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The Holocaust Conference in Iran: An Interview with Rabbi Weiss, attendee.
by Dan Eden for Viewzone The Holocaust Conference, held in December of 2006 in Iran, was billed as a conference to "debate" the Nazi annihilation of six million Jews. Even before it opened, the announcement of the gathering sparked outrage in the West, drawing fierce criticism from European leaders, the Vatican and the White House. Almost everyone who has been exposed to history books has learned that the Nazi regime in World War II attempted to exterminate millions of European civilians based on their ethnicity. Not only were Jews targeted for concentration camps but some Catholics, Gypsies and a variety of physically and mentally "deficients" were also rounded up and systematically murdered. It is one of the dark spots of modern human history. Following the end of World War II, the state of Israel was formed in the land that was occupied by the Palestinian people. Although this was considered compensation for the genocide of European Jews, it was also a severe puishment for the Palestinian people -- many of whom had lived in the region for generations -- who were completely innocent of the holocaust but were forced to become refugees.
 Palestinian Refugees Displaced in 1948. If the holocaust events are a vital part of our modern history, why not talk about them? Why not try to understand how and why this happened? It seems only sane to discover the shortcomings of human nature, lest we make the same mistakes again. Yet, with the holocaust in particular, there is a growing movement to censure discussion about the details. Even asking basic questions can bring scathing criticism, condemnation and even imprisonment.  A map that speaks for itself. The holocaust has become dogma. It must be accepted "all or nothing." In many European countries it is against the law to question the holocaust, the number of victims, the methods of extermination... one cannot but wonder why. Could it be because the holocaust is the foundation for establishing the state of Israel in the land of the Palestinians? And, if so, is it so dangerous to examine the integrity of this foundation? It was in this context that President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announced the Holocaust Conference -- to provide a forum where the details and controvercial theories could be openly presented and considered. For sure, Ahmadinejad has a bias against the holocaust, but this has been widely misrepresented by the press and simplified to interpret his "questioning" as a flat denial that the holocaust ever happened. On the contrary, Ahmadinejad's views are more complex. He seems to question the validity of using the holocaust as a justification for establishing the state of Israel at the expense of innocent Palestinians who, after all, had nothing to do with the extermination of European Jews. This argument seems to be the one thing that is never reported accurately in American or European news.
Viewzone recently caught up with an outspoken Jewish Rabbi who attended the Holocaust Conference held in Iran. Although the conference was widely publicized and ridiculed prior to its convening, little or no attention to the content has ever been reported by American and Western media, despite several hundred attendees from a myriad of religious and professional backgrounds. Rabbi Yisroel Dovid Weiss is descended from Hungarian Jewry, his grandparents were exterminated by the Nazis at Auschwitz. He is a firm believer that the holocaust was real -- it happened. Viewzone: Rabbi Weiss, we know that you attended the so-called "Holocaust Conference" in Iran. The actual conference was not widely covered in the American press. We were surprised to learn that many intelligent and outspoken Jews, like yourself, were encouraged to attend. Can you give us an idea about your views of Iran, the Iranian people and their questions about the reality of the holocaust prior to your attending this conference? Also, how were you treated while you were in Iran?
As far as Holocaust "questions," we affirmed before, during and after the conference, that the mass slaughter of European Jews is a reality. Many of us had ancestors, parents and grandparents who perished therein. So it seemed to us that there was and is little to debate here. However, we feel questions about the subject should not be taboo. Free exploration of history cannot be bad. This is particularly true here when the lessons to be learned can only help humanity to further dedicate itself to good causes in the future. Viewzone: Is it true that the Iranian president has made statements such as wanting to "...destroy Israel..." and "...wipe Israel off the map..."? How do you reconcile this? Rabbi Weiss: We believe that the Iranian President feels that the state of Israel was created on the backs of the Palestinian people. This does strike us, though, as a given of history. We deny that he has called for its destruction via violent means. Linguists have argued that the language he has used is better translated as "withering away" not "destroyed." In fact, he has said that he supports whatever the majority of the area's inhabitants would support. In practical terms it seems he is calling for a one, majority rule peaceful state. This state would, since the Palestinians are the majority be a Palestinian governed state. This position is gaining popularity today and is close to our own. We, however, in addition to our ethical sympathy (which is of course one of the tenets of our religion) to the Palestinian's plight, also believe it is forbidden for us as Jews to have a state prior to the Messianic age. We believe that when the Almighty will end history as we know it with the coming of the Messiah, then all humanity will be redeemed and Jews, Palestinians and all human beings will live in peace and brotherhood under Divine guidance. Viewzone: What kinds of speakers and views were discussed at the Holocaust Conference?
Viewzone: Do you feel that there is really a threat to Israel and the Jewish people from Iran and its leaders? Rabbi Weiss: We do not accept, in any way, the propaganda notion that the Iranian President seeks to harm the Jewish people. Thirty thousand Jews live in Iran. If the image of the President in much of the media would be true, why do the Jews living there go about their affairs in a productive, peaceful manner? It is true that the Iranian President has called for open debate on issues relating to the destruction of European Jewry. This can only be beneficial. By examining man's cruelty to man in the past we can learn to avoid it in the future. By attempting to stifle questions we create the impression that we have something to hide. Viewzone: What conclusions did the first Holocaust Conference reach?
 Above: As many as 6-million European Jews were believed to have been killed by the Nazis in WWII. While a few scholars argue about the exact number and intent behind this horrific event, others argue that the creation of the state of Israel and the displacement of the Palestinian people should not be linked to these events. They argue that the Palestinians had nothing to do with the holocaust but have had to suffer by having their land and lives taken for generations... an event that continues even today. Rabbi Weiss: The conference didn't necessarily reach conclusions. It was a forum for debate and exchange of ideas. We feel that by answering those with questions, the grim truth of what nations may do to each other will emerge. We emphasized that the reality of Jewish suffering in Europe should never be used as a justification for the displacement of the Palestinians, the confiscation of their properties and their continued denial of basic human needs and rights. We returned from the conference with our belief in the good will and decency of the Iranian government and people affirmed. It is grave evil to demonize other people and refuse to understand their perspective. Should the approach that is prevalent and popular today be changed and in its place be instituted an approach based upon listening and mutual respect, then there is no doubt that the hysteria of the media which posits a global clash of civilizations, would then be easily refuted.
 Above: One of the many checkpoints where Israeli troops limit the access and travel of Palestinians, further complicating their lives and providing a fertile turf for breeding hatred and desperation. Commentary In 2001, Viewzone visited the Arabian country of Yemen as part of our archaeological coverage of the palace of the Queen of Sheba. We were the guest of the government of Yemen and were afforded complete access to the ancient and modern sites. On our trip, we noted many areas that were called "the old Jewish neighborhoods." We were surprised to learn that, prior to the establishment of the state of Israel in the late 1940s, Jews and Arabs lived together, worked together and even socialized with not the least bit of conflict for generations. Yemen had many Temples, often side by side with Mosques, and the famed Arabic jewelry crafts of Yemen were almost exclusively made by Jewish artisans. With the establishment of the state of Israel, almost all of the Jews in this region were encouraged by their own people to migrate to the new land, creating a professional and cultural void that was difficult for the region to fill. Over the years, the mistreatment of the Palestinians by the Israelis has been viewed as an insult to Arabs everywhere. "What did these innocent people do to deserve this?" That is the question many Arabs want to know. It has been stated by many Arabs and non-Arabs (including bin Laden himself in October 2001) that the events of 9-11 were in direct response to the perceived American support of the Israeli treatment of Palestinians. This was, and continues to be, the epicenter of the middle-East conflict. This is the 800-pound gorilla in the room. To ignore it, or refuse to allow discussion of it, is insane. How else will it be resolved? While we cannot turn back the clock and correct the past, it is hopeful to recognize that the conflict between Jew and Arab is NOT an old one. It is good to remember that just about 60 years ago it did not exist. The hope that people who have more in common with each other than not, who once were friendly neighbors and fellow countrymen, can some day regain the respect of one another -- must endure. What are YOUR thoughts on this subject? Writer's Note: Since writing this story I have received demands that it be taken down. The irony of wanting to censor a story about censorship, and to prevent any discussion about the Palestinian injustice underscores the whole nature of the problem. What truth lies hidden here? For more information on the treatment of Palestinians, see "SHAME" (not for the faint of heart!). UPDATE: Israel shaken by troops' tales of brutality against Palestinians A psychologist blames assaults on civilians in the 1990s on soldiers' bad training, boredom and poor supervision. Conal Urquhart in Jerusalem, Sunday October 21, 2007, The Observer A study by an Israeli psychologist into the violent behaviour of the country's soldiers is provoking bitter controversy and has awakened urgent questions about the way the army conducts itself in the Gaza Strip and West Bank. Nufar Yishai-Karin, a clinical psychologist at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, interviewed 21 Israeli soldiers and heard confessions of frequent brutal assaults against Palestinians, aggravated by poor training and discipline. In her recently published report, co-authored by Professor Yoel Elizur, Yishai-Karin details a series of violent incidents, including the beating of a four-year-old boy by an officer. The report, although dealing with the experience of soldiers in the 1990s, has triggered an impassioned debate in Israel, where it was published in an abbreviated form in the newspaper Haaretz last month. According to Yishai Karin: 'At one point or another of their service, the majority of the interviewees enjoyed violence. They enjoyed the violence because it broke the routine and they liked the destruction and the chaos. They also enjoyed the feeling of power in the violence and the sense of danger.' In the words of one soldier: 'The truth? When there is chaos, I like it. That's when I enjoy it. It's like a drug. If I don't go into Rafah, and if there isn't some kind of riot once in some weeks, I go nuts.' Another explained: 'The most important thing is that it removes the burden of the law from you. You feel that you are the law. You are the law. You are the one who decides... As though from the moment you leave the place that is called Eretz Yisrael [the Land of Israel] and go through the Erez checkpoint into the Gaza Strip, you are the law. You are God.' The soldiers described dozens of incidents of extreme violence. One recalled an incident when a Palestinian was shot for no reason and left on the street. 'We were in a weapons carrier when this guy, around 25, passed by in the street and, just like that, for no reason - he didn't throw a stone, did nothing - bang, a bullet in the stomach, he shot him in the stomach and the guy is dying on the pavement and we keep going, apathetic. No one gave him a second look,' he said. The soldiers developed a mentality in which they would use physical violence to deter Palestinians from abusing them. One described beating women. 'With women I have no problem. With women, one threw a clog at me and I kicked her here [pointing to the crotch], I broke everything there. She can't have children. Next time she won't throw clogs at me. When one of them [a woman] spat at me, I gave her the rifle butt in the face. She doesn't have what to spit with any more.' Yishai-Karin found that the soldiers were exposed to violence against Palestinians from as early as their first weeks of basic training. On one occasion, the soldiers were escorting some arrested Palestinians. The arrested men were made to sit on the floor of the bus. They had been taken from their beds and were barely clothed, even though the temperature was below zero. The new recruits trampled on the Palestinians and then proceeded to beat them for the whole of the journey. They opened the bus windows and poured water on the arrested men. The disclosure of the report in the Israeli media has occasioned a remarkable response. In letters responding to the recollections, writers have focused on both the present and past experience of Israeli soldiers to ask troubling questions that have probed the legitimacy of the actions of the Israeli Defence Forces. The study and the reactions to it have marked a sharp change in the way Israelis regard their period of military service - particularly in the occupied territories - which has been reflected in the increasing levels of conscientious objection and draft-dodging. The debate has contrasted sharply with an Israeli army where new recruits are taught that they are joining 'the most ethical army in the world' - a refrain that is echoed throughout Israeli society. In its doctrine, published on its website, the Israeli army emphasises human dignity. 'The Israeli army and its soldiers are obligated to protect human dignity. Every human being is of value regardless of his or her origin, religion, nationality, gender, status or position.' However, the Israeli army, like other armies, has found it difficult to maintain these values beyond the classroom. The first intifada, which began in 1987, before the wave of suicide bombings, was markedly different to the violence of the second intifada, and its main events were popular demonstrations with stone-throwing. Yishai-Karin, in an interview with Haaretz, described how her research came out of her own experience as a soldier at an army base in Rafah in the Gaza Strip. She interviewed 18 ordinary soldiers and three officers whom she had served with in Gaza. The soldiers described how the violence was encouraged by some commanders. One soldier recalled: 'After two months in Rafah, a [new] commanding officer arrived... So we do a first patrol with him. It's 6am, Rafah is under curfew, there isn't so much as a dog in the streets. Only a little boy of four playing in the sand. He is building a castle in his yard. He [the officer] suddenly starts running and we all run with him. He was from the combat engineers. Yishai-Karin concluded that the main reason for the soldiers' violence was a lack of training. She found that the soldiers did not know what was expected of them and therefore were free to develop their own way of behaviour. The longer a unit was left in the field, the more violent it became. The Israeli soldiers, she concluded, had a level of violence which is universal across all nations and cultures. If they are allowed to operate in difficult circumstances, such as in Gaza and the West Bank, without training and proper supervision, the violence is bound to come out. A spokeswoman for the Israeli army said that, if a soldier deviates from the army's norms, they could be investigated by the military police or face criminal investigation. She said: 'It should be noted that since the events described in Nufar Yishai-Karin's research the number of ethical violations by IDF soldiers involving the Palestinian population has consistently dropped. This trend has continued in the last few years.'
Comments: Dearest viewzone. Please let the world know what is happening to us! Israelis Execute Women and Teen Children The Israelis told citizens of Beit Hanoun that all males from fourteen to forty five had to report to the town stadium. We were then told that the Jews were executing them. Jews were using the Mosque as a holding area for the teenage boys -- our sons and brothers. When all us mothers showed up to ask please for our children back, an Israeli tank shot at us. The Israelis shot at least twelve mothers. Later they shot at teenagers.  Click on image to view movie. Thank you so much viewzone for showing the world what is happening. I pray that when people see this with their own eyes then they will understand and help. No other website has the courage to tell the truth. Bless you viewzone! A Palestinian Mother
Check this out! And we're dying in Iraq for these people? The newest hobby among Israeli soldiers? Trading pictures of dead and injured Palestinians
Date: 01 / 11 / 2007 Time: 18:46
Bethlehem -- Ma'an -- Israeli soldiers are trading pictures of dead Palestinians on their cell phones, the Israeli newspaper Ma'ariv reported Thursday.
Ma'ariv said that soldiers are known to use pictures of Palestinian corpses as screen savers in the place of pictures of friends or relatives.
Israeli troops reportedly enjoy swapping the latest photos taken in Gaza.
One picture that reached the Israeli media was taken by soldiers from Israel's Golani Brigade, shows Palestinians killed during a recent incursion into northern Gaza. Ma'ariv said the Golani Brigade soldiers were not the only ones partaking in the strange practice. Other infantry units and paratroopers were among those found to be keeping collections of such gruesome photos.
One soldier interviewed by the newspaper said taking these photos gives soldiers a sense of finality in victory.
An army spokesperson said that the Israeli armed forces considers it a top priority to preserve the moral values that soldiers and commanders were brought up with, and that the army would look into the issue. Right. David S. UPDATE: No Peace
By Charley Reese
To understand the failure of the president's trip to the Middle East, which is foreordained and doesn't have to be completed in order to fail, take note of two words that the president will not utter: "occupied territories."
Let's review the situation from the standpoint of international law. The West Bank, Gaza, the Golan Heights, East Jerusalem and a smidgen of Lebanon the Israelis still occupy are officially designated as occupied territories. They were seized in war. Jerusalem is officially an international city, so designated by the United Nations partition resolution that created the state of Israel. The Israelis, of course, long ago declared the resolution null and void.
As occupied territories, they fall under the Geneva Conventions. An occupying power is not allowed to take land or to build settlements in occupied territory. It is not allowed to destroy homes, to uproot olive groves, to deport people, and to wall the area off °© all of which the Israelis have done and are continuing to do.
This brings us to the question of negotiations. It is impossible for the Palestinians, whose land is occupied and whose lives are totally controlled by the most powerful military state in the Middle East, to make any concessions. To make a concession, you have to have something. They have nothing. They have no power. They don't control their land, their borders, their access to the sea or the air, the water or even their movements within the territories. Thanks to the American vetoes, they don't even have any recourse in the U.N.
The only party, then, that can make concessions is Israel, and Israel is not making any concessions, since it far prefers land to peace with an enemy that is virtually powerless.
Therefore, if the U.S. refuses to pressure Israel, there will be no peace. President Bush's trip is nothing more than a public-relations ploy to simulate an interest in peace. Bush is, however, unwilling to say or do anything that might actually result in Israeli concessions and therefore in peace. In fact, the main purpose of Bush's visit is to harangue the Arabs about the alleged dangers of Iran. He refuses to talk to the elected representatives of the Palestinians, who are Hamas members.
I see no change in Bush's thinking, if you can call it that, at all, but I do notice that he looks depressed. The last two public appearances I've watched on television show an unhappy man. The old cockiness and the silly smiles seem to have vanished. It could be that slowly the news is trickling into his brain that his administration has been a flop.
In the meantime, the Palestinians continue to suffer, the world continues to ignore their suffering, and the kettle that is the Middle East continues to simmer. It is never wise for either an individual or a country to believe that because it is powerful today it will always be powerful. The Middle East is an open-air museum of the ruins of past conquerors.
We Americans should pay particular note to the fact that time is not reckoned in the Middle East as it is in the West, where it was shaped by industrial factory life. There is an Arab story about a man who returned to his village after an absence of some weeks.
"Do you remember that man who insulted me 30 years ago?" he asks a friend. "Well, I just killed him."
"Why were you in such a hurry?" his friend asks.
It's quite a sad situation for everyone concerned. If I were an Israeli, I'd be concerned about forcing another generation of Palestinians to live in poverty and bitterness. I'd be concerned that another generation of Israeli children is going to have to grow up in a militarized state in the midst of a larger population that hates them. As an American, I'm concerned that cowardly politicians are putting Americans at risk out of fear of a domestic lobby.
Charley Reese has been a journalist for 49 years.
Hi, Check this out: Israeli Army Orders Confiscation of Palestinian Land in West Bank. Enough said. That map on the page will soon be outdated! Mark D. Hi, Here are some photos from the convention. Does this look to you like a Jew-hater we have been led to believe he is? We have been lied to by Zionists who want a war with Iran! Gene.
Dear Viewzone, Thanks for this information. We hardly ever hear about the reason for all the hatred towards Americans. After 911 we were told that they hated us "because of our freedom." I never thought that made any sense but I heard it repeated over and over. Now I understand that it is how we use those freedoms to enslave and persecute other people. It seems hopeless now, but, as you say, there should always be hope. Beth M., Syracuse, NY Well you have finally proven that Viewzone is an anti-Semitic bunch of crap of the lowest form. I hope you rot in hell. Anonymous
Viewzone: While I support the state of Israel, I do acknowledge that the hatred of Palestinians and Arabs is a fact that has gone on much too long. After more than 60 years now one would expect that the prospect for peace would overcome land grabs and the invasion of refugee camps. I think Israel is clearly to blame since they exercise the real power in the current situation. They should use this power to make some concessions and embrace the Palestinians -- for the sake of peace. I am also disheartened to learn that the Israeli government has recently turned away the desperate refugees from Africa's war-torn nations -- people who, like the Jews under the Nazis, are escaping genocide and atrocities. This act does not somehow seem appropriate for a people and race who formed the state of Israel as a remedy for their own holocaust. As with all religions, dilution with political agendas seems to diminish spiritual integrity. Issy C. I agree with the remarks of Issy. The Israel government has the upper hand here and so the responibility to negotiate a peace, even if it means losing land. The agenda of peace must be paramount. Israel, less the size of the state of Rhode Island, has an estimated 400 nuclear warheads and received billions of US dollars to maintain this powerful status. It has infiltrated the American government with its powerful lobbys and has influenced American opinion with its control over the mainstream media, despite the fact that there are only about 2% of Jewish background in America. This accumulated power must be used to lessen the tensions between Arabs, Islam and the Zionist interests that destabilize the world today. Otherwise, the stability of the entire world hangs in the balance. Robt. C. H.
Dude, Arabs suck! We should just wipe 'em out and take their damned oil. George Higgs Recent claims by Evangelical Christians that the State of Israel is the fulfillment of a biblical prophecy and the upcoming series on Christian Zionists scheduled for airing on CNN beginning this week has caused great alarm among many in the traditional Jewish community.
Even in a practical context, Torah-true Jews find it hard to believe that these Christians have the Jews' best interest at heart. They are sending them off to the battlefield called the West Bank, where every successful Zionist settlement is an obstacle to peace, a victory in the war of these extremists to dominate the land and subdue its inhabitants. The true goal of these Christians is not to be "those who bless Jews" but to prepare the ground for the final battle at the end of the world, when they believe their messiah will return and all who did not believe in him (i.e. Jews and Muslims) will perish and burn in hell.
Historically, those gentiles who welcomed Jews into their country and allowed them freedom to practice the Torah and full rights were considered friends of the Jews. Anti-Semites were those who expelled Jews from their country and wanted them elsewhere. °∞These millions of Christians have, by means of the pragmatic Zionist money-takers, managed to sell themselves as friends of the Jews when in reality they are putting all their resources into settling Jews far away, in the most dangerous part of the world.°± said a spokesperson for True Torah Jews.
True Torah Jews is dedicated to informing the world and in particular the American public and politicians that all Jews do not support the ideology of the Zionist state called "Israel" which is diametrically opposite to the teachings of traditional Judaism. We are concerned that the widespread misconception that all Jews support the Zionist state and its actions endangers Jews worldwide.
Yeah. The Jews are now the new Nazis. Check this out: YouTube Clip. Call a spade a spade. The Jews deserve their reputation. Keith G.
FALSEHOOD: The "Palestinian" Arabs are the rightful owners of the land, for they inhabited the region before the Jews.
HISTORICAL FACT: Recorded history clearly shows the Arabs as a people who did not emerge in this region until midway through the 7th century. Yet, they boast incessantly of ties to the land that date back thousands of years. Perhaps the fairy tale most easily debunked, this nonsensical assertion stems from the elusive and mythical "Palestinian" Arab connection with the ancient Philistines (read: Greeks), which would essentially date their lineage to said time period. While recorded history remains incapable of doing the "Palestinians" any favors, it entirely and unequivocally supports a Jewish presence in this region--dating back some 2,000 years before the time of Christ. To those who would submit that the Holy Scriptures do not qualify as an authentic source of "recorded history", and subsequently do not represent legitimate evidence supporting such an early Jewish presence, consider the 19th-century discoveries of ancient Egyptian records clearly showing Israel as a well-established nation some 1,400 years before the time of Yeshua.
Although this author sides entirely with Biblical record, both sources effectively neutralize any "Palestinian" claims that propagate a lack of a Jewish presence during this time. In all of recorded history, and through all the destruction and catastrophe that has come upon the Jewish people, they have always maintained a presence, albeit to a varying degree, in the land that is Israel.
To assert that the Arab people never had control of the land would be as false as the assertions claiming they inhabited it "from time immemorial". Recorded history will show this region in the hands of the Arabs during the centuries leading up to the Crusades, when control of Jerusalem became a "volley" between Christian and Muslim alliances, as well as the brief season leading up to the establishment of the Ottoman empire. Nonetheless, despite these times in which different nations established their dominion over the Holy Land, it never knew a time in which it was devoid of a Jewish presence. The Jewish people can claim an ancestral presence in this region that dates back some 3,300 years, and they would be historically accurate in doing so. The "Palestinians" can accurately lay claim to an Arab presence in the land of Israel dating back no earlier than the 7th century.
To erroneously purport that they--the "Palestinians", inhabited this region before the Jewish people would be an inveracity of not only a historical nature, but of a mathematical one, as well.
FALSEHOOD: Israel evicted the "Palestinian" Arabs from the land in 1948 and is subsequently to blame for the ongoing "Palestinian refugee" problem.
HISTORICAL FACT: Said Arabs were not evicted from the region by Israel. They fled. They were told by the surrounding countries--their own people--that an invasion was looming and that they should leave to avoid suffering casualties at the hands of said conflict. Indisputable evidence from political officials and historians--Arab and Israeli alike--support this fact. Fearing for their lives, nearly one million Jews were forced to flee the surrounding, hostile Arab countries. Historical record shows these people were efficiently and immediately absorbed, by Israel, with very little problem. However, can the same be said for the nearly 700,000 "Palestinian" Arabs who fled Israel--at the advice of their own countries? What became of them upon arrival in their own homelands? History shows that, when their military initiatives failed, the surrounding Arab countries gave birth to a crisis that exists this very day. Specifically, they refused to absorb their own Arabs--these "refugees" who heeded their recommendation to flee a region soon to be engaged in war-- a war that, with every logistical certainty, should have been completed in short order. In so doing, they returned their Arabs to the land of Israel where they, to this day, live as "refugees" who blame Israel as the cause of their strife and insist they should be allowed to return to their purported "homeland". Such are the dynamics surrounding the elusive and unprocurable "Palestinian Right of Return".
Perspective
The Arabs are the only people in recorded history to willfully and emphatically pass on their "refugee" status from generation to generation. Make no mistake; this is a wound that was self-inflicted, and where their soldiers failed, their lies have prevailed. Truth be told, there has never, in all of history, been a nation called "Palestine". Lee. Los Angeles
I wonder if Lee would feel the same about Native American claims to North America since their habitation spans 20,000 years. Should we "Europeans" all evacuate from America since we were here a mere 200 years? A homeland is a homeland, whether or not it has an official name. Gary Viewzone, Cal.
What a breath of fresh air to read your article about Rabbi Weiss and the Holocaust Conference in Iran. It's much too late for the media to tell it like it is but better late than never. That map of the incredible shrinking Palestine really makes the point. How is it that America and the rest of the world has stood idly by and has allowed the Zionists to work their evil for all these years? And I mean "evil" -- the premeditated action to hurt others and defy morality. I have little hope that other publications will do the same as you have but I wholeheartedly applaud your efforts to reveal the truth. Thank you! Mark T.
Viewzone: I won't repeat what others have said but thanks for this story. Keep up the good work. Viewzone, My parents were from Palestine and had to move when they established the state of Israel. They told me how they had to leave their home and their orchrard of date trees that had been in our family for generations. My father said that he went back a few years later to see his orchard and was shocked to see that they had bulldozed all the trees and the land was barron. He didn't understand why they would have destroyed perfectly good trees that were fruitful. But we all understood the hatred of our people that made the Jews do that. They wanted to wipe clean the signs of their guilt. I never understood why the Jews hated us. We didn't do anything to them. We were not running the concentration camps. We were not hurting them. Why? I still ask that question after all these years but, in my heart, I have begun to hate Jews because of how they made my parents life end in sorrow, longing for their family land. You see, hate begets hate and it ripples down from generation to generation. It is a burdon that hurts the hater more than the thing that is hated. I wish I had the strength to put it down. It is such a heavy burdon. J.P. Hi, regarding the lengthy explanation of why the Jews deserve the Palestinian land, a wise man once said "The quality of truth is inversely proportional to the length of the arguments supporting it." Truth is simple and self-evident. An explanation of a wrong only disproves it more. Dear Viewzone Editor: I takes courage to tell the truth. I have just sent you $25 donation via paypal so that you can continue telling people what is going on in the world. It's a small gift but it's all I can do now. I encourage others to do the same. These things are never told on the mainstream media. Thank you. Mark D. Viewzone, That movie of the women being shot is powerful, especially with the sound of the bullets. I hope people will see this and remember it. Thank you for posting it. Brian Mancuso, San Diego. Without U.S. aid, which now is conservatively estimated to total $108 billion (think of the infrastructure and schools that amount could build in the U.S.), and without the U.S. wielding its veto every time the United Nations tries to act, none of this would be possible. Let's wake up! G.B. Israel was established on stolen Palestinian land under the pretext of freeing Jews from death and persecution, and over 60 years later, Israel continues it’s financial and emotional extortion of the world because of the Holocaust, but what Israel does today, every day, is every bit as immoral, unsightly and filthy as the Holocaust, whose dark memory follows Europe to this day.
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The deaths from hunger, sickness, and severe cold, the deaths from each of the Israel Air Force massacres, the deaths from shelling and destruction, under the unending closures, boys who bleed to death on the streets, women, elderly and sick persons dying at the illegal checkpoints, the continued terrorism of the IDF soldiers, the never ending lies of the media, the thefts of food and crops, the destruction of all kinds of property, of water, the sowing of water deposits with radioactive garbage from Dimona, the inhuman darkness and callousness of the whole Israeli society, creating a paralyzed and sick generation with deep tensions and the urge for revenge inside, and forcing the nearby Arab countries to take part in this genocide by way of economic threats against their populations, it all combined is far, far more criminal than anything the Nazi regime ever did. Truly, the former victims and their accomplices have not only surpassed their former tormentors in moral abjectness, they have even made those crimes and worse into a way of life, and abject cruelty into the national sport of their so-called “Jewish nation”.
One week after George W. Bush’s meetings with Mahmud Abbas and Ehud Olmert Israel ordered all border crossings into Gaza closed as it continued its deadly attacks on more than 1.5 million Palestinians who are now denied food, water, electricity and medical supplies. 50 Palestinian were killed by the air force, over 400 injured, half of them are children, sprawled in the open air, under severe cold, in the Palestinian concentration camp which has become the Gaza Strip. The life of one million and a half persons stopped in Gaza. The hospitals and the refrigerators of the morgues were stopped since the fascist State of Israel stopped the electricity in Gaza.
Yesterday a Palestinian from Gaza wrote me clarifying the situation in Gaza and seeking humanitarian help. They wrote that on Saturday, 80 military tanks entered the Jabalya refugee camp in the north of Gaza and began destroying Palestinian homes. Gaza’s power plant reported on Sunday that it has fuel for only two more days of operations. The people of Gaza - 80% of them refugees - stand amidst a military occupation, constant attacks and a humanitarian crisis. On Sunday, the electricity was cut, and the city fell into deep-black under heavy shelling from the Israeli military, the life of the sick people in the hospitals is now in great danger.
The signs of the planned Israeli crimes were clear since Hamas won Gaza, or since Dahlan, PA, the Arab leaders, USA, and Israel put in place the first stage of their criminal conspiracy and helped Hamas to win Gaza, or at least to think that they won Gaza, in order to remove this camp from the map of Palestine. In July 2007 I wrote about this American-Israeli-PA conspiracy in regarding Gaza. Today the situation in Gaza is a clear confirmation of what I wrote in mid-2007.
Congratulations to Europe and the USA, your continued efforts in support of your eternal victims have created a situation so horribly criminal that even the most extreme Nazis would have blushed in shame had they lived to see it. Your continued and unerring shrieks of “the existence of Israel must be made safe” have made genocide, ethnic cleansing, religious bigotry, racial hatred, crimes against humanity, war crimes, theft, terrorism and many other horrible crimes not only legal, but socially acceptable and even mandatory !
Congratulations to Europe and the USA, because after more than 60 years of covering up, justifying, financing, aiding, abetting, facilitating and even celebrating all manner of crimes against humanity perpetrated by the European and American Jews who illegally occupy Palestine, you have finally uncovered your true face, for against all your protestations of innocence and dismay, genocide is very much a part of your culture and very acceptable as long as it is perpetrated by Jews against those who you classify as racially inferior in order to make theft of resources easier.
Congratulations to Europe and the USA, you are both accomplices in causing the death of 67 patients who died at the Israeli border checkjpoints and the Rafah crossing to the Gaza concentration camp, while waiting to access necessary health services.
May the stench of genocide which emanates from Palestine never leave you. Jan 21st, 2008 by kawther.salam
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Rabbi Weiss: We had visited Iran twice prior to the conference and had also met with Iranian representatives and the President in New York . Our relationship with the Iranians was always and continues to be friendly, even affectionate. While in the country we were allowed to speak freely to media, students and the large Jewish community. This community incidentally has many synagogues full of worshippers. We spoke in these synagogues with no government interference, encouraging Jews to practice and study their faith.
Rabbi Weiss: The conference featured many speakers, many of which affirmed the Holocaust's reality. Some quibbled about details. Others acknowledged atrocities but denied a co-coordinated policy of extermination. In sum, many diverse opinions were heard.
