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THE SAME OLD SCRIPT
For about the last century, the Arabs have played out the same script over and over again in their attempt to destroy Jewish control over the Land of Israel. And that script is basically to inspire their religiously fanatical followers to riot and kill Jews randomly with no strategic or tactical benefit to their cause. The rallying cry has always been that somehow the Jews intend to physically raze the al-Aksa Mosque built on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem centuries after the Temple that stood there was destroyed by the Romans.
This was the cause advanced by the cursed Grand Mufti of Jerusalem in mounting the pogroms of the 1920’s against defenseless Jewish civilians throughout the Land of Israel. It was the call to Arab arms and pogroms throughout the 1930’s. The Bosnian SS Division that fought together with the Nazis in World War II, did so on the basis of somehow saving al-Aksa from destruction at the hands of the Jews.
This is what justified Auschwitz in the hearts and minds of millions of Moslems the world over during and after World War II. And in all of the painful Arab-Israeli conflicts that have taken place over the past nearly seventy years, the big lie about the Jewish intent to destroy the al-Aksa Mosque has been featured prominently.
So it should come as no surprise that the current wave of violence and murder against Jews – with no purpose except to kill Jews – that the calumny of al-Aksa should again be circulated to a new generation of ignorant, poor and indoctrinated Arabs.
The Palestinians have been very poorly served by Arafat and Abbas. Instead of pursuing the interests and benefits of their people and truly delivering them a state, an economy and a chance at a peaceful and productive existence, the Palestinian Authority has been emulated exactly by the Israeli-Arab politicians, who see their role not as ever truly serving their constituency but rather as an attempt to destroy the very country of whose parliament they are members.
This is almost a fifth column group that Israel bewilderedly seems to accept as a given part of its democratic country. Every attempt to somehow address this issue has never been enforced by the judiciary or legal powers that exist in our country. Why don’t our leaders address the Israeli-Arabs directly, regularly and honestly?
Instead, they allow these barely hidden supporters of violence and hatred to control the debate and to gain the attention of the Arab citizens of Israel. This is beyond my realm of comprehension. The way it is now, any Arab leader, religious or secular, who will condemn the direction of the Palestinian Authority and of the Israeli-Arab politicians will be viewed as being treacherous to Islam.
This script of meaningless but murderous violence is a natural reaction to the indoctrination, habits and history of the Arab society in the Middle East and especially in the Land of Israel. And tragically, it reappears periodically out of the frustration of failure that so dominates the Moslem society of the Middle East.
Israel has suffered greatly over its existence from this Arab fixation to destroy it, no matter the cost or the numbers of previously disastrous failures. The current spate of violence will also eventually abate but the underlying issues and causes will fester unless there is a basic change in the mindset of the Arab street and its political leaders.
Once and for all, there must be a realization and acceptance of the reality of the existence of the Jewish state in the Land of Israel. Being the eternal optimist, which is a natural by-product of Judaism and Jewish tradition, I sincerely hope that such a change in the Arab mindset is possible, even if it is not currently foreseeable.
Until that changed mindset arrives, Israel has no choice but to protect itself from random violence by whatever means it possesses. And the cluck-clucking do-gooders of the media, the EU, the UN will blame Israel no matter what Israel does to protect its citizens from uncontrolled terrorism. We have become accustomed from the time of Abraham to being unpopular.
We would like to be perceived as a noble and lovable people. But that is not going to happen and, in fact, it never happened in history. That is the reality of the situation and there is no use pretending otherwise. So expect the same old script to be in vogue for the foreseeable future.
Shabbat shalom
Berel Wein
