Another fascinating response appeared as a result of my comment to the blog posted in the Huffington Post:http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jessica-montell/the-strange-currency-of-t_b_4979947.html
Fawzi El GerbiDavid, you are making an argument which is based on false premises, let me expand on this; your statement "Hebron is not a major Palestinian city." rather it is a Jewish city. Your argument assumes that being Jewish is an ethnicity; we all know that is utterly false, Jewdism is one of the celestial religions prescribed to by people in various parts of the world including Arabs, black Africans and Europeans "the rulers of Israel today". I agree with you that native people of Palestine, Jews, Christians and Muslims have lived in al Khalil "Hebron as it is called now for thousands of years, and I am sure will continue to so for a long time to come; al Khalil has seen many flags and banners dominate its skyline during the course of its history; and I can assure you it will see many more in the coming years. Zionism and Israel failed in their attempt to create the myth of the "Jewish People", there is no ethnic group called Jews but there are people who prescribe to the Jewish faith. I am sure in the human genome there is no DNA that is defined as Jewish DNA, don''t you agree?
My response to him:
Excellent! This is why Abu Mazen and Arafat before him refused to accept Israel''s offers of a palestinian state, because that would require accepting the legitimacy of Israel as a Jewish state. Israel is ''Am Yisrael'' - the people of Israel - we are a nation and also a religion. You may try and deny this, but this is denial of reality. We are not going anywhere soon, not as a people, not as a religion, not as a national entity. In Hebron, Jerusalem, and even Tel Aviv.
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I would like to expand this:
We have a very interesting relationship and dialogue with Shech Farid Ja''abari - the leader of the largest clan in Hebron. He is a very powerful man. I have met with him numerous times, and have taken groups to meet with him. He speaks and answers questions. The last time I was with him, with a group, be began by saying: You Jews hold up the Bible and say that G-d gave you this land. I hold up the Koran and say that Allah gave us this land.
He continues, explaining why he refuses to support creation of a palestinian state. He says that in order to accept a palestinian state, he must then grant legitimacy to the state of Israel, as a Jewish state. He says he cannot do that, because, in his words, ''Allah gave it to us - and what he gave to us, we cannot give to you.''
This is, of course, the reason that Abu Mazen, and Arafat before him, refused the offers made by Ehud Barak and Ehud Olmert. This is why Abu Mazen refuses to accept Netanyahu''s demand to recognize Israel as a Jewish state.
The Arabs continue to exist in a state of denial - they refuse to accept that there is a Jewish people, who have a legitimate right to a ''Jewish homeland.'' The continue to claim that all of ''palestine'' belongs to them.
Abbas: Jewish history is a "delusional myth"
http://palwatch.org/main.aspx?fi=157&doc_id=10930"Arafat''s recognition of Israel in 1993 [was] a meaningless ornament to a deceptive peace process that is cited regularly by the PA to create a facade of sincerity."Mahmoud Abbas'' adamant rejection of Israel as a Jewish state is more than semantics: It is tied to his mocking fundamental element of PA policy to deny Jewish history - especially in Jerusalem. Itamar Marcus