A terrible disease of the mind

I lost my gloves one day in a coffee shop in Geneva, and I tell you, it’s difficult to ride a motorcycle without them when it’s really cold. So as I was paying for a new pair with a credit card, the salesman - who I knew was from Israel - asked me what my family name means. I told him that it relates to the city of Nablus where my family is originally from. Suddenly, the most bewildered look got plastered on his face.“Where is Nablus?” he asked, “I’ve never heard of it”.


Then he pretended to remember. “Ah, Shkheim you mean?”With my insistence not to learn these ugly sounding names that the Zionists have dug up from oblivion to erase our identity, that name certainly didn’t ring a bell.Now it was my turn. Although I knew where he was from, I asked: “And you’re from?”As he smiled, I replicated the look on his face moments ago. “Israel? Where is that?”Then after a brief pause: “Ah, the land of Canaan you mean. Palestine.”You see, if you want to get biblical, there was never such a thing as Israel, and I made that very clear to this gentleman with obnoxious chutzpah.


So here we were all of a sudden; my family descended from a place called Shkheim, and this guy became a Palestinian. God does work in mysterious ways, but I still thanked Him for His small mercies; that at least my name was not Zaid Shkheimy.While the gloves warmed up my grip on the bike, my heart was still frozen. I just cannot stand thieves who steal your gloves, or any other kind of thieves.Then it finally dawned on me. Zionism is a sickness, for it takes much more than just a twisted ideology to make people think like that. It requires a profound leap of immorality of a higher order to instil this mentality in your followers.

Zionism is not merely a political movement, but in its essence represents a deeply disturbed view of the world, resulting from a terrible affliction of the mind.Indeed, to deny the existence of a vibrant community such as the Palestinian society in the early 20th century and describe Palestine as “a land without a people for a people without a land” is a serious blinding ailment.To assert property claims over real estate after thousands of years with the same certainty of title as if one resided there yesterday is the essence of arrogance.


To describe the colonial immigration to Palestine of a European people with no proven historical link to the ancient Israelites - and whose great, great recorded ancestors have never set foot there - as some kind of a “return” to that land is a distorted misapplication of the verb to “return”.To blame the Palestinians for being unreasonable in rejecting a partition plan in 1947 which gave the Jews, who only owned 7 per cent of the land, an astounding half of Palestine, is an arithmetical impairment.To eventually grab 78 per cent of Palestine through war, evict the population through massacres and then live in their same houses is unashamed theft.

To deny the orchestrated eradications of hundreds of Palestinian villages in 1948 and then denounce the Israeli historians who later exposed this truth as self-hating Jews is compulsive forgery.To claim that having escaped the horrors of the Nazis is a justification for the murder, expulsion and occupation of another, guiltless, people is moral incapacity.To legislate that any resident of Poland, New York or Brazil, who happens to be blessed with a Jewish mother (yet cannot point to Palestine on the map), has a right to “return” and settle in Palestine, unlike someone who has been expelled from his own land, confined to a squalid refugee camp and still holds the keys to his house, is racism.


To blame God for the theft and occupation of someone else’s land by claiming that it was He who had pledged this land exclusively to the Jews, and to seriously promote the myth of a land promised by the Almighty to His favourite children as an excuse for this crime, is insanity.To milk the pockets of the entire world for the atrocities of the Nazis, while stubbornly refusing a simple admission of guilt, let alone compensation or repatriation, for the catastrophe that befell the Palestinian people, is perverted conceit.To keep blackmailing the world with expensive museums and endless movies of the plight of the Jews under Hitler 70 years ago, while at the same time inflicting on the Palestinians today the fate of the Jews of the Warsaw ghetto, is acute schizophrenia.


To impose collective guilt on the Western civilisation for the Holocaust and to criminalise all legitimate historical debate of the nature and extent of that horrific event is thuggery.To incarcerate the Palestinian people inside degrading cages, destroy their livelihoods, confiscate their lands, steal their water and uproot their trees, and then to condemn their legitimate resistance as terrorism, and to exact vengeance on the innocent families of suicide bombers by punishing them with the dynamiting of their homes is sadistic cruelty.To describe the offer of giving the Palestinians 80 per cent of 22 per cent of 100 per cent of what is originally their own land as a “generous” offer is macabre Shylockian humour.


To believe that you have the God-given right to continue to humiliate the Palestinians at gunpoint by making them queue for hours to move between their villages, forcing their mothers to give birth at checkpoints, is a predisposition to bestiality.To flatten the camp of Jenin on its inhabitants’ heads and deny any wrongdoing is a severe delusional disorder.To build a huge separation wall which disconnects farmers from their farms and children from their schools, while stealing even more territory as the wall freely zigzags and encroaches on Palestinian land is unrepentant immorality.To leave behind, in the last 10 days of a losing war in Lebanon, more than one million cluster bombs which have no purpose except to murder and maim unsuspecting civilians is murderous depravity.To believe that the entire world is out to get you, and to denounce any critic of the racist policies of the state of Israel as an anti-Semite, the latest victim being none other than peace-making Jimmy Carter, is hysterical mass paranoia.To possess, in the midst of a non-nuclear Arab world, more than 200 nuclear warheads capable of incinerating the whole planet, in addition to having the most lethal arsenal of weaponry on earth, while continuing to demand sympathy, is the ultimate false victimisation syndrome.



And today, to blockade the world’s most densely populated strip of land for 18 months, suffocate its already displaced and miserable inhabitants by asking them to die a slow death, and then punish them for refusing to die silently by deliberately bombing their schools, mosques, hospitals and ambulances with internationally prohibited weapons and poisonous gasses in the ugliest televised massacre of children in modern history, all the while looking the world in the eyes and claiming that this is an act of self-defence, is a critical stage of dangerous psychosis, and is pure, unadulterated madness.Yes, and for that salesman in peaceful Geneva to be as insecure as a common thief to refuse to acknowledge the name of the largest West Bank city under his country’s brutal military occupation is, sadly, more of the same infectious and ultimately fatal disease of the mind._______________________________________________________________
The writer is an attorney, partner in Nabulsi & Associates law firm.

An aid gone awry - War on terror

As the World's focus shifts to Af-Pak in the war against terror, and US President Obama describes it as one of the most important regions in the world in terms of global security, I trace back a money trail that originated from a natural calamity.

Osama Bin Laden's sanctuary and the recruiting fields for Al-Qaeda have now been in the focus of International attention, and funding for their weapons and terror operations could have been done by you , yes YOU, inadvertently.

The earthquake that rocked India and Pakistan in early October of 2005 secured international headline spots for the magnitude of destruction. Something that nobody had expected was the continuation of the earthquake in the news, but for very unobvious reasons.
The United Nations officials who supervised relief work in the quake affected areas of Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) and parts of NWFP had said that Pakistan would need at least 10 years to recover from the October 8 tremor.

Over 73000 people lost their lives and another 69000 were injured in the incident, and humanitarian aid from all over the world started pouring in.

The Pakistan government left no stone unturned in its effort to bring in as much relief possible into the country, at a donor conference convened by the UN and Pakistan in Geneva the flash appeal was raised to USD 549 million from the earlier appeal of USD 312 million.
The conference was addressed among others by UN Secretary General, Kofi Annan who focused on providing international assistance to Pakistan for relief and rehabilitation of the victims.
President Pervez Musharraf had stated that the damage caused by the earthquake was more than a billion dollars.

The hearts melted, the souls were stirred and the images of young orphans wandering in the cold rubble laden terrain were beamed into the living rooms of almost every developed country in the world to substantiate the cause for donation.

Jamaat-ud-Dawa played a considerable role in helping the residents of Pakistani-occupied Kashmir and northern Pakistan recover from the earthquake, which struck a region that is home to several camps and bases belonging to militant Kashmiri groups and other radical organizations linked to al-Qaeda.

Jamaat-ud-Dawa is a reincarnation of Lashkar-e-Toiba. In 2002, Pakistan's President, Gen. Pervez Musharraf had banned Lashkar-e-Toiba, but the group renamed itself Jamaat-ud-Dawa as a way to evade sanctions, according to the US State Department. Lashkar-e-Toiba is one of the largest and best-trained groups fighting Indian forces in Jammu and Kashmir. Lashkar-e-Toiba has been linked by U.S. authorities to al-Qaeda.

The very fact that Jamaat-ud-Dawa was created out of a rogue group placed the entire effort under suspicion. Hafiz Abdur Rehman Makki, the number two in Jamaat-ud-Dawa's hierarchy. An eloquent orator, Makki has the power to draw tears from his listeners. On October 21- 2005, Makki justified the earthquake as a punishment of Allah on the sinful quoting numerous verses from the holy Koran.

He ridiculed seismologists who rationalized the quake on scientific grounds, he said: “You are saying that the earthquake has occurred because the plates beneath the earth have dislocated. Oh foolish scientists, don't you know that the plates could have never moved without Allah's order? Human beings' knowledge is nothing before Allah who is the creator of the universe. Whatever knowledge you have today is due to His will. You could have learnt nothing had Allah not wished so! Don't you learn a lesson from the Jews? They are the worst receiver of Allah's wrath because they flayed His commandments blatantly. The earthquake is a reprimand to the rulers on their un-Islamic policies e.g. recognition of Israel, maligning jihad and ditching the jihadis, ridiculing jihad, perverting society with obscenity by urging women to work with men in all spheres of life, secularizing the curriculum, etc.”

“We can rise again. We can rule the world again. I give you a simple recipe. Donate money and sons for jihad and your glorious days will return. The entire world will be under your control. Bush and Blair will become your slaves and lick your boots.'”
Considering the fact this man was an instrumental figure in the relief efforts in PoK, it wouldn’t take a rocket scientist to assess that a lot of money was siphoned off to organisations that preach terror.

With the unearthing of August 10-airliner terror plot, the murkier side of relief operations was highlighted. The incident sent shockwaves throughout the world and its ripples were felt in PoK too. The British intelligence community toiled hard to put the pieces of the terror-funding jigsaw together, and all fingers pointed at Pakistan after just two days of investigation.
Muslim Charity of UK remitted a huge amount of money to three individuals in three different bank accounts in Mirpur, Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) in December of 2005 as earthquake relief money.

But the money in the three accounts in Saudi Pak Bank, Standard Chartered and Habib Bank Ltd was solely for the purpose of financing the foiled bomb plot, according to the MI5 investigation. Two of the recipients were British citizens of Kashmir origin while the third was an Islamabad-based builder, also of Kashmir origin.
All three have been arrested lately, but the damage has already been done .Al Qaeda or Lashkar-e-Toiba might have benefited immensely from the relief money

UK National Terrorist Financial Investigation Unit authorities carried out ‘discreet enquiries’ about all major money transactions involved with relief money to Pakistan and tipped off the Pak Intelligence agencies about the same. Interrogation of the suspects revealed some key elements of the aircraft-bombing plan. It was then that the Pakistani officials informed British authorities about the plan and the terror attempt was successfully foiled.
Large portion of the money sent from Britain to the charity was siphoned off and ultimately used to prepare for the attacks. About 5 million British pounds, or USD10 million, was transferred to Pakistan, but that less than half was used for relief operations after the earthquake last October.
British intelligence smelled a foul play the moment the transfer was made in December last year. The unsuspecting souls in Britain contributed generously for the victims of the earthquake without having absolutely no idea that their contributions were used to hatch one of the biggest terror plots.

The extent of money that has poured into the devastated region has been unprecedented and surpasses any previous aid amounts that Pakistan has received. A snippet of what various countries and unions donated should help get an insight into the extent.

The United States pledged a total of USD 510 million to Pakistan for relief and reconstruction efforts, following the earthquake. The American private donations for the earthquake relief and reconstruction were nearly USD100 million. Sri Lanka also donated USD 100,000 for undertaking relief and rehabilitation work in earthquake hit areas of Pakistan besides dispatching relief supplies like tents and blankets.
Japan gave a loan worth USD100 million to Pakistan for earthquake rehabilitation and reconstruction and a grant of USD270,000 for human resource development.
The European Commission earmarked 10 million Euros for the victims of the devastating earthquake in South Asia, out of which a major portion goes to Pakistan as the Indian side of Kashmir was affected less compared to its neighbour.

Jamaat- ud- Dawa initiated efforts to raise funds in British Pakistani areas in London, Birmingham and Manchester. The group also urged non-resident Pakistanis in Britian to go to the affected region to help in the relief efforts, and hundreds did. Out of the 23 suspects in custody after the arrests by British police, 17 are of Pakistani origin. As both a militant group and an organization for the masses, Jamaat ud Dawa resembles several of its counterparts that exist in the Muslim world, like Hamas in the Palestine and Hezbollah in Lebanon. The extent of suspicion the West has on these organisations can be gauged by the fact that post 9/11, the United States government shut down many Muslim charities suspecting them of funding terror activities.

A troublesome situation is brewing in Pakistan following the catastrophic earthquake. Exploiting the general public sentiment and riding on a wave of popularity gained by helping refugees, a host of religious extremist organizations have found new breeding grounds and a modus operandi to fill the void and present themselves as the better alternative to the secular and pro-West governance of President Pervez Musharraf. Lashkar-e-Toiba– an entity formerly known as Markaz-Dawa-wal-Irshad- looks all set to grow with the influx of millions of dollars.

Their ploy seemed to work and the earthquake that took lives of thousands proved to be a blessing for the terror group that intends to claim thousands of more lives.
The new question that arises out of this incident is a very disturbing one and even leaves the biggest of philanthropists in dilemma – How safe is it to donate to the ones in distress?

Racist attacks in Australia - Shut up Mate !

The 'alleged' racial assault on Indians in Australia has seemed to hog prime time on news networks and as always a million self styled experts on racial discord have mushroomed in every televised discussion on the subject.
The Indian media and its citizens have been vocal in condemning the attacks and have vowed to do nothing as usual but whine and crib.
Resorting to my intrinsic trait of 'investigative research' on the subject, I case studied the so called victims of racial abuse spread over suburbs of Melbourne and Sydney. Somehow, I had little presumptions about these men which turned out to be true eventually.
Most men, who were assaulted or rather mugged, share something in common.
Some of these attacks are racial, however as the Indians love the hype, explicably 'all' attacks have been termed racial.
The Indians in Australia (and other parts of the world), tend to live in a close knit community and are not very willing to adapt to the local culture. Their eating habits and culture preferences remain not very changed than when they are back home. This makes them extremely visible yet socially alienated.
Also, most of the immigrants going to Australia and Canada are from rural areas in Punjab, loaded with a fresh bag of money from land compensation or a farm sale. Lack of decent English language skills, non awareness of western culture and an upbringing where racial/communal disharmony runs high , and the whole Hindu-Muslim-Dalit issue at the national level creates an individual who chooses to live within his own community.
None of the students who were attacked in Australia were known to be socially active or very involved with local Australians. Imagine a community of White Australians in New Delhi, who refuse to hang out with Indians, live within their own ghettos, insist on eating beef and refuse to acknowledge Indian customs and culture.
On the contrary, most of the Indian students who are in Australia and have had a good upbringing rubbish the whole concept of the attacks being racist and accuse their fellow countrymen of 'whining as usual'.
Of course there is a bit of disgruntlement and hatred amongst the Australians, owing to the financial stability and growth of Indians and it should be condemned and stemmed. But the Australians do not hate Indians to the extent that they would beat em up outside train stations.
And for the record, 12 students getting jumped in a month aint bad at all, more shit goes down in Delhi than in entire Australia within the 1 month timeframe!

It is a known fact and even some of the victims admit that not all attackers were white. Lebanese men have been blamed for a few incidents and have been identified too! Well, it is kinda hard for a brown man to see another brownie comin to the promised land and being more successful, I'd call it jealousy rather than racism.
It is also an established fact that Indian men have had a successful run in molesting every woman in their line of sight once drunk, Australia wasn’t spared either. Young testosterone charged men with a non-existent sex life tend to go a little overboard with excitement on their first few visits to the beach. Now THAT doesn’t go down too well with the Aussie.
So here we are, trying to gain sympathy for men who have been social aliens, harassed/teased local women, smell of weird spices and live in one room apartments shared by 10 people, and eventually fail to communicate in a language that’s accepted worldwide!
I guess it doesnt take a lot of pondering before you realize there won’t be many locals advocating for them.
Every Student who leaves India for Australia nurses the little dream of never coming back home, even though he might be travelling for a 3 week advanced swimming course to Australia.
So a swollen eye and a couple of missing teeth to pay for living a life where you NEVER have to drive on GT road again, sounds like a sweet deal to me.
So the next time you hear your NRI friend whining " Apna desh to apna hi hota hai, baahar kuch nahi rakha", you should instantly realize that his taxi driving plans didnt really work out, and let him know "Its Aii'te MATE !"