Talk at the Exeter conference
March 2026
This was the title of one of the talks at the Exeter conference organised by the local Amnesty group. Answer: no. The talk was given by Abdullah al Anjari (pictured) who is a doctoral researcher in Palestine studies at the Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies, University of Exeter, and a member of the European Centre for Palestine Studies. His talk focused on three key elements of the problem: Jerusalem, the refusal to allow Palestinians to return and the actions of the West Bank. Together they meant the prospects for a Palestinian state near impossible. He might have added a general lack of support by other countries for this cause and the unqualified support by the US of Israel.
The removal of large numbers of Palestinians from Jerusalem began in 1948 and has continued sporadically since. It was important to realise that it was Christians who were expelled not just Arabs and Palestinians. Only two weeks previously the Church of the Holy Sepulchre was closed. This is a rarity in the 1,700 year history of the building.
Palestinians do not have the right to return to the lands they previously lived in. It is often forgotten that a significant number of those living in Gaza are themselves refugees.
Thirdly he said, there is the West Bank where around 700,000 Jewish people are now living. A further nineteen new settlements are currently being established. Far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, a settler who proposed the move alongside Defence Minister Israel Katz, said the decision was about blocking the establishment of a Palestinian state. Alongside the settlement push has been a steady increase in violence against Palestinians and Arabs living there with no protection offered by the army or police. Abdullah called this ‘settler colonialism’.
Apartheid state
There have been many UN resolutions on this matter which have been ignored. What can we do? He focused on the Apartheid state operated by Israel. There have been a number of detailed reports setting out the mechanics of the state and how Palestinians are second class citizens in their own land. The Israeli human rights organisation B’Tselem, Human Rights Watch, and Amnesty International have all produced extensive reports on the system. These have been variously dismissed by Israel and anti-Semitic and anti-Israel. The world took comprehensive action against Apartheid in South Africa and eventually the system was unsustainable. So far there is no move to apply those principles to Israel.
South Africa became a pariah state and its sports teams were boycotted and foreign companies were eventually persuaded to disinvest or stop trading. Writing to MPs was suggested. However a significant number of MPs are members of the Friends or Israel groups so are unlikely to support any action to boycott Israeli goods for example. Pressure could be applied to local government pension schemes not to invest in arms companies dealing with the country. The powerful Zionist influence in both the US and UK was noted.
Keeping up the momentum of vigils and campaigning was important in raising awareness and not allowing the injustice to continue. The prospects for a Palestinian state are almost nil was the gloomy conclusion. The seeming endless violence against its neighbours, the uncritical support of the US and other countries and a supine media landscape were all facts acting against some kind of peaceful solution for the region.
Amnesty in Salisbury & South Wiltshire 
Sermon on the mount – establishes an entirely different vision of faith.
Matthew 5 sermon on the mount does not compare to T’NaCH prophetic mussar rebukes which plant within the Yatzir Ha-Tov the tohor middot expressed through social justice, direct admonition, corrective rebukes against national leaders and society in general. The religious rhetoric of the Gospels in general and the Sermon on the Mount in particular describes “the favor of God”, alas the Greek manuscript of God equally employed in avoda zarah!
The JeZeus sermon communicates a superficial concept of humility and mercy totally alien to Torah and NaCH prophets. The fourth Oral Torah middah of רחום\mercy learns from the Torah secondary commandments of slaughtering all the inhabitants of Canaan; putting to death a minor child known as stubborn and rebellious; uprooting the ערב רב assimilated and intermarried Jews which the Torah describes as “Amalek”. Based upon the prior metaphor of Yaacov and Esav wrestling in the womb of Rivka! The Mishna refers to this eternal conflict as בכל לבבך between the two opposing Yatzirot spirits within the heart. The humility of Moshe does not at all align with the JeZeus sermon on the Mount.
The moral cultivation & harvesting of defined tohor Sinai middot. Prophetic mussar directly addresses as the chief purpose of both Moshe and later prophets mussar. Social justice and accountability within the borders of the oath sworn land of conquered Canaan directly affixed to righteous Sanhedrin common law courtrooms.
The Sermon on the Mount has a completely different message; it focuses directly upon individual virtues applicable to all mankind rather than the Oral Torah tohor middot which the church publicly and openly repudiates and denies.
The T’NaCH prophets command, a stark dichotomy of blessings and curses – based on collective adherence to the contrast between the opening first two Sinai commandments. Righteous pursuit of justice (fair compensation of damages inflicted) among the bnai brit people the Torah Constitution mandates directly linked to keeping the Yovel/liberty in the conquered homeland.
The gospel language directly implies the worship of some Monotheistic Universal God. Only the 12 tribes of Israel accept the revelation of the Torah at Sinai; a tribal god revealed at Sinai who took Israel out of g’lut. All mankind never accept the revelation of the Torah at Sinai.
The word ONE in kre’a shma does not refer to some theological creed monotheistic God but rather that the “children of Israel” accept the oaths sworn by Avraham Yitzak and Yaacov by which they alone father the chosen Cohen people. Specific to the 12 tribes within the borders of Israel – blessings; specific to the 12 tribes in g’lut – cursed Egyptian like judicial oppression injustice.
The revelation of the Torah at Sinai does NOT mandate some specific theological framework as does the NT gospels. Middot defined both through spirit “substance” and commandment “forms”; a sort of ‘as above so below’ concept of time-oriented Torah wisdom commandments.
T’NaCH prophetic mussar specifically directed to all generations of Klal Yisrael. Herein the Torah itself strictly defines prophesy. Neither the NT nor Koran obey nor even resemble this fundamental criteria of nevuah.
Covenant a Goyim translation for ברית. To what does this translation – worship of words compare? To a brain surgeon cutting out a tumor while wearing 30 ounce boxing gloves. The NT Theos God applies only to the Gods of Mt. Olympus worshipped by both the ancient Greeks and Romans. Greek, Roman, NT ideas of justice directly compare to Assyrian, Babylonian, and Persian ideas.
Oral Torah רוח הקודש middot – spirits NOT words. Despite the fact that the Torah speaks in the language of Man. None the less, neither the language of NT or Koran validates the תורה לא בשמים היא מצוה לשמה. Which permanently distinguishes the revelation of the Torah from all counterfeit avoda zarah Gods. JeZeus prayed to his Zeus in Heaven!
Torah does not communicate any theological religious vision of faith in God above. Torah commands the burden of pursuing righteous courtroom justice within the borders of the oath sworn land inheritance of the chosen seed of the Avot.
T’NaCH prophets do NOT “preach” faith. Rather they serve as the police enforcers of Sanhedrin אלהים justices courtroom rulings. Prophets in this fact compare to Amoraim halachot brought as precedents to interpret a specific Misnaic language viewed from a fixed eye-witness perspective; akin to the witnesses who describe seeing the new Moon. Later NaCH prophets alway make a משנה תורה to interpret Torah commandments in order to ascertain the k’vanna of these commandments as wisdom mitzvot\time-oriented. Judicial enforcement within the jurisdiction of Sanhedrin common law courts does not remotely compare to spiritual preaching of morality; the latter directly compares to the UN and the post Shoah Popes of Rome.
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Yovel defined through the opening mussar Books of NaCH
Kedesh – one of the six cities of refuge – located in the territory of the Tribe of Dan. Shimshon acted as a judge during his lifetime, but did not sit as a judge within Kedesh. Rather he served as a judge embodied to resolve the inter-state conflict between Yechuda/Shimon against Philistine dominance and oppression. This implies that while the wars remained that Israel could not keep the Yovel. This would explain why not till king David destroyed the Philistines from off the land, that Israel could only there after keep the Yovel.
Why did king Shlomo confuse building a cathedral of wood and stone rather than establish the Federal Sanhedrin court system as the Torah constitutionally בית המקדש? Confusing the priorities of constructing a Central Place of worship for the Torah mandated Sanhedrin court system – a fundamental av tuma avoda zarah. The revelation of the Mishkan at Sinai centered not on leather skins and gold plated vessels but rather תורה לא בשמים היא. תפילה הדבר שבלבב.
The prophetic mussar of Natan rebuked David over Uriah not brought before a Sanhedrin court. The mussar of the prophet Natan employed “the blood on David’s hands which caused the curse of eternal civil war within the house of David. Just as king Shlomo ignored the elder advice of Natan concerning construction of the בית המקדש so too Rehova’am placed no weight upon the advice given by Shlomo’s elder advisors.
No prophetic commandment to build a House of Cedar. A direct Torah commandment to righteously pursue justice among our people. King Shlomo did not pursue justice, he prioritized pursuing women. Torah defines faith as pursuit of justice. Avoda zarah defines faith as belief in some theological creed which shapes and defines the Gods worshipped in other societies and religions. The mitzva of Moshiach, a wisdom time-oriented positive Torah commandment to rule the conquered land of Canaan with justice. Confusing the reactionary death of Uriah with the strategic error – David’s failure, once shalom ruled in the land, to affix and establish 1. The Yovel and 2. The Federal Sanhedrin Court system.
Hence the prophetic mussar of Shoftim/Shimshon functions to show how AFTER the first generation of Israel conquered the land and established the Yovel – starting with Yehoshua keeping Pesach and brit melah – both Torah mitzvot directly linked to keeping the Yovel – and established the Six Cities of Refuges/small Sanhedrin Federal court system which ideally judge Capital Crimes cases among and between the 12 Tribes of our people.
The Talmud teaches, during the first 6 years of the wars of invasion Israel did not keep koshrut. The language 6 years לאו דוקא. Not till king David did Israel fully conquer the land of Canaan. As such assuming that king David understood the k’vanna of the mitzva of Moshiach, when he commanded Shlomo to build the בית המקדש – based upon the mussar rebuke of Natan/2nd Sinai commandment – David called upon his son to establish the Yovel and permanently affix the Sanhedrin Federal Court system of the Republic of 12 Tribes.
The av tuma avoda zara of king Shlomo, no different from the generation that ruled Israel after the generation of Yehoshua passed. King Shlomo serves as a פרט to the כלל, of Israel pursuing avoda zarah rather than righteous justice among our people within the borders of the eternal inheritance lands of the chosen Cohen people. NaCH prophets command mussar – they do not teach history. This mussar by Natan’s interpretation of the 2nd Sinai commandment equally applies to all Israelis now that our people has conquered once again the land of Canaan.
The Book of בראשית introduces Av wisdom commandments called תמיד מעשה בראשית\\זימן גרמא מצוות. Avoda zarah worships the chosen God of a particular Creed/theology belief system. Justice לא בשמים היא – the revelation of the Torah at Sinai לשמה. A man does not wake up from out of the blue and the pursuit of justice burns hot in his blood. Yovel justice first and foremost domestic, within and among the society of our people. Yovel means absolutely nothing to Goyim who never came out of the judicial oppression of Egypt!
The revelation of the Mishkan at Sinai compares to fruit which has an external klippah. The בראשית mussar which rejects the korban of Cain, the identical mussar where the Fire from Heaven consumed the strange fire of the two sons of Aaron. Korbanot as a barbeque to heaven a direct Torah abomination. Korbanot as a wisdom time-oriented positive commandment which requires prophetic mussar that interprets Oral Torah middot which chazal labels as מלכות לשמה as the dedication of the Yatzir Ha-Tov spirits within the heart as Torah wisdom which chazal labels as k’vanna.
Avoda zarah – the tuma middot of the Yatzir Ha-ra within the heart – confuses form for substance. Not the revelation of the Mishkan at Sinai. But the vision that the tohor middot spirits of the שם השם breath life within the Yatzir Ha-Tov hearts of our people who live within the Yovel lands of conquered Canaan. The avoda zarah of king Shlomo prioritized the tuma klippah of constructing a House of wood and stone and despised the dedication k’vanna of Oral Torah spirits/middot within the Ya’tzir Ha-Tov hearts/לבב of our people. The spelling לבב teaches the משמע mussar that the tohor spirits of our people live within our national hearts.
The יסוד of faith stands upon יראת שמים. Av tumah avoda zarah worships Gods in the Heavens. Torah faith does not exist in the heart of any man who despises the burden of obligation to protect his ‘Good Name’ reputation. Avoda Zarah prays to Gods in the heavens to cover and conceal the sins which profane this world. Justice לשמה pursues fair restitution of damages inflicted upon others among our people.
Just as Jefferson’s ‘Bill of Rights’ apply only to citizens of the American Republic. So too and how much more so judicial justice stands upon keeping the Yovel within our homeland. Yovel as a mitzva does not apply to Goyim in any land or country across the Planet Earth. The ‘son of God’ or ‘Arab prophet’ can proclaim declarations in ancient Harry Potter books of fiction. But where was JeZeus during the Shoah? Where was Allah during the murder of Ali ibn Abi Talib … the disgrace of ’48 Nakba? Fiction stories tell a good narrative that many fervently believe. But ‘fear of heaven’ confused as ‘fear of God(s)’; goyim theologies of fiction do not prioritize Torah constitutional Sanhedrin common law courts.
Mikdash has no meaning by its ornate or ritualized ‘forms’ alone. Any more than a dead body buried in a grave has life. Sanhedrin courtroom common law breaths the Oral Torah tohor spirits, first heard at Horev on Yom Kippur, which move and inspire Men – to pursue and rule the land through justice; meaning fair compensation for damages inflicted upon our people. Natan’s rebuke over Uriah, not primarily about adultery and murder—but rather bypassing the Sanhedrin, acting as a “cult” king -oblivious to the k’vanna mitzva of moshiach. The latter always chooses architecture, aesthetics, and ritual over Yovel, Sanhedrin and mishpat justice.
The Torah blessing/curse brit absolutely and most fundamentally requires that bnai brit Man accepts responsibility for his actions in this world. Avoda zarah trumpets ideal life in the world to come. Any talk of Mikdash, geulah, or “Jewish values” without a serious project of Yovel‑rooted justice and a binding Sanhedrin‑like legal framework repeats Shlomo’s av tuma avodah zarah.
Confusing ועשו לי מקדש as Shekinah as absurd as declaring the Universe created in 6 days! The בראשית Creation aggada introduces wisdom time-oriented commandments through the משל of creation. Literally believing Genesis – a theological fabrication known as religious rhetoric.
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I shall not be approving anymore posts of this nature. If they are 250 words or less and in English that might be acceptable.
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Welland2 I employ WordPress as my paper route. LOL
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The Foundation of the UN voting blocks to recognize a Palestinian State – an utter fraud.
The genesis scream-out by the UN voting blocks which post 1967 ad infinitum repeatedly bemoan Israel’s gross violation of “international law” and illegally occupy Palestinian lands & territories – began with the British 1939 White Paper. The White Paper betrayed\sodomized the terms and obligations which London agreed to accept imposed by League contract which established the Mandate-Protectorate of Palestine to restore a Jewish National Home\self-determination in mandate-Palestine.
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