PALESTINIANS (BY WAY OF JAPAN)

A Japanese View of the Palestinians
by Yashiko Sagamori

If you are so sure that 'Palestine’ is the country, which goes back through most of recorded history, I expect you to be able to answer a few basic questions about that country of Palestine:

• When was it founded and by whom?
• What were its borders?
• What was its capital?
• What were its major cities?
• What constituted the basis of its economy?
• What was its form of government?
• Can you name at least one Palestinian leader before Arafat?
• What was the language of the country of Palestine?
• What was the name of its currency?
• And, finally, since there is no such country today, what caused its demise and when did it occur?

You are lamenting the 'low sinking' of a 'once proud' nation. Please tell me, when exactly was that 'nation' proud and what was it so proud of?

And here is the least sarcastic question of all: If the people you mistakenly call 'Palestinians' are anything but generic Arabs collected from all over -- or thrown out of -- the Arab (Muslim) world, if they really have a genuine ethnic identity that gives them right for self-determination, why did they never try to become independent until Arabs suffered their devastating defeat in the Six Day War?

I hope you avoid the temptation to trace the modern day 'Palestinians' to the Biblical Philistines: substituting etymology for history won't work here

.The truth should be obvious to everyone who wants to know it. Arab countries have never abandoned the dream of destroying Israel; they still cherish it today. Having time and again failed to achieve their evil goal with military means, they decided to fight Israel by proxy. For that purpose, they created a terrorist organization, cynically called it 'the Palestinian people'……

In fact, there is only one way to achieve peace in the Middle East. Arab countries must acknowledge and accept their defeat in their war against Israel and, as the losing side should, pay Israel reparations for the more than 50 years of devastation they have inflicted on it. The most appropriate form of such reparations would be the removal of their terrorist organization (population) from the land of Israel and accepting Israel's ancient sovereignty over Gaza, Judea, Samaria…

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