Palestinians see Israel as all of Palestine
In “Gen Z Palestinians See Door Slamming Shut on Coexistence With Israel” (6/15/24), the Wall Street Journal author Omar Abdel-Baqui includes a photo of a Palestinian named Mahmoud Kilani with a tattoo of the state of Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza on his torso. The caption states that “Kilani shows his tattoo in the shape of Palestine before 1948.” It’s actually a tattoo of the British Mandate of Palestine after 78% was cut off and given to what is now known as Jordan in 1922. Be that as it may, that’s not why he has the tattoo. He has the tattoo because that’s what he believes the future of a Palestinian state should be.
The WSJ suggestion that the Palestinian wears the tattoo for nostalgic purposes is a misrepresentation and requires a correction.
The Palestinian movement is about the destruction of the entire State of Israel and its replacement with a Palestinian state. All the stationary, logos, anything related to a map in a Palestinian communication includes all of Israel. Their goal is not a two-state solution – just look at how many times they have turned down that offer – but a Palestinian solution, one Palestinian state. You hear it in their chants.
Moreover, the article misrepresents or more accurately outright lies by saying that the younger generation is “more supportive of using violence to fight for democratic rights than their parents and grandparents.” They want to fight for “democratic rights”? This is the Middle East – no Arab country is interested in a democracy and thus there aren’t any. Why is the WSJ making up stuff? It isn’t a novel but a newspaper.
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Dr. Michael Berenhaus is a freelance activist who works to combat anti-Israel bias in the media. He has been widely published in news sources such as The Economist, The New York Times, and The Washington Post.
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