Simi is my friend who teaches at the University of Chicago - you read his first note about his colleagues who signed a statement about Palestine in a previous blog post of mine. He has since posted a brief note about Zionism & Racism, which I copy below, followed by some facts and figures about Palestine and Palestinians, also below.
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Zionism is Jewish self-determination in a homeland.
Denying the Jewish people the right to self-determination in a homeland is racism.
Denying the Jewish people indigeneity is racism.
Jewish people are not indigenous to Eastern Europe, Northern Africa, or everywhere in the Middle East except Palestine.
Palestine is and has always been the Jewish ancestral homeland. Bible scholars know this better than anyone.
#zionismisnotracism #zionismisnotapartheid #zionismisnotcolonialism
#ZionismisJewishSelfDetermination
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Some Facts & Figures About Palestine and Palestinians:
Gaza in the year 2000 after years under Israeli military control:
• Population 1.1 million, 50% children under 15, growth rate 4% — among the highest in the world
• Life expectancy higher than the Arab countries around
• Literacy high compared to the Arab countries around: 92% for men, 80% for women
• Whatever Israel’s military control was, it was not genocide
https://www.prb.org/resources/the-west-bank-and-gaza-a-population-profile/
Since 2006 what has Hamas done for Gaza?
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Palestinian Refugee Camps per UNRWA April 2023
• Nearly 1.5 million people in 58 camps
• Syria: 575,000 people in 12 camps
• Lebanon: 490,000 people in 12 camps
• Jordan: 665,000 people in 10 camps
• West Bank: 220,000 people in 19 camps
• Gaza: 1.7 million people in and around 8 camps (?)
• Israel: 0 camps
https://www.unrwa.org/palestine-refugees
Palestinians from the West Bank and Gaza working in Israel per Globes April 2023
• 150,000 people
• 53,000 with State of Israel-issued work permits
• 58,000 black-market work permits
• 39,000 without permits
https://www.globes.co.il/news/article.aspx?did=1001444173
Since 1950 who is keeping Palestinian people in horrific camps?
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UN Resolution 181 29 November 1947 created in Palestine two states for two peoples.
• The Jewish people accepted it.
• Arab states around rejected it.
• Since 1947 Arab states around have worked harder to eliminate the Jewish state than to build a Palestinian one.
•UN Resolution 181, two states for two peoples, is anathema to anyone who says “from the river to the sea.”
Since 1947 who is keeping the Palestinian people stateless for 75 years?
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#hamasisisis #freepalestinefromhamas #standwithisrael #enoughisenough