Well-meaning liberal Americans sympathize with the Arab-Palestinian cause because of the group’s determined, decades-long struggle against Israel’s superior military might. Recently, that favoritism among Democrats for the first time shifted to a majority who support the Palestinians over Israel.

But if supporters of the Palestinians knew the whole truth—as the Palestinians tell it—they might reverse their sympathies. Indeed, when we listen to what the Palestinians say—and what they actually do—their underdog image is betrayed by belligerent goals, cruel methods and values anathema to Western civilization.

Understandably, liberals sympathize with the Palestinians out of “humanitarian” instincts. To them, the Palestinians are an oppressed group fighting bravely for their freedom. These defenders see Israel—the Palestinians’ foe—as having for 78 years tried to deny an innocent people self-determination and shrink their rightful share of a Middle East homeland.

But this sympathetic portrait of Arab-Palestinians is purely the product of Western projection—an imagined assignment to the Palestinians of motives, goals and values characteristic of a Western mindset. In fact, Western liberals are often shocked when they’re exposed to the portrait Palestinians paint of themselves—as Arabs and as Muslims—which embodies characteristics in direct contradiction to peace-loving Western values and aspirations.

Indeed, perhaps the greatest reason Palestinians are still fighting is because Israel and its Western allies continue to offer what we think the Palestinians want—or should want—rather than what they actually want. Westerners have steadfastly believed that 1) Palestinians want a state and to live in peace with Israel and 2) that Israel is preventing the Palestinians from achieving this goal.

The problem turns out to be our own. The Palestinians tell us what they want, and pursue what they want—but we ignore their message. We prefer our enlightened translation. To gain insight into this contradiction, it helps to highlight exactly what the Palestinians tell us—and what they tell themselves—about their goals and values.

To get a handle on this disconnect, let’s compare Westerners’ two greatest myths about Palestinian goals and values with what Palestinians actually say and do regarding major issues affecting peace in the Middle East.

Myth # 1: Palestinians want their own state, living in peace beside Israel. In fact, the Palestinians flatly reject any Jewish rights to sovereignty in “Palestine,” because they reject Jews’ historical connection to the land of Israel.  For example, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in 2018 bizarrely called Israel a “colonial project” having no basis in history and disconnected to Judaism.

During the Camp David Summit in 2000—an attempt by U.S. President Bill Clinton to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict with a two-state solution—former Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, asserted that “Solomon’s Temple was not in Jerusalem, but Nablus.” Clinton was flabbergasted at this outright lie, but Arafat refused to back down—just as he refused the Israeli-American offer of statehood.

Hamas, still the Palestinians’ leading political and military force, maintains in its charter that “The land of Palestine is an Islamic Waqf (endowment) consecrated for future Muslim generations until Judgment Day.” The concept of waqf in Islam implies that it belongs to Muslims exclusively and cannot be shared with infidels (especially Jews).

Furthermore, recent polls show that most Palestinians reject a two-state solution, preferring a single, Arab-ruled state.

Given this religious and political opposition to a Jewish state, it’s no wonder Palestinians teach their children from birth to hate and kill Jews, and conquer them. While many such videos exist on social media, here a child is recorded saying, “I want to fight against them (the Jews) and defeat them in war.”

In short, the notion that Palestinians want a peaceful state next to Israel is betrayed by countless statements from Palestinian political and religious leaders, as well as curricula at every educational level.

Myth #2: Israel is preventing the Palestinians from forming their own state. Actually, the UN and Israel (with the U.S.) have offered the Palestinians many opportunities to achieve statehood—but the Palestinians and their fellow Arabs have flatly refused every time. They rejected the 1947 UN partition plan. In 1967, following the Six-Day War, Israel offered land it seized in exchange for peace with its Arab neighbors. The Arab reply? Three no’s—no recognition of Israel, no negotiations with Israel and no peace with Israel.

In 2000, 2001 and 2008, Israel again offered the Palestinians statehood—in all of Judea and Samaria (aka the West Bank), with a capital in Jerusalem—but again, the Palestinians said no. Later attempts by U.S. Presidents Obama and Trump were also rejected.

Israel has also attempted numerous programs to assist and build trust with the Palestinians—including inviting hundreds of thousands of Palestinian workers into Israel and providing medical care, water and electricity to Palestinians.

Unfortunately, no Palestinian leader has arisen who advocates prosperity for the Palestinian people and peace with Israel. No Ghandi, no Mandela, no peace movement ever. Rather, Palestinian leaders focus on what they call the “resistance”—the codeword for continued terror, whose goal is conquest of Israel.

Claims that Israel stands in the way of a Palestinian state are contradicted by a 78-year history of generous offers from Israel to help Palestinians create one. However, while Israel has never started a war with the Palestinians, it has been forced to defend itself from countless attacks—from terrorist murders to outright wars—by an opponent determined to destroy it.

The liberal West should believe what the Palestinians say and do—not our own naïve projections. We want to believe the Palestinians want a state that will exist peacefully alongside Israel. In fact, the Palestinians tell us they reject Jewish sovereignty in what they view as exclusively Arab-Muslim land.

Westerners also assume that Israel is preventing the Palestinians from achieving self-determination. But history proves otherwise. Israel made many offers to the Palestinians, who said “no” to every one. Indeed, more often than not, they and their Arab brethren followed up their rejections with violence and bloodshed, forcing Israel into 76 years of defensive actions.

Please make the point when speaking with family, friends, colleagues—or in letters to the editor—that liberal Westerners would be smarter \not to base support for Palestinians on our own peace-loving projections. Rather we—and Israel—should treat them as adults: Judge the Palestinians on what they actually say and do.

If you agree we need to spread this truth, please use your email browser to forward this Hotline issue to fellow lovers of Israel—and encourage them to join us by subscribing to the Hotline at no charge.

Best regards,
James Sinkinson, President
Facts and Logic About the Middle East (FLAME)

P.S.      Too often, American citizens take comfort in their insulation from Islamist violence roiling the Middle East, as well as cities in Europe. But the jihadists are clear that fighting Jews and Israel is just the beginning. At rallies in Iran—and increasingly in the U.S.—the crowds scream, “Death to Israel, Death to America.” They understand that Israel is just the tip of the spear of Western Civilization—because Israel was the birthplace of so many Western values. Today the Jewish state stands as one of the strongest democracies in the world—a defender of liberty and enemy of oppressive Middle East dictatorships and terrorism. I hope you’ll agree that we supporters of the Israel-U.S. relationship need to speak out. FLAME’s new hasbarah—explanatory message—“Israel’s War Is America’s War”—describes how Israel massively defends United States interests in the Middle East and how Israel represents a roadblock to Islamic expansion worldwide. Finally, it explains why the recent U.S. foreign policy of soft diplomacy and appeasement of Iran has failed consistently. Please review this convincing, fact-based editorial, which FLAME intends to publish to millions—in leading social media, as well as in the Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, New York Post, Chicago Tribune, Tampa Bay Times, Denver Post and Los Angeles Times. This piece will also be sent to all members of Congress, the President and Vice President. If you agree that this kind of public relations effort on Israel’s behalf is critical, I urge you to support us with a donation.

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