Harry S. Truman Quotes

Wilson did so later: {585123}. Wilson was not the only early American President who had “Zionist” aspirations for Palestine. See John Adams quotation: {585141}.

He also expressed his pleasure with the British Balfour Declaration granting the Jews their own country in part of Palestine ({594001}). Wilson had earlier committed himself to support the Zionist claim for Palestine. See {585124}.

There was a strong movement among the early religious Christian Americans to go to the Holy Land to reclaim the Kingdom God promised in the Bible. American missionaries went to the Middle East. See {585147} for another early American politicians view.

Nasrallah claims to be descended from the Prophet Muhammad. Unlike some other Muslim fundamentalist terrorists and politicians who regard the Jews in Israel as enemies, Nasrallah is anti-Semitic and wants to kill all Jews, not just free the “holy land” from the Jewish presence. See {585746}. This quotation was used by the Israeli Prime Minister when addressing the U. S. Congress in March of 2015.

The British were trying to enlist the aid of the Arabs in fighting against the Ottoman Turks who had controlled all of the Middle East in the name of Islam. There was another clause in the letter excepting the areas that Britain had agreements with France and Russia. However, unknown to the Sherif there was the Sykes-Picot treaty which had secret clauses giving Syria, Damascus and other prime areas to the French. The English could not guarantee independence to much of the Arab Mideast.

This is the first statement of a Jewish nation since Biblical Times.

It was signed by over 400 American notables—politicians and clergy, Christian and Jewish. Signers included the Mayors of Chicago, Boston, Philadelphia and Baltimore, congressmen and editors of most of the leading newspapers of the day. Blackstone’s Memorial predated the Zionist writings of Theodor Herzl by 4 years and Blackstone, thought a Christian, was credited as being the “Father of Zionism” by many of the American Jewish Zionist leaders. See {614859}.

The British Empire Controlled Most of the Middle East in the 1920s, and they presided over most of the creations of states in the region. Churchill was a major figure in British Colonial policy. The natural borders tended to follow rivers, mountain ranges, lakes other irregular geographical elements. Borders of straight lines were almost always artificial in that men (and a few women) decided upon them as a convenience. Churchill was personally involved in much of the line drawing for borders.

This quotation shows that in 1870 there was already a Jewish Zionist return to Palestine from Europe and the US well underway. They were welcomed by the Islamic Ottoman government. Some Arabs have developed a propaganda narrative that claims that Jews were not in Palestine and Jerusalem in particular until the British Mandate after WWI where the Christians let them in against the desire of the Muslims. Some of these same people claim that there never was a Jewish Kingdom in the area of Palestine nor were there substantial numbers of Jews every in Jerusalem and Palestine. This evidence is just one of the many ranging from Muslim Ottoman Turkish land deeds and other Jewish ownership documents to the Roman Census of 7 AD showing the large Jewish Population in Egypt as well as what we now call Palestine and Israel.

The advocacy of the Jewish Return to the Holy Land was not first suggested or stated by European Jewish Zionists. Brightman was not only the first Christian to urge the return of the Jews, but the secon person of any faith to suggest it. He was only preceded by a Jewish refugee from the Spanish Inquisition--Joseph Nasi in 1561.

This statement hardened the Israeli population away from anything that would bring Hamas more power. The PLO leader had, for ALL the Palestinian people, recognized the right of Israel to exist {633062}. Now Hamas was not only reneging on the Arafat declaration, but also would not even use the term “Israel” and instead calls the nation which in less time than the Palestinians have had, has developed a modern, industrial, democratic state far in advance of the Palestinians or any of the Arab nations for that matter. Yet it is relegated to a “project” with the great hope of having it come to an end—the destruction of Israel. The Israelis observe that this is a de facto declaration of war, and hence treat Gaza and Hamas as an enemy force to be reckoned with. See {635338} for another alarming reneging of the recognition of Israel.

This statement hardened the Israeli population away from anything that would bring Hamas more power. The PLO leader had, for ALL the Palestinian people, recognized the right of Israel to exist {633062}. The Israelis observe that this is a de facto declaration of war, and hence treat Gaza and Hamas as an enemy force to be reckoned with. See {635341} for another alarming reneging of the recognition of Israel.

Actually, this is a relatively new phenomenon. Before this, it was the Western Colonialists who were to blame. Before that it was the Ottoman Turks who occupied their land, and before that it was the Christian Crusaders. Since the Arab countries have started their decline from one of the most advanced people and cultures of the world to one of the least, they have always found some external source to blame. Many scholars observe that that process of blaming others and not looking inward and avoiding the reforms that other religions and cultures went through is among the biggest reasons for their decline.