I am Palestinian – Chile

This is a video that I translated in 2013.

The is the UGEP (General Union of Palestinian Students) in Chile.

The Palestinians are elites in Chile, and they are swinging the policies of an up and coming Chile. Chile is now first world, and the rising star of Latin America.

FREE PALESTINE - UGEP - Chile
FREE PALESTINE
Building a bridge of dialogue
in place of a Separational Wall.

The General Union of Palestinians Students (UGEP in Spanish) is not a small force to be ignored.

Yasser Arafat came out the Mideastern Branch of the Palestinian Student Union.

As you can see by that map on the poster, above, The UGEP does not recognize Israel at all.  As far as the UGEP is concerned, all of Israel is Palestine.

The video above portrays idealistic Chilean Youth. No doubt, many are.  What the video does not show is that the UGEP advocates the destruction of Israel.  The poster’s words advocate dialogue.  The poster’s map advocate destruction.

The UGEP, even in Chile where almost all Palestinians are Christian, advocates a very hard party line.

It may not look as severe because the women are Christians, and not burqa clad women with their roiling tongue curdling screams; but in the end, they advocate no less that their Muslim cousins.


Note: My own view is nuanced: Historically, the  Jew have the best claim to Israel for many reasons. I do not see Jews as invaders to their own patrimony in the Mideast.  The Jews do have a claim to the land.

But, sadly, neither can I deny that the Israelis ethnically cleansed the Palestinians in 1948 and 1967, nor that Palestinians were and are mistreated.  No nation is perfect.   We Americans were not perfect.   Chile – the nation these youth live in how – was guilty of ethnically cleansing its Mapuche and Quechua Indians.   No nation is perfect.

Innocent people were hurt in 1948; and yes, that includes innocent Arabs.

Unlike these youth, I do NOT  think the destruction of Israel as a homeland for the Jews is the answer. That would be insane.  Destroying or re-defining the Jewishness out of Israel is not the answer to the problem.

Israel has a right to be the homeland for the Jewish people.

There is too much hurt, too much history, and too much blood, for the Jews to surrender their state.

Sadly, there is too much hurt, too much history, and too much blood, for the Palestinians to forget.

Islam is too radicalized for the Israeli Jews to trust their fate to a one-state solution, which allows for the Palestinians to return; and which restores an angry Islamic majority to the land. Israeli Jews will never do it. Nor should they be asked to dissolve their state.


THE BEST SOLUTION
!

I think the best solution is to pay the Palestinians to leave for the West, preferably South America, which has  history of assimilating the Arabs well.

Pay them well … about $100,000 per Palestinian.

This may not be a totally just solution, but it is the least destructive.   I know it is awful to ask the Palestinians to surrender their claims to the land; but the only alternative is nuclear war – a nuclear war where they would be targeted.

I know some will say: It is not right to write the Palestinians out of history.  You are right!

Indeed it is wrong to write the Palestinians out of history.

It would be FAR MORE WRONG to write Israel out of history.

Ultimately – as cruel as it may sound – this cold logic applies:  If there are 22 Arab states, it would be wrong to dismantle the only Jewish state to correct the injustice and to restore another Arab state.

It is wrong to deny the Palestinians a right to return, but it is MORE WRONG to dismantle Israel as the homeland for the Jews.

There is no  completely just solution here … only a less destructive one.

Denying Israel is NOT the answer.

The Jewish right to Israel and Jerusalem is solid.

I am not saying Palestinians were not hurt; but the destruction of Israel is NOT the answer.

Finally, there is a spiritual side to this.

On the spiritual side, Israel is totally right.   There may be some political wrongs, but in the end, Israel has the better claim.


November 15, 2023: Edited: Made more mobile friendly.
June 12, 2024: Edited: Removed a dead video. Changed text.

Chilean Soccer Intifada

Chilean Soccer Intifada

NOTICE: THE VIDEO TITLE IS IN ARABIC


A video – Jan 2013 – about Palestino Soccer Club
At (10:01) shows a rock thrower with the word: INTIFADA.
At (10:08) it shows a PLO fighter.

In Spanish: CD Palestino  – Club Deportivo Palestino (Palestinian Sports Club).

They are popular in Chile’s capital, Santiago, where there are a lot of Palestinian Christians. Games have been beamed to the Arabs in the contested areas of Israel; so they are also popular in the Mideast.

When the team was founded in 1920, by Palestinian immigrants to Chile and their sons took their team colors from the colors of the Arab battle flag during WW I. The Arab battle flag of WW I became the root colors of the Palestinian flag (as well as the Jordanian flag), today.


INTIFADA – in Chile?!
Look at the women. These are NOT Muslims. A lot of the fans are NOT Arab – either.
PS: It is common in Latin America to shoot flares In the colors of one’s team.
If you listen to the team song, the chorus says Intifada

Their fans call themselves Baisanos, which comes from the word paisano (Spanish: countryman – in this case, countryman of Palestine – the added s is merely a plural). They replaced the P with B, because their Arab ancestors were unable to pronounce the letter P, and mispronounced  it as B1.

The team has become highly politicized.  Though over 99% of Palestinians in Chile are Christian, the Baisano fans will sometimes were a Keffiyah, which historically has been an Islamic headdress.  Before each game they have a moment of silence for the dead in Palestine.   Some fans (hinchadas in Spanish) sport the motto of Intifada (Arabic for resistance).


Los Baisanos – Chilean Soccer’s Intifada
I have no idea if the upside down star (between Los and Baisanos) has any hidden meaning
It can mean evil – but I am not sure if that was their intent

Palestino - Cristal
Of course, some absurdities arise.

While, their fan’s sports jerseys can sport ads for the Bank of Palestine … ironically … some jerseys will sport ads for CRISTAL, a brand of beer – the problem is that Islam forbids alcohol.

Even more bizarrely, most of the Palestinian-Chileans are inter-married into Spanish, Italian, and German stocks. Yet, somehow, the Palestinians in Chile have kept up a strong ethnic identification inspite of this inter-marriage. Like the Jews in America who are returning to their Hebrew roots, the Palestinians in Chile are returning to the Arab Roots.

Now, if all they were doing is rooting for the resistance of their – by now, distant – cousins in  the contested areas, this might be acceptable.  Didn’t some American Jews run guns to Irgun, and the Stern Gang?

But some of these Baisanos boast a sympathy for Hamas.

Good grief! Hamas is not only terrorist, but Islamic supremacist. The Palestinians in Chile are Christian. Are they insane to support an Islamic terrorist group?!

Most Palestinians in Chile can trace their ancestor’s arrival in Chile to before 1930. Not all. There were a few who arrived after 1948 and 1967; but most go back before Israel was run by the Jewish people.

In fact, the immigration started in 19th century when Christians were fleeing persecutions at the hands of Muslim/Turkish tyranny.

Why are their descendents cheering for an Islamicized cause right now?

These people have no sense of their own history.

The Fan Base among them certainly has a lot non-Arabs – as the videos show – but they are being fed a false history by this soccer club.

BTW: The club has a large Arab fan base in the Mideast. They have played exhibition games in the Mideast; and the Chilean team lends players to the Palestinian national teams.

Roberto Bishara is a prime example.

Roberto Bishara: Soccer is more powerful than bullets (In Spanish)

However, Israel will not let the Palestinian National Team play in the territories, because they refuse to recognize Palestine, even though the FIFA does. The Israelis hassled Roberto Bishara at Tel Aviv airport over this; and claimed he could not be playing soccer for a nation that does not exist.(I may support Israel, but this is unacceptable harassment..)

The Israeli police played stupid, and pretended that they did not believe Robert Bishara’s story, because there is no Palestine, in their eyes. (This is unnecessary abuse; and wins Israel no friends.)

But to get a full sense of how nutty this is: Roberto Bishara is Catholic; yet he joined a Muslim prayer prostration while on loan to the national team of Palestine. Even nuttier, Bishara, though of Palestinian descent, does not speak Arabic.

Roberto Bishara: Soccer is more powerful than bullets (In Spanish)

-Usted juega en la Primera División de Chile y es chileno de nacimiento, ¿cómo pudo jugar con Palestina ante Jordania en Al-Ram?

-Porque mi padre es palestino, como también mis abuelos. Cuando me llegó la invitación para participar en ese encuentro no lo dudé: fue algo histórico para Palestina.

-¡Pero hombre, si es usted chileno! Por cierto, ¿me permite una pregunta personal, querría saber si además es musulmán?

-No, yo soy católico. Pero respeto la historia del país de mis padres, sus costumbres y su religión. La verdadera libertad consiste en respetar la historia y los derechos de las demás personas.

-Pese a que se confiesa católico, hay una foto que dio la vuelta al mundo en la que se ve a toda la selección de Palestina, también a usted, rezando como musulmanes.

-Sí, así es. Es cierto. Recé junto a mis compañeros por respeto a ellos y a todo el pueblo palestino. Pero yo recé a mi Dios, como harían otros con el suyo. ¿Es lo lógico, no?

-Es usted chileno y católico, pero el 96 por ciento de la población palestina es musulmana. ¿Habla usted árabe?

-Yo no. Mi padre sí.


-You play in the First Division of Chile and are Chilean by birth, ¿How could you play in Jordan Jordan in Al-Ram[at the stadium]?

-Because my father is Palestinian, also my grandparents. [My note: obviously on his mother’s side]
When I received the invitation to participate in this game, I did not hesitate. I was something historic for Palestine.

C’mon man! You are Chilean, for certain. Permit me a personal question, I would like to know if you are Muslim, as well.

-No, I am Catholic. But I respect the history of the country of my ancestors, their customs, and their religion. True liberty consists in respecting the history and the rights of other people.

Although you’re Catholic, there is a photo that went around the world showing the entire team of Palestine, also you, praying as Muslims.

-Yes, for sure. It is true. I prayed along with my peers [out of] respect for them and the entire Palestinian people. But I prayed to my God, as would others with theirs. It is logical, no?!

-You are Chilean and Catholic, but 96 percent of the Palestinian population is Muslim. Do you speak Arabic?

-Me, no. My father, yes.

Even Bishara sort of admitted it was nutty. With his background of recent immigrants in the family tree, his passion for Palestine is quite understandable.

But what about second- and third-generation Chilean-Palestinians? What about the non-Arab Chileans who get caught up in this? None of this makes sense.

Chile’s Palestinians are whipping up a large anti-Israel sentiment in Chile, which otherwise was very friendly to Jews.


1 The same P to B pronunciation difficulty is responsible for the naming of the Arab town, Nablus. The Jews call the general area Shechem after the nearby ancient Jewish town of the same name: Shechem. When the Romans took the Holy Land over, they created a new city named Flavia Neapolis [New City Flavius] in 72 AD, after the Roman Emperor, Titus Flavius Caesar Vespasianus.

The Arabs could not pronounce the letter P, and so Neapolis became Arabized to Nablus.


April 14, 2024 – Edited: Had to correct minor errors and remove a dead link. Made mobile friendly.

Peruvian Mission to the Muslims.

A Peruvian Evangelical Mission is giving instruction on how to outreach to Muslims.

Very interesting.

This why – inspite of our media scaremongering – I do not believe that Islam will get a hold in Latin America.

It may make some converts, but over time the Evangelicals will make more Christians out of Muslims than the Muslims will make Muslims out of Christians.

What is worrisome, however, is the increasing anti-Israel sentiment arising in Latin America. The Latins may not become Muslim, but they may become very hostile to Israel.

The reason for this is simple. The more traditional denominations in Latin America, the Catholic Church – and to a smaller extent, the Orthodox Church – have theologies where the Jews are written off for their rejection of Christ.

It is easier for anti-Semitism to prosper with those theologies, unlike Evangelical theologies where the Jews are still central to God’s design.

These traditional churches were magnificent in converting earlier generations of Muslim immigrants; but while they were effective at eradicating Islam, they made no effort to eradicate anti-Semitism. Hence, Arab and Iranian propaganda may not install Islam in South America; but it can instill an anti-Israel viewpoint that is vicious.

Palestinians or Arabs?

This was preached in the United States. However, America has over 30 Million Latins; a greater population than many Latin countries.

The preacher is giving a standard Evangelical line.

The Palestinians do not exist. They are merely Arabs from somewhere else.

I understand his point. He wants to assert Israel’s right to the land. I agree with that.

However, I am not so sure you can say an invented people do not exit.

America invented itself in 1776. Mexico, Argentina, Chile, and a large section of Latin America invented themselves in 1810. Belgium invented itself in 1830.

Nations invent themselves all the time.

There was a considerable Arab population in the land before 1900. Even Jewish sources admit that. About 500,000 non-Jews.

Natural birth rates could explain most of their increasing numbers up to 1948.

Was there migration in during the Mandate period, as Joan Peters asserts? Yes; but most of the Arabs there were not immigrant stock. Joan Peters was not wrong, but she did exaggerate.

The Palestinian-Christians of Chile certainly feel they are Palestinian. They formed a soccer team in 1920 called the Palestinos – Not the Árabes, or Syrios del Sur (South Syrians). They considered themselves Palestinian as early as 1920.

That does not mean the Palestinians have a greater claim to the land than the Jews. It means only that the line of reasoning of the Preacher has its flaws.

One can say the Jews have a better claim. One cannot say the Palestinians have no claim.

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