Livingstone began his rant by calling Ariel Sharon a war criminal. This on its own is not a big deal since Sharon was indirectly responsible for the 1982 massacre of Palestinians in Lebanon. However Livingstone did not stop there. He went on incorrectly stating that Israel ethnically cleansed the Arabs living in "Palestine" when the state of Israel was created. This is a common libel among Muslims and other opponents of Israel who want to delegitimitize the state of Israel. The truth is many Palestinians left on THEIR OWN FREE WILL to help the Arab armies destroy the newly established state of Israel. While there were Jewish massacres against Arabs, such as Deir Yassin, that scared many Arabs off their land, a large number of the displaced Arabs left on their own free will. When Israel was created, the Israeli declaration of independence urged the Arabs living in the newly established state to stay and live as equal citizens. Mr. Livingstone grossly misrepresented the truth when he accused Israel of ethnic cleansing. Livingstone seems to be unaware that Arab/Muslims make up around 20% of Israel's population. Those 20% are the decendants of the Arabs that, in 1948, did not betray their country by leaving their homes to help the Arab armies fight the newly established state. When the 1948 war was over, the Arabs that left their homes to help the invading armies, were not allowed back into Israel since they betrayed their country. It would be the same thing if an American citizen leaves his home in America to help Al Qaida fight America. America (or any other country) would not allow that citizen(s) to return to the country and in fact would probably arrest that citizen for treason. Today those Arabs that betrayed their country by leaving to help the Arab armies fight against Israel are known as Palestinians. They are lucky they were not arrested by Israel for treason when the war was over. It is rather bewildering to accuse Israel of ethnically cleansing the Palestinians, when the Palestinian population is skyrocketing. In 1973 there were 1.1 million Palestinians. Today there are around 3.5 million. Shortly after the July 7 terror attacks in London, Livingstone said in a press conference "[Israel has] done horrendous things which border on crimes against humanity in the way they have indiscriminately slaughtered men, women and children in the West Bank and Gaza for decades." Livingstone expressed understanding for the motivations of Palestinian suicide bombers, saying that since the "Palestinians don't have jet fighters, they only have their bodies to use as weapons. In that unfair balance, that's what people use." Livingstone made no distinction between the Israeli army's killing of militants and the Palestinians' intentional murder of innocent civilians. Targeting pizza parlors and supermarkets does not count as self defense. Mr. Livingstone is a politician and he should know better than to use discredited libels in his speeches.
Possibly the most disturbing accusation to come from Livingstone was when he blamed Israel for "inspiring al Qaida" and other terrorist groups. Livingstone said, "The threat is from the policies of the current Israeli government, which in its abuse of the human rights of the Palestinians... raises the temperature of the Middle East to a boiling point - thereby creating threats to all of us" The Jerusalem Post quoted him as saying," This policy acts as a recruiting sergeant to extremist groups such as al-Qaida who can pose as supporters of the Palestinian cause." Livingstone says this despite the fact that before 9/11 Bin-Laden kept the Israeli/Palestinian conflict low on his priorities. Bin Laden cites western presence in Saudi Arabia, western "exploitation" of Arab oil, and his perceived American support for Arab dictators as his excuse for conducting terrorism. Former Palestinian leader Yessir Arafat himself said, "Bin Laden never helped us...he was working in a completely different area and against our interests". While there is no doubt that certain Israeli policies against the Palestinians arouse anger and hatred in the eyes of the Arab world, it is unfair and inaccurate to solely blame Israel for the actions of Al Qaida or to justify the actions of Al Qaida or other terrorist groups because of Israel's policies. And even if Israel wasn't mistreating the Palestinians, these terrorists could easily find another excuse for committing acts of terrorism. Instead of using Israel as a scapegoat for this problem, Livingstone should be looking for ways to protect his city from the threat of Islamic terrorism.
It is sad to see a politician who is so out of touch with reality, at least as far as the Israeli/Palestinian conflict is concerned. Livingstone should do some research using credible sources before making any further speeches or opinions on this topic.
Interview with Ken Livingstone
Ken Livingstone to Face Disciplinary Hearing
Ken's Letter to the Guardian
Ken's Middle East Rant
Ken Livingstone Blasts Israel Again
Livingstone: Creation of a Palestinian State is Answer to Munich
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