Benny Morris vs. Minister Kasrils

To my great joy Israeli historian Benny Morris has taken up the mantle and publicly challenged South African Intelligence Minister Ronnie Kasrils with a stinging article in today’s Cape Times: Kasrils paints a skewed picture of what really happened in the 6 Day War.

The irony is that Kasrils has relied heavily on selective and out-of-context quotes from Benny Morris’ work to support his anti-Israel crusade. Once again, Kasrils is left with humus on his face.

Israel did not, as Kasrils has it, withdraw from Sinai in 1977 - it withdrew in 1982. The quote from Herzl’s diary is not from 1897, it’s from 1895. And so on. Kasrils, surprisingly for an intelligence expert, really isn’t very good with details. Kasrils writes of 1947 that "the Zionists accepted (the UN partition resolution)... but never intended to honour this decision". How does he know this? The fact is that the, Zionist leadership accepted the decision and the Arab states and the Palestinian Arab leadership, very publicly rejected it and launched a war to nip Israel’s emergence in the bud. I challenge Kasrils to produce any documentation from the relevant period (November-December 1947) to the contrary. Kasrils writes that the Zionist movement "unjustly stole a land that belonged to another people". That’s a matter of opinion. The Jews have regarded the Land of Israel as theirs for 3 000 years. Most of the world acknowledged and accepted this. The Arabs, a people that emerged from Arabia 1 400 years ago, conquered and settled in that land (which they call Falastin, following an earlier conqueror’s designation of it as "Palaestina") and usurped the title deed. They certainly have no better claim to it than the Jews.

To read the full article click here.

As Mike once said, Benny Morris is an enigma. His book "The Birth of the Palestinian Refugee Problem" has become the Bible for anti-Zionists the world over. In Israel he has been condemned as a so called "New Historian." But since the second Palestinian intifada Morris has become much more critical of Palestinian leaders, blaming them for the failure to reach an end of conflict settlement in 2000. Morris argues that Palestinian propagandists (like Kasrils) highlight only the parts of his work which cast Israel in a bad light whilst ignoring the parts which explain Israeli actions or detail Palestinian/Arab crimes.

For the first time, I can’t wait to see Kasrils take the bait and respond to the excellent Morris article. Kasrils seems to have immediate right of reply to any local articles on Israel so I am sure our minister won’t disappoint.

In related discourse, Kasrils will also surely respond to this clever letter to the Business Day written by University of Cape Town professor Milton Shain: Why so Naïve?

IAS Search - Kasrils

Comments

[Katherine]

no mention of that little matter of katyushas in kiryat shmona? where am I meant to get my political commentary from, and how am I meant to know if I should quake in my booties and pack an overnight bag and plane ticket? :)

[Steve]

Those rockets have not made the news here because they were fired in responde to Israeli aggression, ZioNazism, apartheid*, occupation, genocide and ethnic cleansing.

(*With apologies to Mr Kasrils and COSATU who agree with all of the above except for the apartheid comparison, because they believe apartheid was a sunday picnic compared to Israel).

[Jak]

And not to forget violation of a UN resolution...
OH I forget, if you're attacking Israel there's no such thing.

[david singer]

I have taken issue with Mr Kasrils on his basic lack of knowledge about a subject on which he has a lot to say and would refer you to the following article detailing my concerns which may be of interest to your readers:
http://www.canadafreepress.com/2007/singer052007.htm

[Mike]

David, Thanks for that. It is a very interesting article.

I see that you head an organisation dedicated to promoting the 'jordanian option'. I have noticed of late that it has been gaining momentum. Do you believe that ordinary Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza would accept such a solution?

[The Blacklistedictator]

The following is the line that Ronno Einstein will take. It is bound to be adopted by The ANC:

PRESS STATEMENT: FATAH-IMPOSED GOVERNMENT ILLEGITIMATE

The MEDIA REVIEW NETWORK (MRN) and MUSLIM JUDICIAL COUNCIL (MJC) denounce the illegal formation of another Palestinian Authority (PA) Government by Fatah leader Mahmoud Abbas in connivance with the Zionist Israeli occupation

19-06-2007 :PRESS STATEMENT

FATAH-IMPOSED GOVERNMENT ILLEGITIMATE

The MEDIA REVIEW NETWORK (MRN) and MUSLIM JUDICIAL COUNCIL (MJC) denounce the illegal formation of another Palestinian Authority (PA) Government by Fatah leader Mahmoud Abbas in connivance with the Zionist Israeli occupation forces and the USA.

Salam Fayad, the former financial minister under the Fatah administration, who received a miniscule number of votes when he stood as an independent, has been tasked to lead the new unelected government in violation of the Palestinian Basic Law.

The hypocrisy of the Western government’s rhetoric about democracy and moral values is clearly evident as it rushes to recognize, endorse and lift the sanctions on this illegally formed regime. The past action of “regime change” by Western countries have led to chaos and anarchy in many parts of the world.

Ever since Hamas won the free and fair election in January 2006, Israel, the USA, Egypt, Jordan and Fatah have connived to undermine and topple Hamas by devious means. Isolation, sanctions, lawlessness and finally armed insurrection with Israeli/USA finance and training for Fatah elements forced Hamas to bring in law and order.

The USA intends to impose what it calls, a “moderate” (which means obedient to Israeli/USA diktat) Palestinian leadership, just as it did in Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, Lebanon and other Arab states. Corrupt Fatah leaders are too willing to sign away the rights and dignity of the Palestinian people for a few US dollars.

The MRN and MJC believe that the international community has a choice: to capitulate to the might and tyranny of the American/Israeli axis or to challenge their oppression by recognizing and supporting Hamas and the will of the majority of the Palestinians.

[THE BLACKLISTEDICTATOR]

David,
I read your article and can recommend others to do the same.
On his "intelligence" website, Ronno Einstein says that "history'" is
his subject. Perhaps that is the reason why he distorts it with
impunity?