Guardian Places Knesset on Arab Farmland
May 30, 2011 10:46 by Simon PloskerOnly yesterday I blogged the BBC’s video report on the Arab village of Lifta, located at the western entrance to Jerusalem and abandoned since 1948. Within 48 hours of the BBC’s report, the Guardian has also published its own story and video.
Is this an amazing coincidence or is this an obvious demonstration of the similarity in the agendas of both the BBC and Guardian?
Both media outlets seem determined to bring the focus of the Arab-Israeli conflict back to the events of 1947/8 – a tactic employed by the Palestinians to present Israel as being “born in sin” and responsible for the “ethnic cleansing” of Palestinians and the creation of the refugee problem.
The fact that one Yacoub Odeh is the former Lifta resident guiding the BBC’s Wyre Davies and the Guardian’s Harriet Sherwood separately would suggest that this “tour” was a well-organized effort offered to the international media and eagerly picked up by those outlets sympathetic to the Palestinian narrative from 1948.
But where does Sherwood get her information from? She states:
Out of sight of Lifta’s ruins, but built on its former farmlands are the Knesset (Israel’s parliament), the supreme court, the Hadassah hospital, the Hebrew University and the city’s central bus station.
In fact, the Knesset was built on land leased from the Greek Orthodox Church and not Lifta’s farmlands. The Knesset, Supreme Court and Hebrew University are located in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Givat Ram, which prior to the 1948 war, was known as the village of Sheikh Badr and not Lifta’s farmland.
As for Hadassah Hospital, is Sherwood referring to Hadassah Mount Scopus in the north of Jerusalem or Hadassah Ein Kerem in the south west of the city? Either way, both are located a considerable distance from Lifta and could not possibly have been part of its farmland prior to 1948.
According to Sherwood then, it appears that entire swathes of Jerusalem were actually built on Lifta’s farmland.
Looks like Sherwood’s lack of fact checking has been caught out.
But this isn’t surprising as Yacoub Odeh is given carte blanche to push the Naqba narrative and both the Guardian and BBC are prepared to accept this at face value.
So is this a story that pits development against the preservation of historical memory or is it really all about the right of Jews to build in Jerusalem, even in the western part of the city?
Considering that the BBC and Guardian both refer to Arab East Jerusalem and make no secret of their opinion that Jews should not be a part of the landscape there, it’s no surprise that even the western “Jewish” side of Jerusalem is now apparently part of the discussion.
Isy
10:40 pm
May 30, 2011
is there a map that shows the distance from Lifta to the other places?
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David Guy
8:46 am
May 31, 2011
It’s not just the Guardian/BBC twins who place doubts about West Jerusalem. Check out the British Embassy in Israel. website (http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/global-issues/mena/middle-east-peace-process1/)
‘Although we accept DE FACTO Israeli control of West Jerusalem, we consider East Jerusalem to be occupied territory’.
This is the Foreign and Commonwealth Office speaking directly and officially to Israel, not some biased journalist who didn’t bother to do the minimum research. We have to accept that the statement is official British policy with the assent of the Foreign Office Minister or even the cabinet.
Is West Jerusalem any less de facto than East Jerusalem?
Is the British Government campaigning for an Arab East Jerusalem and an international West as per the long obsolete 1947 UN partition plan, which the British abstained when it came to a vote?
Is the UK campaigning for an independent Palestine with all of Jerusalem, West and East, as it’s capital?
If West Jerusalem is ONLY ‘de facto’ what other parts of Israel are only de facto?
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Jackie Cappiello
8:10 pm
May 31, 2011
Acccording to the Arabs, all of Israel is on occupied land. The Arab narrative says that Jews took over the entire land from Arabs and have no rights at all to Eretz Yisrael. Ignored in their narrative is the fact that most of the Arab nations were created after World War 1 by France and Beitain rewarding Arabs for help in defeating Germany’s ally, the Ottoman Empire. Also ignored in their narrative is the fact that England was given control of a portion of the Empire specifically to create a home for Jews. Also ignored is the fact that over 75 per cent of the land that was supposed to be fore Jews was turned over to their Arab friends and became the country of TransJordan, named Jordan after the 1948 war waged by five Arab nations against the newly reborn Jewish state. But the Brits, always friendly to Arabs, will only present the Arab narrative, not the historical one.
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Simon Stauber
8:10 pm
May 31, 2011
Gentlemen! I truly wonder why are we wasting precious time & effort trying to change positions English institutes have adopted so many years ago & for a good British reasoning.
English people were always Jews haters…Please see Below:
http://politico.ie/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=6238:pogrom-limerick-1904&catid=234:nusight-politics&Itemid=761
The British to date cannot forgive Lord Balfour for proclaiming Zion as The Jewish Home Land. If they could revive him, if only in order and kill him for doing that.
The world id round, whatever goes around – comes around, The mighty British Empire is worth close to nothing 2day, and with great Envy they watch from London their ex-colony, India..rising fast & certain – while Britain has nothing but huge setbacks. I would not wish to be a U.K. citizen/resident if I would be offered the world. Slowly but surly their demize is steadily en-route & in 1 direction only….>>>>>>
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CHRISTIAN VEN NIEKERK
8:52 pm
May 31, 2011
We only have to look at that waste of money. The British Roayal family, who live on British tax money, money which could have been used for the betterment of the poor and employment.
Who are these royals? They are nothing.
Time for England to wake up and throw them out of their palaces, and make them work for a living. Time for Britain to become a republic
What I am getting at, is not once has one member of that family ever visited Israel in 63 years, but they have visited Arab countries. What does that tell us?
They need the oil. SO, WHO NEED THE JEWS?
They have experienced Islamic terrorism with the blowing up a buses and trains. But they would not dare call the Muslims terrorists.
Britain is not even worth worrying about
The British Royals and the leaders can all go to hell. The sooner the better.
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Alan Miller
6:11 pm
Aug 21, 2012
Whether or not a member of the Royal Family has visited Israel, the fact is that tourism generated by the family earns far more than they cost. Otherwise what? Some superannuated politician or retired military officer as president?
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Steven Kalka
8:42 pm
May 31, 2011
The more things change, the more they stay the same. The Guardian will always be the Guardian. Let me paraphrase Bob Dylan:
“You know as well as me, you’d rather see me paralyzed,
Why don’t you just come out once, and scream it?”
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susan
8:53 pm
May 31, 2011
There was a war. We won. That’s what’s happened for thousands of years of human history — to the victor goes the spoils. Get over it.
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Michal Ravdin
9:52 pm
May 31, 2011
If the Muslim-lovers British reporters will dig a bit deeper in any place in Israel, and under any Arab village or farmland – they will most probably find proof of Jewish settlements from thousand years before Muhammad invented Islam somewhere in Saudi-Arabia.
If Palestinians choose to go backwords in time – then do it all the way. Do not stop at 1967 or 1948.
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A.LIN
9:57 pm
May 31, 2011
See how fast the brits come running when israel starts exporting natural gas and oil !
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Yisrael Medad
10:27 pm
May 31, 2011
One map is here:
http://www.gilai.com/product_1446/Sir-W.-FitzGerald-report-and-a-map-illustrating-the-Jewish-proposals-for-Jerusalem-in-1945.#
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norman a bliumberg
10:57 pm
May 31, 2011
it is quite sickening to witness the overt resurgence of antisemitism in socalled educated society in Britain. But it should not come as a surprise. It’s always been there and although superficially concealed, never went away. I can talk from personal experience . I lived there for six years and saw it first hand, over and over especially since my associates had no idea that I am Jewish. As the saying goes, “What’s on the lung is on the tongue”.
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Brent Pudsey
2:20 pm
Jun 01, 2011
I am surprized that the Guardian , a well respected paper would stoop to such low brow editorials. I was not impressed that accusations were made by about Israel taking land from the Palestinians for their government , civic and hospital buildings among others. The Guardian must be careful that it does not endorse hatred and strife in regards to Israel with articles such as this which are biased. Sherwood , needs to make sure her facts are accurate before presenting such shoddy journalism.
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Nathan Zafran
3:32 pm
Jun 01, 2011
Claims of ownership of real estate, by Arabs, are as old as the Middle East conflict. Thus the Bedouin of southern Israel are claiming ownership of about 800 sq/kms although they are traditionally nomads who moved in from Sinai and Transjordan and never possessed land. In Haifa Bay there are several townships called “Krayot” (approx. 200,000 inhabitants), all of which were built on coastal dunes in the early thirties of the 20th. century. At that time, the Jewish pioneers were in no position to evict anyone from their homes. Now we hear wild claims that Arab villages stood where the Krayot are, with imaginary names that all feature in Google Earth as fact, under the title “Remembering Palestine”. When it comes to Israel-bashing everyone becomes so gullible and publishes any rubbish, without verifying facts. Some famous people visited the Holy Land and all stated that the population was sparse, neglect and backwardess reigned supreme as well as poverty and disease. These include the writers Lawrence Oliphant and Mark Twain and the famous British artist David Roberts. In fact many Arabs and Muslims moved in during the last century and a half. From Yemen to Jaffa, from Iraq to Fureidis, from Bosnia to Bosnia near Caesarea (destroyed in 1948 war), from Sudan to Gisser Zarqa from Syria to Tuba Zangavil as well as many others including Circassians, Greeks, Armenians etc. Suddenly all these former migrants “possessed” houses and land in Israel. Nonsense!
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David Guy
2:58 pm
Jun 03, 2011
Under the Turks there was an organised system of land ownership. This system continued under the British and for those who remained in Israel after 1948. To this day the land registration office is known by its Turkish name, Tarbo.
While there was no communal ownership there was individual ownership and village ownership, held by the village leader or Muftar and some organizational ownership, such as by the Wakf. The Arabs as Arabs owned nothing.
I hope I will never see it but it will be very interesting to see what claims the Palestinians would recognise if they succeeded in taking over all Israel. I suspect the strong will take what they can and the title holders will be told to take their documents, wrap it around their keys and jump into the lake.
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Nathan Zafran
3:59 pm
Jun 01, 2011
CORRECTION!
In my posting, the Syrian-settled village was mispelled and should read “Tubas Zangarryiah”.
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A Year of Dishonest Reporting — Why The Guardian Won | The Conservative Papers
1:30 pm
Dec 15, 2011
[...] Knesset is built on the ancestral farmland of the abandoned Palestinian village of Lifta (we debunked that false claim), and an airheaded look at an abandoned airplane (resolved by a reader’s [...]
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Wieder mal LiftaLand « Medien BackSpin
6:44 pm
Feb 07, 2012
[...] den Obersten Gerichtshof, die Hebräische Universität und den zentralen Busbahnhof eingeschlossen. Wir hatten darauf hingewiesen, dass dies nicht stimmte und hatten Reporterin Harriet Sherwood zur Überprüfung der Fakten bezüglich Lifta [...]
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