e

e-Letter 202: Virgins (still) on his mind

This was a week when Lybia sent out signals (later denied) that it is interested in establishing peace with Israel and so did Syria (of course under their own "conditions") but a couple of vignettes from a visit to Israel last week would serve as better openers: First, a group - comprised of Israelis and supporters from the "International Solidarity Movement" - identifying itself as "anarchists" has sabotaged a gate in the security fence. During the event one of the "anarchists" was shot in the leg resulting in a PR brouhaha for Israel ("Debate on barrier flares after Israeli in protest is shot," Greg Myre NYT, International Herald Tribune, December 29, 2003; and "Collateral Damage: The Army's rules of engagement come under fire after an Israeli protester is shot at the new security fence," Matt Rees, Time, January 12, 2004).

This story you can read in Time Magazine and in a sense it symbolized the bankruptcy of the "demonstrators" who care more about selective morality than about people being killed by terrorists but it also symbolizes the dilemmas and challenges a democracy has in coping with a threat against it. Second is a story you are not likely to read in Time: In an Israeli radio program to help a terminally ill patient obtain a needed - but expensive - operation, a caller who lost her husband a year earlier - and is currently unemployed - made a generous donation. This touching gesture as well as the influx of massive aid to the victims of the devastating Iranian earthquake prove there may be hope for humanity after all.

A related vignette was the Iranian refusal of Israeli help following a earthquake that killed tens of thousands, injured scores of others and destroyed a whole city. Iran even accepted help from the US (although it would not go as far as having a diplomatic delegation). So Iran would rather have Muslims die than be saved by Israelis. But to understand the Israeli humanitarian offer to Iran (which already threatened Israel with annihilation) is as if the US would have offered aid to Nazi Germany, to Imperial Japan during WWII or to OBL now and the US is not under an existential threat ("Iran clarifies the Middle East," Dennis Prager, TownHall.com, December 30, 2003). But one should not be surprised about Iran. It is now after French blood which - ironically - could be the best remedy to straighten the French out ("Tehran worshipers cry 'Death to France!' over head scarves," Agence France-Presse, International Herald Tribune, January 3, 2004).

The increasingly growing and alarming expressions of antisemitism also give room for some to take a strong stand against it. It is "natural" for Jews and Israelis to be concerned about antisemitism although one is continually baffled by how some Jews try to build a "Case for Israel" (such as A. Dershowitz) while too many others in Israel and abroad are busy building a case against Israel (particularly many in academic circles). It is therefore doubly encouraging to see non-Jews - such as Spain's Pilar Rahola - take a strong stand and write a book "In Favor of Israel" to somehow try to equalize the barrage of Israel-bashing ("The Euro-Socialists' Judeophobia," Marc Tobiass, Front Page Magazine.com, December 30, 2003).

The Palestinians are laughing al the way to the bank about how successful they are in manipulating naive Israelis and westerners. In the meantime they are busy in two fronts in their relentless war against Israel: On one hand they continue to spew their venomous propaganda. Then they also continue to purposefully confuse everyone (including themselves) with facts. On one hand they make it appear as if they are seeking peace via a backdoor in Geneva and then fully admit it is a ploy and they retract from its most important element - namely their "giving up" of what they claim to be "their right of return" ("Increased Palestinian Adherence to Right of Return Following the Geneva Initiative," MEMRI, Special Dispatch - Palestinian Authority/Arab-Israeli Conflict, December 26, 2003, No. 634).

It is therefore valuable to examine the sharp criticism raised against the Geneva initiative by an Israeli intellectual and former official who is identified as left of center. Professor Avineri criticizes both the procedure that culminated in the Geneva signatures but mostly he aims his darts at the content which he defines as nothing short of a "fatally flawed" proposal ("Fatally Flawed Peace Proposal: The Geneva proposal fails to commit Palestinians to accepting Israel as a state, or to giving up the right of return," Shlomo Avineri, The Los Angeles Times, January 4, 2004).

Indeed, the Palestinian shenanigans go on unabated. Earlier this week their Prime-Minister-on-duty threatened that the Palestinians will declare "their" state unilaterally (in response to Israel's threats of taking unilateral actions if terror is not stopped). The American administration nipped this one in the bud because it simply contradicts the principles of the roadmap ("US set on two-state solution," Janine Zacharia, Jerusalem Post, Jan. 11, 2004; for a full text of the Secretary of State Powell interview and comments from January 8 go to: Secretary Powell's Press Conference).

But this is of little consolation for Israel or even for the US. This move by Powell might be best interpreted as giving some crumbs to those who rightfully complaining about Palestinian intransigence and the catering to extracurricular processes such as the Geneva initiative (Jimmy Carter has yet to apologize for his post-Geneva statement regarding the "final solution"). Indeed, those described as hawks in Washington are also justifiably concerned about the joyous overtures the State Department is showing towards Iran (to reward it for agreeing to receive American aid for its earthquake disaster), North Korea (which did receive an American delegation but is still far from inhibiting its nuclear threats), Syria (for allowing transport planes to Iran while ignoring the Iranian and indeed the Syrian support of terrorism) and Lybia (which seems to pay its way back to civilization by offering remuneration for lives lost in plane disasters it carried out and by promising to disarm its nuclear weapons - but being still far from delivering on the promise).

It is therefore worth noting the formula for winning the war on terror by not giving up the will to fight and by declaring clearly defined targets not only as terror-performing and terror-supporting entities (namely Islamic and Arab nations) but also identifying those entities that are becoming an increasing threat to the US such as France and Saudi Arabia - long considered "allies" ("Hawks tell Bush how to win war on terror," David Rennie, The Daily Telegraph, 31/12/2003).

Syria has indeed been in the Mideast and international press lately with "overture" to the US and even to Israel. But a Syrian Communist Party official reports of major discrepancies between what the Syrian leader tells foreigners and what he shares with his own people. The Syrian version is hiding the parts on the opposition and corruption mentioned in the American version ("Assad Tampers with New York Times Interview: One Message to Americans, Another to Syrians," MEMRI, Special Dispatch - Syria/Reform in the Arab & Muslim World, January 7, 2004, No. 638).

A Lebanese source reveals that Syria's Assad seems to not only doctor his American and Syrian versions of the same interview but to also hide Saddam's WMDs that the US has so fervently been seeking, apparently in the wrong place ("A senior Syrian journalist reports Iraq's WMD located in three Syrian sites," AFP, 06 January, 2004). Against this backdrop it appears that Assad may have understood he is in trouble with the US although at this point he seems to be so deeply involved that there is little he can do to change the known facts about him or the image of his regime.

After 9-11-2001 we have learned that the US is no longer immune to vicious terror acts. But what we are yet to learn is the backdrop against which such terror acts mushroom (pun intended). Constantly anticipating the next physical blow we tend to suppress, or simply ignore, news about terror-supporting activities such as propaganda and conferences that take place on western and particularly American grounds. It is important to note the active participation of key agitators who under the guise of "mainstream" Islamic organizations preach support for suicide bombers, for terrorist organizations, and seek "global victory" (Islam in America, Part 1; "WND goes inside 'mainstream' Muslim conference: Extremist leaders who support terror stir up crowd at Florida event," Sherrie Gossett, WorldNet Daily, January 3, 2004).

And by no means is this gathering an innocent expression of civil opinions. In addition to exposing the true beliefs of the extremists behind the American-based Islamic movement there is indication that American-raised money finds its way to the Mideast to actively support terror activities (Islam in America, Part 2; "How U.S. extremists fund terror: Money trail linked to Muslim conference circuit leads to Mideast," Sherrie Gossett, WorldNet Daily, January 5, 2004). And that same extremism targets its way to neighboring Canada ("Muslim confab invited anti-Semitic cleric: Toronto event advertised presence of controversial Saudi sheikh," Sherrie Gossett, January 7, 2004, WorldNet Daily.com).

Arab and Muslim advocacy groups brought together by a conference initiated by the US-base Brookings Institute continue to complain about the special relationship between the US and Israel like a baby who wants to take a toy away from another baby. The Arabs/Muslims want the US to shed its support of Israel demanding their "rights" be stressing Israel has none ("Israel at center of annual U.S.-Muslim forum: Washington criticized for strategic relationship," CNN, January 10, 2004).

Regrettably, this pathetic - yet very real and dangerous - position attests to the fact that Arabs feel they can make progress only by the elimination of Israel. It is as if their very own "existence" depends on the demise of Israel. And what will they do if Israel is indeed eliminated? Would that also eliminate, the corruption, backwardness, lack of productivity, and the various other maladies that are so sadly associated with current Arab existence? Of course not.

If these activities will not be heeded they will clearly lead to more terror acts the same way the Palestinian propaganda machine oils its terror agenda. They again promote the notion that many virgins await the one who kills many while "sacrificing" himself in the process ("The 72 "Dark Eyed" Maidens as rewards for Shahids, taught again in PA media," Itamar Marcus, Palestinian Media Watch, 7, 2004; View "Maidens of Paradise"). The Palestinians do not shy away from blood libels and their latest is blaming the Israelis for terror acts against Jewish targets that are known to have been carried out by Arabs or Muslims ("PA Editor: Israel attacked Paris synagogue to encourage French Jews to come to Israel," Itamar Marcus, Palestinian Media Watch Bulletin, January 11, 2004).

Indeed a 3-year survey that a media watch group has conducted provides ample evidence of the cumulative destructive effect of such institutionalized preaching of hate and death. It is particularly noteworthy that the preachers are paid employee of the Palestinian Authority; the sermons are broadcast live every Friday at noon from mosques under control of the PA and are shown on PA television. The themes of the sermons focus on calls for the destruction of the U.S., the perceived American Crusader war against Islam, honoring Shahids and the rewards of the martyrs, educating children to martyrdom, and antisemitism, including calls for the killing of Jews ("Palestinian Authority Sermons 2000-2003," Steven Stalinsky, MEMRI, Special Report - PA, December 28, 2003, No. 24).

So while the US is raising and then lowering its terror alert level and Israel is facing challenges with without and within, the terrorists continue to plot, and they have a strong support base in many corners of the world as well as bases in the western world. It is imperative to understand that terrorism cannot just be wished away and that being "nice" is going to make little difference in whether we become a target or not. This is a battle that has to be fought on moral, ideological, political, and military fronts and necessarily by "winning the hearts and minds" of the enemy. Sometime "explaining realities" rather than trying to charm the enemy could be far more effective.

To view previous e-Letters:

"On Morality and Humiliation" (e-Letter #201)

"Caught like a rat" (e-Letter #200)

"Wannsee, Oslo, Geneva" (e-Letter #199)

"Do not show a fool a job half-done" (e-Letter #198)

"Mirror mirror on the wall: who is the wickedest mayor of them all?" (e-Letter #197)

"Butt out Jimmy! Help around the house Tom!" (e-Letter #196)

"Per-diem for relatives of a "humiliated" terrorist" (e-Letter #195)

"The greatest threat to world peace" (e-Letter #194)

"Rulers of the world means candidates for extinction" (e-Letter #193)

"Have you driven a Ford lately?" (e-Letter #192)

"And the wolf cried: the sheep attacked me" (e-Letter #191)

"Saturday (lunch massacre) at Maxim's" (e-Letter #190)

"The "I do not do windows" Approach to Fighting Terrorism" (e-Letter#189)

"Would the French recognize their enemy or become one?" (e-Letter #188)

"A fence built, an expulsion that wasn't, and a 2-year old 9-11" (e-Letter #187)

"Terrorism delenda est! (With Thanks to Senator Cato)" (e-Letter #186)

"Consuming hate - exporting terror" (e-Letter #185)

"Human Weapons: Terrorism Also Numbs the Senses" (e-letter #184)

"The sui-genocide bomber" (e-Letter #183)

"Terrorists Do Not Apologize" (e-Letter #182)

"The Terrorist as a Ventriloquist (No Offense to the Latter)" (e-letter #181)

    "When 'peace' means war" (e-Letter #180)

     "Old news we should pay attention to" (e-Letter #179)

       "The poor bully and the unwilling victim" (e-Letter #178)

"Terror and the rhetoric of peace" (e-Letter #177)

"To catch a terrorist" (e-Letter #176)

"Spilling blood and ink" (e-Letter #175)

"The language Laundromat at work: Troubled ally or troubling "ally" (e-Letter #174)

"The piranha bully: The 'right' to lie and murder" (e-Letter #173)

"Terrorists are being rewarded yet again" (e-Letter #172)

"The road not to be taken (with thanks to Robert Frost)" (e-Letter #171)

"News reports do not necessarily reflect reality" (e-Letter #170)

"Golf Wars" (e-Letter #169)

"1001 Baghdad tales" (e-Letter #168)

"Taxi wars" (e-Letter #167)

"It was calm at first, everyone thought it was part of the act" (e-Letter #162)

"The terrorist as a killer and destroyer" (e-Letter #160)

e-Letters on the web

Additional e-Letters and articles:

"Everyone is a critic"

* * *

* Text of the e-Letter includes hyperlinks to the source articles (where available).

* Your feedback, comments, suggestions, and your referral of additional sources are appreciated. For news sources on the web please provide complete and precise addresses (URL).

* This e-Letter has been sent for the use of the intended recipients. The message may contain information that is privileged or confidential.

* As a recipient of this e-Letter you have permission to distribute it.

* Should you wish to be taken off this mailing list please indicate so in a return e-mail.

* * *