Tuesday, March 28, 2023
Elder of Ziyon
Journalist Rula Jebreal tweeted about the large rallies in Tel Aviv, "This reminds me of the 1st intifada/popular uprising of 1987... Palestinians gathered under the banner: ”End the occupation, No annexation...yes to PEACE.” Then she added that "I was 15 during the First Intifada. We protested daily & peacefully in Jerusalem."
This has been a theme among Israel haters, that the first intifada was peaceful. They never mention that about 200 Israelis were killed in these "peaceful" times. Middle East Monitor, an anti-Israel English language publication, says, "It involved many forms of civil disobedience, including: massive demonstrations, general strikes, refusal to pay taxes, boycotts of Israeli products, graffiti and underground 'freedom schools', as well as unarmed forms of resistance such as stone-throwing and Molotov cocktails."
Not exactly what one would call "peaceful."
What about the slogans Jebreal claims they chanted?
It seems unlikely that they chanted "no to annexation," since that wasn't a talking point then. But did they say "yes to PEACE"?
I found a fairly comprehensive list of slogans chanted by Arabs in the first intifada. The very few that mentioned peace were veiled threats, such as "before we touch the trigger, we raise the call of peace
....Raise the flag of peace and cheer for freedom, and adhere to the gunpowder."
But there were lots of slogans that called for violence.
- Khaybar, Khaybar, O Jews, Muhammad's army will prevail
- Say Allahu Akbar, Muslim, say Allahu Akbar, the head of the Zionist is destroyed
- Say takbeer, O Muslim, say takbeer, the throne of the Zionist was destroyed
Glory and eternity to the holy martyrs
O martyr, relax, relax, and we will continue the struggle
With the spirit and blood we will sacrifice you, O martyr
With soul and blood, we will sacrifice you, O Palestine
The only good thing you can say about the first intifada is that it wasn't nearly as violent as the second intifada. But it wasn't peaceful and it wasn't in any way equivalent to the massive demonstrations in Israel over the past two months.
