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Tuesday, June 21, 2016
PMW: PA libel: Israeli rabbis called to poison all Palestinian wells

PMW Bulletin
June 21, 2016

PA libel: Israeli rabbis called to poison
all Palestinian wells
.
The anatomy of a Palestinian Authority libel
Itamar Marcus
p:+972 2 625 4140 e: pmw@palwatch.org
f: +972 2 624 2803 w: www.palwatch.org

Click to view on PMW's website
http://www.palwatch.org/main.aspx?fi=157&doc_id=18211

The Palestinian Authority has revived the medieval blood libel that Jews are
poisoning the wells. The PA even named a nonexistent rabbi and rabbinical
council as being responsible for this call to poison all Palestinian water
sources.

Official PA TV reporter: "An Israeli human rights organization has exposed a
religious ruling issued by Rabbi Shlomo Melamed (sic), Chairman of the
Council of Settlement Rabbis (sic), that gave the settlers permission to
poison the drinking water and the natural wells in the [Palestinian]
villages and towns throughout the West Bank."
[Official PA TV News, June 20, 2016]

The PA Ministry of Foreign Affairs went so far as to warn that there will be
thousands of Palestinian deaths, and condemned the international community
for its silence.

"What is the international community waiting for to interfere; the death of
thousands of Palestinians of thirst? To meet such incident with silence and
ignore the war Israel is waging against Palestinians is a cause of shame for
the international community."
[PA Ministry of Foreign Affairs, June 19, 2016]

Palestinian Media Watch has researched different sources to demonstrate how
this libel has evolved and expanded since its beginning just a week ago. The
following is the anatomy of this Palestinian Authority libel:

Stage 1- The libel is seeded

This latest libel started recently when Yehuda Shaul, a leader of the
extreme left-wing Israeli NGO named Breaking the Silence, told foreigners in
a private lecture that Israelis - "settlers" - had "poisoned" all the water
of a Palestinian town a number of years ago causing the Palestinians to
leave:


"This village, actually, it's new, but they came back because a few years
ago, the settlers basically poisoned all the water systems of the village."
[Israeli website NRG, June 14, 2016]

Stage 2 - PLO expands the NGO's story, from a single event "years ago" to an
broad current policy

The PLO's expanded libel rewrote the NGO's story about an alleged
"poisoning" of one water system that supposedly happened a few years ago
into the libel that Israelis are now, in 2016, poisoning all the water
sources "throughout the West Bank." In addition, they created another
fictitious story that Israeli TV had reported on a religious ruling "a year
ago" by an unknown Rabbi Shlomo Melamed "giving the settlers permission to
poison the drinking water... throughout the West Bank."

This is the PLO version of the libel:


"An Israeli human rights organization has exposed that Jewish settlers are
working intently on poisoning the drinking water in the Palestinian towns
and villages throughout the West Bank. Yehuda Shaul, founder of the
organization Breaking the Silence... said that the goal of poisoning the
water is to cause 'the local Palestinians to leave their villages and towns,
so that the settlers will be able to take control of their lands.'...
It should be noted that an investigative report that was broadcast on the
Israeli [TV] Channel 10 around a year ago exposed that Rabbi Shlomo Melamed,
chairman of what is known by the name 'Council of Settlement Rabbis' (Ed.
note: no such rabbi or body exists), issued a religious ruling giving the
settlers permission to poison the drinking water and the naturally flowing
wells [of Palestinians] throughout the West Bank."
[PLO's National Bureau to Defend the Land and Resist Settlement website,
June 16, 2016]

Note: This story has been denied by both the supposed source of the story,
the Breaking the Silence group, and by a Rabbi Zalmen Melamed - there is no
Rabbi Shlomo Melamed. (See source below)

Stage 3 - Palestinian Authority Ministry of Foreign Affairs calls Israel's
"poisoning" the wells "a crime against humanity" and condemns the
international community's "silence," and for not preventing the future
"death of thousands of Palestinians":


"This call by Rabbi Mlmad is considered a crime against humanity because it
targets humans, animals, corps and all forms of life in the occupied
Palestinian territory.
The ministry held the Israeli government full responsibility of the
consequences of such calls. It demanded the arrest of the Rabbi for inciting
murder and the enforcement of necessary procedures to protect Palestinians
from individuals who might attempt to poison water sources.
What is the international community waiting for to interfere; the death of
thousands of Palestinians of thirst? To meet such incident with silence and
ignore the war Israel is waging against Palestinians is a cause of shame for
the international community."
[PA Ministry of Foreign Affairs, June 19, 2016]

Stage 4- Official PA TV News yesterday further expanded the libel, saying
that it was not a single rabbi but an entire rabbinic council that recently
made the decision. It further expanded the libel by explaining the Israeli
motivation to poison the water: Kill Palestinians and force them to
emigrate.

News report on official PA TV


Official PA TV newsreader: "The Council of Settlement Rabbis (sic) has
called to poison the drinking water in all districts of the homeland
[Palestine], in order to cause [Palestinian] residents to emigrate, or in
order to kill them."
Official PA TV reporter: "As part of the Israeli attempts to utilize
religious sources of authority to achieve political goals, an Israeli human
rights organization has exposed a religious ruling issued by Rabbi Shlomo
Melamed (sic), Chairman of the Council of Settlement Rabbis (sic), that gave
the settlers permission to poison the drinking water and the natural wells
in the [Palestinian] villages and towns throughout the West Bank. This, with
the goal of causing the [Palestinian] residents to leave their lands,
enabling the settlers to take control of them."
[Official PA TV News, June 20, 2016]

When the PA shouts its lies and libel so emphatically many around the world
believe them. The Arab League was quick to accept the libel and join in
condemning Israel:

"The Arab League strongly condemned the call of the chairman of the Council
of Settlement Rabbis, Rabbi Shlomo Melamed, which gives the settlers
permission to poison the drinking water that sustains the Palestinian towns
and villages throughout the occupied West Bank."
[WAFA (the official Palestinian news agency), June 20, 2016]

Finally, it should be noted that the Jerusalem Post has reported that no
rabbi of the name "Rabbi Shlomo Melamed" exists, and even the left wing
Israeli NGO upon which the PA is basing its story - has denied the poison
wells story:


"The Jerusalem Post was unable to find evidence that either a Rabbi Shlomo
Mlma or Mlmad, or the Council of Rabbis in West Bank settlements exist.
There is a Council of Rabbis in Judea and Samaria, led by Yishai Babad.
There is a Rabbi Zalman Melamed of Beit El. Mlmad is similar to Melamed, and
Zalman is Yiddish for Shlomo.
Rabbi Zalman Melamed told Gidon Shaviv, a senior research analyst for press
watchdog CAMERA, "I did not say that and do not believe any rabbi would say
something like that." Melamed also called the report a blood libel.
In addition, Breaking the Silence's spokesman said he did not know of any
testimony about poisoning water."
[The Jerusalem Post, June 20, 2016]

This analysis of the development and expansion of the PA libel shows how
anxious the Palestinian Authority is to demonize and libel Israel in front
of its people and the world. From one false accusation about a supposed
poisoning of water "a few years ago," the Palestinian Authority in just a
week, without any information or basis, is now accusing Israel of planning
to murder thousands of Palestinians by poisoning wells throughout the
Palestinian Authority. The PA even invented a rabbi and a rabbinical council
to blame for the poisoning. And to top it off they are even condemning the
international community for not stopping Israel from its planned mass
murder.

Finally, it should also be noted that Israelis and Palestinians share many
of the same water sources.

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