Name: Scott Olsen

Date: August 2, 2006

Subject: Israeli Land

Message: I like this article...

Question...

1,000,000 or so Jewish people left Arab lands in the last 70 years or so. Much of this was to esacpe persecution and or death. I know much of the emigration of Jews from Arab countiries was coersed but some was voluntary to become part of Israel. Ok my question is, how much land and assests were confiscated from Jews by the Arabs in this process? Has this ever been examined or quantified?? I know 1000's of Jews were murdered in Arab countries so I'm assuming their land and property was taken over time. I'm interested in this issue because the Arabs gained property in this process and it's not talked about in the media or talked about by most Muslims. They seem to conveniently forget about this fact or do not even know about it. Israel did take land in the various wars with the Arabs, some of it given back some of it not. This occupation of old Arab lands by Israel still seems to be main reason for the Arab terrorist cause.. Any thoughts here??

Thank you,

S Olsen

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Dear Scott,

My apologies for not getting back to you right away. You present good questions.

The issue of Israelis occupying Arab land is simply not true, yet continues to be promoted through the media. The famous writer Samuel Clemens [A.K.A. Mark Twain] visited the "Holy Land" in the mid 1800's and documented his findings in his book "Innocents Abroad" [ see http://etext.virginia.edu/railton/innocent/iahompag.html ]. There was virtually no one there, just a few families in Jerusalem. Frankly, no one cared about the land until the Jews began to come home to the land promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and their descendants forever. Islam is a territorial religion and the presence of Israel [a land previously held by Islam] in the middle of 22 Islamic nations is intolerable. This is because it says that "Allah" [the moon god worship by Mohammad and his family] is not the supreme god or he would have been able to keep the land area they call "Palestine" [named by ancient Rome after Israel's arch enemy the Philistines] under Islamic control. Nothing the Israelis can give them will suffice. The "occupied West Bank" was taken by Israel in the six-day war in 1967. Israel has never annexed the area because it would cause the Arab population to exceed the Israeli population destroying democracy or any system of fair government from existing.

Blessings from the Tzemach Institute for Biblical Studies,

Jim Wingerter
Director of Multimedia Communications