Ordinary people just want to know, where are your borders, Israel? From Rovics's youtube page:
Listening to Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu's speech to the US Congress the other day, I wrote this musical response. For a long time now, every time I hear an Israeli patriot or apologist complaining that such-and-such a group or government won't recognize Israel as a Jewish state, I always wonder -- even if there is a good reason the Christians, Muslims and atheists of Palestine should live under some form of Jewish rule, how does one go about recognizing the legitimacy of a state that itself won't disclose exactly what its borders are? How does that work? Nobody seems to know. Ask the next Israeli you meet and see what they say. Where are your country's borders?
Superb. It brings out all the absurdity in 3 minutes.
Agree.
“29 standing O’s” Congress stood up for Netanyahu 29 times? Oy vey…disgusting and pathetic
“Show us your borders” is a threat to Zionists and to Zionism.
Zionism is like economic growth. It can only go in one direction . Otherwise the system breaks down.
Loved the song that said it all. Seafoid, it seems that the absurdity is not limited to the Zionists, here’s part of Netanyahu’s Congress speech that David Rovics touched on in his song; it’s about Netanyahu’s bragging about his democracy being the one and only. But the absurd part is not the dung that came out of Netanyahu’s mouth, but the open and flat out direct insult to all Arabs, that not a single Arab leader reacted to, except for Sayyid Hassan Nasrallah, of course. I was pissed off more that Arabs did not react than what from what Netanyahu said:
“… Courageous Arab protesters, are now struggling to secure these very same rights for their peoples, for their societies. We’re proud that over one million Arab citizens of Israel have been enjoying these rights for decades. Of the 300 million Arabs in the Middle East and North Africa, only Israel’s Arab citizens enjoy real democratic rights. I want you to stop for a second and think about that. Of those 300 million Arabs, less than one-half of one-percent are truly free, and they’re all citizens of Israel!”
Arabs should be ashamed of themselves for letting this remark go unanswered.
Does anyone listen to bibi in the sharq al awsat? I’d prefer Fairuz any day…
How could they expand their territory then, and take Sinai and the Golan, etc… They can’t draw borders.
David is one of my all-time favorite performing artists, and has been singing about the plight of Palestine for years and years.
My favorite piece of his is Return, a piece of spoken poetry. His music, including quite a bit about Palestine, is available for free download on his site (or was, last time I looked) and his performances are always uplifting.
David Rovics is a prolific songwriter. He tours extensively and is perhaps more popular in Europe than in the USA. Last year, I drove from Wasilla to Seward AK to hear him live and sit down with him over a cup of coffee.
You can subscribe to getting all his new songs by writing to drovics@gmail.com.
Here’s a link to his Youtube channel.
Here are the lyrics to Israeli Geography 101:
thanks for posting the lyrics philip.
what i like best about the song is the american folk music style and simplicity, or seemingly so. it has an ‘everyman-ness’ about it, something everyone can relate to. it’s a great song and he’s a great songwriter.
A few years ago after our bought and paid for Congress had almost unanimously voted for a resolution demanding that the Palestinians recognize Israel I made several calls to the offices of the leadership as well as to the offices of other members of Congress who had voted for the resolution.
I thought my question to them was simple. Which Israel should they recognize? Israel on the 1967 line or Israel with all the settlements?
No one in any of the offices could answer that question.
Ah, but Israel is a state like none other. It’s a Jewish state. Its borders are special Jewish ones that expand as required.
Would it interest anyone to know that Mr. Rovic’s is an IWW member? Just thought I would ask, that is impressive to me (whether it impresses anyone else I do not have a clue). Outside of the fact of his killer music.
David Rovics – I loved your song, and thought you might like to know where Israel’s borders are: right where they were when Israel declared them in 1948.
This is Israel’s darkest and dirtyest secret. They declared their borders in 1948 as being those of the UN Partition, and have never legally annexed ANY of the land they “won” in 1948/49 and 1967. Until such time as they do legally that land, it is not within the state of Israel.
Talknic is our resident expert on this little known fact and has his own website with copious documentation, which he links to in this comment on another thread.
A direct link to a relevant article on talknic’s blog:
Israel has no fixed borders? On May 22 1948 Israel confirmed it’s borders in a letter to the UNSC.
Thx Sumud..
And thank you David. Lyrics like that float in from the muse. Yes?
You’re welcome talknic ~ it’s a happy coincidence I happen to check out MW when your comment was listed in the ‘recent comments’ section…
I’m intrigued by Israel’s declared borders being those of UN181 and think Palestinians would be wise to adopt an attitude of “it’s two states on 181 borders, or we campaign for a single state”. Now that BDS is taking off and zionist hasbara is in tatters, Palestinians really have more leverage than they ever have before, and this will only increase in time.
Sumud
Likewise. There is nothing, simply no thing at all, that validates Israel’s claim to any territory outside of but the borders of UNGA Res 181. No legal annexation, no recognition, no legal change of borders.
Oddly enough my own journey started out to prove there was! All the evidence says otherwise. How the world has let itself be led believe there was is any valid claim is one great big mystery…
link to mfa.gov.il
PLUS
The Laws and Customs of War on Land (Hague IV); October 18, 1907 Art. 42 SECTION III
“Territory is considered occupied when it is actually placed under the authority of the hostile army. The occupation extends only to the territory where such authority has been established and can be exercised. “
Art. 55. “The occupying State shall be regarded only as administrator and usufructuary of public buildings, real estate, forests, and agricultural estates belonging to the hostile State, and situated in the occupied country. It must safeguard the capital of these properties, and administer them in accordance with the rules of usufruct.”
UN Charter Chapt XI : Article 73
Members of the United Nations which have or assume responsibilities for the administration of territories whose peoples have not yet attained a full measure of self-government recognize the principle that the interests of the inhabitants of these territories are paramount, and accept as a sacred trust the obligation to promote to the utmost, within the system of international peace and security established by the present Charter, the well-being of the inhabitants of these territories, and, to this end:
to ensure, with due respect for the culture of the peoples concerned, their political, economic, social, and educational advancement, their just treatment, and their protection against abuses;
to develop self-government, to take due account of the political aspirations of the peoples, and to assist them in the progressive development of their free political institutions, according to the particular circumstances of each territory and its peoples and their varying stages of advancement; ”
In black and white, Israel’s borders are those of May 15th 1948
Oooops forgot the definitive guide to Customary International Humanitarian Law link to icrc.org