Palestinian-American Activist Osama Abu Irshaid: Israel Responsible for Crisis in Syria and Coup in Egypt

Speaking at the 14th annual MAS-ICNA convention, held in Chicago, Palestinian-American activist Osama Abu Irshaid said: "Remember that Israel was not created just to take and swallow Palestine. It was created to divide and to weaken that part of the world." Abu Irshaid further said that "the reason Syria is still suffering is because it is adjacent to Israel" and that "The reason why you had a coup in Egypt is because the Israelis were able to lobby for a coup." His address was posted on YouTube on January 3, 2016.

Osama Abu Irshaid: "We have so many wounds, and Syria is a major wound in the body of the Muslim and Arab nation. But if you think that Syria's problem is only a product of a brutal regime, you are mistaken. The reason Syria is still suffering is because it is adjacent to Israel. The reason why you had a coup in Egypt is because the Israelis were able to lobby for a coup. That doesn't mean that you had an innocent army in Egypt. No. But they needed someone to lobby for them, and that was Israel. They lobbied for them here, in this country. They lobbied for a coup against the public will. Israel is fully involved in everything that is taking place in that part of the world, because Israel is very worried about its own security and stability.

[...]

"This is exactly what is going to keep reasserting the need to deal with the Palestinian issue - because Israel is a direct challenge to the entire region. Israel is risking the entire region. You will have no peace and no stability as long as Israel is following these misguided policies, and as long as this colonial enterprise continues its brutal suppression of the aspiration of the Arab people. Remember that Israel was not created just to take and to swallow Palestine. It was created to divide and to weaken that part of the world. So no matter what happens, Israel will keep popping up as a problem for the entire region. No matter what happens, Israel will continue to be a challenge for the entire region, and this will keep Palestine as a central cause, because Palestine will continue to exist, and Palestine will continue to dominate, and Palestine will continue to define our aspirations and our future. You cannot have democracy and freedom in that part of the world while Palestine is under occupation. You cannot have democracy and freedom in that part of the world while you have regimes that are supporting Israel's suppression of the Palestinian people. The same (Arab) states that are being supported by them are supporting them to continue suppression of their (Arab) people."