Comments by "Sandy Tatham" (@sandytatham3592) on "travelingisrael.com" channel.

Israel is a unique country, with unique challenges and joys, and it's important to balance the narratives that others are putting out there. Please share more videos similar to this one. Thank you so much...🙏
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I would love a short video on the legitimacy of the Muslim claim for Masjid al-Aqsa to be their third holiest site. The average person knows little about the controversy surrounding this. It seems to me that this was a political move by the Umayyads where Muhammed's 'night journey' (dream) was later edited for this location. Dan Gibson has an interesting video on Al-Aqsa. He cites early Islamic historians placing the original Al Aqsa (existing during Muhammed's lifetime) as being in a place then called Jiranah in today's Jordan... https://youtu.be/HHSlbNbYXIw . An article by Imam Tawhidi on the topic: https://www.jpost.com/opinion/is-jerusalem-a-sacred-islamic-city-578560
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OMG... I'm a cat-lover and this was quite compelling!!! Here in Dahab, Sinai Egypt, there are lots of cats. The restaurant staff feed leftovers to them. Foreign tourists also buy cat biscuits for them.
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Many thanks! I was so disturbed by Trevor Noah's silly argument (and the huge number of people who loved it) that I couldn't bring myself to watch John Oliver. They are comedians and should keep out of political commentary. More of these short informational videos from you would be great. I stand with Israel...🙏✨
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Great video, Oren. What do you think of this idea which is being discussed in some back channels. That of Palestinians being granted citizenship by Jordan, or another ‘incentivised’ Arab country, then for Israel to give them long-term residence status. Israel could then extend sovereignty over Judea and Samaria without having demographic concerns. Many countries have a large section of their occupants living with long-term visas, but not full citizenship rights. There are a few articles on this topic, one by MEMRI in June 2022 called “ reports/saudi-analyst-article-al-arabiya-website-solution-palestine-problem-naturalizing “
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"Rightful claim to their land"? I think you are missing the perspective that when one group goes to war against another group, and they lose that war, they don't get to choose the Terms of Surrender. The surrender and collapse of the Ottoman Empire in 1918 resulted in the Arabs being granted self-determination over 99% of the liberated Middle East land. The Jews were promised a secure state in their ancestral homeland (Balfour Agreement), which comprises less than 1% of that liberated Middle East land. Today 20% of Israeli citizens are Arabs, who accepted the reality of Israeli statehood. Those Arabs who ran away, or who fought on the side of the invading Arab nations, hoping for the obliteration of the Jews, are 'displaced peoples'. They should have been resettled in Arab lands decades ago. Millions of people have been 'displaced' over the last 100 years. Remember the 13 million South Asians who were displaced for the independence of India and the new state of Pakistan? Remember the 850,000 Jews who were exiled from Arab lands after Israel was founded? Do we still hear those people complaining today?
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@frankfrivilous4347 : I think the British underestimated the ideological aversion to Jews that is written in the Islamic texts. There was no way that the majority of Arabs were ever going to accept life under Jewish rule after the collapse of the last major Islamic Caliphate. The British & Allies were fighting a defensive war against the Germans & Ottoman Empire. After being granted a Mandate for Palestine by the League of Nations in 1920, the British reneged on their promise for a secure Jewish homeland. I guess they did that partly to appease the hostile Arabs, however today Israel is strong and settled and is never going away. Plus there is now a degree of normalisation of relations with Arab States. Giving support to the 'Palestinian cause' only continues to use these people as pawns in the ideological game of Arabs against Jews.
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@frankfrivilous4347 : Syria and Lebanon, plus Yemen and Gaza, are all places in which Iran has a big stake. The Sunni Arab world now sees a future which is more aligned with Israel against Iran, hence the Abraham Accords. Many Palestinians also seem to be supporters of Iran, and I worry that this could go very wrong for them. The Palestinians have been used as "pawns in the game" for so long that they really have little or no agency over their future.
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I'm in Egypt. I asked one of my Egyptian friends what he thinks of Bassem Youssef... "Yes i know Bassem and me too feel that he is creepy and unpleasant person. In fact he is not a comedian actor he was a presenter for a TV program in which he was trying to criticizes the ruling authority and the turning of the people against the army (by his wrong opinion) and he was doing this with using a bad way. He uses sarcasm and obscene language and with false things and that of course is not right. People in Egypt do not like him and see him as a hypocrite (and that is also my opinion)".
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Keksi : agree there's something strange about Imam Tawhidi. What about Dr Qanta Ahmed and her article "Jerusalem Belongs to the Jews"? "Nowhere does the Quran make mention of the Muslims’ claim to the Holy Land. Instead, God reveals in the Quran that The Holy Land is designated for the followers of Moses. Because the Promised Land is theirs according to the Quran, only the followers of Moses may determine where their capital must lie."... https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/jerusalem-belongs-to-the-jews-an-islamic-truth/
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@deborahfreedman333 : Many thanks, Deborah. I highly respect Dr Kedar and have listened to many of his interviews. I wish more people, mostly Muslims, would understand that Islam is primarily a political ideology of invading and conquering. The religious dimension is there, but it's not the driving force, and much of Islam's early history has been rewritten to suit a particular political narrative. Your wording '"the mosque built on the temple mount, as an insult to the Jews" is very apt. As the political dimension of Islam grows weaker (which it seems to now be doing with developments like the Abraham Accords), Islam would become like most personal religions and there should be a chance for peace in that part of the world.
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Tunisia is struggling. A Tunisian can't be a presidential candidate unless they are Muslim. Sadly, I think it will soon succumb to the influence of the Muslim Brotherhood. Other Islamic nations like Qatar and Turkey cannot afford for Tunisia to become a truly free and democratic state.
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I'm in Egypt. I asked one of my Egyptian friends what he thinks of Bassem Youssef... "Yes i know Bassem and me too feel that he is creepy and unpleasant person. In fact he is not a comedian actor he was a presenter for a TV program in which he was trying to criticizes the ruling authority and the turning of the people against the army (by his wrong opinion) and he was doing this with using a bad way. He uses sarcasm and obscene language and with false things and that of course is not right. People in Egypt do not like him and see him as a hypocrite (and that is also my opinion)".
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 @frankfrivilous4347 : Israel has the right to exist, and Israel has the right to defend itself. I am heartened by the trend towards normalisation of relationships with Israel.
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BusterPlanet : My thoughts exactly. Thank you!
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Please make a few sequels, because there are many more negative comments that I've heard and I'm certain you have a good explanation for them. Loved this video, thank you Oren...🙏
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I'm currently in Dahab Sinai and tried numerous times to access your website. The link to your Facebook and Instagram pages work fine, but my search for your website says "this site can't be reached. travelingisrael.com took too long to respond."
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Great explanation, Oren. Stay strong Israel…🙏🇮🇱💙
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@Matex7 : I agree, and it did surprise me that my Egyptian friend was so critical of Bassem but he is quite intellectual and serious about his religion and his country. Later yesterday I asked three Egyptians here in Dahab, Sinai, what they thought of Bassem. One became quite emotional and said "he's shifty, you can't trust him, I switch off immediately if I ever see him". Another response was similar but a bit more neutral. These two men looked to be in their 40s. A younger man in his 20s said he also didn't like Bassem before, but he now loves the Palestinian activism that Bassem is doing, and "every word Bassem says is true". So it was just like you said. Thank you...🙏
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Great video, Oren. I knew all of this but it’s even better having the info in one video. I loved your comment at the end about the BBC and Palestinians playing the victim card. Thank you…🙏🇮🇱💙
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Rule of law matters too otherwise we would have chaos. In 1918 the Ottoman Empire ceded its Middle East land to the Allies (British and French, etc.) when it was DEFEATED in war. A war that was started by their side. The British and French were under no obligation of international law at that time to give any of the land to the occupants, but they did. The Hejazi Arabs, who fought on the side of the British got 99% of the land. Today's Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and Jordan. The Jewish people also fought on the side of the British and they were granted the legal right to reconstitute their ancestral homeland on 1% of that land. And today they share that land with one-fifth Arab Israeli citizens whose families accepted life in the Jewish state of Israel in 1948. The belligerent Arabs should have by now been resettled elsewhere. Around 16 million South Asians had to shift countries when India was partitioned in 1947 and we don't hear from them today. Why do we still coddle these so-called Palestinian Arabs and give them so much funding?
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@Mellownius : Do you mean, when did the descendants of Abraham and Hagar (who was Egyptian) become Muslims? I thought that most of the followers of Mohamed were pagan Arabs, not believers in the Bible and Moses. The Jews rejected Mohamed. They didn't believe that his 'god' was Yahweh (and nor do I).
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Mohamad A Rahman : Considering that the authenticity of all of the early sources of Islam are in doubt, I don't put too much credence on stories like this, I'm sorry. I'm also not a follower of any organised religion. But you seem to be a very nice person and I wish you well. I also love that you've got cat videos on your channel...😊
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Mohamad A Rahman : I don't care about who has an ancient claim on that land. My perspective is more pragmatic. My NZ grandfather died fighting in WWI helping to liberate the Arabs, Jews, and others who were living in the Palestine region in 1917-18, and he is buried near Jerusalem. Though I never got the chance to meet him, and my father sadly grew up without his father, I'm happy that the ANZACs fought the Ottoman Turks so that we still speak English today and not German-Arabic-Turkish. I'm also happy that we don't live under Fascism or Islamic Sharia. In return for their support of the war effort by the British and Allies, the Jews were promised a homeland. Though they were on the winning side of WWI, the Jews are still struggling to get their viable piece of land, a portion large enough to be realistically defensible from attacks from unfriendly neighbours. The Arabs got 99+% of the land which was liberated in the Middle East from the Ottoman Turks. The Jews got less than 1%. Haven't you ever wondered why those Arab countries - Jordan, Iraq, Syria, Saudi Arabia and Lebanon - have given citizenship to very few Arab Muslims from the Ottoman region of Palestine? Don't you consider that there might be a bigger gameplay here? Remember that Israel today has almost two million Arab Muslims citizens. Also remember that 13 million South Asians were either killed or had to relocate in 1947 during the Partition of British India. This happened about the same time as Israel declared independence. What victimhood complaints do you hear from those millions of Indian/Pakistani people today? What funding does the UN give the displaced South Asians to perpetuate the 'refugee farce' that we see with the Palestinians?
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Mohamad A Rahman : The Arabs were subjects of the Ottoman Empire and they were on the losing side in WWI. There was a promise of land by the British to the Arab Nationalists for helping them defeat the Ottoman Turks and they did get 99% of the land. The Jews are still only asking for less than 1%. The British were in control of the land after winning the war. What do you think would have happened if Germany and the Ottoman Turks had won the war? Do you think the Arab states would have been granted independence? You can't have it all ways, particularly if you are on the losing side in a war. I'm not going to get into the delusion of a "Golden Age" of Andalusia, and Jews living peacefully under the Muslims. Why did Maimonides have to flee to Egypt if the Muslims were so nice to the Jews?
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@tasfiatanzila : Fair enough. But can you tell me where you disagree with what Imam Tawhidi is saying? I get that you don't trust the messenger, but where is he wrong in his logic?
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Mohamad A Rahman : I'm pretty sure that Germany and the Ottoman Empire would disagree with you on 'who owns what' if they had WON the WAR!!! The main point in going to war is to win territory or rights. Why do you think the six Arab countries attacked Israel in 1948? If you are on the defending side and you are lucky enough to WIN like the British and Allies did, it's honourable to give that land to those people who currently live there, and only keep 1% for a party who supported the war effort. It's expensive to wage war, and 1% is a tiny proportion. Surely you can agree with that? As for 'nationalism', it's clear that devout Muslims are not permitted to be nationalistic. Their obligation is to always live in an Islamic Caliphate, or at least to struggle to do so (ie. wage holy war, jihad). I guess that's why we see so much fighting in the Islamic world since the Ottoman Caliphate collapsed.
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Mohamad A Rahman : No. The defender can 'play a part' in writing future history because he has been forced into an expensive defensive war against an aggressor. How can you not get that point?
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Mohamad A Rahman : So you wouldn't call Hamas an *aggressor*, even though they fired the first rockets? What exactly was the 'forced' provocation by Israel that warranted 4000 rockets to be fired into civilian areas? What was so bad for the people in Gaza that they had to endure this unprovoked war? A war in which around 20% of their own people were killed by the misfiring of Hamas's own rockets? Yes I have heard of many incidents where IDF have been at fault. There have been many attacks from the Palestinian side as well. Sorry but I don't have time to debate that now. My original comment was to try to get you to see that this conflict began well over 100 years ago, before the Ottoman Empire joined forces with Germany in WWI. A tragic war which was won by the British and their Allies. That must also be taken into account.
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Abraham Mani : I found this very interesting, thank you. I'm not a practising Christian but I also had a lovely visitation from Jesus when I was meditating one day.
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@Israelball : Yes, many Tunisians proudly told me last year that a Jewish man, René Trablesi, had been Minister of Tourism since November 2018. But his appointment was quite controversial. There were protests, he was accused of pro-Israeli sentiments by many, including the Arab nationalist party Echaâb, and he was (sadly) dropped from the government in February 2020.
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@velensky : At first I did use the English spelling. Then I corrected it, and also clicked the website link on Oren's YouTube 'about' page. Everything timed out. It might be my fairly slow wifi in Sinai, but I also wondered if the website was blocked in Egypt?
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