“I said on one of the Israeli channels… that he, Hitler, cannot live in the same world as long as one Jew still lives. This Islamo Nazism and the Jews cannot live together. Definitely, not in the same world, he [Hitler] said. But definitely not in the same country. That’s what I said. … And I said, from the river to the sea… it’s either you or me” – Israeli politician Moshe Feiglin at the Australian Jewish Association, June 19, 2024.
The Australian Jewish Association’s (AJA’s) Zoom event of 19 June has already been the subject of comment: refer The Jewish community raise their voice to call out extremists, June 21, 2024. In essence, the Jewish Council of Australia (JCA), recently formed, had expressed concern that the AJA was promoting the far-right Israeli politician Moshe Feiglin by presenting Feiglin as a speaker by zoom to the Australian Jewish community.
Your present commentator, the author of the June 21 P&I article, has now had the opportunity of viewing the Zoom event which went for over an hour. The flavour of the interview is indicated by two quotes, in respect of which some questions must be asked. The questions hopefully support the concerns of the JCA.
Feiglin: “Whenever I am asked who the land belongs to, my answer is – from the river to the sea – (the truth is more than that, ok) – but the land of Israel belongs only to the people of Israel because God gave it to us”. (Emphasis added).
Several questions are raised by this first quote:
- More than “the river to the sea”? So, what do you say are the borders of “the land” which belongs to you? I understand that the land which you say was given to you by God was all the land from the great river (the Nile) to the Euphrates: Genesis 15, verse 18 – “(T)he Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates”. Even confining that to a reasonable limit, do you not agree that that encompasses a large part of Egypt, all of Jordan, all of Syria, a large part of Lebanon – said to be south of the Litani River – and a large part of Iraq?
- Who is this God who gave the land to you? Did he give the land outside the borders that you claim to other peoples, to the peoples who then occupied it? Do you not agree that this makes the exact determination of the borders of the land given to you, essential?
- Did your God explain to you what might happen to the land if you did not occupy it for centuries, and allowed the land to be occupied by others, who you regarded in that time as your brothers?
The second quote from the event is perhaps more disturbing:
Feiglin: (when asked to respond to the criticism that he has quoted Adolf Hitler)
“I said on one of the Israeli channels that what we faced at the October 7 is the appearance of the most extremist Islamo Nazism that we [have seen] since WWII. I think everybody agrees with that. And then I continued and said – “Hitler [Hebrew translation] – that he, Hitler, cannot live in the same world as long as one Jew still lives. This Islamo Nazism and the Jews cannot live together. Definitely, not in the same world, he [Hitler] said. But definitely not in the same country. That’s what I said.
It’s not going to work. It’s not going to be any solution – a two-state solution – that’s going to lead to the same results. That’s what I said. And I said, from the river to the sea – using their (the Palestinians’) line. OK – it’s either you or me”.
Questions relating to this second quote include:
- So, are you saying that every Palestinian or other person, Arab, Egyptian, Jordanian, Syrian, Lebanese, Iraqi, whatever, however so described, must leave, be ejected, or eliminated from your “land”?
- And are you saying that that applies to the whole of the said “land” – so that Egyptians east of the Nile, Jordanians, Syrians, relevant Lebanese, and Iraqis must hot foot it? Now?
- I have heard it said that Israel cannot agree to any division of the “land”, it cannot agree to give up something which God gave to the Jews. Do you agree with that? Does this mean that the world faces decades, if not centuries, of war and genocide until you are satisfied?
- Do you think that it might not be better for your God to simply say to you now: “Israelis, take and be satisfied with what the community of nations gave to you by UN Security Council Resolution 242, following the 1967 war?”
So, there we have it! What Mr. Feiglin has so clearly done is make it clear to the World that however the current war, crisis, catastrophe, is resolved, it cannot be done by agreement with the Israelis. It must be an imposed solution – imposed by the World community of nations, acting through the General Assembly of the United Nations.
But I am concerned that some readers will say; “Well, who is this Feiglin? He is said to be an Israeli politician from the far-right. He appears to be a bit of a loose cannon. Perhaps I should not allow his comments to tar the good name of the Israeli public.”
Well, to disabuse such readers of the notion that Feiglin is a nut case to be discounted, I now list a number of accepted quotes by significant persons who show that he is not alone, and cannot be ignored.
Benjamin Netanyahu, Prime Minister:
- October, 2023: “You must remember what Amalek has done to you, says our holy Bibles” – in reference to 1 Samuel 15.3 “Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not, but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass”.
- December, 2022: “The Jewish people have an exclusive and unquestionable right to all areas of the Land of Israel”.
Bezalel Smotrich, Leader of the Religious Zionism party:
- October, 2021: addressing Palestinian members of the Knesset: “You’re only here by mistake, because Ben-Gurion didn’t finish the job, didn’t throw you out in ‘48”.
Itamar Ben-Gvir, Leader of the Jewish Power Party:
- August, 2022: at the Noble Sanctuary: “I am here, we are the owners, Israel is the owner of the Temple Mount”.
Isaac Herzog, Israeli President:
- December, 2023: “We intend to take over the entire Gaza Strip and change the course of history”.
I repeat what I asserted above. There must be an imposed solution – imposed by the World community of nations.
And one final comment. I am authorised by P&I to say that it invites the AJA to respond by answering the questions asked above. Readers will make what they will of a failure by the AJA to do so.
For further reading P&I recommends:
Zionist violence against Palestinians is the antithesis of Judaism
Paul Heywood-Smith is an Adelaide SC of some 20 years. He was the initial chairperson of the Australian Friends of Palestine Association, an incorporated association registered in South Australia in 2004. He is the author of The Case for Palestine, The Perspective of an Australian Observer published by Wakefield Press in 2014.
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