Ever since Seraphic Secret was founded in May 2004, we have patiently explained the not-so-secret facts regarding the Middle East:
1. The Muslim-Israeli conflict has nothing to do with national boundaries.
2. Muslims consider the entire state of Israel an “occupied settlement.”
3. The only differences between Hamas and Fatah are tactical. Hamas want the genocide of the Jewish people now. Fatah are willing to wait a few years.
4. The core of the conflict is religious, not national. Islam makes no room for a Jewish state anywhere in the world, much less in the Middle East.
5. If the Muslims renounced violence there would be peace. If the Israelis renounced violence they would be annihilated.
The international left has a more, um, nuanced view of the conflict:
1. Everything is the fault of the Jews.
Well, finally, Hamas and Fatah have come out and publicly agreed that their goal is to go totally IslamoNazi and annihilate Israel.
What’s truly disgusting about this announcement is the free pass given by the Left and the mainstream media to these genocidal-yearning theocrats. Both Hamas and Fatah support ideologies—oppression of women, gays and religious minorities—which liberals/progressives should view with horror.
From Palestinian Media Watch:
A Palestinian Authority minister stated last month that the Palestinians should unite in order to focus on the destruction of Israel.
At an event with the participation of three PA ministers, Minister of Social Affairs Majida Al-Masri called for Palestinian unity and reconciliation between Fatah and Hamas in order “to turn to the struggle for the liberation of Palestine — all of Palestine.’”
Palestinian Media Watch has documented that when the Palestinian Authority uses the expression “all of Palestine,” they include all of Israel.
The following is the report on the event in the official PA daily:
“The women of Palestine marked March 8 with a central rally, attended by a group of released female prisoners from the various districts of the West Bank. Participating in the events were Minister for Women’s Affairs, Rabiha Dhiab; Minister of Prisoners’ Affairs, Issa Karake; Minister of Social Affairs, Majida Al-Masri… and representatives from the territories occupied in 1948 (e.g., Palestinian euphemism for “Israel”)…
Al-Masri sharply condemned the Israel Prison Services for its violations against the [hunger striking] prisoner Shalabi… We demand of everyone to push ahead with reconciliation [between Fatah and Hamas] and to end the state of division, so that we will be able to stand against the occupation, to halt its activities against our prisoners, and to turn to the struggle for the liberation of Palestine – all of Palestine.’”
[Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, March 9, 2012]
Speaking of Jew haters, do you have any comment on Joe Eszterhas’ letter to Mel Gibson concerning the Judas Maccabee script? If it doesn’t make business sense to comment directly, what is your personal opinion on Eszterhas? Do you think Gibson will ever make the movie?
Baruchgershom:
Sorry, I have no idea what’s going on, thus no comment. But this is pretty standard Hollywood mishigas.
Here’s a link to Joe’s letter. http://www.thewrap.com/movies/article/joe-eszterhas-letter-mel-gibson-36949 If this is standard Hollywood mishigas, I’m glad I live and work in Washington, D.C., instead.
Estherhaz’s letter sounds pretty nuts, but if even a quarter of it is true, Gibson should be committed.
This is impossible. I distinctly remember back after the Oslo agreement hearing a report on NPR stating Fatah had recognized the right of Israel to exist. I’ve been trying to avoid NPR for the last 15 years but I’m sure if they were wrong they would have admitted it. It’s not like anyone living off the government teat would slant the news to assist a left wing agenda.
Lets keep ignoring the reality in front of our eyes and keep believing that radical Islamists are a tiny minority and we just have to sing kumbaya to be friends with all those moderates. Of course a moderate muslim is one living in the 12th century instead of the 8th.
Johnny:
I also hold Israel accountable for negotiating with Fatah. They should be treated like the terrorists they are.
Johnny: I have two or three thoughts in response. First, it doesn’t matter whether extremists in the PA are a majority or a minority. Any political party — even in the US — can have its instinctively moderate leaders cowed by a small, but highly vocal and organized extremist wing (right or left). Indeed, that has happened in the US resultiing in both parties giving in to the demands of their most dogmatic minorities with the result that compromise is impossible. In fact, compromise will result in punishment. In the US, “punishment” is merely at the polls where low voting turnouts can favor minority wings who get out the vote for primaries. But in Arab countries, the appearance of compromise can be a death sentence to the leader who considers it. Example #1: Anwar Sadat. <P>
Second, there are moderates among Palestinian leaders. Hanan Ashrawi, the PA spokesperson during Oslo, was one. Have you heard much from her lately, though? I believe that she was one who wrongly believed that Oslo, and the 2000 Camp David talks, would succeed. The problem with her logic was that Arafat had never prepared the Palestinian population for compromise and if he was sincere (which I doubt) he couldn’t have gotten away with a peace treaty that had any meaning. See point 1. I don’t think he was sincere for another reason — being at war continuosly was both financially lucrative for Arafat and politically expedient. A war footing conveniently explains shortages of supply and high prices, and since Arafat controlled supply, he benefited from the high prices and artificially higher prices from market manipulation. Also, since the population was dependent upon him for food and services, he owned their support. Take away the war with Israel as a political issue, though, Arafat would have lost the big issue that put him into power and be stuck having to actually provide services governments are supposed to.<P>
Finally, regarding NPR. Linda Gradstein was NPR’s reporter in Israel. I know Linda. She is, no surprise, liberal. Her husband, Cliff, however, is decidedly not. They’re an interesting couple. Ashrawi was a guest at their wedding — as were leaders from Israel. So, I would consider Ashrawi to be the source for Linda’s overly optimistic reporting during Oslo. But, at the time, we all WANTED to believe that the Arabs might, just once, be sincere. Given the moment in time, I understand. BTW, during Intifada II, Linda’s then young daughter expressed her opinion to a foreign reporter regarding what to do about the “situation.” She said, “throw them all out.” Linda, of course, was horrified. Cliff never admitted any responsibility so Linda blames it on her daughter’s school teachers.
But, at the time, we all WANTED to believe that the Arabs might, just once, be sincere.
Speak for yourself. Plenty of us knew they weren’t. Wishful thinking should not be allowed to get in the way of good sense, especially when you’re supposedly a professional journalist.
If you fall into the trap of believing that peace is impossible, then you become as much of the cause of continuing violence as the other guy. The American Civil War is a concrete example of how parties with solid reasons not to trust the other — ever again — managed to put aside those grievances to establish unity and peace. An Irish historian I met at Gettysburg was astounded by that example, pointing out how unlikely it would be in N.Ireland or the Middle East or Pakistan/India. I think the analysis for cutting a deal has to be: is peace in my opponent’s best interest, and does he know it. The difficulty with Palestinians is that the peace process is like a shuk — they will never agree to a sale unless they think it is the best price possible. But as long as they have partners who insist that they can do better, or that the Israelis are “taking them,” then an agreement is impossible. For Sadat, the peace process was in Egypt’s interest. He had just burned his bridges with the Russians to better relations with Nixon/Ford, and then old Jimmy Carter invited the Soviets back into the negotiations. That was unacceptable. And he saw a chance to make the US pay for peace (which we still do). So there it was possible to judge his peace initiative as sincere. I would hope that if the PA had genuine interest in cutting a deal that would also be in Israel’s interest, you wouldn’t reject it flat.
If you fall into the trap of believing that peace is impossible, then you become as much of the cause of continuing violence as the other guy.
Right. Got it. Hence, America and her allies were as much to blame as Germany and Japan in believing that peace was impossible.
This statement is a species of moral equivalence that makes no distinction between aggressor and victim, a vapid rhetorical distraction from the serious business of responding effectively to existential threats from genocidal-yearning regimes.
You know, sometimes peace is impossible without war.
This is known as reality.
Carl von Clausewitz said “War is the continuation of Politik by other means.” Germany and Japan used war, and the threat of war, to achieve unacceptable political and economic goals. Aggressors can be contained and can be defeated without war. There are other fulcrums of power that can influence international action — some of which are well-behind the scenes. Good yomtov.
The Arab Muslims are using wars of terrorism to achieve their goals of a Judenrein world and a caliphate. There is nothing to negotiate with such barbarians except the terms of dihimmitude.
Some aggressors can be deterred without war, but most cannot.
Again, to say that not to believe in peace is as bad as those who make war is not just outrageous but false.
The difficulty with Palestinians is that the peace process is like a shuk
No, that’s not the difficulty. Rather, the difficulties are: a) Their goal is not peace but the destruction of Israel; b) For many of them, the war is not just with Israel but with all Jews, i.e. it’s a religious war; they have inculcated their people, especially the young, with an unreasoning hatred of Jews; c) Their religion permits – and even commands – them to falsely agree to a treaty and to break it whenever conditions favor it; d) the peace talks are just another tactic; they don’t really want peace.
This is all obvious to anyone who has been paying attention the last 30 years or so, and has been made glaringly obvious by Oslo, Camp David and the intifadas. If you don’t recognize it yet, you never will. Sometimes an armed standoff is the best that can be achieved. Let peace wait for those who are prepared to implement it.
Hanan Ashwari was no moderate. And she was sidelined because she was sleeping with ABC anchor Peter Jennings and Fatah considered her a whore.
I don’t recall her calling for the destruction of Israel in any of her writings, or in support of the assertion that violent overthrow of the “occupation” is the only way. Those are expressions of extremism that I have not heard from her. Can you point me to any real examples of her being an extremist?
A single example of Ashwari’s demonization of Israel:
“And it’s the first time in history that I see a democracy that is allowed to suppress a whole people and to occupy other people’s lands. And to carry out a policy of assassinations and cold blooded murder and destruction… even uprooting of trees and crops. And yet still maintain that it is a democracy… with the most intricate system of racism and dehumanization I have ever seen.” (applause). [Speech in Portland, 11-1-2001]
Further: Longtime White House reporter [and Jew-hater] Helen Thomas received a prize in journalism from a representative of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.
Thomas, 91, who was forced into retirement two years ago after making controversial remarks about Jews and Israel, was recognized for her journalism career and commitment to the Palestinian cause. Hanan Ashrawi, a member of the Executive Committee of the PLO, presented Thomas with the award on behalf of Abbas, who is also head of the PLO.
Ashwari and Thomas, perfect.
Ashwari is one of those “moderates” that liberals like Peter Jennings loved and used to bash Israel. She’s a liar and you have only to see her in action and read between the lines of her statements to understand that she’s just another Jew-hating jihadist.
CAIR also do not openly call for Israel’s destruction but we know that they are the Muslim Brotherhood’s arm in America and we know enough to read between the lines of their “moderate” rhetoric.
I cannot believe that you are defending this Ashwari creature.