Arabs & Israel: dispatch from Jerusalem

My friend, who has worked in Gaza on and off for a good many years, adds these comments to my earlier blog. These are from Jerusalem, and his full assessment will follow shortly.

Well, these kids are struggling to get an education in a climate of constant violence. The Israelis have no concern for schools as we saw in the intifada when they not only shelled schools but used phosphorus against civilians – a dreadful weapon because it slowly burns its victims to death and there is no immediate way of extinguishing it. It should be banned as weapon of war, (the Americans also used it in Fallujah, a densely populated area where civilians were certain to be struck by it).

Yes, absolutely right.  The Palestinians take education really seriously, in the same way as the Indians and Chinese - and (in another age) the Scots.  Palestinian universities still turn out superb graduates in science, engineering, medicine and other useful disciplines, as opposed to our dedication to golf course management, women's studies (then again, having like all of my contemporaries spent a lot of my time at university studying women, preferably at very close quarters, perhaps I should have asked for credits in Women's Studies towards my degree), comparative ethnology, hip-hop, law, accounting and other useless topics.  Ask anyone in the Gulf States how long they would continue to enjoy their standard of living if they lost the services of their Palestinian Gastarbeiter (whom, BTW, they treat like the proverbial Sierra Hotel India Tango).

As for the Israeli use of disproportionate force on civilians, schools, hospitals and all that, well, what more is to be said? I cannot believe that all of these so-called collateral damage incidents are due to inaccurate weaponry or "we didn't know it was there", given that Israel leads the world (including the USA) in clever-bugger electronic wizardry in support of waging war.

Whilst it might be a statement of the bleedin’ obvious that Israelis and Arabs hate each other 

actually, I don't think this is strictly true.  Most Palestinians I know don't harbour animosity towards Israelis as such, just to their government and other institutions, which are dominated by the need to appease the ultra-religious.  Likewise I know lots of Israelis who get on fine with Palestinians and would love them all to live together in harmony - not least so they can get on with the essentials of life (characterised by anthropologists as the 3 F's).  As I've said before, if only the f***ing US would butt out.......but then that would upset the bleeding heart American Jews who equate Palestine with Nazi Germany, i.e. who have the same level of understanding of international affairs as the other 99.9999999999999% of their compatriots, just more focussed.  Returning to the point, I should here mention the Governor of the Palestine Monetary Authority whom I know very well.  His name is Dr. Jihad al-Wazir. So f... what, I hear you cry.  Well, he is the son of one Abu Jihad whom you may remember from the dim distant past as having been a leading light in Al Fateh and who was assassinated by Israeli agents in front of his son. Jihad has a doctorate in electronic engineering and at one stage worked doing seriously clever-bugger things for a US defence contractor.  He doesn't appear to be at all bitter about the past and has an excellent relationship with the Israeli central bank - which is very useful for the times when the Israeli authorities close off the West Bank, which then runs out of useful commodities such as banknotes

 , the Israelis give the impression that they actually foster this hatred by their overbearing behaviour – illegal settlements, disproportionate use of force, harassment of Arab labour (I understand that it is easier for a tourist to visit Bethlehem than for an Arab  -

 absolutely correct, I can vouch for that.  In fact for nearly all Palestinians it is IMPOSSIBLE to visit Bethlehem.  And a large percentage of the West Bank are Christians - hence Taybeh beer), dispossession of Arab families who have lived in Old Jerusalem for centuries (do they pay compensation at market rate, I wonder?   Oh yes, absolutely right.  Then again, was that a pig I just saw flying past?), banning the call to prayer by loudspeaker and other pettiness.

It seems to be a society fuelled by hatred. Now they have conflict with the orthodox Jews who are denuding that women ride at the back of the bus (shades of Alabama 1960) and abuse of an 8 year old girl, all of which has brought the non-orthodox out on the streets to deliver a bit of retributive justice.

As for the Arabs, they consistently provoke retaliation from the IDF, confident that civilians will be killed in the exchanges.  

Well yes, but again this is a tiny minority of Palestinians (and of course there are lots of other Arabs who think it's an excellent idea for Palestinians to provoke retaliation (and I have no time at all for the dickheads in Gaza who think it's a good idea to fire rockets into Israel) 

If this includes kids, all the better. It is tantamount to human sacrifice. They are delighted with the propaganda in the anti-Israel media world-wide. (I was told on good authority that the film some years ago of a 12-year-old cowering in the street with his father before being killed by an aimed shot was a fake, but it was great PR for the Arabs. As Churchill said, a lie can be halfway around the world whilst the truth is gettingits boots on).    

 I'm minded here of the stories that used to circulate in Southern Rhodesia when I lived there, of journalists throwing pennies into rubbish bins and captioning the ensuing photos as "starving African children searching for food".  And of course the famous photo of whatever-it's-called  Park in the centre of Salisbury at lunch-time, covered with people gently snoozing in the sun, captioned "aftermath of Salisbury riots".  Not strictly speaking a lie, as such, but then again..... 

Elections in the ‘liberated’ Arab countries will be hijacked by the Islamist because they have the organisation. They care nothing for democracy, freedom, jobs education, the core motivations for revolt. They are single-issue fanatics obsessed with the destruction of Israel at any cost. Everything achieved by very brave men and women in overthrowing their tyrants will be sacrificed to the ambitions of truly evil men who are rooted in the  13^th Century 

 I'm not sure I agree about the extent of Islamism pace Mark Steyn and his ilk (I do enjoy reading Steyn, but that's another matter).  The overwhelming majority of Arabs and other Muslims want to do the same as you and I - lead a happily unhealthy life, provide for their families, have a decent place to live, hope that their unhealthy lifestyle doesn't uinduly curtail their life expectancy and in general get on with enthusiastically pursuing the Three F's. 

A plague on both their houses. PJ O’Rourke, in ‘Holidays from Hell’ pointed out the absurdity that this tiny piece of dust has been a major threat to world peace for 60 years  er, actually, probably several millennia. He suggested that the proper solution was to nuke it. He may have been joking but it could come to that.  Definitely an option - after all, it doesn't really have much value to the Americans.  As Golda Meir said "oy veh! (I paraphrase) Forty years wandering in the desert, already, and he brings us to the only place without any oil".

Faith and belief are a comfort.

Religion is a curse.  That, on the other hand, is indisputable.