Thursday, August 03, 2006

ARE THEY REALLY ISRAELIS, AMERICANS, CANADIANS, BELGIANS?

With the exception of Iraq, in the whole of the Middle East there is but one place where Arabs are granted democratic rights. That place is Israel. OK, there are some restrictions concerning IDF service and job opportunities in the public sector, but on the whole, the 1.4 million strong Israeli Arab community (some 20% of the population) reaps the benefits of living in a country where there is Rule of Law. Not only can they elect their representatives in a truly democratic way, their living standard is on average much, much higher than that of Arabs in the rest of the Middle East. One can reasonably assume that in a country with a free press, Israeli Arabs are well aware of this priviliged status vis-à-vis their brethren in the surrounding countries, and that this knowledge would translate in some kind of gratitude towards the State of Israel. But here there is serious ground for scepticism. Take e.g. the National Democratic Assembly (Tajammua' in Arabic, Balad in Hebrew), an Arab Party in the Knesset, the Israeli Parliament. Obviously the NDA is the most popular Arab party in Israel since several others such as the United Arab List did not make it to the country's legislative body. The National Democratic Assembly calls for ridding Israel from its Jewish character by turning it into what it calls a "truly democratic state". One of Tajammua's members, Azmi Bishara, is sympathetic to Hizballah. Believe it or not, but this guy is an MK (Member of Knesset, we'd call that an MP).

Now, after the abduction of Cpl. Gilad Shalit near the Gaza Strip, but before the Hizballah attack in the north, Another MK of Tajammua', Wasil Taha, defended the abduction by Hamas as a "legitimate act of resistance". Taha as well as former MK Abdulmalik Dehamshe, also an Arab, said that Shalit should be considered a POW rather than a kidnapping victim. While these statements did cause quite some verbal uproar among the other MK's, the Law for the Prevention of Terror, which would allow, a.o., the trial of MK's (Arab of otherwise) who support terrorist organizations, was not invoked. This prompted Avigdor Lieberman, MK and Chairman of the far-right Israel Our Home party, to the following reaction:

Avigdor Lieberman, Israel Our Home
"Our law enforcement system has gone bankrupt given the fact that Arab MKs who openly support Nasrallah are not put on trial," he said. He chose not to address questions regarding Qana .

Lieberman was asked by one ynet reader "if he thinks that Knesset members who support Nasrallah deserve to be in the Knesset." Lieberman responded that "This is a rhetorical question, hence the answer is clear. In no sane country can you see this phenomenon of members of parliament who support the enemy during wartime. In the United States, there could be no Senate member who supported Bin Laden and, in Russia, no parliament member who supported Chechnyan rebels."

"The law for the prevention of terror is clear and it allows us to try most of the Arab MKs who spoke in support of Nasrallah and justified the kidnap of Israeli soldiers and so it. This means that the law is not dealing with these cases and putting these men on trial; our law enforcement system has gone bankrupt," he continued.


If a topic like that would be an isolated fait divers, I would not pay much attention to it. However, over the past years I have here and there come across more stories like these, which all seem to point towards a rather questionable loyalty of the Arab/Muslim citizens of Israel towards their legitimate country. The latest one my eye fell upon was this July 19 piece from the LA Times:

In Nazareth, a mainly Arab city of 60,000, residents will tell you, mostly in private, that despite the rocket fire they sympathize with Hezbollah's decision to kidnap Israeli soldiers as a way to win the release of Lebanese and Palestinians jailed in Israel.

But one can go further. I have argued before on these pages that Europe does indeed have a problem with racism. If you want proof of that, just check out photos of European governments. Overwhelmingly white. And yes, I have also already admitted that part of the problem we face with Muslims here may find its roots in racism (I do not consider it the main cause however). Now, while I am aware of the racist dimension in America, I'd wager that in se, the States are a lot less racist than Europe. A logical conclusion would be that the Muslim community in the States is less alienated from the US government, indeed from America itself, to a degree in compliance with the absence of the racial element. Or, if not the absence, the fact that American racism is much less than European racism. To put it simply, one could expect that because of less racism in the US, Muslims there are more loyal to America than European Muslims are to their respective European countries.

It is therefore worrisome to find out that the more I read about it, the more I find out that muslim loyalty towards their adopting state does not seem to differ that much on both sides of the Atlantic. I just read one of Debbie Schlussels' latest posts, Hezbos in America Who Hate America:

Pro-Hizballah rally in the States
DEARBORNISTAN, USA--To all those who had any doubt where the loyalty of Shia Muslims in America is, take the comments of Hayat Taleb--at yesterday's latest pro-Hezbollah rally to heart. Taleb, aged 24, who grew up here, lives in Dearbornistan, and is a mother of two U.S. citizens she is raising to share her beliefs said this to The Detroit Spews: "I'd rather die there [Lebanon] than live here [America]."


Photo from Debbies blog. Wow, Mrs. Taleb would rather die in Lebanon than live in America. One wonders what the heck she is still doing in Dearborn then??? Makes me think of another Lebanese, closer to home and by the name of Dyab Abu Jahjah, who in his own words Lived His Life For His Lebanese Nation - be it from a comfy Belgian sofa.

Let's now trod northwards to Toronto, Canada, where lately a 17-strong terror cell was broken up, whose members were intent on blowing up several Canadian landmarks and one even aspired to behead the Canadian PM, Stephen Harper. Like the US and Israel, Canada is a western country which has given its Muslim immigrants everything they lacked so sorely in the shitholes they fled: non-erratic power supply, clean water, quality education, socialized healthcare, decent housing, civil rights etc etc etc. Again, one would assume the newcomers would reward all this with a sturdy loyalty towards the new fatherland, right?

Wrong, apparently.

I'm not saying every Canadian Muslim woman is like Nada Farooq, wife of Zakaria Amara, the Toronto cell leader. But nor do I believe she's an isolated case. There is serious cause for concern. From Captain's Quarters:

The wives spent a lot of time on the Internet, wheedling and cajoling their readers to support and to wage jihad on Western society. Farooq wanted a baby badly, and she wanted to name it after a Chechen Islamist commander killed by the Russians. Her dream was to have her children follow in his footsteps, apparently all the way to the grave. She called openly for death by crushing for gays in Muslim societies, and she posted a prayer to Allah for the Jews to be crushed as well. Crushing, apparently, gets big play in the Amara/Farooq household. Canada doesn't fare any better in Farooq's tightly wound world. She repeatedly refers to our northern neighbor as "this filthy country". and explicitly declared in one message that "we hate Canada".

Hmmmm. This filthy country. We hate Canada. The wife of Belgian terrorist Khaled Bouloudo, now in jail for being involved in the Madrid bombings, wears a burqa in Maaseik, eastern Belgium. She hates my country too.

WHAT THE FUCK ARE THEY DOING THEN IN OUR COUNTRIES???

On July 30, there was a pro-Hizballah demo in Brussels. The photo below and the excerpt are from Czech blogger Alva:

Pro-Hizballah rally in Belgium
Anti-Israel and anti-USA groups organized a demonstration in Brussels today. It was advertised as a "Rassemblement contre l'agression sioniste au Liban et à Gaza", "gathering against the Zionist aggression in Lebanon and in Gaza". (No word about Hezbollah violating the internationally recognized border between Lebanon and Israel.) About 3,000 to 5,000 Arabs, muslims and leftist Europeans walked from Boulevard du Roi Albert II to Place de l'Albertine chanting (and carrying) anti-Israel and anti-US slogans. The crowd waved not only Lebanese flags but also Hezbollah and Iranian ones (along with a sign "Iran fait vite"), among others. Actually, you would think it was a pro-Hezbollah party, as the crowd chanted "Vive Hezbollah, vive Hamas!" together with "Allahu akbar".

See? Nasrallah posters and Hizballah flags in Brussels, the capital of the EU. A frikkin 60-year old conflict is finally overflowing to good ole Belgium. And in the back of my mind I have the mathematical certainty that if I, as a REAL Belgian, would dare to stand silently along the street with an Israeli banner or a Stars & Stripes as these guys pass along, I'd get into trouble. Yup, I'd get in trouble for exercising my goddam Constitution-granted RIGHT to stand with a banner of my choice on a street in MY country. Jesus Christ. These guys ain't no more Belgian than Kim Jong-Il is. Their loyalty lies elsewhere. I do not want to stigmatize. I waved out three Germans of Turkish origin today. Refurbished the showroom. Decent fellas. Hard and efficient workers. Polite. Speaking Krautese like Herr Schaefer and Frau Mueller. Seemingly perfectly assimilated. Nevertheless, I have my doubts whether the crew leader's wife, pregnant with their fifth child, is allowed to work outside the house. And I hope I am mistaken, but somehow, I fear she wears a headscarf. Even if I am troubled to say so, we cannot permit to be weak of heart. We must start to seriously question the loyalty of the muslim population in our midst.


MFBB.

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