How Jews Living in West Bank Affect the Palestinians

We hear so much noise about the areas known historically as Judea, Samaria and Benyamin which were recently retagged as the West Bank in order to make them sound less Jewish. We hear about the need for the Palestinian Authority to be granted full autonomy of an independent nation with complete control over this West Bank as well as Gaza. Part of the problem with this presentation is that the Palestinians have two completely separate, mutually exclusive, actively competitive, viciously antagonistic governing agents with Hamas controlling and ruling over Gaza while the Palestinian Authority Fatah organization controlling and ruling over Area A the West Bank. Hamas is led by Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh while the Palestinian Authority leader is President Mahmoud Abbas. Since the two factions split after the Hamas violent coup which placed them in control of Gaza in June 2007, all efforts to reunite the two groups have utterly failed. Part of the problem is that Hamas is based in Islamic religious governance while the Palestinian Authority is aligned with Fatah which is secular socialist governance and such philosophies are very much similar to oil and water, they do not mix well. The power struggle between these two groups drips with the avarice and hatreds such that the resultant atmosphere is not conducive to healthy economic policies therefore depressing economic growth potentials due to crippling corruption. The situation has resulted in totally failed governance in almost every category which has become completely reliant on foreign generosity lurching from one financial catastrophe to the next. Such poor governance constantly leads to the need to plead to the world for emergency funding. This has resulted in high unemployment for the Palestinian Arab people living under the direct controlling rule of either Hamas or the Palestinian Authority in either Gaza or Area A in the West Bank. Yet there is one group who has 100% employment as the Palestinian Authority places every Palestinian terrorist or criminal who has been sentenced to prison in Israel, whether they are members in the PLO, Fatah, Hamas, or any other terror related group, where they receive some of the highest salaries which are directly proportional to the number of Israelis they were able to maim and murder. This would almost be the guaranteed condition over the entire areas of Gaza and the West Bank should the entirety of these areas be placed under solely Palestinian governance.

 

Should anybody desire to find a more optimistic and promising atmosphere where the overwhelming majority of the people are employed and making significantly higher salaries resulting in a higher standard of living, one need not leave the West Bank, one simply needs to visit the areas where modern governance encourages economic ventures and the size and scope of government is limited. These areas are not under either Hamas or the Palestinian Authority. The Palestinians living in these areas are largely employed with comparatively no unemployment when compared to the Palestinians living in Area A. The major difference in the condition for these Palestinians is they live among Israeli settlers. Much of the world decries the supposed conditions under which Palestinians are forced to live in areas where they share the lands with the Israeli settler who are mostly Jewish. There are so numerous different origins of the Israelis living in Samaria and Judea that any attempt to stereotype them as just religious Jews is not only pointless but in complete denial of reality. The Jews who have chosen to live in what the world refers to as the West Bank consist of religious and secular Jews, Israeli Arabs both Christian and Muslim, Secular Jews, Zionist Jews, Jews seeking a more relaxed atmosphere in which to live, farmers, people working locally as well as many whose work is in Tel Aviv who commute, IDF soldiers, physicians, nurses, computer programmers, entrepreneurs, and people from every walk of life one can find. There is a major Israeli University in Ariel called, oddly enough, Ariel University.

 

But what is most interesting is the completely impossible situation under which the Jews and Palestinian Arabs face living close to each other with all the serious relationship problems which are the constant fare in the mainstream media coverage of the Jewish settlers living beyond the Green Line. For the best example of how all of this has an effect, all one need do is visit Ariel University, Barkan Industrial Park, Shahak Industrial Park, and the other industrial parks, farms, vineyards, wineries, business parks, and other businesses and witness a bit of the truth about the Israeli controlled areas of Judea and Samaria. What becomes evident very quickly is that there is no distinction between Jews, Muslims, Christians and those of other religions, Jews and Arabs, Asian ancestry and European ancestry, or religious and secular. Approximately half of the employees along with their supervisors and management in both large and small industrial enterprises are West Bank Arabs employed there right next to West Bank Jews. The same goes for students and professors to a great extent at Ariel University. Throughout the main settlement areas of the West Bank the Jews and Palestinian Arabs live and work together in harmony without any trouble, violence, oppressions or any of the myriad of misconceptions that spring from a media more interested in forcing the issue of the oppressor Jews dispossessing the unfortunate Arab victims of Jewish hegemony. The fact that the Palestinian Arabs who live and work among the Jewish settlers in Judea and Samaria have a much higher standard of living is a little secret of which the mainstream media refuses to inform the world. The fact that the rule is cooperation and an improved life for those Palestinians fortunate to reside in the developed mixed Jewish and Arab areas and that the terrorism and violence are the exception must be suppressed as there exists an entire industry based upon the Jewish oppressions of the Arabs. The problem is people living and working in harmony just does not sell newspapers or newscasts anywhere near as well as explosions and violence. The real truth is that the standard of living for the Palestinian Arabs throughout Gaza and the West Bank was among the fastest growing GDP of anywhere in the world from 1973 through 1992. Then, starting in 1993 when Yasser Arafat returned and the very same Palestinians were placed in a semi-autonomous self-ruled areas under the Palestinian Authority the GDP and standard of living reversed and has continued to drop ever since. The wonderful and hopeful truth which the media insists does not exist is that where Palestinian Arabs live together in relative harmony and mutual tolerance with Jews in Area C of the West Bank, sharing the advantages of the rule of law and entrepreneurial opportunity live better lives than their Palestinian brothers living in Area A and Gaza where the leadership is under the Palestinian Authority or Hamas which consist of dictatorial regimes. If people throughout the world truly wish the best of possibilities for the Palestinian people, perhaps they would be better able to decide where to place their efforts after taking an actual investigation of the separate Areas in the West Bank and Gaza and ask the Palestinians who reside within and amongst the Jews in Area C and those living in Palestinian autonomous areas of Area A and Gaza and then decide which group lives a more productive and preferred life. Finding the truth would definitely be an eye-opening experience which would likely deliver a viewpoint not covered by the mainstream media and actually actively hidden by the mainstream media.

 

Beyond the Cusp

 

Hamas Destroys Roman Temple for New Training Base

Hamas is in the process of constructing a training facility in order to train more youth to attack Israelis, civilians or military as Hamas sees no difference. The location of this new base will require the destruction of an ancient Anthedon Harbor which includes the ruins of a Roman temple and archaeological remains from the Persian, Hellenistic, Roman and Byzantine eras. Thus far almost all of the world mainstream press has been silent including much of the Israeli press much to their disgrace. The one news outlet Aretz Sheva has given it coverage as well as much of the new media. The seeming regularity with which terror groups destroy archeological sites is very disturbing. We need to remember things such as the Buddha Statues of Bamiyan which were intentionally destroyed in a malicious act of hatred by the Taliban in early 2001 simply due to their not being of Islamic origins. The real irony is the United Nations agency tasked with the care of such historical relics is UNESCO, the same agency which was the first to allow membership to be bestowed on the Palestinian Authority which was utilized as further certification that they represent a recognized nation among nations of the world.

There have also been sermons given by Egyptian Imams calling for the destruction of the un-Islamic relics of false gods in Egypt with references to the Sphinx and the Great Pyramid as well as the rest of the Pyramids bordering the Nile River. This is simply a continuation of historical records which document Islamic transforming religious buildings, temples, and cathedrals into Mosques and the destruction of other historical sites, ruins, mausoleums and other historical landmarks simply due to their lack of ties to Islam. Another modern such disregard for historical sites of great importance occurred recently when a new dam floods lands which include numerous Persian sites including the burial vaults of Cyrus the Great along with some sites which date back up to seven thousand years. The world should make all efforts necessary to preserve these important historical sites from senseless destruction simply because they are from a history independent from Islam. How much has to be lost permanently of our collective history before anything is even said and maybe possibly acted upon? Are our heritage sites and other treasures really so worthless that their destructions are not even newsworthy? A civilized world would preserve its historical sites, as few as actually survive to modernity, and take whatever measures required collectively assuring their futures.

Beyond the Cusp

Truth About Jews, Israel, and Intentions on the World

There are more than enough rumors, slanders, myths and misconceptions about the Jewish people and their desired relations with the world. Though I am not the most learned of people on this subject, I will still try and give it a shot as best as I am able. The concepts that Jews have designs on ruling the entire world are false. We Jews have a desire to live on the lands which G0d promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and as described to Moses and Joshua which is best described as the lands between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea with an additional small area east of the Jordan River. If one searches the Internet for “Map of Biblical Israel and the Twelve Tribes” one will easily find the actual lands the Jewish nation carved out and took possession as was promised to them. The Jews have no desire to rule over the world or any of the peoples residing there. We are instructed by G0d and His Torah to serve Him and to live our lives as an example of righteousness, something many of us have plenty of work to do in order to even begin to fulfill that quest. The Jewish people presumably have six-hundred-thirteen commandments which we are to keep and live our lives by. Of these there is a group of basic laws which serve as the starting point which are known as the Ten Commandments and yes, they were originally written in stone and those two stone tablets still exist and can be found in the Ark of the Covenant. Of course finding the Ark of the Covenant has proven to be a bit of a challenge but in theory there is an easy way to find it, allow the building of the third Temple. For those who wish to find a list of these laws, may I suggest reading Torah, starting with Deuteronomy would be the most direct path to finding most of the Commandments but the remainder of Torah, The first five books of the Old Testament, (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy) is necessary to have a fullness of a definition.

But all this does not define what the Jewish people desire or expect of the rest of the world. The first thing that must be made clear is the Jews do not desire to make the rest of the world to adopt Judaism or to convert to Judaism. The Jews do not wish, demand or expect for the rest of the world to follow the six-hundred-thirteen Commandments as that is the responsibility and burden which the Jews are required to attempt. That does not mean that the Jewish people or Torah does not define a basic set of laws which non-Jews are expected to follow in order for them to lead moral and righteous lives. The requirements of non-Jews which G0d expects of them, and as such also the sole expectations of others from a Jewish standpoint, are known as the Seven Laws of Noah or the Noahic Code (a simple search will lead to numerous sites defining and commenting on these seven laws for all mankind). The only other request the Jewish people hope to receive from the world is to be allowed to live in the lands defined by our Covenant with the L0rd our G0d and work towards the betterment of mankind and all things created by G0d. The Jewish people have no problems with other people who wish to live in our lands as long as they respect the entirety of Jewish Law and are willing to live amongst us in peace. Torah commands that we treat the stranger as we ourselves would wish to be treated and to respect them and be courteous and exemplary hosts. As far as the interactions prescribed for the Jewish people, we are commanded to be a light unto the nations and to live in our lands in such a manner of righteousness that people will come and ask to be taught the laws and will wish to emulate our examples. As said previously, we will need to work on this as there is an enormous room for improvement before the Jews will be able to even make a start on our designated role which we are instructed to follow under the guidelines and commandments written in Torah.

There are two concepts; two sets of words which best describe the role the Jews are supposed to strive to attain. One is the aforementioned of “Be a light unto the nations”, and the other is, “Tikkun Olam” which best translates as “repair the world.” These two expectations are very much intertwined as each are their own path to making the world a better and more holy place and establishing the Kingdom of G0d here on the Earth or wherever mankind will eventually transport their civilizations. By the Jewish people being a holy people and a nation of priests, their sole purpose is to lead lives that are exemplary and worthy of standing as a high standard that reveals the best of humankind. For striving to live to such a standard, the Jewish people will be granted grace from G0d which will result in the lands providing for them and meeting their requirements. In many prayers this is often described by terminology which claims that should the Jewish people live such lives the rains will fall in their season and there will be abundance throughout the lands. As a form of priestly class the Jewish people are also required to instruct those who desire to learn Torah though we are not expected to seek converts or perform other evangelical actions. The vast numbers of commandments placed upon the Jewish people are completely internal and not actions or requirements to which we are to hold others. The sole affect the Jewish people are to have concerning the non-Jewish people is to be an exemplary peoples serving G0d and enacting his will in such a manner as to be the inspiration for the people as a whole and we are to perform this miraculous task while inhabiting a relatively small patch of land at the eastern edge of the Mediterranean Sea. No world conquest, no evil plots, no grand desires and no deceits. The Jewish people are to live simple lives of righteousness where performing deeds of mercy and hope are enough to complete their covenant and thus earn the rights to remain in the lands chosen by G0d in which they are to live. Where the description makes it all sound so easy, the reality is far more difficult as it requires removing our imperfections and constantly striving to walk in the L0rd’s path and committing our lives to G0d’s plans. All of what the Jews are to be and everything required of the Jews is found within Torah. That is much of the reason why many Jewish people treasure those individuals who dedicate their lives to the study, interpretation and teaching of Torah thus granting these seekers of knowledge and truth deferments from such banalities as military service as their service of Torah is simply another of the Israeli defense mechanisms, one whose attributes and contributions are impossible for most who are not learned in Torah to understand or even to discern and recognize. So, the next time you run into somebody proposing that the Jews are taking over the world, kindly please correct them and help put that evil slander to rest permanently. Shalom.

Beyond the Cusp