LA Times Published Column That Makes Up History

In an article published by the LA Times, their columnist decided to make up history and alter things to make Israel look bad. I am going to go through line by line and tell you about some major problems with the article, by Saree Makdisi. It is an opinion piece. Journalists are allowed to have opinions on what is right and what is wrong, but cannot make up history.

Sixty years after Israel was created and Palestine was destroyed, then, we are back to where we started

First off, Palestine was never a state. The mandate was created in 1920 at the fall of the Ottoman Empire. It included Israel, the disputed territories, and Jordan. It was never governed by Arabs, it was governed by the British. If you want to pick a date for its "destruction", it is 1946. In 1946, Jordan was given to the Hashemite family, part of the Saudi family, as part of an oil deal. It was not "officially" about oil, but it kept things going smoothly. Jordan and Israel were intended to go to the Jewish people, according to some members of the British Parliament at that time. The land that is now Israel was never an independent Arab state. In fact, it was a Jewish kingdom until the Arabs came in during the Muslim imperialist crusades which began in 1630.

At no time since the negotiations began in the early 1990s has Israel significantly suspended the settlement process in the occupied Palestinian territories

What? Do you not remember when the Israeli government removed all Jews from their homes in Gaza? Do you not remember when the Israeli Army cleared out all Israeli citizens? Don't say you forgot, because it was only a few years ago. In 2005, Israel removed thousands of citizens and gave it, 100%, to the Palestinian Authority. It is still in Palestinian control, though many would argue that living conditions were better before 2005.

one of the parties in the National Union bloc, which has a significant presence in the Israeli parliament

Haichud Haleumi has 9 seats in the Knesset of 120. I hardly consider 7.5% significant. Additionally, they are not in the current majority coalition.

He then tries to smear Prime Minister Olmert, who I hate to defend, but will in this case.

he also said in 2006 that "every hill in Samaria and every valley in Judea is part of our historic homeland"

Is that not 100% accurate? It is a true statement. In this case, Olmert is no liar.

Judea and Samaria: These ancient biblical terms are still used by Israeli officials to refer to the West Bank. More than 10 years after the initiation of the Oslo peace process, which was supposed to lead to a two-state solution, maps in Israeli textbooks continued to show not the West Bank but Judea and Samaria -- and not as occupied territories but as integral parts of Israel.

Judea and Samaria are the names of the territories. The term "West Bank" came into heavy use after 1967, when the anti-Israel political and media worlds began to smear Israel as occupiers. No one calls Jordan the "East Bank." And, as far as Oslo, I recommend watching the film Relentless. It shows who followed Oslo. Israelis were not perfect, but Arafat followed none of his parts of the deal. You can watch the film on YouTube.

This is a conflict driven from its origins by Zionism's exclusive sense of entitlement to the land.

The original Jewish leaders in Israel before 1948 agreed to a two state solution. It was the Muslims who said no, we want everything. It was the Arab armies who attacked in 1948, when the Jewish people had just a small portion of the territory. It was, again, the Arabs who attacked in 1967, when the Israelis pushed the armies back to more defensible borders. The Jewish people have said yes to a two state solution many times, but the Muslims said no, we want it all.

Yet that is exactly what Israel does. Even among its citizens, Israeli law grants rights to Jews that it denies to non-Jews.

That is true, but have you ever heard the Arabic word dhimmi? Muslims control well over 30 countries. The Jews have one, the size of New Jersey. Are you arguing that the Jews have no right to any place in the world?

By no stretch of the imagination is Israel a genuine democracy: It is an ethno-religiously exclusive state that has tried to defy the multicultural history of the land on which it was founded.

Israel was the first place in the Middle East that a woman could vote, that a minority (Arab) could vote, it is the only place in the region where Homosexuals are not violently persecuted, Arab Muslim citizens are given the right to a free education, free healthcare, and freedom to choose another religion if they want. This is not the case for Christians in the Palestinian Authority or Jews in most Muslim countries. In fact, Iran is forcing Jews and Christians to a marking article of clothing. Sounds a lot like Nazi Germany, huh?

What do you have to say Mr. Makdisi? I will publish your response, unedited here. I am e-mailing this post to the author and editor of the LA Times.