It’s been a busy week for pro- and anti-Israel writings in the New Mexico media.
Yasher Koach to Ruth Moss (“Israel not to blame for Palestinian suffering”), Berel Levertov (“Community Celebrates Chanukah Together”), Zach Benjamin (“Jerusalem is the capital of Israel, Period”), for their well-thought-out op-eds in the New Mexican (Moss and Levertov) and the Albuquerque Journal (Benjamin), and to Rachel Cogent (“Dismayed yet intolerant”) , Joette O’Connor (“A preference for violence”), and Lance Bell (“Real Change”), for their letters to the editor in the New Mexican. You can read their writings by clicking on the links embedded in their names above (if you have a New Mexican subscription), or you can obtain the pdf of their writings by clicking on the following links:
- Ruth Moss – Israel not to blame for Palestinian suffering _ My View _ santafenewmexican
- Berel Levertov – Community celebrates Chanukah together _ My View _ santafenewmexican
- Zach Benjamin – Jerusalem is the capital of Israel, period _ Albuquerque Journal
- Lance Bell – Real change
- Rachel Cogent – Dismayed Yet Intolerant
- Joette O’Connor – A preference for violence
In Lance Bell’s case, once again the editor changed Lance’s wording that substantially changes expressed statement of how the PA encourages attacks. Here was Lance’s original: “Those concerned about this recognition should be more alarmed about the Palestinian Authority Martyrs Fund that the Palestinian authority pays to families of suicide attackers.” Here is how the editor changed it: “Those concerned about this recognition should be more alarmed about the Palestinian Authority Martyrs Fund that the Palestinian authority pays to families of attackers.” Removing the “suicide” removes an emphasis of the intent of attackers and the PA, which is to encourage murder. [Note that an earlier version of this blog erred by stating that Lance’s original was “suicide murderers.”]
Note that an anti-Jerusalem letter is just above Lance’s letter (Judy Mellow – “Trump’s provocative move deepens despair”), and a disparaging letter about Ruth Moss’ op-ed is just above Joette O’Connor’s letter (Richard C. Gross – “Facts, not propaganda”).
Did you know – before the Yom Kippur war at least 16 nations had their Israeli embassies in Jerusalem? According to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz:
Three [of these embassies] were African nations – Ivory Coast, Zaire (now Democratic Republic of the Congo), and Kenya; eleven were from Latin America – Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Panama, Uruguay and Venezuela, opening embassies as early as the 1950s; as well as the Netherlands and Haiti.
So how did Jerusalem go from hosting 16 embassies to zero? The first blow occurred after the Yom Kippur War, when Ivory Coast, Zaire and Kenya all severed relations with Israel following a meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement in Algiers in September 1973. Though all three eventually restored relations with Israel – Zaire in 1981, Ivory Coast in 1986 and Kenya in 1988 – ultimately, their reopened legations were based in the Tel Aviv area.
The remaining 13 states shuttered their Jerusalem embassies in 1980, following the Knesset’s passage of the Basic Law on Jerusalem, the Capital of Israel, which stated that the city would remain the “complete and united capital of Israel.” Though the law did not substantially change the situation that had existed on the ground since Israel had reunited the divided city in June 1967, expanding its boundaries by a factor of three, the UN Security Council perceived the move as a provocation and condemned it as a violation of international law. Security Council Resolution 478 in August 1980 called upon member states to remove their diplomatic missions from Jerusalem.
Stay vigilant, and respond to the false statements from others in the Santa Fe media. If you see something, or hear something on the radio, please let us know about it: correspond to info@sfmew.org.
To our Jewish members, Happy Hanukkah, and to our Christian members, Merry Christmas. To all, Happy New Year.
Interested in how New Mexico can benefit from Israel’s water conservation and management? Purchase your tickets for Clive Lipchin’s talk on January 7. More information: www.sfmew.org/lipchin/, or purchase tickets directly by clicking on the green “Tickets” button.
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