Report Of Palestinian State Free Of Jews Was Misinterpretation, Official Says

A firestorm over remarks by a senior Palestinian diplomat about the future Palestinian state was the result of misquoting and misinterpretation, the diplomat told The Huffington Post Wednesday night.

Maen Rashid Areikat, the Palestine Liberation Organization's ambassador to the U.S., was described in a USA Today report early in the day as saying that the future Palestine should be free of Jews.

"After the experience of the last 44 years of military occupation and all the conflict and friction, I think it would be in the best interest of the two people to be separated," USA Today quoted Areikat as saying.

But in an interview with The Huffington Post, Areikat rejected USA Today's characterization of his remarks, saying that he would never want to ban Jews from a Palestinian state.

"Under no circumstances was I saying that no Jews can be in Palestine," Areikat said by phone. "What a statement that would be for me to make! I never said that, and I never meant to say such a thing. This is not a religious conflict, and we want to establish a secular state."

A tape recording of Areikat's remarks from the on-the-record breakfast Wednesday morning, sponsored by the Christian Science Monitor, shows that his words were more nuanced than first reported: He described the terms as his "personal" view, and specified that this situation would apply "at first," not in perpetuity.

His full quote, in response to a question about a Jewish minority remaining in Palestine, is below:

Well, you know, I think - I still believe, I personally still believe that as a first step we need to be totally separated, and we can contemplate these issues in the future. But after the experience of the last 44 years of military occupation and all the conflict and friction I think it would be in the best interests of the two peoples to be separated at first.

In the interview with HuffPost, Areikat reiterated that Israeli soldiers and settlers -- "persons who are amid an occupation, who are in my land illegally" -- would be rejected from the new Palestinian state.

But he added that he would not like to see any restrictions on access to religious or holy sites for any person of any faith or nationality.

"When it comes to religious freedom and the right of all to visit respective sites in Israel and Palestine, of course all cities should be open to all religions," he said.

"Jerusalem right now is restricted -- Palestinian Muslims and Christians cannot visit it. Christians, Muslims and Jews must be able to visit their respective sites in both countries. This wasn't even on my mind when we asked the question -- I thought he was talking about settlers staying in Palestine."

Areikat said he was particularly upset that the USA Today account compared Areikat's point of view to Nazi Germany, and suggested that he had called for a new country that would be cleansed of all Jews.

Comments

[vbkpartners]

02:56 PM on 10/18/2011

Why should the Palestinian state be any different than the neighboring Hashemite kingdom of Jordan.
In 1922, when Churchill bequeathed the TranJordanian territory of the British Mandate to Emir Abdullah, the first thing that the Hashemite ruler did, with full acknowledement from the British, was to implement a law forbidding Jews from residing on land east of the Jordan River, or owning land east of the Jordan River.
This racist law, still in existence to today, meant that Jews, who had acquired land along the eastern bank of the Jordan River, lost their holdings, and thee same Jews, who developed a handful of farming settlements east of the Jordan River, were expelled from the Emir's kingdom.
And the Syrians, who had been given the Golan Heights by the British, expelled the Jews from their settlements on the Heights, replacing them with Circassians and Sudanese, ensuring no Jew would return to his home.
So, why wouldn't the Palestinians implement similar legislation, following the Wahhabi example in Saudi Arabia, exposing their racist tendencies?
There is no other reason for the refusal to accept Jewish settlements in Judea and Samaria, other than that these settlements, which have grown and multiplied, make it more difficult for the Palestinians to rid themselves of the presence of Jews from their midst - Harb al-Islam requires that non-believers be ousted from the Ouma, or at least pay the Jizyah.
What are the settlers, and the western world willing to pay to preserve their communities?

[shaelsiegel]

09:02 PM on 09/18/2011

Stop the spinning. The Palestinians want it all, The right of return for all descendants of alleged people who lived in the area as well as keeping the Palestinian State Judenrein.

[Bar Kokhba]

03:26 PM on 09/17/2011

Interesting as to how few "humanists" and Arab apologists or leftisits commented on this article. The utterance by Maen Rashid Areikat, I presume, is what is referred to as a “Freudian slip”. In an effort to avoid such revelatory comments in the future, Areikat has engaged the services of a PR firm. The “dirty” little secret is that the “Palestinians” have a 2 stage strategy in their never ending goal to render all the Middle-East Judenrein. The first stage is unfolding before us; gaining sovereignty through the criminal, blatantly anti-Semitic, kangaroo arena known as the United Nations. By establishing a staging area, contiguous with Israel, they will be better equipped to manipulate and corrupt international criminal authorities and import ordnance for the purpose of unfettered terror and murder. One needs only discern the indoctrination of generations of Arabs to appreciate their ultimate goal, the complete destruction of the Nation of Israel. The fact that virtually all Western liberal media does not understand this or doesn’t care speaks loudly as to this generations rebirth of a most virulent form of anti-Semitism, not seen since the 1920’s.

[sunnynight]

12:02 PM on 09/18/2011

But at the same time it's Israel who legitimizes the Arab colonial occupation pf the Middle-East and North Africa by negotiating with the Arab colonizers and imperialists.
And by negotiating with the Arab colonizers and imperialists Israel delegitimizes itself.

[Haroldpom]

02:39 PM on 09/17/2011

The Palestinians mean what they say and say what they mean. There was no misinterpretation or taken out of context of the comments. It is not the first time those words were spoken and will not be the last. Once a Palestinian state is declared the Jews will be ordered to leave. The Arabs are racists and subjugate and persecute racial and religious minorities in all Arab states. Why should the new Palestinian state be different?
If Israelis were to tell the Israeli Arabs they had to go to the new Palestinian state there would be charges of racism and ethnic cleansing. Another double standard. Arabs/Muslims have an excuse. They are Arabs/Muslims and are not responsible for their actions.

[messy]

07:23 PM on 09/16/2011

Apparently, the Palestinians want a country free of Palestinians as well.....
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Politics/2011/Sep-15/148791-interview-refugees-will-not-be-citizens-of-new-state.ashx#ixzz1Y3T3b3cj

[enderM]

08:00 PM on 09/16/2011

lol. good one.
just one more piece of prooof that this whole 'humanitarrian', 'help the *people*
of Gazzza' is a ruse.
this isn't about 'helping' anyone, other than the governmentts of gazza/WB.
and none of the P supporterss will ever admit thatt.

[Relpo Miraculous]

05:36 PM on 09/16/2011

How is a Palestinian State going to be free of Jews, "at first"?
Where are Jews going to go? And what about their houses?
Do you people ever think about what you write?

[sunnynight]

10:39 AM on 09/17/2011

It's very simple!
Arab mob will attack and slaughter all Jews in the neighborhood.
The Arabs and the rest of the World have never had any problem with killing Jews.

[ArthroughpadNY]

02:51 PM on 09/16/2011

I think it is a great idea. A country free of Jews like most of the Arab/ Muslim states are now, only the Israelis get to have the same thing, a state free of Muslims. It seems that everybody is willing to accept the depravity of the Arabs with their ethnic cleansing of the Jews in most Arab countries, but if the Israelis said it every Arab would be raging. I say kick out the Palestinians, don't let them enjoy the freedom that is Israel, and make the country a Jewish state just like the Arabs have made their countries Muslim states.

[BcemXAHA]

02:17 PM on 09/16/2011

I wonder if Jashua Hersh is aware of this little gem, and if he is, how on earth would he write this report with a straight face:

http://pinkapronregiment.com/2011/07/23/arabs-who-sell-land-to-jews-worthy-of-death/

[enderM]

08:21 PM on 09/16/2011

The law to ki// any arabb selling or negotiating to sell land to a joooow has been carried out
more than 13 times, with others awaiting their senttence of d.e.t.h…..

grounds for the d.e.t.h. pennalty for land sales to j000ws…..treeson…by law since 1996,
but certainlly practicedd before 96.

[BahtHarim]

08:58 PM on 09/24/2011

Ick. This is a right-wing Christian website and I wouldn't trust anything they say on it or any professions of love for Jews or Israel. Surely we can come up with better advocates than this.

[LIbislife]

02:05 PM on 09/16/2011

This is not a religious conflict, and we want to establish a secular state."

The view of Fatah. Problem is that other group in control, Hamas. This is not their view

[Relpo Miraculous]

05:33 PM on 09/16/2011

It is not Fatah's view either. They quickly hired a PR firm for damage control:

The PLO hired a PR firm that specializes in repressive Arab dictatorships
http://elderofziyon.blogspot.com/2011/09/plo-hired-pr-firm-that-specializes-in.html

[enderM]

08:26 PM on 09/16/2011

correct. it is most certainly not fattas view.
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/131090#.TnPnrHO0xL4

[spindok]

11:45 AM on 09/16/2011

It was no misinterpretation.

The thin veil between antisemitism and antzionism, so carefully parsed out by 'enlightened' westerners does not exist in the very places we are talking about. Israelis know this, arabs know this, and it directly affects policy.

Why should we expect any better from Palestinians than their neighbors? This report from a BBC reporter this week about a visit to Cairo:

While walking in the street someone pushed me from behind with such force that I nearly fell over.

Turning around, I found myself surrounded by five men, one of whom tried to punch me in the face. I stopped the attack by pointing out how shameful it was for a Muslim to assault a guest in his country, especially during Ramadan.

Relieved that a seemingly random assault was over, I was appalled by the apology offered by one of my assailants. "Sorry," he said contritely, offering his hand, "we thought you were a Jew."

Shaking his head in disbelief on hearing the news, an Egyptian friend sympathised: "That's stupid, you are obviously not a Jew."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-14911786

[BahtHarim]

09:03 PM on 09/24/2011

I was living in Israel when Nasser died. The TV broadcast of his funeral was seen in Israel. Arabic is close enough to Hebrew that we were able to discern the mourners chanting "Death to the Jews!" Not death to Israel, death to the Jews.

[scottishandproud]

10:17 AM on 09/16/2011

NEVER AGAIN!

NEVER AGAIN! Will A Jew be spat in the face without recrimination.
NEVER AGAIN! Will the epithet Dirty Jew be ignored
NEVER AGAIN! Will a Jewish 70 year old grandmother be forced on her knees to scrub the sidewalk
NEVER AGAIN! Will a Jewish mother and father be humiliated in front of their children -forced to lick the boots of a 15 year old thug
NEVER AGAIN! Will a Jew be pushed around and persecuted in the street
NEVER AGAIN! Will a Jew’s property, all their possessions, house and lands be meticulously chronicled then signed away for a pittance.
NEVER AGAIN! Will a Jew be forced to convert
NEVER AGAIN! Will a Jew be subservient to another nation or religion
NEVER AGAIN! Will a Jew stand aside while you dehumanise and boycott him
NEVER AGAIN! Will a Jew allow your slaughter, your pogroms, your Holocaust.
NEVER AGAIN! Will a Jew ignore your outpourings of hatred and filthy lies
NEVER AGAIN! Will a Jew accept your double standards – Jews are your equal
NEVER AGAIN! Will a Jew be forced to wear your badge-except in honour
NEVER AGAIN! Will a Jew not be able to worship at holy sites
NEVER AGAIN! Will a Jew be your scapegoat-always ‘the traitor’
NEVER AGAIN! Will a Jew forgo the right to live in The State of Israel.
NEVER AGAIN! Will a Jew be expelled without reciprocation
NEVER AGAIN! Will a Jew accept anything less than you accept for yourself

[NTT]

09:33 AM on 09/16/2011

The fact that every single Arab country is practically Judenrein is, of course, another "misrepresentation". I guess 95% of almost 1 million Jews who were living in those countries in 1948 simply "wanted" to leave -- a proportion by far bigger than anywhere else in the world. In fact, they were all of a sudden so anxious to leave that they "forgot" all their belongings behind...

But the "clarifications" supplied by the "PLO ambassador" (who of course wants to be called "Palestine's ambassador" actually add insult to injury: they imply that Jews are nothing but "a religion", not a people. This is neither a chance remark nor is it innocent: its significance is denial of Israel's right to exist: in modern political theory peoples are entitled to national self-determination -- religious groups are not.

The "ambassador" should be asked to pack his bags and given 12 hours to exit US territory.

[zenju2]

08:54 AM on 09/16/2011

Oh, okay! It's like when some people THOUGHT Ahmadinejad said something about 'wiping Israel off the map," when what he REALLY said, in Farsi, was "Well gosh darn it, I don't wish any harm on Israel and seek to open honest negotiations with Jerusalem, extend recognition of Israel and cultivate peaceful relations and ease unnecessary tensions in the Middle East!"

[LIbislife]

02:08 PM on 09/16/2011

amazaing how easily things can be misinterpreted, isn't it?

[enderM]

08:32 PM on 09/16/2011

it is on tape. there was no misinterpretationn.
like those that claim they have 'no problemm with j0000ws, only with the izral govvernmnt.
bullshite. bullshite. bullshite.
he meant every word….of *what he said*….he said it. regardless what languaage.
i'm sure they also did mean to pass a laww in 1996 to charge those who even negotiate
land sales to j00wz with treeson….and then sentencce them to d.e.t.h.
already carried out over 13 times……but i guesss that was misinterpretted tooHuh.

[Slickone]

11:11 PM on 09/15/2011

PLO = Terrorist. Palestinians backed by IRAN which believes Israel should not exist.

Mistake... Yeah right.

[BcemXAHA]

01:28 PM on 09/16/2011

Fanned!

[nlkatz]

10:13 PM on 09/15/2011

P.S. By law, no Arab in the Palestinian Authority is entitled to sell real estate to Jews, only because the buyer is a Jew. Violation of this law is punishable by.... death!!

Sadly, a number of Arabs in the PA have already lost their lives for having sold their private property to Jews.

Why have most of us been silent about this legal system, that which motivates it (anti-Jewish racism!!) and the resultant death of otherwise innocent human beings who dared to sell their property to Jews...??!!

[nycpaladin]

03:53 AM on 09/16/2011

"By law, no Arab in the Palestinia­n Authority is entitled to sell real estate to Jews, only because the buyer is a Jew. Violation of this law is punishable by.... death!!"

I would have to check my history, but this sort of law sounds very similar and reminiscent of the type of antisemitic laws that the Nazis passed and implemented in the 1930's.

[nlkatz]

04:30 AM on 09/16/2011

Indeed!!

And, no wonder, the very first leader of the Muslim-Arabs of Eretz Israel (Land of Israel) was the Haj, Amin al-Husseini who, in the 1920s lead the pogroms against the Jews in the country, and in the 1930s collaborated with Nazi Germany...!!

[enderM]

08:34 PM on 09/16/2011

it is true. it has been seriously fought against since 1990, and became law in 1996.
the d.th sentnce has been carried out more than 13 times since then.

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/131090#.TnPnrHO0xL4

[Donncha O Giobuin]

06:36 AM on 09/16/2011

Can you cite evidence to back up your claims?

[nlkatz]

07:08 AM on 09/16/2011

Yes, the legal texts in Arabic.

[BcemXAHA]

05:53 PM on 09/16/2011

Here you go. Please have the cat release your tongue, thank you.

http://pin­kapronregi­ment.com/2­011/07/23/­arabs-who-­sell-land-­to-jews-wo­rthy-of-de­ath/