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Rabbi’s statement requires debunking |
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Written by --
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Wednesday, 18 November 2009 |
Rabbi Eric Yoffie’s statement to the Union of Reform Judaism (URJ) demands debunking. He said: “When 100,000 people are settled in the heart of the West Bank, in the place where a Palestinian state must one day arise, this is not Zionism; this is anti-Zionism, and a blow to the very foundations of the Zionist movement” (Jewish Tribune, Nov. 12, 2009).
Rabbi Yoffie, URJ president, should learn when he is using the propaganda language of the enemy. ‘West Bank’ is a pejorative for Judea and Samaria just as ‘Palestine’ was invented by the Roman Emperor Hadrian after putting down the Bar Kochba revolt. He wanted to blot out the name of ‘Judaea,’ renaming it Provincia Syria Palaestina. ‘West Bank’ was, likewise, invented by the King of Jordan who was loath to refer to the land he lost, when it was liberated in 1967, by its historical name, Judea and Samaria.
Why must an Arab state rise there? This is Jewish land which, if it is occupied, is being occupied by Arabs, not Jews. It is part of the truncated land mandated to the Jews and captured by Jordan in 1948. In the war of Arab aggression, in 1967, it was liberated by Israel, not occupied, and if any legal term must be applied to it, the word is ‘disputed.’ Before the URJ claims adherence to Zionism, it really should educate itself.
Dr. Arnie Gotfryd, PhD
Thornhill, ON |
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 25 November 2009 )
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