Welcome to my *bilingual* Blog
Willkommen auf meinem *zweisprachigen* Blog

It’s been 7 years already since I have moved to Jerusalem, the capital of Israel. By now I cannot imagine at all returning to Berlin or any other place on earth. I have become a proud [21.century] Zionist – in other words, I am more than happy that I have discovered my homeland and eventually settled down on it. Israel – a country, whose water and weather, sand and stones I have learned to love over the time.
Seit über 7 Jahren lebe ich nun in Jerusalem, der Hauptstadt Israels. Mittlerweile kann ich mir nicht vorstellen zurück nach Berlin, noch sonst wohin zu ziehen. Ich bin ein stolzer ]21. Jahrhundert[ Zionist geworden – soll heißen, bin glücklich, dass ich meine Heimat Israel entdeckt und besiedelt habe. Israel - ein Land, dessen Wasser und Wetter, Sand und Steine ich langsam aber sehr sicher zu lieben gelernt habe.

Unfortunately some people see things quite differently and instead of admiring the stones of Jerusalem and the sand of Tel Aviv, they hate it. In many places in the world people are thus at one regarding anything concerning “the Zionist state”. Some proclaim publicly that Israel is a “germ which should be squeezed out”; others claim that Israel is the “last remaining colonial power”; again others hold the opinion that Israel is a country of aggressive soldiers and Holocaust survivors who even succeed to suppress their minorities living in between them.
Jerusalemer Stein und Tel Aviver Sand stoßen jedoch nicht nur auf bewundernde Augen, sondern zunehmend auch auf Hass. In sehr vielen Ecken der Welt ist man sich ziemlich einig, wenn es um den „zionistischen Staat“ geht. Die einen verkünden öffentlich, dass Israel eine „Bakterie ist, die man schnellstmöglich ausdrücken sollte“; andere behaupten, dass Israel die „letzte verbliebene Kolonialmacht“ ist; wiederum andere sind der Auffassung, dass in Israel ausschließlich aggressive Soldaten und Holocaust-Überlebende wohnen, die es auch noch schaffen ihre Minderheiten zu unterdrücken.

Certainly all this is anti-Semitism/anti-Zionism/anti-Israelism, call it what you want, propaganda, which in absolutely no way reflect the reality of this beautiful and very special country. The reality here is much more complicated and probably therefore much more exciting, which is perceivable all over the world, in every language, since this “small spot of land” is been focused on almost all year long.
Das alles ist natürlich anti-semitische/anti-zionistische/anti-israelische, wie auch immer man „es“ gerade nennen möchte, Propaganda, die in keinster Weise die Realität dieses wunderschönen und sehr besonderen Landes widerspiegeln. Die Realität hier ist um einiges komplizierter, deshalb auch spannender, was sich bemerkbar macht, wenn man egal wo, egal auf welcher Sprache Nachrichten hört, denn fast das ganze Jahr über wird aus diesem „Quadratkilometer“ berichtet.

I am neither a journalist nor the chairperson of any academic institute; nevertheless, maybe even therefore, I hope that my opinions will make you think about the issues I will relate to.
I will especially deal with current Jerusalem and Israel relating matters, but among other themes will also refer to the Middle East, Iran and international relations in general.
Ich bin weder Journalist noch Vorsitzender irgendeines akademischen Institutes, jedoch, bzw. gerade deshalb, hoffe ich, dass meine Meinungen für manch einen von euch interessant sind und zum nachdenken verleiten.
Unter anderem werde ich Themen ansprechen, die das heutige Jerusalem und Israel direkt betreffen, werde aber auch über den Mittleren Osten, Iran und Internationale Beziehungen generell schreiben.



09.07.2009

"Nations never concede, they fight!"

In order to understand the Israeli-Palestinian, i.e. Israeli-Arab, i.e. Jewish-Arab conflict we need to look back on the beginnings of the conflict. The period before Israel proclaimed its independence on May 14, 1948 are therefore of significance since they heralded the apparent perpetual conflict between the two people/two nations/two religions...


out of Dan Kurzman: Genesis 1948 - The First Arab-Israeli War, pp. 26-27.
...
The Jews now sought to win over the Arabs to partition. But all efforts to meet with the Arabs failed. Then one morning in London Jon Kimche, a pro-Zionist British journalist, telephoned David Horowitz of the Jewish Agency and asked if he would like to talk with Abdul Rehman Azzam Pasha.
Horowitz was incredulous. As secretary-general of the Arab League Azzam Pasha, an Egyptian, was one of the most influential Arab leaders.
He had seen Azzam, Kimche explained, and Azzam had agreed to an interview.
The next day, Horowitz, Kimche, and Aubrey (Abba) Eban, another Jewish Agency official, drove to the Savoy Hotel and were courteously received by the tall, lean-faced Arab diplomat in his suite. The visitors realized that Azzam, reputedly a moderate Arab nationalist who clung to his position bt taking an extremist stand publicly, had consented to this extraordinary secret interview at no small political risk, considering the explosive Middle Eastern atmosphere. Horowitz opened the conversation by stating his view of the UNSCOP (United Nations special Committee on Palestine) report. Then he went on: "The Jews are a fait accompli in the Middle East. Sooner or later the Arabs will have to reconcile themselves to the fact and accept it. You Arabs cannot wipe out over half a million people. We, for our part, are genuinely desirous of an agreement with the Arabs and are prepared to make sacrifices for one..."
Horowitz then proposed a plan embracing a political arrangement, security guarantess, and an economic program for joint development of the Middle East.
Azzam Pasha responded dryly: "The Arab world is not in a compromising mood. It's likely, Mr. Horowitz, that your plan is rational and logical, but the fate of nations is not decided by rational logic. Nations never concede, they fight. You won't get anything by peaceful means or compromise. You can perhaps get something, but only by force of arms. We shall try to defeat you. I'm not sure we'll succeed, but we'll try.
...
Astonished Horowitz interrupted, "Then you believe in force of arms alone...?"
"It's in the nature of peoples," replied Azzam...

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