Palestinians: New Twist on an Old Lie

In this mailing: - Bassam Tawil: Palestinians: New Twist on an Old Lie - Natalia Osten-Sacken: "Everyone Was Afraid to Be Branded as a Racist" - Pinar Tremblay: Turkey: Is Erdogan's "Magic Spell" Beginning to Pale? [] [Palestinians: New Twist on an Old Lie]( by Bassam Tawil • April 23, 2018 at 5:00 am [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Addthis]( [Send]( [Print]( - Zomlot informed his Jewish audience, in English, what he would never dare say in Arabic -- that the Palestinians will one day recognize the Jewish connection to Jerusalem. - If Zomlot made such a statement in his native Arabic language, he would be denounced as a traitor -- if he were very lucky. If he were less lucky, he would end up in a hospital or morgue. - Zomlot knows that he can always deny (in Arabic) what he said in English. Pictured: Jerusalem's Western Wall, and the Temple Mount above it. (Photo by Uriel Sinai/Getty Images) Denial of Jewish history in Jerusalem and the existence of the Jewish Temple has always been a central component of the Palestinian narrative and ideology. Palestinians, like members of all societies, disagree on many things. Nevertheless, when it comes to the historical connection between Jews and Jerusalem, Palestinians manage to unite in lies: Palestinian political leaders, academics and religious leaders have long promoted the false narrative that Jerusalem was, and remains, an Arab and Islamic city. We are currently witnessing a new twist on this old lie. It seems that some Palestinians are now trying to deceive the world into believing that they do, indeed, recognize the Jewish people's historic connection to Jerusalem. The problem is that Palestinian officials tell their people one thing in Arabic and the rest of the world another thing in English. [Continue Reading Article]( [] ["Everyone Was Afraid to Be Branded as a Racist"]( Interview with Mona Walter by Natalia Osten-Sacken • April 23, 2018 at 4:30 am [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Addthis]( [Send]( [Print]( - "If I speak about Islam, they interpret it as hating Muslims. But I do not hate Muslims. I believe that this ideology is dangerous for all mankind. The Muslim community will also suffer under the Sharia." — Mona Walter, Swedish activist from Mogadishu, Somalia. - "Jesus said we should love our enemies, but not that we should be stupid." — Mona Walter. - "I always say to my Christian friends, 'What do you think, what will happen to you if Islam becomes dominant here?'" — Mona Walter. Mona Walter. (Image source: AlfaTV video screenshot) Mona Walter, age 45, is a Swedish activist from Mogadishu, Somalia. In the early 1990s, she fled as a refugee to Sweden. There, she abandoned Islam and converted to Christianity. The act resulted in criticism and death threats. The mainstream media consider her a person working for religious freedom. Other organizations accuse her of fueling anti-Islamic movements. Natalia Osten-Sacken: I have heard your statements stigmatizing Islam as an intolerant and hateful culture. If it is so, why did you not notice it in Somalia? Mona Walter: In my country, we had our own African culture. People did not deal with religion so much. There was no Sharia, we had our own secular law. We came here as young, secular people. It is worth mentioning, that we belonged to the Sufi Sunni faction. [Continue Reading Article]( [] [Turkey: Is Erdogan's "Magic Spell" Beginning to Pale?]( by Pinar Tremblay • April 23, 2018 at 4:00 am [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Addthis]( [Send]( [Print]( - Research conducted in March by 50 teachers from the Imam Hatip schools revealed that students are moving away from Islam. - "[Mosques] no longer serve people, but rather serve as a source of income for certain people." – Young imam, later fired. - Another cause of upset on the part of many religious Muslims is the content of the Diyanet-prepared Friday sermons, which frequently advocates violent jihad. - What is clearly on the rise, however, is great disappointment in the Erdogan government's version of Islam, especially when accompanied by corrupt politics and a deteriorating justice system. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images) For decades, prominent Islamist figures would rarely criticize Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and when they did, it would be directed at his policies, rather than his personality. That trust seems beginning to change. [Continue Reading Article]( [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [RSS]( [Donate]( Copyright © Gatestone Institute, All rights reserved. You are subscribed to this list as {EMAIL} You can change how you receive these emails: [Update your subscription preferences]( or [Unsubscribe from this list]( [Gatestone Institute]() 14 East 60 St., Suite 705, New York, NY 10022