Did Zazim ask the residents of Umm el Fahm what they think?
Jews who seem to love to hate Israel have instigated a new project. On 18 February, the leftist NGO, Zazim, made a supplication to your wallets. My translation is below the copied message, keeping the emphasis found in the original.
לא ניתן להם למחוק את הפלסטינים: בכנסת ובתקשורת מדברים בכל הזדמנות על סיפוח בקעת הירדן, אבל דווקא קולם של הפלסטינים עצמם לא נשמע, ואפילו את הפנים שלהם אף אחד לא טורח להראות. היום יש לך הזדמנות לשנות את זה.
יחד עם ארגון שוברים שתיקה, אנחנו מפיקים סרטון בו פלסטינים מהבקעה פונים אלינו הישראלים כדי להזכיר לנו, עוד לפני שנלך לקלפי – שהם אלה שישלמו את המחיר של תכנית הסיפוח. הצילום, העריכה וההפצה יעלו 29,500 אלף ש״ח. האם תוכל/י לתרום כדי שקולם של הפלסטינים ישמע?
Translation:
We will not allow them to erase the Palestinians: In the Knesset and in the media they talk at every opportunity about annexation of the Jordan Valley, but the voice of the Palestinians themselves is not heard, and nobody even bothers to show their faces. Today you have the chance to change all of that.
Together with Breaking the Silence, we are producing a film in which Palestinians from the Jordan Valley address us Israelis in order to remind us, before we go to the ballot box — that they are the ones who will pay the price of the annexation plan. The filming, editing and distribution of the film will cost 29,500 NIS. Can you contribute to this in order to allow the Palestinian voice to be heard?
I guess that Zazim and Breaking the Silence were asleep when residents of Umm el Fahm protested what they believed was Trump’s plan to move the border so that their town, among others, become part of the Palestinian state the Deal of the Century wants to establish (along with every other do-gooder wanna-be peacemaker). Many Arab citizens of Israel call themselves Palestinians but God forbid (!) you actually suggest that that be the passport they hold! They will not give up their Israeli citizenship and will fight to keep it.
Perhaps if the Arab residents of the Jordan Valley were to ask their co-religionists in Umm el Fahm what to support, they would be told to unequivocally favour coming under the umbrella of Israeli sovereignty. Perhaps they need not ask at all. Perhaps they already know.
But, of course, given that they are still under the Palestinian Authority thumb, Arab residents of the Jordan Valley may not feel safe to say that they prefer Israeli annexation when Zazim and Breaking the Silence come to record them. How can we know if this man is showing his true “voice”?
One may get a more honest opinion if the “faces” they present to the camera are disguised in order to protect their identities. After all, journalists who criticize the PA find themselves tortured in prison cells the Red Cross never visit. What chance would ordinary farmers stand?
One can only wonder about the Jews who want to produce such a film.
Regardless of the motives of the Jews in Zazim and Breaking the Silence, the big problem for Israel and for the Arabs-who-would-rather-be-Israeli-citizens is that the world beyond our region is easily hoodwinked by nefarious NGOs that advertise themselves as human rights organizations.
Feature Image Credit: screenshot of video clip on Zazim Facebook page.
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