UN remembers the Holocaust as it abandons the Jewish People

 

The United Nations (UN) ceremony to mark International Holocaust Remembrance Day was held on January 27, 2022 - as the UN was simultaneously continuing its incessant assault on the Jewish People that is once again giving rise to increasing Jew-hatred worldwide.

UN-sponsored Jew-hatred began with the establishment of The Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People under resolution 3376 (XXX) and the scurrilous “Zionism is racism” Resolution 3379 (XXX) – both passed by the General Assembly on November 10, 1975.

The following 47 years has seen three totally-fabricated statements formulated and repeatedly propagated by the UN and some of its various agencies: 

• Jews have no right to live in Judea and Samaria (West Bank) and East Jerusalem 
• Jews living there are doing so illegally in flagrant violation of international law 
• Jews are the major obstacle to peace 

Secretary-General of the UN – Antonio Guterres - enunciated these false statements demonizing the Jewish People as recently as December 15, 2021:

“I call on Israel to put a stop to all settlement activities immediately. Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, have no legal validity and constitute a flagrant violation of international law and United Nations resolutions. They undermine the prospect of achieving a two-State solution by systematically eroding the possibility of establishing a contiguous, independent, sovereign and viable Palestinian State”

Guterres was pushing his master’s odious three-point narrative – when he should have been forcefully rejecting it for the following reasons:

• Jews have the inalienable right to live in these specifically-designated areas of former Palestine for the purpose of reconstituting the Jewish National Home (“Inalienable Right) – legally conferred on them by article 6 and article 25 of the League of Nations Mandate for Palestine and preserved by article 80 of the UN Charter.

• Israel’s first Prime Minister – David Ben-Gurion – then the Representative of the Jewish Agency – emphasised the importance of the insertion of Article 80 into the UN Charter in evidence before the UN Special Committee for Palestine at Lake Success, New York on 7 July 1947:

• Article 80 preserves the Jewish People’s Inalienable Right notwithstanding the demise of the League of Nations on April 19, 1946 and remains as alive and exercisable today as it was when unanimously adopted by all 51 Member States of the League of Nations on July 24, 1922 – (see image following)

The following headline appearing over a media release on January 27th by UN News – the official UN  media outlet - indicates the lengths the UN will go to to bury Article 80:

“The Holocaust “defined the United Nations”, Secretary-General António Guterres told a virtual ceremony marking Holocaust Remembrance Day on Thursday, recalling that the UN Charter was drafted in San Francisco “as the Dachau concentration camp was liberated”.

The Charter defined the UN - giving it the responsibility under Article 80 to ensure the rights of the Jewish People created by the Mandate were preserved.

Excluding any mention of Article 80 contained in that Charter and the reasons for its inclusion continues to be the fuel that enables the UN to falsely condemn 600000 Jews for illegally living in areas where they are legally entitled to do so and from where all Jews were driven out and expelled between 1948 and 1967.

Abandoning the Jewish People by failing to recognise its vested rights under the Mandate for Palestine and the UN Charter brands the UN as the world centre for disseminating and inciting Jew-hatred. 193 Member States need to evaluate their continuing membership. 

“Never again” is threatening to become “Yet again” – whilst the UN continues to act in flagrant violation of article 80 of its own Charter. 

Author’s note: The cartoon — commissioned exclusively for this article — is by Yaakov Kirschen aka “Dry Bones”- one of Israel’s foremost political and social commentators — whose cartoons have graced the columns of Israeli and international media publications for decades.

New York Times and Washington Post bash Israel with false claims

 

The New York Times and the Washington Post have once again engaged in Israel bashing — spewing out fake maps and phony history about Israel, its origins and indeed its continued existence as the Jewish National Home — first articulated in the League of Nations Mandate for Palestine and confirmed in article 80 of the United Nations Charter.

The following maps:                                                                                                                                     

• captioned: “Illustration by The New York Times/Photographs via Getty”
• appeared in: an article in the New York Times headlined “The myth of co-existence in Israel”
• was written by: Diana Buttu — identified as “a lawyer, former adviser to the negotiating team of the Palestine Liberation Organization, and Palestinian citizen of Israel”

The Washington Post’s Glen Kessler — described as The Fact Checker — to his credit — was quick to point out the falsehoods in the maps:

“that showed a shrinking map of Palestine, from the borders of the British mandate for Palestine in 1947 to areas that would be under Palestinian control after adoption of a recent [Trump — ed] peace plan.”.

Kessler informed readers that:

“Patrick Healy, deputy opinion editor of the [New York] Times, issued a statement saying “it was not meant to be a literal, factual map ... this was an illustration conveying a sense of shrinking space for Palestinians. It is art.”

But obviously wanting to show up its arch competitor’s anti-Israel bias — Kessler then accurately pointed out:

“Still, a version of this map has been circulating for almost 20 years, supposedly showing how “Historic Palestine” had been taken over by Israel. As a technical matter, the map is a confusing mélange of images: it includes something that did not exist (Palestinian control over all the territory), something that did not happen (the proposed United Nations partition) and something odd (pre-1967 occupations by Jordan and Egypt are depicted as Palestinian-controlled).”

Fake maps such as these have been reproduced all over the media, internet and in textbooks published by respected publishers for decades.

McGraw Hill Publishing — in 2016—withdrew from sale and trashed unsold copies of one such textbook - Global Politics: Engaging a Complex World — containing these following maps:

McGraw’s Spokesperson — Catherine Mathis — then stated:

“As soon as we learned about the concerns with it, we placed sales of the book on hold and immediately initiated an academic review. The review determined that the map did not meet our academic standards. We have informed the authors and we are no longer selling the book. All existing inventory will be destroyed. We apologize and will refund payment to anyone who returns the book.”

The New York Times should be ashamed of itself for publishing their similarly false and misleading maps.

Brownie points earned by the Washington Post in exposing the New York Times anti-Israel bias were however forfeited when Kessler continued “to summarize the two versions of whether there was a historic Palestine for readers who want to hear both sides of the story.”

The Pro-Palestinian version — according to Kessler - maintains:

“In the 18th century, the area saw the emergence of a new Palestine-based autonomous rule, spurred in part by the region’s commercial dynamism, especially its trade in cotton and grain. In effect, between the 1720s and 1775 under the ruler Zahir al-Umar, there was an independent Palestinian state — longer than the British mandate."

Why publish such fabricated nonsense at all?

Palestine had then been part of the Ottoman Empire for 250 years and continued to remain so until the Allied and Central Powers made their decisions on its future at the 1920 San Remo Conference.

Ending the flow of false information published by “respectable publications” remains a continuing challenge for Israel to combat and finally defeat.


Author’s note: The cartoon — commissioned exclusively for this article — is by Yaakov Kirschen aka “Dry Bones”—one of Israel’s foremost political and social commentators — whose cartoons have graced the columns of Israeli and international media publications for decades.

PLO sidelined as Trump brokers deal between Israel and UAE

[Published 16 August 2020]

The outright refusal by the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) to negotiate with Israel on President Trump’s Vision for Peace has seen Trump sideline the PLO by brokering a peace deal between Israel and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Trump’s spectacular breakthrough now sees three Arab States — Egypt, Jordan and the UAE — that could replace the PLO in negotiations with Israel on Trump’s Peace Plan to end the Jewish-Arab conflict that still remains unresolved after 100 years.

The White House statement announcing the diplomatic rapprochement has ominous portents for the PLO:

“The United States and Israel recall with gratitude the appearance of the United Arab Emirates at the White House reception held on January 27, 2020, at which President Trump presented his Vision, and express their appreciation for United Arab Emirates’ related supportive statements. The parties will continue their efforts in this regard to achieve a just, comprehensive and enduring resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.”

Significantly no mention is made of creating an independent Palestinian Arab state between Israel and Jordan — the two successor states to the League of Nations 1922 Mandate for Palestine.

The Mandate had laid the groundwork for the establishment of:

• an Arab state — Transjordan (now Jordan) — in 78% of former Palestine in 1946,
• a Jewish State — Israel — in 17% in 1948

with sovereignty still unresolved in the remaining 5% — Judea and Samaria (West Bank) and Gaza.

Trump’s Vision offered the PLO Gaza and possibly 70% of Judea and Samaria for a second Arab State in former Palestine — in addition to Jordan.

Abbas — who has been demanding 100% for the last 25 years — made his displeasure known in terms that would not have endeared him to Trump:

“I say to Trump and Netanyahu: Jerusalem is not for sale; all our rights are not for sale and are not for bargain. And your deal, the conspiracy, will not pass … We say a thousand no’s to the deal of the century,”

Trump’s offer — spurned so dismissively by Abbas — now seems destined for the dustbin of history.

The UN and European Union’s insistence that the “two-state solution” was the only solution that could end the Jewish-Arab conflict has been debunked as Israel and the UAE begin the path to peaceful co-existence.

Jordan and Egypt’s involvement after a 53 years absence becomes increasingly possible.

Israel’s planned application of sovereignty in the 30% of Judea and Samaria designated in Trump’s plan has been placed on hold — as Trump pointed out in his carefully worded White House statement:

“As a result of this diplomatic breakthrough, and at the request of President Trump with the support of the United Arab Emirates, Israel will suspend declaring sovereignty over areas outlined in the President’s Vision for Peace and focus its efforts now on expanding ties with other countries in the Arab and Muslim world. The United States, Israel, and the United Arab Emirates are confident that additional diplomatic breakthroughs with other nations are possible, and will work together to achieve this goal”..

The operative word is “suspend” - not “abandon”

Once again Israel has made a major concession in pursuing peace by suspending its extension of sovereignty into the Jewish People’s biblical heartland  — specifically designated for reconstitution of the Jewish National Home by the Mandate and preserved until today by article 80 of the United Nations Charter.

A bigger picture beckons as other Arab states could shortly follow the UAE’s decision and establish diplomatic relations with Israel.

Trump’s incredible efforts over the past three years to achieve peace between Jews and Arabs should see his most trenchant critics eating humble pie.

Author’s note: The cartoon — commissioned exclusively for this article — is by Yaakov Kirschen aka “Dry Bones”- one of Israel’s foremost political and social commentators — whose cartoons have graced the columns of Israeli and international media publications for decades. His cartoons can be viewed at Drybonesblog

Jordan backs PLO in rejecting Trump deal of the century

[Published 22 June 2020]

Jordan has backed the PLO in rejecting President Trump’s deal of the century - as Israel readies to regain sovereignty after 3000 years in 30% of Judea and Samaria (aka West Bank) — the biblical heartland of the Jewish people.

Minister Ayman Safadi met with PLO President Mahmoud Abbas this week to confirm that Jordan stood in solidarity with the PLO against the Trump plan to create a Palestinian State in the remaining 70%:

“The stance that I have carried today is the Kingdom’s historical position: Attaining the rights of our brothers in Palestine to freedom and a full Palestinian state with occupied Jerusalem as its capital on the June 4, 1967 lines is the only means to realise a just and comprehensive peace”.

Safadi’s statement of Jordan’s historical position was false.

No Palestinian State—”full” or otherwise—was ever contemplated during Jordan’s illegal annexation of the West Bank between 1948 and 1967. To the contrary Jordan extended Jordanian citizenship to all the Arab residents of the West Bank from 1954 to 1988.

Jordan’s rejection of the Trump Plan could see Trump dealing with Jordan similarly to the way he dealt with the PLO’s rejection of Trump’s Plan — sight unseen - two years before its release on January 28, 2020:

“‘We told Trump we will not accept his project, the ‘deal of the century,’ which has become the ‘slap of the century’. But we will slap back.
“We do not take instructions from anyone, and say ‘no’ to anyone if it is about our destiny, our cause, our country and our people… 1,000 times no,’”

Trump answered the PLO by progressively:

1. Recognising Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and moving the US Embassy there
2. Recognising Israeli sovereignty in the Golan Heights
3. Cutting off funding for Palestinian refugee programs
4. Closing down the PLO diplomatic office in Washington
5. Confirming that the Israeli settlements in the West Bank did not contravene international law

Responses to Jordan’s defiant stance could see Trump:

1. Agreeing to Israel extending its sovereignty beyond the 30% of the West Bank currently contemplated in Trump’s Plan. This proposed area is in fact only 50% of Area C - already under Israel’s complete security and administrative control pursuant to the Oslo Accords — Mandaso there is plenty of scope for enlarging the area of Israeli sovereignty.
2. Reviewing existing US-Jordan security and financial agreements
3. Calling on Jordan to replace the PLO in negotiations with Israel to allocate sovereignty in the remaining 70% of the West Bank between their two respective states

Jordan’s King Abdullah would find Trump’s offer to regain a major part of “The West Bank of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan 1950-1967” difficult to reject.

Abdullah’s father the late King Hussein wrote in “Uneasy Lies The Head” (page 118):

“Palestine and Jordan were both under the British Mandate, but as my grandfather pointed out in his memoirs, they were hardly separate countries. Trans-Jordan being to the east of the River Jordan, it formed in a sense, the interior of Palestine”

Abdullah’s uncle Prince Hassan has written:

“Small as Jordan is, our country is politically, socially economically, militarily and historically inseparable from the Palestinian issue”

Trump would be acting in conformity with article 6 of the 1922 League of Nations Mandate for Palestine and article 80 of the UN Charter which designated the West Bank as part of the area in which the Jewish National Home was to be reconstituted.

Ominously for King Abdullah however — article 2 of the PLO Charter also confirms that the West Bank and Jordan form part of one indivisible territorial unit.

Jordan faces interesting times ahead.

Author’s note: The cartoon—commissioned exclusively for this article—is by Yaakov Kirschen aka “Dry Bones”- one of Israel’s foremost political and social commentators – whose cartoons have graced the columns of Israeli and international media publications for decades. His cartoons can be viewed at Drybonesblog.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              Jordan’s Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi met with PLO President Mahmoud Abbas this week to confirm that Jordan stood in solidarity with the PLO against the Trump plan to create a Palestinian State in the remaining 70%:


“The stance that I have carried today is the Kingdom’s historical position: Attaining the rights of our brothers in Palestine to freedom and a full Palestinian state with occupied Jerusalem as its capital on the June 4, 1967 lines is the only means to realise a just and comprehensive peace”.

Safadi’s statement of Jordan’s historical position was false.

No Palestinian State—”full” or otherwise—was ever contemplated during Jordan’s illegal annexation of the West Bank between 1948 and 1967. To the contrary Jordan extended Jordanian citizenship to all the Arab residents of the West Bank from 1954 to 1988.

Jordan’s rejection of the Trump Plan

Jordan’s rejection of the Trump Plan could see Trump dealing with Jordan similarly to the way he dealt with the PLO’s rejection of Trump’s Plan—sight unseen - two years before its release on January 28, 2020:


“‘We told Trump we will not accept his project, the ‘deal of the century,’ which has become the ‘slap of the century’. But we will slap back.

“We do not take instructions from anyone, and say ‘no’ to anyone if it is about our destiny, our cause, our country and our people… 1,000 times no,’”

Trump answered the PLO by progressively:
Recognising Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and moving the US Embassy there
Recognising Israeli sovereignty in the Golan Heights
Cutting off funding for Palestinian refugee programs
Closing down the PLO diplomatic office in Washington
Confirming that the Israeli settlements in the West Bank did not contravene international law

Responses to Jordan’s defiant stance could see Trump:
Agreeing to Israel extending its sovereignty beyond the 30% of the West Bank currently contemplated in Trump’s Plan. This proposed area is in fact only 50% of Area C - already under Israel’s complete security and administrative control pursuant to the Oslo Accords—so there is plenty of scope for enlarging the area of Israeli sovereignty.
Reviewing existing US-Jordan security and financial agreements
Calling on Jordan to replace the PLO in negotiations with Israel to allocate sovereignty in the remaining 70% of the West Bank between their two respective states.


Jordan’s King Abdullah would find Trump’s offer to regain a major part of “The West Bank of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan 1950-1967” difficult to reject.

Abdullah’s father the late King Hussein wrote in “Uneasy Lies The Head” (page 118):


“Palestine and Jordan were both under the British Mandate, but as my grandfather pointed out in his memoirs, they were hardly separate countries. Trans-Jordan being to the east of the River Jordan, it formed in a sense, the interior of Palestine”

Abdullah’s uncle Prince Hassan has written:


“Small as Jordan is, our country is politically, socially economically, militarily and historically inseparable from the Palestinian issue”

Trump would be acting in conformity with article 6 of the 1922 League of Nations Mandate for Palestine and article 80 of the UN Charter which designated the West Bank as part of the area in which the Jewish National Home was to be reconstituted.

Ominously for King Abdullah however—article 2 of the PLO Charter also confirms that the West Bank and Jordan form part of one indivisible territorial unit.

Jordan faces interesting times ahead.

Author’s note: The cartoon—commissioned exclusively for this article—is by Yaakov Kirschen aka “Dry Bones”- one of Israel’s foremost political and social commentators – whose cartoons have graced the columns of Israeli and international media publications for decades. His cartoons can be viewed at Drybonesblog.

America erases its past as Israel resurrects 3000 years-old history

[Published 15 June 2020]

It is amazing that in the midst of an unprecedented global economic shutdown—some Americans are presently hell-bent on erasing America’s past by pulling down statues of ionic people from America’s history and engaging in cultural cancelling —whilst Israelis are simultaneously planning to resurrect Jewish history by restoring Israeli sovereignty in the Jewish people’s biblical heartland—Judea and Samaria — after 3000 years.

Trashing America’s past is violent and unlawful—whilst Israel’s democratically elected Government is reinstating the Jewish People’s past in tandem with President Trump’s Peace Plan published on 28 January 2020.

Many American mayors and Governors have watched on — restraining their police forces from doing anything to halt these monuments to history being torn down by chanting mobs. Residents and businesses located in the affected cities will continue to pay a high price for these elected officials failing to allow the police to take back control of the streets and restore safety and security for all.

Alarmingly many of these mayors and Governors are now considering defunding or replacing their police forces in what can only be described as abject surrender in the face of extreme provocation by rampaging and looting protestors out of control and oblivious to maintaining any semblance of complying with the laws of social distancing that the majority populations in these cities under attack follow, respect and obey.

As this epidemic of unbridled lawlessness spreads world-wide — the international community’s response to Israel’s intended application of sovereignty in 1697 km2 of Judea and Samaria’s 5655 km2 is deeply troubling.

An avalanche of international opposition – led by the United Nations and European Union – falsely claims that Israel is acting “in flagrant violation of international law” — ignoring:

1. The San Remo Resolution and the Treaty of Sevres 1920
2. The League of Nations Mandate for Palestine 1922
3. Article 80 of the United Nations Charter 1945
4. President Bush’s written commitment to Israeli Prime Minister Sharon on 14 April 2004 overwhelmingly approved by the Congress by 502 votes to 12 (America’s Commitment) – promising that Israel’s unilateral withdrawal from Gaza would not require Israel to withdraw from all of Judea and Samaria.
5. The Quartet – Russia, United Nations, European Union and America – endorsing America’s Commitment on 4 May 2004
6. Israeli Prime Minister Olmert acknowledging Israel’s reliance on America’s Commitment at the Annapolis Conference on 27 November 2007:
“The negotiations [with the PLO] will be based on previous agreements between us, UN Security Council Resolutions 242 and 338, the Roadmap and the April 14th 2004 letter of President Bush to the Prime Minister of Israel.”

51 nation states comprised the League of Nations that unanimously approved Judea and Samaria forming part of the area proposed for reconstitution of the Jewish National Home:

Albania, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, British India, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, El Salvador, Estonia, Finland, France, Greece, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Italy, Japan, Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, Latvia, Liberia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Norway, Panama, Paraguay, Persia, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Republic of China, Romania, Siam, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Union of South Africa, United Kingdom, Uruguay, and Venezuela.

These states who are now United Nations and/or European Union members supporting the current cacophony of “flagrant violation of international law” - need to hang their heads in collective shame. They are encouraging an atmosphere of Jew-hatred and incitement to violence.

Pray for America as its past is being trashed and its future is distinctly uncertain.

Recognise the resurrection of sovereignty in the Jewish people’s biblical heartland after 3000 years as a modern-day miracle that could help end the 100 years-old Arab-Jewish conflict.

Author’s note: The cartoon – commissioned exclusively for this article—is by Yaakov Kirschen aka “Dry Bones”- one of Israel’s foremost political and social commentators – whose cartoons have graced the columns of Israeli and international media publications for decades. His cartoons can be viewed at Drybonesblog.

European Union shamefully denies Jewish rights in Judea and Samaria

[Published 5 June 2020]

The frenzied rush by the European Union (EU) to condemn Israel’s restoration of Jewish sovereignty in 30% of Judea and Samaria (West Bank) reflects poorly on an organization which has adopted an exceptionally confrontational approach to the Jewish State.

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has led the charge:

“We strongly urge Israel to refrain from any unilateral decision that would lead to the annexation of any occupied Palestinian territory and would be, as such, contrary to International Law”

So many false statements appearing in such a short sentence by this high-ranking EU official is breathtaking:

1. Israel’s action is not unilateral

Such action is being taken in tandem with President Trump following the outright refusal by the PLO to enter into negotiations with Israel on the basis of Trump’s detailed plan released on January 28, 2020.

70% of Judea and Samaria awaits the PLO - or any other Arab interlocutor such as Jordan—prepared to step up and negotiate on its future sovereignty.

2. Israel will not be annexing occupied Palestinian territory contrary to international law

“Annexing occupied Palestinian territory” means taking territory belonging to someone else to which Israel has no entitlement.

“Contrary to international law”: Israel will be applying sovereignty in 30% of Judea and Samaria pursuant to vested legal rights to reconstitute the Jewish National Home in this specific area conferred on the Jewish people by:

• The San Remo Resolution and the Treaty of Sevres 1920
• The League of Nations Mandate for Palestine 1922
• Article 80 United Nations Charter 1945

The EU’s attempt to trash these existing Jewish legal rights in Judea and Samaria is extremely disturbing - since 20 of the 27 current member States of the EU – plus former member the United Kingdom - were among the 51 member States of the League of Nations that had unanimously included Judea and Samaria as part of the area in which the Jews were entitled to reconstitute their biblical Jewish homeland after 3000 years.

Article 25 of the Mandate for Palestine - approved on July 24, 1922 - had provided for the provisions of the Mandate relating to the establishment of the Jewish National Home to be postponed or withheld “In the territories lying between the Jordan and the eastern boundary of Palestine as ultimately determined”.

Judea and Samaria (West Bank) - was clearly being reserved for the Jewish National Home.

Minutes of the Council of the League of Nations held on September 16,1922 (below) confirmed this decision.

78% of the territory of Palestine originally proposed for reconstitution of the Jewish National Home east of the Jordan River in 1920 had thus been denied to the Jewish people by 1922—but Judea and Samaria clearly was not excluded.

Those 20 EU member States who actually voted in favour of creating these Jewish rights in 1922 were:

Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden

These reasons help explain the EU’s strenuous opposition to Israel’s sovereignty move:

“first, [Israel] is proudly nationalist;
second – thanks to the ideological cover provided by the KGB’s propaganda offensive of the 1960s and 70s—[Israel] can be falsely portrayed as colonialist and racist, thus providing the Europeans a way to assuage their guilt for their own colonialist and racist past;
third, [Israel’s] local enemies are Muslims, providing a way for Europe to pay jizya to its own uneasy Muslim minorities; and finally, [Israel’s] a Jewish state—and here no further explanation is necessary.” 

 Europe’s antipathy to Jews is becoming fashionable once again. 

The EU has acted shamefully.

Author’s note: The cartoon – commissioned exclusively for this article—is by Yaakov Kirschen aka “Dry Bones”- one of Israel’s foremost political and social commentators – whose cartoons have graced the columns of Israeli and international media publications for decades. His cartoons can be viewed at Drybonesblog.

Jordan must not socially distance from Judea and Samaria's Arabs

[Published 27 April 2020]

Formation of a National Unity Government in Israel has focused attention on the future of Judea and Samaria — 4% of the territory of the Mandate for Palestine — in which sovereignty still remains unallocated between Jews and Arabs.

President Trump’s Peace Plan published on January 28, 2020 has been endorsed by Israel.

Trump’s Plan proposes that Israeli sovereignty be extended into parts of Judea and Samaria – with the balance reserved to create a second Arab state in former Palestine – in addition to Jordan – for the first time in recorded history.

The PLO, Arab League and the international community have rejected Trump’s proposals.

However US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has given the greenlight to Israel proceeding with extending Israeli sovereignty in about 30% of Judea and Samaria now the new Israeli Government of National Unity is finalised.

Blue and White leader Benny Gantz has agreed that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu can seek Parliament’s approval for Israeli sovereignty to be extended into about 30% of Judea and Samaria after July 1st. in accordance with the decisions of a joint US-Israel mapping committee.

Israel’s entitlement to do so is grounded in the legal rights vested by the international community in the Jewish People pursuant to:

1. The San Remo Resolution dated April 25, 1920

2. Article 95 Treaty of Sevres dated August 10, 1920,

3. Article 6 Mandate for Palestine dated July 24, 1922,

4. Article 16 Treaty of Lausanne dated July 24, 1923

5.Article 80 United Nations Charter 1945

These commitments have been previously breached by:

1. The Council of the League of Nations approving article 25 being inserted in the Mandate for Palestine - allowing Britain to postpone or withhold the Jewish National Home being reconstituted in Transjordan - 77% of the territory of the Mandate for Palestine

2. Britain unilaterally granting independence to Transjordan on May 25, 1946 contrary to article 5 of the Mandate for Palestine

3. Britain handing back its Mandate to the United Nations — uncompleted — on May 15th 1948 — leaving the Jews to defend themselves against six invading Arab armies from neighbouring States.

The European Union has now hypocritically chosen to strongly oppose Israel extending sovereignty into Judea and Samaria after July 1st.

EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell released the following statement:

”…the EU’s position on the status of the territories occupied by Israel in 1967 remains unchanged. The EU does not recognize Israeli sovereignty over the occupied West Bank. The EU reiterates that any annexation would constitute a serious violation of international law.”

Borrell is way off the mark:

1. Not “sovereignty over the occupied West Bank” — but “sovereignty over 30% of Judea and Samaria — land designated for reconstitution of the Jewish National Home under internationally-negotiated agreements”

2. Not “annexation” — but “the restoration of sovereignty lost 3000 years ago by the Jewish people in its biblical heartland”

3. Not “a serious violation of international law”: Israeli sovereignty is being applied in accordance with international agreements that the international community is obligated to uphold.

Trump should focus on Jordan — having occupied and ruled Judea and Samaria between 1948 and 1967 — to replace the PLO in negotiations with Israel on Trump’s additional Arab State proposal.

The PLO — only founded in 1964 - expressly stipulated under article 24 of its Charter that it did:

“not exercise any territorial sovereignty over the West Bank in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,”

The PLO reversed its position in 1968 after Israel gained control in the 1967 Six Day War.

Judea and Samaria’s Arab residents were Jordanian citizens between 1954 and 1988. Socially distancing from them now is the last thing Jordan should be doing.

Author’s note: The cartoon—commissioned exclusively for this article—is by Yaakov Kirschen aka “Dry Bones”- one of Israel’s foremost political and social commentators—whose cartoons have graced the columns of Israeli and international media publications for decades. His cartoons can be viewed at Drybonesblog

PLO suicide note leaves Jordan to decide fate of West Bank…

[Published 30 July 2019]

President Trump has been given the clearest notice that his deal of the century will be stillborn if he designates any role for the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) in its implementation.

In a remarkable outburst that can best be described as his “suicide note” — PLO Chairman Mahmoud Abbas declared on 25 July:

“I reiterate that we will not surrender, we will not coexist with the occupation and we will not deal with the deal of deal of the century, or the slap of the century or the deal of shame - all names for one title. Palestine and Jerusalem are not for sale and bargain. They are not a real estate deal in a real estate company.”

Yet for the last 25 years the PLO — aided and abetted by Jordan — has refused to yield its claim to sovereignty over every square meter of West Bank real estate — when compromise could possibly have resolved the 100 years-old Arab-Jewish conflict.

Two days prior to Abbas’ suicide note - the US Congress in a rare show of bipartisanship had offered the PLO a lifeline to enable it to negotiate with Israel on Trump’s yet-to-be-released proposals — overwhelmingly passing House Resolution 246 by a vote of 398-17 with 5 voting ‘present’.

Resolution 246:

Urged: Israelis and Palestinians to return to direct negotiations as the only way to achieve an end to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict

Reaffirmed: its strong support for a negotiated solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict resulting in two states — a democratic Jewish State of Israel, and a viable, democratic Palestinian state — living side-by-side in peace, security, and mutual recognition.

48 hours later Abbas’s suicide note had trashed Congress’s Resolution.

So where to from here?

First some indisputable facts:

1.Jews have the legal right to settle in the West Bank under Article 6 of the 1922 League of Nations Mandate for Palestine (Mandate) and article 80 of the United Nations Charter.

2. Jordan and Israel are the two successor States to the Mandate: Jordan being sovereign in 78% of the Mandate territory and Israel sovereign in 17%.

3. 4% of the Mandate’s remaining real estate — Judea and Samaria — was unified with Transjordan between 1950 and 1967 and renamed Jordan — whilst Judea and Samaria were renamed the West Bank….

4. The 1964 PLO Charter made no claim to territorial sovereignty “over the West Bank in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan”...

5. The revised 1968 PLO Charter declared the 1917 Balfour Declaration, the Mandate and everything based on them null and void....

6. West Bank Arabs were Jordanian citizens between 1950 and 1988.

7. Abbas and Arafat have acknowledged Jordanians and Palestinians are one people.

Reunifying parts of the West Bank with Jordan in direct negotiations between Jordan and Israel should now be Trump’s objective, recognising the following resolution passed at the 8th meeting of the Palestinian National Council in February-March 1971:

...“Jordan is linked to Palestine by a national relationship and a national unity forged by history and culture from the earliest times. The creation of one political entity in Transjordan and another in Palestine would have no basis either in legality or as to the elements universally accepted as fundamental to a political entity. .. In raising the slogan of the liberation of Palestine and presenting the problem of the Palestine revolution, it was not the intention of the Palestine revolution to separate the east of the River from the West, nor did it believe the struggle of the Palestinian people can be separated from the struggle of the masses in Jordan…”

Abbas has written his suicide note .... Trump shouldn’t demean himself begging Abbas to reconsider.

Author’s note:...The cartoon — commissioned exclusively for this article — is by Yaakov Kirschen aka “Dry Bones”- one of Israel’s foremost political and social commentators — whose cartoons have graced the columns of Israeli and international media publications for decades. His cartoons can be viewed at…Drybonesblog

Trump stand shames UN rejection of Jerusalem as Israel's capital

[Published 5 December 2018]

December 6 marks the first anniversary of President Trump’s historic and ground-breaking announcement to recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and move the American Embassy to Jerusalem.

President Trump’s decision flew in the face of UN Security Council Resolution 2334 on 23 December 2016 reaffirming that:

“the establishment by Israel of settlements in the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967, including East Jerusalem, has no legal validity and constitutes a flagrant violation under international law and a major obstacle to the achievement of the two-State solution and a just, lasting and comprehensive peace”

Article 6 of the League of Nations Mandate for Palestine and article 80 of the United Nations Charter conclusively substantiate Israel is not in violation of international law in reconstituting the Jewish National Home in Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria (West Bank), and designating Jerusalem as its capital.

The United Nations General Assembly has yet again shown its total ignorance of this long-established international law with its latest resolution on Jerusalem on 30 November - misleadingly declaring Israel’s actions in Jerusalem “illegal and therefore null and void”.

The preamble to the Jerusalem Embassy Act overwhelmingly passed by the United States Senate (93-5) and the House (374-37) on 24 October 1995 sets out the following facts that underscore the total lack of legal and moral integrity of the United Nations:

1. Each sovereign nation, under international law and custom, may designate its own capital.

2. Since 1950, the city of Jerusalem has been the capital of the State of Israel.

3. The city of Jerusalem is the seat of Israel’s President, Parliament, and Supreme Court, and the site of numerous government ministries and social and cultural institutions.

4. The city of Jerusalem is the spiritual center of Judaism, and is also considered a holy city by the members of other religious faiths.

5. From 1948-1967, Jerusalem was a divided city and Israeli citizens of all faiths as well as Jewish citizens of all states were denied access to holy sites in the area controlled by Jordan.

6. In 1967, the city of Jerusalem was reunited during the conflict known as the Six Day War.

7. Since 1967, Jerusalem has been a united city administered by Israel, and persons of all religious faiths have been guaranteed full access to holy sites within the city.

8. The United States maintains its embassy in the functioning capital of every country except in the case of our democratic friend and strategic ally, the State of Israel.

9. In 1996, the State of Israel will celebrate the 3,000th anniversary of the Jewish presence in Jerusalem since King David’s entry.

The United Nations - in discarding these inconvenient truths - has done the cause of world peace a grave disservice whilst the groundwork for a humanitarian disaster affecting both Arabs and Jews is being plotted by the PLO, Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran.
President Trump made it crystal clear that his decision was:

“not intended, in any way, to reflect a departure from our strong commitment to facilitate a lasting peace agreement. We want an agreement that is a great deal for the Israelis and a great deal for the Palestinians. We are not taking a position of any final status issues, including the specific boundaries of the Israeli sovereignty in Jerusalem, or the resolution of contested borders. Those questions are up to the parties involved”.

Trump’s principled stand on Jerusalem is morally justified and accords with international law. Guatemala has already moved its Embassy to Jerusalem — Brazil is planning to follow.

The United Nations continues to ignore Trump’s message at its peril and to its eternal shame.

Author’s note: The cartoon — commissioned exclusively for this article — is by Yaakov Kirschen aka “Dry Bones”- one of Israel’s foremost political and social commentators — whose cartoons have graced the columns of Israeli and international media publications for decades. His cartoons can be viewed at Drybonesblog