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I've seen this image on Facebook, often these image macros are just made up, or misattributed quotes, what about in this case?

Image content:

#Free Palestine

The Zionist argument to justify Israel's present occupation of Arab Palestine has no intelligent or legal basis in history... not even in their own religion. - Malcom X

It would be my greatest sadness to see Zionists (Jews) do to Palestinian Arabs much of what Nazis did to Jews - Albert Einstein

We know too well that our freedom is incomplete without the freedom of the Palestinians. - Nelson Mandela

Palestine belongs to the Arabs in the same sense that England belongs to the English or France to the French. It is wrong and inhuman to impose the Jews on the the Arabs. - Mahatma Ghandi

quotes about notable people speaking to palestine

dwjohnston
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    It's worth noting that Malcolm X later supported Israel (*The Autobiography of Malcolm X*) and that Nelson Mandela praised Zionism and always supported a 2 state solution, stating that Palestine and Israel both had the right to exist and to self-determination. – Steve Apr 08 '17 at 21:17

1 Answers1

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MALCOLM X

In short the zionist argument to justify Israel's present occupation of Arab Palestine has no intelligent or legal basis in history.

Status: correct. This quote is extracted from "ZIONIST LOGIC By Malcolm X Shabazz".(1)



ALBERT EINSTEIN

It would be my greatest sadness to see Zionists do to Palestinian Arabs much of what Nazis did to Jews.

Status: incorrect. There is no recorded evidence that Einstein said this sentence - without forgetting also that Einstein was a Cultural Zionist who supported the idea of a Jewish homeland (4) and he actually got an offer to be the president of Israel in 1952. (5) .

Skepticaesoterica's opinion,

The motivation for this fake quote should be apparent. It would be beneficial to pro-Palestinian activists to show that a paragon of wisdom, and a Jew himself no less, was also pro-Palestinian and/or anti-Israel.



NELSON MANDELA

We know too well that our freedom is incomplete without the freedom of the Palestinians.

Status: correct. Extracted from Mandela's speech at the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People(2).

Full quote:

When in 1977, the United Nations passed the resolution inaugurating the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian people, it was asserting the recognition that injustice and gross human rights violations were being perpetrated in Palestine. In the same period, the UN took a strong stand against apartheid; and over the years, an international consensus was built, which helped to bring an end to this iniquitous system. But we know too well that our freedom is incomplete without the freedom of the Palestinians; without the resolution of conflicts in East Timor, the Sudan and other parts of the world.



MAHATMA GANDHI

Palestine belongs to the Arabs in the same sense that England belongs to the English or France to the French. It is wrong and in-human to impose the Jews on the Arabs.

Status: correct. (3)




(1) ZIONIST LOGIC By Malcolm X Shabazz (Edited and Reprinted From The Egyptian Gazette - Sept. 17, 1964)

(2) Address at The International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People Nelson Mandela. 4 December 1997.

(3) Gandhi's Collected Works, Vol 74 (1938)

(4) Stachel, John (2001-12-10). Einstein from 'B' to 'Z'. Birkhäuser Boston. p. 70. ISBN 0-8176-4143-2.

(5) "ISRAEL: Einstein Declines". Time magazine. 1 December 1952. Retrieved 31 March 2010.

George Chalhoub
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    Pretty good answer, but regarding Einstein, the opinions of a blogger to the possible motivation of whoever mis-attributed the quote isn't really proof of anything. I've seen this quote thousands of times, and you should never forget [Hanlon's razor](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanlon%27s_razor). – MrLore Jul 25 '14 at 07:31
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    Regarding Einstein, it is not sure whether he was a "huge" supporter of Zionism: http://dissidentvoice.org/2010/01/einstein-on-palestine-and-zionism/ – dashohoxha Jul 25 '14 at 09:58
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    @MrLore The phenomenon of attributing quotes to famous people who never said the words is well known (e.g., [1](http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424127887323717004578155302814623978), [2](http://www.npr.org/templates/transcript/transcript.php?storyId=241295755), [3](http://magazine.good.is/articles/if-mark-twain-said-it-he-probably-didnt)). While such misattributions aren't necessarily malicious *per se*, they're also not necessarily incompetence. – David Richerby Jul 25 '14 at 11:25
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    @georgechalhoub Actually, I think it is plausible that Einstein said something along those lines: [Letter to the New York Times 1948 - signed by Albert Einstein](https://archive.org/details/AlbertEinsteinLetterToTheNewYorkTimes.December41948) – called2voyage Jul 25 '14 at 19:00
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    Just because Einstein was a supporter of Zionism to a degree does not mean that he could not be disappointed with the actions of some Zionists. – called2voyage Jul 25 '14 at 19:02
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    Gandhi was talking with a quite different historical context as background, some time before the holocaust. He surely meant: Palestine does not belong to the English. – Quora Feans Jul 26 '14 at 08:29
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    And let's not forget that both Mandela and Malcolm X are viewed as terrorists by many. – Quora Feans Jul 26 '14 at 08:30
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    Is it just me or does it sound like Gandhi is saying two different things: "It is wrong and in-human to impose the Jews on the Arabs." I thought he was going with saying that the Palestenians have as much right to Palestine as the Jews to Israel. Am I wrong? – Engineer2021 Jul 26 '14 at 12:30
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    Malcom X was (by that point) a Sunni Muslim. Are we supposed to be _surprised_ that he spoke out against an Israeli state? – Clockwork-Muse Jul 26 '14 at 13:53
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    @georgechalhoub - The implied statement behind the original image is "hey, these are all famous civil-rights people who had something to say in support of the Palestinians/against the Israelis, we should think like this too.", but which didn't account for, hmm, "default bias" (or potentially any other context-relevant information). Merely verifying the quote is correct says nothing about if it is (possibly) being misapplied, or if some other context should disqualify it for the use at hand. – Clockwork-Muse Jul 28 '14 at 10:19
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    I'm downvoting this answer for the Einstein bit. You add 'Einstein was a Cultural Zionist' stating that he would not stand by the quote. Just because you found no literal source, does not give you the right to insinuate this. It correlates extremely closely with his stance on nationalism, and the letter to the NYT quoted earlier. You abuse Einstein by misrepresenting him. Just say the quote is false, and link to his stance on nationalism. No need to get all 'ohhh how convenient for the Zionists' on here. – Spork Aug 14 '14 at 15:19
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    The fact that he supported a homeland for jews does not make him a supporter of oppression of Arabs. You don't say there's no source - you actively are trying to persuade the reader into believing Einstein would not agree with the sentence. That is disgusting. Simply state 'No, there is no source for his quote. He was a pacifist and wrote a letter in the NYT condemning nationalist Israeli party members. However, he was supportive of an Israeli state.' and you'd have my upvote for a well-researched answer, instead of my contempt for misrepresenting one of the greatest men in history. – Spork Aug 14 '14 at 15:31
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    The Einstein quote is eminently plausible and consistent with Einstein's post-war views. It is important to understand that the meaning of Zionism had shifted enormously between the beginning of the century and the 1950s. Einstein was strongly opposed to Begin and views his zionism as fascist. He was not shy to express his opinion. The quote could plausibly be a translation of an interview with the foreign press in one of the many languages he spoke. – PatrickT May 11 '21 at 10:04
  • @Spork the NYT letter seems to be opposing one party, not even the one leading the Israeli government at that time. I don't see any relationship to the Palestinian conflict as a whole – Rsf Jun 09 '21 at 14:56