And betrays, of course, abysmal ignorance of the jihad ideology and Islamic supremacism. By Jonny Paul for the Jerusalem Post (thanks to Kemaste):
An Israeli scholar has firmly rejected comments by controversial UK Liberal Democrat politician Jenny Tonge, who recently accused Israel of driving the Palestinians to their current impoverished situation and claimed that this issue was being used to fuel Islamic extremism."Ever since 1948, Palestine has been used as a battle cry and a propaganda weapon for Islamists worldwide," she said in a speech in the House of Lords last month. "I have witnessed this in some African countries and, more recently, in Bangladesh. Palestine is what the West does to Muslims. That is the message. The Palestinians have been brought to their knees. A cultured and well-educated society with high skill levels has been reduced to a Third-World country. The statistics are there for all to see."
Tonge also alleged that the IDF was disrupting school exams in Nablus, resulting in a generation of illiterate and unskilled Palestinians.
"Even education is being destroyed as children are terrorized by raids on their schools," she said, claiming that the products of such a system would be "capable of very little except low-wage labor. The economy cannot be rebuilt unless Israel changes its policies."
But Dr. Jonathan Spyer, research fellow at the Global Research in International Affairs at the Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya, disputed such assertions, which he said betrayed an "appalling ignorance of Islamist movements. Radical Islam is a political idea, some of whose proponents use the method of terrorism. This idea sees world events as shaped by a struggle between the forces of authentic Islam, and those of the non-believers. It uses a long list of supposed Muslim grievances as a way to mobilize support," he told The Jerusalem Post.
He noted that al-Qaida had been formed to overthrow the Saudi Arabian government in opposition to the US presence there in the 1990s. "Al-Qaida hardly mentioned the Palestinian issue prior to 2001."
"The idea that this trans-national idea, which feeds off many local issues, is somehow 'traceable' to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and would be settled by the creation of a Palestinian state alongside Israel - an outcome which the Islamists in any case reject - is an absurd one. It's used by people like Tonge in order to hold Israel to blame for radical Islam's war in the West."
The Pali situation is a strawman arguement. Always has been and always will be.
'"Ever since 1948, Palestine has been used as a battle cry and a propaganda weapon for Islamists worldwide," she said in a speech in the House of Lords last month.'
Says she who held a two-minute silence in Westminster in honour of Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, leader of Hamas, which is an...er...Islamist group.
Clearly, Tonge believes this propaganda - or she is too stupid to notice that she has been brainwashed by it.
She has, as they say, got plenty of 'previous', including her jaw-droppingly batty statement that she would consider becoming a suicide-bomber if she were a Palestinian. Yeah, right.
She subscribes completely to the 'Zionists-control-the-world' philosophy and is rightfully ignored by most sane people (including most of her own party - she was sacked as the Lib Dems' 'spokesperson' on international development and shuffled off to the Lords to keep her out of the way).
"Tonge also alleged that the IDF was disrupting school exams in Nablus, resulting in a generation of illiterate and unskilled Palestinians".
Every Israeli could disappear overnight and those idiots would still be illiterate and unskilled. These are simply the results of mindless memorization of the Koran and following its warped values. That might also explain why Islamaniacs in such Israeli-free
paradises such as Bangladesh also have the same problems as these palestinians. But people like Tonge just don't get it and never will-it's all in the Islamania.
All Tonge and no brain.
Speaking of Israel
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=57195
The execrable Tonge has form.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/5366870.stm
'"I said, and I would repeat it now: if I had had to live through that as a Palestinian over decades and I was being given no hope for the future whatsoever I might have considered being a suicide bomber," she said.'
Might have considered, eh? How utterly...British.
Actually, the economy can't be rebuilt by suicide bombing another country. If the Philistines ever learn this, they might live somewhere nice.
If it wasn't Israel... It would be Spain. If not Spain then Greece. If not Greece... it would be France. If not France... it would be Germany. If not Germany... it would be England. If not England... (insert geographical location here (those balsted Eskimos living on the lands rightfully owned by the Ummah))
Actually, the good Peeress should have had a good hard look at some historical statistics.
"A cultured and well-educated society with high skill levels"...well, before 1917 that is just what 'Palestinian' Arab peasant society WASN'T. The vast bulk of the population was totally illiterate and the state of public health was appalling.
Though the Arab villages living next to the early Zionist settlements were already doing better than those further away.
The 'Palestininan' Arab literacy rates went up, and infant mortality rates dropped, AFTER they came under Israeli authority: first in Israel proper, 1947-1967, then, too, in the 'west bank' from 1967 - up until they messed in their own nests by turning the place into a war zone with the Intifadas. The Israelis insisted on building schools and setting up good maternity clinics and hospitals.
Prior to 1947 the 'Palestinians' had one of the worst infant mortality rates in the world. The infant mortality rates of Israeli Arabs are at this time LOWER than the same rates in...Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Egypt, every other 'Arab' or 'Muslim' country one cares to investigate. I suspect that before the intifadas (1967-1980s) the same would have applied in the 'west bank' populations as well.
The first universities in the 'west bank' - Judea and Samaria, to be exact - were built for the 'Palestinians' by...the Jews!
The 'Palestinians' still go running to the Israeli hospitals every time they get sick - funny, that.
If the 'Palestinians' have a crippled economy and a screwed up education system, they have brought it on themselves by insisting on pursuing war without end against the very people who brought them education, jobs and public health in the first place.
Look up James Parkes' book on Jerusalem and see which communities, 1880s -1947, invested in the place - public works, orphanages, schools, hospitals, etc etc. NOT the Arab Muslims. Jews...and Christians.
And speaking of education and culture, I wonder whether anyone has shown the good peeress a sample of the rabid antisemitism peddled in some Palestinian schoolbooks and children's TV programs?
All of the above statements can be documented - it's just that it's 7 am and I don't have the time right now to rifle through sheaves of notes and data files.
Calling Arab Muslims "cultured and well-educated" is about as intellectually honest as calling the German gas chambers "saunas".
So according to Jenny Tonge:
Islamic terrorism against Hindus in India is Israel's fault;
Islamic terrorism against Buddhists in Thailand is Israel's fault;
Islamic terrorism against Christians in the Philippines is Israel's fault;
Islamic terrorism against Christians in Nigeria is Israel's fault;
Islamic terrorism against Christians in Indonesia is Israel's fault;
Islamic terrorism against the Coptics in Egypt is Israel's fault;
Islamic terrorism against the Baha'i in Iran is Israel's fault;
Islamic terrorism against the Chaldeans in Iraq is Israel's fault.
And, of course, Islamic terrorism against fellow Muslims is Israel's fault.
By the way, Tonge insists she's not antisemitic.
Howard, Fine & Howard
A fine and concise summary.
Nyuk nyuk nyuk ....
That jenny tonge idiot is not worth the time in print.
Left lopsided no brain's!
UK Liberal Democrat politician Jenny Tonge, who recently accused Israel of driving the Palestinians to their current impoverished situation and claimed that this issue was being used to fuel Islamic extremism.
Sometimes...I have to set and just laugh because I cannot believe their are people that actually beleive Israel is the problem.
One little dot on map...a place no bigger than a state of our's..and she says they are the problem! This woman is pure brainwashed by her lover, Islam.
Palestinians are used by the Muslim world to be the scapegoat which they so gladly use for their evil purposes.....destruction of Israel. Ms. Tonge is a no brainer! Palestinian's need to get a real life and look at Arab world around them. But, regardless..they all Muslims and they all are anti-Jews and anti-Christians. And they anti-anything that isn't Islam.