Personal attacks to silence the truth
By DR. MOHAMMED ALHATOU Wednesday, March 11, 2009I want to first take note that Mr. Connor didn't respond to any of my claims. He instead repeated misleading and incorrect perceptions of the history and events that occurred in Palestine and the Middle East.
We need to spread tolerance, not hatred. There is no need for false accusation even if we have different views of the current human crisis in Gaza. Every human life is sacred, regardless of race, religion, color or wealth. I am not a defender of Hamas or al-Qaida theologies as Connor implied. In fact, al-Qaida harmed Muslims and Palestinians much more than it did Israel. I study and listen to all sides of the story. I do not accuse Jews or stereotype Israelis. Connor, whether intended or not, does accuse and stereotype Palestinians and Muslims. The desire for peace is not limited to a race, religion or nationality.
I can give quote after quote about the mosques and churches that Israel destroyed. In 1969 Zionists burned and heavily damaged part of the al-Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. Israeli authorities would not help in extinguishing that fire
Connor goes on to distort the history. The Israeli cabinet voted in on Feb. 20, 2005, to destroy Jewish communities in Gaza. Mr. Connor claimed that the Palestinians did.
Let's make some comparisons. Since Israel withdrew from Gaza in September 2005 'til today, the estimates run between 12,000 and 18,000 heavy artillery shells have been fired into Gaza. On the Palestinian side, it is estimated that approximately 600 Kassam missiles, which are crude missiles, have been fired into Israel. So we have a ratio of between 20 and 30 to one.
Let's look at casualties. In the last six months, approximately 1,500 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza due to Israeli artillery firing. There have been approximately 10 Israelis killed in the last five years from the Kassam missiles. More than 150 Palestinians had been killed for every Israeli who died. Again, we have a huge disproportion, a huge discrepancy.
Connor says Israel has a responsibility to protect its citizens. I agree with that. By the same reasoning, Hamas, the elected government of the Palestinians, has a responsibility to protect its citizens
Therefore the question is whether or not there is a fundamental difference between what Israel does and what the Palestinians do, (apart from the fact that Israel does it in a much higher proportion than Palestinians). Under international law and here I can quote the president of Tel Aviv University, Yoram Dinstein, who's one of the leading international experts on these matters "There's no difference whatsoever between intentionally targeting civilians and indiscriminately firing into a civilian crowd."
So if Hamas blows up a bus, as it used to do in Tel Aviv, that's terrorism. When Israel drops a 1-ton bomb on a densely populated neighborhood in Gaza, as it did repeatedly last month, that is also terrorism.
Extremists who justify their violent actions by invoking some particular interpretation of a religion can be criticized without degrading the entire religion.
Thus, extremists who justify their violent actions by invoking some particular interpretation of Islam can be criticized without implicating the enormously diverse population of Muslims around the world. Look at an example in this country, the Oklahoma City bombing by Timothy McVeigh. He was an adherent of the racist Christian Identity sect. No one called this "Christian terrorism."
In summary, I encourage readers to consider both sides of this tragic story of Israel and Palestine, because if that is not done, there will never be a resolution to this conflict.
God Bless America.
Orangeburg physician Dr. Mohammed Alhatou lived in Gaza as a child.
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cherokee wrote on Mar 18, 2009 7:38 AM:
Most certainly they are inflaming both Muslims and Israelis. Pitting one side against the other. "
bravo14sc wrote on Mar 18, 2009 12:08 AM:
ppmotors7 wrote on Mar 16, 2009 2:03 PM:
So if some one should leave it should be coward racist like Bravo14 ( Connor supporter). If you hate blacks and minorities go to Israel. Get out. "
alhatou wrote on Mar 16, 2009 11:53 AM:
fmd237 wrote on Mar 15, 2009 2:06 PM:
Just be against "those people"- whatever group is the political enemy of the day- blacks, gays, arab- americans, pro-choice- the enemies list is endless-
Bill Conner may be a good guy, but he talks the same old right wing religious line-
you can be religious but not want to mix your politics with it-that , again is how the GOP has become lost in the wilderness- anyone heard of separation of church and state?????? "
bravo14sc wrote on Mar 14, 2009 9:13 AM:
orangeburger wrote on Mar 14, 2009 8:34 AM:
US foreign policy MUST NOT be dictated by any particular faction including Israel. It would be suicidal to our own interests. US does best when it sticks to core issues like trade, education, industrial development. We have proved absolutely inept over the past 50 years in foreign policy and in a large measure responsible for regional instability in several countries around the world by escalating arms race ( just blindly put your finger on the map of the world!). Today information spreads very rapidly, but unfortunately is selectively harvested by those who want to distort the truth. One good lesson from all the comments is "HIT THE BOOKS- Read to get educated and you shall be wiser!"
Thank you to Alhoutu and Connor for sparking this wild but exciting debate. We need to have these kinds of debates on provocative issues in high schools to get the kids academically inclined. That is what they do in foreign countries and also the US ivy league schools! "
south wrote on Mar 13, 2009 11:33 PM:
By the way the number of crimes committed in Saudia Arabia a year is less than what occur in California a month. You are intolerant to Arabs, Muslims, Democrats, Blacks and Native Americans. I know that you been defending B. Connor and probably you spent time with him in Afghanistan. That how you both think the same way. You are part of his team for the next election. "
alhatou wrote on Mar 13, 2009 10:32 AM:
U.S. NEWS
MARCH 10, 2009, 7:47 P.M. ET
Message from Charles Freeman, "The libels on me and their easily traceable email trails show conclusively that there is a powerful lobby determined to prevent any view other than its own from being aired, still less to factor in American understanding of trends and events in the Middle East. The tactics of the Israel Lobby plumb the depths of dishonor and indecency and include character assassination, selective misquotation, the willful distortion of the record, the fabrication of falsehoods, and an utter disregard for the truth. The aim of this Lobby is control of the policy process through the exercise of a veto over the appointment of people who dispute the wisdom of its views, the substitution of political correctness for analysis, and the exclusion of any and all options for decision by Americans and our government other than those that it favors.
There is a special irony in having been accused of improper regard for the opinions of foreign governments and societies by a group so clearly intent on enforcing adherence to the policies of a foreign government - in this case, the government of Israel. I believe that the inability of the American public to discuss, or the government to consider, any option for US policies in the Middle East opposed by the ruling faction in Israeli politics has allowed that faction to adopt and sustain policies that ultimately threaten the existence of the state of Israel. It is not permitted for anyone in the United States to say so. This is not just a tragedy for Israelis and their neighbors in the Middle East; it is doing widening damage to the national security of the United States"
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123672847973688515.html "
cherokee wrote on Mar 13, 2009 8:13 AM:
Israel is being set up by a political-religious faction in the US and, indeed, other Countries such as Britain. This faction is the zealous Christian Right movement composed of zealots of both parties.
The Christian Right movement is dedicated to the establishment of a "Christian" (White) Country run by this movement. If one were to analyze the records of Congressmen and Senators, you will find that there is a large percentage who hold beliefs not consistent with the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. In fact, their beliefs track the manifests of the Neo-Nazi movement.
Many of the people involved in this movement are believers that they can hasten the second coming of Christ by causing conflicts between Muslims and the Jewish State of Israel.
No. I am a Christian who believes that Christ was born to teach TOLERANCE rather than INTOLERANCE and WAR and that his Second Coming would usher in a Reign of Peace across the Globe. However, I do not believe that this Coming can be hasten by any Mortal.
PS. There is enough literature out there that supports the above. Conner's book support his ideals, for example, while he and his supporters lash out against the opposite view. Note some of my previous and future quotes from authoritative sources.
God Speed. "
pedingsgang wrote on Mar 13, 2009 5:57 AM:
bravo14sc wrote on Mar 13, 2009 12:59 AM:
south wrote on Mar 12, 2009 7:43 PM:
I recommed reading former President Jimmy Carter book “Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid. He said; “Forced segregation in the West Bank and terrible oppression of the Palestinians create a situation accurately described by the word. I made it plain in the text that this abuse is not based on racism, but on the desire of a minority of Israelis to confiscate and colonize Palestinian land. This violates the basic humanitarian premises on which the nation of Israel was founded. My surprise is that most critics of the book have ignored the facts about Palestinian persecution and its proposals for future peace and resorted to personal attacks on the author. No one could visit the occupied territories and deny that the book is accurate.” "
south wrote on Mar 12, 2009 7:26 PM:
Stephen Walt and John Mearsheimer - two respected international relations theorists, the former of whom is the dean of Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government - released a controversial working paper, “The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy.” The paper’s basic argument is that US financial, political, and military support for Israel is unprecedented and contradicts basic US strategic interests. The authors attribute this unusual policy to the power of the pro-Israel lobby in the United States, focusing particularly upon the influence of the American Israel Political Action Committee (AIPAC) in Congress and the Pentagon. "
south wrote on Mar 12, 2009 7:17 PM:
UN official {commissioner of the UN Relief and Works Agency which helps Palestinian refugees) says Israel responsible for breaking truce with Gaza,
"I don't think they think the truce was violated first by Hamas," she said.
"I think they saw that Hamas had observed the truce quite strictly for almost six months and that they got nothing in turn" She said.
"If there were no rockets, the crossings would be opened," she said. "The crossings were not opened at all." Israel broke the truce by killing 28 Palestinians in the west bank and recently in the end on November when their airstrikes killed 6 Palestinians in Gaza. "
ppmotors7 wrote on Mar 12, 2009 5:39 PM:
Please read the book for Jimmy Carter called Peace no apartheid .
also go to palestinian human rights web site and you should be able to get some statistics.
http://www.pchrgaza.org/ "
lil_cricket wrote on Mar 12, 2009 5:10 PM:
It would help if you would remember how several people have spoken out against their decisions. Look at all the citizens who voted for former President Bush. When they watched his actions unfold, many changed their mind about him but it was too late, they were left to wait our his term. This may easily be the case concerning Hamas.
I agree with Dr.Alhatou and hope that people have finally understood that he wasn't promoting Hamas or terrorists acts. I guess the reputation of Mr.Connor lead some folks to just believe what he said and without having to provide a source and then automatically assume Dr. Alhatou was wrong and by having different opinions was automatically promoting Hamas and terrorism. If you thought this way you were way off. I hope his last article made it clear to you of his intentions. "
pedingsgang wrote on Mar 12, 2009 6:15 AM:
ppmotors7 wrote on Mar 11, 2009 9:23 PM:
Is it okay for any body to say my religion says that America is mine or orangburg is mine.
This is the way you Mr Conor defend Israel by saying it is in the bible.
I dont think this is right and people need to stand for justice not who has more money or who can get you faster to the white house "
ppmotors7 wrote on Mar 11, 2009 9:13 PM:
truthteller wrote on Mar 11, 2009 8:48 PM:
Let us use Netanyahu's definition since he has just been asked to form Israel's next government. His book Terrorism: How the West Can Win defines terror as the "deliberate and systematic murder, maiming and menacing of the innocent to inspire fear for political ends”.
In an interview with Jennifer Byrne in February 2002, the new prime minster of Israel Netanyahu's shot himself in the foot: "Terrorism is not dependent on the identity of the perpetrator of terrorist attacks, it doesn't depend on the cause that is supposedly espoused. Terrorism is defined by one thing and one thing alone, the nature of the act. It is the deliberate systematic assault on civilians that defines terrorism." Now you decide who is the real terrorism? "
truthteller wrote on Mar 11, 2009 8:45 PM:
The demolition of thousands of Palestinian homes for “administrative” and planning reasons, the wholesale destruction of businesses and infrastructure, the excessive violence against non-combatants, the impoverishment and displacement of Palestinians through land expropriation and closure, the abductions and imprisonments, the assassinations, and especially the 22-day blitzkrieg on Gaza resulting in 1330 dead including 410 children, 5450 wounded and the whole place reduced to rubble… all these add up to terrorism in anybody’s language.
In an interview with Jennifer Byrne in February 2002, the new prime minster of Israel Netanyahu's shot himself in the foot: "Terrorism is not dependent on the identity of the perpetrator of terrorist attacks, it doesn't depend on the cause that is supposedly espoused. Terrorism is defined by one thing and one thing alone, the nature of the act. It is the deliberate systematic assault on civilians that defines terrorism."
Now, you decide who is the real terrorism? "
south wrote on Mar 11, 2009 8:10 PM:
Up to 60% of the best farmland in Gaza has been systematically destroyed, livestock too. Christine van Nieuwenhuyse, a director at the World Food Programme, says this deliberately blighted land "may not be exploitable again". The lemon trees and noisy chickens must have been hiding Hamas rockets!!!!!! "
south wrote on Mar 11, 2009 8:07 PM:
Israel is today a ruthless nuclear state, with arsenals of artillery, missiles, chemical and biological weaponry. It respects no international laws and conventions. "
cherokee wrote on Mar 11, 2009 8:19 AM:
Throughout the ages, man has used phrases such as "IN THE NAME OF GOD" or "GOD HAS SPOKEN TO ME" to justify hatred of anyone who is different. This has led to countless wars on all sides and the genocide of entire races and people.
There is no solution to this problem. Man will continue to hate others even if religion is removed from the picture. Man has to elevate himself in order to remove this hatred. "
pedingsgang wrote on Mar 11, 2009 7:40 AM:
It is a horribly sad situation, and I cannot imagine having to live in such a state. But Hamas has the ability to stop the violence by stopping its random attacks. I pray that the Palestinian people will remove Hamas from power and seek peace. "