Kill a Jew for Allah

National Review ^ | 3/22/02 | John Derbyshire

[vrwc54]

I recently got a long, carefully composed e-mail from a reader, who begged me to circulate it among "other opinion-formers." It laid out a plan for peace in the Middle East. The writer, obviously an intelligent and well-informed person, had composed the e-mail with great care. With some passion, too — he really wants to find a solution to the Israel-Arab problem. Here was a public-spirited person doing his citizenly best to promote an idea that, he fervently believed, would put an end to the horrors.

And what was that idea? In a nutshell: The U.S. should lean hard on Israel to abandon the Jewish settlements in Arab land — i.e. beyond Israel's pre-1967 borders. These settlements (my reader argued) were the root cause of all the strife. Closing them down would remove the main casus belli; and the good faith shown by this act would open the eyes of the Arabs to the fact that peace with Israel is possible. The logjam would be broken.

I don't know what to say to people like this. Obviously they are decent, good citizens. Obviously they are trying their best — trying to be constructive, to give some hope to the world. How do I tell them what I feel? Which is, that they are floating in orbit between Uranus and Neptune — inhabiting some place that does not touch the real world at any point.

Look: Possibly there would be some abstract justice in closing down the settlements, I don't know. I don't see it myself, I must admit. Why should Jews not live among Arabs? Lots of Arabs live in Israel, and do very well there. There are rich Israeli Arabs; there are Israeli-Arab pop stars and comedians; there are Israeli-Arab intellectuals, teachers, writers, businessmen, athletes. Why, when the whole thing gets sorted out, should there not be Jews living in Arab territory — as there were for centuries past? What, exactly, is wrong with the settlements? I don't see it.

But, okay, let's suppose there is some valid moral objection to the existence of the settlements; and let's suppose my reader's plan were to be carried out, and all the settlements were removed, their populations transferred back to metropolitan Israel, their buildings razed, their fields ploughed with salt. Does anybody think it would make a damn bit of difference? There was no such thing as settlements, no such thing as "occupied territories," before the 1967 war. There were no such things in 1960, for example, when Adolf Eichmann was abducted from his hiding-hole in Buenos Aires by Israeli secret agents, an event recorded by Saudi Arabia's principal government-controlled newspaper as: "ARREST OF EICHMANN, WHO HAD THE HONOR OF KILLING 6 MILLION JEWS".

The problem of the Middle East is not the settlements. It is not this piece of land or that piece. It is not the Golan Heights or East Jerusalem or Temple Mount. It is not oil, or land, or water, or history, or geography, or metaphysics. The problem is in plain sight. You know what the problem is, and so do I. The problem is that the Middle East hates the Jews.

I say "the Middle East" because I don't know any more precise way to say it. You can't say "the Arabs" (though of course the Arabs hate the Jews more than anyone), because the Iranians and the Pakistanis and the Berbers of North Africa hate the Jews too, and they are not Arabs. You can't say "the Muslims". That is a lot closer, I think, and there surely cannot be much doubt that institutional Islam is riddled with Jew-hatred. Still, Malaysia is a Muslim country, and they don't hate the Jews, except in a go-along, pro forma sort of way, to keep on good terms with the Saudis and Gulf Emirs.

And I am sure, before you write to tell me, that lots of people in the Middle East don't hate the Jews. Lots of Arabs, millions probably, don't hate the Jews. Probably lots of non-Arab Muslims don't hate the Jews, either. Yet it's hard to avoid the impression, from reading the MEMRI translations, from looking at the kinds of things taught in schools all over the Middle East (and in Islamic schools here in the U.S.A. — see below), from listening to the pronouncements of Middle East politicians (remember the Syrian foreign minister explaining to the Pope — to the Pope! — that: "When I see a Jew in front of me, I kill him"?) and from random conversations with New York cab drivers, that visceral, murderous Jew-hatred is awfully widespread among Arabs, Pakistanis, Iranians, and North Africans. Awfully widespread.

In between getting that e-mail and answering it, I did two unrelated things, by way of my daily work. One was to prepare an editorial snippet for the print National Review about Islamic schools here in the U.S., based on a long study in the Washington Post of February 25th. There are estimated to be between 200 and 600 private Islamic day schools in the U.S., with up to 30,000 students in attendance. They use textbooks imported from Pakistan and Saudi Arabia. One in use at the Islamic Saudi Academy in suburban Virginia instructs readers that a sure sign of the Day of Judgment will be that Muslims will fight and kill Jews, who will hide behind trees that say: "Oh Muslim, Oh servant of God, there is a Jew hiding behind me. Come here and kill him." School authorities did some fast damage control when the Post confronted them (as the Saudis are doing over the now-famous Blood Libel article). The textbooks are in process of being replaced with special versions more suitable for American students, they assured us, with the kill-a-Jew-for-Allah stuff left out. Presumably that stuff remains untouched back home in Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Egypt, Syria, Iran, Libya,... Their kiddies will get the right message, you can be sure: "What do you mean, you don't hate Jews? Look, even the blessed trees hate them!"

The other thing I did was read Jeffrey Goldberg's article about Saddam Hussein in The New Yorker (titled "The Great Terror" in the 3/25/02 issue).

"Iraqi dissidents agree that Iraq's programs to build weapons of mass destruction are focused on Israel. 'Israel is the whole game,' Ahmad Chalabi, the leader of the Iraqi National Congress, told me. .... "[Saddam] thinks he can kill one hundred thousand Israelis in a day with biological weapons....' Students of Iraq and its government generally agree that Saddam would like to project himself as leader of all the Arabs, and that the only sure way to do that is by confronting Israel."

Seems to me, from what I read and hear, that those students are quite right: That by "confronting Israel" via killing a hundred thousand Israelis in a day, Saddam would win the hearts of the entire Arab world, and of the Iranians, Pakistanis, Afghans and North Africans, too. (Does Hamid Karzai, Washington's new darling, hate Jews? Has anyone asked him?) I am sure Saddam himself believes this to be the case, and he is, with all his endearing little character flaws, a man who knows something about the Arab mentality.

It is not too difficult to envisage a plan by which the spoken grievances of the Arabs against Israel could be addressed, and some compromise struck. The chancelleries of the world — including Israel's — are in fact full of such plans, drawn up with loving care by legions of diplomats, experts, politicians, ambassadors, scholars and private do-gooders like my reader, across decades of time. In an atmosphere of goodwill, and genuine desire for a solution, the Palestine circle could be squared. You'd just have to pull one of those plans down from the shelf, blow the dust off it, and say: "Let's take this for a starting point, shall we?" The circle is not going to be squared though — not by George W. Bush, not by my e-mail pal with his elaborate scheme to shut down the settlements, not by another round of "shuttle diplomacy," not by any amount of work on a "peace process". It isn't going to be, because there is no goodwill, and no real desire on the part of Israel's enemies for a solution. Or rather, there is a widespread desire for only one solution — the extinction of Israel and the driving out, or mass killing, of the Jews. That's what they want, the Middle East; that's all they want.

I don't think we should be sending diplomats to the Middle East. I think we should be sending teams of psychiatrists. This is a diseased culture, a sick culture. Go back to that disgraceful recycling of the Blood Libel in the Saudi press. Do you think anyone in that newspaper's readership thought there was anything odd about it, anything deplorable about it, anything untrue about it? I don't think so. To the newspaper readers of Saudi Arabia, it was routine stuff, a statement of the obvious. If MEMRI hadn't brought it to the attention of the civilized world, do you think the Saudi authorities would have bothered about it? Do you think, even now, they really have a clue what all the fuss is about? Of course the Jews use gentile blood to make their cookies. Doesn't everyone know that? We'd best pretend to be shocked, though. Those Americans are so-o-o sensitive!

We are dealing here with people who are, not to put too fine a point on it, nuts. The Arabs, the Iranians, the Pakis, the Libyans: they are nuts, the great majority of them. Nuts. Not playing with a full deck. Not too tightly wrapped. One brick short of a load, one coupon short of a toaster. The smoke not going all the way up the chimney. Not quite 16 annas to the rupee. Nuts.

Is there anything we can do about it? Only what Peggy Noonan told us to do in her brilliant Wall Street Journal piece last week: Do what you do when you find yourself in a roomful of glittering-eyed lunatics down at the local funny farm. Keep smiling, talk softly, don't make any sudden moves, keep nodding and smiling, and keep a tight hand on the stun gun in your pocket. The Middle East contains three hundred million people, and most of them are crazy as coots. Glad I don't live there.

[BenF]

The widespread Arab support for the Saudi peace plan seems to indicate that the Arab countries are ready to conclude a just and comprehensive peace. Are the Israelis ready?

What "widespread Arab support"? What world do you live in that makes you believe this cr@p?

Fine. Let Israel and the Arabs conclude a just peace and then neither side will be able to use the conflict as an excuse for neglecting other problems.

The Israelis have been trying and have supplied the Arabs with land, power, money, arms, and honor. I realize it is not enough for you or the bloodthirsty murderers you support. However, the Arabs have not kept one of the agreements they signed.

[crystalk]

No, we know it CANNOT.

We have at least several dozen places where God says that Ishmael has no neshamah, savable soul, and is just an animal (beast) in human form (pereh adam).

We are specifically told that he cannot and will not ever reform, and we are warned not to try to educate or civilize him, no more degrees from MIT or London School of Economics...awarded to murderous savages, hoping thereby to be more effective murderers, to cut off more heads...

Christians specifically are told to eliminate this vermin, why is it you think Urban II preached, and Godfrey de Bouillon went on, the Crusade?

Jews are told to eliminate Amalek, and when they do the Millennium will come in.

We are also told that to be merciful to the cruel (a code word for Islam/Ishmael) is to BE CRUEL TO THE MERCIFUL (Jews and Christians).

[crystalk]

the hell with those anti-semitic conventions

[vrwc54]

You still have the stomach for TV news? I can't even watch Fox. I go balistic. However this looks interesting:

CNBC

EDITORIAL BOARD ON CNBC

A Visit With Netanyahu
Plus commentary on all the latest news.

Friday, March 22, 2002 12:00 a.m. EST

Tune in tonight at 7 p.m. EST--with repeat airings at 2 a.m. and again at 7 p.m. Saturday. Among the topics likely to be discussed: the war on terror, Arthur Andersen and other financial scandals, and the latest doings on Capitol Hill. Plus a special interview with Benjamin Netanyahu, in which the former Israeli prime minister discusses the latest Mideast turmoil.

Tune in for "WSJ Editorial Board With Stuart Varney"--and when you've seen the show, you can come back to this page and enter your comments by clicking .

More about the tenuous relationship between Israeli Arabs and Israeli Jews here:

Bus bombing fails to unite Israel's Jewish and Arab victims of terror

[ThreeOfSeven]

Where were those settlements pre-67 and why is it that your Arab Islamic nazis still sent suicide missions, armed insurgents, and Arab armies into Israel to attack the Jewish populace? I guess the same arguments apply to Israel proper, i.e., no Jew except dhimmi or dead Jew for you and your Arab Islamic nazi friends.

Obviously, the Arab-Israeli conflict existed pre-67. However, the Israeli occupation following the 67 war created additional sources of conflict. The conflict has evolved over time.

By the way, I don't accept your characterization of Israel's enemies as "Arab Islamic nazis". The nazis of WWII were hostile military occupiers. In that sense, they have more in common with Israelis than the oppressed Palestinians.

[crystalk]

bite your tongue; you are blaspheming on here...

[Brad’s Gramma]

Bumping!

[dennisw]

No one buys your Muslim lies that if only Israel would unilaterally withdraw from the West Bank or Gaza there would be peace. This is number one Muslim lie. The attempt to fool liberal Europeans and Americans. Anyone with some common sense can see the aggressive nuclear Pakistan that is the Muslim homeland next to India. And has never given India peace. And was created by the British over the objections of the majority Hindus.

Islam is all about war and lies for their neighbors. Any gains or treaties the Islamics sign are all just stepping stones to conquering and subjugation of their neighbors. Your fat slob Mullahs preach as much from time to time depending on how hopped up they are.

[crystalk]

It would have a very much better ring to it, if it were true.

[dennisw]

By the way, I don't accept your characterization of Israel's enemies as "Arab Islamic nazis".

____________________

Sure they are Nazis. They want to kill the Jews just like Hitler wanted to. Everyone saw that Jewish blood libel the Saudis published in their newspaper last week

[lady lawyer]

Jews are only occupying those territories because they won them fair and square in a war the Arabs started.

[vrwc54]

FYI

[Lent]

Obviously, the Arab-Israeli conflict existed pre-67. However, the Israeli occupation following the 67 war created additional sources of conflict. The conflict has evolved over time.

Oh it created additional conflict all right. Additional conflict perpetrated by increased Arab nationalism, and increased terror by the Arabs. It's always increased by your Arab Islamic friends. If a Jew walks on an Arab flower accidently that act creates "additional sources of conflict" no matter that the Arab planted it in a Jew's yard.

By the way, I don't accept your characterization of Israel's enemies as "Arab Islamic nazis". The nazis of WWII were hostile military occupiers. In that sense, they have more in common with Israelis than the oppressed Palestinians.

Uh, yeah right:
 
 
 

The Arab/Muslim Nazi Connection
Turning the West Bank into another "Bosnia" (Photo Album)

As things are going, if Netanyahu 
succeeds...  The area will be like Bosnia.
-- Palestinian Authority Minister of
Justice Freih Abu Meddien

"The era of interim agreements," said Ben-Ami, 
"is dead. It only exists in the imagination.  The Palestinians 
have absolutely no faith in interim agreements, for their 
reasons. We are also opposed to them. They have only
given birth to terror and to a Bosnia-like situation 
(in the territories)."
-- Israeli Foreign Minister Shlomo Ben-Ami

Although there was ample proof to arrest him 
[Hajj Amin al Husseini] as a war criminal after 
the war, the Allies made no effort to do so... Yugoslavia, 
asked for his extradition... but the Arab League and the
Egyptian government succeeded in having the 
demand tabled
-- Encyclopedia of the Holocaust

Bosnian Moslems recruited by the 
Grand Mufti Hajj Amin al Husseini (Arafat's 'Uncle'¹) to serve in the ranks of the German Waffen-SS.

The following pictures take place in Bosnia, two years after the Grand Mufti Hajj Amin al Husseini (blood relative of both the current Temple Mount Mufti and Yasser Arafat) launched an unsuccessful pro-Nazi coup in Iraq. In that coup, an Iranian - Khayrallah Tulfah - was jailed for four years for his pro-Nazi activities.  He wrote a booklet called  "Three Whom God Should Not Have Created: Iranians, Jews, and Flies.", which was later distributed by the Ministry of Education of Iraq.  In 1947, Khayrallah Tulfah gave a home to his sister's ten year old son, an orphan.  His name was Saddam Hussein.

In the 1990's. the Christian Serbs later sought retribution for what they claimed were "massive war crimes" by the Islamic Bosnians during World War II, during the Bosnian-Croatian war in former Yugoslavia.

 

	Bosnian Moslems wearing fezzes with Nazi insignia Under the initiative of the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem-a powerful Moslem leader exiled in Berlin-Bosnian Moslems volunteered to serve in the ranks of the German Waffen-SS. Their special uniform combined Nazi with Moslem elements Date: 1943
	The Grand Mufti inspects Moslem SS units Under Husseini's initiative and supervision, Yugoslavian Moslem volunteer units-called "Handjar" (Sword)-joined the German Waffen-SS. They fought Yugoslav partisans in Bosnia and massacred Bosnians and Croatian Jews. Date: 1943 Era: During WWII
	Bosnian Moslems who volunteered to the German army Thousands of Bosnian Moslems responded to the Mufti's call and volunteered to serve in the German army. The volunteers wore special uniforms; the Nazi insignia decorated their fezzes (typical moslem hat). Date: 1943
	Nazis review Bosnian Moslem volunteers to the Waffen-SS In the spring of 1943, Bosnian Moslems, responding to their Mufti's call, volunteered to serve in the German army. They formed their own battalions within the ranks of the Waffen-SS. The Germans publicized the Moslem-German collaboration. Date: 1943
	Bosnian Moslem soldiers in the German army, at prayer Hajj Amin al Husseini, the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, allied himself with Nazi Germany. While exiled in Berlin and sponsored by Nazi agencies, he brought to the creation of Moslem battalions within the German Waffen-SS. Date: 1943
	Hajj Amin al-Husseini with Bosnian Moslem fighters Husseini flew from Berlin to Sarajevo to bless the Moslem army inspect its arms and observe its exercises. Husseini's army in Croatia was comprised of some 20,000 Bosnian Moslems, all of whom volunteered to serve in the German Waffen-SS.
	Bosnian Moslems who volunteered to the German army Moslems living in Bosnia, Yugoslavia, responded to the call of the exiled grand Mufti of Jerusalem and enlisted as volunteers in the German army. Seen here are uniformed volunteers holding a propaganda brochure: "Islam and Judaism." Date: 1943
	Bosnian Moslems as volunteers in the German army Hajj Amin al Husseini-the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem exiled in Berlin-planned to create a strong Arabic army and to put it at the disposal of the Axis powers. Eventually, he succeeded in forming Moslem units within the German Waffen-SS. Date: 1943
	Close-up of Nazi officers reviewing Moslem volunteers Closeup of "Responding to the initiative of the exiled Grand Mufti of Jerusalem", the Germans created separate Moslem battalions within the Waffen-SS. Here, unidentified Nazi dignitaries review the new recruits. Date: 1943
	Bosnian Moslem soldiers in the German army during prayer During the spring of 1943, some 20,000 Moslem Bosnians responded to the Mufti's call to join the German Waffen-SS. The Moslem volunteers, who served in separate units named "Handjar" (Sword), actively participated in war operations. Date: 1943

 

Grand Mufti of Jerusalem One of the most prominent Arab leaders in Palestine and the Middle East. Some believe that Husseini's collaboration with the Germans was designed to obtain support for Arab national goals from a power that seemed to have good prospects for winning the war. Others link his sympathy for Nazi Germany to his enthusiasim for its anti-Jewish policies, particularly, the Final Solution. Some even perceive a general ideological affinity between totalitarian Fascist and Nazi theories and Islam, as conceived by Husseini. Pre - War Contacts with the Nazis After he had broken with Britain, Husseini sent two emissaries to Berlin to make concrete proposals for collaboration. This occurred in December 1937 and in May 1939. As a result, Wilhelm Canaris, chief of the Abwehr supported the Arab uprising in Palestine. Husseini's Fate is Linked with the Fascist Powers When World War II broke out, Husseini fled to Iraq, where he contributed to the planning of the pro-Nazi revolt. When the revolt was quelled, he went into exile, first in Italy and then in Germany. From October 1941, Husseini linked his fate with the fascist powers. He also was in touch with the Japanese. He sought to pursue Arab national political goals and lend his support to the Final Solution. For the former he set three main goals: the issuance of a joint German-Italian declaration recognizing the independence of the Arab nations and their unity in federation; the establishment of a center for Arab sabotage and propaganda, under his control; and the formation of an Arab army to fight on the Axis side. The German foreign minister, Joachim von Ribbentrop did not make the declaration Husseini wanted, but in a private letter said much of what Husseini wanted to hear regarding Arabs states under British auspices. Neither did the mufti create the center he had in mind, but he did link himself with Axis intelligence. To demonstrate their support for the idea, the Germans dropped two Arab parachutists over Jericho and five over Mosul, Iraq. Husseini's plan to form an Arab legion failed to gain much response. As of 1942, a small German-Arab training section was created, with 130 men. In November 1944, the Arab legion was set up, but it existed mostly on paper. A Moslem Leader in the Service of the Nazis Husseini's contribution to the Axis war effort was more successful in his capacity as a Moslem leader. He recruited and organized Bosnian Muslim battalions in 1943, known as the Handjar (Sword), who were put into the Waffen-SS. They fought partisans in Bosnia, participated in the massacre of civilians there, and carried out police and security duties in Hungary. Husseini also helped boost the fighting morale of the Ostbattaillone. Husseini's Support of the Final Solution Husseini's men attended SS training courses and visited Sachsenhausen. At an early stage the mufti was aware of the extermination of the Jews and he tried to persuade the Axis to extend the extermination to North Africa and Palestine. He also repeatedly proprosed the Luftwaffe bomb Tel Aviv. When he found out that efforts were underway to save Jews by means of various barter arrangements, he did all he could to foil them. After the War - Evading Prosecution When the war ended, Husseini was arrested in France, but in June 1946, he escaped and made his way to asylum in Egypt. Although there was ample proof to arrest him as a war criminal after the war, the Allies made no effort to do so. They were deterred by Husseini's prestige in the Arab world. In 1946, Yugoslavia, asked for his extradition, but the Arab League and the Egyptian government succeeded in having the demand tabled. "Encyclopedia of the Holocaust" ©1990 Macmillan Publishing Company New York, NY 10022 Source (both Pictures and Text):     http://motlc.wiesenthal.com/pages/t031/t03148.html     Museum of Tolerance, Multimedia Learning Center Copyright © 1997, The Simon Wiesenthal Center, 1. The Mufti of Jerusalem, Haj Amin al-Husseini was later the notorious Nazi who mixed Nazi propaganda and Islam.  He was wanted for war crimes and the slaughter of Jews in Bosnia by Yugoslavia.  His mix of militant propagandizing Islam was an inspriation for both Yasser Arafat and Saddam Husein: He was also a close relative of Yasser Arafat and grandfather of the current Temple Mount Mufti. "Arafat's actual name was Abd al-Rahman abd al-Bauf Arafat al-Qud al-Husseini. He shortened it to obscure his kinship with the notorious Nazi and ex-Mufti of Jerusalem, Haj Muhammed Amin al-Husseini." Howard M. Sachar, A HISTORY OF ISRAEL (New York: Knopf, 1976).  The Bet Agron International Center in Jerusalem interviewed Arafat's brother and sister, who described the Mufti as a cousin (family member) with tremendous influence on young Yassir after the Mufti returned from Berlin to Cairo. Yasser Arafat himself keeps his exact lineage and birthplace secret.  Saddam Hussein was raised in the house of his uncle Khayrallah Tulfah, who was a leader in the Mufti's pro-Nazi coup in Iraq in May 1941. This page was produced by Joseph E. Katz Middle Eastern Political and Religious History Analyst  Brooklyn, New York  E-mail to a friend Portions Copyright © 2001 Joseph Katz All Rights Reserved

 

[schu]

Absolutely, theocracy is the true issue. But, the US and our form of government is based upon biblical principals established thousands of years ago. We have become wise enough to recognize merging religion and government is a road to ruin. The Islamists are not yet that wise.

[sheik yerbouty]

The Saudis buying into large media companies worldwide.

[Dog Gone]

Good grief. When you say that muslims are animals with no saveable soul and state that God has directed Jews and Christians to eliminate them, you are even MORE radical than the people you hate.

[philosofy123]

Perhaps the Islamists will never progress, simply because they issue FATWA to kill people who contradict the Party Line!

[TopQuark]

Great post; thanks for the ping, VRWC.

[crystalk]

Do you imagine that I will stop posting biblical and other reveled truths from G-d, just because you call it "radical"?

It is a radical world, my friend, and there is no place for moderation where Islam is concerned, and they themselves know that best!

[philosofy123]

One of the prayers from the Jewish Talmud for boys to pray, thank god I was born a boy, not a girl, or a slave, or a retard? Now I am not a scholar in the Jewish religion, but that is what I read somewhere a few years ago. I imagine, even if that is correct, Jewish believers are too smart to keep hanging on such stupidity. Other things in the old testament deal with how unclean people who work in funeral businesses, or women who have their period, or having yeast in bread,....Now most of my Jewish friends do not take any of these things seriously. In the same way Christianity is loaded with lots of nonsense that modern Christians learned to ignore. For example, more than 50% of Christian Women would not outlaw abortion despite of the bible commanding from them “do not kill”!