Yesterday, Sept. 9, was the anniversary of the worst Italian bombing raid of WWII against British-ruled Palestine: attack on Tel Aviv in which 117 Jews, 7 Arabs & 1 Australian soldier were killed. #War_of_Shadows @OrenNahari@SpitfireFilly@Ibishblog
Hajj Amin al-Husseini, the ex-mufti of Jerusalem, sent congratulations from his exile in Baghdad to Mussolini for bombing the Jewish city.
But here the story gets more complicated.
As @ArielliNir writes, Jews & Arabs "in Palestine exhibited remarkable solidarity when the air raids began." Arab mayor of Jaffa attended funeral for Jewish victims. Arabic daily "Filastin" blasted "criminal Italian bombardment of Tel Aviv." researchgate.net/publication/23…
The Mufti had influence in Palestine - but not near as much as you'd think from accounts that make him synomous with Palestinian Arabs.
In May 1940, acc. to a British intelligence report, Mufti's followers were urging a new revolt in Palestine.
But there was no revolt.
Earlier in 1940, acc to another document in MI5 files, Mufti sent instructions that "Palestinian Arabs were not to volunteer to serve with the British forces."
Overall, fewer Arabs than Jews from Palestine joined British Army during WWII. Clearly, Jews had high motivation to fight Nazis. But also, acc. to June 1942 British report, "Arab recruiting unsatisfactory owing to failure to reach requisite physical standard."
I leave it others to research why Palestinian Arabs were in poorer health than Jews. But Palestinian politics were complex, and quoting Mufti is a poor way to know what Palestine's Arabs thought. #War_of_Shadows
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US Sect of State Blinken saying that Israeli settlements in West Bank are "inconsistent with international law" is indeed important symbolically.
However, news items on this are mixing up the history of US policy on settlement illegality.
The Carter administration wasn't the first to label settlements illegal. That was US policy from 1967 onward. As seen in this cable of 8 April 1968 from the State Dept to the US embassy in Israel:
In 1976, the US ambassador to the UN, William Scranton, said in the Security Council that settlements violate IV Geneva and are illegal.
This @washingtonpost deep dive, like others, confirms Hamas deliberately provoked the invasion of Gaza, knowing that it was sacrificing countless Palestinian lives.
@washingtonpost The deaths of thousands in Gaza are as much part of Hamas's plan as the deaths of Israeli civilians on October 7.
The goal was to set off greater conflict, in the name of achieving Hamas's goal - both cruel and utterly without a chance of success - of destroying Israel.
@washingtonpost Hamas fought its way through the thin line of Israeli soldiers on the border in order to reach civilians - to kill, take hostages, and commit other atrocities.
Churchill's knowledge of Nazi mass murder in occupied Soviet territory came from Bletchley Park, where master codebreaker John Tiltman's team had cracked the cipher used by special German police units to report how many people they'd shot. (2) @calder_walton@spyhistory
Like this message from 18 July 1941, in which a Nazi police regiment reports that it had shot "1153 Jewish plunderers."
The reports were coldly bureaucratic.
אז @OferShelah אומר שלמפלגה חייבת להיות דרך. כלומר, מדיניות, תוכניות. אזי אני שואל, מה תוכניתו בעניין:
⦿ חידוש חתירה להסכם שתי מדינות
⦿ הפסקת מימון להתנחלויות והרחבתן
⦿ העלאת מסים על העשירים, כדי לממן -
⦿ כיתות קטנות, שכר נדיב למורים... @dahliasc@AnshelPfeffer@chaimlevinson
עוד שאלות ל- @OferShelah - מה אתה מציע על מנת
⦿ לרפא את מערכת הבריאות המורעבת
⦿ לאפשר לצעירים להשיג דיור
⦿ להחזיר מקומות עבודה בעקבות משבר הקורונה
⦿ להוזיל ולהרחיב תחבורה ציבורית במקום תלות ברכב פרטי...
ועוד שאלות ל- @OferShelah - מה אתה מציע על מנת
⦿ לסגור את הפערים העדתיים בהשכלה ובהכנסה שלמרות ההכחשות עוד קיימים
⦿ להבטיח שוויון מלא לאזרחים ערביים
⦿ לשנות את פני החינוך החרדי...
So @OferShelah says a party actually needs a program. Totally true. Therefore asking for his program on:
⦿ Achieving 2-state outcome
⦿ Settlements, & defunding them
⦿ Raising taxes on wealthy, to pay for -
⦿ Smaller classes, better-paid teachers...
More questions to @OferShelah - what do you propose to
⦿ Heal underfunded health system
⦿ Make it possible for young people to afford apartments
⦿ Restore jobs lost to pandemic
⦿ Make public transport affordable, efficient, replace cars...
And more questions to @OferShelah - what do you propose to
⦿ Deal with long-lasting effects of Ashkenazi-Mizrahi wealth & education gap
⦿ Ensure full equality for Arab citizens - incl place in govt for their representatives
⦿ Transform haredi education...