Wednesday, December 30, 2009

'Palestine'--Rhymes With 'Judenrein'

Think it's a co-incidence? Think again.

Update: Palestine House, home to folks given to reflexive Nazi saluting and for some unaccountable reason still the beneficiary of Canadian taxpayer largesse, laments the passing of Dr. Anis Sayegh. The good Dr., who "passed away on Sunday Dec 26, in Aman, Jordan" is--or rather, was--"the founder of The Palestine Research Centre." He is also the editor of "the 11 volume Palestinian Encyclopedia, which took around 20 years to complete." Several years ago the dear departed wrote the following:
I am one of the seven million Palestinians prohibited by Israel from living in my homeland to enjoy my national sovereignty and rights which are guaranteed me by numerous covenants and charters, so that I may live a free and dignified life and practice my traditions, develop my culture and carry on my heritage, so that I may establish a democratic system - which most people desire. The only thing I can do when I am overwhelmed with longing to see the beautiful house where I was born and raised, is to go to the Um Qays heights [Gadara, one of the Decapolis cities during the time of Jesus] in the north-western strip of the East Bank (Jordan) and look across the comforting lake with the beautiful and enchanting town behind it. My childhood memories of the first 16 years of my life appear before my eyes, accompanied by images of Jesus, his deeds and sermons as they were imprinted in my mind from Sunday school and Bible readings at home and in church. It was near this town and its lake that Jesus gave most of his sermons and performed many of his miracles. He chose most of his disciples from around Tiberias and healed people there. I see them all in my imagination, from afar, on the hill of Um Qays which overlooks the lake. But I can never go down to the banks of the lake or enter the town or sit under the shade of the mimosa tree at the entrance of our house. Because I am an Arab and the Arab, rightful owner of the land, its child for thousands of years, is not allowed to return. One of five million immigrants (or children of immigrants) who have flooded into Palestine over the past 100 years will have taken my place and raped the land which is not theirs...
What, no keys to the ancestral home glistening like gold in the mid-day sun? No purloined olive groves that had been in the mishpacha since time immemorial?

Given the above reminiscence, I can well understand why the folks of Palestine House are gonna miss the old Jew-hater.

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