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Accusations of anti-Semitism in the Egyptian press is false
The Israeli press is far more racist.
In Egypt we are used to the insidious attacks on our politicians and intellectuals unleashed by the
US Zionist lobby in coordination with Zionist groups in Europe. The most salient common
denominator of these campaigns is the spurious charge of anti-Semitism. And that the Egyptian
press is laden with material deliberately intended to foment hatred of Jews is one of the most often
repeated accusations.
As Mubarak himself has frequently pointed out, the Arabs are Semites too, rendering the
allegation of anti-Semitism against us a contradiction in terms. But even on the basis of the term's
imputation of racism the charge cannot stand. Racism is a mode of behaviour based on the tendency to attribute to
certain ethnic groups certain intrinsic and immutable traits. Certainly, this definition does not apply to the Egyptian
media, in which the bulk of what has been branded as "anti-Semitic" are, in fact, criticisms of Israeli policy and
condemnations of the practices of the Israeli occupation forces.
Simultaneously, we can easily come up with dozens of utterances by political and religious leaders in Israel that fit the
definition of racism to the core. Here, however, the racism is directed against Arabs, both Muslim and Christian. The
hypocrisy of this situation is deplorable and demands a firm stance.
I have in front of me a report that was circulated among the heads of diplomatic missions in Cairo on "anti-Semitism"
in the Egyptian press. It is divided into two sections, the first covering excerpts from newspapers it categorises as
official and the second the opposition press. This very categorisation is eminently suitable to Zionist aims as it
facilitates holding the Egyptian government responsible for independent views expressed in the press.
The overwhelming majority of the so-called samples of anti-Semitism contained in this report are, in fact, writers'
personal opinions on Israeli policy and the atrocities committed by the occupation army against the Palestinian
people. Typical of the articles cited is that which denounces the war crimes committed against Palestinian school
children. Is this anti- Semitic?
In another article cited in the report, the writer charges that Israel is practicing terrorism. How is one to describe
Israeli policy towards the Palestinian people other than as terrorism by an occupying power, and the crimes the
occupation forces have perpetrated in Jenin and Nablus other than crimes against humanity? Why else did the
Security Council approve the US-sponsored compromise resolution to send a fact-finding commission to Jenin and
Nablus?
Another supposedly anti-Semitic article spoke of the terrorism perpetrated against Palestinians by "Zionist gangs"
before the establishment of Israel. I would advise reading modern Israeli historians Ilan Pappe and Benni Morris,
whose works make it impossible to escape the conclusion that terror was a major component of the thinking and
actions of the Zionist gangs.
Also branded as "anti-Semitic" is an article describing Sharon as a war criminal and a terrorist no less evil than Bin
Laden. This is indeed curious when we read Sharon's statement following Israel's incursion into Gaza. Revelling in
the slaughter of innocent civilians, among whom was a child of two months, he described this offensive as "one of the
most successful operations Israel has undertaken". As Sharon promised more of the same, UN Human Rights
Commissioner Mary Robinson decried Israel's actions as a violation of the principles of "democratic states and
international law".
We come, now, to that collection of articles that the report claims represent the epitome of anti-Semitism. In these
articles, the authors liken Israeli policies to Nazism and Sharon to Hitler. I am aware of the impact such comparisons
have on the European mind. However, to Egyptians and Arabs, for whom that experience was remote, Nazism
represents a racist movement that perpetrated atrocities against humanity in Europe. On this basis, it is not difficult to
perceive why Egyptian and Arab writers draw a comparison between Nazism and Sharon's practices. While there
remains a vast difference in scale, there are nevertheless distinct similarities between Nazi and Zionist premises and
attitudes.
In Jewish Fundamentalism, the late Israel Shahak expressed his shock at the rabid racism voiced by certain Jewish
groups against the Palestinians and Arabs. He points in particular to the adherents of Rabbis Koch, father and son,
and to Yehoshua Arieli who held that the 1967 War marked the beginning of a metaphysical transformation for
Israel. The Israeli victory in that war "wrested that land from the power of the devil to the divine realm". He
continues: "Any withdrawal from this land will have metaphysical consequences that could enable Satan to regain his
hold on this land." The movement that this rabbi represents justifies slaughtering Palestinians on the grounds that such
acts "purge the land of the devil and the evil that provokes God's wrath". Shahak comments: "Change the word
Jewish to German or Arian and non-Jew to Jew and you have the creed that made Auschwitz possible in the past."
He adds that the similarities between Jewish political messianism and German Nazism are as clear as daylight, for
non-Jews to the proponents of Jewish political messianism are as the Jews were to the Nazis.
US Zionist lobby in coordination with Zionist groups in Europe. The most salient common
denominator of these campaigns is the spurious charge of anti-Semitism. And that the Egyptian
press is laden with material deliberately intended to foment hatred of Jews is one of the most often
repeated accusations.
As Mubarak himself has frequently pointed out, the Arabs are Semites too, rendering the
allegation of anti-Semitism against us a contradiction in terms. But even on the basis of the term's
imputation of racism the charge cannot stand. Racism is a mode of behaviour based on the tendency to attribute to
certain ethnic groups certain intrinsic and immutable traits. Certainly, this definition does not apply to the Egyptian
media, in which the bulk of what has been branded as "anti-Semitic" are, in fact, criticisms of Israeli policy and
condemnations of the practices of the Israeli occupation forces.
Simultaneously, we can easily come up with dozens of utterances by political and religious leaders in Israel that fit the
definition of racism to the core. Here, however, the racism is directed against Arabs, both Muslim and Christian. The
hypocrisy of this situation is deplorable and demands a firm stance.
I have in front of me a report that was circulated among the heads of diplomatic missions in Cairo on "anti-Semitism"
in the Egyptian press. It is divided into two sections, the first covering excerpts from newspapers it categorises as
official and the second the opposition press. This very categorisation is eminently suitable to Zionist aims as it
facilitates holding the Egyptian government responsible for independent views expressed in the press.
The overwhelming majority of the so-called samples of anti-Semitism contained in this report are, in fact, writers'
personal opinions on Israeli policy and the atrocities committed by the occupation army against the Palestinian
people. Typical of the articles cited is that which denounces the war crimes committed against Palestinian school
children. Is this anti- Semitic?
In another article cited in the report, the writer charges that Israel is practicing terrorism. How is one to describe
Israeli policy towards the Palestinian people other than as terrorism by an occupying power, and the crimes the
occupation forces have perpetrated in Jenin and Nablus other than crimes against humanity? Why else did the
Security Council approve the US-sponsored compromise resolution to send a fact-finding commission to Jenin and
Nablus?
Another supposedly anti-Semitic article spoke of the terrorism perpetrated against Palestinians by "Zionist gangs"
before the establishment of Israel. I would advise reading modern Israeli historians Ilan Pappe and Benni Morris,
whose works make it impossible to escape the conclusion that terror was a major component of the thinking and
actions of the Zionist gangs.
Also branded as "anti-Semitic" is an article describing Sharon as a war criminal and a terrorist no less evil than Bin
Laden. This is indeed curious when we read Sharon's statement following Israel's incursion into Gaza. Revelling in
the slaughter of innocent civilians, among whom was a child of two months, he described this offensive as "one of the
most successful operations Israel has undertaken". As Sharon promised more of the same, UN Human Rights
Commissioner Mary Robinson decried Israel's actions as a violation of the principles of "democratic states and
international law".
We come, now, to that collection of articles that the report claims represent the epitome of anti-Semitism. In these
articles, the authors liken Israeli policies to Nazism and Sharon to Hitler. I am aware of the impact such comparisons
have on the European mind. However, to Egyptians and Arabs, for whom that experience was remote, Nazism
represents a racist movement that perpetrated atrocities against humanity in Europe. On this basis, it is not difficult to
perceive why Egyptian and Arab writers draw a comparison between Nazism and Sharon's practices. While there
remains a vast difference in scale, there are nevertheless distinct similarities between Nazi and Zionist premises and
attitudes.
In Jewish Fundamentalism, the late Israel Shahak expressed his shock at the rabid racism voiced by certain Jewish
groups against the Palestinians and Arabs. He points in particular to the adherents of Rabbis Koch, father and son,
and to Yehoshua Arieli who held that the 1967 War marked the beginning of a metaphysical transformation for
Israel. The Israeli victory in that war "wrested that land from the power of the devil to the divine realm". He
continues: "Any withdrawal from this land will have metaphysical consequences that could enable Satan to regain his
hold on this land." The movement that this rabbi represents justifies slaughtering Palestinians on the grounds that such
acts "purge the land of the devil and the evil that provokes God's wrath". Shahak comments: "Change the word
Jewish to German or Arian and non-Jew to Jew and you have the creed that made Auschwitz possible in the past."
He adds that the similarities between Jewish political messianism and German Nazism are as clear as daylight, for
non-Jews to the proponents of Jewish political messianism are as the Jews were to the Nazis.
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....in the Egyptian state run paper Al-Ahram. Very convienent for the person posting it not to mention. But of course, if a paper run exclusively by Arabs runs an article by an Arab accusing Jews of being more racist there is NO reason to doubt the objectivity or credibility!
Here is a link to Al Ahram. It provides a great alternative to the pro-Israeli biased US media:
http://www.ahram.org.eg/weekly/
http://www.ahram.org.eg/weekly/
Whasa matter Jim? The He-Man-Woman-Haters-Club didn't have a web site?
It is my view that "anti-semitism" -so long as it is exclusively directed against Jews-is thoroughly justified. These are evil, controlling people; hatred of and opposition to their devious schemes is utterly warranted. If they do not clean up their act-and soon!-they will soon be the deserving recipients of a bloodbath that will leave them wishing it were MERELY another Nazi "holocaust" (the extent of which has been unfortunately vastly exxagerated). Save humanity: KILL ALL JEWS!
Chomsky replies to Alejandro on
"Arab countries' attitudes towards Jews, Israel"
(Forums 23/30 July)
There surely is anti-Semitism in many circles in Egypt, sometimes rampant, and it's also true that "Arab leaders say one thing on a subject in English and then contradict that when speaking in Arabic," exactly as Jewish leaders and writers do. The counterpart in countries without "secret languages" is the striking difference often found between public pronouncements and internal documents. For example, in public the Israeli Labor government and Washington praised the Sept. 95 Oslo II agreements as a great step towards peace with noble sacrifices by Israel, but I don't recall reading in the English press that President Ezer Weizmann had exulted that "we screwed the Palestinians," or that Labor Foreign Minister (now party leader) Ehud Barak, when asked by the Hebrew press how they expected the Palestinians to accept this virtual surrender, answered simply: "We are the ones with the power."
Similarly, one would be unlikely to read in the New York Times the advice to Israel by its Middle East correspondent Thomas Friedman on the occasion of his (second) Pulitzer prize: that Israel should treat the Palestinians in the manner of southern Lebanon (run by a terrorist client army under the direction of still more murderous Israeli forces, with ample torture, etc.), but that Israel should grant the Palestinians something, because "if you give Ahmed a seat in the bus he may lessen his demands"; try that with "Sambo" or "Yankel" instead of "Ahmed," and as advice to Syria instead of Israel. Would the author of such remarks immediately be promoted to chief diplomatic correspondent and hailed as a great figure?
Friedman's statements were in the mainstream Hebrew press, and as far as I know, appeared here only in things I wrote at the time in Z, later in books. So, effectively secret, like the examples you refer to in the secret language of the Arab world (where, in fact, it's far more likely to be exposed in the West, for reasons of doctrinal warfare).
It should be added, however, that Western anti-Arab racism is so extreme that it often isn't even concealed, because it isn't noticed; it's like the air we breathe. For example, a western "secular hero" like Irving Howe is highly praised for urging that Israel send settlers to the "underpopulated Galilee" -- underpopulated because it has too many Arab citizens and too few Jews. That shows what a passionate advocate of a just peace he is. Again, try an experiment: suppose someone were to call for more settlement of white Christians in "underpopulated New York City," which has too many Jews and Blacks. And there are much more extreme cases; I've sampled some of them in "Necessary Illusions." None have any impact, because of the extreme racism of the intellectual culture, Arabs being probably the last "legitimate" targets.
Returning to Egypt, anti-Semitism is found all over, along with warm welcome for Jews. E.g., I'm regularly asked to write for "Al-Ahram" (the main newspaper, theoretically government but rather independent), and sometimes do (same in Israel, incidentally). And that's no exception. It certainly makes sense to inquire into Egyptian anti-Semitism, and other aspects of Egyptian culture, for example, the considerable contempt for Arabs (Egyptians commonly regard themselves as non-Arab, representatives of a higher and older civilization than the one introduced by desert warriors 1300 years ago); that shows up in many ways, right now. With regard to Egypt-Israel, the current attitudes no doubt draw in part from recent history, as Egptians perceive it. Something like this.
As the Middle East (Egypt included) struggled to free itself from debilitating and murderous Western control, a new Western enclave was established in its heart, the Levant, separating the North African from the West Asian Arab-speaking areas. This was achieved by virtue of the intervention of the Western imperial powers from whom the people of the region were seeking to free themselves. In the course of the conquest by European settlers, the indigenous population was displaced and marginalized. The fact that the European settlers had suffered horrendous brutality in Europe was invoked to demand that Palestinians compensate by giving up their land to them; there was no proposal for a Jewish state in Bavaria or New York (where there was a considerable Jewish population, even a majority in parts): it was Palestinians who were to pay for the crimes of the Europeans against Jews, an arrangement which seemed less than just to many people in the region.
The new Jewish state reduced its own Arab citizens to second-rate status, with severe discriminatory laws and practices that would be considered an utter outrage in any Western democracy; imagine the reaction here if 92% of the land in the US were effectively under the control of an organization dedicated to work for the benefit of people of "white Christian race, religion, or origin," hence excluding Jews, Blacks, etc., from the land. The newly-established state was also violent and aggressive beyond its borders. It immediately expanded illegally into the demilitarized zones, forcefully expelling thousands of Bedouins, and carried out murderous terrorist attacks against villages implicated in no anti-Israel actions. It proceeded to invade Egypt in collusion with the traditional imperial masters (England, France), doing so again with US support a decade later. It refused Egypt's offers for a full peace settlement in 1971, agreeing in part only after the 1973 war deflated its triumphalism. But that later (Camp David) agreement, brokered by the US, was designed to remove Egypt from the conflict, leaving Israel free to integrate the occupied territories and attack Lebanon, as it proceeded at once to do with huge US aid. It invaded Lebanon again shortly after, killing 20,000 people while devastating large parts of the country. Etc., etc., on to the present. That's only a small sample of course, and it leaves out more complex interactions along the way: I'm outlining the basis for perceptions, not writing a history.
Anti-Semitism and other forms of racism are always to be exposed and deplored. And understood.
As for your questions, it's impossible to assign a "measure" to the degree to which "anti-semitism in the Arab world [is] a function of Israel's policies," just as it's impossible to assign a measure to the various sources of the rampant anti-Arab racism here and in Israel. We can discuss the factors and seek ways to alleviate them.
Does the support of the leading Arab countries for a peaceful settlement (not for 2 decades, but since 1971) cloak "nefarious intentions like the far-right opines i.e. eventual destruction of Israel?" The question is not really answerable in that form. I don't doubt that many Mexicans hope for the eventual destruction of the US -- which, after all, sits on more than 1/3 of Mexico, which it stole by violence. Same with France and Germany. One would be hard put to find an area of the world where there is no irredentism or jingoist demands and hostilities. Some kind of international order has slowly been constructed by efforts to accommodate these, eliminating the worst festering sores. The US/Israel (near unilateral) rejection of diplomatic settlement since 1971, and their program for establishing a Bantustan-style settlement in Israel-Palestine since Madrid/Oslo, is guaranteed to keep these sores festering, or worse. Recall that, contrary to current self-serving propaganda, these programs are not due to the bad Netanyahu: they are programs of the US and the Labor/Meretz coalition, now being implemented and in some ways extended by Netanyahu/Likud.
"Even if the Arab leaders did genuinely support peace, doesn't the popular anti-semitism and growing fundamentalism undermine the ability of the Arab leaders who want peace?"
I don't think that's the way to pose the question, any more than it would be proper to ask whether the extreme anti-Arab racism in Israel and the growing fundamentalism there "undermines the ability of Jewish leaders who want peace" (if one can find any, where "peace" means something other than a Bantustan-style peace). The way these questions are posed mistakes the dynamics. Moves towards genuine peace would undercut -- to some unknown degree -- the pressures that lead to anti-Semitism and anti-Arab racism, and the growing fundamentalism that is (on the Arab side) in large part a reaction to the complete failure of secular movements to achieve anything, failures for which we bear considerable responsibility.
How can I "blame Israelis for not wanting to perhaps lower their guard (i.e. stabilize or lessen military expenditures, enter into economic and technological relations that could help Arab countries)"? I don't quite understand the question. Israeli leaders are eager to enter into economic and technological relations that could (incidentally) help Arab countries. That's Peres's "New Middle East," the point of the Qatar summit last December, etc. True, Israel doesn't care that much about them, because they are mostly poor and underdeveloped; it's eyes are on trade and interactions with the richer East Asia area. And Israel thinks nothing of providing sensitive military technology to China (over the vociferous objections of the US) which is very likely being used for Iranian missile development. But if you mean that one can understand why Israelis should be concerned about their security, you're pushing an open door.
I've been arguing for many years that their policies have been greatly increasing their security risks, and may well lead to their ultimate destruction. To take one simple illustration, not long after Israel rejected Egypt's offer for a full peace treaty in 1971, the first Katyusha rockets began to land, a fact noted in the (Hebrew) documentary literature. Or to take an earlier case, Israel's terror attacks in Gaza in 1955, designed to kill Egyptian authorities who were seeking to cut back Fedayin attacks, surely increased the likelihood of such attacks (again, documented in the Hebrew archival literature). That goes on right to the present, with regard to Palestinians and Lebanese.
On internal Arab government documents, no one is privy to them; these are basically totalitarian countries that do not release documents. As for the Arab languages and cultures (the plural is necessary), one can learn about them the way one could learn about others. The Hebrew government documents, Hebrew press, etc., are available in principle, but they are scarcely used, just as US records are scarcely used, because they tell an ideologically inappropriate story.
Simply ask yourself how often (and where) you have seen an account of the extreme US/Israeli rejectionism that barred any diplomatic settlement of the Arab-Israel conflict from 1971 (I've personally been writing about this for over 20 years, but it has yet to reach any source that could be read), or of the quite explicit Bantustan-style character of the Oslo project, or of the most important record of internal Israeli government deliberations in the crucial 1967-77 period (Yossi Beilin's Hebrew dissertation/book, which again, I've written about since it appeared), etc. Or comparable information about the US.
The point is that official censorship, while intolerable, is often not needed to accomplish similar effects; a well-designed doctrinal system and an obedient intellectual class can often suffice, as we should know well enough.
Noam Chomsky
"Arab countries' attitudes towards Jews, Israel"
(Forums 23/30 July)
There surely is anti-Semitism in many circles in Egypt, sometimes rampant, and it's also true that "Arab leaders say one thing on a subject in English and then contradict that when speaking in Arabic," exactly as Jewish leaders and writers do. The counterpart in countries without "secret languages" is the striking difference often found between public pronouncements and internal documents. For example, in public the Israeli Labor government and Washington praised the Sept. 95 Oslo II agreements as a great step towards peace with noble sacrifices by Israel, but I don't recall reading in the English press that President Ezer Weizmann had exulted that "we screwed the Palestinians," or that Labor Foreign Minister (now party leader) Ehud Barak, when asked by the Hebrew press how they expected the Palestinians to accept this virtual surrender, answered simply: "We are the ones with the power."
Similarly, one would be unlikely to read in the New York Times the advice to Israel by its Middle East correspondent Thomas Friedman on the occasion of his (second) Pulitzer prize: that Israel should treat the Palestinians in the manner of southern Lebanon (run by a terrorist client army under the direction of still more murderous Israeli forces, with ample torture, etc.), but that Israel should grant the Palestinians something, because "if you give Ahmed a seat in the bus he may lessen his demands"; try that with "Sambo" or "Yankel" instead of "Ahmed," and as advice to Syria instead of Israel. Would the author of such remarks immediately be promoted to chief diplomatic correspondent and hailed as a great figure?
Friedman's statements were in the mainstream Hebrew press, and as far as I know, appeared here only in things I wrote at the time in Z, later in books. So, effectively secret, like the examples you refer to in the secret language of the Arab world (where, in fact, it's far more likely to be exposed in the West, for reasons of doctrinal warfare).
It should be added, however, that Western anti-Arab racism is so extreme that it often isn't even concealed, because it isn't noticed; it's like the air we breathe. For example, a western "secular hero" like Irving Howe is highly praised for urging that Israel send settlers to the "underpopulated Galilee" -- underpopulated because it has too many Arab citizens and too few Jews. That shows what a passionate advocate of a just peace he is. Again, try an experiment: suppose someone were to call for more settlement of white Christians in "underpopulated New York City," which has too many Jews and Blacks. And there are much more extreme cases; I've sampled some of them in "Necessary Illusions." None have any impact, because of the extreme racism of the intellectual culture, Arabs being probably the last "legitimate" targets.
Returning to Egypt, anti-Semitism is found all over, along with warm welcome for Jews. E.g., I'm regularly asked to write for "Al-Ahram" (the main newspaper, theoretically government but rather independent), and sometimes do (same in Israel, incidentally). And that's no exception. It certainly makes sense to inquire into Egyptian anti-Semitism, and other aspects of Egyptian culture, for example, the considerable contempt for Arabs (Egyptians commonly regard themselves as non-Arab, representatives of a higher and older civilization than the one introduced by desert warriors 1300 years ago); that shows up in many ways, right now. With regard to Egypt-Israel, the current attitudes no doubt draw in part from recent history, as Egptians perceive it. Something like this.
As the Middle East (Egypt included) struggled to free itself from debilitating and murderous Western control, a new Western enclave was established in its heart, the Levant, separating the North African from the West Asian Arab-speaking areas. This was achieved by virtue of the intervention of the Western imperial powers from whom the people of the region were seeking to free themselves. In the course of the conquest by European settlers, the indigenous population was displaced and marginalized. The fact that the European settlers had suffered horrendous brutality in Europe was invoked to demand that Palestinians compensate by giving up their land to them; there was no proposal for a Jewish state in Bavaria or New York (where there was a considerable Jewish population, even a majority in parts): it was Palestinians who were to pay for the crimes of the Europeans against Jews, an arrangement which seemed less than just to many people in the region.
The new Jewish state reduced its own Arab citizens to second-rate status, with severe discriminatory laws and practices that would be considered an utter outrage in any Western democracy; imagine the reaction here if 92% of the land in the US were effectively under the control of an organization dedicated to work for the benefit of people of "white Christian race, religion, or origin," hence excluding Jews, Blacks, etc., from the land. The newly-established state was also violent and aggressive beyond its borders. It immediately expanded illegally into the demilitarized zones, forcefully expelling thousands of Bedouins, and carried out murderous terrorist attacks against villages implicated in no anti-Israel actions. It proceeded to invade Egypt in collusion with the traditional imperial masters (England, France), doing so again with US support a decade later. It refused Egypt's offers for a full peace settlement in 1971, agreeing in part only after the 1973 war deflated its triumphalism. But that later (Camp David) agreement, brokered by the US, was designed to remove Egypt from the conflict, leaving Israel free to integrate the occupied territories and attack Lebanon, as it proceeded at once to do with huge US aid. It invaded Lebanon again shortly after, killing 20,000 people while devastating large parts of the country. Etc., etc., on to the present. That's only a small sample of course, and it leaves out more complex interactions along the way: I'm outlining the basis for perceptions, not writing a history.
Anti-Semitism and other forms of racism are always to be exposed and deplored. And understood.
As for your questions, it's impossible to assign a "measure" to the degree to which "anti-semitism in the Arab world [is] a function of Israel's policies," just as it's impossible to assign a measure to the various sources of the rampant anti-Arab racism here and in Israel. We can discuss the factors and seek ways to alleviate them.
Does the support of the leading Arab countries for a peaceful settlement (not for 2 decades, but since 1971) cloak "nefarious intentions like the far-right opines i.e. eventual destruction of Israel?" The question is not really answerable in that form. I don't doubt that many Mexicans hope for the eventual destruction of the US -- which, after all, sits on more than 1/3 of Mexico, which it stole by violence. Same with France and Germany. One would be hard put to find an area of the world where there is no irredentism or jingoist demands and hostilities. Some kind of international order has slowly been constructed by efforts to accommodate these, eliminating the worst festering sores. The US/Israel (near unilateral) rejection of diplomatic settlement since 1971, and their program for establishing a Bantustan-style settlement in Israel-Palestine since Madrid/Oslo, is guaranteed to keep these sores festering, or worse. Recall that, contrary to current self-serving propaganda, these programs are not due to the bad Netanyahu: they are programs of the US and the Labor/Meretz coalition, now being implemented and in some ways extended by Netanyahu/Likud.
"Even if the Arab leaders did genuinely support peace, doesn't the popular anti-semitism and growing fundamentalism undermine the ability of the Arab leaders who want peace?"
I don't think that's the way to pose the question, any more than it would be proper to ask whether the extreme anti-Arab racism in Israel and the growing fundamentalism there "undermines the ability of Jewish leaders who want peace" (if one can find any, where "peace" means something other than a Bantustan-style peace). The way these questions are posed mistakes the dynamics. Moves towards genuine peace would undercut -- to some unknown degree -- the pressures that lead to anti-Semitism and anti-Arab racism, and the growing fundamentalism that is (on the Arab side) in large part a reaction to the complete failure of secular movements to achieve anything, failures for which we bear considerable responsibility.
How can I "blame Israelis for not wanting to perhaps lower their guard (i.e. stabilize or lessen military expenditures, enter into economic and technological relations that could help Arab countries)"? I don't quite understand the question. Israeli leaders are eager to enter into economic and technological relations that could (incidentally) help Arab countries. That's Peres's "New Middle East," the point of the Qatar summit last December, etc. True, Israel doesn't care that much about them, because they are mostly poor and underdeveloped; it's eyes are on trade and interactions with the richer East Asia area. And Israel thinks nothing of providing sensitive military technology to China (over the vociferous objections of the US) which is very likely being used for Iranian missile development. But if you mean that one can understand why Israelis should be concerned about their security, you're pushing an open door.
I've been arguing for many years that their policies have been greatly increasing their security risks, and may well lead to their ultimate destruction. To take one simple illustration, not long after Israel rejected Egypt's offer for a full peace treaty in 1971, the first Katyusha rockets began to land, a fact noted in the (Hebrew) documentary literature. Or to take an earlier case, Israel's terror attacks in Gaza in 1955, designed to kill Egyptian authorities who were seeking to cut back Fedayin attacks, surely increased the likelihood of such attacks (again, documented in the Hebrew archival literature). That goes on right to the present, with regard to Palestinians and Lebanese.
On internal Arab government documents, no one is privy to them; these are basically totalitarian countries that do not release documents. As for the Arab languages and cultures (the plural is necessary), one can learn about them the way one could learn about others. The Hebrew government documents, Hebrew press, etc., are available in principle, but they are scarcely used, just as US records are scarcely used, because they tell an ideologically inappropriate story.
Simply ask yourself how often (and where) you have seen an account of the extreme US/Israeli rejectionism that barred any diplomatic settlement of the Arab-Israel conflict from 1971 (I've personally been writing about this for over 20 years, but it has yet to reach any source that could be read), or of the quite explicit Bantustan-style character of the Oslo project, or of the most important record of internal Israeli government deliberations in the crucial 1967-77 period (Yossi Beilin's Hebrew dissertation/book, which again, I've written about since it appeared), etc. Or comparable information about the US.
The point is that official censorship, while intolerable, is often not needed to accomplish similar effects; a well-designed doctrinal system and an obedient intellectual class can often suffice, as we should know well enough.
Noam Chomsky
For more information:
http://www.zmag.org/forums/chomarb.htm
Someone (probably a Pro-Israeli Jew) used my name in a blatantly anti-Semtic post.
I guess this is how they proceed when they don't know how to respond to you...
I guess this is how they proceed when they don't know how to respond to you...
That post was called "The truth about Jews."
I posted a link to Al Ahram.
And then someone used my name to post an anti-Semitic remark. I, of course, am appalled by that remark but find it remarkable that they would go to this much trouble to vilify someone to try to make that person's previous comment seem extreme.
It is I'm guessing a pro-Israeli Zionist that did that.
I posted a link to Al Ahram.
And then someone used my name to post an anti-Semitic remark. I, of course, am appalled by that remark but find it remarkable that they would go to this much trouble to vilify someone to try to make that person's previous comment seem extreme.
It is I'm guessing a pro-Israeli Zionist that did that.
It seems to me that pro-Israeli Zionists cannot accept even minor rebukes.
Take the above article and then the responses to it.
The article has no anti-Semitic remarks in it and is right on the mark.
The first response to it is kind of paranoid -- saying that the link to the article on Al Ahram was left off intentionally.
Then I wrote in to give the link to Al Ahram and was immediately denounced as a woman hater in the next post.
And then someone wrote in using my name to post an anti-Semitic remark, presumably to negate my remark about the US media having a pro-Israeli bias and the link to Al Ahram which I pointed out was a great alternative as far as coverage in the Middle East is concerned.
I find it disturbing that the pro-Israeli Zionists are willing to use such tactics to try to blacken posts by people with whom they disagree. It seems they go into hysterics and use propaganda to try to make themselves look like the victims.
Just for the record, I oppose anti-Semitism because it defames all Jews. It is no different than hating all Arabs for the actions of a few or hating all Americans for the actions of the US government. There are a great many honorable Jews like Noam Chomsky, Alfred Lilienthal, Lenni Brenner, Mark Bruzonsky, Norman Finkelstein, and Israel Shahak who do a great deal to counter the image of the terrorist leaders of Israel like Ariel Sharon, Menachem Begin, and Yitzhak Shamir.
Take the above article and then the responses to it.
The article has no anti-Semitic remarks in it and is right on the mark.
The first response to it is kind of paranoid -- saying that the link to the article on Al Ahram was left off intentionally.
Then I wrote in to give the link to Al Ahram and was immediately denounced as a woman hater in the next post.
And then someone wrote in using my name to post an anti-Semitic remark, presumably to negate my remark about the US media having a pro-Israeli bias and the link to Al Ahram which I pointed out was a great alternative as far as coverage in the Middle East is concerned.
I find it disturbing that the pro-Israeli Zionists are willing to use such tactics to try to blacken posts by people with whom they disagree. It seems they go into hysterics and use propaganda to try to make themselves look like the victims.
Just for the record, I oppose anti-Semitism because it defames all Jews. It is no different than hating all Arabs for the actions of a few or hating all Americans for the actions of the US government. There are a great many honorable Jews like Noam Chomsky, Alfred Lilienthal, Lenni Brenner, Mark Bruzonsky, Norman Finkelstein, and Israel Shahak who do a great deal to counter the image of the terrorist leaders of Israel like Ariel Sharon, Menachem Begin, and Yitzhak Shamir.
The Arab dictators let its people live in poverty, while its rulers are rich. All the Arab countries are dictators, the dictators control 99 percent of the wealth, allow no opposition and kill anyone that opposes them. Thats why these Arab dictators always talk about Israel. They need Israel to divert attention to this. The Arab press is state controlled. You think the Arab dictators want you to know about there murderous and corrupt rule.
7 Websites that document the Arabs alliance to Hitler.
Nasser let in hundreds of Nazis in Egypt after WW2
http://www.flamemag.dircon.co.uk/nazis_postwar_egypt.htm
This site documents the genocidal deals Hajj Amin Al Husseini made with
Hitler. http://notendur.centrum.is/~snorrigb/mufti4.htm
Alois Brunner, the genocidal Nazi who deported 150,000 Jews to there deaths in WW2, has been in Syria in for the last 40 years. Check out this site.
http://www.tabloid.net/1998/07/17/lastnazi_980717.html
Check out this site, Hajj Amin Al Husseini and his alliance to Hitler
http://www.flamemag.dircon.co.uk/yugoslavia_collaboration.htm
Site documenting Palestinians alliance to Hiter in WW2
http://www.srpska-mreza.com/library/facts/hanjar.html
Site documenting Husseini with SS Nazis in Bosnia in WW2. http://www.freerepublic.com/forum/a3a8ff1c12efe.htm
The Arab Muslim Nazi connection
http://cdn-friends-icej.ca/medigest/may00/arabnazi.html (article 1)
Nasser let in hundreds of Nazis in Egypt after WW2
http://www.flamemag.dircon.co.uk/nazis_postwar_egypt.htm
This site documents the genocidal deals Hajj Amin Al Husseini made with
Hitler. http://notendur.centrum.is/~snorrigb/mufti4.htm
Alois Brunner, the genocidal Nazi who deported 150,000 Jews to there deaths in WW2, has been in Syria in for the last 40 years. Check out this site.
http://www.tabloid.net/1998/07/17/lastnazi_980717.html
Check out this site, Hajj Amin Al Husseini and his alliance to Hitler
http://www.flamemag.dircon.co.uk/yugoslavia_collaboration.htm
Site documenting Palestinians alliance to Hiter in WW2
http://www.srpska-mreza.com/library/facts/hanjar.html
Site documenting Husseini with SS Nazis in Bosnia in WW2. http://www.freerepublic.com/forum/a3a8ff1c12efe.htm
The Arab Muslim Nazi connection
http://cdn-friends-icej.ca/medigest/may00/arabnazi.html (article 1)
Here is the difference between Israel and the Palestinians.
Israelis don't call for murdering children and women, the Arabs do.
Israelis don't strap bombs to themselves, to murder women and defenseless civilians. The Arabs do.
Israel dont tell its people, that if you kill Arabs, you will go to heaven and be with 72 virgins. The Arabs do.
Only the Pal Arabs consider a violent uprising that solely involves killing children in a mall, bus or disco and then celebrate afterwards.
The way Arabs think. The way to get honor and respect, is when you blow yourself up along with some innocent Jewish mothers and babies, your picture will be plastered on posters throughout your hometown. Your family will acquire a revered place in society and will also receive $25,000 in American currency from Saddam Hussein. You, meanwhile, will get to fulfill all of your wildest and repressed sexual fantasies with 72 virgins in heaven.
Your concern should be, why dont the Palestinians care there own children.
Seeing the reaction of the Palestinian families after their son/daughter, becomes a suicide bomber and murders Israeli civilians. I wonder, when these children are born, or if the parents are looking into some maternity ward in a West Bank hospital, what are they thinking.
"Oh look at all the beautiful little bombs!" "Is that one yours? What a cute little bomb, she has your eyes,"
"I'll bet you'll be able to wrap a lot of explosives around him when he's older"
The shocking pic of the 2 month old Palestinian baby dressed as a suicide bomber, has shown the sadism the Arabs teach there children.
Arafat has raised an entire generation to believe that the highest aspiration in life is to kill Jews. The Palestinians are engaged in an unremitting campaign of targetted murder of women and children. When the Palestinians massacre Israeli school children on buses, and babies in baby carriages, they celebrate. They have raised an entire generation to believe that the the highest cultural and religious value is the massacre of Jews. Through the Arabs hate, an entire generation has lost the capacity for humanity.
Name the last time Israelis intentionally killed Palestinian children, and then rejoiced over or justified it in the name of religion?
The facts are that two years ago Israel offered the Palestinians a sovereign state in the West Bank and Gaza, with Jerusalem as its capital. The response has been the continued murder of Israeli civilians. As a Palestinian organization confirmed in a poll reported last week by the AP, a majority of Palestians view the objective of their fight not to control the West Bank and Gaza, but destruction of Israel. This is what the Palestinians want.
Hamas leader Sheikh Ahmad Yassin says, that the date of the establishment of the Islamist state in Palestine, will be built on the ruins of Israel in 2027.
On the same day in 1993 on which Yasser Arafat signed the Declaration of
Principles on the White House lawn, he spoke the following words on Jordan TV:
"Since we cannot defeat Israel in war we do this in stages. We take any and every territory that we can of Palestine, and establish a sovereignty there, and we use it as a springboard to take more. When the time comes, we can get the Arab nations to join us for the final blow against Israel."
Arafat's speech in Sweden in 1996.
Arafat’s speech in front of 40 Arab diplomats in the Grand Hotel in Stockholm, Sweden, on January 30, 1996. Was called "The Impending Collapse of Israel".
"We will take over everything including all of Jerusalem," he declared repeatedly. Arafat's plan has two main components aimed to cause the Jews to abandon Israel. "Within five years we will have six to seven million Arabs living on the West Bank and in Jerusalem. Arafat explained that this will be the beginning of a pressure campaign resulting within a few years in Israel's ultimate destruction. "You understand that we plan to eliminate the State of Israel and establish a purely Palestinian State. We will make life unbearable for Jews by psychological warfare and population explosion; Jews will not want to live among us Arabs!"
Israelis don't call for murdering children and women, the Arabs do.
Israelis don't strap bombs to themselves, to murder women and defenseless civilians. The Arabs do.
Israel dont tell its people, that if you kill Arabs, you will go to heaven and be with 72 virgins. The Arabs do.
Only the Pal Arabs consider a violent uprising that solely involves killing children in a mall, bus or disco and then celebrate afterwards.
The way Arabs think. The way to get honor and respect, is when you blow yourself up along with some innocent Jewish mothers and babies, your picture will be plastered on posters throughout your hometown. Your family will acquire a revered place in society and will also receive $25,000 in American currency from Saddam Hussein. You, meanwhile, will get to fulfill all of your wildest and repressed sexual fantasies with 72 virgins in heaven.
Your concern should be, why dont the Palestinians care there own children.
Seeing the reaction of the Palestinian families after their son/daughter, becomes a suicide bomber and murders Israeli civilians. I wonder, when these children are born, or if the parents are looking into some maternity ward in a West Bank hospital, what are they thinking.
"Oh look at all the beautiful little bombs!" "Is that one yours? What a cute little bomb, she has your eyes,"
"I'll bet you'll be able to wrap a lot of explosives around him when he's older"
The shocking pic of the 2 month old Palestinian baby dressed as a suicide bomber, has shown the sadism the Arabs teach there children.
Arafat has raised an entire generation to believe that the highest aspiration in life is to kill Jews. The Palestinians are engaged in an unremitting campaign of targetted murder of women and children. When the Palestinians massacre Israeli school children on buses, and babies in baby carriages, they celebrate. They have raised an entire generation to believe that the the highest cultural and religious value is the massacre of Jews. Through the Arabs hate, an entire generation has lost the capacity for humanity.
Name the last time Israelis intentionally killed Palestinian children, and then rejoiced over or justified it in the name of religion?
The facts are that two years ago Israel offered the Palestinians a sovereign state in the West Bank and Gaza, with Jerusalem as its capital. The response has been the continued murder of Israeli civilians. As a Palestinian organization confirmed in a poll reported last week by the AP, a majority of Palestians view the objective of their fight not to control the West Bank and Gaza, but destruction of Israel. This is what the Palestinians want.
Hamas leader Sheikh Ahmad Yassin says, that the date of the establishment of the Islamist state in Palestine, will be built on the ruins of Israel in 2027.
On the same day in 1993 on which Yasser Arafat signed the Declaration of
Principles on the White House lawn, he spoke the following words on Jordan TV:
"Since we cannot defeat Israel in war we do this in stages. We take any and every territory that we can of Palestine, and establish a sovereignty there, and we use it as a springboard to take more. When the time comes, we can get the Arab nations to join us for the final blow against Israel."
Arafat's speech in Sweden in 1996.
Arafat’s speech in front of 40 Arab diplomats in the Grand Hotel in Stockholm, Sweden, on January 30, 1996. Was called "The Impending Collapse of Israel".
"We will take over everything including all of Jerusalem," he declared repeatedly. Arafat's plan has two main components aimed to cause the Jews to abandon Israel. "Within five years we will have six to seven million Arabs living on the West Bank and in Jerusalem. Arafat explained that this will be the beginning of a pressure campaign resulting within a few years in Israel's ultimate destruction. "You understand that we plan to eliminate the State of Israel and establish a purely Palestinian State. We will make life unbearable for Jews by psychological warfare and population explosion; Jews will not want to live among us Arabs!"
I find it disturbing that the pro-Israeli Zionists are willing to use such tactics to try to blacken posts by people with whom they disagree. It seems they go into hysterics and use propaganda to try to make themselves look like the victims.
Just for the record, I oppose anti-Semitism because it defames all Jews. It is no different than hating all Arabs for the actions of a few or hating all Americans for the actions of the US government. There are a great many honorable Jews like Noam Chomsky, Alfred Lilienthal, Lenni Brenner, Mark Bruzonsky, Norman Finkelstein, and Israel Shahak who do a great deal to counter the image of the terrorist leaders of Israel like Ariel Sharon, Menachem Begin, and Yitzhak Shamir.
===
Hi Jim,
I've seen this happen to many people on Indymedia. Note, I will not use a name in my post here, just so that it will not be 'smeared' by malicious idiots who read this. I suspect these people have been nurtured by Betar and are passionate Likudniks, if not worse.
Just for the record, I oppose anti-Semitism because it defames all Jews. It is no different than hating all Arabs for the actions of a few or hating all Americans for the actions of the US government. There are a great many honorable Jews like Noam Chomsky, Alfred Lilienthal, Lenni Brenner, Mark Bruzonsky, Norman Finkelstein, and Israel Shahak who do a great deal to counter the image of the terrorist leaders of Israel like Ariel Sharon, Menachem Begin, and Yitzhak Shamir.
===
Hi Jim,
I've seen this happen to many people on Indymedia. Note, I will not use a name in my post here, just so that it will not be 'smeared' by malicious idiots who read this. I suspect these people have been nurtured by Betar and are passionate Likudniks, if not worse.
The Arab Media's Portrayal of Jews
Posted: February 7, 2006
The extreme reaction to the publication of caricatures of the Prophet Mohammed in the European press has led to death threats, rioting and targeting of Danish and other European embassies and institutions throughout the Muslim world.
At the same time, some Muslim and Arab newspapers and Web sites have ratcheted up their publication of cartoons with virulently anti-Semitic and anti-Israel themes:
The Web site of the Arab-European League has published several stridently anti-Jewish cartoons – including one showing the Holocaust diarist Anne Frank in bed with Hitler – supposedly in an attempt to show Europeans what can happen when the freedom of the press in their societies is taken too far.
A newspaper in Bahrain printed a cartoon with Danish cheese shaped like a Star of David in an attempt to blame the controversy on a so-called "Zionist penetration" in Denmark.
The Hamshahri newspaper, a large circulation daily in Tehran, announced a deliberately inflammatory contest to find and publish the 12 "best" cartoons about the Holocaust.
Anti-Semitism in the Muslim and Arab press is hardly a new phenomenon. In newspapers throughout the Muslim and Arab world, Jews are routinely depicted in editorial cartoons as controlling, manipulative killers who are working to undermine the Islamic world and to kill Arabs. The caricatures show Jews as Nazi-like, hooked nosed and clad in stereotypical black hats and beards.
http://www.adl.org/main_Arab_World/arab_media_portrayal_jews.htm
Anti-Semitism is widespread throughout the Arab and Muslim world, manifested in many segments of society. The following report is a compilation of selected anti-Semitic expressions in the Arab and Muslim world in July-August 2005.
Al-Ittihad, August 5, 2005 (UAE)
Israel is feeding the "terror"
The 15th of August marked an historical step in the history of the State of Israel, as Israel withdrew from the Gaza Strip and the North of Samaria and removed its settlements from those areas. The operation was widely covered in the Arab press, through articles and cartoons. The operation reopened the debate about the fence and the peace process. The Arab media continued to condemn the fence, as it carefully published articles hinting on the opportunity to advance the peace process. It is worth noting Egypt's Al-Ahram, which exceptionally published an article by Israeli Ambassador, Shalom Cohen, entitled: "The Disengagement from Gaza – an Historical Opportunity to Push the Peace Process". The Ambassador is explaining that the decision to withdraw from Gaza was difficult, but Israel was ready to take risks in order to achieve peace. The fact that Al-Ahram published an article by a senior Israeli diplomat, the first time since the establishment of relationships between Israel and Egypt, in addition to the decrease of quantity and quality of anti-Semitic expressions in the Egyptian media. Talking about the change in the Egyptian media, we have to recall that Egypt is busy with internal issues such as the upcoming elections and the terror attacks in Sinai. Thus, incitement is marginal in relation to other issues. We hope that any change in the circumstances will not change the improved attitude in the Egyptian media.
All material in this compilation was translated by ADL from the original Arabic or is otherwise from English language sources in the Middle East.
http://www.adl.org/main_Arab_World/asam_july_aug_intro_2005.htm
Sheik Yusuf al-Qaradawi: Theologian of Terror Introduction
Posted: August 1, 2005
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Introduction
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In His Own Words
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Book Excerpt
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Affiliations
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sheik Yusuf al-Qaradawi is often referred to as the most influential contemporary Sunni scholar. His fatwas (legal opinions) regarding democracy, women's participation in politics, music and other social issues are considered relatively progressive and he has condemned the 9/11 attacks. Many Muslims and some Western scholars argue that he is a moderate who represents a credible alternative to the radical Islam associated with Al Qaeda.
Even while he condemns the murder of civilians in the abstract, however, Qaradawi is also a radical supporter of terrorism. He has called for targeting American forces and civilians in Iraq, and provided religious justification for the use of suicide bombers against Israeli civilians. His fatwa authorizing the use of women in suicide attacks – an ironic reflection of his "advanced" conception of women's capabilities – provided religious sanction for Hamas when it began enlisting female "martyrs."
Qaradawi's statements and affiliations demonstrate his conspiratorial anti-Semitism, his encouragement of terrorism, his efforts to undermine both a peaceful resolution of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and, more broadly, reform and democracy in the Middle East.
Qaradawi's endorsement of the assassination of American civilians in Iraq has drawn some criticism from within the Muslim world. For example, the general manager of the Dubai-based television news station Al-Arabiya sharply criticized Qaradawi in a widely cited May 2004 newspaper article.
"How could this Sheikh face the mother of the youthful Nick Berg, who was slaughtered in Iraq," the official asked. "How can we believe him when he tells us that Islam is the religion of mercy and peace while he is turning it into a religion of blood and slaughter?"
In September 2004, a United Arab Emirates paper, Al Ittihad, charged that the beheading in September 2004 of two American hostages in Iraq happened "in direct response to Qaradawi's fatwa and incitement which permits the killing of American civilians."
Qaradawi's long-time advocacy of violence led the U.S., in 1999, to ban him from entering the country.
* * *
Qaradawi (b. 1926) is an Egyptian; he graduated from Al Azhar University in Cairo and was arrested several times by government authorities between 1949 and 1961 because of his activity in the Muslim Brotherhood, an outlawed Islamist group. In 1961 he moved to Qatar, where he has resided since.
Qaradawi exercises his influence through a wide network of associations and his adept use of various media. He is the founder and dean of the Sharia (Islamic Law) College at Qatar University and chairman of the European Council for Fatwa and Research, an organization that seeks to become the official religious authority for European Muslims. His teachings are exported to Europe and North America through several organizations sympathetic to the Muslim Brotherhood.
The Internet and TV have been crucial to establishing his worldwide appeal. He was relatively quick to take advantage of the Web, launching a site in his name in 1997. He is also chairman of IslamOnline, a popular site supported by the government of Qatar, and he is a regular guest on Al Jazeera, the satellite TV network (also based in Qatar). His Friday sermons at the Umar bin al-Khattab mosque, a government-sponsored mosque in Doha, are regularly broadcast live on Qatar television.
Qaradawi's other activities have included serving as an advisor on Islamic law to several Gulf-based financial institutions. He advised – and was a major shareholder in – the Bahamas-based Al Taqwa Bank, which was designated a terrorist entity by the United States following 9/11. According to the U.S. treasury department, Al Taqwa was "financing and facilitating the activities of terrorists," including Hamas and Al Qaeda.
http://www.adl.org/main_Arab_World/al_Qaradawi_report_20041110.htm
ADL Calls for "Protocols" to be Stricken from Official Palestinian Authority Website
Update: "The Protocols of the Elders of Zion" was removed from the Palestinian site on May 18 after ADL spoke out.
_____________________________
Jerusalem, May 17, 2005...The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today called on Palestinian authorities to immediately remove an Arabic translation of the entire "Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion" from their official State Information Service Web site.
ADL's Israel Office issued the following statement:
The Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion is the classic in racist and paranoid literature and has been heralded by anti-Semites around the world as proof that the Jews are plotting to take over the world. While The Protocols have been thoroughly discredited the document is still being used to stir up anti-Semitic hatred especially throughout the Arab world.
It is simply unacceptable particularly at this time of confidence building toward a better future between Israelis and Palestinians for the official Palestinian Authority Web site to display this hoax, which continues to poison and frighten minds. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas should immediately have this document stricken from the Web site for which he is ultimately responsible and devote space to explaining the origins of this dastardly and dangerous piece.
The Anti-Defamation League, founded in 1913, is the world's leading organization fighting anti-Semitism through programs and services that counteract hatred, prejudice and bigotry.
http://www.adl.org/PresRele/IslME_62/4716_62.htm
Posted: February 7, 2006
The extreme reaction to the publication of caricatures of the Prophet Mohammed in the European press has led to death threats, rioting and targeting of Danish and other European embassies and institutions throughout the Muslim world.
At the same time, some Muslim and Arab newspapers and Web sites have ratcheted up their publication of cartoons with virulently anti-Semitic and anti-Israel themes:
The Web site of the Arab-European League has published several stridently anti-Jewish cartoons – including one showing the Holocaust diarist Anne Frank in bed with Hitler – supposedly in an attempt to show Europeans what can happen when the freedom of the press in their societies is taken too far.
A newspaper in Bahrain printed a cartoon with Danish cheese shaped like a Star of David in an attempt to blame the controversy on a so-called "Zionist penetration" in Denmark.
The Hamshahri newspaper, a large circulation daily in Tehran, announced a deliberately inflammatory contest to find and publish the 12 "best" cartoons about the Holocaust.
Anti-Semitism in the Muslim and Arab press is hardly a new phenomenon. In newspapers throughout the Muslim and Arab world, Jews are routinely depicted in editorial cartoons as controlling, manipulative killers who are working to undermine the Islamic world and to kill Arabs. The caricatures show Jews as Nazi-like, hooked nosed and clad in stereotypical black hats and beards.
http://www.adl.org/main_Arab_World/arab_media_portrayal_jews.htm
Anti-Semitism is widespread throughout the Arab and Muslim world, manifested in many segments of society. The following report is a compilation of selected anti-Semitic expressions in the Arab and Muslim world in July-August 2005.
Al-Ittihad, August 5, 2005 (UAE)
Israel is feeding the "terror"
The 15th of August marked an historical step in the history of the State of Israel, as Israel withdrew from the Gaza Strip and the North of Samaria and removed its settlements from those areas. The operation was widely covered in the Arab press, through articles and cartoons. The operation reopened the debate about the fence and the peace process. The Arab media continued to condemn the fence, as it carefully published articles hinting on the opportunity to advance the peace process. It is worth noting Egypt's Al-Ahram, which exceptionally published an article by Israeli Ambassador, Shalom Cohen, entitled: "The Disengagement from Gaza – an Historical Opportunity to Push the Peace Process". The Ambassador is explaining that the decision to withdraw from Gaza was difficult, but Israel was ready to take risks in order to achieve peace. The fact that Al-Ahram published an article by a senior Israeli diplomat, the first time since the establishment of relationships between Israel and Egypt, in addition to the decrease of quantity and quality of anti-Semitic expressions in the Egyptian media. Talking about the change in the Egyptian media, we have to recall that Egypt is busy with internal issues such as the upcoming elections and the terror attacks in Sinai. Thus, incitement is marginal in relation to other issues. We hope that any change in the circumstances will not change the improved attitude in the Egyptian media.
All material in this compilation was translated by ADL from the original Arabic or is otherwise from English language sources in the Middle East.
http://www.adl.org/main_Arab_World/asam_july_aug_intro_2005.htm
Sheik Yusuf al-Qaradawi: Theologian of Terror Introduction
Posted: August 1, 2005
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Introduction
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In His Own Words
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Book Excerpt
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Affiliations
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sheik Yusuf al-Qaradawi is often referred to as the most influential contemporary Sunni scholar. His fatwas (legal opinions) regarding democracy, women's participation in politics, music and other social issues are considered relatively progressive and he has condemned the 9/11 attacks. Many Muslims and some Western scholars argue that he is a moderate who represents a credible alternative to the radical Islam associated with Al Qaeda.
Even while he condemns the murder of civilians in the abstract, however, Qaradawi is also a radical supporter of terrorism. He has called for targeting American forces and civilians in Iraq, and provided religious justification for the use of suicide bombers against Israeli civilians. His fatwa authorizing the use of women in suicide attacks – an ironic reflection of his "advanced" conception of women's capabilities – provided religious sanction for Hamas when it began enlisting female "martyrs."
Qaradawi's statements and affiliations demonstrate his conspiratorial anti-Semitism, his encouragement of terrorism, his efforts to undermine both a peaceful resolution of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and, more broadly, reform and democracy in the Middle East.
Qaradawi's endorsement of the assassination of American civilians in Iraq has drawn some criticism from within the Muslim world. For example, the general manager of the Dubai-based television news station Al-Arabiya sharply criticized Qaradawi in a widely cited May 2004 newspaper article.
"How could this Sheikh face the mother of the youthful Nick Berg, who was slaughtered in Iraq," the official asked. "How can we believe him when he tells us that Islam is the religion of mercy and peace while he is turning it into a religion of blood and slaughter?"
In September 2004, a United Arab Emirates paper, Al Ittihad, charged that the beheading in September 2004 of two American hostages in Iraq happened "in direct response to Qaradawi's fatwa and incitement which permits the killing of American civilians."
Qaradawi's long-time advocacy of violence led the U.S., in 1999, to ban him from entering the country.
* * *
Qaradawi (b. 1926) is an Egyptian; he graduated from Al Azhar University in Cairo and was arrested several times by government authorities between 1949 and 1961 because of his activity in the Muslim Brotherhood, an outlawed Islamist group. In 1961 he moved to Qatar, where he has resided since.
Qaradawi exercises his influence through a wide network of associations and his adept use of various media. He is the founder and dean of the Sharia (Islamic Law) College at Qatar University and chairman of the European Council for Fatwa and Research, an organization that seeks to become the official religious authority for European Muslims. His teachings are exported to Europe and North America through several organizations sympathetic to the Muslim Brotherhood.
The Internet and TV have been crucial to establishing his worldwide appeal. He was relatively quick to take advantage of the Web, launching a site in his name in 1997. He is also chairman of IslamOnline, a popular site supported by the government of Qatar, and he is a regular guest on Al Jazeera, the satellite TV network (also based in Qatar). His Friday sermons at the Umar bin al-Khattab mosque, a government-sponsored mosque in Doha, are regularly broadcast live on Qatar television.
Qaradawi's other activities have included serving as an advisor on Islamic law to several Gulf-based financial institutions. He advised – and was a major shareholder in – the Bahamas-based Al Taqwa Bank, which was designated a terrorist entity by the United States following 9/11. According to the U.S. treasury department, Al Taqwa was "financing and facilitating the activities of terrorists," including Hamas and Al Qaeda.
http://www.adl.org/main_Arab_World/al_Qaradawi_report_20041110.htm
ADL Calls for "Protocols" to be Stricken from Official Palestinian Authority Website
Update: "The Protocols of the Elders of Zion" was removed from the Palestinian site on May 18 after ADL spoke out.
_____________________________
Jerusalem, May 17, 2005...The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today called on Palestinian authorities to immediately remove an Arabic translation of the entire "Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion" from their official State Information Service Web site.
ADL's Israel Office issued the following statement:
The Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion is the classic in racist and paranoid literature and has been heralded by anti-Semites around the world as proof that the Jews are plotting to take over the world. While The Protocols have been thoroughly discredited the document is still being used to stir up anti-Semitic hatred especially throughout the Arab world.
It is simply unacceptable particularly at this time of confidence building toward a better future between Israelis and Palestinians for the official Palestinian Authority Web site to display this hoax, which continues to poison and frighten minds. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas should immediately have this document stricken from the Web site for which he is ultimately responsible and devote space to explaining the origins of this dastardly and dangerous piece.
The Anti-Defamation League, founded in 1913, is the world's leading organization fighting anti-Semitism through programs and services that counteract hatred, prejudice and bigotry.
http://www.adl.org/PresRele/IslME_62/4716_62.htm
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