#stoplyingaboutisrael

No city in the world has been attacked, violated and desecrated more times throughout history than Jerusalem. For well over 3,000 years, repeated attempts have been made to pull up the city's Jewish roots. None have succeeded. In 2017, Mahmoud Abbas made the following absurd defamatory statement at a meeting of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference: "It is no longer possible to remain silent as Israel continues to violate the identity and character of the city of Jerusalem, the continuation of excavations and settlements and, most importantly, its violations of Islamic and Christian holy places, especially Al Aqsa Mosque. Therefore, the situation requires decisive guarantees to stop Israeli violations in Jerusalem and to preserve the historic status quo at Al Aqsa Mosque." What Abbas (like Arafat before him) is really objecting to is the discovery of layer upon layer of Jewish history in Jerusalem, repeatedly disproving his flagrantly false and insulting claims. Jerusalem is Israel's Eternal Capital - it always has been, and always will be.

The Merneptah Stele, which can be found in the Cairo Museum, is vitally important to Jewish history. Dating to 1213 BCE, this ancient Egyptian tablet contains the first ever inscribed (non-biblical) reference to the land of Israel. Three other inscriptions referring to Israel by name can be found on the Tel Dan Stele, the Kurkh Monolith and the Mesha Stele, all from the same period in ancient history. The first ever mention of a mythical nation called 'Palestine' on the other hand, was made by another Egyptian, Yasser Arafat, head of the PLO in 1964, and can be found by simply powering up your tablet.

The widely adopted International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance working definition of antisemitism is there for a reason. It gives a very clear definition of what constitutes antisemitic behaviour, whether against Jews in the Diaspora or the State of Israel. Amnesty International UK's recent malicious 'report' on Israel is laced with lies and distortions, painting a picture of Israel as an 'apartheid' state that treats 'Palestinians' as 'an inferior racial group.' It seeks to conflate Israeli Arabs (who enjoy all the democratic freedoms Israel offers all its citizens) with 'Palestinians', who are under the control of either the (extremely undemocratic) auspices of the Palestinian Authority or the murderous Hamas terror group in Gaza. To label Israel as an 'apartheid state' is a malicious lie, which only serves to propagate antisemitism. The report is vile, and Amnesty International must be held to account.

A few interesting things you may or may not know about the Dome of the Rock. Firstly, it is not a mosque, it's a shrine (something that, apparently, at least 50% of the world's Muslim population is not aware of) Secondly, it is said that certain passages in the Quran mention it, which is really incredible considering the fact that it was built almost a century after the Quran was 'received'. Thirdly, it (together with the Al Aqsa Mosque) was built by one of two warring Muslim leaders to try and establish a centre of Islamic importance to rival Mecca. Fourthly, it lay largely ignored and neglected for decades until around 1948 (does that date seem familiar?) when it suddenly became hugely important, and finally, and most significantly, it houses copies of a book most holy to all Muslims, the Quran, within which is (somewhat ironically) stated that the land upon which it is built belongs to the Jews.

After 600 years, in 1922 the Ottoman Empire finally collapsed. Two years earlier, British control over Mandatory Palestine had been established under the stewardship of the League of Nations. Within ten years, Arabs from neighbouring countries began flooding into the British Mandate, hoping that they could find work with Jewish employers and enjoy a standard of living unrivalled in virtually any Arab state. In all, it is estimated that over half a million migrated between 1932 and 1944 in search of a better life. Four years later, on the 14th of May 1948, the modern State of Israel was established in the ancient homeland of the Jewish people, and was immediately attacked by a coalition of Arab countries. Having been told by Arab leaders that once the Jews had been driven into the sea they could return and take possession of both the land and the thriving businesses they once worked for, many Arabs fled to neighbouring countries to avoid being caught up in the conflict. Alas, the promised 'victory' never came. Those who had remained thrived, with many of their descendants now playing important roles in every segment of Israeli society. Those who fled were not welcomed back into the countries they had originally come from, instead being corralled into 'refugee camps', to be used as a stick to beat Israel with. In 1964, Yasser Arafat, an Egyptian opportunist on the payroll of the KGB, hatched a plot to rebrand those who had fled as 'the Palestinian people', and began propagating the myth that the Jews had somehow 'stolen a country' that had been theirs for centuries, something which we all know to be a blatant (and antisemitic) lie. Sadly, a lie that so many appear to be willing to believe to this day. Robert Kennedy was assassinated on June 6th 1968 by Sirhan Sirhan, a 'Palestinian'.

Who knew?