Reporters, pundits, activists. Before you echo the notion that Palestinians are being "corralled into small, crowded enclaves", which is in vogue in some circles, here are some facts that you won't find in @btselem's new position paper. Read and decide for yourself.

Thread:

Starting with the West Bank, specifically Area C from which allegedly Palestinians are being systematically pushed into the enclaves of Areas A and B, and replaced by Jewish settlers. If so, we should've seen the demographic balance in Area C shift in the Jews' favor. Has it? /2
Well, there's no evidence for that, certainly none in the paper. Latest UN estimate is ~ 300k Palestinians in Area C in 2013, probably >3 times their number in 1995 when the area was delineated. Jewish population growth in the same area & period was slower or similar at 2.6%./3
While good population stats for Area C are unavailable, there are construction surveys based on aerial photos. Do they support Btselem's claim? Quite the contrary. At least one shows that in recent yrs the total Palestinian residential area expanded more than the Jewish one./4
The same analysis by @RegavimIsrael found that the number of Palestinian structures in Area C increased by 28,600 during 2009-2019, nearly doubling in one decade, far more than the 18,600 built in Jewish settlements in that period, according to official statistics. /5
These figures, presented at the Knesset last year, were not contested by Israeli authorities or anti-settlment NGOs like @peacenowisrael, probably because, like anyone living or working in the area for years, all of them know they accurately reflect the trends on the ground. /6
So, since Area C came into being, the overall Palestinian population in it has not contracted but actually grew and expanded, and, in the past decade, did so faster than the Jewish population. That's pretty lousy corralling. Is the picture different in East Jerusalem? /7
Fortunately, there's good data on demographic trends in Jerusalem, which leaves no doubt that its Palestinian population has been growing faster than the Jewish, particularly in EJ. In the city as a whole, the Jewish/Arab ratio of 74/26 in 1967 changed by 2017 to 62/38./8
East Jerusalem's Jewish population, which in 1948 was completely cleansed, saw a sharp rise beginning with the city's unification until the mid-90s, but then the trend was reversed and the Palestinian population began growing faster than the Jewish one. How much faster? /9
Here are figures for the last decade, published by @JLM_Institute. During 2008-2018 EJ's Palestinian population grew by 31% (263,323➡️344,920), while its Jewish population grew by 15% (190,112➡️218,450), half the rate. Not quite how you'd imagine systematic "judaization"./10
One can argue that regardless of their growing number, the space available for Palestinians in EJ is diminishing. Certainly not in absolute terms. Since 2009 the city's planning is done according to the "Jerusalem 2000" master plan which increased the areas.../11
...designated for the Palestinian residents compared to previous plans. The belated planning of new residential zones is slow for many reasons, mainly lack of land registration. Recent attempts to resolve the issue failed to overcome public distrust./12
https://t.co/9ofMvsPCUt
Meanwhile, Palestinians are moving into EJ's "Jewish settlements" in growing numbers, surpassing Jews moving into Arab areas. Rather than seperating, the two populations are mixing and the city is becoming more and more integrated. /13
https://t.co/xoDuUnOWot
According to the available data, by 2018 about 6000 Palestinians were living in the Jewish neighborhoods of East Jerusalem, about twice more than Jews in Palestinian ones. Yet in a web page linked from the report, Btselem insists that Israel is "working systematically../14
..to drive Palestinians out" of EJ. If it were, it's clearly failing, but it would also make the unprecedented 2 bil NIS 5-year plan for the Palestinian residents of EJ, launched in 2018, an odd move. Unsurprisingly, Btselem don't mention it anywhere./15
https://t.co/7CQ7t7k4k8
On both Area C and EJ it's the same method of deception: describing Israeli policies & demographic trends from 3, 4 and 5 decades ago as if they were today's reality, and ignoring significant changes they underwent, especially any remedial efforts, which don't fit the story./16
To be clear, there's plenty to criticize in Israeli policies in both areas. Many Israelis, from left and right, advocate for approving more plans for Palestinians in Area C. Criticism of policies in EJ has been abundant, also in court rulings and State Comptroller reports./17
But spreading the vicious lie that from the River to the Sea Jews are currently forcing Palestinians into ghettos to create a racially pure area is not merely "criticizing Israel". It's something entirely different, which is nasty and dangerous. Please don't take part in it. /18
Btselem's paper applies the "crowding Palestinians in enclaves" tale also to present policies throughout Israel, using such egregious manipulations that will require a seperate thread to expose. If you found the info here useful, RT and watch this space for more. very soon. /end

More from India

In his letters describing the India Mission, Carey has given us an insight into how the society functioned then, of how the minds of the people worked and what methods the missionaries used to approach and brainwash the common people.


It is entirely possible that,Carey in his arrogance of being the white man and hence more civilized,his inability to under the Hindu scriptures and his natural disdain for the learned community coupled with his inherent hatred for the idolaters may have exaggerated the incidents.

In fact, considering the venom with which he has spoken about Hinduism and it's practices, it's likely that he has exaggerated these incidents. But it cannot be denied that these incidents did happen even if they may not have been on scale at which Carey has described.

One of his journal entry mentions a debate which happened in a temple in front of around 200 people. Carey describes having debated with two learned men and goes on to say when both learned men failed to answer his questions, he went on to preach the gospel to the assembled crowd


In a letter dated 30th June,1795 he goes on to gleefully narate how Hindus were unaware of their own scriptures and how an supposed expert named a grammar book when he was questioned as which scripture said that the Murti is God.

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Great article from @AsheSchow. I lived thru the 'Satanic Panic' of the 1980's/early 1990's asking myself "Has eveyrbody lost their GODDAMN MINDS?!"


The 3 big things that made the 1980's/early 1990's surreal for me.

1) Satanic Panic - satanism in the day cares ahhhh!

2) "Repressed memory" syndrome

3) Facilitated Communication [FC]

All 3 led to massive abuse.

"Therapists" -and I use the term to describe these quacks loosely - would hypnotize people & convince they they were 'reliving' past memories of Mom & Dad killing babies in Satanic rituals in the basement while they were growing up.

Other 'therapists' would badger kids until they invented stories about watching alligators eat babies dropped into a lake from a hot air balloon. Kids would deny anything happened for hours until the therapist 'broke through' and 'found' the 'truth'.

FC was a movement that started with the claim severely handicapped individuals were able to 'type' legible sentences & communicate if a 'helper' guided their hands over a keyboard.