Palestine – Politicians Peddling Propaganda Forfeit Credibility…writes David Singer
Senator Lee Rhiannon – a member of the Greens Party holding a pivotal position in Australian politics – authorised and printed a deceptive and misleading pamphlet which was distributed at a protest rally addressed by her last Sunday in Sydney “against Israeli Apartheid and commemorating Al Nakba 68 years on.”The pamphlet purported to quote a statement by Israel’s then Defense Minister Moshe Dayan in 1969:
“We came to a region of land that was inhabited by Arabs and we set up a Jewish State … Jewish villages were built in the place of Arab villages “
What Dayan actually said – which Senator Rhiannon was apparently not prepared to disclose – was:
“We came to a region that was inhabited by Arabs, and we set up a Jewish state. In many places, we purchased the land from Arabs and set up Jewish villages where there had once been Arab villages.”
God forbid that those present should learn that Jews had actually purchased land from its Arab owners. Better to maintain the canard repeated in Palestinian text books and media that
“the Zionist gangs stole Palestine”
Moshe Aumann in his seminal work “Land ownership in Palestine 1880-1948” states that in 1948:
“8.6 per cent of the land was owned by Jews and 3.3 per cent by Israeli Arabs, while 16.9 per cent had been abandoned by Arab owners who imprudently heeded the call from neighbouring countries to “get out of the way” while the invading Arab armies made short shrift of Israel. The rest of the land—over 70 per cent—had been vested in the Mandatory Power, and accordingly reverted to the State of Israel as its legal heir. (Government of Palestine, Survey of Palestine, 1946, British Government Printer, p. 257.) The greater part of this 70 per cent consisted of the Negev, some 3,144,250 acres all told, or close to 50 per cent of the 6,580,000 acres in all of Mandatory Palestine. Known as Crown or State Lands, this was mostly uninhabited arid or semi-arid territory, inherited originally by the Mandatory Government from Turkey. In 1948 it passed to the Government of Israel. These lands had not been owned by Arab farmers—neither under the British Mandate nor under the preceding regime.”
Senator Rhiannon has a Parliamentary staff to assist her in ensuring everything that issues in her name as a Senator is totally and completely accurate.
She has let her emotions cloud her judgement in what can only be seen as a deliberate attempt to paper over the fact that Jews bought land in Palestine they settled on.
Another pamphlet containing four maps was handed out at the rally – supposedly documenting Palestinian loss of land between 1946 and 2000.
McGraw Hill Publishing only recently withdrew from sale and trashed unsold copies of one of its textbooks – Global Politics: Engaging a Complex World – containing those maps.
Spokesperson – Catherine Mathis – stated:
“As soon as we learned about the concerns with it, we placed sales of the book on hold and immediately initiated an academic review. The review determined that the map did not meet our academic standards. We have informed the authors and we are no longer selling the book. All existing inventory will be destroyed. We apologize and will refund payment to anyone who returns the book.”
Senator Rhiannon is perfectly entitled to express her support for the Palestinian Arabs.
It would be encouraging to know however that her support is based on fact – not fiction and partisan propaganda designed to deceive and mislead and possibly incite to violence and Jew-hatred.
Senator Rhiannon has badly blotted her copybook – and credibility.
David Singer is a Sydney Lawyer and Foundation Member of the International Analysts Network
David,
I intend writing to Lee Rhiannon (with copy to Di Natale) because this is so blatantly wrong, in every way. She is so blinkered that it won’t to any good. However, as you say, the inaccuracy of both the maps and the words, all paid for with taxpayers’ money, is something that shouldn’t be left.
Liat
Please write to Senator Rhiannon and Senator Di Natale and let me know their replies.
I wish another 1000 voters would do the same thing.
I have tweeted my article to Senator Rhiannon – but no reply.
There seems to be a pattern evident as we have seen with Jewish Voice for Peace.
Claims are made that when challenged as being deceptive and misleading – are met with a stony silence.
When one attempts to post an online comment challenging a particular piece of Arab propaganda – the response is not published.
Wonder if anyone else had had the same experiences as I am currently discovering.
Gives a new meaning to the term BDS – Bloody Deafening Silence!!
She will get away with whatever she can, David. She will use, and misuse, any material at her disposal to push her bandwagon. Good sense, with people like her, doesn’t come into it. Neither does fairness or honesty. She will continue on her way, regardless.
Liat
Exposing not only Senator Rhiannon but also the Australian Greens for Palestine for disseminating these false, misleading and inaccurate pamphlets and maps leaves their credibility in tatters.
They need to shred these documents – and soon.
Rhiannon has an unswerving, passionate agenda where the Palestinians and Israel are concerned. She wouldn’t be the slightest bit concerned at the notion of blotting her copybook, and she is so obsessively sure of her right in this issue that she will go to any length to further it.
I find her an unreasonable, quite ugly person in the way that she operates. She’s not going to change. However, I think it’s time her role as a politician and her role as an activist pursuing her own personal agenda were examined by the Greens and she be brought to account.
Liat
Interestingly I have discovered since writing my article that the four inaccurate maps trashed by McGraw Hill also appear in a Greens booklet for which the good Senator wrote the introduction.
http://lee-rhiannon.greensmps.org.au/sites/default/files/140515_final_palestine_booklet.pdf
Do you think she will have the good sense to trash both the maps and her pamphlet?
I note she attempts to quote moshe Dayan. She is more apprehensive to quote the PLO and fatah when they say they plan to push Jews into the sea That’s no concern to the good senator just as pol pots killing fields and irans execution of thousands of homosexuals are no concern to her