A Passage to Israel

Ned May
Jan 2nd 2011

In the first week of December (2010), our Austrian correspondent Elisabeth Sabaditsch-Wolff was part of a delegation from the European Counterjihad, including members of the “New Right” nationalist parties, who visited Israel. Her report is below.

Israel, 2010: A European Perspective
by Elisabeth Sabaditsch-Wolff

This travelogue about an unforgettable visit to Israel is based on my own observations and thoughts as well as other reports such as those by Paul Weston and Brian of London. This is due to the fact that I was busy translating for most of the three days on the road and thus had little or no time to reflect on what I heard. It is a sad and unfortunate fact that in Austria anti-Semitism is still a part of everyday life. More than sixty-five years have passed since the end of World War II and the Holocaust, which killed literally countless people, most of them Jews from all over Europe. It is, however, also a sad fact that despite more than questionable legal provisions imposed by European Union, this anti-Semitism has not diminished or even disappeared, but rather has increased.

I firmly believe that one key to understanding the misnamed “Arab-Israeli conflict” and this inexcusable presence of anti-Semitism in Europe lies in a thorough understanding of the holy book of Islam, which since the 7th century has openly promoted Jew-hatred. It is also necessary to be aware of a sinister project called Eurabia, which, according to its foremost authority, Bat Ye’or,

represents a geo-political reality envisaged in 1973 through a system of informal alliances between, on the one hand, the nine countries of the European Community (EC) which, enlarged, became the European Union (EU) in 1992 and on the other hand, the Mediterranean Arab countries. […]

The field of Euro-Arab collaboration covered every domain: from economy and policy to immigration. In foreign policy, it backed anti-Americanism, anti-Zionism and Israel’s delegitimization; the promotion of the PLO and Arafat; a Euro-Arab associative diplomacy in international forums; and NGO collaboration. […]

[The Euro-Arab Palestinian cult that I often refer to] means precisely this Palestinian centrality that’s promoted in Europe as a key to world peace. However, the Euro-Arab Palestinian cult goes much deeper than a political tool used for a Euro-Arab Partnership policy against America and Israel. It is linked to theological currents of Judeophobia and a replacement theology based on the Palestinization of the Bible and the rejection of its Jewish roots in order to delegitimize Israel’s history and rights on its land. The Euro-Arab Palestinian cult symbolized the redemption of Christianity and Islam and their reconciliation on the ashes of Israel, the work of Satan — a belief propagated by the media’s continuous demonization of Israel, and Palestinian victimization. This cult brings together neo-Nazis, Judeophobes, anti-Americans, communists and jihadists. It is a revival of Nazi anti-Jewish and anti-Christian trends, particularly in its hatred of Christian Bible believers and America, the country that was determinant in the defeat of Nazism and Communism. In the 1930-40s, the Nazis had strong links with Palestinians, and those sympathies and alliances continued throughout the years after World War II, thriving in the Euro-Arab Palestinian cult that submerged Western Europe under the umbrella of the gigantic Euro-Arab Dialogue apparatus.

Ms. Ye’or adds,

Although the vast majority of Europeans today are not Anti-Semitic or anti-Israeli, they are immersed in a culture of demonization of Israel, fomented by a European political entity in which nearly everything that is written and said on the Middle East conveys this anti-Israeli mentality. We can recognize in this contemporary phenomenon some aspects of the system of political, cultural, and moral conditioning that led to the Shoah. Reactivated during the past four decades, this Judeophobic conditioning, indirectly, and almost subliminally, is being implemented by the willing heirs of the genocidal fathers. They transmit and spread this Anti-Semitism in a new political and ideological construction, different from Nazism: the Euro-Arab war for the delegitimization and destruction of Israel. […]

The political themes include:

All of these themes, none of which are found in the 1967 UN Security Council Resolution Number 242, were developed by the European Community in crescendo from 1973 to 1980. Europe spoke incessantly for the “legitimate inalienable rights of the Palestinians.” This phrase, borrowed from Arab League declarations, is repeated in every few lines of European statements mimicking their Arab models. We would seek in vain the definition of the rights of Kurds, Berbers, Copts or any other pre-Islamic indigenous inhabitants of the Middle East, including Jews- these peoples are never mentioned. The EAD committees imposed on Europe the cult of Palestinity based on the demonization and delegitimization of Israel, whose usurped history and identity are projected onto the Palestinians. Traditional European Anti-Semitism and Islamic jihad are fused within the structures and geopolitics of Euro-Arabism; in this process, European anti-Americanism and Judeophobia come together within the Euro-Arab ideology. The Arab genocidal policy, which benefits from European Union support, guidance, and financing, is an international geostrategic force. Today we must abandon the usual framework of traditional Anti-Semitism and study Judeophobia in this new Euro-Arab context.

It is quite simple: if one understands Eurabia and its provisions regarding the “Palestinian” question, and combines this with rudimentary knowledge of the relevant Quranic suras, then one is but a step away from understanding basic Israeli reality. There can be nothing but utter support for the Jewish state; nothing but utter support for Israel holding on to and defending land that is publicly and politically called the “West Bank”, what Israelis call Judea and Samaria. Without Judea and Samaria there is no military defense of the State of Israel. It is as simple as standing right there on a mountain overlooking the Jordan valley to realize that giving up Judea and Samaria is tantamount to committing national suicide, especially given the Muslim chant “Khaybar, Khaybar, oh Jews, the army of Muhammad will return”, referring to the expulsion of Jews by the Muslim armies from the oasis of Khaybar.

It is precisely the half-knowledge of historical facts, the ignorance of realities on the ground, and myths that have been propagated since the inception of Eurabia more than twenty-five years ago that drive the critics of Israel to demonize it. A trip to Israel, such as the one I had the honor and privilege of being a part of earlier this month, dispels the ignorance very quickly. While even a cursory glance at a map of Israel should suffice, assessing the situation first-hand delivers the final blow to those unwilling to listen and to learn.

Our educational trip started in the country’s southeast, in the city of Ashkelon, which has been the target of rocket attacks from the nearby Gaza Strip. According to Wikipedia,

On 1—2 March 2008, rockets fired by Hamas from the Gaza Strip (some of them Grad rockets) hit Ashkelon, wounding seven, and causing property damage. Mayor Roni Mahatzri stated that “This is a state of war, I know no other definition for it. If it lasts a week or two, we can handle that, but we have no intention of allowing this to become part of our daily routine.” On May 12, 2008, a rocket fired from the northern Gazan city of Beit Lahiya hit a shopping mall in southern Ashkelon, causing significant structural damage. According to The Jerusalem Post, 4 people were seriously injured and 87 were treated for shock. 15 people suffered minor to moderate injuries as a result of the collapsed structure. Southern District Police chief Uri Bar-Lev believed the Grad-model Katyusha rocket was manufactured in Iran. In March 2008, 230 buildings and 30 cars were damaged by rocket fire on Ashkelon.

In March 2009, a Qassam rocket hit a school, destroying classrooms and injuring two people.

In July 2010, a Grad rocket hit a residential area in Ashkelon, damaging nearby cars and an apartment complex.

The Western media are bending over backwards to diminish these rocket attacks. I ask the reader to imagine the following to understand the situation Israel is facing:

Vienna during the hottest times of the Cold War. The Soviet troops who have garrisoned nearby Bratislava have decided to shell Vienna with rockets on a daily basis, targeting schools and hospitals, causing terror among the civilian population in addition to killing and wounding. The Austrian government, after 100 rockets have landed in Vienna and its vicinity, decides to retaliate, while the United Nations condemns the Austrian government and calls for restraint. I am an Austrian citizen whose daughter attends school. Would I allow for the UN to call restraint while the enemy, who incessantly calls for the total and utter destruction of my country, continues to terrorize me and my family? You decide.

The delegation was also invited to tour the last Israeli military post close on the border of the Gaza Strip. Contrary to liberal belief, the Gaza Strip is no longer occupied by Israeli troops. Hamas, the rulers of Gaza, thank Israel for its withdrawal by sending rockets into the Israeli cities of Ashkelon and Ashdod.

For Europeans like us who are not used to a military presence, it was very unusual to see soldiers like this young fellow manning the IDF military base. These 22-year-olds are considered the very best of their generation. Their demeanor shows awareness of the importance of their duty to defend their country.

In essence, what these young people are doing day and night is defending us and our freedom. Instead of demonizing them, we should thank them. Perhaps one day, when we have lost this freedom, we will understand what it means to patrol in the desert, in the heat, in the dust, while we in the West rant about “evil Israel”. Shame on us and our politicians!

Those of us in the European Counterjihad are well aware that defending Western civilization means defending the frontier of Islamic hatred, Israel. As the English writer Paul Weston said so aptly in his speech at the Gush Katir museum in central Jerusalem

Western Civilisation was founded on Judeo-Christianity. It was born near here, on the slopes of Mt Sinai where Moses received The Ten Commandments, and it is defended here, in Israel, the focal point of Islam’s attack upon the West.

When we call for freedom and democracy, then by default, we stand with Israel. When we call for truth and honesty with regard to Islam, then we stand with Israel. When we call for bravery, determination and sacrifice in our struggle against Islam then we stand with Israel. When we call for the right to free speech and the right to a peaceful existence, then we stand with Israel.

When we call upon God to help us defeat evil, then we stand with Israel. When we call out the traitors, the appeasers, the propagandists and the anti-Western haters within Europe’s political and media class, then again we stand with Israel.

Paul Weston reports:

From just outside the Gaza Strip we headed north and found ourselves on a bullet-proof bus heading into what the unknowledgeable/Liberal/Left know as the West Bank, but what historians — Israelis and others — know as Judea and Samaria.

The Western liberals who proclaim the area as “occupied” are known historically as the Useful Idiots. The City of Ariel, which did not exist in 1978, is now inhabited by Jews. And they inhabit it for a very good reason.

Israel is only 70 km wide. From a mountain-top just outside Ariel, one can view with the naked eye Jordan on one side and the Mediterranean on the other. And through the valley that cuts through this mountainous region there are two roads. Just two roads.

One road leads to Iran, via Iraq and Jordan. An armored column would come this way and this way only, so to control the hill tops around the area is a matter of geo-political importance.

During the 1967 war, the Muslim Arabs installed “Long Tom” cannons on the mountain tops, from where they shelled the civilians living in Tel Aviv, a mere 45 KM away.

When you next get involved in an argument with a liberal/leftist about the “occupied territories of the West Bank”, it might be a good time to point out the political/war realities. Islam wants the area back, because the Israelis would be rendered defenceless if they gave it up. Hence the concerted efforts of Islam and their Western useful idiots to do just that.

“But land for peace is how we will achieve peace in Israel!” squeal the Western liberals. Tell that to the inhabitants of Sderot. Israel gave up Gaza and the peace loving “Palestinians” turned it into a terror state from which they could attack Israeli civilians.

If Israel gave up the areas of Judea and Samaria, they would be wiped out within five years.

Brian of London adds,

[…] I toured the area known as the Shomron with a delegation of politicians from Europe. What was unusual was that these people came and entered what their media calls the “Occupied West Bank” without fear of the personal political repercussions of doing this.

Just crossing an imaginary line that lies 20 minutes drive from my house carries with it a huge political implication for many of these people back home. They will now be attacked and demonised even for making the trip: and doing it in the presence of the “Settlers” is as if they sat down and had lunch with devils.

I met them [the delegation] at the entrance to the city (and it is a real city) of Ari’el. I have never driven there before but it’s only 30 minutes from my home (in optimum traffic) and it’s about 10 mins from the artificial border. And I live only 10 mins from the sea and can see the sea from my home.

I joined the bus and immediately noted the armored glass. Nice.

We had a guide who’d joined us on the bus, only later did I find out his interesting background. He told us of how we were following the ancient path that Abraham followed when he first entered the land of Israel. All the places along this road are mentioned in the bible. The ties of Judaism to the land just get stronger and stronger with every bend in the road.

Our first stop was the community of Elon Moreh where we were joined by Sarah. She pointed out the community center in the little town, tragically named after a family of four, all of whom were shot to death in their home by a muslim terrorist in 2002. What a contrast: the Palestinian Authority name town squares after the terrorists who murder, the Israelis name them after the victims.

While we were driving through Judea and Samaria, I pondered the following: Why is it that kuffar (non-Muslims) are in need of bullet-proof buses to drive around an area that is inhabited by mostly Jews and some Arabs? Why is it that Arab-controlled towns are so obviously filthy, with garbage strewn around buildings and open spaces? Nowhere is this more obvious than in Judea and Samaria. Rolling through these Arab towns, we marveled at how these towns are identical to those we had previously seen in other Arab countries; there was absolutely no difference at all. The next predominantly Jewish town was, in stark contrast, clean, without any garbage lying in the streets or in front of garages. This has nothing to do with racism or hatred of “the other side”, as the professional Gutmenschen enjoy accusing those on the political right, but it is all about simple facts based on first-hand observation.

Again, Brian of London observes,

Off the bus we stopped and listened to the story of archeological find of Joshua’s Alter as told by our guide, Sarah. This was simultaneously translated into German by Elisabeth Sabaditsch-Wolff. There’s a good version of the story she told online but one of the key points is that when excavated the only animal bones found were from kosher animals and specifically the sort described in Leviticus as being suitable for sacrifice. That would be an odd co-incidence if this land had not been inhabited by Jews.

It’s hard to explain to people who don’t make this journey that when they read about “Settlements” and “Occupied West Bank”, there is such a stunning amount of history that binds Jews to this land and this land to the Jews.

On any one trip you’ll only hear about an infinitesimal part of this!

Contrast that with the modern Palestinians who have even taken their false name from the Romans and graced it with a starting letter “P” that doesn’t exist in Arabic! Most can’t even say Palestinian: it comes out as Faleshtina!

Another important point that was made to us and was obvious standing on those hills. This is the very thin line that separates Israel’s population from death at the hands of it’s enemies. From these hills one can see all the way down to Tel Aviv and the sea. Artillery on these hills regularly shelled Tel Aviv and other parts of Israel when the land was occupied by Jordan. This land is a very precarious buffer. It’s been said before, you’ve read it before, but I want to convey to you the reality that strikes one when standing there. This is the reality that these politicians from Europe will have felt, they all “got it”.

In addition something else is clear when driving through these lands. All the Arab villages are built on the valley floors. All the Israeli towns are on the tops of the hills. This makes for some bleak and rather tricky building conditions, but obviously this is a military imperative. But it also puts to bed the lie that land or property is taken from Arabs and given to Jewish settlements. Its also abundantly clear that the land is very sparsely occupied with or without Jews.

The previous day I’d met up with the group in Ashkelon in the morning. That afternoon they toured the Gaza border and visited Sderot while I took a train back to Tel Aviv to hear Geert Wilders speak along with Aryeh Eldad. I’d sat with Filip Dewinter and his colleagues from Vlaams Belang and enjoyed a particularly fine piece of fish (good enough for Jehova I dare say!). We talked about the benefits to Israel of immigration and how amazing Israel has been at absorbing its Jewish immigrants. From the survivors of the death camps, through the refugees who fled Arab countries after 1948 and to the massive 1 million Russian Jews who joined the country in roughly 10 years. 20% population absorption in 10 years is unprecedented and barely mentioned. It’s nonsense to talk about anti-immigration. It’s the unspoken truth that some immigrants into some countries are better than others. The right sort of immigrants can always be taken.

One of the most disputed cities in the so-called West Bank is Ariel, which is considered a settlement in the eyes of the international community, i.e. the United Nations, and by extension the Organization of the Islamic Conference. However, Ariel is definitely not a settlement, but a full-fledged city boasting a university center with more than 12,000 students, of whom a mere 500 are Arab. According to Wikipedia, in January 2010, Benjamin Netanyahu declared Ariel the “capital of Samaria”, and an integral part of Israel.

Following a tour of the university center, we were invited to meet the mayor of Ariel, Ron Nachman, who is also the city’s founder. Despite his severe illness, he met us in the highly contentious Ariel Center for Performing Arts, where he explained the historical background and strategic importance of the city.

Brian of London has this to say:

We returned to Ariel where we visited the 12,000 student University. This is not a small University and it’s not temporary. Get used to it being there. It also has at least 500 Arab students and, unlike Bersheva University for example, these are not mostly Beduin. These are Arabs from Judea and Samaria: they’re not enforcing a boycott on the “settlement” of Ariel.

While there we looked out on a massive blot on the face of Israel. It is the temporary homes that house some of the Jews evicted from their homes in Gaza. These people are still living in temporary structures: they’d been all set to begin building new homes when Obama’s crazy building freeze came into force. One can only hope that their horrendous treatment by the Israeli government will get better soon with proper compensation for the beautiful homes they were dragged from by the Jewish army. For a pointless dream of a peace that never came from a fanatically religious foe that knows not how to say thank you.

The last part of the day was a much delayed meeting with the Mayor of Ariel. More than anyone else he is responsible for founding this amazing city which is the hub of the Shomron. He is an avowed right winger and a firm fixture in Likud. He is also fighting cancer and he pulled himself out to come and visit this group.

All in all some 300,000 Israelis now live in Judea and Samaria. They don’t live in tents. It is time to come to terms with the need for Israel to be able to defend itself and the ties of the Jewish people to this land. I must admit I didn’t fully understand all this and, as usual, there is no substitute for getting boots on the ground and eyes on the. And if the experienced changed me, perhaps it helps to bring people here: no matter what your preconceptions about them.

That evening found a small group of politicians and members of the Counterjihad in Jerusalem, where we toured the Old City. I will report on this separately.

The last day of our official program included visits at Yad Vashem and the Knesset, the seat of the Israeli parliament.

Yad Vashem is without any doubt in of most touching places I have visited. One cannot help but feel utterly helpless when walking through the hall of the museum, where the horrors of the Holocaust are so vividly depicted. And as it is impossible to describe the horrors, I will only say that the members of the Counterjihad were even more resolved that “Never again” must mean “Never again”.

Unlike most dignitaries who visit Yad Vashem, our delegation lay its wreath in the Valley of the Communities, which is a massive 2.5 acre monument literally dug out of natural bedrock. Over 5000 names of communities are engraved on the stone walls in the Valley of the Communities. Each name recalls a Jewish community which existed for hundreds of years; for the inhabitants, each community constituted an entire world. Today, in most cases, nothing remains but the name.

The Valley was excavated out of the earth-nothing was built above ground. It is as if what had been built up on the surface of the earth over the course of a millennium-a thousand years of Jewish communal life- was suddenly swallowed up The names of the communities are engraved on the 107 walls which roughly corresponds to the geographic arrangement of the map of Europe and North Africa. The names of the communities are engraved and commemorated on the walls in the Valley for future generations who will identify with the memories and find their roots.

I welcomed the short drive from Yad Vashem to the Knesset as it provided me with the opportunity to gather my thoughts and reflect on the gut-wrenching images I saw. Knowing what I do about the content of the Quran with respect to the treatment of Jews as well as Adolf Hitler’s admiration of Islam, I resolved once again never to give up and never to give in.

The security procedures at the Knesset were tight. We had had to forward our passport details ahead of time, and only those who had done so were admitted. One member of our group who was not on the list had to stay behind. We were first taken to the plenary hall, where the members of the Knesset were already in session, and were seated in the VIP section of the visitors’ gallery, not separated by presumably bullet-proof glass. The plenary itself was nearly empty because of the Hanukkah celebrations; still, votes were taken on road measures.

The Austrian MSM as well as the political Left (including official Austrian Jewry) have been unable to deal with Strache’s trip to Israel. Ariel Muzicant, the president of the Austrian Jewish community, has gone so far as to ask the Israeli ambassador to Austria for assurances that no Israeli politician meet with Strache and his delegation. Muzicant now has a problem: Not just a politician met him, but several, and he was also received by a close confidante of prime minister Benyamin Netanyahu, deputy minister Ayoub Kara.

In the Knesset the delegations held discussions with a prominent member of the Shas party, Rabbi Zeev, and met with Giora Fortis, the former military adviser to Israeli president Chaim Herzog, now press officer of the Knesset.

A visit to the small museum honoring Gush Katif, a former Israeli settlement in the Gaza Strip, ended the 100-hour-long visit to Israel. Paul Weston and I were able to deliver our speeches, interrupted only by the arrival of Deputy Minister for Development of the Negev and Galilee, Ayoub Kara, who gave a short speech in which he supported the new European Right.

Three weeks after my return, it is still too soon to form a definitive conclusion about this trip to Israel. The MSM and the Leftist liberals have been busy in condemnation, but this is almost understandable, given that the new European Right is changing the paradigm for dealing with the Middle East. I believe the trip was a success for everyone: the Israelis, who were able to explain the nature of Israel’s security problems; the new European Right, who were successful in demonstrating that being on the political right does not mean being anti-Semitic; and, finally, the European Counterjihad, who were able to make important contacts on all sides, and who showed that they too have something to say.

The European Counterjihad made a huge impression on the Israeli and European politicians. more of these conferences are planned in the coming years, and it is absolutely crucial that they all take place with the European Counterjihad’s involvement.