Responses to Allegations re Balfour Declaration

1. The essence of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict from 1917 until today has been the systematic and total rejection by the Palestinian leadership of the Jewish people's legitimate national rights in the Land of Israel.

2. The Balfour Declaration, issued almost 100 years ago on 2 November 1917 by the then-Foreign Secretary of Britain Lord Arthur James Balfour, marked one of the first times in the modern era that a significant world power officially recognized the Jewish people’s right to their ancient homeland. This document was then incorporated into the 1922 decision by the League of Nations [the precursor of the United Nations] to create a mandate aimed at establishing a national home for the Jewish people in the land of Israel. The League of Nations decision of 1922 transformed the Balfour Declaration and its call for the establishment of a national home for the Jewish people from a policy position into an international legal obligation accepted by the international community as a whole.

3. Current Palestinian attempts to undermine the Balfour Declaration are part and parcel of their campaign to undermine the basic rights of Jewish peoplehood and the legitimacy of the State of Israel. Rejecting the Balfour Declaration is tantamount to rejecting the internationally-recognized natural rights of the Jewish people to a national home in the Land of Israel.

4. While Israel has repeatedly stressed its adherence to the principle of two states for two people, these Palestinian attempts prove yet again that their leaders are less interested in establishing their own state alongside Israel than they are in forging it instead of Israel.

5. The Palestinian Authority’s incongruous threat, first announced this past July, to sue the British government over the Balfour Declaration demonstrates that Palestinian leaders remain fixated on unfounded allegations from the past instead of moving forward to a better future for both peoples.

6. This historical denial of internationally-recognized Jewish rights by the Palestinian leadership is also reflected in the recent attempts in UNESCO to erase the Jewish and Christian heritage of Jerusalem.

7. Both the Balfour Declaration and the League of Nations decision included specific provisions to ensure respect for the civil and religious rights of all inhabitants in the land of Israel, irrespective of their ethnic orientation or religion.

Israel itself has always fervently strived to protect the rights of all its citizens – Jews and Arabs alike. Even before Israel became a state in 1948, the Jewish national movement deemed respect for the basic rights of all the inhabitants of the land as one of its most important values. Indeed, Israel enshrined these rights in its Declaration of Independence:

“THE STATE OF ISRAEL […] will ensure complete equality of social and political rights to all its inhabitants irrespective of religion, race or sex; it will guarantee freedom of religion, conscience, language, education and culture; it will safeguard the Holy Places of all religions; and it will be faithful to the principles of the Charter of the United Nations.”

8. In the hope of fulfilling its dream of peaceful coexistence, Israel – and the Jewish national movement that preceded it - continually demonstrated their readiness to make painful compromises with their Arab neighbors.

In contrast, the rejectionist policies of the Palestinian leaders have not changed.

9. Tragically, these Palestinian policies have not been limited to the political sphere. In 1947, the UN Partition Plan - which was accepted by the Jews - was rejected by the Arabs, who chose to wage a war of annihilation instead of accepting the compromise that would have averted all the wars that followed.

10. Current activities by the Palestinian Authority, including its campaign against the Balfour Declaration, indicate that the Palestinian leadership continues to claim exclusive rights to the entire land, refusing to recognize the legitimate historical right of the Jews to their national homeland. These actions cast serious doubts about Palestinian intentions.

11. These actions, together with the systematic distortion of Jewish history, are morally unacceptable and factually unfounded. They are inimical to the international community’s – and Israel’s – desire for peace. It is long past time for the international community to step up and demand that the Palestinians stop perpetuating the conflict against Israel and finally answer Israel’s repeated calls to return to direct negotiations for a genuine peace.

Director of Pakistan Israel Alliance (PIA) Speaks

Noor Dahri (http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/author/noor-dahri/) of the Pakistan Israel Alliance (PIA) is an independent researcher based in London. He spoke recently in Scotland .

Good to know that even Pakistanis are coming to the truth about Israel

As a former anti-Semite and anti-Zionist campaigner, I am very worried about the recent wave of anti-Semitic and anti-Israel incidents happening across the UK. I know anti-Semitism, I practised it and I can smell the threat which is on its way to the Jewish community of the UK.

In recent weeks, we have seen the UNESCO resolution on the Temple Mount and Jewish connection, the report of UNHRW, and worrying statements from British politicians such as Jeremy Corbyn, Ken Livingstone, Naz Shah, Jenny Tonge and many more. We saw Jewish students attacked at UCL (University College London) and there are many more anti-Jewish events in the pipeline.

After creating a home (Israel), the Israeli community across the world, thought that they were safe, yet 69 years after the creation of the State of Israel, the Jewish community still faces the same hatreds, persecution, blame and political attacks which they faced at the time of the Nazis.
Jews are being blamed for the Holocaust, Israel compared to Islamic State and Zionists said to have power over the UK Parliament. The Palestinian Return Centre has launched a campaign to press Britain to apologise for the Balfour Declaration, while in the House of Lords, Baroness Jenny Tonge, not only criticised Israel but urged the UK government to boycott the Jewish state of Israel.

I feel great pain at the attacks being launched against the Jewish people, their identity and their country, attacks which previously I would have joined. Now as a Muslim willing to stand up against such attacks I urge my Jewish friends to do the same. Sadly, you still face many dangers, but I want to remind you, that you are not alone.

When I look at the flag of Israel, I realise the true meaning of this flag is as the symbol of those six million Jewish martyrs who sacrificed their most valuable lives for the future of their race and religion, for the future of their children and for the future of the only Jewish nation in the world.
There will be many challenges to face, we have seen some recently, in UK politics, in the Labour party, in the Lib Dam party, in the Tory party, in the House of Lords, in educational institutions and in other governmental and private organisations. As a minority community, you may wonder how to counter such hateful behaviour from the majority community? –

Let me offer a question. I am a Muslim Zionist, I am a religious Muslim, ex-fanatic, ex-extremist, ex-anti-Semite, and ex-Anti-Zionist. If I fight your war and raise a war against my own, against my community, against those who share my faith — why can’t you?

I have paid a price for this willingness, can you imagine what kind of life I am spending with my family? I live in exile, no one knows my whereabouts. I cannot go back to my country. I cannot go back to mosques where I used to pray all of my life. But, this is the sign that you are on the right direction, when your enemies become your friends you are doing something right. If I can be changed, then those who are your enemies can be changed anytime.

You cannot win this game of hatred by yourself, you need to help those supporters who are from other communities and faiths. There are people around you who belong to different religions, different ethnics and different backgrounds and still support Israel and Zionism without any worldly benefits. They expended their time and efforts through organising events and writing to promote your campaign.  They are the real potential who stands firm with you in this mission. Please do not lose them because they are the real assets of Israel and Zionism and they sacrificed everything for you and your bright peaceful future.

You need to stand firm together, there should not be rightist, leftist or centralist among you because out there your opponents are uniting against you, they are not divided amongst each other, you know why? Because their goal unites them, to single out Israel and demonise Israelis.

You have to fight for your right but your fight must be a civilised and legal fight. They appear to have the majority of people and powerful political and media backup. But you are the most intelligent, creative, learned and peaceful nation of the world. Your tool of defence should be your pen, your brain and above all, your unity. Please organise yourselves, whatever creative skill you have, use it to defend your nation and the country of Israel.

Please do not forget, that if you are happy with your families and friends, you are working hard and doing your business, you are busy in your entertainment and in enjoying your lives around the world, you still owe a debt to the state of Israel. The smile on your children faces is because of Israel. The state of Israel is at the heart of your identity, your pride and your survival. The state of Israel has provided you the right to live and the right to exist.

Please keep in touch with your real supportive organisations which are working day and night to defend you morally and socially on social, electronic and print media. They organise events and gatherings to remind you your duty which is to defend your identity and your country. These organisations are fighting for your right to live with peace and without any fear.

We must support one another in promoting the cause, of Israel in the UK and across borders. I have a hope and a belief that one day our children will live with peace and love free from hate and without fear of persecution.

Palestinian farmers and Israeli administration discuss strawberry production in Gaza

It was reported by the Palestinian Ma’an news agency that a meeting was held with Palestinian strawberry farmers from the Gaza Strip and officials from the Israeli Civil Administration (COGAT) to discuss plans for planting strawberries in the Bisan valley of Gaza.

In a statement released by COGAT, an Israeli official said that the administration had initiated a project to facilitate the planting of strawberries by Palestinian famers in collaboration with Agriculture Affairs Coordinator Samir Madi, Head of the Liaisons and Coordination Department Raim Falah, and USAID.

The project started on an area of 12 dunums of land (about 4 acres), which has generated a profit of some 33,000 shekels ($8,599).

The statement added that after the proven success of the project, additional Palestinian farmers took part in it and extended the planted area to 61 dunums (15 acres).

The project has so far produced some 425 tons of strawberries, and has generated an income of some 5 million shekels ($1,302,999) for Palestinian farmers participating in the project.

The statement also added that there would be further discussions on the project, with the expected participation of 30 Palestinian farmers, in cooperation with the Israeli-based company Bio Bee.

Strawberry production, and much of agricultural production, has been on the decline in the Gaza Strip and many strawberry farmers abandoned the practice due to the high cost of production.

Strawberry farmers had been dependent on smuggling planting materials through tunnels between the besieged territory and Egypt. However, following the destruction of smuggling tunnels, famers were forced to purchase Israeli-imported seedlings, insecticides, and fertilizers, which dramatically raised the price of production.

In 2014 Israeli authorities began easing export restrictions from Gaza which created a five-fold increase in exports in 2015 from the previous year, according to the UN.

Good Morning Germany, Good Morning Europe

No it is not Haifa, it is not even Israel but for heavens sake, is Germany or Europe as a whole not prepared to defend its values

This report from Germany is just the start. When is somebody going to WAKE UP!! 

• "In Berlin or in the north of Duisburg there are neighborhoods where colleagues hardly dare to stop a car -- because they know that they'll be surrounded by 40 or 50 men." These attacks amount to a "deliberate challenge to the authority of the state -- attacks in which the perpetrators are expressing their contempt for our society." — Rainer Wendt, President of the German Police Union.
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• "Once Duisburg-Marxloh was a popular shopping and residential area. Now clans claim the streets for themselves. The police are powerless. The descent of the district is nightmarish." — N24 Television.
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• Police say they are alarmed by the brutality and aggression of the clans, who are said to view crime as leisure activity. If police dare to intervene, hundreds of clan members are mobilized to confront the police.
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• A 17-page report prepared for the NRW State Parliament revealed how Lebanese clans in Duisburg divide up certain neighborhoods in order to pursue their criminal activities, such as robbery, drug dealing and extortion.
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• "Further data collection is not legally permissible. Both internally and externally, any classification that could be used to depreciate human beings must be avoided. In this respect, the use of the term 'family clan' is forbidden from the police point of view." — Ralf Jäger, Interior Minister, North Rhine-Westphalia.
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• Two police officers stopped a driver who ran a red light. The driver got out of the car and ran away. When police caught up with him, they were confronted by more than 50 migrants. A 15-year-old attacked a policeman from behind and began strangling him, rendering him unconscious.

More and More Brits Oppose BDS

Opposition to the anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement is growing in Great Britain, according to the results of a new survey published on Friday.

The Populus poll — commissioned by the Britain Israel Communications and Research Centre (BICOM) — found that 51% of Britons agreed with the statement, “I do not boycott goods or produce from Israel and find it difficult to see why others would single out Israel to boycott given everything else that’s going on in the world,” up 8% from last year. Only 12% of respondents disagreed with the statement.

Furthermore, according to the poll, 56% of Britons believe a boycott of the Jewish state would hurt both Israelis and Palestinians, up 9% from last year.

Asked whether Israel was a British ally, 57% of respondents replied affirmatively — a 5% rise from last year — while 19% said no.

Next year marks the 100th anniversary of the issuing of the Balfour Declaration, in which the UK announced its support for “the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people.” 43% of survey respondents said that this had been the right position for the British government to take in 1917, while 18% disagreed.

Also, the poll found that 48% of Britons thought “hating Israel and questioning its right to exist is antisemitic,” while 28% disagreed.

“Our poll shows a very significant shift against the idea of boycotting Israel,” BICOM CEO James Sorene said. “The British sense of fair play is a clear theme in the poll as time and again respondents reject singling out Israel, given everything else going on in the world.”

Israeli Ambassador to the UK Mark Regev stated the poll results “affirm the strong ties between our two countries. It is encouraging that, more than ever, Britons view Israel as their strongest ally in the region. Equally important, most people correctly believe that demonization of Israel is, in fact, antisemitic, and must not be tolerated.”

Israeli Cows are Taking Over the World

On a recent hot afternoon, a group of farmers from around the world wandered through the cow barns at Kibbutz Afikim, an agricultural cooperative founded by Jewish immigrants from Russia in 1924. It was late June in the Jordan Valley; the temperature spiked at 90 degrees. But the delegation of farmers had just asked to leave an air-conditioned conference room and use their limited time to see the cow barns. Despite the high temperatures, the nearly 900 cows were calm, many lying in the mud that covers the floor of their barns, which are partly open to the outside and cooled by large fans.

These barns at Afikim, and Israeli milk cows in general, are a growing attraction for visitors as Israel’s dairy industry has emerged as one of the most efficient and productive in the world. Despite limited rainfall and high summer temperatures, Israel has the highest national average of milk production per cow. And amid the fast-growing global demand for dairy products, especially in the developing world, there is increasing interest in how Israel gets so much milk out of each cow and the technology it uses to do so.

“Happy cows give a lot of milk. People from around the world are coming here, and they see that it’s terribly hot, but that the cows are happy,” said Ofier Langer, a former executive at several Israeli high-tech companies who established the Israeli Dairy School six years ago. The school organizes seminars and tours of farms and other facilities. “We have a lot of ways to teach the world’s farmers how to make their cows happy,” he says.

According to the Israeli Dairy Board, dairy and agricultural tours are also organized by the government, corporations, and other organizations. Many of the sites they visit—including dairy barns, milking technology companies, and cattle feed production centers—are located on or were founded by kibbutzim. Because of its connection to the kibbutz movement, an in-depth look at the dairy sector offers these visitors a window into the history and culture of Israel and the changes it has seen over the years. Those who come to see the dairy sector also come away with a deeper understanding of the country.

For more information see http://tinyurl.com/zbghukb 

Israel's Medical Tourism

Israel is the world’s third most popular medical-tourism destination overall for 2016 after Canada and the United Kingdom, according to a recent report released by VISA and Oxford Economics.

Until now, despite Israel’s prominent role as a destination for medical tourists, the industry has been dealt with only partially up to now, causing confusion in hospitals and among medical practitioners on what they may or may not do.

This week a Ministerial Committee approved a  bill to regulate medical tourism to Israel which was welcomed by the Health Minister

Such a law will “create order in the field of medical treatment for tourists to Israel and contribute to the health system in general,” he said. “On one hand, we want to have medical tourism, while ensuring proper treatment for those who come for it on the other hand, we want to make sure that it will not come at the expense of Israelis and that the income from medical tourists will be invested for strengthening the public health system.”

The Tourism Minister said he was pleased by the vote, as in recent years medical tourism has become a profitable export industry that brings in a lot of foreign currency and supplies taxes, employment and a financial boost to medical institutions.

“Once patients come here, they learn about Israel, thus its image is improved and its “beautiful face” becomes apparent to visitors”, he added.

The bill also requires contacts with patients be made only with cooperation of the management of hospitals and not privately by physicians. The hospitals must also provide the Health Ministry with ongoing data on the medical tourism procedures they carry out. Additional steps will be taken to make the activities transparent so that the amount of income hospitals receive and how it is used, be open to the public.

Foreign patients should not be admitted to departments where Israeli patients already have to wait a long time for treatment, said the Tourism Minister, adding: “The ‘business’ of medical tourism must not come at the expense of Israelis.”

The bill also requires contacts with patients be made only with cooperation of the management of hospitals and not privately by physicians. The hospitals must also provide the Health Ministry with ongoing data on the medical tourism procedures they carry out. Additional steps will be taken to make the activities transparent so that the amount of income hospitals receive and how it is used, be open to the public.

Foreign patients should not be admitted to departments where Israeli patients already have to wait a long time for treatment, said the Tourism Minister, adding: “The ‘business’ of medical tourism must not come at the expense of Israelis.”