Palestinian people do not exist!

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Abrahm - Abraham, Isaac, Ishmael, Israel, obama, Palestine, spiritual

Palestine or Israel: Whom shall we Trust?

Palestinian people do not exist! Not my statement, but that of an officer of the PLO!

Bold statement! The point made is that all Arabs, like Israelis, are descendants of Abraham. Spoken by whom? Some obscure Zionists? No!

Palestine Liberation Organization executive committee member Zahir Muhsein, March 31, 1977, said:

“The Palestinian people does not exist. The creation of a Palestinian state is only a means for continuing our struggle against the state of Israel for our Arab unity. In reality today there is no difference between Jordanians, Palestinians, Syrians and Lebanese. Only for political and tactical reasons do we speak today about the existence of a Palestinian people, since Arab national interests demand that we posit the existence of a distinct “Palestinian people” to oppose Zionism.”

Interesting information in light of President Obama’s disappointing overture to restore Israeli borders to pre-1967 war status. Remarkable statement in denial of a distinct Palestinian people. Furthermore, Zahir Muhsein stated, “the moment we reclaim our right to all of Palestine, we will not wait even a minute to unite Palestine and Jordan.”

“The general impression given in the media is that Palestinians have lived in the Holy Land for hundreds, if not thousands of years. No wonder, then, that a recent poll of French citizens shows that the majority believe (falsely) that prior to the establishment of the State of Israel an independent Arab Palestinian state existed in its place. Yet curiously, when it comes to giving the history of this “ancient” people most news outlets find it harder to go back more than the early nineteen hundreds.

History says there are two peoples, born of their father, Abraham, to step-brothers. Ishmael is the elder son of Abraham via Sarai’s (Abraham’s wife) slave woman, Hagar. Ishmael became the father of the Arab nations. Fourteen years later, Isaac was born of Sarai (Sarah), and although he was younger than Ishmael, he inherited the blessing of the firstborn and became the historical father of Israel. Naturally, there is a difference in the way this information is understood by Muslims, Israelis, and Christians. Suffice it to say, for the purpose of this debate, there is no mention of a Palestinian people any where in the mix.

The disputed area is in YELLOW. If Israel were to agree to the President’s suggestion, the central belt of Israel would be reduced to a mere 9 miles across, nearly indefensible in the face of Israel’s reality – surrounded by lethal enemies.

President Obama is building a clear record concerning his take on Middle East geography. “According to published reports, in January, 2009, by the Associated Press, President Obama authorized an emergency contribution of $20.3 million solely for “urgent relief efforts in the Gaza Strip.” Yesterday, in his important Middle East speech, “President Obama’s decision yesterday to become the first American president to directly and overtly declare that Israel must withdraw to its 1949 borders (pre-1967) was met with negative reactions both at home and abroad – particularly within the state of Israel, over 300,000 of whose residents currently live in the territories Obama demanded that the Jewish state cede to a future “state of Palestine.” This is an appalling decision and has left a bitter taste in the mouths of many especially in light of the historical non-existence of any reference to a separate and sovereign Palestinian state.

PRIME MINISTER NETANYAHU met with President Obama today (5-20-2011) and responded firmly :

“I think for there to be peace, the Palestinians will have to accept some basic realities. The first is that while Israel is prepared to make generous compromises for peace, it cannot go back to the 1967 lines, because these lines are indefensible, because they don’t take into account certain changes that have taken place on the ground, demographic changes that have taken place over the last 44 years. Remember that before 1967, Israel was all of 9 miles wide — half the width of the Washington Beltway. And these were not the boundaries of peace; they were the boundaries of repeated wars, because the attack on Israel was so attractive from them.”

Peace remains a dream, and we can only hope it is genuinely a dream for all who claim it is so!

Read more:

The Six-Day War

Allen West lashes out at Obama speech, declares ‘Palestine is a region, not a people or a state’ **UPDATE**

CBS Edits Obama Speech to Stir Israel Controversy

President Obama supports a two-state solution based on Israel’s 1967 borders. Do you agree? Take the poll!

After All is Said and Done, What REALLY Counts?

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character, Character Counts, character training, children, education, parents, schools, virtue

“Education without values, as useful as it is, seems rather to make man a more clever devil.”

C. S. Lewis

Heroine found in the backpack of a 7 yr old kindergarten student in Pittsburgh on Wednesday, 18 May. At least two problems jump out at me immediately. First, the obvious one: what is a 7 yr old doing with heroine? But then, why is a 7 yr old in kindergarten?

Is it just me, or is our society falling apart from within? The story above seems shocking to me, and yet it is nothing unusual really. A few times a month, we all hear of a child somewhere involved in some horrible, mind-blowing situation either on the giving or receiving end of violence, perversion, or self-indulgence.

“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.” Martin Luther King, Jr. We’re all familiar with parts of this speech, but what is his dream? In essence, it is that the character of individuals would define them rather than their appearance. Well … let’s take a look at character for a minute. Character is defined (dictionary.com) as the “characteristic property about something or someone.” It is not how we dress. It is not even how we generally behave, but what motivates us to behave the way we do that defines character.

Here are a few quotes on the subject of character:

• Most people say that is it is the intellect which makes a great scientist. They are wrong: it is character.
  Albert Einstein
• Character, not circumstance, makes the person. Booker T. Washington, American educator and civil rights activist (1856-1915).
• Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power. Abraham Lincoln
• Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are. John Wooden
• Only a man’s character is the real criterion of worth. Eleanor Roosevelt

Get the idea? Is character something we are born with? No! Character is learned which implies it must be taught. HERE is a huge list of character traits. These traits in and of themselves are generally neither good nor evil, but they influence a situation in either a positive or negative direction when applied! That is to say I may be angry about a political decision, but I can use that anger to motivate me to either do violence (bad) or work to bring about positive change (good). Character, at one time, was the central focus of education both from parents to children and from the public school system. Sadly, that has changed on both counts. Not only are parents not teaching character as rigorously as our great grandparents did, but schools have generally steered away from it in fear of political incorrectness or associations with religion.

Several years ago, I was in school for my MA in Education. The decreasing evidence of character in our society alarmed me, and as I was researching various topics in education, I came across “Character Counts.” “Josephson Institute develops and delivers services and materials to increase ethical commitment, competence, and practice in all segments of society. A nonpartisan and nonsectarian 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, the Institute is funded by individual donations, foundation and corporate grants, fees and contributions for services, and sales of publications, curricular materials, and other products. The Institute also works collaboratively with influential organizations and individuals in a variety of fields.”

Character Counts focuses on six pillars of virtue, and provides training and strategies for implementation and funding for use in public schools, sports programs, and many other organizations. Does it work? In a word, YES! The object is to build a solid foundation of character on the six pillars represented and defined by “a common language of core ethical values that transcend religious, political and socioeconomic differences.” The Six Pillars of Character®

Character Counts' 6 Pillars of Character

“Education without values, as useful as it is, seems rather to make man a more clever devil.” C. S. Lewis

The little 7 year old boy in Pittsburgh would be much better served by an educational curriculum that teaches him character as a foundation to the academic disciplines required. Beats throwing him into a the system and forgetting about him there. A generation of children is at stake as well as the future of this great nation. Freedom cannot long survive without it being defended by a people of character. “Virtue cannot exist without freedom, without the right to make moral choices.”