Middle East Quarterly Winter 2015: Shlomo Sand, The Arab's Darling

The following, by Shaul Bartal, is reposted here with permission of Middle East Forum:

Shlomo Sand, The Arabs' Darling

by Shaul Bartal
Middle East Quarterly
Winter 2015 (view PDF)

Sand's claim—that Jews never existed as a national group with a common origin in the Land of Israel/Palestine—has been disproved by scores of historical writings and archaeological discoveries. In 2008, archaeologists from the Hebrew University found five lines of text written in black ink on a shard of pottery dug up at Elah Fortress, or Khirbet Qeiyafa, in Israel. Carbon dating of artifacts found at the site indicates the Hebrew inscription was written about 3,000 years ago, predating the Dead Sea Scrolls by 1,000 years.

Jewish Israeli researchers whose books and writings achieve great appreciation among Arab communities in the Middle East are few and far between. Shlomo Sand is the exception. Since the initial publication of The Invention of the Jewish People five years ago,[1]every interview with the Tel Aviv University historian has achieved great popularity in Arab media. Headlines refer to his name endlessly though his theories are anything but new and have long been popular in the Arab world, just as The Protocols of the Elders of Zion and Mein Kampf have been widely distributed in the Arab language for many years.[2] In essence, Sand's book has become a plank of Palestinian and Arab propaganda, the purpose of which is to undermine the right of the Jewish people to its ancestral homeland.

Daniel Pipes on An Arab Prince Who (Almost) Denounces Islamism

The following by Daniel Pipes is reposted here with permission:

An Arab Prince Denounces Islamism

by Daniel Pipes
The Washington Times
December 10, 2014

http://www.danielpipes.org/15286/bahrain-islamists

In a remarkable but thus-far unnoticed address on Dec. 5, Salman bin Hamad Al-Khalifa, the crown prince of Bahrain (an island kingdom in the Persian Gulf and home to the U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet), candidly analyzed the Islamist enemy and suggested important ways to fight it.

Bahrain's Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al-Khalifa on Dec. 5, discussing the enemy's identity.

Arlene Kushner on Making Sense of Coming Israeli Elections

Arlene Kushner:
December 6, 2014

A Political Circus

Motzei Shabbat (After Shabbat)

It wouldn’t do, I suppose, for the political situation to have clarity for too long. Or for the news to simply be promising.  We’ve now entered the circus arena: the rumors are flying, predictions are contradictory, and some surprising alliances are being suggested as possible. All of this defeats clarity and considerably dampens optimism.

I will offer here only an overview, with a promise of more to come when it’s possible to make better sense of how matters will evolve.  In the few days since my last posting - announcing the firing of Livni and Lapid and the advent of elections – there have been news stories and opinion pieces about all of the following:

Arlene Kushner on Jewish Rights To Judea and Samaria ("West Bank")

From Arlene Kushner:
November 30, 2014

Jewish (and Other) Rights in the Land Today

Let us begin today by looking briefly at the historical situation that immediately followed Israel’s Declaration of Independence and the subsequent War of Independence.  At the end of the war, in 1949, armistice lines (ceasefire lines) were established.  They were similar to, but not exactly the same, as the lines within which the Jews had declared a state in 1948: Israel had gained a bit of territory.  Most significantly, Israel had secured the western part of Jerusalem.  (In the original UN proposal, Jerusalem was to be internationalized.)

 Credit: English-online

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These armistice lines – referred to as the Green Line - were the lines within which Israel remained until 1967. Egypt had taken Gaza, and Jordan had taken the remainder of Mandate Palestine – Judea and Samaria, dubbed “the West Bank” by Jordan.  Jordan, I will note, occupied this land illegally, for it was acquired in a war of aggression.

Daniel Pipes: Is CAIR a Terror Group?

The following by Daniel Pipes is reposted here with permission.

Is CAIR a Terror Group?

by Daniel Pipes
National Review Online
November 28, 2014

http://www.danielpipes.org/15220/cair-terror-group

We who follow the Islamist movement fell off our collective chair on Nov. 15 when the news came that the United Arab Emirates' ministerial cabinet had listed the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) as one of 83 proscribed terrorist organizations, up there with the Taliban, Al-Qaeda, and ISIS.

This came as a surprise because the UAE authorities themselves have a record of promoting Islamism; because CAIR has a history of raising funds in the UAE; and because the UAE embassy in Washington had previously praised CAIR.

On reflection, however, the listing makes sense for, in recent years, the Islamist movement has gravely fractured.

Arlene Kushner Analysis of the Palestinian Terrorist Attack on the Jerusalem Synagogue

From Arlene Kushner:
November 18, 2014

Without Words

Sometimes a situation is so horrific that it renders one speechless.  Such was the attack by Israeli Arabs on innocent Jews praying in Jerusalem this morning.  And so, I’m going to start with photos, which provide greater impact than my words alone would. 

Once I would have apologized for provided such graphic illustrations.  No more. The world must “get the picture,” figuratively as well as literally.

Credit: preoccupiedterritory

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MEQ 2005 Article on Beheading in Islamic Theology and History

The following by Timothy R. Furnish is reposted here with the permission of the Middle East Forum:

Beheading in the Name of Islam

by Timothy R. Furnish
Middle East Quarterly
Spring 2005, pp. 51-57

Images of masked terrorists standing behind Western hostages in Iraq and Saudi Arabia have become all too common on Arabic satellite stations such as Al-Jazeera and Al-Manar. Islamist websites such as Muntadiyat al-Mahdi[1] go further, streaming video of their murder.

The February 2002 decapitation of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl, true to its intention, horrified the Western audience. Chechen rebels, egged on by Islamist benefactors, had adopted the practice four years earlier,[2] but the absence of widely broadcast videos limited the psychological impact of hostage decapitation. The Pearl murder and video catalyzed the resurgence of this historical Islamic practice. In Iraq, terrorists filmed the beheadings of Americans Nicholas Berg, Jack Hensley, and Eugene Armstrong. Other victims include Turks, an Egyptian, a Korean, Bulgarians, a British businessman, and a Nepalese. Scores of Iraqis, both Kurds and Arabs, have also fallen victim to Islamist terrorists' knives. The new fad in terrorist brutality has extended to Saudi Arabia where Islamist terrorists murdered American businessman Paul Johnson, whose head was later discovered in a freezer in an Al-Qaeda hideout. A variation upon this theme would be the practice of Islamists slitting the throats of those opponents they label infidels. This is what happened to Dutch filmmaker Theo Van Gogh, first gunned down and then mutilated on an Amsterdam street,[3] and to an Egyptian Coptic family in New Jersey after the father had angered Islamists with Internet chat room criticisms of Islam.[4]

Daniel Pearl, pictured in an image sent to media organizations by
his kidnappers. Credit: Daily Mail. Photo not from original article.

Video: Hamas on Campus

From the About Page of "Hamas On Campus":

HamasOnCampus.org was set up by a group of students from different campuses across the USA and Canada.
We represent both Jews and non-Jews, left and right, liberal and conservative. We value freedom of speech, women’s rights and human rights. For this reason we are disturbed by the increasingly radical behaviour and rhetoric by Hamas supporting organizations on campus.

Check out the Hamas on Campus website

Here is the video:

Arlene Kushner on Al Aqsa Mosque Used To Store Weapons and Today's Palestinian Terrorist Attack

From Arlene Kushner:
November 5, 2014

Never Ending

I am referring to the grief that is leveled at us, here in Israel, on a regular basis.  I don’t really mean “never ending.” This is hyperbole; some day it will end.  But I don’t know when; I only recognize that we must be strong in all respects as we face down the situation.

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But before I get to our difficulties, I want to say “Baruch Hashem.”  I awoke with great gladness this morning to the news that the Republicans had taken Congress.  May the Almighty grant the Republican majority wisdom and strength as they work to stop Obama in his tracks and turn around a great deal of the bad that has been done.  With the finest of intentions, the results will be far less than ideal, I know.  Obama still sits in the White House.  But there is much that CAN be done.  We have at least hope now for a better America, an America that reflects traditional values and loyalties.

Arlene Kushner on Palestinian Incitement As Moderation, Israeli Rights As Extremism

From Arlene Kushner:
November 2, 2014

How Did We Get to This Place?

Our presence here in the land goes back more than 3,000 years. We prayed for millennia, while separated from the land, to be able to return.  Once we did return, our people sacrificed in order to build and protect the land.

And now, insanely, the Jew who is passionate about our rights to the land and our attachment to the land is viewed as a “radical right winger,” a troublemaker.

Come again?

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The world certainly sees nationalist Jews this way:  If only these Jews would relent already, then Israel could reach an agreement with the Palestinian Arabs and there could be peace. But the fanatic and troublesome right-wingers keep getting in the way.

Far worse, there are Jews who think the same way.  A good percentage of those who don’t live in Israel certainly do.  Most painfully, and shamefully, there are Israeli Jews who have forgotten who they are.  (I will come back to this at some point, hopefully.)

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The reason that Jews who seek Jewish rights are seen as troublemakers is because the Arabs tend to negotiate via violence and threats. (You don’t give me what I want, this is what I’m going to do.)