JUST READ HOW TWO ARAB SCHOLARS LIVED IN JERUSALEM AMONGST CHRISTIANS 300 YEARS BEFORE CHRIST WAS BORN http://www.jerusalemites.org/history_of_palestine/20.htm STRABO DIDN'T KNOW OF PALESTINE, HE CALLED IT JUDEA OR IOUDEA AND JERUSALEM AT THE TIME WAS IN THE HEART OF JUDEA. THE NABATEAN KINGDOM WAS VERY VERY VERY FAR SOUTH I JUST DIDN'T BOTHER READING FURTHER, BUT ARABS AGREE THEY ARE THE DESCENDENTS OF THE ARAB INVASION THAT IS YOUR HISTORY

ARAB PALESTINIANS CLAIM THEY WERE 1500,000 IN 1948 & ABOUT HALF THAT NUMBER OF PEOPLE LEFT AFTER 1949. NO ONE SAID JEWS DID NOT COME BACK TO THE LAND OF THEIR FATHER IN MASSES BUT COMPARING TO THE FACT ARAB DOUBLED IN NUMBER 500 YEARS BEFORE 1880 THERE IS NO EXPLENATION EXCEPT ARAB IMMIGRATION WHEN ARABS STATE THEY QUADRUPLED IN NUMBER AFTER 1880

Apparently Arab scholars lived among chrisitans in Jerusalem at the third centruy B.C. Hahahaha...!

Japan's post-WWII generations may have a problem with loyalty to their country given their imperialistic past, but that is not Israel's past.Shall we recount Japan's? He never, ever, should have accepted the award.He's simply a greedy, and ignorant and lazy socalled writer, racked with guilt and fear of himself, of his nation's potential, of facing his historic burden. If a country was going to award you $1M, wouldn't you research it out of curiosity, to see if you wanted that association, to be able to know where you are landing? He sits in judgment of Israel's plight without knowing the facts? I hope, he writes fiction and not non-fiction. He has no integrity. None. Another classless lowlife whose books do not deserve my precious time in Life. The ministry should say, the State of Israel is sorry to have placed you in an uncomfortable position, thus, we feel, that money can best be used for our children who are being bombed, everyday. Furthermore, we are so sorry we compromised you. To make you feel more comfortable, you can donate the funds to the building of shelters for the families under assault into an established account at Bank Leumi . Another example of idiocy, poverty of intellect , curiosity, and integrity.

He saw a soldier beat someone up ---did he call the Mayor or another official he met ? and if he didn;t why not? Something doesn't make sense...

It got stuck in his throat.

about the west bank or Gaza .. what you are doing in Jerusalem is criminal .. those demolition notices in east Jerusalem and the plan to expell thousends of Palestinians out of their home showed the injustice and it will bring a major confrontation between America and the islamic world .. america is beginning to realise the impact of supporting an apparthied ideology .when everyone in the world is saying it is wrong . Muslims will never accept the holy city to turn to a gay parade place .. the author is 50/50 right ...he should have never accepted the price in the first place .

His comment is irrelevant because he knows nothing about the region and its history from ancient time. He does not know the nature of and menace pose by Islamist-Jihadism.

• The reason that peace is unachievable is due solely to refusal of the Arab world to accept any peace proposal that includes the right of Israel to exist.• Palestinian hospitals were used by Hamas gunmen to launch armed attacks on Fatah men; • Over 140 Palestinian opponents were killed by Hamas during the coup • Some Palestinian opponents were thrown, hands and legs tied, off high rise buildings • Opponents of Hamas were shot in the knees (a practice which has intensified in January 2009, since the end of three week fighting – see section 37 below) • During the takeover, Fatah men were executed in front of their wives and children • Two UN workers were shot dead in the cross-fire • the Hamas takeover involved “war crimes” • Absent is any recognition of the fact that Israel has to date given land for peace at least 8 times and has only received bloodshed and international vilification in return. • Absent from this article is the recognition that since Israel had given up Gaza that terrorism from Gaza increased. • No mention is made of constant day and night terrorism that Israel has had to endure, and the economic and psychological damage that has inflicted on many residents of Israel. • No mention is made of the indiscriminate nature of the terrorist attacks that target babies, the infirmed, the elderly and the wholly defenseless and most vulnerable members of Israeli society. • No recognition is given to how Israel has sought to improve the standard of living for the Palestinian people. that the goal of the Arab world is the destruction of Israel, not mutual peace with Israel. • There is no occupation. An occupation is when a nation’s sovereignty is usurped by an invading nation. Israel did not invade either the West Bank or Gaza. Israel did not fight the refugees in the Six Day War. Israel entered both territories in a defensive posture to respond to attacks emanating from them. • The Palestinians were not a nation, neither do they own the West Bank or Gaza and so Israel is not occupying them. • Billions of dollars have been poured into the territory of Gaza from all over the world, but instead of building an economic infrastructure, the billions of dollars donated by other nations was squandered by the Palestinian leadership and much of it was used to buy more rockets and mortar weapons with which to terrorize Israel. • Upon their departure from Gaza, Israel left behind thousands of greenhouses, well over 160 farms and all of the equipment needed to for the Palestinians to create products that would bring in significant revenue. Upon Israel’s departure most of that equipment along with the greenhouses were destroyed, and the land is reverting back into desert. • Israel has not deprived any Palestinians of land or livelihood. If anything, Israel has done more than was expected of them to give the Palestinians a good start at building a prosperous nation. while Israel does not owe the Palestinians anything they provide such as free healthcare, access to Israel’s legal system, welfare, social security, jobs, and have also provided and built hospitals, and schools for the Palestinians in the territories. Israel has done far more for the Palestinians than their Arab neighbors.

Obviously it's you that does not know the history of ' Palestine '. You talk about Arab villages that dates back for centuries. Jewish roots can be traced back since the day of Moses. The land, Kanaan, has been given to the Hebrews by God. When the Hebrews were taken away from their land by the Asyrians, Arab immigrants entered and settled down on land which is Jewish.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P3n5-yG-6dU Azmi Bashara: there is no Palestinian nation Mar 6, 2009 Well, I dont think there is a Palestinian Nation at all. I think there is an Arab Nation, I always thought so and I didnt change my mind. I dont think there is a Palestinian Nation, I think its a Colonial invention Palestinian Nation. When were there any Palestinians? Where did it come from? What I think there is an Arab Nation, I never turned to be a Palestinian Nationalist. I think that until the end of the 19th century, Palestine was the South of Great Syria.

And in fact, he is so wize, that the last thing he would ever do is renounce his Israeli citizenship and Israeli state pension. Because he knows at the end of the day, even in the Arab world where he feels so much at home, after Saturday comes Sunday. And if the shit hits the fan, he will come running back to Israel, where bygones will be begones, to his house in Nazereth Illit.

500,000 Arabs entered the Palestine Mandate between 1924 and 1933 alone due to economic opportunities created by the Zionist movement. In 1947, the Arabs of Palestine launched a war against the Jews to prevent partition. Their leaders took full credit at the UN for starting that war. In 1948, the Arab countries and Arab irregulars came to the aid of their Palestinian Arab brethren and launched a full scale invasion of Israel. Even historians like Benny Morris present this part of the history as a fundamental fact and the main reason why some Arabs were expelled in 1948. And stop using the 'European Jewish immigration' excuse. My family didn't immigrate from any where. They were always in the Middle East, and more than half of the Jews in Israel descend from the Arab/Islamic world.

you just ranted about.

You sir, don't know what you are talking about. Read some of Mr. Murakami's works, and you'll see why. True, Japan as a nation has not faced up to many of its past crimes the way we might want them to. But Mr. Murakami is actually one of the few voices who have openly criticized their own people for this. And besides, his commets about Israel are spot on correct. They would be true even if he were a racist himself. Truth does not depend on who speaks it.

Dear Mr. Saul, perhaps your original impression of Murakami is actually correct. Maybe he is actually speaking the truth -- a truth that can best be seen from outside. Maybe it is just that you don't like to hear about this truth that you feel like you have been back-stabbed. I think that Israel's current policies towards Palestine and the Arab world will ultimately back-fire in the most serious way -- unless she starts listening to people like Murakami (as well as many others) and starts acting accordingly.

((500,000 Arabs entered the Palestine Mandate between 1924 and 1933 alone due to economic opportunities created by the Zionist movement)) Just another myth being propagated among your propagandist circles. I do not see where you got these figures, because they are clearly false. More accurate figures for you: 1922: 84,000 Jews, 71,000 Christians, 589,000 Muslims 1931: 175,000 Jews, 89,000 Christians, 760,000 Muslims. CLEARLY not showing a 500,000 people increase as you stated... wherever you get your figures... I'm sure you wouldn't like to show me (I got mine from wikipedia if you are interested). It indicates that Palestinian Arabs have high growth rate (half of them are below age 15, I believe), but immigration is just a lame conclusion. Furthermore, it shows that no matter how many more Jewish immigrants came, they could never outnumber Arabs. I find it particularly interesting, Jake, that you, being one to completely deny that expulsion did occur in 1948, have just admitted that there indeed was an expulsion, but used an excuse to justify it. It is a very common behavior, like denying that you shot your friend, but then, years later after seeing the overwhelming evidence against you, changed your story to say that "suddenly the gun went off" or "He attacked me- I had to defend myself." Admit that whether or not the Arabs of Palestine rejected a very unfair deal for them, your leaders would not accept a state with over half of its inhabitants Arabs... in essence they, as they argued, "had no choice but to do it." As for Europeans Jews... they are the founders of Zionism, the followers of Zionism, the prime ministers, and the ones who worked to get your family from your native Iraq (is it not where you're from?) to Israel where that would help strengthen their state. Interesting to see that in your enmity of Arabs, particularly Muslims, you fail to explain to me why Jews (and half of the Jews) would choose to live in Muslim countries for, as you guys say, "thousands of years." Either way, your family likely moved circa 1950, after Israel was created, and were not as responsible for its creation as your European brethren.

will confuse him with facts, so he will try to avoid that.

usual.

I'm sure aou can lecture to me all day about facts, right? FREE PALESTINE!!!

If the author wants to know about oppression, he should review the history of Japan's Co-Prosperity Sphere before or during WWII, or the earlier Japanese occupation of Korea. For that matter, he could investigate the treatment of Koreans resident in Japan.

What makes you think that he does not already know all that? In fact, If you'd know anything about the man, you would know that he does and that he has criticized his own country for its behavior.) Just because Japan is guilty of various things does not absolve Israel. Two wrongs don't make a right.

1. Would you kindly list Israel's policies to which you allude in your t.b. I would also be very curious as to what you would suggest Israel does instead. 2. Of course, Mr. Murakami speaks the truth, but only as he sees it. My reference to him as a liar stems from his own Jerusalem prize acceptance speech, and simply refers to him being a fiction-maker. Here, his expressed truth is a fictional narrative based on anecdotal evidence (two events in the same number of days, as opposed to the Underground, and its follow-up The Promised Land, which were based on extensive detailed interviews over a long period with a significant number of participants, as well as intimate knowledge of Japanese society) The sad fact is that Mr. Murakami did not see fit to have to undertake the same rigorous investigation before making sweeping statements about a situation he just walked into. This omission, regardless whether due to political pressure, prejudice, laziness, or other causes, is the source of my disappointment, and the feeling of being stabbed in the back. That is also the reason for my questioning of his perceptiveness (and credibility). 3. Your inside/outside perception comment is duly noted. I understand that by "outside" you mean an "objective" view. Taken in general, your comment is neither particularly deep nor original. Applied to the ME debate, it is a cliche, in the same vein as the "cycle of violence", "Israelis not wanting peace", etc., serving mainly to obscure the facts and influence the perceived narrative. Yes, maybe the outside view is the correct one. But maybe it is simply a statement of ignorance of the reality "on the ground". Can you unequivocally state what Mr. Murakami's "outside view" represents (based on a couple of days in the country and his interpretation of the two events he witnessed)? For that matter, what does your own "outside view" represent? (I will reserve my judgment on that one until you respond to my first comment) 4. The other side of the coin, of course, is the ease with which you seem to dismiss an "insider's view" as hopelessly prejudiced. Can you please enlighten me on which basis you form your own "outside opinion"? (Unless you have spent years studying ME history, lived there and have mastered the conflicting narratives of all sides involved, I have a strong suspicion that it is based exclusively on an "insider's view" of someone else, albeit someone whose narrative you deem to be more acceptable) In other words (pardon for elaborating on such a banal subject), how do you know whether an opinion is truly objective, or it is just another subjective narrative, but one that you happen to agree with (as I have suggested is the case of the self-described "liar", Haruki Murakami)? Best regards, S

As some comments analogized, Japan did a pretty bad thing but the Japanese had to leave their colonial settlements in Korea and Taiwan and Manchuria in the end, so are Israelis ready to reap the outcome of their colonialism and brutal oppression in the same way? If not, they have to make it right.

bull shit!! I am rally against pro-palestinan japanese group.. and HARUKI didnt slams Israel for treatment of Palestinians in his article on BUNGE SHINJYU, I will bring it to Ynet !!!!!

Human nature has a spectrum of characteristics, equal yet different,you are being misled to call it racism. Judaism refers to humanity as one race.

The name of the country is Israel. Palestine was first used by the Romans and they were the same people who crucified people on crosses - remember?