As many of you have probably already heard, the Obama administration has decided to make international waves about the decision of the Jerusalem municipality in Israel to approve an additional 900 housing units in Gilo, which is within Jerusalem city limits. Somehow, a municipal decision to approve housing units in the capitol of its country becomes an international incident. Only in Israel!
This is typical. I am going to not lay all the blame on Obama here, and it must be noted that Condi Rice had made similar such statements in the past. As is typical, J Street supported Obama, and is against the additional housing in Gilo. (shocka!)
The common theme is that somehow it is “anti-human rights” for Jews to build homes, kindergartens, and nurseries in their capitol city of Jerusalem, which is, lest we forget, the holiest city for Jews, and the city that every observant Jew prays to on a daily basis. (Can you imagine the USA telling Saudi Arabia that it cannot build more housing units for Muslims in Mecca? Enough said!)
But here is the little wrinkle to the story that the mainstream media usually leaves out: Arabs can buy land in Jewish areas. Not only can they buy land – they actually do buy land in Jewish neighborhoods.
Here are just two examples of Jewish neighborhoods in Jerusalem where Arabs feel free to buy and sell land as they see fit – Pisgat Ze’ev and French Hill. In fact, Arabs buy and sell land anywhere they want in Israel, including Tel Aviv!
Here is an article by reputed scholar Alex Safian about the ability of Arabs to buy and sell land in all parts of Israel, written in 1997. The restrictions to land purchase only have decreased, to the extent they existed in 1997, due to the liberal Supreme Court of Israel! Right now there are reports of Gulf Arabs buying of land in Israel located in the Galilee. This flies in the face of the supposedly ‘racist’ and ‘discriminatory’ land policies in Israel. Actually, the real racists are from Peace Now. They actually sued to prevent Jews from buying land in Jaffa, Israel, which is indisputably part of the 1967 borders of Israel. Arabs – they can buy land wherever they want (with the understanding that most land is state-owned, but I use the term “buy” and “long-term lease” interchangeably, as far as this goes). But according to Peace Now (a misnomer of a term if I ever heard it – they are anti-peace, as I previously discussed), Jews cannot buy land in Jaffa, because it is an Arab neighborhood, which must be ‘respected.’ (yet Jewish neighborhoods disrespected, of course – this is a one-way street!) Thankfully, Peace Now lost their case before the Israeli Supreme Court. Interesting, I came across this article, which clearly peddled the lame line that if Jews move into an Arab neighborhood of Jaffa, then it will “incite” violence. So Jews should not have the right to live there. This clearly follows the “noble savage” line of thinking – that somehow Arabs who live in Jaffa are not human beings, but rather are beasts, who are incapable of anything but violence, so you should not provoke the noble beasts! As I said – Peace Now, J Street and their ilk – they really are racist!
Meanwhile, we deal with the reality that if Arabs sell land to Jews, they could be slaughtered. I am not just making this up. There have been cases of Arabs being killed for selling land to Jews. And so this also colors land claims – of course Arabs will deny they sold land to Jews, because to do anything us puts their very lives in jeopardy! Also – in Jordan – and throughout the Mideast – it is against state law for a Jew to own land in the country. (yet no “human rights organizations” seem to have problems with this, of course!) Here is a CAMERA primer on the law concerning land purchase and use. It is a must-read to understand the basic law in the region!
What is the lesson to be learned about this all? I would say that it is racist for Obama (and previously, Condi Rice) to make an “international incident” over 900 homes in Gilo. As I have extensively shown, Arabs have the right to buy and sell land throughout all of Israel. It is clearly racist to tell Jews – and only Jews – that they must be ghettoized, and cannot enjoy such similar rights.
As I have outlined, Peace Now is tied in very closely (joined at the hip, if you will) to the progressive movement. They (and J Street, also, as I have outlined, a progressive organization) are thus supporting racism.
It is because I reject racism and support equality and human rights that I support Israel and reject the progressive view of the world that ghettoizes the Jew, and turns Arabs “noble savages.” I expect more for humanity and the world!
