by Nabila Harb, Co-editor of the Free Arab Voice
http://www.freearabvoice.org/issues/historicalRevisionismAndTheStruggle.htm#art2
The historical revisionist movement would receive little notice outside
academic circles were it not for its willingness to examine established
versions of Jewish myth and history. For this reason, Zionist propaganda
has done its utmost not only to discredit it but to silence it, resorting
repeatedly to terrorist attacks internationally against scholars who have
dared to question the facts of the so-called 'Jewish holocaust'.
In a reader's letter to 'The Barnes Review', a teacher wrote: 'It is so
much fun to use your articles for a portion of history and geography lessons
[in our schools]. This way, a large variety of opinion can tickle the
imagination of children and allow them to think for themselves... By all
means, continue to explore the fascinating history of mankind, wherever it
may lead'.
The phrase 'wherever it may lead' is most significant here and what is most
feared by the Zionist propaganda machine is that such explorations will lead
to the TRUTH. It has been said that: 'The truth will set you free'.
Indeed, the truth is one weapon in the Palestinian war for freedom denied to
the Zionists, and the search for and publication of the truth must be
encouraged AT ALL COSTS. In this context, it is ironic to note that, in a
legal action taken against an historical revisionist by the Zionists, when
the scholar under attack proved that he had published nothing more than the
truth, a judge declared that 'The Truth is no Defence'. And yet, Zionist
influence has become so powerful that the international community, so quick
to defend freedom of expression in other circumstances, was conspicuously
silent in the face of this outrageous ruling.
There is a character in Western literature named Don Quixote who attacked a
windmill under the mistaken impression that it was an enemy. It is not
Don Quixote's misperceptions that have made him beloved, but rather his
willingness to take on ANY challenge in his quest for justice. Is this not
precisely what is at the core of the historical revisionist movement as
well? History must not be confused with religion, and yet, apparently,
there are certain areas where history and religion both must yield to
fantasies promoted by the Zionists in their efforts to conceal past and
perpetuate present and future crimes against humanity and the Palestinian
people. The Zionists, who proclaim a 'right' to occupy the land of
Palestine on the grounds of a 2,000 year old previous Occupation of the
land, have managed, by virtue of the 'chosen people' and Jewish 'holocaust'
myths, to curtail international scholarly investigations into the past,
present and future. History always has been a curious mixture of fact,
speculation and human perception, an account of events written usually by
the winners, and one that has been recounted in such a way as to bolster the
appearance of legitimacy of those in power. A famous example of the
divergence between accepted history and fact in the West is the case of
Richard III of England, portrayed by William Shakespeare as a murdering
hunchback in the interests of promoting rather precarious Tudor claims to
the throne of England. Astonishingly, this version of history prevailed,
partly due to the literary brilliance of Shakespeare's writing, until the
20th century, when a combination of archaeological discoveries and scholarly
research revealed a vastly different reality.
Whatever the facts or fictions with respect to the Jews in Europe during the
Second World War, it is an indisputable fact that the Zionists have USED the
'Jewish holocaust' argument both as a sword and as a shield where their
invasion and continuing occupation of Palestine is concerned. Another fact:
the Zionist programme with respect to the invasion and occupation of
Palestine had its beginnings in the 19th century, quite prior to the Second
World War, and it is a FACT that the Zionists then embraced the concepts of
racial purity and ethnic genocide that are attributed to the Nazis later in
history and that they continue to do so, making their Occupation of the
Palestinian homeland a racist apartheid state to rival that of White South
Africa. Yet another fact: practical as well as intellectual research has
shown that some of the so-called 'truths' about the Jewish holocaust during
the Second World War are pure fiction. It is another fact that Jewish
'history' from 'biblical' times onwards is permeated with fictions and
misinformation. History even at its best, is partly fact and partly
opinion, interwoven with rumours and folktales and it is utterly
incomprehensible to find ordinarily intelligent human beings refusing to
investigate all claims made with respect to the 'Jewish holocaust' in order
to come closer to a knowledge of what really happened. That, however, is
the situation in the Western world today. Surely there is something wrong
with this picture!
Any claims of a 'Jewish holocaust' of the Second World War should be
subject to ordinary standards of evidence and proof. Moreover, there have
been horrendous acts of genocide throughout history, and the attitude that
somehow a Jewish holocaust would be more despicable and subject to different
standards of proof than any other is arrogant and indefensible.
ANY Zionist propaganda, whether it pertains to the so-called 2,000 year old
claim to Palestine or whether it demands Palestine as 'compensation' for the
'Jewish holocaust' must be countered, and the truth should be used as
aggressively as possible in resistance to the Zionist Occupation of
Palestine.
There can be no justification for ignoring or silencing legitimate academic
research and theory with respect to the events of the Second World War. In
ordinary situations, it is assumed that a habitual liar lies about
everything. Why is it that the world accepts the Jewish version of the
'Jewish holocaust' without question when the Zionists have demonstrated a
total and proven disregard for the truth in all other situations and
circumstances?
Logic, reason and facts must never be subverted to political blackmail. The
seed of Zionism that was planted at the end of the 19th century in Europe
were carefully cultivated by the Zionists to blossom into the poisonous
fruits of the Jewish holocaust myth as a tool with which to fight the
inalienable rights of the Palestinian people to their homeland. There have
been countless holocausts throughout the history of humanity. There is
NOTHING special about the 'Jewish people' and therefore, could be nothing
special about any 'Jewish holocaust', whatever the facts and fictions of
that particular holocaust might be. The true crime here is the monstrous
fashion in which Zionists have manipulated and twisted the suffering of some
Jews in Europe during the Second World War into a vast propaganda machine.
One need only read Zionist documents of the era in order to see how well
the concept of a Jewish 'holocaust' suited the Zionist programme in
Palestine.
Furthermore, there is hard evidence that the Zionists themselves were allied
with the Nazis in encouraging their own people to flee from Europe in their
greed to take over the Palestinian homeland.
On 21 July 1933, the Zionist Federation of Germany wrote to the Nazi party:
'In the foundation of the new State, which has proclaimed the race
principle, we wish to adopt our community to these new structures... Our
recognition of the Jewish nationality allows us to establish clear and
sincere relations with the German people and its national and racial
realities. Precisely because we do not want to underestimate these
fundamental principles, because we too are against mixed marriages and for
the maintaining of the purity of the Jewish group... To attain its practical
objectives, Zionism hopes that it will be able to collaborate with a
government that is fundamentally hostile to the Jews...'
In 1938, the Zionist leader Ben Gurion declared that, 'If I knew it was
possible to save all the children in Germany by taking them to England, and
only half of the children by taking them to Eretz Israel, I would choose the
second solution. For we must take into account not only the lives of these
children but also the history of the people of Israel'. He stated moreover
that: 'The Zionist's task is not to save the 'rest' of Israel which finds
itself in Europe, but to save the land of Israel for the Jewish people'.
In the American Jewish Conference of 2 May 1948, Rabbi Klaussner stated: 'I
am convinced people must be forced to go to Palestine... For them, an
American dollar appears as the highest of goals. By the word 'force', I am
suggesting a programme. It served for the evacuation of the Jews in Poland
and in the history of the 'Exodus'... To apply this programme we must,
instead of providing 'displaced persons' with comfort, create the greatest
possible discomfort for them... At a second stage, a procedure calling upon
the Haganah to harass the Jews.'
In Theodore Herzl's 'Diaries', in the late 19th century, he declared that:
'Anti-Semites will become our surest friends, anti-Semitic countries our
allies.'
The old Roman maxim, 'Cui bono?' comes to mind. Who but the Zionists have
benefited enormously from the tales of the 'Jewish holocaust'? Any
independent research or study of the subject would be a threat to kill the
goose that lays the golden eggs.
The work done by historical revisionists in investigating the history of the
Second World War in Europe is not the foundation of any arguments against
the continuing existence of the Zionist entity in Palestine, but it does
offer valuable support to the resistance movement against a vile Occupation
that seeks to conceal its true nature under the shelter of the preposterous
myth of the eternal 'Jewish victim'.
Looking at the history of the Jewish people in Europe and elsewhere, it is
clear that it was the Jewish horror of 'assimilation' which lay at the very
root of any anti-Jewish feeling and that, far from being victims, they
occupied an enviable position compared to the poor. In feudal Europe, this
refusal to assimilate, coupled with the mobility and freedom of the Jews was
in stark contrast to the serf who was chained virtually to the land on
which he worked. The Jews, moreover, considering themselves 'one nation',
with loyalty only to their own people, preferred moveable property to land
as this kept their wealth fluid, easily transported from one nation to
another. Moreover, Jewish traffic in moveable goods, and their position as
pawnbrokers in Europe, gave them considerable influence over governments and
politics. It was Jewish wealth, incidentally, that helped to finance
Richard I of England's despicable 'crusade' in Palestine. Moreover, Jews
tended to be literate in an era when the European Christian Church
discouraged literacy outside of the clergy. Jews were employed as secret
agents and spies by many European powers precisely because of their
international connections, literacy and mobility.
As a people who refused to assimilate, who spoke a foreign language and who
were literate, wealthy and mobile, they could not but foster natural
resentment and hatred in the hearts of the native poor. This lead to
occasional hostile responses, when native populations struck out at Jewish
communities, visible embodiments of wealth and freedom, perceived as
arrogant because of their 'ghetto' mentality, and hated for their
willingness to engage in usury. In fact, for the poor and the desperate,
the only relationship with Jews often would be as a supplicant dependent
upon the mercy of a moneylender. Such relationships are not positive in
nature. 'Anti-semitic' feelings often were simply a response to prevailing
Jewish attitudes and that it was the Jewish insistence upon viewing
themselves as superior and apart from the rest of humanity that is to blame
for anti-Jewish acts in the course of history.
The tendency on the part of the Jews to engage in international commerce
reached a peak in the 19th century when such families as the Rothschilds
became a major influence in international politics. The infamous Balfour
Declaration would never have been written had it not been for the financial
power and political influence of English Jews. Throughout the 20th
century, Jewish influence grew in power through increasing control of
international finance and the media. This is nothing more than a fact and
yet, to state this is to invite instant accusations of 'anti-semiticism'.
Historical revisionists who dare to investigate the Jewish 'holocaust'
immediately are accused of being anti-semitic as well. Despite the fact that
the Jews are not the only semitic people and that Ashkhenazi Jews are not
even Semites, although in typical fashion, Jewish propaganda has developed
this fiction, ignoring the semitic nature of the Arab people, Jewish use of
'anti-semiticism' as a weapon is nothing new. The Zionist movement used the
spectre of anti-semitism as a means of encouraging the emigration of Jews to
Palestine. Zionist terrorist groups operating throughout the Arab world,
particularly during the 1950s, committed acts of terrorism against their
fellow Jews to generate an appearance of rampant 'anti-semiticism' in order
to 'persuade' them to 'emigrate' to Palestine.
Moreover, if Jewish history in terms of Europe and the holocaust is beyond
question, does it not follow logically that the official Jewish version of
the history of Palestine should be beyond question as well? Why should one
particular portion of the tale be accepted unconditionally but other parts
be subject to ordinary standards of truth?
In view of the ongoing ethnic genocide against the Palestinian people and
the blatant deceptions and denials by the Zionists in the face of concrete
evidence, why is it so difficult for people to accept the concept that the
Zionist art of deceit began in the 19th century and continued through the
decades, and that so-called 'facts' about the Jewish holocaust are as false
as their claims that they do not deliberately murder Palestinian civilians?
A few examples among hundreds: The world saw proof of the massacres of
Sabra and Shatila and indeed, the guilt of Butcher Sharon was proclaimed in
a Zionist court! The world saw a young boy who was cowering behind a
rubbish bin with his father and begging for mercy shot in cold blood and yet
the Zionists tried to deny this. The world saw hard evidence of the terrible
massacre at Qana, and yet the Zionists denied it outright at first, until
forced to acknowledge that it happened but that it was an accident! The
world recently saw a young Palestinian stripped to his underclothing,
handcuffed, prostrate on the ground, helpless for over half an hour before
he was shot in the head at close range by a Zionist soldier after the
Zionists attempted to claim that they shot a 'terrorist' who was resisting
and who had been trying to detonate explosives. The world has seen evidence
of the recent massacre in Jenin, evidence of mass graves and the brutal
slaughter of civilians and yet the Zionists continue to deny that any of
this took place. If no such massacre took place, why is it that the
Zionist entity refused to allow the media and the United Nations to examine
the situation in Jenin? Look at the entire fabric of Zionist 'history' and
you will find it to be a densely woven carpet of lies. From the original
lie of 'A land without a people for a people without a land' onwards, the
entire invasion of Palestine by the Zionists is founded upon flagrant
deceptions.
The struggle against Zion is not only a national struggle for the
Palestinian people; it is a struggle against a philosophy of racial
supremacy and imperialism. Any individual of strong moral fibre and
integrity will not only deny the right of the Zionists to create a wholly
Jewish homeland in Palestine but would resist the concept of the
establishment of such a racially biased government anywhere in the world.
Any one who believes in justice must quarrel with the whole concept of a
State predicated upon membership in a group that has no basis in democracy,
ordinary concepts of Statehood or even religion. The Ashkenazi and the
Sephardic Jews are entirely different races; if one is to speak of the
'Semitic' people, this does not translate to 'Jews' but includes the Arab
people. As for religion, many of the Jews in Palestine and worldwide are
atheist, so it is not the religious affiliation that makes one a Jew. On
what basis do some Palestinians support a 'Jewish homeland'? This has no
foundation in land ownership or in political theory either. There is NO
justification for the resurrection of an outdated, racist ideology that
provides for an 'exclusively Jewish State' anywhere on this planet. There
is no justification for the occupation of other peoples' land either. It
goes against fundamental principles of human rights and democracy.
The issue of the 'Jewish holocaust' is NOT the primary concern of
Palestinian and Arab resistance, and one should not become sidetracked into
devoting ones entire lives and minds to this issue. The primary concern is
the freedom of Palestine and of the Arab Nation. And yet, one must support
the efforts of independent scholars and academics who are devoting their
lives to the search for the truth with respect to Jewish history and who do
so under threat of imprisonment and serious personal injury.
Palestinian resistance to an Occupation which has robbed the Palestinian
people not only of a homeland but of ordinary human rights and even of their
lives should be unqualified and there should be no reluctance to engage in
questioning so-called 'facts' of Jewish history, including but not limited
to the so-called Jewish 'holocaust'. Aside from the fact that there is no
cause for Palestinians to agonise over the suffering of Jews past, present
or future, history is by no means in the nature of a sacred text, nor is it
necessary to 'pull our punches' when dealing with an enemy that considers us
an inferior species. Zionism is the enemy of justice and Zionism is
founded upon a premise that Jewish lives are somehow more valuable than any
one else's lives and that Jewish versions of history are not to be
questioned. The fact that Zionists have engaged upon a deliberate use of a
'Jewish holocaust' as a tool of propaganda to attempt to justify the
imposition of a 'wholly Jewish homeland' in Palestine and as an all-purpose
shield against any attacks against Zionism is the only reason that this
topic concerns Palestinians. The Zionists chose this particular
battlefield and it is our duty to use every weapon at our disposal in
response. Palestinian academics like Edward Said only compromise their own
commitment to the liberation of Palestine and support of truth by engaging
in laments with respect to the Jewish 'holocaust', and those who denounce
'terrorism' according to U.S./Zionist definitions not only attempt to
diminish the sacrifices of our martyrs, but strengthen the Zionist
stranglehold on international opinion. Any one who supports Zionism,
whether Jewish or not, is not only an enemy of the Palestinian people but is
an enemy of justice, democracy and fundamental human rights as well.
Whoever that person may be, from whatever group or religion, and whatever
reasons may be given, his/her identity is less important than the fact of
supporting an indefensible Occupation. The Zionist entity is founded on
the corpses and ruins of Palestinian lives and Palestinian dreams, and
individuals of steadfast integrity cannot be intimidated into becoming
apologists for Zionism under any circumstances.
The same Zionist propaganda that labels legitimate armed resistance as
'terrorism' and its own flagrant terrorism and genocide as 'self-defence'
continues to perpetuate the myths of the Jewish 'holocaust'. Resistance to
the Zionist Occupation must be unconditional and unrelenting. Palestinians
who are dedicated to the principle of resistance need not concern themselves
with spurious allegations that they are crossing the borders of morality by
questioning any official version of Jewish history any more than they need
to accept the boundaries drawn by the Zionists on the map of the homeland.