Friday, July 30, 1999

The Lessons of 1929


The Lessons of 1929
July 30, 1999

Not too long ago a journalist visiting Hebron asked me why the Jewish Community of Hebron so stubbornly refuses to accept protection from the Palestinian Authority. “After all,” he stated, “it is probable that in the near future all of Hebron will be part of the Palestinian State, including the Jewish neighborhoods where you live. Then you will have no choice but to accept protection from Yassir Arafat’s police force.”

Exactly seventy years ago, four Jews, three men and a woman, made their way from Jerusalem to Hebron. The woman’s name was then Rachel Yanait. She later married Yitzhak ben Zvi, the second president of Israel. The group came to Hebron representing the Haganah and brought with them weapons. The message they brought was not optimistic. The Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, Haj Amin el-Husseini was stirring up trouble.  His incitement was likely to lead to violence.

They offered the weapons to Hebron’s Jewish community as a means of protection, just in case the rioting reached Hebron. But Hebron’s leadership was not worried. The previous riots in 1921 left Hebron untouched. Hebron’s Arabs and Jews lived together as one big family. There were Arabs who spoke Yiddish and the Jews spoke Arabic. They attended each other’s weddings and other festivities. The Jewish women left their small children with the Arab neighbors when they attended to marketing. Rabbi Dov Cohen, now 87, then a 17 year old yeshiva student, told us how a group of young men hiked to Tarkumia, a few kilometers outside of Hebron. There, the Arab women greeted them with song and dance.

Hebron’s Jewish leadership refused to take the weapons, saying that they would only be interpreted as a provocation. The four members of the Haganah were politely thanked and sent back to Jerusalem as they had arrived, weapons in hand.

The riots and massacre occurring Friday evening and Saturday morning left 67 Hebron Jews dead and over 70 wounded. First-hand accounts of the atrocities speak of the unspeakable: rape, torture, castration. People were literally hacked to pieces. The British officer, Capperata, did nothing to try and stop the attacks. His Arab police force stood idly by while Jews screamed for help. A small number of Arabs hid Jewish families, effectively saving their lives. But the results spoke for themselves.

The British rounded up the survivors in the police station, then located at Beit Romano. They were left on the basement floor for three days, without food or water. The Jews were then evicted to Jerusalem, bringing to an abrupt end a Jewish community hundreds and thousands of years old. The British also prevented any pictures from being photographed in Hebron. The atrocities were vehemently denied.

After the questioning journalist heard these accounts he continued to query. “Do you then believe that all of Hebron’s Arab residents are terrorists.”

I explained to him that the perpetrators of 1929 massacre were friends and neighbors of the Jews the mutilated and slaughtered. One of the most loved Arabs in Hebron, a man named Issa, worked for the baker, Noah Immerman. Issa spoke Yiddish. Issa tortured his employer and then killed him. “If this is what happened when the Jews and Arabs were on friendly terms, what would happen today if Hebron’s Arabs thought they had the opportunity to repeat their deeds of August 1929 and get away with it?”

However, the lessons of 1929 reach much further than Hebron. During the 1929 riots Jews were killed in Jerusalem, Motza, Jaffa, and Safed. Hebron was the climax of Amin el-Husseini’s incitement. The present Arab leadership, including el-Husseini’s cousin, Yassir Arafat, and his nephew, Feisel el-Husseini, know too that it takes little to stir up the masses. Feisel el-Husseini proved this while orchestrating a decade of Intifada. Arafat proved it almost four years ago following the ‘tunnel opening” in Jerusalem, causing a minor war and leading to the deaths of Israeli soldiers.

The lessons of 1929 must teach us, not only in Hebron, but throughout the State of Israel, that we cannot and must not put our trust or our lives in the hands of anyone except ourselves. Surely we must not depend upon the ‘protection’ of a Palestinian armed force. Almost 300 Jews have been killed since Oslo began on the White House lawn in 1993. This, in spite of the fundamental premise of Oslo that the Palestinians will prevent violence and terror against Jews. Senior military officers admit that without cooperation from the Palestinian police force, Oslo is doomed to failure. In other words, our safety, as individuals and as a country, -  our lives and existance, are in their hands.

In Hebron, in 1929, we learned this lesson once, the hard way. There is no reason why should have to learn the lesson again, be it in Hebron, Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, or anywhere in the State of Israel.

David Wilder is a spokesperson for the Jewish Community of Hebron

Monday, July 26, 1999

AIDS


AIDS
July 26, 1999

Today will be recorded as an infamous date in the annuls of Jewish-Israeli history. This day may be recalled as the commencement of Arafat's assault of Jerusalem, strange as it may be, less than a week after Tisha b'Av, the day we mourn the destruction of the First and Second Temples. Historians will probably have difficulty explaining the inexplicable: How was it that the Jewish leadership of the Jewish state actually opened the door to our archenemies and invited them to besiege us!? And ironically, at the same time as the foe was greeted, the friend was expelled.
What am I talking about? This afternoon Abu-Ala, the otherwise called Ahmed Qurie, Chairman of the Palestinian Legislative Council in Gazza, visited the Knesset at the invitation of Israeli Knesset Speaker Avrum Burg.
Who is Abu Ala?
According to an official PLC web site (http://www.pal-plc.org/english/speaker/cv.htm) Abu-Ala was born in Abu Dis, Jerusalem, Palestine and spent 14 years in banking until 1968 when he devoted his time completely to the FATAH Movement. He was heavily involved in the "FATAH" Movement from its early beginnings as a member of its Revolutionary Council until he was elected as a member of its Central Committee in 1989.
Aside from these past terrorist activities with the PLO, Abu-Ala is now an articulate spokesman for Arafat's policies. Late last December, Abu-Ala, being interviewed by Arafat's daily newspaper in Gazza, El-Hayat el Jadidah, defined the borders of the 'soon-to-be created' palestinian state. He said then that they would be determined, not by the June 4, 1967 pre-Six Day War borders, but rather, by United Nations resolution 181. UN resolution 181 dates back to November 29, 1947 and is more commonly recognized as the 'partition plan' which divided Eretz Yisrael into 'an Arab entity and a Jewish entity' in his words.
Abu-Ala said, "the fact that we didn't take advantage of that resolution then doesn't mean that the it is invalid today." What Abu-Ala ignores is that Ben Gurion accepted the partition plan, not because he liked it, but because he had no choice. The Arabs rejected it and declared war on us. From November 30, 1947 until December 12 of that year 79 Jews were killed in Israel. From November 30 until December 31, the number rose to 200 Jews murdered by Arabs. On May 14, 1948, with the declaration of the Jewish State of Israel, they officially declared war, with the intention of wiping us off the map. That was the Arab reaction to UN resolution 181.
What other gems has Abu-Ala come up with? (ZOA Press Release: July 22, 1998)
The Jerusalem Post reported on July 13, 1997, "Qurei walked over a freshly burned Israeli flag during a protest in Ramallah [on July 12, 1997]...A TV camera caught Palestinian protesters burning an Israeli flag as leading Palestinian Authority and PLO officials watched. Witnesses said Qurei smiled as he watched two Palestinian men burn the flag and then stepped over its charred remains.
"If Israel does not honor the agreements, the Palestinians will also ask for Haifa, Jaffa, and Safed [cities within Israel's pre-1967 borders]...The response to the continuation of the occupation will be more dangerous than the intifada...the arms available...and the organizing is better than in the past...The alternative to peace will be bad for the Israelis, something which they do not want. The Palestinian people will oppose the occupation, from children to adults, including the Palestinian police. The Israelis must know that the Palestinians have many options and choices." (Qurei, in an interview with the Tunisian newspaper Al Sabach, quoted in Ha'aretz, December 6, 1996)
Asked by the BBC Radio on February 17, 1997, what the Arab response would be if Israel built houses in the Har Homa neighborhood of Jerusalem, Qurei replied: "No doubt there will be an explosion."
"Abu Ala, one of the Oslo accord's architects, threatened if Palestinian demands are not met, 'We'll take a different route and return to the past.'" (Jerusalem Post, June 5, 1996)
In an interview with the Cairo radio station Sawt Al Arab, "Qurei called for a firm Arab stance to prove that there would be neither peace nor normalization of relations between Israel and the Arabs if the Jewish state continues its settlement activities in the Palestinian land." (Xinhua News Agency, Aug. 5, 1996)
Asked by the BBC Radio on February 17, 1997, which parts of Jerusalem should be negotiated between Israel and the PLO, Qurei replied: "Not East or West--Jerusalem, the whole of Jerusalem."
And the list goes on and on and on.
It is also interesting to understand WHO invited this terrorist to visit the Israeli parliament. Perhaps this is the place to interject a short, true story, appropriate to this date and time.
In the late summer of 1929, in the midst of the riots and massacre which left 67 Jews dead in Hebron, an Arab landlord named Abu Zeini, on his way to Jerusalem, returned speedily to Hebron, to the home of his Jewish tenants, Rabbi Ya'akov Slonim and his family. Seeing a bloodthirsty mob approaching the house, he stood on the steps outside, blocking their way. He refused to allow the other Arabs into the house, telling them that they would have to kill him first. A knife blade was placed against his throat, drawing blood, but not causing any real damage. Finally the mob went elsewhere, and Rabbi Slonim, his wife and daughter were saved. The daughter, Rivka Slonim, later married Yosef Burg, an important Israeli Israeli politician with the National Religious Party. He served as a minister in several Israeli governments. Yosef and Rivka Burg's son is the present Speaker of the Israeli Knesset, Avrum Burg.
What are Avrum Burg's thoughts concerning Hebron? A few years ago, following Netanyahu's election, Burg participated in a live television interview broadcast from Hebron. On camera, his Hebron counterpart, Rabbi Hillel Horowitz, welcomed Burg back home to Hebron, the city of his direct descendants, going back to the early 1800s. Burg exploded. Following the show, when we tried to speak calmly with Avrum Burg about Jewish heritage in Hebron, Burg, (who is a 'religious' Jew), shook his finger at us and furiously exclaimed, "Bnei Esav Atem - Bnei Esav Atem" which translated literally means, "You are the sons of Esau (Isaac's son - Jacob's brother)."
This same Avrum Burg invited Abu Ala to officially visit the Israeli Knesset, five days before the 70th anniversary of the massacre in Hebron.
At the same time that this Arab terrorist was in the Knesset, three former members of the outlawed Kach movement were invited to visit the Israeli parliament by MK Michael Kleiner, in protest of the Abu Ala disgrace. However Israeli security guards refused to let them in. Eventually they gained entrance and met with MK Kleiner in his office. Shortly after their arrival, members of the Knesset guard demanded that they be expelled from the Knesset because MKs Achmad Tibi and Talab A'sana complained that the former Kachniks had yelled at them 'terrorists.' Their host, MK Kleiner, refused to hand the three Jews over to the Knesset guard. Only after they concluded their meeting did they agree to leave the Knesset of their own accord.
Israel is suffering from AIDS, twice over. AIDS are initials for the ARABS IN DISGUISE SYNDROME. The Arabs are 'dressing up' as good guys, and are slowly but surely infiltrating Israel. (So we have also witnessed with the appointment of Arab MK terrorists to the most sensitive Knesset committee, dealing with security and defense issues. They will undoubtedly be a direct pipeline to those who most need such secret information, their real bosses, Arafat and Achmad Yassin, in Gazza.) They are infiltrating AT OUR INVITATION.
This syndrome is going to have the same effect as the other AIDS we know, the medical kind, which, destroying the body's immunization systems, wears a person down until he has nothing left to fight off the other deadly diseases attacking the rest of the body. This is what the Arabs are doing to us, step by step, day by day. Today's episode is another example. But this example is much more serious, because the supreme Israeli legislature has presented our enemy with an official foothold, not only in the Parliament, but in Jerusalem too, the very same Jerusalem which, according to Abu Ala, belongs to him.
In my humble opinion we are in need of an AIDS vaccination ASAP, allowing us to obliterate this deadly disease before it kills us first.

Thursday, July 15, 1999

Wind It Up and Let It Go


Wind It Up and Let It GoJuly 15, 1999

It is definitely an interesting scenario. The newly elected Prime Minister
of Israel walks into the President's study at the White House. The two men
are holding their first meeting together and it is an entirely private
affair. Only the two of them. Ehud Barak sticks out his hand, wanting to
give Clinton's hand a hearty shake without having any cameras record the
deed.
Suddenly Clinton lunges at Barak. Rather than return the hand shake, the
President, a large key in his right hand, thrusts towards Barak's stomach.
Barak, is totally stunned, virtually paralyzed. Clinton tugs at Barak's
shirt, revealing the Prime Minister's belly button. He plunges the large
key into his tummy and begins twisting it, again and again and again.
Suddenly Barak, glassy-eyed and breathing heavily, opens his mouth and
begins to sing a soft melody. The tune repeats itself, louder and louder,
faster and faster and faster. Then, without any advanced warning, the
former Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Force begins dancing. First,
he spins around, again and again. Then he starts trotting in a small
circle, going around and around and around. And finally, to top it off, he
claps his hands rhythmically to the beat of his song and dance.
Meanwhile, Bill Clinton, tapping his foot to the beat, is busy recording
the event for posterity. The President can't stop smiling. Actually, it is
more like a laugh. Such fun!
After a while, Barak slows down, and the President's camera battery
empties. After a short break, William J. and General Ehud sit down to talk.

"Gee, that was fun," exclaims Clinton.
"Glad you liked it Bill," responds the Israeli PM. "If you'd like we can do
it again sometime." Under his breath Clinton remarks, "Oh we sure will,
sooner that you think."
The host offers his guest a drink and almost immediately after a few sips,
Barak slumps over, fast asleep. Clinton calls out the forces.
"Come on Doc - get to work - we don't have much time."
The doctor lies Barak on his stomach, gets out his needle and a piece of
very thick thread, and goes to work. Shortly the task is completed. The
doctor disappears. The PM wakes up and remembers nothing of the ordeal.
Barak begins. "OK Bill, let's get down to business. Now first, just know
that with all of the election propaganda and all that, Bibi and I
really aren't that far apart. If you think for one minute that I will
implement the Wye River Accords without getting anything in return from
Arafat, you are 100% off base. Actually I'd like to hold off on Wye until
we reach a final status agreement."
Clinton just sits there, a small grin on his face. He starts pulling on the
string at his side and instantly Barak jerks up. Clinton begins wrapping
the string around his little finger, and Barak begins twisting and turning.
Now Clinton hums a song to himself, enjoying the show.
Eventually he stops, seats Barak and comments, "It's been a long time since
I had so much fun. Just like a little kid with a new toy."
An interesting scenario, indeed.
This is, more or less, what Clinton has planned for Barak. He has only one
goal. To twist the Prime Minister of Israel, and together with him, all of
the State of Israel, around his finger. He has invited Barak to meet him at
an office inside his inner sanctum, within his private residence in the
White House, rather than in the more formal Oval Office. The first meeting
is scheduled for between two to three hours. Later, the two, together with
their spouses, are helicoptering to Camp David for an intimate dinner.
Just the four of them, Bill, Hillary, Ehud and Navah, to be followed
by a late night "chat" and concluding with a 'family breakfast.' Such fun.
Just like a little boy with a new toy.
Clinton is rolling out the red carpet, but he doesn't intend that Barak
will walk on it. Rather, he plans on wrapping Barak up in it. The
President of the United States has a major problem. In a little over a year
he will cease to rule, and he fears leaving office with the stain of
impeachment being remembered as the highlight of his administration. He
would prefer to retire in a blaze of glory, being known in the history
books as the true "peace chief," of the Middle East. Of course, he really
doesn't care if the peace is real or imagined. What is important is that
the treaty is signed on the White House lawn - Arafat on one side, Barak
on the other side, and you know who in the middle.
But there are factors Clinton hasn't taken into account.
Don't misunderstand. Barak is not my cup of tea. Ask me if I trust him?
No way. But when the US president has the audacity to say that he is
waiting for Barak the same way that way a child anticipates a new toy, he
is not only insulting Barak. He is insulting all of Israel. The US
president believes that he can wine and dine and then pull the strings.
He is wrong.

In some ways this scenario reminds me of a story we all know. I usually
don't quote Bible stories, but today is an exception
'And the Pelishtian said to David, "Am I a dog, that thou comes to me with
sticks? And David said, "I come to you in the name of the L-rd of hosts,
the G-d of the armies of Yisrael, whom thou has taunted. On this day the
L-rd will deliver you into my hand - I will smite thee. and all the earth
will know that there is a G-d in Israel." '
The encounters between Clinton and Barak are not entirely similar to the
rendezvous between David and Goliath. Their weapons are different. And more
problematic is that Barak may not even realize whom he is up against. He
might not even know that G-d is on his side. But if Clinton thinks that he
can wind up the Prime Minister of Israel and let him go, he is mistaken.
For more than Barak represents his own erroneous political philosophies, he
represents the People of Israel. When Clinton taunts Barak he is scorning
Am Yisrael and the G-d of Israel.
Should Barak not realize that he is being jerked around on a string from
his behind, we will inform him. And if he is forced to dance to the tune
of the White House Music Box, then some how, some way, the spring will
break. But the truth is that I think that Barak will know - because he is
much smarter than Clinton makes him out to be. And more importantly, I
think he has some national pride. I'm sure Barak agrees that the People of
Israel cannot be jerked about on a string. Barak and Am Yisrael are
not a new toy in the hands of a child, even if that child happens to be
named President Bill Clinton.

Friday, July 9, 1999

From the City of David to the City of David


From the City of David to the City of DavidJuly 9, 1999

This morning I left Hebron with my oldest son, travelling north to
Jerusalem. Today however, we didn't make the trip to go shopping or do any
other errands. Our goal was a tour of Ir David - the City of David,
otherwise known as the village of Silwan, to the east of the Old City,
across for the Ashpot Gate, leading to the Kotel (Western Wall).
I don't intend to give you all the details of the tour, except to say that
it was fascinating. Working as a tour guide myself, I can appreciate well
presented explanations. Inbal, the young woman now finishing her year of
volunteer service at Ir David, was excellent. And then again, she had what
to speak about.
When the tour finished we met with David Be'eri, the man responsible for a
Jewish presence at Ir David. Be'eri told us that 10 years ago not only
didn't Jews live at Ir David. Jews could not get anywhere near it. The Arab
village of Silwan was a terrorist nest, and an extremely dangerous one at
that. Be'eri, a retired ranking army officer, began years of painstaking
detective work. His discoveries of Jewish owned land, purchased by Baron
Rothchild over a hundred years ago, led to the founding of a private
non-profit organization called "El Ad - El Ir David." This organization,
with Be'eri at its helm, began redeeming Jewish houses and property. Today
twenty families live in the ancient Ir David, and with G-d's help, others
will join them.
Why should people live today in the original Jerusalem, populated by King
David 3,000 years ago, following the initiation of his kingship in Hebron?
David Be'eri was quite clear "Arab Silwan is growing by leaps and bounds.
You can see that on top of all the older homes are one or two new floors.
They are building and building and building.
The hill behind the Silwan village is called Abu Dis. Abu Dis is the
planned 'capital' of Arafat's palestinian state, a fact accepted by the
Arabs and many Israeli politicians. Arafat is planning on building a huge
Arab city, starting at Abu Dis, going through Silwan, and leading into the
Old City and Temple Mount. This is his way of enabling Abu Dis, the capital
of 'palestine' to actually include Jerusalem and Temple Mount. This is what
we must prevent."
This can, and will be prevented by people like Be'eri and other Jewish
families who now live, scattered about, in the ancient City of David. And
to prevent any misunderstandings, they live very nicely with there Arab
neighbors. We saw one house which, on the first floor is Jewish, the second
floor is Arab, and the top floor is again Jewish.
So much for the politics. We entered a huge water pit, recently uncovered,
which is possibly where the prophet Jeremiah was thrown into when he tried
to convince the ancient Israelis not to sin. We sloshed a half a kilometer
through the ancient Shiloach tunnel, carved out of the rock by King Hezkiah
2,800 years ago, to bring water into Jerusalem. His workers began digging
from the two opposite sides of the mountain, meeting near the middle. An
ancient plaque, carved into the stone wall, describes the emotions when the
two sides met, just as they were supposed to. Children splashing around
there in the water a hundred years ago discovered that plaque which today
sits in a museum in Turkey.
Any of you who are regular readers of this commentary are aware how close
Hebron is to my heart. Hebron was the first City of David. But this site,
which I had the privilege to experience today, is the eternal City of
David, the eternal capital of Israel. I would suggest that all of you
coming to visit in Israel plan two very special days first, spend a day in
Hebron, seeing here the ancient Jewish sites, including the newly uncovered
archeological excavations at Tel Hebron/Tel Rumeida. Then, the next day,
spend 3-4 hours following in the footsteps of David HaMelech, seeing and
feeling the ancient Ir David. Of course, at both places, Hebron and
Jerusalem, the old meets the new and that also is an enchanting experience.
You too can go from the City of David to the City of David.
For more information
Hebron - see http//www.visit.hebron.org.il or call Moria at 972-2-9962323
or email hebron@hebron.org.il
Ir David - The City of David call 972-1-800-25-24-23 or 972-2-581-8989 or
fax 972-2-581-8987.
I can guarantee you two days which you will never forget!

Friday, July 2, 1999

The Eye of the Storm


The Eye of the StormJuly 2, 1999

Yesterday Bill Clinton said during a news conference "I would like it if the Palestinian people felt free and more free to live wherever they like, wherever they want to live." He also said that "settlements are a provocation." He expects Israel to immediately implement all agreements signed with Arafat, i.e., the Wye River Accords.
Mossy Raz, head of Shalom Achshav (Peace Now) in Israel, in an interview with Aharon Lerner of IMRA said
IMRA What is the position of Peace Now on the right of return?
Raz The right of return exists.
IMRA And?
Raz They have the right of return. But they don't have the right
to realize that right. Basically, those who want to return to Jaffa
are exactly like the Jew who wants to return to Hebron. Both the Jew
who wishes to return to Hebron and the Palestinian who wants to
return to Jaffa are extremists who will have to forego their desires.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Well folks, it's beginning. And this time, it may be the real thing. No beating around the bushes, no agreements that can be interpreted 50 ways in 20 languages. The crunch is upon us.
The pressure is going to come from all sides. Here we have it. The President of the United States has one year left in the White House. His place in history is heavily stained with the stamp of IMPEACHMENT. He would like nothing more than to go out in a blaze of glory, in the shape of a major international peacemaker Israeli peace with Syria and Israeli peace with the palestinians.
Arafat is on his way out. He is very ill and everyone knows it. He too would like to see the materialization of his dreams a palestinian state in all of Judea, Samaria and Gazza, paving the way, in his eyes, to the end of the State of Israel.
Hafez Assad, President of Syria is in a similar situation. He would be very happy if his son's inheritance includes all of the Golan Heights.
And then there is the Israeli left. Who is leading the Israeli left is yet to see. Nominally, Barak is in charge. But there are those looking over his shoulder who have the ability to take him by the nose and lead him down their path. People such as Shimon Peres, Yossi Beilin, Yossi Sarid, Haim Ramon and others are just waiting for their chance.
This is no secret. Barak knows it. The big question is whether he will control them or if they will control him.
Where is Barak? The truth is that nobody really knows. On the one hand he sees himself as successor to Yitzhak Rabin. On the other hand he replied in no uncertain terms to Clinton's remarks, dismissing them out of hand.
Barak also knows that, in spite of the large coalition he has put together, at best it can be described as fragile. The far left, sitting together with Shas and the Mafdal (National Religious Party) is not going to be an easy marriage. Already, astute political commentators are not giving this government a full four years. (From their microphones to G-d's ears.) Yossi Sarid as Minister of Education, in the same cabinet with Rav Eliyahu Swissa in Religious Affairs and Rav Yitzhak Levi in the Building Ministry isn't a very appetizing stew.
Therefore Barak knows that whatever he is going to do, he must do in a hurry, before it all falls apart. He saw with his own two eyes what happened to Netanyahu and realizes that he could easily face the same fate.
What then, are we to do about this bizarre scenario, which is due to begin down the yellow brick road next Wednesday? There are no hocus-pocus solutions. Barak has promised that a final status agreement with Arafat, and/or treaty with Syria will be brought to a national referendum. We then have few choices either to try to prevent such a referendum from every occurring, or to make sure that if it does occur, we win and they lose.
Either way, it is not going to be easy.
For quite a few months now we have been perched in the eye of the storm. In reality, the winds, lightening and thunder continue to convulse all around us, while we have been sitting relatively quietly on the sidelines, waiting to see what will happen. The time for sitting and waiting has come to an end.
We must now, all of us, go back to full time work and help to prevent the calamity in the planning. Our efforts must be both short term and long term, perhaps first trying to explain to an uncomprehending Israeli public why Arabs who want to live in Jaffa are NOT the same as Israelis who want to live in Hebron. Perhaps if they understood what Hebron is, they would not think this way.
In any event, this is what we are up against. We cannot and should not live under any illusions. The road ahead is going to be rough. Our job is to do everything we can, within the frameworks available to us, to prevent an international onslaught aimed at chopping up the Jewish State of Israel into indefensible little pieces of land that would leave us with very little left.
With G-d's help, we will succeed.