Thursday, October 23, 2008

BBC's Chutzpa: Calling a part of Jerusalem a Settlement!



This is a political stab in the back of Israel by the BBC of Britain. This is Palestinian terminology, and a part of brain-washing. Now the BBC is involved in changing facts and being swayed by the opposers of Israel. Reuters News is now copying the verbage of BBC.


Gilo is a Jewish neighborhood in Jerusalem. from 2000 to 2002, terrorists were responsible for 400 shootings from a Palestinian town, Beit Jala, which was mostly Christian but had been taken over by these terrorists. Finally, during Operation Defensive Shield, the shootings were abated.

Something terrible happened in Gilo recently. A Palestinian stabbed an Israeli policeman and an elderly passerby who died from the knifewounds. This is not the first attack on Israelis. Two years ago Palestinian gunmen fired on the homes there from Beit Jala, a nearby town close to Bethlehem. Other attacks from Palestinians have happened in Jerusalem, where Gilo is.


To call Gilo a settlement infers to readers that this is a community that really doesn't belong to Israel, and that's what they're trying to say. Using the word "settlement" makes people think of a place in the West Bank or on a hilltop. Most people are not familiar with the geography of Israel or Jerusalem at all. Only Israelis seem to be aware of how teeny Israel is and how close everything is.


Here are the facts. Gilo is "inside of Jerusalem's municpal boundaries and is geographically contiguous to surrounding Jewish neighborhoods that pre-date the 1967 reunification of the city." It is built on land that was purchased legally by Jews before 1948. In the 1948 war of Independence, Gilo's land was captured by Jordan. From 1948-1967 Jewish landowners still owned their land in Gilo, and in 1967 after the the Six Day War, Gilo was built, and this because of the long legal land purchases of the owners. Gilo, home to 40,00 Jews, is the largest Jewish neighborhood in Jerusalem. It is within the city limits. Don't let the press call it a "settlement."

Several years ago 60 Minutes did a show with Bob Simon called "No Way Out" in which they incorrectly called Gilo a settlement. Simon, so quick to condemn Israel, did not check out the facts, but simply called it according to Palestinian propaganda. I think it's absolutely shameful of what the press is doing to hurt Israel in order to get a paper bought. Where are the days when reporters checked their facts? Honest reporting, they're not!


Reference: Honest Reporting: http://www.honestreporting.com/articles/45884734/critiques/new/A_Stabbing_in_Gilo.asp

Wikipedia on Gilohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gilo

http://www.honestreporting.com/articles/45884734/critiques/60_Minutes_in_Gilo.asp

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