Israel Matzav: Teaching 'Israeli Arab' MK's some history

Teaching 'Israeli Arab' MK's some history

On Sunday, I told you the story of 'Israeli Arab' MK Jamal Zahalka's appearance on the Dan Margalit show, and even showed you a video of the event.

Among other things Zahalka called Margalit an 'immigrant' and complained about the Channel 1 terminal being located on the former site of a destroyed Arab village called Sheikh Munis, which used to be where the ritzy area of North Tel Aviv is located today.

Like most Israelis, Margalit likely does not know how to answer those charges. Like most Israelis, upon hearing those charges, he slinks off to the corner in embarrassment.

But Assaf Wohl knows how to answer those charges, and he answers them here. It's not Margalit who's the newcomer to this country, it's Zahalka. Zahalka ought to be showing a lot more appreciation for the fact that he's even here.

After all, Kfar Qara, where Dr. Zahalka resides, was only established in the 18th Century under the auspices of the Arab occupation of Eretz Yisrael. Meanwhile, Arabs only arrived at Taibe, where Dr. Tibi hails from, in the 17th Century from Saudi Arabia and Egypt, as attested to by the last names of some residents.

Do they truly believe that the “Palestinians” nobody heard of until the 20th Century, truly grew from the land? Don’t they know that under Arab villages in the Galilee one can find synagogues from the Second Temple period? Don’t they know that by the end of the 19th Century, only about 140,000 non-Jews resided in the Land of Israel, while by 1948 this number grew tenfold, mostly because of Arab immigration to Eretz Yisrael?

“This neighborhood used to be Sheikh Munis,” Zahalka yelled before leaving the Tel Aviv studio, thereby revealing the truth. As it turns out, the appetite of Zahalka and his voters is not confined to the territories. Yet the village of Sheikh Munis, where Tel Aviv University is located today, was only established in the 19th Century, when the Land of Israel was being conquered by Ibrahim Pasha. This took place about 2,500 years after the Shiloh inscription was written in Jerusalem, using the same Hebrew I use to write my column.

And so, the “immigrant” tales are baseless even when compared to the Brothers Grimm fairytales. So why then do Arab Knesset members blatantly lie to the cameras? Aren’t they scared to be condemned publicly?

Read the whole thing.

Israel Matzav: Teaching 'Israeli Arab' MK's some history