Hamas and antisemitism
in case you missed it | 18.05.2008 14:16 | Anti-racism | Palestine | London
It isn't enough to declare belief in the truth of the Holocaust. It's necessary to actively oppose the ideology of Jew-hatred
Bassem Naeem, minister of health and information in the Hamas-led Palestinian administration in Gaza, has replied to my article on Cif by insisting that Hamas views the Nazi Holocaust as "not only a crime against humanity but one of the most abhorrent crimes in modern history". Good.
He also assures Cif readers that Hamas is engaged in a political conflict with the Israeli government, not a religious conflict with Jews. Excellent.
This is to be greatly welcomed. But between Naeem's assurances to CIf readers and Hamas's record of inciting Jew-hatred there is a chasm.
First, Naeem claims that al-Aqsa TV - which, according to Palestinian Media Watch, portrayed the Holocaust as an event planned by Jews - is "an independent media institution" and nothing to do with Hamas. This really won't do. Al-Aqsa TV is headed by Fathi Ahmad Hammad, chairman of al-Ribat Communications and Artistic Productions, a Hamas-run company which also produces Hamas's radio station, Voice of al-Aqsa, and its bi-weekly newspaper, The Message.
After driving Fatah out in 2007, Hamas blocked PA broadcasts into Gaza. The idea that genuinely independent media can be found in Gaza is not serious.
Second, Bassem Naeem, whatever his own views may be, evades Hamas's long record of promoting antisemitic hatred against Jews.
When the Palestinian intifada began in December 1987, Hamas produced a leaflet which read: "O all the people, men and women. O our children: the Jews - brothers of the apes, assassins of the prophets, bloodsuckers, warmongers - are murdering you, depriving you of life after having plundered your homeland and your homes. Only Islam can break the Jews and destroy their dream."
The Hamas charter views the Jews as diabolical and deserving of slaughter. "World Zionism" is cast as controlling all the puppet-governments of the world and responsible for every war throughout history. Why is Naeem silent about these passages? "The Jews stood behind the French and the communist revolutions", "The Jews stood behind World War I, so as to wipe out the Islamic Caliphate", "The Jews stood behind World War II where they collected immense benefits from trading with war materials", "The Jews inspired the establishment of the United Nations and Security Council ... in order to rule the world by their intermediary", "There was no war that broke out anywhere without their fingerprints on it"? Naeem cannot believe what he wrote at CIf and support the Hamas charter. Time to choose.
And does Naeem believe in a secret Jewish plot for world domination? "Their scheme has been laid out in the Protocols of the Elders of Zion and their present [conduct] is the best proof of what is said there," claims the charter.
It is good that Naeem believes the Jews are "the people of a sacred book who suffered persecution in European lands". Yet the Hamas charter extols the wisdom of al-Bukhari's canonical Hadith: "The hour of judgement shall not come until the Muslims fight the Jews and kill them, so that the Jews hide behind trees and stones, and each tree and stone will say: 'O Muslim, O servant of Allah, there is a Jew behind me, come and kill him'."
Naeem says Hamas believes in good neighbourliness. Yet the charter promises three things: Israel's destruction, to "raise the banner of Allah over every inch of Palestine" and to "wipe out the organisations which are the enemy of humanity and Islam". Which is it?
It isn't enough to declare belief in the historical truth of the Holocaust. It's necessary for political leaders like Bassem Naeem to actively oppose the ideology of Jew-hatred.
Isaac Deutscher famously likened the creation of the state of Israel to a man jumping from the burning ship on to a raft. However, Deutscher also pointed out that the raft was occupied and so the survival of Israel, as well as justice for the Palestinians, demanded accommodation based on "common language". This demands much of both sides. No solution was possible with the language of "Eretz Israel". The occupation must end. Equally, no solution is possible with the language of the Hamas charter and al-Aqsa TV.
Alan Johnson
May 15, 2008 11:00 AM
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/alan_johnson/profile.html
He also assures Cif readers that Hamas is engaged in a political conflict with the Israeli government, not a religious conflict with Jews. Excellent.
This is to be greatly welcomed. But between Naeem's assurances to CIf readers and Hamas's record of inciting Jew-hatred there is a chasm.
First, Naeem claims that al-Aqsa TV - which, according to Palestinian Media Watch, portrayed the Holocaust as an event planned by Jews - is "an independent media institution" and nothing to do with Hamas. This really won't do. Al-Aqsa TV is headed by Fathi Ahmad Hammad, chairman of al-Ribat Communications and Artistic Productions, a Hamas-run company which also produces Hamas's radio station, Voice of al-Aqsa, and its bi-weekly newspaper, The Message.
After driving Fatah out in 2007, Hamas blocked PA broadcasts into Gaza. The idea that genuinely independent media can be found in Gaza is not serious.
Second, Bassem Naeem, whatever his own views may be, evades Hamas's long record of promoting antisemitic hatred against Jews.
When the Palestinian intifada began in December 1987, Hamas produced a leaflet which read: "O all the people, men and women. O our children: the Jews - brothers of the apes, assassins of the prophets, bloodsuckers, warmongers - are murdering you, depriving you of life after having plundered your homeland and your homes. Only Islam can break the Jews and destroy their dream."
The Hamas charter views the Jews as diabolical and deserving of slaughter. "World Zionism" is cast as controlling all the puppet-governments of the world and responsible for every war throughout history. Why is Naeem silent about these passages? "The Jews stood behind the French and the communist revolutions", "The Jews stood behind World War I, so as to wipe out the Islamic Caliphate", "The Jews stood behind World War II where they collected immense benefits from trading with war materials", "The Jews inspired the establishment of the United Nations and Security Council ... in order to rule the world by their intermediary", "There was no war that broke out anywhere without their fingerprints on it"? Naeem cannot believe what he wrote at CIf and support the Hamas charter. Time to choose.
And does Naeem believe in a secret Jewish plot for world domination? "Their scheme has been laid out in the Protocols of the Elders of Zion and their present [conduct] is the best proof of what is said there," claims the charter.
It is good that Naeem believes the Jews are "the people of a sacred book who suffered persecution in European lands". Yet the Hamas charter extols the wisdom of al-Bukhari's canonical Hadith: "The hour of judgement shall not come until the Muslims fight the Jews and kill them, so that the Jews hide behind trees and stones, and each tree and stone will say: 'O Muslim, O servant of Allah, there is a Jew behind me, come and kill him'."
Naeem says Hamas believes in good neighbourliness. Yet the charter promises three things: Israel's destruction, to "raise the banner of Allah over every inch of Palestine" and to "wipe out the organisations which are the enemy of humanity and Islam". Which is it?
It isn't enough to declare belief in the historical truth of the Holocaust. It's necessary for political leaders like Bassem Naeem to actively oppose the ideology of Jew-hatred.
Isaac Deutscher famously likened the creation of the state of Israel to a man jumping from the burning ship on to a raft. However, Deutscher also pointed out that the raft was occupied and so the survival of Israel, as well as justice for the Palestinians, demanded accommodation based on "common language". This demands much of both sides. No solution was possible with the language of "Eretz Israel". The occupation must end. Equally, no solution is possible with the language of the Hamas charter and al-Aqsa TV.
Alan Johnson
May 15, 2008 11:00 AM
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/alan_johnson/profile.html
in case you missed it
