My husband recommended that he and I watch a video with Netanyahu last evening. Going in, I was skeptical. After all, there are many accusations against Bibi Netanyahu and people I respect and admire, like Fania Oz-Salzburger seem incensed against the man, so I went in with skepticism. What I learned in the interview though changed my view of the state of Israel. For so long, those who call themselves "pro-Palestinian" have sowed or at least attempted to sow fear and confusion in many ways. Recently, these attempts have become more desperate and far easier to see through. However, the early lies that were sown were effective. One of those lies that I took for granted was that of course Palestine was populous and green prior to Zionism. The line of propaganda is that early Zionist were "colonizers" from Europe. This turns out not to be true. Apparently, Israel was empty and desolate. (1,2)You coudda knocked me over with a feather! But we must go further than Netanyahu. Was the region empty and desolate simply because of abandonment, after the populace (such as it was) decamped to Egypt? One area of inquiry is if it is true what the stories say, namely that Istanbul punished regions by cutting down trees and using those trees to build its railways and it fuel its steam engines. And if this is true--why would they do such a thing? We must ask if there is something textual, something in the hadiths or in the Koran that necessitates or undergirds such treatment. And then after this question is answered sufficient, we must ask if Christendom has ever been seduced by a similar theology. Most of the errors of Islam are traceable to Christianity's and even, Judaism's more unfortunate theological experiments. When we critique Islam we are critiquing ourselves.
1)https://www.jpost.com/jerusalem-report/article-700904
2) I will ask my husband for the link to the Netanyahu video and return!
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