10 specific words and phrases to incorporate into our vocabulary

Proposing a new lexicon focusing first on 10 specific words and phrases that we all should incorporate into our vocabulary. 

I encourage you to write these down or print them out for use when you write letters and articles, give presentations, or have conversations with your friends.

1. Use ‘Judea and Samaria’ instead of  ‘the West Bank‘. ‘West Bank’ is a term of occupation and exploitation created by the Jordanians to refer to the area west of the Jordan River illegally seized and annexed to Jordan in 1948. Prior to 1948, the land was referred to as Judea and Samaria for almost 3000 years.

2. Use ‘Jewish community’ instead of  ‘settlement‘. How in the world can anyone call communities such as Maaleh Adumin (40,000) and Modin Illit(45,000), and Ariel (20,000) ‘settlements’?

3.  Use ‘construction of Jewish homes, schools, and hospitals’ instead of ‘settlement activity‘. By obscuring what the activities are, the activities are delegitimized.

4. Use ‘new Jewish communities’ instead of ‘outposts‘. An outpost is a small military encampment not a place where people are planning to permanently live.

5. Use ‘Jewish community member’ instead of  ‘settler‘. Are we living in the wild west? Most Jewish community members are suburbanites commuting to jobs in Tel Aviv and elsewhere.

6. Use ‘conservative politicians’ instead of  ‘right-wing politicians‘. Smearing someone as ‘right-wing’ is a convenient way of dismissing what they have to say.

7. Use ‘PLO’ or  ‘Palestine Liberation Organization’ instead of  ‘Palestinian Authority‘. Mahmoud Abbas has made it clear that the PLO runs the show in Judea and Samaria, and the United Nations recognizes the PLO–not the Palestinian Authority.

8. Use ‘Palestinian Islamic Terrorist Organization–HAMAS’ instead of merely ‘Hamas‘. HAMAS is an acronym for “Harakat al Muqawamah al Islamiyya” which means ‘Islamic Resistance Movement’. It is easier to say or write HAMAS, but the acronym does not tell what the organization is about.

9. Use ‘Israeli men, women, and children’ instead of  ‘Israeli citizens‘ when referring to those of us assaulted by terrorists. After all, Palestinian terrorists delight in trying to kill all Israelis–regardless of age or gender.

10. Use ‘Palestinian cities’ instead of  ‘Palestinian refugee camps‘. Who is kidding whom? Cities such as Kalandiya are huge places with massive construction going on all the time–the city’s residents are not nomads living in tents.

Acknowledgements: thanks to israelstreet.org