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Front
cover of the book Palestine
on Maps and in Documents
Name of the book: “Palestine
on Maps and in Documents”
The author:
Bahaa Farouq
Publishing
house: Al-Hai’a al-Misriya al-Amma lil-Kitab (Cairo)
Year of publication: 2002
The above
book was issued as part of the project entitled “A Festival of Reading for All – the Child,
the Youngster and the Family”, under the patronage of Mrs. Suzanne Mubarak.
Sponsor
of the book and of the entire series: Mrs. Suzanne Mubarak [The book’s back cover features Mrs. Mubarak’s photograph and a note
written by her, advocating the importance of reading].
Supervisor
of the publication: Dr. Samir Sirhan (who also wrote the General
Foreword to the project).
“Palestine
on Maps and in Documents”:
“Wake
up, ye Arab rulers, before it is too late…” Institutions
involved in the publication:
Central Association for Complementary Schooling
The Ministry of Culture
The Ministry of Information
The Ministry of Education
The Ministry of Local Councils
The Minstry of Youth Production:
the Book Association
Profile
of the book
This book is
meant to provide the Egyptian reader with factual information concerning the
Israeli-Palestinian and Israeli-Arab conflict, by way of basic data, documents,
maps and photographs.
It is,
however, not a merely informative book on the conflict,
nor does the author content himself
with painting a one-sided picture of the conflict. It is a document of virulent
criticism and hate against the State of Israel (also designated as “the Zionist entity”) and the Zionist movement
(also referred to as “the Zionist gangs”).
It is, additionally, saturated with incitement
and propaganda against the Jewish people, seasoned with
unfounded absurdities, and highlighted by anti-Semitic
motives, direct from the canon of classical European anti-Semitism.
The illustrations
seek to achieve the same goals as the book’s contents. The picture of the
Dome of the Rock, a site rich in symbolic significance, appears repeatedly
throughout the book, to impress on the reader the notion that Jerusalem is
a Muslim city. The book also displays horror pictures of Palestinian victims
- adults and children - of clashes in the Palestinian territories, seeking
through these to intensify the sentiments of hatred against Israel and the
Jewish people.
The following
are some excerpts from the book:
“…because of this
[the sacredness of Jerusalem], they [the Jews] make all endeavors to cleanse it from all
non-Jewish sacred places. As soon as they set foot on the soil
of Jerusalem, they engaged in preparations
for the building of their Temple, and the proclamation of the greater
united Jerusalem under full Israeli sovereignty.” (p. 18) The author further
states that “…Jerusalem, the old
as well as the new city, the eastern as well as the western part, is an Arab, Muslim city.” (p. 266)
“Defending Jerusalem is an obligation imposed on the Muslims, and not the
Jews… The meaning and the importance of [this] responsibility are evidenced
when set against the attitude of the Jews towards prophets… Even the Old Testament
itself, and also the New Testament and the Quran, describe them [the Jews]
on numerous occasions as murderers of the prophets…
Throughout their [the Jews’] historical writings, it is mentioned that they
murdered the prophets: Ezekiel, Isaiah, Jeremiah,
Zechariah… They even attempted to murder our Lord Jesus, peace be upon Him,
and the Seal [i.e. the last] of the Prophets, Muhammad, may Allah’s
blessings and peace be upon him, and they conspired against both and against
their followers…” (pp. 19 – 20)
“The Jews’
devotion for Jerusalem drove them to the zealous
pursuit of turning it into a one hundred percent Jewish city. This
is how projects began, with the intention of emptying it from its
inhabitants, from the day on which the Jews occupied West Jerusalem,
in 1948, and later on [when they occupied] East Jerusalem, in 1967.” (p. 19)
The following is
an excerpt from a subchapter entitled “Defending Jerusalem is the Muslims’
and not the Jews’ privilege”: “The Talmud, which is their [the Jews’] second most
sacred book, tells them: ‘All the nations are
cursed, and the Jewish people is blessed.’ It also says: ‘Appropriation by the Jews of assets of the Gentiles, i.e.
those who are not Jews, is a privilege; it is an act that forever brings joy.’
In addition, it says: ‘It is permitted to kill
all Gentiles, i.e. those who are not Jews, even such who are decent [people].’”
(p. 21) 
The following
are excerpts from the last chapter, entitled
“The threat of Zionism to the Arabs” (pp. 315 – 318)(*):
“Zionism is a colonialist, aggressive concept.
It emerged in Europe, at the time when worldwide colonialism made its appearance
…”
“The Jews’ achievements so far are not the
final goal of Zionism. Israel, within its present borders, is but
the starting point, the bridgehead,
from which they will assault the surrounding Arab countries. This is a transition
phase, towards a more distant and more significant goal. This is a foothold,
a base for the next operations. The Jews, when
focusing their attention on the Arab countries, are mainly concerned with
achieving a distant goal, a remote ambition, which their leaders
have expressed in public, and which their Congresses
have approved in the framework of a well defined
scheme…”
“The Jewish parliament has determined its motto:
‘Your borders, Israel - from the Euphrates to the Nile’. Whoever
looks at the national map that they designed for their hoped-for homeland,
will notice that it encompasses Palestine,
the east bank of the Jordan river, Syria, Lebanon, a large part of Iraq, and
a large portion of the Egyptian territory including the entire Sinai peninsula
and the [Nile] Delta. Many of them aspire to dominate the territories
south of Aqaba, including Medina,
in other words, the territories which they
claim were theirs in Hijaz [Saudi Arabia].”
“And yet, even if we assume the impossible, if we concede that the Jews are
satisfied with what they robbed from Palestine and have no further ambitions,
then this in itself does not exonerate them from the threat looming over the
entire Arab nation. This is due to the fact that Israel was established in a most crucial part of the Arab
world, and is [stuck] like a peg or a wedge, dividing between the Arab countries
of Asia and the Arab countries of Africa… This region will continue to be
a focal point of perpetual threat for the Arab nation; there is no greater
threat than the hindrance of Arab unity, as without this unity,
they [the Arabs] have no standing.”
“From all the above, it is evident that Zionism
constitutes a general danger for all Arabs, and that the struggle against
it is every Arab’s duty. Zionism based itself in the past on the
endeavors of a people in dispersion [in the Diaspora]. However, now, after
the State of Israel was established, it [Zionism] started relying on the endeavors
of an existing country, whose primary aim is to gain land, sea and air supremacy
over the Arab countries; it subordinated all its means to achieving all its
ambitions, while using knowledge, control and swiftness [of reaction], and
recruiting all its human resources to join the struggle against the Arabs.”
“It is preparing for the big leap, through which it will gain control over
the rest of Jerusalem and its sacred places. This will be followed
by another leap, with which it will finalize the domination of Palestine.
With a third one, it will invade the east bank
of the Jordan river, Syria, Lebanon and the rest of the Arab countries. All
this is bound to happen if the Arabs will fail to take the initiative and
follow a serious road, aimed in the first place at warding off the evil of
Zionism, and in the second at eradicating this [Zionist] germ from the Arab
homeland.”
The
book concludes with the admonition: