Palestine Club – Arab Language Classes Basic and Intermediate LevelJust as Jews in America are discovering their Hebrew roots, even so the Palestinians of Chile are discovering their Arab roots.
They are doing this even though most Palestinians in Chile are intermarried, with Spanish, German, and Italian Chileans. Only 30% of Chilean Palestinians are descended from Palestinians on both the paternal and maternal sides. They are a well integrated, and well-to-do community in Chile. Yet, inspite of this, they are returning to their Arab roots.
To the right, we see an offering for Arab Language Classes at the Palestine Club in Chile. The Palestine Club is one of the more Prestigious Clubs in Chile.
Urban Intervention for Palestine
Public protests in Chile
The Palestinian-Chileans are now a major political force to be reckoned with in Chile.
They are advancing some ugly causes in Chile – as you can see on the video to the left, a boycott of Israel is one of them.
Now, if this were merely supporting one side in a conflict, this might be understandable, but the Israel-Palestinian conflict is larger than just two peoples. There is an Islamic aspect to this which concerns a conflict of West vs. Islam; Freedom vs. a Caliphate Tyranny.
If the Palestinians of Chile want to get involved with the Palestine issue, they should show more discretion. I do not see such discretion coming out of the Palestinians in Chile.
One could argue that Israel has a historic claim to Judea and Samaria (what the world calls the West Bank) – and I would agree. However, there are over a million Arabs in the area.
A biblical viewpoint agreeable to both
Jewish and Christian fundamentalists
The Arabs want the Jews out of Judea and Samaria
The Arabs claim Judea and Samaria (which they call the West Bank) is their historical Arab homeland. The Arabs claim International Law supports them, and the Israelis should retreat to pre-1967 borders (which are actually 1949 Armstice borders).
The Jews say Judea and Samaria was given to them by the League of Nations Mandate in 1920, at the San Remo Conference of 1920, when the Mandate was created to make a homeland for the Jewish people.
The Arabs say that European powers had no right to give away Arab lands.
The Jews will reply that the Arabs cannot cite International Law only when it suits them. If the Arabs don’t want to acknowledge the validity of International Law regarding San Remo, they then they Arabs can’t cite International Law regarding the ownership of Judea and Samaria, now.
Both sides ignore International opinion when it suits them.
And the dance goes on. No one will agree.
Let’s ignore International Law for a second
Before we even discuss whose claim is better, we had better settle whether evacuation of the Jews from the contested areas is even possible.
At this point does it matter who is right or wrong?
No one will agree who is right or wrong in this struggle.
But this we can agree on: Any evacuation will have severe consequences. If we put aside morality, for a second, the severe consequences of evacuating Jews to make way for a Palestinian state may determine our solution.
We are going to concentrate on those Settlers who are violent
Not all settlers are violent; but enough are, and their numbers are growing. Some of these have been known to go ballistic and kill innocent Palestinians when they feel threatened in any way, even if the threat comes from the Israel state seeking to enforce an evacuation.
We aren’t we concentrating on Arab violence?
The Arabs are indeed very violent; but in this case, Arab violence is mostly ineffective and counter-productive. Israel contains it. Israel does not really contain settler violence; and often does not attempt to contain it. In the end, the violence of the Israeli settlers will prove to be more organized, better armed, and more effective. It certainly will have more of an effect on the final outcome than Arab violence.
This first in-depth look concerns the Jewish Settlers of the contested areas (what the world calls the West Bank). We do this not because we prefer the Jews or the Arabs, but simply put, because it will be the Settler’s violence which will be determinative, not the Arab violence which, while brutal, is undisciplined, and ultimately counter-productive.
Posted on YouTube: Jun 3, 2013
ISRAEL’S NEXT WAR
Frontline – 2005
Settlers are known to get violent when threatened!
A)Baruch Goldstein shot up a mosque in Hebron and kiled 29 Arabs in 1994.
Results: Baruch Goldstein became a hero to many radical settlers; and believe it or not, the Palestinians were punished by having Hebron’s chief market place, Shuhada Street closed.
Officially, the given reason was to prevent Palestinian reprisals; however the result was that Palestinians were punished for the actions of a crazed Jewish activist.
B)Yigal Amir assassinated Ytzhak Rabin for signing Oslo.
C)Eden Natan-Zada killed 4 Arabs in a bus inside Israel to protest the withdrawal from Gush Katif, in 2005.
Officially, the given reason was that the Arabs killed Natan-Zada after he was disarmed. In reality, there are cases where Arabs have died under Israeli custody, and no questions were asked: The Notorious Bus 300 Affair. So how come, when an Arab is killed, no questions are asked, but when a Jewish murderer was killed, the Arabs are prosecuted?
D)Asher Weissgan killed 4 Palestinians to stop the withdrawal from Gush Katif in the Gaza Strip, in 2005. He later committed suicide in prison.
What should be clear from all of this is that there is a very violent segment of Israeli society who would kill massive amounts of Palestinians should a two-state solution ever even come close to implemention.
Judea and Samaria are the Jewish heartland
If you crack open a bible, most of the cities mentioned are in Judea and Samaria (the Palestinian territories). The Jews will never give this up. Jerusalem is more dear to them that Tel Aviv. Bethlehem was David’s birthplace.
To these settlers, they must take the land and possess it to hasten the redemption of the world.
If you think the settlers are violent now, wait until they are told to evacuate Judea and Samaria. It cannot be ruled out that some would attempt mass murder of Palestinians before government was able to effect any evacuation at all.
As awful as it may be to consider, an Israeli Jewish equivalent of Einsatzgruppen murder squads may start killing Palestinians to stop any withdrawl from the contested areas.
Strongly Orthodox Jewish Nationalist influence is growing in the IDF (Israel Defense Forces). The IDF cannot be relied on, even now, to contain Settler violence. A good part of the IDF would look the other way.
I am not even taking sides. I am just making an observation.
Price Tag attacks are common now
Even now, it is common practice among some radical settlers to commit Price Tag attacks on innocent Palestinians, whenever something does not go their way.
No one denies Arab violence, but the violent Jewish settlers are better armed; with some having military training, and some are capable of organized murder.
Any attempt at removing settlements will result in mass violence. At least 8 Palestinians were killed over the Gush Katif withdrawal. The settlers are even more radicalized now.
An attempt to evacuate settlements in Judea and Samaria would result in major violence. It does not even matter who is right in this struggle. Violence is going to occur.
May 12, 2017 – Edited: Added series list at bottom. April 15, 2020 – Edited: Corrected some dead video. Made a correction in text. April 15, 2020 – Edited: Made mobile friendly. Corrected errors.
Published Wednesday 21/12/2011 (updated) 26/12/2011 16:55
MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay (Ma’an) — The Palestinian Authority signed a free trade agreement on Tuesday with South American trading bloc Mercosur.
Okay, this is old news I dug up, but it shows an attitude that South America has with the Palestinians. It is an official pro-Palestinian attitude that you would not see in the United States.
Mercosur is a South American trading bloc with includes Argentina, Brazil Paraguay, Uruguay, and Venuezuela.
Congreso Mundial Juventud Libanesa – JUCAL 2012 [World Congress Lebanese Youth]
Juventud Unida Cultural Argentino Libanesa. [Lebanese-Argentina Youth Cultural Union]
Vivir el Libano en Argentina. [Living Lebanese in Argentina]
Buenos Aires Octubre 2012
That video was posted in October 2012. This is the website of the Lebanese-Argentine Youth Cultural Union: (Click Here)
There are 1-1/2 Million Lebanese in Argentina. Most are Maronite (affiliated with Roman Catholicism) Christians. They have an enormously moderating effect in South America wherever Arabs have settled.
From what I have seen Lebanese Maronites are as not concerned as much about Palestinian issues as other Arabs are. Some are downright hostile to Palestinians. The Lebanese tend to be more concerned about becoming assimilated Westerners, evincing a love of Lebanese cuisine, music, and dance, yet maintaining a sort of quasi-Arab identity.
There are chiefly nine (9) reasons for this:
1)For centuries, the Maronites had been oppressed by Druze overlords. Lebanese Maronite Christians were almost exterminated by Muslims in the 19th century. The French Army had to intervene to prevent a genocide. (Click Here).
2)The Palestinian refugees were a major issue in the Lebanese Civil War. The Lebanese Maronite Forces and the Palestinian forces both committed massacres against each other’s communities.
3)Israeli intervention in the Lebanese Civil War, in 1982, may have prevented a major defeat of Lebanese Christians. The Christian leader Bashir Gemayel even considered an alliance with the Israelis. Some Maronites consider the Israelis to be the savior of Lebanese Christians.
4)Many Lebanese Maronites do NOT consider themselves as Arabs per se – though they speak Arabic, now. They consider themselves Phoenicians, who were overrun by the Arabs in the 7th century, but who remained distinct from the Arabs/Muslims (Click Here). The philosophy is called Phoenicianism; and I have seen Maronites get furiously angry if they are called Arabs.
5)Until the 18th century, many Maronites spoke Aramaic – a language of the Bible – not Arabic, which indicates how distinct they were from surrounding Arabs. Once they did learn Arabic, many spoke it better than the Arabs, by virtue of a Christian education.
6)Historically, the Maronite Church affiliated with Rome, not the Eastern Churches. Their religious orbit was to the West, not the East.
7)Their religious affiliation with the Roman Catholic Church, and political connections with the French, gave them a Western mindset that was lacking in other Arabs. Though Arabic speaking by the 19th century, a few also spoke French. French contacts, such as priests, tended to prefer the Maronites over the other locals; and for all intents and purposes treated the Lebanese Maronites as if they were Europeans with a funny language. This gave the Maronites a leg up, not only over the Muslims, but also the Syrian Orthodox Christians, who tended to have a stronger Arabic center.
8) The Maronites love wine/arak (alcohol), and will eat pork and shellfish. They are not bound by Muslim, or Jewish food laws. This further distinguishes them.
9) While there are other Lebanese Christians, most tend to be of a Christian Orthodox persuasion, with a historical Eastern/Arabic outlook. Contrast this with the Maronites, who boast of being the ancient Phoenicians who settled Italy, Sicily, Spain, and who made it out to the British Isles. They seem themselves as all but proto-Westerners. So they have little or no problems assimilating into a Western culture. It is their destiny. It is where there ancestors went … to the West.
So the Lebanese tend to assimilate very well into the Western world. Almost seamlessly.
The Lebanese Christians tend to be moderate to Western in their views regarding the Mideast; and can, at times, be pro-Israel. This does not mean they are necessarily thrilled with Israel; but they have enough bad experiences in their history fighting Muslim forces that they tend to shy away from getting as involved in the Palestinian cause.
Some Maronites are downright hateful of the Palestinians. Some consider the Palestinian refugees to have started the Lebanese Civil War, and to have destroyed Lebanon. The Palestinians often share an equal, but counter-aversion, to the Maronites; and consider the Maronites to have started the Lebanese Civil War. But sides committed atrocities.
I have noticed that Argentina’s and Brasil’s Arabs tend to be less hostile to Israel than Chile’s Arabs.
Why?
Because Argentina’s and Brazil’s Arabs are top heavy with Lebanese Maronites, while Chile’s Arab’s are top heavy with Palestinians.
This is noticeable when studying the Arabs of South America.
To see this in effect, look at these former logos on two similar websites.
FEARAB – Argentina (Note : the Website is now down)
FEderación de Entitades Arabes (Federation of Arab Groups) – Argentina
Notice the Argentine flag. Notice that one of the changing images is of a Gaucho
The Arab-Argentine society laid emphasis on the Gaucho. They are emphasizing and embracing an assimilated Argentine/Western identity.
Now look at a former logo on the Chilean Site!
FEARAB – Chile
(Note : the Website has changed its logo)
FEderación de Entitades Arabes (Federation of Arab Groups) – Chile
Israel is erased from the map!
The Arab-Chilean society laid emphasis on the struggle against Israel.
Why the difference?
Chiefly because 60% or more of the Arabs in Chile are Palestinian.
In Argentina, the opposite is true where roughly half the Arabs in Argentina are Lebanese, and the number of Palestinians is far smaller. The Lebanese also predominate among Arabs in Brazil.
So in Argentina, the Western leaning Lebanese set the agenda, while in Chile the Palestinians set a different agenda.
The Latin-Maronites seek assimilation, while the Latin-Palestinians retain an ethnic identity of struggle (even though the Palestinians in Chile are Christian).
This is all the more amazing when one realizes that Christian Palestinians have been in Chile in large numbers since 1890. What distinguishes them is that Christian Palestinians tend to be Syrian Orthodox Christian, which is an Eastern Church, while Maronite Catholicism is affiliated with Rome in the West. So, the Christian-Palestinians retain their Arab identity, while the Maronites are all but wannabe Westerners.
From their insistence on Christianity, to affiliation with Rome (rather than the local Eastern Churches), to their alliances with the French, to their friendly dealings with Israel, the Maronites are so Western that their Muslim neighbors have fought them on more than one occasion as traitors to the “Arab nation,” which ironically has a germ of truth, as many Maronites do not consider themselves Arabic, but Phoenician.
So Westernized Maronite Lebanese are NOT a Myth.
In Latin America, they blend in without a hitch. Where Maronites predominate in the Arab community, they smooth the Westernization of the Arab community. In Chile, their moderating influence is weak, by virtue of a smaller demographic.
May 11, 2017 – Edited – Massive changes, and updated links.
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