Why the Mandate For Palestine Matters

(TRIGGER WARNING)
 

WARNING: This article may trigger or inspire you.

Why does the Mandate For Palestine matter so much? I toured the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial museum when I was in Israel last year on a Jewish National Fund Educators Mission. I saw the empty cans of Zyklon B gas crystals, but I saw something, arguably, even worse: I saw what made it all possible...the propaganda used to demonize Jews, to whip up the hate that was a prerequisite to the mass murder of millions.

History is repeating itself. The lies, the propaganda, the violence, the boycotts, and the de-sensitization of the world to bloodthirsty antisemitism...it's all happening again. And we all see it every day. Yet, most of the Jewish/pro-Israel community has not even begun to fight the root cause/excuse for today's rampant Jew-hate: the 'occupation' blood libel.

Why? Remember this number: 2%.

Only 2% of my more than 650 live trainees, mostly Zionists, had ever read the magnificent document of international law that is Israel's modern land title deed before meeting me, the 1922 League of Nations Mandate For Palestine.

Only about 2% of Jews and their allies know that the Mandate's mere existence completely refutes the 'stolen land' narrative. Most of those have no idea what a powerful tactical and strategic counter-propaganda weapon the document offers. In other words, Jews don't know their own history let alone how to use it to fight back.

It seems that far too many (very well-meaning) Jews are stuck in a 'Solutions/Peace' mindset that keeps Israel captive to an endless, futile treadmill of trying to appease the most vile accusations made by an enemy possessing a far, far greater understanding of the power of using a moral argument against their enemies. And by 'moral,' I don't mean in a good way; I'm referring to the value of 'occupation!' and 'stolen land!' as brutally-effective propaganda for sucking in the gullible, uninformed and wilfully-blind, none of whom seem in short supply.

Sorry if that sounds harsh, but one of two things is true: either Jewish leaders know the truth about the Mandate and are keeping quiet about its fundamental truths or they've never read the Mandate. So, Israel has no truth and no peace and no justice from the world. This, however, can change. Even if justice and peace is not forthcoming in the short term Israel could at least walk in the light of truth: Jews are owners, not occupiers.

Before I go any further, I want to encourage you not to make the mental mistake of assuming that discussion of Israel's land rights and learning how to use them to degrade the value of the 'occupation' propaganda are the same as advocating for a one state solution. They are not.

It does not matter whether you believe in one state or two. It doesn't matter how you feel about 'annexation'* or the eventual outcome of the Trump Vision. No matter what position you take on any of these topics the hard truth is that if you do not destroy the 'stolen land' narrative in the eyes of the world you will continue to lose your children's hearts and minds to your enemies. Sorry if that sounds brutal, but that's the result you've been getting for all the decades of seeking peace solutions instead of truth and justice, and that's the result you'll continue to get.

Israel's leaders seem determined to give away half the land given them by G-d and the world without even trying to mount a counter-propaganda campaign to remind the world that it once recognized Jews as the rightful owners of all land west of the Jordan River, and gave Jewish land east of the Jordan to Arabs...all under international law enshrined in the Mandate For Palestine. Those rights were later protected in Article 80 of the UN Charter. In other words...Jewish leaders are promoting and enabling a new two-state solution today despite the world refusing to honour or even acknowledge the original. The injustice and incompetence of it all breaks my heart, and I'm not even Jewish.

Giving away the heartland of Israel in hopes of appeasing terrorists brazenly lying about stolen land is not even the worst aspect of a two-state 'solution.' Nor are the security implications, believe it or not. The greatest threat is failing to destroy 'occupation' vilification before any solution is implemented.

Let us not forget the admonition by former PM Menachem Begin to safeguard at all costs the dignity and honour of the Jewish people. Assuming the 'occupation' propaganda is not first destroyed, the moment a 'solution' involving a land giveaway is implemented it will represent an enduring false confession, under duress, of every vile crime of which Israel has been accused that will never be erased. What kind of legacy is that to lay on Jewish children and those who fought and died to preserve Israel and defend her over the millennia?

Now, think of all those elites, Jewish and non-Jewish, in the White House applauding Bibi and Trump as they issued a peace 'Vision' that would saddle Israel with just such a damning legacy. I wondered how many of them had even read the Mandate For Palestine let alone considered using it as a counter-propaganda tool to shock the world into remembering its failure to honour its obligations to Jewish people.

Furthermore, if Israel so carelessly throws away the rights recognized by the League of Nations in both the Mandate and the UN Charter, what document will she hold up to keep Tel Aviv and Haifa in 50 years?

Oh, that will never happen, you say? It already has happened, and you'd know that if you had read the Mandate For Palestine which spelled out the ORIGINAL two-state solution via Article 25 and the attached Note re Trans-Jordan which clearly defined the final eastern border of Palestine/Israel:

For those wondering what the above two clauses from the Mandate and Note re Trans-Jordan mean: Land east of the Jordan River recognized as Jewish was given to Arabs to create Trans-Jordan. The border of the Jewish national home ,therefore, is everything west of the Jordan River, including Judea, Samaria and Jerusalem.

Jewish land has already been divided once, and the eastern border of Israel was determined under international law, yet the world has pretended to this day it didn't happen. Six million of your people died because the world dishonoured its obligations to Jewish people and now, your leaders want to give away half of Israel because they either don't know what the Mandate says, or are too afraid to speak its truths. In 1922, the world restored Jews to their 'national home' and now it's trying to take that home away. It's immoral, but your leaders won't say it.

Speaking of immorality, Britain has never apologized for its terrible crime against humanity: that of illegally keeping Jews out of their 'national home' before, during and after the Holocaust in violation of Article 6 of the Mandate. In fairness, however, this is probably because no pro-Israel entity has ever demanded such an apology. That would have required at least one entity to have read the Mandate to understand just how egregious was this British genocidal 'oversight.' (Remember: 2%.)

No, I know...the Brits aren't going to apologize, at least right away. We're just trying to move the Overton Window (every Israel advocate should read this) to fling open the door to a discussion about forgotten promises to Jews made under law by a world that got a bunch of Jews murdered because it didn't keep those promises. Basic counter-propaganda technique. Demanding an apology you're not likely to get in order to undermine the 'occupation' narrative. (If you're noticing, I'm using the Overton Window method with this article by doing what my Jewish friends won't do and what some might call 'extreme': calling out Jewish leaders instead of whining about how the mean Arabs don't want peace.)

As if six million dead Jews, and an illegal 1947 UN Partition Plan that tried to divide Jewish land a second time in violation of Article 5 of the Mandate wasn't enough, today's Jews endure violence and mental torture of being falsely accused of 'stealing land' and 'ethnic cleansing' today over land the world already recognized as part of the 'Jewish national home.'

It's all quite insane, yet Israel's leaders have reduced themselves to dancing to the tune of of propaganda from liars and terrorists, begging them to stop killing Jews in return for an offer to confess to 'occupation' along with half of Israel.

Why? 2%. That's why.

So, what's your solution, Mark?

My 'solution' hasn't changed since I taught my first group of Zionists about the Mandate and how to use it years ago: Truth Before Solutions. Stop talking about solutions and focus on truth. Put aside for now the mindset of 'Solutions/Peace' and adopt a mindset of 'Truth/Justice.' What truths you ask? Start by answering these questions in your own mind that no one is asking:

1. Are Jews owners or occupiers? Did the world recognize Jews as owners of land on both sides of the Jordan River under international law or not?
2. Did the world take Jewish land on the east side of the Jordan River and give it to Arabs as part of the ORIGINAL two-state solution or not?
3. Did the world keep its promises and obligations under law or not? Did countless Jews die because those promises were kept or not? 
4. If the world's promises were not kept in the original solution, what evidence is there that the world will honour a new solution?

For now, take a leap of faith and let go of your objections and obsession to examine every legal technicality and political machinations behind the Mandate For Palestine. I've heard them all. Ask yourself one more question: Is Israel losing a legal war, a history competition, a 'niceness' contest or a propaganda war? Propaganda war would be the correct answer.

The Mandate is like a $1,000,000 counter-propaganda gift card laying on the sidewalk just waiting to be picked up. It might not cover everything necessary to win the fight, but it's a pretty good start.

If you think a $1,000,000 counter-propaganda gift card sounds good, take my free Liberating Israel training. Download my training booklet. Watch the two videos. Read the amazing words of the Mandate For Palestine along with me, and learn how to use the Mandate in your daily interactions. There's also an comprehensive set of roleplays designed to help you overcome objections and control the debate. But, here's one simple technique you can use right now. It's on the back of my business card: "If I could...would you?"

How Israel could use a strategic Mandate-based moral argument

Read the imaginary speech I wrote for Bibi to dramatize the incredible strategic power of using a Mandate-based moral argument to justify declaring a moratorium on all solutions. Imagine the possibilities if Israel stopped working within the limits of its enemies' propaganda and instead defined completely new and truthful boundaries for a conversation that would put the world on the moral defensive for the first time in decades.

It should be clear to even the most optimistic two-stater by now that the Palestinian Authority terror organization is not interested in any solution, so there's never been a better time for Bibi to declare a moratorium.

Inside my training booklet you'll also find a list of action items, such as providing education within the Israeli school system regarding land rights (believe it not, it's not part of the curriculum), and some activism campaign suggestions intended to claim the moral high ground for groups not bound by charity restrictions.

In addition to the items listed in my booklet, I would suggest the establishment, by an organization with 'muscle' and credibility, of a 'Jewish Dignity Defence Project' which would maintain a small team of trained Mandate counter-propaganda experts on call, ready to reach out to corporations and organizations under pressure from BDS activities. Before Covid, I envisioned it as a 'flying squad' (no substitute for face-to-face contact!). Eventually, it could coordinate broader education training of the public, train the trainers, create social media apps to aid individuals in responding to 'occupation' slurs, and produce high-quality documentary films using the Mandate to expose the immorality of the 'occupation' smear.

Invest a couple of hours with my Liberating Israel training to have your mind completely blown open to truth and the possibilities for justice for Israel and Jews. When you're done, you'll know, beyond all doubt, the 'occupation' narrative is one of the greatest hoaxes in human history, and also the easiest to disprove...assuming you're ready to try. You'll realize the power of adopting a 'Truth/Justice' mindset.

The good news is that we can turn this all around. It won't happen over night; it will probably take 5-10 years to destroy the 'occupation' narrative assuming a moratorium is declared today, so that's how far away you are from talking about 'Solutions/Peace.' Start with my Liberating Israel training today. Then, your kids will never have to go to bed again wondering if their people might have stolen land.

And how great is that!

Once you've taken my training and read my speech for Bibi, you are welcome to contact me at mark@israeltruthweek.org. Glad to speak to you by phone, too; my Toronto # is 647.948.7449. But, please...do me the courtesy of doing the training/reading before you call or write with questions. :)

So...are you triggered or inspired? If so, good. I deliberately made this a provocative piece to try to start a conversation. Look past the aggressive tone to see the bigger picture. If you can do that, we both win.

My parents lived under Nazi occupation, and I swore to never be silent if Jews were under attack again. I never dreamt it would happen in my lifetime. Time is running out, and I know from my Jewish friends that they are reluctant to criticize their leaders. As a a non-Jewish ally I'm prepared to do it. It's the least I can do. There's no time left to be delicate.

Who's ready to help Israel walk in the light of truth?

OTHER RESOURCES

You might want to keep in touch with Canadians for Israel's Legal Rights (CILR.org). They and their partners, Im Turtzu, are about the only NGOs that I know of that are actively promoting Israel's land rights. Everything I know about the Mandate I learned from CILR's late founder, Salomon Benzimra, author of The Jewish People's Rights To The Land Of Israel.

Individuals immersed in the land rights field other than me include Eli Hertz of MythsAndFacts.org (his maps are of great quality, but his borders for Jewish Palestine on the east side of the Jordan River have been challenged). Dr. Jacques Gauthier's authoritative Masters thesis on the Jewish land rights to Jerusalem weighs 10 pounds(I weighed it!) and costs $400. Better to watch him for free on Youtube.

The unique contribution I bring compared to other Israel land rights advocates is that while they focus on providing more in-depth education about the Mandate history as well as some lobbying, I work to provide pro-Israel people with a quick, basic education on key Mandate clauses as preparation to teaching how to use it to make a tactical (individual) or strategic (Israeli government) moral argument intended to devalue the 'occupation' propaganda, and overcome objections.

In other words, I allow others to explain the facts and history of the Mandate while I focus on showing people how to use it as a powerful counter-propaganda tool.

*'NOTE re 'Annexation': 1. You don't have to annex what you already own. 2. The word 'annex/annexation' is very bad positioning from a counter-propaganda perspective. To 'annex' land implies you had no legal claim to the land in the first place. The Mandate For Palestine reveals this to be utterly false.

POSTED BY: Mark Vandermaas, Founder/Trainer, Israel Truth Week.

Mark Vandermaas trains Zionist activists to liberate Israel from the ‘occupation’ blood libel via his Israel Truth Week 'Liberating Israel' project. He has been called a ‘Damn Zionist’ by his enemies and an ‘Honorary Jew’ by his allies. He has organized pro-Israel conferences, appeared on Jewish and Christian TV for Israel, and personally trained over 650 Zionists and other pro-Israel people using his 'Jews Are Owners, Not Occupiers' message. His rule-of-law activism during the Caledonia crisis has been cited in two books: the bestselling Helpless, by Christie Blatchford, and in Gary McHale’s Victory In The No-Go Zone.

Copyright 2017-2020: Mark Vandermaas