ISRAEL CAPITAL ISSUE
freely in their holy city.
The waves of crusades destroyed hundreds of Jewish communities in Europe and in the Middle East, including Jerusalem. Later, the Jews were expelled from Bavaria, France, Italy, England, Spain and Portugal.
Sultan Bayezid II, who ruled the Ottoman Empire (1481-1512), welcomed the Jews who were expelled from Spain under the Alhambra Declaration. The British conquered Ottoman in 1917 and ruled it until 1948. The Jewish State of Israel was then proclaimed, which was made possible by the Zionist movement and its promotion of mass Jewish immigration.
It is to be noted that during World War II, the US government turned away thousands of Jewish refugees, fearing they were Nazi spies. At the end of World War II, Jewish survivors of the Holocaust were violently turned away from the shores of Palestine. The Jewish Agency and the Haganah continued to smuggle Jews into Palestine.
Underground cells of Jews (the Irgun and Lehi) engaged in open warfare against the British and their installations.
The British could no longer manage the Jews and transferred the issue to the United Nations (UN). The British mandate over Palestine officially terminated at midnight, May 14, 1948. David Ben-Gurion, a major Zionist leader, proclaimed the creation of the State of Israel and became its first prime minister. The US was the first to recognise Israel.
The Arab-Israeli conflict ensued.
We have heard about the Camp David Accords, the Oslo I Accord and the Israel–Jordan peace treaty. Despite these efforts, the conflict continues.
In the Quran, “Israel” means the servant of Allah. Originally, this was the name of Prophet Ya’qub (Jacob), from whose 12 sons evolved the 12 tribes of Israel. Later, Prophet Moses released the Israelites from the bondage of the Pharaoh. The Quran speaks of the Jews as incurring Divine displeasure in various chapters and verses.
We strongly urge our prime minister to call on President Donald Trump to reverse his move. Demonstrations will not achieve the desired results.
Malaysian students locally were the first to express their support for and solidarity with the Palestinians and Arabs in 1973. Thousands of students, me included, demonstrated peacefully in front of the US Embassy in Kuala Lumpur to oppose the US role in the Middle-East war.
Another historic demonstration a few days later headed towards the Lincoln Cultural Centre, allegedly a centre involved in espionage. It was an anti-American demonstration. The US has always be supportive of Israel, despite opposition from freedom-loving people all over the world.
We can also propose for the UN to set up a commission to deal with this issue.