Who first falsely claimed that the West Bank is ‘occupied territory’?

It’s time to undo this lie and confront Europe about it. Why?

This lie was first sold to the world by … the International Red Cross (IRC). They are the custodians of the Fourth Geneva Convention, which regulates occupations under war. The IRC rejected the many truths:

The West Bank had never been part of another country, including Jordan, so how can it be occupied?
The West Bank is an important part of historic Israel. (Read the Bible, for Heaven’s sake.) But for Anti-Zionist, all of Israel, which was never part of any State, is ‘occupied territory.’
Dozens of years of Jordanian occupation made no one say that this was an obstacle to peace or blocked Palestinian self-determination.
Europe’s leading Antisemite (Dries van Agt) kept harping about Israel violating international law. That should have awakened them.
The West Bank was almost completely empty, so there was enough place for Jews to live there in their own towns. Just as in the rest of Israel. Only a philosophy of hatred would make that ‘impossible.’

Now, at the ‘joyous’ hostage release ceremonies that Chamas orchestrated, everybody has seen the true, Antisemitic face of the IRC.

And just like it never protested Hitler, it never confronted Chamas. No hostage received a visit, medication, or food from it. It did have the chutzpah to demand Israel give it access to the jailed Chamas murderers.

‘For all of humanity’ did not include Jews. Just as in the UN.

‘The darkest places in hell are reserved for those who remain neutral in times of moral crisis’ — Dante Alighieri? If only it had been neutral.

My father’s father worked with distinction for the Red Cross. He never knew what a disgraceful organization that was until it was too late, in Auschwitz. My father, a long-term Camp Westerbork survivor, he knew of their complicity. He still was a physician for all people and served the Red Cross too—though he knew it would drop him if he ever needed them. That was the state of the universe at the time: universal hatred for Jews. Yet, it did not stop him from being humane. Jewish greatness at its best!

Anti-Zionist Ehud Olmert wanted to give away 94%! of the West Bank. The terrorists laughed it off as ‘unrealistic.’ The truth is that his buddy Ehud Barak offered the Temple Mount, whatnot, and $3 billion, and Arafat said no. Israel was very relieved. They want all or nothing. All is from Tzefat and Chaifa to Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Beer Sheba, and Eilat. Under us, the Arabs on the West Bank could have a great life, free from their oppressors, the terrorists and autocrats. But, sadly, they always vote for hatred.

Let’s pressure Europe to acknowledge that Israel and the West Bank are one. (All the Palestinian terrorists agree. It’s one—and they want it all. Their One-State Solution.) Israel didn’t conquer the land; it liberated it.

To the naïve idealists who say, ‘Let’s split it up into two States’: That won’t go. 1. No population section in the region wants that. 2. It would not be a viable Palestinian State. 3. It would be impossible to keep it demilitarized. Even keeping weapons out of Gaza proved impossible. 4. The Land is large enough. If there is a will to live side-by-side in peace, both groups can live together in one democratic State. But if there is no will like that, having millions of motivated mass murderers next-door is a problem for Israel.

The only viable Palestinian State is Jordan. Half of all Jordanians are already Palestinian. They live mostly underprivileged, tens of thousands without nationality, and away from power from Black September 1970.

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About the Author

MM is a prolific and creative writer and thinker, previously a daily blog contributor to the TOI. He often makes his readers laugh, mad, or assume he's nuts—close to perfect blogging. He's proud that his analytical short comments are removed both from left-wing and right-wing news sites. None of his content is generated by the new bore on the block, AI. * As a frontier thinker, he sees things many don't yet. He's half a prophet. Half. Let's not exaggerate. Or not at all because he doesn't claim G^d talks to him. He gives him good ideas—that's all. MM doesn't believe that people observe and think in a vacuum. He, therefore, wanted a broad bio that readers interested can track a bit what (lack of) backgrounds, experiences, and educations contribute to his visions. * This year, he will prioritize getting his unpublished books published rather than just blog posts. Next year, he hopes to focus on activism against human extinction. To find less-recent posts on a subject XXX among his over 2000 archived ones, go to the right-top corner of a Times of Israel page, click on the search icon and search "zuiden, XXX". One can find a second, wilder blog, to which one may subscribe too, here: https://mmvanzuiden.wordpress.com/ or by clicking on the globe icon next to his picture on top. * Like most of his readers, he believes in being friendly, respectful, and loyal. However, if you think those are his absolute top priorities, you might end up disappointed. His first loyalty is to the truth. He will try to stay within the limits of democratic and Jewish law, but he won't lie to support opinions or people when don't deserve that. (Yet, we all make honest mistakes, which is just fine and does not justify losing support.) He admits that he sometimes exaggerates to make a point, which could have him come across as nasty, while in actuality, he's quite a lovely person to interact with. He holds - how Dutch - that a strong opinion doesn't imply intolerance of other views. * Sometimes he's misunderstood because his wide and diverse field of vision seldomly fits any specialist's box. But that's exactly what some love about him. He has written a lot about Psychology (including Sexuality and Abuse), Medicine (including physical immortality), Science (including basic statistics), Politics (Israel, the US, and the Netherlands, Activism - more than leftwing or rightwing, he hopes to highlight reality), Oppression and Liberation (intersectionally, for young people, the elderly, non-Whites, women, workers, Jews, LGBTQIA+, foreigners and anyone else who's dehumanized or exploited), Integrity, Philosophy, Jews (Judaism, Zionism, Holocaust and Jewish Liberation), the Climate Crisis, Ecology and Veganism, Affairs from the news, or the Torah Portion of the Week, or new insights that suddenly befell him. * Chronologically, his most influential teachers are his parents, Nico (natan) van Zuiden and Betty (beisye) Nieweg, Wim Kan, Mozart, Harvey Jackins, Marshal Rosenberg, Reb Shlomo Carlebach, and, lehavdil bein chayim lechayim, Rabbi Dr. Natan Lopes Cardozo, Rav Zev Leff, and Rav Meir Lubin. This short list doesn't mean to disrespect others who taught him a lot or a little. One of his rabbis calls him Mr. Innovation [Ish haChidushim]. Yet, his originalities seem to root deeply in traditional Judaism, though they may grow in unexpected directions. In fact, he claims he's modernizing nothing. Rather, mainly basing himself on the basic Hebrew Torah text, he tries to rediscover classical Jewish thought almost lost in thousands of years of stifling Gentile domination and Jewish assimilation. (He pleads for a close reading of the Torah instead of going by rough assumptions of what it would probably mean and before fleeing to Commentaries.) This, in all aspects of life, but prominently in the areas of Free Will, Activism, Homosexuality for men, and Redemption. * He hopes that his words will inspire and inform, and disturb the comfortable and comfort the disturbed. He aims to bring a fresh perspective rather than harp on the obvious and familiar. When he can, he loves to write encyclopedic overviews. He doesn't expect his readers to agree. Rather, original minds should be disputed. In short, his main political positions are among others: anti-Trumpism, for Zionism, Intersectionality, non-violence, anti those who abuse democratic liberties, anti the fake ME peace process, for original-Orthodoxy, pro-Science, pro-Free Will, anti-blaming-the-victim, and for down-to-earth, classical optimism, and happiness. Read his blog on how he attempts to bridge any tensions between those ideas or fields. * He is a fetal survivor of the pharmaceutical industry (https://diethylstilbestrol.co.uk/studies/des-and-psychological-health/), born in 1953 to his parents who were Dutch-Jewish Holocaust survivors who met in the largest concentration camp in the Netherlands, Westerbork. He grew up a humble listener. It took him decades to become a speaker too, and decades more to admit to being a genius. But his humility was his to keep. And so was his honesty. Bullies and con artists almost instantaneously envy and hate him. He hopes to bring new things and not just preach to the choir. * He holds a BA in medicine (University of Amsterdam) – is half a doctor. He practices Re-evaluation Co-counseling since 1977, is not an official teacher anymore, and became a friendly, powerful therapist. He became a social activist, became religious, made Aliyah, and raised three wonderful kids. Previously, for decades, he was known to the Jerusalem Post readers as a frequent letter writer. For a couple of years, he was active in hasbara to the Dutch-speaking public. He wrote an unpublished tome about Jewish Free Will. He's a strict vegan since 2008. He's an Orthodox Jew but not a rabbi. * His writing has been made possible by an allowance for second-generation Holocaust survivors from the Netherlands. It has been his dream since he was 38 to try to make a difference by teaching through writing. He had three times 9-out-of-10 for Dutch at his high school finals but is spending his days communicating in English and Hebrew - how ironic. G-d must have a fine sense of humor. In case you wonder - yes, he is a bit dyslectic. If you're a native English speaker and wonder why you should read from people whose English is only their second language, consider the advantage of having an original peek outside of your cultural bubble. * To send any personal reaction to him, scroll to the top of the blog post and click Contact Me. * His newest books you may find here: https://www.amazon.com/s?i=stripbooks&rh=p_27%3AMoshe-Mordechai%2FMaurits+van+Zuiden&s=relevancerank&text=Moshe-Mordechai%2FMaurits+van+Zuiden&ref=dp_byline_sr_book_1