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The Occupation
and Other Fairy Tales
Stephen A. Berger, M.D. Tel Aviv Medical Center
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Occupation Pronunciation a-ky-'pA-shnFunc
tion nounEtymology Middle English occupacioun,
from Middle French occupation, from Latin
occupation-, occupatio, from occupareDate 14th
century 3 the holding and control of an area
by a foreign military force c the military
force occupying a country or the policies carried
out by it Merriam-Webster
Collegiate Dictionary
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This map represents 3,000 years of history !
Some people find this very complex and boring
and would prefer to sum it all up in two
statements
Israel illegally occupies Palestine. This is
the core of the Mideast conflict
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We are the only
people in the world who remain
under occupation
- Yassir Arafat
paranoidPronunciation 'par--"noid Functio
n adjectiveDate 19042 characterized by
suspiciousness, persecutory trends, or
megalomania - Merriam-Webster
Dictionary
Second They are all guilty of occupation !
First They all accuse Israel of occupation
!
projection Pronunciation pr-'jek-shn 5
the attribution of one's own ideas, feelings, or
attitudes to other people or to objects
especially the externalization of blame, guilt,
or responsibility as a defense against anxiety
Merriam-Webster Collegiate
Dictionary
hypocrisy Pronunciation hi-'pa-kr-sE also
hI-Function nounInflected Form(s) plural
-siesEtymology Middle English ypocrisie, from
Old French, from Late Latin hypocrisis, from
Greek hypokrisis act of playing a part on the
stage, hypocrisy, from hypokrinesthai to answer,
act on the stage, from hypo- krinein to decide
Date 13th century a feigning to be what one
is not or to believe what one does not
especially the false assumption of an
appearance of virtue or religion
Merriam-Webster Collegiate
Dictionary
The Occupier of ---------- Flanders ----
------ Quebec ---------- Tibet - Moslem
Regions ---------- Northern Ireland - Gibraltar-
Falklands - Scotland ---------- Corsica - Alsace
- French Polynesia ---------- Kashmir - Sikh
Punjab ---------- Irian Jaya ---------- Mindanao -
--------- Chechnya - Kuril Islands ---------- Tami
l Nadu ---------- Basque Region ---------- Kurdist
an ---------- Puerto Rico - Okinawa
Belgium Canada China England France India Indonesi
a Philippines Russian Federation Sri
Lanka Spain Turkey United States
These countries have two
things in common
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Middle Eastern fairy tales
There is a country named palestine
Israel occupies Arab lands
This occupation is illegal
This occupation is brutal
This occupation is the heart of the Mideast
Conflict
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Fairy Tale number 1 Palestine
The term Palestine was coined by Roman
occupiers to describe the area on this map. It
is just that - an area. During the entire
history of the planet, there has never been a
country named, Palestine.
A Jewish country named Israel existed 1,000 years
before the invention of Palestine - and 1,500
years before the first Moslem was born !
The land area known as Palestine was repeatedly
occupied by Romans, Mongols, Crusaders, Ottomans
and Englishmen. Even when Moslems ruled the
area, they never saw fit to create a country
named Palestine. Jerusalem was just another
backwater town to them
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Following World War One, The League of Nations
gave Britain a mandate to govern palestine.
Although the Sinai desert was not included in
the mandate, the British also managed this area -
and in practical terms, the Sinai never
really belonged to Egypt.
In 1923, Britain unilaterally carved out 70 of
Palestine to create a racially-pure Jew-free
state - later named Jordan. There is no
historical basis for Jordan and it continues to
occupy most of Palestine.
Sinai
Amazingly, both Britain and Jordan insist that
Israel occupies Palestine. This would be the
equivalent of a United States claim that Canada
occupies North America !!
note Before removal from palestine Jordan
was referred to as Transjordan
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Also note that the British had no right to carve
up the land or invent new fictional countries -
to the exclusion of Jews
This is an abbreviated version of the Mandate
given to Britain over Palestine
Note the emphasis placed on encouragement of
Jewish settlement and Jewish rights in the Land
in red.
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...and so, having given away 70 of Palestine
to invent Jordan, the British now proceeded to
chop out yet another portion of Palestine - this
time to the French. In 1923, the Golan Heights
were given over to the jurisdiction of
French-ruled Syria.
Is there anything in the words, no Palestine
territory shall be ceded... that I dont
understand ?!?!?
Only a few decades later, Syria demands the
return of the Golan - their ancient and
eternal homeland !!??
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...25 years and one Holocaust later, the United
Nations offered the Jews an even smaller portion
of Palestine in yellow
The Jews accepted ... and the Arab countries
unanimously rejected the proposal (General
Assembly 181) and opted for war.
Fifty years, 5 wars and scores of thousands of
casualties later, they suddenly inundate our TV
screens with cries of, WE ACCEPT 181 !!
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In the first of these 5 wars, which ended in
1948, the Arabs captured Jerusalem, Judea and
Samaria The West Bank and the Gaza strip.
West Bank
Jerusalem
Gaza
Summary to 1948 Palestinians - not yet
invented Palestine - not yet invented
Illegal Occupation by Arabs Jordan
West Bank Jerusalem Gaza Golan
Heights
Illegal occupation by Jews 0
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Question What is it about the words, West Bank,
Jerusalem and Gaza that sounds so familiar ?
Answer These are the precise areas which the
Arabs now claim to be Palestine.
West Bank
Jerusalem
Gaza
Question But .. then why didnt the Arabs
declare this to be Palestine after they
occupied the territories in 1948 ?
Answer Ah Hah !!
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Amazing ... but true From
1948 to 1967..... The Arabs occupied all of the
territories which they claim to be Palestine.
But they never even considered forming
Palestine. The people who fancy themselves
palestinians lived in these areas. But
they never made any attempt to form
Palestine. The Palestine Liberation Organization
was formed in 1964. They held it all in
1964 - so just what are they trying to liberate
? There was not a single Jewish
settlement in these areas. So why did the
Arabs carry out a 20-year reign of war and
terror? There was no Jewish occupation - not a
single inch. So how can they claim that the
occupation is the heart of the problem ??
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And so at a time that the Arabs held all of what
they call Palestine .. and at a time that there
was no occupation they started yet another war
of annihilation against the Jews
Golan
West Bank
In June 1967, we Israelis once again fought and
won a defensive war ... a war of survival - this
time re-gaining control of Jerusalem and the
West Bank illegally occupied by Jordan Gaza
illegally occupied by Egypt and the Golan
Heights illegally occupied by Syria since 1923.
Jerusalem
Gaza
Note that these territories had been taken
illegally and occupied by Jordan, Egypt and Syria
- and had originally been held by Britain and
intended for Jewish settlement.
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Fairy Tale number 2 There is an occupation
As weve seen, the areas under dispute were
returned to Israeli control after a period of
illegal occupation by Jordan, Egypt and Syria.
There is and never has been an Israeli
occupation - only Disputed Territories.
Fairy Tale number 3 The occupation is
illegal.
One might expect the diplomatic world to spend
its time with more pressing issues than the
legal standing of a non-occupation.
The law generally invoked to denounce Israels
presence in these disputed territories is United
Nations Resolution 242.
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The most common word in 242 is ... The The
most significant word-omission in 242 is....
The. 242 clearly requires... Withdrawal
of Israeli forces from territories.... Read
my lips from territories. NOT
the territories. NOT all of the territories
! There is no shortage of ink at the United
Nations - the addition of one more, the
would have taken only a-second-or-so !
The Security Council, Expressing its continuing
concern with the grave situation in the Middle
East, Emphasizing the inadmissibility of the
acquisition of territory by war and the need to
work for a just and lasting peace in which every
State in the area can live in security, Emphasizi
ng further that all Member States in their
acceptance of the Charter of the United Nations
have undertaken a commitment to act in accordance
with Article 2 of the Charter, 1.Affirms that
the fulfillment of Charter principles requires
the establishment of a just and lasting peace in
the Middle East which should include the
application of both the following
principles Withdrawal of Israeli armed forces
from territories occupied in the recent conflict
Termination of all claims or states of
belligerency and respect for and acknowledgement
of the sovereignty, territorial integrity and
political independence of every State in the area
and their right to live in peace within secure
and recognized boundaries free from threats or
acts of force 2.Affirms further the necessity
For guaranteeing freedom of navigation through
international waterways in the area For
achieving a just settlement of the refugee
problem For guaranteeing the territorial
inviolability and political independence of every
State in the area, through measures including the
establishment of demilitarized zones 3.Requests
the Secretary General to designate a Special
Representative to proceed to the Middle East
to establish and maintain contacts with the
States concerned in order to promote agreement
and assist efforts to achieve a peaceful and
accepted settlement in accordance with the
provisions and principles in this
resolution 4.Requests the Secretary-General to
report to the Security Council on the progress of
the efforts of the Special Representative as soon
as possible.

This is Resolution 242 The word The appears
thirty-seven (!) times - accounting for 13.1
of the document.
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Another key word in 242 is, States -
appearing five times in the document !
When 242 was written in 1967, there were no such
things as Palestine, a Palestinian homeland
... or even Palestinians ! The States
referred to in this document are Israel, Syria,
Egypt and Jordan. In other words, 242 is
totally irrelevant to the palestinian conflict.
A nonexistent State named Palestine has
absolutely no claim on the areas discussed in
242!
A key word that you wont find in 242 is,
Jerusalem. Anyone who demands that Jerusalem
must be returned in accordance with 242 is
obviously lying !
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About the occupied territories
All of the parties and territories discussed in
242 are outlined in this map. Note there is no
reference to palestine - because there has
never been such a place.
Golan
West Bank
In 1979, Israel gave the Sinai to Egypt - thus
fulfilling the territorial demands of 242. The
Sinai is larger than all of Israel, and comprised
over 90 of all disputed territory. Additional
territory was later given to Jordan and Jordan /
Egypt renounced all claim to Jerusalem / Gaza,
respectively.
Jerusalem
Gaza
Israel has completely fulfilled her obligations
under 242. There is no reason to give more land
away to countries which threaten her existence
Syria or to terrorist organizations which are
totally irrelevant to the conflict palestinians.
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Fairy Tale number 5 The occupation is brutal
Aside from the fact that Mrs. Ashwari dates the
occupation from 1948 (ie, the very existence of
Israel is occupation), she has apparently led a
rather sheltered life. Surely the human mind
has devised acts of brutalization and persecution
far worse than her paranoid fantasy.
Which
brings us to..
In 1948the populationwas subjected to the
systematic oppression and brutality of an
inhuman occupation that robbed them of all their
rights and libertiesunder a unique combination
of military occupation..and systematic
oppression. Rarely has the human mind devised
such varied, diverse and comprehensive means of
wholesale brutalization and persecution


- Hanan Ashwari
Per capita GNP in U.S.
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Universities 0 in 1967 7 (16,500 students) in
1995
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Fairy Tale number 6 The occupation is the
heart of the Mideast conflict
This is AMAZING nonsense ! Aside from
the fact that the Arabs started most of their
wars before the occupation ... Aside from
the fact that the Arabs never created Palestine
- when they already had everything ... Aside
from the fact that most Arabs openly support the
complete elimination of Israel....
All of the following happened BEFORE THE
OCCUPATION EXISTED
Arab anti-Semitism institutionalized (Syria in
1840). Continual 150-year string of pogroms
against Jews in all Arab countries. Arab pogroms
conducted under Ottoman rule throughout the
Middle East. Arabs massacre Jews under the
British Mandate in 1929, 1933, 1936 and
1948. Arab leaders cooperate and even
participate actively in the Holocaust. Unending
Arab terrorist raids against Jewish civilians
during 1948 to 1967. Expulsion of 540,000 Jews
from Arab countries before 1967. etc............
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Question So what is the heart of the
problem ?
This little speck is The Occupation
Answer Arabs oppose the
presence of a Jewish State
in the Middle East !
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