The Elkhart Truth · Elkhart, Indiana · 10 May 1988

CP-1988-015

Palestinian wants to set record straight

People's Forum

Jalal Salem

Scan 900 × 1102 pixels

Transcribed from the clipping

“Even before I started speaking with The Elkhart Truth reporter Tom Price, I said to him, ‘Usually the American media twist the words and facts about the Palestinians and even they put words in our mouths.’ But in spite of that, in Sunday’s edition (May 8) what I feared, happened exactly, which again made me less confident in the American media.

Following I will state what has been changed or quoted out of context and I trust this time The Elkhart Truth will publish it accordingly.

1. The title: I did not and will never say that ‘Israel is disaster.’ I said that this year is the 40th year of Al-Nakba, ‘the disaster’ for the Palestinians since they had lost their land and were converted to refugees or living under the Israeli occupation and power.

2. The Palestinians of today are not the Philistines which are mentioned in the Bible since the time of Abraham. They only took their name from the old Philistine. It was the Roman Emperor Hadrian who called the land Palestine in A.D. 135, and then the population was called Palestinians after the naming of the land itself.

I believe the Palestinians are those people who remained in the land after the Jews were banned from the country by the Romans.

3. To us, the 1967 war is not the ‘six day war’ as the Israelis call it, it is the 1967 expansion war by Israel.

4. I did not say I am without a country. I said I am without a state in my country where Palestinians are treated as foreigners even in their own homeland.

5. The Elkhart Truth wrote ‘Salem rejects that (peace proposals) outright.’ Again that is not the case. I said Palestinians are ready to accept any peaceful proposal that addresses our right for self-determination. In fact, the Palestinian people are sick and tired from bloodshed and war and they are crying for a peaceful settlement for their dilemma.

6. I never used the word ‘curse’ when I spoke about the Jews. The word was put in my mouth, although it is not part of my vocabulary at all.

7. I question and reject the unconditional support which the Fundamental Christians are giving to Israel. I consider myself as a brother in faith with any Christian and I call the Fundamental Christians to consider the rights of the Palestinian people too.

8. I do not believe that the Jews are chosen or were chosen by God for any merit of them. God in the Old Testament chose the Jews to be a light for the nations. But today, according to the New Testament there is neither Jew nor gentiles, and all are one in Christ.

9. I do not advocate non-violent protests only because I am a Christian since Palestinian Muslims also advocate nonviolence. I advocate nonviolence basically because it is more effective, disarming and peaceful.

10. I did not say that I am willing to let Israel keep the old city of Jerusalem. I said that Israel wants all of Jerusalem to be their capital, while the Palestinians want East Jerusalem to be their capital. So in order to resolve this, I said that each side should compromise and each people should have the right of access to their holy shrines.

11. I did not say that I agree or advocate stone throwing per se. I said that Palestinian children, as other children in the world, have the right to enjoy life instead of throwing stones and get killed.

But since the whole world is ignoring our right for freedom and a state, and because the uprising made the world at least to recognize our problem and aspiration, then in this context, I do see stone throwing as justifiable.”

Context added by this archive

A Palestinian in Elkhart, Indiana, correcting his own local paper point by point after it interviewed him — eleven numbered corrections, including the headline, a word he says was put in his mouth, and the name of the year. He opens by saying he warned the reporter this would happen. The paper printed the correction.

Cite this clipping

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