A. Klein
On March 3, 1999, the great then-U.S. senator from Florida, Connie Mack, gave an important speech on the floor of the Senate, describing the Palestinian Authority leadership’s incitement, in schools and media, of hatred, terrorism and annihilation against Jews and Israel.
It’s worthwhile revisiting senator Mack’s speech – because it spelled out the root of the problem that has grown even worse today.
Mack asked the key question: “How is it possible to engage in peace negotiations with people who maintain the right to obliterate you, who are filled with hatred toward you, and who harbor the dream of one day destroying your homeland? Peace is a matter of the heart. But what I saw, which was the outcome of the Palestinian Authority rule, convinced me that their hearts and minds are set on other goals. The Palestinian leadership does not want peace. They want to use their state to eliminate the State of Israel.”
The senator wisely concluded: “[I]f the Palestinian leadership fails to abandon incitement of hatred, persecution, and terrorism, then we are all dreaming, only dreaming [of peace], and our President’s behavior must be labeled foolish appeasement. There will not be peace until hearts and minds are changed, and we must focus our attention on these issues.”
Mack demonstrated how the PA teaches children to hate Jews. For instance, a Mickey Mouse-style program on PA-controlled television showed a young girl of six or seven years old emotionally singing “When I wander into the entrance of Jerusalem, I’ll turn into a suicide warrior in battledress, in battledress, in battledress.” Mack reminded the Senate “this is a program that was produced by the people [the Palestinian Authority] who are… supposedly negotiating peace… How would you feel if your government was teaching your children to hate? Could you conclude that they were serious about long-term peace with their neighbors?”
Mack also described PA textbooks’ incitement of hatred toward Jews. A third-grade grammar textbook teaches that the “Zionist enemy” attacks “civilians” with aircraft. A seventh-grade textbook says that Jews hate Muslims and cause division among Muslims, and asks students to give examples of the “evil attempts of the Jews” today. Note that these school textbooks specifically talk about Jews – belying the fiction that the PA “only” opposes “Israelis.”
Mack also noted that a just-published 12th-grade history book taught: “The clearest examples of racist belief and racial discrimination in the world are Nazism and Zionism.” The senator reflected: “One would expect, rather than focus on hatred, if they [the Palestinian Authority] were serious about peace, they would focus on how the two peoples are working to live side by side.”
Mack also described the PA’s terrible treatment of Christians, such as the PA’s brutal torture and imprisonment of a poor, landless Arab Christian on invented charges of selling land to Jews. Mack also reflected on heartbreaking stories of Americans whose children were murdered by Palestinian Arab terrorists.
UNFORTUNATELY, MACK’S speech could just as easily been given today. The PA arrests dozens of Arabs for the “crime” of selling land to Jews in Jerusalem and elsewhere. On PA television, young children call for “vengeance,” shooting fire and destruction against “Zionists,” and send “love” to “heroic” Arab terrorists who murdered Jews.
Impact-SE’s 2021 study of 222 Palestinian-Arab textbooks and curricula for first through 12th grades found that these are even more radical and permeated with anti-Jewish hate than before. The study concludes: “There is a systematic insertion of violence, martyrdom and jihad across all grades and subjects. Extreme nationalism and Islamist ideologies are widespread throughout the curriculum, including science and math textbooks. The possibility of peace with Israel is rejected… Peace agreements, summits and proposals… have been removed… New textbooks… show incitement to martyrdom, using various methods to convince children to sacrifice their lives. The need for continuous struggle is emphasized through all the textbooks using terminology like “revolution,” “uprising,” “ribat” and “jihad.” [some words have benign meanings as well as radical political usage.]
The report gives countless examples. Math problems use numbers of “martyrs” (including bombers of Israeli buses and shopping malls). Science books depict Newton’s second law with Palestinian Arabs using slingshots to strike Israelis. Female “Palestinian” Arab terrorist Dalal al-Mughrabi is exalted as the “crown of the nation” and “hero” whose memory is “immortal… in the hearts and minds of Palestinians.” Mughrabi murdered 38 Israeli civilians including 13 Jewish children and wounded another 76 Israeli civilians in the Tel Aviv Coastal Road Massacre.
The European Union’s recent leaked study of 156 Palestinian Arab textbooks and 16 teachers’ guides (from 2017 through 2020) likewise reveals that anti-Jewish and anti-Israel incitement is rampant today. The EU study reiterates many of Impact-SE’s findings: textbooks ask students to discuss “repeated attempts by the Jews to kill the prophet”; emphasize Jewish “perniciousness”; tout violent revolution, “resistance” and “liberation of Palestine”; depict “Palestinian revolutionaries” toting machine guns; erase Israel from maps; and refer to Israel as the “Zionist occupation.”
Thus the terrible situation that senator Mack described is even worse now.
The situation has also been exacerbated by the PA’s payments of $360 million per year to Arabs to murder Jews; by PA dictator Mahmoud Abbas’ calls on PA television to spill blood to prevent Jews’ and Christians’ “filthy feet” from “defiling” al-Aqsa and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre; and by horrific Facebook and other social media posts, such as an anatomical chart with knives stuck in it, teaching Arab terrorists which parts of a Jew’s body they should stab; video tutorials on stabbing techniques; and graphic cartoons celebrating Arab terrorists for chopping up Jews with meat cleavers in Jerusalem. (See MEMRI’s collection of Palestinian-Arab social media tips on attacking Jews more effectively; and the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs illustrated report on a century of Palestinian Arab incitement.)
As Mack eloquently made clear over two decades ago, there can be no real peace as long as the Palestinian Authority incites hatred and violence.
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Israel’s 108th Day of War
By Sherwin Pomerantz
108 days into the war with almost 200 Israeli soldiers dead, Defense Minister Gallant said today that the IDF is “hot on the heels” of the Hamas leadership in the Khan Yunis area. He also told hostage families the IDF is getting closer to where remaining hostages are being held giving families hope some near-term resolution of that issue. Time will tell how accurate .
On a related note, Brett McGurk, the US National Security Council’s coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa, headed to the region on Sunday for talks with Egyptian and Qatari officials on another deal to release the remaining hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip. McGurk’s first stop was Cairo, where he was expected to meet with Egyptian Intelligence Minister Abbas Kamel. He then flies to Doha to meet the country’s prime minister and foreign minister, Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani.
On the northern border with Lebanon, Israel is saying time is running out for a diplomatic solution. Hezbollah has until the end of January to pull back from the border. If they do not, the IDF is prepared to move in and clear a buffer zone between Israel and Hezbollah fighters in Lebanon, so the evacuated residents from the north can return safely to their homes.
An on line editorial in today’s Jerusalem Post noted that…..
At the beginning of the war, it was as if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Joe Biden were in sync for the first time since this government was formed. But as expected, this honeymoon didn’t last very long. Though Biden has been devoted to Israel and has invested time, funds, and military assistance towards the war effort, the two have reached a point where they haven’t been in direct contact for weeks, according to several sources.
“I will not compromise on full Israeli security control over all the territory west of [the] Jordan [River] – and this runs contrary to a Palestinian state,” Netanyahu wrote in a post on X, formerly Twitter, on Saturday night. It was the third time he had spoken about the issue in the 48-hour-period.
Earlier in the day, the Prime Minister’s Office provided further details, stating that in his discussion with Biden, Netanyahu reaffirmed a stance he has maintained for a long time. The PMO explained: “After Hamas is eliminated, Israel must retain full security control of the Gaza Strip to ensure Gaza won’t pose a threat to Israel, and this conflicts with the demand for Palestinian sovereignty.”
Netanyahu, who is already thinking of the next election, added in a press conference on Saturday “those who speak of the day after Netanyahu, are talking about the creation of a Palestinian state led by the Palestinian Authority.”
According to the Jerusalem Post editorial staff, Netanyahu must decide what his agenda is. What is the endgame for this brutal war? Is it a one-state solution? A two-state solution? Is Israel’s agenda the countries in the region absorb millions of Palestinian refugees?
Three months ago, we wouldn’t pressure Netanyahu about focusing on the future, since it was clear to most Israelis Israel needed to enter this war, defeat Hamas, and release our citizens and soldiers being held captive.
But more than three months later, thousands of our brothers and sisters were killed or severely wounded, and the dead-end junction we can all see ahead has caused us to speak up.
We urge Prime Minister Netanyahu to decide on a clear and solid agenda for the near and long-term future. As the conflict drags on with its heavy toll, the Israeli public’s patience is wearing down. The ongoing war has not only cost numerous lives, but also raised questions about the long-term strategy of the Netanyahu administration. Indeed!!!
Seeking Future Leadership
Dr. Cochav Elkayam Levy, established and heads Israel’s Civil Commission on Oct. 7th Crimes by Hamas against Women and Children; In her speech before the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women, she represented Israel's women's rights movement.
Dr. Elkayam Levy is the principal author of the National Report on Gender Mainstreaming in Times of Emergencies, which was adopted by Israel. in a historic government decision in June 2022. She was selected as one of the most promising young leaders under 40 in Israel by The Marker Magazine in 2022 (Ha'aretz).
Dr. Elkayam-Levy is the Sophie Davis Fellow on Gender, Conflict Resolution and Peace at the Leonard Davis Institute for International Relations, Hebrew University of Jerusalem; She teaches human rights law, international law, climate justice and feminist theories at Hebrew U and at Reichman University; She is the Founding Head of Dvora Institute for Gender and Sustainability studies; A Senior Fellow, at the Hartman Institute in Jerusalem; SJD and former Human Rights Scholar of the University of Pennsylvania Law School; Former Perry World House Fellow; A Salzburg Global Fellow for Oustanding Scholars in International Law, Washington DC; and a member of the President’s new Climate Forum;
She holds an LL.M. from the University of Pennsylvania School of Law, (Distinction Honors); is the recipient of Penn Law’s Human Rights Scholarship Award; holds an LL.B, and B.A. (magna cum laude), with joint degrees in Law and Political Science.
Any government would be happy to have here as an advisor. Let’s hope our next one will be smart enough to figure that out as well.
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Today (Jan 22) I listened to a video at which British Col. Richard Kemp spoke and then answered questions. Richard is the equivalent of our Gen. Keane, in that he is clear eyed, outspoken and a trusted of Israel.
In his prepared remarks he focused on Gaza and the situation throughout the region Israel faces.
Specific to Gaza he noted civilian casualty rates, less estimates of Hamas deaths at the hands of the IDF, are around 1 to 5. The U.N has published a ratio of 9 to 1 for all wars and if you further allow for Hamas' rockets falling short and purposeful deaths of Palestinian civilians by Hamas the ratio would escalate to 1/10. Kemp acknowledged all civilian casualties are tragic but those attributed even using Hamas' propaganda figures are extraordinarily low.
As for Hezbollah crossing the Litany River he commented Israel has no choice but to clear out a zone so their citizens can return but Israel also cannot expect the U.N to keep Hezbollah from returning.
He volunteered, this was not the time for a 2 state discussion, Israel would have to remain in Gaza post the end of the war to assure their safety, must reduce Hamas as a threat and seek assistance from Arab nations, like the Saudis, to re-educate the Palestinian population.
He concluded, he was circumspect as to whether these necessities could be accomplished but Israel had little choice but to try.
As for Kemp's response to questions, he believed America (Obama) was wrongheaded to believe Iran was a partner for peace. He favored a full scale attack on Iran as the most effective message we could send, including an attack on the IRTG.
As for the mass media's unwillingness to report news favorable to Israel, he believed it was a purposeful mindset as well as the anti-Israel attitude on university campuses, anti-Semitic peacenik organizations and Israel had no option but to maintain a military presence in order to control uprisings in the West Bank, Judea and Samaria.
He said all wars demand force re-alignments. Israel was capable of handling what Hamas had to throw at them even after the IDF had made current adjustments in the number of troops fighting.
He concluded, Hamas terrorists existed beyond Gaza and eventually Israel would have to take the battle to them as well.
It is refreshing to have an experienced battle hardened British senior officer willing to speak on behalf of Israel instead of the BBC's repetitive biased reporting against Israel.
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Finally, we had dinner several nights ago with dear Christian friends and our conversation drifted to what contributions Jews had made to the world and I was encouraged to read: "The Gifts of the Jews" by Tom Cahill. I have now finished 2 chapters.
Cahill began by writing "The Jews started it all -..." and by "it" he meant so much of what we care about and our underlying values.
In Chapter 1., Cahill began by noting 5 millenia ago the first written word was carved in the area known as Sumer and thus recorded history began.
In Chapter two, he explores sexualism, the attachment to "god," the Wheel of Life, "Avram's marriage" to Sarai, his burial of Sarai, the birth of their 2 sons, life under Egypt's Emperor.
and the beginning of Judaism.
Cahill's beginning reminds me of what Harari had to say in; "Sapiens."
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