The real history between Israelis and Arabs isn’t about land or religion, but about pride, culture, and a civilization struggling to face its own reflection in the Jewish state.
This is such a good essay. No disaster can be blamed on one person or event, but there are a few candidates responsible for the catastrophe of antisemitic Arabization of Islam. Haj Amin Al Husseini, the mufti of Jerusalem and pal of Hitler and early leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, broadcast Nazi propaganda throughout the Arab world during World War II. Yuri Andropov, the paranoid Jew hating head of the KGB, exported thousands of professionals to the Arab world with pamphlets of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion. Propaganda is effective .
The writings of the Muslim Brotherhood, by Qtub are in Arabic, but were translated by supreme leader Khameini into Persian. Khomeini tried to import the intense Jew hatred of the Muslim Brotherhood into Iran, but it didn’t take in quite the same way. Without the decades of propaganda, the ground was not as fertile. Only the leadership adheres. Wherever the Muslim Brotherhood goes, they bring chaos, violence, and hatred. They (specially founder Hassan al Banna) are source of Jihad, becoming popularized as a violent rather than spiritual struggle.
We need to rid the West of the Muslim Brotherhood if we do not want to go down the same path. That’s why it was devastating to see Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney celebrate Eid at the Muslim brotherhood linked Muslim Association of Canada.
Excellent explanation of the Arabization of Islam and its relationship to the Jewish state. What is concerning to me is the Arabization of Islam in the Western countries, Europe, Australia, Canada, and it is beginning to take hold in the US. Specifically, the cozy relationship Qatar is now nurturing with the US. Its tentacles stretching out further and further, getting involved with our Defense department. I hope you will address this issue which I'm sure will be insightful, informative, and mind opening.
I'm literally sitting here trying to think of what to write. This is perhaps the best essay I've ever read about Israel and the Middle East, politics, history. I consume a lot of information. Just outstanding writing, Nachum.
I agree with many of the commentators that this is the most succinct and cogent explanation of Arab/Muslim attitudes towards Jews and Israel. I encourage the author to publish it widely, on social media and in pamphlets dropped onto college campuses.
Thaaaank youuu! I’ve been waiting for someone to unpack the cultural history behind the Jew-hatred. To borrow the only term relevant to this story from the American paradigm: Arabs cannot tolerate “uppity” Jews. Now if only we, in the West, could pry the simplistic binary lens of “colonizer-oppressed” off of the willingly useful idiots, there would be hope.
A very interesting analysis dividing the Muslim world into two parts, Arab and nonArab, identifying the Arab as the source of the problem and largely sanitizing the other. But Jews are tolerated only and considered second class at best in both parts. So Islam remains a problem for Jews, no matter whether it is practiced by an Arab or not.
This is a post worth reading twice and bookmarking. For those who know about the fox and the hedgehog, you will recognize that Nachum, here, is much more the latter than the former. The parts that don't fit as neatly, such as Asian Muslim antizionism or Persian antizionism after the revolution are cleverly explained by the very thesis they seem to oppose. It would be interesting to see perhaps in a debate or through written commentary, how well the thesis fares when it is exposed to sly foxes. At any rate, a thought provoking read.
Also I should clarify that I am not making a dispositional attribution about the author (who I don't know). I'm only claiming that his treatment of counterexamples is hedgehog-like (again, referring to Isaiah Berlin's usage of the term) in this situation.
Thanks for this piece. Totalitarianism and authoritarianism are the reasons the Arabs , indoctrinated to focus on an external enemy, rather than the oppression of their rulers, continue to hate Israel, Jews and Zionism. Leaders keep themselves safe. Whatever works for them, will continue. The moment leaders see an economic benefit in working peacefully with Israel, there will be less censorship, there will be Quran critical scholarship, and a halt to hateful indoctrination. Minds will change. Or else. If all fails, it will be a bloodbath: the Arab/ Muslim world and Israel.
BTW, Jews shouldn't describe " the Nakba" like that. The Nakba disaster was the Arab defeat in genociding Israel. That tribal primitive sense of honour, of desert millenarian bravado, a curse to a somewhat evolved humankind, was a narcissistic wound. This article explains it well.
The " Palestinian refugee" problem was created by the Arabs later and the labelling substituted. At the same time, as the misnomer " Nakba" ,Arab states expelled close to a million Jews, and the lie of an abnormal exodus of Arabs from the former " Palestine" , instead of a normal population exchange exacted by war, was created. All of it deliberate deception. We are so convinced of the righteousness of our cause that we failed to counteract the mendacity properly .
Whose " Nakba" was that?
Israel should probibit celebration/commemoration of this fraudulent " Nakba". From the get go this ruse was propaganda. It was left to fester and is now a plague that threatens the health of the West.
Also, the " obstinacy" term should not be applied either. It is the Arabs' derogatory denomination. Christianity claimed the same. The Jews were " obstinate " in their malicious narcissistic eyes only. Instead, the Jews were " faithful" to their God and morals, without being supremacist beasts as these " daughter" religions. The Jews were not missionaries intent in imposing their faith on others.
The Jews ' rejection of someone else's faith that claimed inheritance from Judaism constantly reminded those religions of their own lack of credibility and the weak foundations of their myths.
Well said. We can see remnants if Jewish dhimmitude, passivity, and obsequiousness in many areas of Jewish/Israeli life. The tikkun olam focus on solving the world's problems but virtually ignoring their own, the failure to institute the death penalty with mass murderers in Israeli prisons, who can later be used as bargaining chips in Israel's efforts to obtain hostages, the delusionally idealistic insistence on trading land for peace, maintained by the left, tolerating repeated barrages of missiles, knife attacks, bombings, shootings, car rammings, drones, etc., tacitly accepting the pay-for-slay initiative -- all symptoms of Jews' collective internalization of centuries of humiliation, victimization, and annihilation. Yes, Israel has made the desert bloom and has contributed untold advances in many life endeavors, but the centuries-old history of trauma and resultant PTSD render Jews less than effective in standing up to the lies and distortions, that chronically render Jews in general and Israelis in particular overwhelmed in the face of Islamist propaganda and demonization.
Exactly. We are a traumatized people. The interesting thing is then the conclusion that we communicate, as a people, in a " wireless" manner. We should learn to use that same capacity for healing in strength.
This is one of the most interesting essays I’ve ever read. I will need to reread it every day until I memorise the facts and arguments.
Also, it might bring me a little closer to reconciling my feelings regarding my son and his Berber (but French and atheist) girlfriend. However her pro Palestinian standpoint, irks me somewhat. To say the least. But thank you. X
This is such a good essay. No disaster can be blamed on one person or event, but there are a few candidates responsible for the catastrophe of antisemitic Arabization of Islam. Haj Amin Al Husseini, the mufti of Jerusalem and pal of Hitler and early leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, broadcast Nazi propaganda throughout the Arab world during World War II. Yuri Andropov, the paranoid Jew hating head of the KGB, exported thousands of professionals to the Arab world with pamphlets of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion. Propaganda is effective .
The writings of the Muslim Brotherhood, by Qtub are in Arabic, but were translated by supreme leader Khameini into Persian. Khomeini tried to import the intense Jew hatred of the Muslim Brotherhood into Iran, but it didn’t take in quite the same way. Without the decades of propaganda, the ground was not as fertile. Only the leadership adheres. Wherever the Muslim Brotherhood goes, they bring chaos, violence, and hatred. They (specially founder Hassan al Banna) are source of Jihad, becoming popularized as a violent rather than spiritual struggle.
We need to rid the West of the Muslim Brotherhood if we do not want to go down the same path. That’s why it was devastating to see Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney celebrate Eid at the Muslim brotherhood linked Muslim Association of Canada.
Where Muslims failed in the ME, they have succeeded in penetrating and influencing Western society, education, politics and media.
The ‘liberal west’ needs to be careful what it wishes for .. it may already be too late in a number of countries.
Excellent explanation of the Arabization of Islam and its relationship to the Jewish state. What is concerning to me is the Arabization of Islam in the Western countries, Europe, Australia, Canada, and it is beginning to take hold in the US. Specifically, the cozy relationship Qatar is now nurturing with the US. Its tentacles stretching out further and further, getting involved with our Defense department. I hope you will address this issue which I'm sure will be insightful, informative, and mind opening.
I'm literally sitting here trying to think of what to write. This is perhaps the best essay I've ever read about Israel and the Middle East, politics, history. I consume a lot of information. Just outstanding writing, Nachum.
One of the best explanations I have read. Thank you 🇮🇱🇮🇱🇮🇱
I agree with many of the commentators that this is the most succinct and cogent explanation of Arab/Muslim attitudes towards Jews and Israel. I encourage the author to publish it widely, on social media and in pamphlets dropped onto college campuses.
so so so true. Too bad most of the Western world doesn't understand this and still think it's about land.
Thaaaank youuu! I’ve been waiting for someone to unpack the cultural history behind the Jew-hatred. To borrow the only term relevant to this story from the American paradigm: Arabs cannot tolerate “uppity” Jews. Now if only we, in the West, could pry the simplistic binary lens of “colonizer-oppressed” off of the willingly useful idiots, there would be hope.
A very interesting analysis dividing the Muslim world into two parts, Arab and nonArab, identifying the Arab as the source of the problem and largely sanitizing the other. But Jews are tolerated only and considered second class at best in both parts. So Islam remains a problem for Jews, no matter whether it is practiced by an Arab or not.
@Nachum, and Future of Jewish, always a good read.
I believe Eritrea, a Muslim country has no interest in the palestinians, but I stand to be corrected.
This is a post worth reading twice and bookmarking. For those who know about the fox and the hedgehog, you will recognize that Nachum, here, is much more the latter than the former. The parts that don't fit as neatly, such as Asian Muslim antizionism or Persian antizionism after the revolution are cleverly explained by the very thesis they seem to oppose. It would be interesting to see perhaps in a debate or through written commentary, how well the thesis fares when it is exposed to sly foxes. At any rate, a thought provoking read.
Also I should clarify that I am not making a dispositional attribution about the author (who I don't know). I'm only claiming that his treatment of counterexamples is hedgehog-like (again, referring to Isaiah Berlin's usage of the term) in this situation.
Thanks for this piece. Totalitarianism and authoritarianism are the reasons the Arabs , indoctrinated to focus on an external enemy, rather than the oppression of their rulers, continue to hate Israel, Jews and Zionism. Leaders keep themselves safe. Whatever works for them, will continue. The moment leaders see an economic benefit in working peacefully with Israel, there will be less censorship, there will be Quran critical scholarship, and a halt to hateful indoctrination. Minds will change. Or else. If all fails, it will be a bloodbath: the Arab/ Muslim world and Israel.
BTW, Jews shouldn't describe " the Nakba" like that. The Nakba disaster was the Arab defeat in genociding Israel. That tribal primitive sense of honour, of desert millenarian bravado, a curse to a somewhat evolved humankind, was a narcissistic wound. This article explains it well.
The " Palestinian refugee" problem was created by the Arabs later and the labelling substituted. At the same time, as the misnomer " Nakba" ,Arab states expelled close to a million Jews, and the lie of an abnormal exodus of Arabs from the former " Palestine" , instead of a normal population exchange exacted by war, was created. All of it deliberate deception. We are so convinced of the righteousness of our cause that we failed to counteract the mendacity properly .
Whose " Nakba" was that?
Israel should probibit celebration/commemoration of this fraudulent " Nakba". From the get go this ruse was propaganda. It was left to fester and is now a plague that threatens the health of the West.
Also, the " obstinacy" term should not be applied either. It is the Arabs' derogatory denomination. Christianity claimed the same. The Jews were " obstinate " in their malicious narcissistic eyes only. Instead, the Jews were " faithful" to their God and morals, without being supremacist beasts as these " daughter" religions. The Jews were not missionaries intent in imposing their faith on others.
The Jews ' rejection of someone else's faith that claimed inheritance from Judaism constantly reminded those religions of their own lack of credibility and the weak foundations of their myths.
Well said. We can see remnants if Jewish dhimmitude, passivity, and obsequiousness in many areas of Jewish/Israeli life. The tikkun olam focus on solving the world's problems but virtually ignoring their own, the failure to institute the death penalty with mass murderers in Israeli prisons, who can later be used as bargaining chips in Israel's efforts to obtain hostages, the delusionally idealistic insistence on trading land for peace, maintained by the left, tolerating repeated barrages of missiles, knife attacks, bombings, shootings, car rammings, drones, etc., tacitly accepting the pay-for-slay initiative -- all symptoms of Jews' collective internalization of centuries of humiliation, victimization, and annihilation. Yes, Israel has made the desert bloom and has contributed untold advances in many life endeavors, but the centuries-old history of trauma and resultant PTSD render Jews less than effective in standing up to the lies and distortions, that chronically render Jews in general and Israelis in particular overwhelmed in the face of Islamist propaganda and demonization.
Exactly. We are a traumatized people. The interesting thing is then the conclusion that we communicate, as a people, in a " wireless" manner. We should learn to use that same capacity for healing in strength.
Arab or Muslim? To which philosophy will the security forces patrolling Gaza adhere?
An excellent summary- and to compliment it I suggest this amazing summary on the Muslim Brotherhood. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=PlPMcXEzZ3w
Thank you for explaining things. I live in NZ and we have many Indonesian Muslims but they are not the ones that appear at the weekly hate marches.
This is one of the most interesting essays I’ve ever read. I will need to reread it every day until I memorise the facts and arguments.
Also, it might bring me a little closer to reconciling my feelings regarding my son and his Berber (but French and atheist) girlfriend. However her pro Palestinian standpoint, irks me somewhat. To say the least. But thank you. X