Murder in Jerusalem

by Sami Jamil Jadallah

When it comes to the killing and murder of innocent people there is no room for hypocrisy. Hypocrisy was plenty by main stream media, by politicians all over the US and Europe even in the Middle East in the aftermath of the cold blooded murder of 5 Jewish worshipers in Kehilat Bnei Torah synagogue in the West Jerusalem neighborhood of Har Nof. Non expressed shock, horror and indignation when Israel was targeting children and schools in Gaza killing thousands. They call it “collateral damage”. Interesting to note that Har Nof lies above the ruins and massacre of Dir Yassin.

Searching the news in main stream media and statements by politicians hardly anyone, in fact there was no mention of the cold blooded massacres of 29 Palestinians and the wounding of 125 by the American born-dual citizenship physician and rabbi Baruch Kopel Goldstein who in 1994 wearing the Israeli army uniform enter the Cave of the Patriarchs (Ibrahimi Mosque) in Hebron and open fire with his IDF issued automatic weapon on Muslim worshipers.

The news of the killing by Goldstein sent cheers and jubilation among tens of thousands of die hard Zionists Jews not only in Israel but also in the US, France, England among many other places. Condemnation by leading heads of states was slow in coming.

Rabbi Yaacov Perrin (no doubt much welcomed into the US) declared “ one million Arabs are not worth a Jewish fingernail” while Samuel Hacohen (another much welcomed into the US) a teacher at Jerusalem College declared Rabbi Goldstein “the greatest Jew alive”, while Rabbi Dov Lior (another much welcomed into the US) declared Goldstein “ holier than all the martyrs of the Holocaust”.

While much of Israel celebrated the cold blooded murder, the Israeli government took little if no actions to stem the incitement of hate by its own sponsored Jewish terrorists, the settlers of Kiryat Arba, where Goldstein was a leader.

There was no demolition of homes, hardly any arrests of any Jewish settlers who sang and dance at Goldstein gravesite. Israel left the tombstone and its epitaph untouched which read “ He gave his life for the People of Israel, its Torah and Land”. If this is not incitement of hate and call for killings of Arabs, I do not know what qualifies.

As a result of this massacre rather than put an end to the daily attacks by Jewish settlers, all of whom are issued arms and automatic weapons by the Israeli army, Benjamin Netanyahu and the late Yasser Arafat negotiated and signed In January 17, 1997 “The Protocol Concerning the Deployment in Hebron” under which Yasser Arafat agreed to put 120,000 Palestinian resident of the City of Hebron under virtual house arrest and permanent curfew while Israel allowed its several hundred armed settlers the right to roam the streets free, to attack and destroy as they wish with impunity.

The rising tension in Jerusalem was building over the years. Israel with sole control over both East and West Jerusalem has exercised deliberate measures to exclude tens of thousands of Palestinians from East Jerusalem. Israel allowed armed settlers to enter and confiscate Arab homes in Jerusalem, thanks to the generous funding of American Jewish philanthropists who generously give money and legal support to their criminal trespassers and hardly ever prosecuted any Jewish settler.

Moreover, Israel and for years have restricted Palestinians access to Jerusalem especially on Friday when tens of thousands of worshipers decent on Al-Aqsa Mosque for Friday prayer forbidding those under 50 to enter the mosque.

In the last couple of months, many “extremist” Israeli politicians (Palestinians are not the only one’s with monopoly on extremism) have been provoking religious sentiment of Muslims by coming to the Al-Aqsa Mosque in provocative moves designed to incite “religious wars” and pave the way to the division of the Al-Aqsa Mosque or Temple Mount between Jews and Muslims similar to what took place in Hebron at the Ibrahimi Mosque or the Cave of the Patriarchs, severely restricting access of Muslims to the Mosque.

Over the last years there has been many incidents of attacks by armed Jewish settlers on places of worships and the defacing of churches and mosques all over Israel and the Occupied West Bank with hardly any action by the Israeli government to put an end to the violence by these well funded and well armed Jewish settlers. Absence is real and credible condemnation of such attacked by leading politicians or mainstream media here in the US.

Israel and leading politicians in the US and Europe were outraged with the kidnapping and cold blooded murder of the three Israeli teen agers ( Naftali Fraenkel, Yaacov Naftali and Gilad Shael) but were not outraged when Israel began its “Operation Brother’s Keepers” where thousands of homes were raided and much personal property was destroyed, scores of Palestinians were wounded and killed and the homes of the two suspects Marwan Kawasmeh and Amar Abu-Isa were demolished and destroyed. Many innocent people paid heavy price due to Israel’s constant policy of arbitrary destruction and killings.

In contrast, when 16 years old Palestinian Mohamed Abu Khadeir was kidnapped in front of his house by Israeli settlers, was forced to drink gasoline and put on fire, there was muted condemnation, not the White House, not the State Department, not Congress called on Israel to take the usually quick measure of ‘demolition and destroying’ the homes of the Jewish suspects. Of course Israel only destroy the homes of Arab “suspects” but never Jewish suspects committing cold-blooded murder.

It is unlikely that the events of the last couple of days will result in a full fledged “Third Intifada” since Mahmoud Abbas and his $1.4 Billion annually Palestinian Security Forces are committed to keeping the Palestinian quite and in line while Israel continued with its policies of expanding settlements, large confiscations of land all over the West Bank and of course targeted killings, arbitrary arrests, house demolitions and detentions with no charges and the daily attacks and incitements at the Dome of the Rock. This is the real Oslo Accord.

Israel and since its annexations of East Jerusalem and its unification with West Jerusalem has expanded the boundaries to reach the outskirt of Ramallah proved with all of its security measure incapable of keeping the city safe and secure for ALL of its resident, Arabs and Jews. The PLO leadership proved its incapable of providing any kind of protections for Palestinians resident of the City of Jerusalem or any where else, and only capable of issuing stupid often repeated same condemnation of Jewish violence against Palestinians. Both Arab and Israeli leaderships unfit and unqualified to govern or let alone share the governance of Jerusalem. Jerusalem must be for All, Jews, Christians and Muslims and must be safe for all. Time to put the entire Occupied Palestinian territories including Gaza under international UN mandate and end the longest occupation in modern history.

Sami Jamil Jadallah

Sami, a Palestinian-American and a US Army Veteran (66-68), recipient of the “soldier of the month award and leadership award from the 6th Army NCO Academy, is an international legal and business consultant with over 40 years of international experience, in construction, hospitality services, conservation, and defense, in the Middle East, Europe, and North Africa. Sami is a holder of BA, MPA in Public and Environmental Affairs, Jurist Doctor from Indiana University. While at IU he was elected class president, student government president and chairman of the Indiana Students Association,

Active in peace movement as a co-author of the pre-amble for the One State for All of its people and voluntary service program SalamNation. A frequent contributor on national and international affairs. He resides in the United States.