Anti-Semitism at the heart of Arab culture

Posted by from Rabbi Eckstein on July 01, 2005 at 10:27:53:

Dear Friends,

“The main problem in the Middle East is Israel,” the argument goes. “If Israel would withdraw from Palestinian land, the Arab world would be willing to make peace.”

Really?

That’s not the impression given by a recent news article from the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Let me share the gist of the piece:

Parents at an international school in Dubai, the capital of this tiny but very wealthy nation, were outraged at something in a children’s textbook. Certainly, parents have every right to protect their children. But the inappropriate material in question was simply a picture of two Jewish children playing together.

Rather than laughing off the complaint, an official in the UAE Ministry of Education apologized that he simply did not have enough staff to review textbooks to ensure that such “objectionable” material is kept from students.

This story -- and many others like it -- refutes the “land for peace” argument by pointing to something rotten at the very heart of Arab culture. If adult Arab citizens cannot bear the thought of their children looking at pictures of Jewish children, then how can Israelis take them seriously when they talk about striking deals for peace?

Sadly, this deep-seated hatred of Jews is always on display in the Arab media. Editorial cartoons in state-sponsored newspapers contain the worst anti-Semitic stereotypes; sermons broadcast on Palestinian TV show Muslim imams blaming Jews for all of society’s ills; children’s TV programs celebrate suicide bombers as “martyrs.”

Thoughtful observers of the Arab-Israeli conflict have known all along that the first step toward lasting peace must be Arab nations’ acceptance of Israel’s right to exist. Israelis sincerely hope and pray for peace -- but experience and common sense tell them it is impossible to make peace with those bent on your destruction.

So the next time you hear someone talking about “land for peace,” ask what messages of peace he’s heard coming from Arab leaders -- and think twice about the answers you get.

Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein
Founder and President
International Fellowship of Christians and Jews

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