Facts about Palestine

It is easy to be swept by emotion when dealing with the Zionist Occupation of the Palestinian homeland, and indeed some of the most powerful denunciations of this genocidal regime have been created in the form of poems or songs. On the other hand, it is only through hard facts that the intense Zionist media propaganda can be countered, especially when one wishes to educate those who primarily focus on their own private lives, blissfully unaware of Zionist machinations and how they affect every one, whether directly or obliquely.

In recommending a factual source of information, there is nothing really to equal the incredible work of Issa Nakhleh's 'Encyclopedia of the Palestine Problem'. As a member of the Bar, educated at London University to become an honourable member of Lincoln's Temple, Issa Nakhleh, although a passionate Palestinian patriot, approached the 'problem' of justice for Palestine in a strictly legal fashion. His work comprises 41 chapters with over a thousand pages of text, accompanied by extensive footnotes and photographic evidence. In his work, Issa Nakhleh provides a narrative of the history of Palestine from ancient to contemporary times. Beyond that, he manages to address every argument propounded by the Zionists and their supporters and to defeat every false theory, cutting at the very root of Zionism to utterly destroy any vestige of legitimacy either of the philosophy of Zionism or of its realisation in Palestine.

It has been difficult to find a copy of this book in recent years, but I was delighted to find that it has been published online. A link to the entire work is given in the link section dealing with the History of Palestine.
For those who wish to purchase books on the history of Palestine as well as current aspects of the situation, the Institute of Palestine Studies continues to offer academic works both in English and Arabic. Among them are the books by Walid Khalidi that have influenced more than one generation in making certain that neither Palestine nor the crimes of the Zionists ever would be forgotten. 'All that Remains' was one of the first efforts to create a precise catalogue that would make the world see how the Zionists had 'made the desert bloom' by soaking the land in Palestinian blood, destroying Palestinian villages and massacring or driving the inhabitants into exile.

This work inspired others and many projects now exist that are dedicated to the preservation of the memory of every Palestinian family and village. In terms of photography and photo-journalism, there are other excellent and inspiring works such as Edward Said's 'After the Last Sky' and the works of Azar on the Zionist invasion of Lebanon and the Intifada. Despite Edward Said's undoubted brilliance, I personally always have had a problem with 'After the Last Sky', finding its attitude nostalgic and defeatist rather than offering an aggressive promise of hope to the Palestinian people.

There are Jewish writers like Pappe, Benny Morris and Noam Chomsky who have made some contributions to history, and demonstrated some courage in discrediting Zionism. Unfortunately, when 'push comes to shove', most of them retreat into the fortress of racism that distinguishes the entire premise of a 'chosen people'. Even Noam Chomsky ultimately supports the racist Zionist state in limited form, choosing fantasy over reality rather than confronting the fundamental basis of Zionism as intrinsically racist and genocidal. These writers represent a group who are willing at least to debunk some of the Zionist propaganda but who will not support an unequivocal end to the Zionist entity. In failing to do so, they show themselves to be less than entirely trustworthy. Ilan Pappe, for example, attempts to argue that Zionist 'ethnic cleansing' of the Palestinian people, however criminal, is quite different in nature from genocide and he persists in supporting the special sanctity of the Jewish Hollowcause.

In fact, many of these writers will try to argue that their willingness to uncover the Zionist machinations that led to the Nakba as well as the continuing Occupation of the Palestinian homeland only proves that Jews somehow are the guardians of some higher standard of ethics and morality. Their work is rather like plea-bargaining in court: they will admit to some crimes in order to be exonerated of others. By admitting the facts of the Nakba, they appear to believe that the Palestinian people should be bound to compromise with respect to the continuing existence of the racist Zionist entity. In fact, the entire concept of the two-state solution, with its acceptance of a racist Zionist regime in part of the Palestinian homeland, fails to recognise the total lack of justification for the very existence of a political entity of this nature anywhere in this world.

In terms of the history of Palestine, however, original Jewish sources in the form of documents such as Moshe Sharett's diary are extremely important, as they provide unassailable evidence as to the truth of Zionism and its historical programme of destruction with respect to the Arab Nation as well as its aims with respect to the international community and nations throughout the world. If one examines the facts and the facts alone, one will be incapable of arguing in favour of the continuing existence of this 'rogue state' that threatens not only the Arab Nation but the entire world.