Of All Trump’s Gaslighting and Hatemongering, What He’s Done w/Tlaib and Omar Takes The Cake

Only two weeks ago, the big news was that Congresswomen, Rashida Tlaib of Michigan and Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, were banned from visiting Israel by Prime Minister Bibi N whose decision was instigated and promoted by the Great Orange Idiot. These two US Representatives are outspoken critics of the Israeli government and its treatment of the Palestinian people, who live within Gaza and the West Bank area …and it is specifically for their critical views that they were singled out to be banned. This is an example of action by the Israeli government that is both shortsighted and counterproductive. But more importantly, it is action initiated by a venal, United States President who (in a cheap bid to buy the Jewish vote) has successfully exploited these representatives  by making them look like

1. Enemies of the State
2. Enemies of a U.S. Ally, Israel
3. Hatemongers and Anti Semites

How quickly real news becomes relegated to unimportance, overshadowed by fresh torrents of hateful outrage generated by the Trump” divisionary” machine. The only way for these Reps to turn the tables on these two travelers (Donny and Bibi) of the low roads of hate and division is to take the smart road…which is the road that usually leads to solutions. The solutions, which most all agree have to do with not only the improvement in the living conditions under which the majority of Palestinians live but also the freedom for them to live freely and independently.

But as an American Jew, I also strongly advocate for Israel’s right to exist in freedom with defensible borders. I also believe that most Jewish people are committed to traditional Jewish values, which command that the Jewish community must welcome the stranger into their midst and make them comfortable, and that the community must strive to lift up those who are the weakest and most vulnerable among us. The Palestinians are not strangers, and they are not the most vulnerable…but they certainly could use some help… which the Jewish community will gladly provide… if only the Palestinian leaders will try working together with Israel, instead of portraying Israel as the enemy, which they clearly are not.

Before our two representatives begin proposing solutions for the Palestinian people’s problems, I think that may want to do a little homework in the form of a historical analysis to discover how the “problems” got to  where they are today.
A clear-eyed analysis should suggest to these Reps that Israel is not the Palestinians’ main problem and that BDS is not the solution. These smart Congresswomen may want to become better informed so as to avoid any future type of exploitation that can be visited upon those who ignore the ancient Maxim, “It is better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak up and remove all doubt.”

With a little appreciation and respect for history and the significance of historical facts…you don’t need to look much before 1948, when Israel declared its independence…and when the surrounding Arab world began preparing for the slaughter. It is fair to say that those Arabs who were living within the borders of the newly formed state of Israel at the time, sized up their prospects for survival and not( necessarily) unwisely, decided that they wanted to be on the winning side.

It is important to note that notwithstanding all of the legalistic arguments and all the political machinations whirling about the League of Nations and the U N. during this period prior to 1948, Jewish people, in fact, had lived in what is now the Arab world for over 2,600 years, a 1,000 years before Islam was founded, and centuries before the Arab conquest of many of those territories. The term Jewish people refers to a group of people whose common religion, customs, laws, and culture existed…even long before 2600 years ago AND long before the word “Palestine” even existed in anybody’s language. The other indigenous people in the region were comprised of various Bedouin tribes, whose cultures were most notably marked by their nomadic nature, whereas the contemporaneous Jewish communities existed throughout the region, sometimes as Jewish kingdoms and Governments.

So, let’s just note for the record that prior to the late 19th century, when the region began to evolve into a little more than the sand, sagebrush and some newly established railroad tracks, the legal claims on the land were “up for grabs”.

When 1948 came along and Israel’s independence happened, the Arab world’s emotional reaction ranged between “somewhat upset”…and “stark raving mad”… the latter description garnering most of the votes. The Arab world simply could not abide the UN’s decision to recognize tiny Israel, which not incidentally, represented less than 1% of all of the land controlled by surrounding Arab countries. And then the drumbeat began…and it has not missed a beat for the last 71 years: “Death to the Jews” and “Push Them Into the Sea”. These catchy chants actually evolved later into a rock-solid negotiating position by the representatives of those 1948 runaways, who many years later in a very “Johnny come lately” manner surveyed with greed and envy the now blooming land that was looking so much more attractive. So many demands…so many chants.

Funny thing about chants. They are not very instructive. And if they are not work-related (“Whistle while you work”), they are also counterproductive. I can’t seem to remember any such chants coming from the people on the Israeli side of the fence, including those Arab folks who chose to remain (or take the opportunity to return immediately) for the hard work. They also were too busy making the land bloom to be wasting time conjuring up hate chants.

The Palestinian leadership has fanned the flames of bitterness, grievance, and victimhood for the last 71 years. It has not been productive. Staking out a non-negotiable position of “Death to the Jews” and “Push Them Into the Sea” is also a road to the nowhere condition that now exists for most Palestinians.

Perhaps trying to work together with the Israelis, who seem to have done a pretty good job with the sliver of land they have been able to control, might be a good idea. Why not advocate for that idea, instead of sticking to the exploitative ideas of the PLO and its progeny. Instead of singing lead sopranos in the “Death to the Jews Choir”, you may also want to use your influence to explain to Saudi Arabia that the billions of dollars that they have spent on Gaza for the last 20 years could be better spent. Rather than wasting money on secret tunnels to smuggle in weapons of mass destruction; rather than buying favor with luxury condos for the corrupt PA exploiters of the Palestinian people…try actually improving their lives…unless you are afraid of an informed, free and dignified people living next door.

Ms. Tlaib Rashida would like you to believe that she, as a Palestinian native, who has personally suffered the oppressive whip of Israeli brutality, is some sort expert. She was born and raised in  Detroit. Her Grandmother, however, is a resident of the Palestinian Arab village of Beit Ur al-Fauqa, a village that has been governed by the Palestinian Authority since 1995… when the Israeli occupation of that village ended. It is just a tad disingenuous for the congresswoman to claim that her grandmother is “occupied” by the Israelis — and therefore she and Grandma are victims of persecution, and they are “expert” eyewitnesses to Israeli “human rights violations”.

Congresswoman Tlaib is absolutely correct that there are many problems in her grandmother’s village, including human rights violations. However, she may want to investigate a little more closely who is responsible for the bulk of these problems…although she obviously prefers maintaining the myth that the problem is “the Israeli occupation”, which gives her a convenient punching bag for those who like to take free, cheap shots at the Jewish state.

I hope it does not take another 70 years for Ms. Tlaib to figure out that Israel is not the enemy. Hatred, greed, jealousy…and misinformation …more likely are.

Note to Congresswomen: Guide your criticisms at the real source of the Palestinian people’s problems. Israel will help if you help them by working with them.

The United States elections of 2020 hopefully will soon be upon us. Let’s hope that the results will usher in a farewell to wretched, hateful, misinformed politics for a long time.

For all who want to hear, there is an old/new gospel tune to be singing…”People Get Ready….There’s a train a comin!”

Time to get on board!