The Hypocrisy of Mahmoud Abbas

 How many times have you heard Israel accused of “ethnic cleansing,” being “racist,” or an “apartheid state?” It seems Mahmoud Abbas, whom most world leaders refer to as a “moderate,” can’t go too long without invoking at least one of these baseless accusations. Abbas might wish to consider the facts before he speaks. For example, he’s described home construction in Judea/Samaria as “ethnic cleansing.”

 Mr. Abbas, if you don’t mind, allow me to provide an example of real ethnic cleansing. For centuries, over 800,000 Jews lived in 10 Muslim countries in the Middle East. When the United Nations partitioned one Jewish and one Arab state in 1947 the Muslim’s refused to accept a Jewish state, and attacked Israel a mere 24 hours after declaring independence in May 1948.

 The other part of this attempt at annihilation is the plight of those 800,000+ Jews. Virtually all of them were forced out, in numerous cases with no advanced warning. Many had to walk away with only what they could carry. They had to leave behind possessions, homes, land, and bank accounts, all of which were looted. In several countries Jewish populations were reduced from over 50,000 to zero. Of the original 800,000+ less than 8,000 remain in these countries today. Only Morocco has a noteworthy amount of Jews remaining. With all due respect Mr. Abbas, that is real “ethnic cleansing.”

 He’s levied the same claim against home construction on the eastern side of Jerusalem. By this he’s attempting to add fuel to the flame of international condemnation against Israel for building in an area he believes should belong to the ‘Palestinians,’ as capital of a presumed state. Cessation of said construction has become a precondition for resuming direct negotiations with Israel. Demanding his conditions be met before negotiations, renders the very concept of “negotiations” meaningless. Agreements result from negotiations, not the reverse.

Racist State?

 There are other hypocritical statements from Abbas. Take for example his speech at the United Nations on November 29th, when the UN voted overwhelmingly to upgrade the status of the Palestinian Authority to “non-member state,” effectively granting them statehood. During his fiery speech he accused Israel of being a “racist state.” Really Mr. Abbas? Let’s take a closer look-

 As of September 2012 the Arab population of Israel is 1.7 million, making up almost 21% of the country. They enjoy full benefits of citizenship, including owning homes, businesses, property, and voting privileges. They also enjoy complete freedom of worship. In fact, to demonstrate how respectful Israel is toward the Muslims, Jewish access to Temple Mount is severely restricted. Jews are prevented from prostrating themselves there as well. There are 17 Arab members of the Knesset, and 49 former members. Arabs sit on the Israeli Supreme Court. Mr. Abbas, can you point out a single Muslim country where similar statements can be made about Jews?

 He is also on record stating if a Palestinian state is created in Judea/Samaria, “there will be no room for a single Jew.” This means every one of the several hundred thousand Jews living there must be ethnically cleansed, even though they are not demanding the Arabs who live there must leave. Yet he calls Israel a “racist state.” Hmmm….

 Another noteworthy point is every Israeli prime minister since the Oslo Accords has publically committed to accepting a Palestinian state. Yet on numerous occasions Abbas has flatly said he will “never accept Israel as a Jewish state.” Mr. Abbas is known to smoke two packs of cigarettes per day. However the number of hypocritical statements he makes is fast approaching his daily habit.

Bent on Destruction

 Let’s try and put this in perspective. There are 22 Muslim countries in the Middle East covering more than 5 million square miles with a combined population of over 350 million. Israel takes up less than 1% of the land, and the Jews make up less than 2% of the region’s population, being outnumbered by Arabs 55 to 1. Yet, most of the Muslim world which includes Abbas, has spent the past 60+ years spending billions of dollars, and sacrificing thousands of lives for one purpose- the destruction of Israel and the Jewish people.

 Mr. Abbas, instead of spending your time and energy rejecting the right of Israel to exist, may I suggest you consider rejecting your platform of hatred. Instead of falling in line with all the other hate mongers, I suggest you demonstrate some real courage. It takes no courage to spew hate. However, it takes real courage to admit one simple truth- you are wrong.

 For more articles by Dan Calic see his Facebook page