If Israel attacks before the election... - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

elchivito · #11 08-21-2012, 03:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chilcutt

Begin's speech to the Knesset (Israelli Parliment) quoted by Amnon Kapeliouk, "Begin and the Beast's" New Statesman, June 25, 1982

Or made up out of whole cloth by Kapeliouk, hardly an unbiased source. The guy is/was an active dissident reporter in Israel. Other than his alleged quote, there is no material evidence Begin ever said those words.

CAMERA, the Committee for Accurate Middle East Reporting in America has quite a bit of research on hate speech supposedly written and spoken by Israeli leaders. I won't claim they are an unbiased source either. The link to the page where this quote is found is below it. While it doesn't directly address the supposed Begin quote you used, it gives another example of an apparent distortion/fabrication by Kapeliouk.

Investigation--Example 2: Internet hate sites, as well as Fisk, attribute this derogation of Palestnians as “two-legged beasts” to former Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin. The source generally given is:

Menachem Begin, as quoted in Amnon Kapeliouk, "Begin and the Beasts,"New Statesman, June 25, 1982

Indeed, the radical French-Israeli journalist, Amnon Kapeliouk, did attribute such a quote to Begin in his New Statesman article criticizing Israel’s invasion of Lebanon. The author posited:

For this reason the government has gone to extraordinary lengths to dehumanise the Palestinians. Begin described them in a speech in the Knesset as "beasts walking on two legs".

However, further investigation by CAMERA reveals that the actual speech upon which Kapeliouk based his quote, as well as news reports at the time demonstrate that the journalist distorted the quote, giving it a completely different tone and meaning. Begin was talking, not about "the Palestinians" but about terrorists who target children within Israel.

On June 8, 1982, Begin addressed the Knesset in response to a no-confidence motion over Israel's invasion of Lebanon. He talked about defending the children of Israel, and according to a June 9, 1982 AP report, “his voice quaver[ed] with anger and sadness.” According to the minutes of the session, Begin stated:

The children of Israel will happily go to school and joyfully return home, just like the children in Washington, in Moscow, and in Peking, in Paris and in Rome, in Oslo, in Stockholm and in Copenhagen. The fate of... Jewish children has been different from all the children of the world throughout the generations. No more. We will defend our children. If the hand of any two-footed animal is raised against them, that hand will be cut off, and our children will grow up in joy in the homes of their parents.

Kapeliouk neither recanted nor apologized for his deception.

CAMERA: Exposing False Zionist Quotes II (Quote Busters II)

I have no dog in the fight and while it might appear I'm taking sides, I'm not. I won't take a side because my religious heritage has nothing to do with it, and I don't believe we're getting the straight dope on the issue from ANYONE, Muslim, Christian, American, Israeli, Pakistani, Saudi ad nauseum. God made another big boo boo if you ask me. He shoulda had old Abie do in both of his sons.