Israel ambassador's speech to UN Incitement to Terror Conference

[arbit]

Look who is talking, a dog face pig. A country which has illegally occupied Palestine & are terrorizing the Palestinian people daily is talking about terrorism. This will only please the Indians on this forum as they have illegally occupied Kashmir & they are terrorizing the people of Kashmir daily. So we will see full Indian support to the Israel here. Well as a matter a fact one maggot is already talking.

I judge a person's or persons' actions in context. By "understanding" do you refer to a person's sanity or some other/additional concept?

That's what most of the Arabs are about, and Pakistanis choose to side with Arabs, either out of perceived self-interest or shared values - and whether an Israeli is unjustly killed due to his religion or his nationality makes little difference to him and his family, yes?

I'm not so sure. The more power a Muslim leader accumulates the more gross and cruel he tends to become, yes? Look at A.Q. Khan, he says that if Pakistan had nukes in 1971 E. Pakistan would never have broken off. Is he talking about nuking 500 million Indians or 100 million Bangladeshis or both?

If you don't speak up then you are letting other people speak for you. In America lots of people speak about racism, we've had laws effective at alleviating such things for generations, and of course the fact our elected president is a "man of color" speaks volumes itself.

Don't know about "Modi" but have n't you considered that "hating Islam" is merely a logical response to Islam's active combat and murder targeting people of other religions? As the Israelis point out and everyone agrees, if the Arabs put down there weapons tomorrow there would be no more war, but if Israel put down its weapons tomorrow there would be no more Israel. Show us the love, and we'll love you back - the hatred taught in Muslims' textbooks in Pakistan, Europe, the Middle East, and even America is proof positive that the quest for peace has to begin in Muslims' hearts, not kaffirs.

The contrast between the content and tone of these two posts is blinding.
Waiting for more such gems from @tarrar and company. Probably when they run out of *****, they will strap on a bomb and walk into a crowd.

 

[Solomon2]

1- Again, calling all Muslims as your enemies will make them your enemies.

As noted many times, the call for reflection is met by threats of violence, itself an endorsement of the original charge. Yet Israel does NOT believe that Muslims per se have to be its enemies, just that the majority of its enemies are now Muslims.

The people who kill others using religion as a shield have been disowned by Islamic society.

False.

If your words are anything to go by, then it becomes obvious that Israel is suffering from its own mistakes of making enemies out of all Muslims, regardless of whether they've harmed Israel or not.

In what sense? In pointing out that most Muslims accept a lower standard of moral conduct than Israelis? That's annoying but what excuse is that for violence and terrorism?

It's not hard to understand that actions have reactions. Take their land away, use excessive force against civilians -

That's not it. As The Last Lion points out, the Arab masses were shouting for genocide against the Jews immediately after WWI, long before there was an Israel, long before there were empty accusations of Jews committing violence or theft against Arabs rather than the other way 'round.

2- Still doesn't make sense why you named A.Q.Khan as a Muslim leader. What Zia did is history now and he's dead.

That's it? "He's dead so we don't have to pay attention any more and are no longer guilty of following him"?

Responsibility belongs to Israel too for ensuring disproportionate responses are not carried out against Palestinian civilians.

I understand that you are aware that you fully empower terrorists to take hostages and use human shields. No wonder Pakistan suffers from terror at home.

3- This has a lot to do with terror. If you name all Muslims as enemies, then it is a natural reaction for them to think of Israel as unfreindly.

You tell me: are "some Muslims" enemies or all? And a "natural reaction" is no excuse: you're still empowering the likes of Hamas to destroy innocents, and labeling any person they employ as a shield who happens to die when Israelis defend themselves as an "innocent person killed by Jews" rather than a person dehumanized to living armor by a terrorist.

How are Arabs and Muslims responsible? Opposing a claim to Palestine based on religious text makes it their fault?

Yes, per the Hamas charter, Arabs and Muslims are responsible for claiming Palestine on the basis of religion. Zionism, on the other hand, was built on property rights in Jews historical homeland (buying land from Arabs, usually at many times the price an Arab would be charged) and the realization of all powers in WWI (including the defeated Caliph) that once the Turks were gone the only protection Jews had from Arab viciousness was either beneficient military occupation or sovereignty.

Those who support aggression against Pakistan's minorities are the same as those supporting Israeli aggression against Palestinian civilians.

You may SAY that but you can't cite examples, can you? On the other hand, you can point to many, many terrorists in Pakistan who cite the plight of the Palestinians and call for Israel's destruction.

RazorMC, I can't figure out if you are serious or if you are constrained by your society and the threat of violence to take a pro-Israel stance by presenting arguments that I can destroy via Reductio ad absurdum. Either possibility points to a Pakistan that's in big trouble with itself and its own values.

 

[Solomon2]

Look who is talking, a dog face pig. A country which has illegally occupied Palestine & are terrorizing the Palestinian people daily is talking about terrorism.

No, this is the Israeli ambassador speaking, not the Jordanian or Egyptian one. Jordan and Egypt illegally occupied the West Bank and Gaza Strip respectively until the Six-Day War. Under international law these territories were part of the Mandate for Palestine, to be held in trust until the Jews who were encouraged to "close settlement" of Palestine by the Mandate could assume sovereignty. Transjordan - the "East Bank" - was originally included in the Mandate as well but was split off by the Brits and accepted by the League of Nations.

In accordance with the Mandate, Jews respected the civil and property rights of Arabs and re-settled Palestine by straight purchase or on "state" lands. No Arab has ever been able to make the case that Jews "stole" their lands before independence; rather, independence was necessary because Arab violence against Jews convinced Britain it could no longer assume its responsibilities so they departed. The Jews were left alone to defend themselves as best they could - or else, perhaps, accept the half-hearted offer of the Jordanian king to accept him as their sovereign, without any guarantee of keeping their lives, liberties, or properties.

The Jews kept their commitment to Arabs and Israel remains 20% Arab; Israeli Arabs' property rights are intact, they buy and sell as they wish, as do many Jews. (This has led to an interesting situtation: in the Galilee a large amount of contiguous territory is now virtually all-Arab, as descendants of the Jewish settlers of a hundred years ago have sold out, whereas in Jaffa Arab smallholders are departing as rich Jews pay top dollar for seaside property.)

You should also note that Arabs were under the same obligation to respect Jewish civil and property rights in territories that came under Arab political domination but did NOT do so, kicking or terrorizing Jews away over the decades from WWI to today. Can you claim to care about Jews who lost their property to rapacious Arabs? Jews who had nothing at all to do with the Zionist project? You can't. So you know you are prejudiced and that you favor the criminal over the innocent. And whether Israel and the Jews survive or not, that attitude is ensuring the destruction of Pakistan itself, isn't it?

Isn't the real reason why Jews upset Arabs and the Muslims who support them that Jews have shown themselves to be better people, collectively, than Arabs and Muslims have or aspire to be, despite their religion (Christian or Muslim) claiming otherwise? Most Christians have surmounted this by examining the roots of their religion more closely, conceptualizing Jews as their "elder brothers", and paying attention to conduct over religion and creed. Is there hope for this approach in Pakistan today?

 

[PakistaniNinja]

Americans classify such statements at the typical Muslim excuse for doing little or nothing.

this shows what u think of muslims. you compare us( muslims) with ideology of Al qaeda that is lack of knowledge on your part. Alqaeda is the terrorrist organization that was created by USA to serve their purpose and still serving..we believe killing of one innocent human being is just like killing all mankind.
You said if More Germans died, it doesnt mean they were good guys so based on this u are saying that if more palestenians are dying it doent mean they are good guys. How can u be sure of that?
I think u dont know abc of history. Palestenians are those who are living there hundreds of years it is there home. Israelis are those who fled from Hitler's oppression and take shelter there. They were warmly welcomed and allowed to live. But unfortunately after world war 2 Britain became weak and she had to leave their occupied colonies hence she created bogus state and leave the matter unsolved so that arab will remain engaged in this ghost war. Britain did same with India and Pakistan they left the Kashmir issue unsolved so that we fools remain engaged and do not think out of it.
Bombing civilians by cluster bombs and other deadly weapons is Highest moral gounds???How??? I think no any sane person will agree with you on this viewpoint.

 

[RazorMC]

... Yet Israel does NOT believe that Muslims per se have to be its enemies, just that the majority of its enemies are now Muslims.

This, I can agree to some extent. But what about the Saudi peace initiative and Israel's response?

In what sense? In pointing out that most Muslims accept a lower standard of moral conduct than Israelis? That's annoying but what excuse is that for violence and terrorism?

Violence has no excuse, terrorists and Israel's heavy-handed military offensives alike.

That's not it. As The Last Lion points out, the Arab masses were shouting for genocide against the Jews immediately after WWI, long before there was an Israel, ...

Because of open intentions of the WZO to carve a state out of Arab lands.

That's it? "He's dead so we don't have to pay attention any more and are no longer guilty of following him"?

His following is gradually decreasing and critisized in maintstream media. But associating the shift with Israel will result in massive turn-arounds.

You tell me: are "some Muslims" enemies or all? And a "natural reaction" is no excuse: you're still empowering the likes of Hamas to destroy innocents, ...

Have you seen me supporting Hamas in any way? I oppose civilian deaths. That's all.

Yes, per the Hamas charter, Arabs and Muslims are responsible for claiming Palestine on the basis of religion. ...

Again Hamas and their charters...

You may SAY that but you can't cite examples, can you? On the other hand, you can point to many, many terrorists in Pakistan who cite the plight of the Palestinians and call for Israel's destruction.

Exactly, terrorists and a few other people cite this, but their calls are falling on more and more deaf ears.

RazorMC, I can't figure out if you are serious or if you are constrained by your society and the threat of violence to take a pro-Israel stance by presenting arguments that I can destroy via Reductio ad absurdum. Either possibility points to a Pakistan that's in big trouble with itself and its own values.

Not true. At least to a large extent. There are many people who would advocate better relations with Israel like Turkey did. There is growing realization to engage with Israel at an unofficial level and form relations later on. But it cannot be done overnight. There are years of "unrecognizing" to consider.

 

[Solomon2]

this shows what u think of muslims. you compare us( muslims) with ideology of Al qaeda -

No, I was thinking more along the lines of what the U.S. military experienced when the U.S. asked Arabs for their help fighting Al Qaeda and defeating insurgency in Iraq: the typical response has been Inshallah, meaning the person will do very little or nothing if he or she can help it.

that is lack of knowledge on your part. Alqaeda is the terrorrist organization that was created by USA to serve their purpose and still serving..

Lu-lu-land here, won't bother reading or responding to the rest of it.

 

[PakistaniNinja]

Lu-lu-land here, won't bother reading or responding to the rest of it.

yes you can not respond because you can not support your false claims. It is an other way of accepting your faults and thats good whether you are doing it intentionally or unintentionally.

 

[Solomon2]

This, I can agree to some extent. But what about the Saudi peace initiative and Israel's response?

The Saudi "peace initiative" involves the dissolution of Israel as a Jewish State and the subjection of Jews to the will of what will be an Arab majority that for generations has been inculcated with genocidal hatred of Jews. It involves the Jews taking all the risk and accepting responsibility for any untoward act committed by Arabs. The most likely result of such submission would be extermination of Israel's Jews, either physically or in spirit or by ethnic cleansing from the entire middle east, yes?

Violence has no excuse, terrorists and Israel's heavy-handed military offensives alike.

So if I assault your sister you have no right to stop me, nor call the authorities to deal with me if that involves violence, etc. etc. How do you propose to convince me you believe in your own words?

Because of open intentions of the WZO to carve a state out of Arab lands.

A "state" wasn't quite in the cards at that time but the designation of Palestine as the Jewish National Home - a land Jews could freely return to for settlement - was.

So the Jews wanted to return to their ancient homeland legally through land purchase and state land settlement and the Arabs' response was to seek genocide. Well, that's the whole issue right there, isn't it? The phony allegations of Israeli and Jewish misbehavior are just to camouflage Arabs' murderous intent and activity - the sort of injustice that leads to tyranny first at home and then abroad. This is the sort of thing you want to support?

The course of Arab leaders had actually been decided twenty years earlier, when the Mufti of Jerusalem proposed to his Turkish masters that terror be used to drive the Jews out of Palestine. The Turks said no. With the Turks gone, Arab leaders saw an opportunity to realize their wicked vision.

Have you seen me supporting Hamas in any way? I oppose civilian deaths. That's all.

The moment you accepted endorsing employing civilians as human shields is the moment you started supporting Hamas.

terrorists and a few other people cite this, but their calls are falling on more and more deaf ears.

It's not enough to be silent; you have to actively oppose their goals to change your society.

There are many people who would advocate better relations with Israel like Turkey did. There is growing realization to engage with Israel at an unofficial level and form relations later on. But it cannot be done overnight. There are years of "unrecognizing" to consider.

It's been over sixty years. It's wayyy past time to move forward, isn't it? Perhaps the only way now is the "overnight" approach that you've been mulling over in your mind: it's easy to see that the "incremental" approach will be vulnerable to terrorist setbacks (because you see attempts by Jews to defend themselves with deadly force as criminal) and I can't figure out how your textbooks can possibly be revised without a sudden shock.

Indeed, I can't figure out how Pakistan's textbooks can excise religious hatred and promote the values of a good citizen without explicitly endorsing Israel and praising it.

yes you can not respond because you can not support your false claims.

Be specific, Mr. Ninja.

 

[RazorMC]

The Saudi "peace initiative" involves the dissolution of Israel as a Jewish State and the subjection of Jews to the will of what will be an Arab majority that for generations has been inculcated with genocidal hatred of Jews. It involves the Jews taking all the risk and accepting responsibility for any untoward act committed by Arabs. The most likely result of such submission would be extermination of Israel's Jews, either physically or in spirit or by ethnic cleansing from the entire middle east, yes?

What if Israel agrees to certain conditions in return for the GCC guaranteeing certain Israeli rights? Won't the age old opinion of relating Israel to wars be damaged?

So if I assault your sister you have no right to stop me, nor call the authorities to deal with me if that involves violence, etc. etc. How do you propose to convince me you believe in your own words?

Point accepted. Same goes for the people in Palestine who saw their loved ones massacred at the hands of the Israeli military.

So the Jews wanted to return to their ancient homeland legally through land purchase and state land settlement and the Arabs' response was to seek genocide. Well, that's the whole issue right there, isn't it? The phony allegations of Israeli and Jewish misbehavior are just to camouflage Arabs' murderous intent and activity - the sort of injustice that leads to tyranny first at home and then abroad. This is the sort of thing you want to support?

Two sides to every story my friend.

The moment you accepted endorsing employing civilians as human shields is the moment you started supporting Hamas.

It's not enough to be silent; you have to actively oppose their goals to change your society.

Civilians are civilians, not human shields that can be ploughed through without remorse. People supporting this behaviour are supportive of war crimes.

It's been over sixty years. It's wayyy past time to move forward, isn't it? Perhaps the only way now is the "overnight" approach that you've been mulling over in your mind: it's easy to see that the "incremental" approach will be vulnerable to terrorist setbacks (because you see attempts by Jews to defend themselves with deadly force as criminal) and I can't figure out how your textbooks can possibly be revised without a sudden shock.

Indeed, I can't figure out how Pakistan's textbooks can excise religious hatred and promote the values of a good citizen without explicitly endorsing Israel and praising it.

If history has anything to teach, it's that nothing should be done overnight. It causes a natural opposition even from people who would have supported it had it come later. This is the way human society works. If anything is thrust upon us, then it has to be bad, right?

Change has got to be incremental, otherwise the shock will create more enemies than friends.

But cmon, Israel is not the center of all wordly goodness that you make it out to be. There have got to be better examples than that

 

[Solomon2]

What if Israel agrees to certain conditions in return for the GCC guaranteeing certain Israeli rights?

It would take centuries of goodwill and conduct by Arabs before such a guarantee would be considered by Arabs themselves as anything other than a deception, yes?

Won't the age old opinion of relating Israel to wars be damaged?

Not sure what you mean here. Did Israel giving the Sinai back to Egypt in exchange for peace stop militants from calling Israel a warmonger? No, because the impulse for terrorist violence, as the ambassador points out, is in the society, not in Israel's actions.

Point accepted. Same goes for the people in Palestine who saw their loved ones massacred at the hands of the Israeli military.

Can you think of ANY Palestinian Arab who witnessed such a "massacre" at the hands of the Israeli military?

Two sides to every story my friend.

I don't know what you mean here.

Civilians are civilians, not human shields that can be ploughed through without remorse. People supporting this behaviour are supportive of war crimes.

International law says the combatant who converts a human into his shield is the criminal. Nevertheless, Israel takes pity and tries to reduce even the casualties of the shields: the U.N. report I called attention to earlier also cites Israel's actions to warn civilians of upcoming attacks - though the UNHRC thought more could have been done here. (Unmentioned is another Israeli tactic, that of frightening and distracting Hamas' fighters so the human shields could run away from them.)

If history has anything to teach, it's that nothing should be done overnight. It causes a natural opposition even from people who would have supported it had it come later. This is the way human society works. If anything is thrust upon us, then it has to be bad, right? Change has got to be incremental, otherwise the shock will create more enemies than friends.

The Allies conquered most of France quickly in 1944 - did the French see that as a bad thing? Yet tactically I can only offer suggestions regarding local situations; people on the ground have to figure out the rest. Shock may be of greater value than you think, especially at inspiring hope in the downtrodden masses.

But cmon, Israel is not the center of all wordly goodness that you make it out to be. There have got to be better examples than that.

Are there really? What other country ever paid so much attention to the health and well-being of its declared enemies? What other country worked so hard to minimize casualties? What other country tries to target, if it can, individual terrorists rather than entire towns and universities? What other country, proportional to its size, has made so many advances beneficial to the human race in such a short period of time?

Not everything in Israel is good, in my opinion. But can you think of any other country which approached the kind of problems Israel has with anything close to Israel's admirable balances of strength with charity and justice with mercy?

 

[MadDog]

actually brother many of our members consider this man as hypocrite, and nobody listens to such man who favours murderers, who cash religious laws and play with their public's emotion for the sake of their benefit!!!

This man is speeching on one side and on other side........

A Palestinian man was shot during the clashes and transferred to a medical clinic. An Israeli soldier removed a Palestinian woman's veil after she prevented a settler from photographing her. Al-Aqsa Mosque is the third holiest site in Islam. Israeli violations at the site are a major source of anger for Palestinians. An Israeli officer attacked female Palestinian students inside the mosque and desecrated a copy of the Holy Quran, Al-Aqsa Foundation for Endowment and Heritage reported on Sunday. "One of the Israeli officers in the Al-Aqsa Mosque courtyard attacked two students from a girls' school near Buraq Mosque next to the Mughrabi Gate," foundation media chief Mahmoud Abu Atta said. The officer tried to chase the girls away to stop them reciting the Quran. When they refused, the officer kicked and walked on the religious book, Abu Atta said. A number of men and women gathered near the Mughrabi Gate to condemn the crime, he added. Al-Aqsa Foundation condemned the "heinous crime" against the students, blaming the Israeli occupation forces for what might happen as a consequence. The foundation called for prompt action to defend the sanctity of Al-Aqsa Mosque.

My friend...whatever injustice happens over there...I condemn it...absolutely..humanity is everything for me...but what irritates me the most is that while much more people are being killed by terrorism in Pakistani tribal areas and in attacks on shias,,..Pakistanis still worry more about gaza then their own country.....When recently IDF killed around a 100 innocent palestinians in gaza...the facebook profiles of my fellow pakistani friends were filled with condemnation of those acts...while in the same week around 200 shias were killed all over Pakistan...I didn't see one post condemning that. Gaza pales in comparison to what's happening in the Af-Pak region, yet many pakistanis suffer from this Gazasyndrome.
Too much obsecession with Gaza will lead us to a path of ruin...we should mend our own house first and then worry about Arabs or Israelis.

 

[niaz]

Below is the full text of the speech delivered by Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations, Ron Prosor, on February 28th 2013 on the subject of Incitement to Terror and Violence, at a United Nations Conference.

Ron Prosor, Israel's ambassador to the UN. Photo: UN Multimedia.​

Ladies and gentlemen,

It is an honor and a privilege to welcome you to this important conference. This event is an extraordinary opportunity for us to meet in the halls of the United Nations – and share our collective insight on combating global incitement.

First and foremost, I would like to thank the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs for organizing this conference. I’d especially like to thank Ambassador Dore Gold for leading our discussion this morning. Dore not only has nerves of steel when it comes to diplomacy, but also a gold standard when it comes to peace and justice.

I’d also like to welcome Yossi Kuperwasser, Director-General of Israel’s Ministry of Strategic Affairs, who is not only a great strategist, but also a dear friend.

Finally, I’d like to welcome Ambassador Alan Baker. As his name implies, Alan has a true gift for baking the right amount of charm and legal thinking to form the perfect recipe for diplomacy.

Ladies and gentlemen,

64 years ago, the United Nations ratified the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. The convention was written with the horrors of the Holocaust still fresh in the mind of the international community. One of the Convention’s key provisions made it a crime to “directly and publicly incite” to commit genocide.

Last August, Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad went on public television and insisted that (and I quote), “the very existence of the Zionist regime is…an affront to all world nations.” He called on “all human communities to wipe out the Zionist regime from the forehead of humanity.”

One does not need the analytical skills of a literature professor to detect the incitement to violence in these statements.

Yet, in the face of this explicit cry to destroy a UN member state, the UN barely said anything. And most of the world did not even utter a single word.

Their silence is deafening. And it is because of that silence that we are here this morning.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Terrorism does not begin with an attack on a bus or a raid on a village. That is how terrorism ends.

Terrorism begins when its perpetrators are indoctrinated with words and thoughts of hate.

It begins when prominent sheikhs claim that that it is a “sacred duty” to slaughter Christians – and that it is “not a taboo” to rape Christian women.

It begins when Ayatollah Abdollah Javadi-Amoli, a cleric based in Iran, tells his students that homosexuals are subhuman, inferior to even dogs and pigs.

It begins when people like Maulana Fazlur Rehman, a prominent Pakistani imam, tells his thousands of viewers on public television, (and I quote), “When the Jews are wiped out, the world will be purified, and the sun of peace will begin to rise.”

This is the kind of incitement that is poisoning the hearts and minds of the next generation, day in and day out. In classrooms, textbooks, and houses of worship across the globe, children are being taught hate instead of peace; violence instead of tolerance; and martyrdom instead of mutual understanding.

As technology evolves, so does the threat of incitement. Twenty years ago, Hutus in Rwanda used radio stations to label Tutsis “cockroaches” – and identify individual Tutsis to be publicly slaughtered.

Today, as we speak, Al Qaida splinter groups are publicizing terror attacks on Twitter – and turning their perpetrators into ji hadi celebrities.

In the new millennium, we face a new frontier of terrorism. Extremist groups have exploited the internet and viral videos to spread the virus of incitement.

Yet, while our enemies have embraced the technology of the future, our thinking about terrorism remains mired in the past.

Ladies and gentlemen, it is time for an update.

Contrary to conventional wisdom, counter-terrorism does not just mean combating terrorists wherever they seek to strike. It does not just mean dismantling terrorist infrastructure – and going after those who finance and support it.

True counter-terrorism means disrupting the ecosystem of extremism in which terror thrives. It means advancing education that teaches coexistence and peace. It means speaking out against clerics who preach bigotry and intolerance, even when it is politically inconvenient.

And most importantly, it means recognizing the danger inherent in simple statements of prejudice. In the right hands, these words can be as dangerous as a sword or a suicide belt. The Jewish people know all too well that before a nation is dehumanized by the barrel of a gun, they are dehumanized by words and thoughts of hate.

Just as the international community has an obligation to bring terrorists to justice, it must also pursue those who build the foundations of terror by teaching children to detest and despise.

We have already lost an entire generation to incitement. Today, those of us here proclaim, loudly and clearly, that we cannot afford to lose another.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Israel knows full well how indoctrination can poison the well for peace.

Just south of Israel’s border, in Gaza, the Hamas government has created an atmosphere of extremism that vilifies Israelis and Jews to the next generation.

Gaza Kindergarten graduations feature “terrorist dress-up,” where five-year olds stage plays that glorify jihadists and suicide bombers.

Families in Gaza watch public television sermons featuring Hamas ministers like ‘Atallah Abu Al-Subh, who recently claimed that (and I quote) “the Jews are the most despicable and contemptible nation to crawl upon the face of the Earth.”

Incitement is no less prevalent under Abbas in the West Bank as it is under Hamas in Gaza. Under the PA, students learn history from textbooks that glorify terrorists – and learn geography from atlases that erase Israel from the map.

Sports facilities, streets, and public buildings are named after terrorists, such as Dalal Mughrabi, a woman who led an attack on a bus that killed 38 Israeli civilians – including 13 children.

Imagine if the Norwegian government named a playground after Anders Breivik – or if the US named a park after Charles Manson. What kind of message would it send to the children who play there?

Official PA television—the PA’s PBS—airs programs that feature children as young as six reciting anti-Semitic and violent poems. Just months ago, for example, a little girl recited a poem that claimed, (and I quote) “[Christians and Jews] are inferior, cowardly, and despised.” Three days earlier, on a different program, another young girl insisted that (and I quote), “Our wars are for the Al Aqsa Mosque, and our enemy, Zion, is a Satan with a tail.”

This is apparently what passes for “educational television” under the Palestinian Authority.

From cradles to kindergarten classrooms; from the grounds of summer camps to the stands of football stadiums, messages of extremism are everywhere in Palestinian society.

In the international community, there is no shortage of individuals to lecture Israel about what it must do for peace. Yet these same “human rights advocates” stutter, mumble and lose their voices when it comes to criticizing Palestinian incitement.

Ignoring words and thoughts of hate does no favors to the Palestinian people. It does no favors to families who seek to build better lives for themselves and their children. And, perhaps most importantly, it does no favors to Palestinian leaders who advance the language of peace instead of the dogmas of hate.

Laying the groundwork for a stable peace in our region will not happen overnight. But those who would like to foster better relations between Israelis and Palestinians must start by speaking out against incitement in Palestinian society. The next generation—both Israeli and Palestinian—deserve no less.

Ladies and gentlemen,

An ancient Jewish proverb teaches (and I quote):

מָוֶת וְחַיִּים, בְּיַד-לָשׁוֹן

“The instruments of both death and life are in the power of the tongue.”

We have clearly seen how extremists use words to create a culture of death. It is now time for those of us in this room to create a testament to life.

Lies, myths, and half-truths assume a life of their own if they go unchallenged. Their repetition is like Chinese water torture. Drop after drop after drop, ideas that were once considered unthinkable become mainstream. All of us have a responsibility to publicly and vocally challenge these statements.

Today, we commit ourselves to speaking out against incitement.

Today, we proclaim that the best weapons against words of hate and discord are words of tolerance and understanding.

Today, we insist that silence cannot be an option in the face of expressions of extremism across the globe.

For the only way to dismantle an ecosystem of terror is to show zero tolerance for the indoctrination that causes it to thrive.

I want to thank you all for joining us today. Together, let us combat incitement and bigotry in all its forms – and replace words of hate with words of coexistence, mutual understanding, and peace.

Thank you.

Source: The Algemeiner

Jewish people have provided the world with the largest number of intellectuals than any other ethnic group. For example Nobel Laureates of Jewish origins have been Literature (13), Chemistry (32), Medicine (54) and Physics (50). Even Karl Marx had Ashkenazi Jewish ancestry, his maternal grandfather being a Dutch Rabbi. Household names such as such as Albert Einstein & Neils Bohr (Physics), Selman Waksman (Medicine- Streptomycin for treating Tuberculosis, Adolf Baeyer (Chemistry- organic dyes), Paul Samuelson & Milton Freedman (Economics) were Jewish born. Thus Jewish people as a whole have benefited humanity more than any other nationality or ethnic group and anyone who ignores this fact is either a bigot of the first order or totally ignorant. I have deliberately excluded Nobel Peace Prize winners and artists & musicians because their contributions are debateable.

I will be the first one to agree that two wrongs don’t make a right and that Ron Prosor is an articulate speaker and his speech to the UN conference should be applauded. I would also condemn any incitement to commit genocide against any nation or ethnic group without reservation.

Without denying that the fact Israel has been on the receiving end of numerous terrorist attacks; one should not get carried away and lose sight of the fact that there are ultra-right-wing parties in Israel such as Jewish National Front, Eretz Yisrael Shelanu and Kach & Kahane Chai of Rabbi Meir Kahane that are as anti-Muslim/Palestinian as LEJ is anti-Shia or Shev Sena is anti-Muslim. Many Israelis, Rabbi Meir Kahane in particular, have been vociferously advocating violence against the Palestinians.

Let us also not forget Yigal Amir, killer of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, who like Mumtaz Qadri – killer of Salman Taseer, believed that Rabin was a ‘Rodef’ thus deserved killing. However, some Jews considered Yigal Amir a hero of the Jewish people and one girl Larissa Trembovler was so enamoured of him that she married Yigal while he was in prison!

I still remember Sabra & Shatilla massacre where about 3,500 Palestinian & Shia Lebanese were massacred by the Phalangists followers of Elie Hobeika – Commander of Lebanese Christian Militia, with the tacit approval of Ariel Sharon, then Defence Minister & subsequently 11th Prime minister of Israel. Ariel Sharon was later voted 8th greatest Israeli of all time.

It goes without saying that Ahmedi Nejad & Maulana Fazlur Rahman's speaches were primarily aimed at making political capital out of the fact that successive Israeli Likud governments had been guilty of state terrorism against their Arab inhabitants and Israelis have no intention of vacating Golan Heights occupied following the 1967 war