EDITOR'S NOTEBOOK
Jac
Killing Jews, Pleasing Allah
tion."
he depth of Palestinian hatred for Israel hasn't
The death of innocent people is pleasing to Allah in the
reverberated to America. We don't feel the front-
eyes of radical fundamentalists. "This is precisely the belief
line effects of an extreme Arab culture that glori-
that the leaders of Palestinian society are inculcating in their
fies blowing yourself to bits to murder, maim and
people," Marcus says.
scare Israelis whose only sin is allegiance to the Jewish state.
Arafat told the Palestinian Legislative Council last
It's a culture obsessed with claiming the land of Israel as
November, "There is something in these last three or more
theirs, a culture that diaspora Jews must come to grips with
bad years to persuade the Israeli government that the occu-
before it's too late. We can't let political differences obscure
pation, the settlements, the racist separation fence — the
that we're stakeholders in the land, too. We must stand firm-
new Berlin Wall — and the harm to our holy places are
ly with Israel — emotionally as well as financially — in its
unable to provide security"
war against terror.
That "something" is the conviction that Palestinians are
Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat talks about
born to die for Allah while battling Israel for Palestinian
recognizing the State of Israel. Yet he not
statehood in the territories and East Jerusalem. To know
only incites terror from among loyalists, he
Allah is to uphold Islam and desire shahada.
also fuels the lie that Jews are scum. Giving
"The Muslim is born in order to die the right death,
him even a moment's benefit of the doubt is
according to Palestinian Islam," Marcus says.
nonsense.
Dying for Allah brings bounty in the afterlife that is para-
Death worship is considered a basic tenet
dise: forgiven sins, exemption from the torments of the
of Palestinian belief, compounding Israel's
grave, a priceless crown of honor and, as Mohammed prom-
plight against suicide bombers. Forty
ised, 72 dark-eyed maidens in long white gowns.
ROBERT A. months of Palestinian terror has claimed at
Some Palestinian mothers' lament that children choose to
SKLAR
least 934 Israeli and
sacrifice themselves at the behest of a Palestinian resistance
Editor
foreign lives; the 150
group (a code name for purveyor of terror). Other mothers
suicide bombers are
believe shahada uplifts their children
responsible for most of the carnage.
and brings honor to the family.
"This aspiration to die, which contra-
In a.key distinction, Marcus says:
dicts the basic human instinct for sur-
"PA ideology rejects the value of life
vival, is at the core of the suicide terror-
that other societies hold supreme."
ism fervor," says Israeli Itamar Marcus,
Kids as young as 11 talk openly and
who operates the well-respected
cheerfully on PA TV about their high
Palestinian Media Watch group.
wish of reaching paradise through sha-
It's a phenomenon hard to grasp and
hada.
even harder to change, especially
Itamar Marcus
Not surprisingly, they are so indoc-
because Arafat, president of the
trinated they yearn for the "sweetness"
Palestinian Authority, embraces it as his
of shahada more than for peace and
top weapon against Israel -- the Middle East symbol for the Aliza Sosne
rights for the Palestinian people.
despised West as well as home to the hated Jews.
"According to three different polls,"
The Palestinian world is bizarre, to say the least. Despite
Marcus
says, "70 to 80 percent of
abject poverty and rampant joblessness, having many chil-
Palestinian
children
aspire
to
shahada."
dren is encouraged. The West Bank's population is on course
If that doesn't take your breath away, nothing will.
to double in 21 years — Gaza's, in 15 years. In contrast,
Palestinians don't have to choose between becoming .
Israel's population, new immigrants notwithstanding, won't
human
bombs and continuing to live because they don't fear
double for 45 years, reports the U.S. Population Reference
death.
Bureau.
"Killing Jews is one value," Marcus explains. "Death for
With so many kids at hand, Palestinian terror-mongers
deity
is itself a value — indeed a value greater than life.
have a ready pool of teenagers and 20-somethings willing to
Seeking
shahada is not desperation but aspiration."
strap on explosive belts and achieve the Islamic honor of sha-
Murder
has no place in Judaism. Saving a life supersedes
hada, death for Allah.
resting
on
Shabbat.
Families of suicide bombers receive from $10,000 to
.
The
Jewish
approach to sanctifying and valuing human
$25,000, although Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein's capture
life
reflects
itself
in everyday medical ethics, interpersonal
has limited the cash flow from Arab zealots in the region.
relationships and defining ourselves as good Jews," says Aliza
Palestinians learn from childhood that Allah craves them
Sosne of Oak Park. Her seven kids range in age from 7
in death. Marcus makes the point by quoting a music video
weeks
to 12 years. Five of them attend Southfield-based
aimed at children on PA TV. Extols the video: "How sweet
Yeshiva
Beth Yehudah.
is the fragrance of the shahids, how sweet is the scent of the
To
give
you a sense of her priorities, I met Aliza and her
earth, its thirst quenched by the gush of blood, flowing from
husband,
Gabe,
at a 2003 fund-raiser for Magen David
the youthful body."
Adom,
Israel's
emergency
medical and disaster relief agency.
Conviction that the deity thirsts for human sacrifice is
Aliza is right: The notion of shahada, of murder and may-
rooted in ancient cultures of the land of Israel, Marcus says.
hem as the gates to heaven, is disdainful to Torah. The way
He cites Deuteronomy 12:31: "Their sons and their daugh- -
we live is meant to be sweet. To believe in God's will is to
ters do they burn in the fire to their gods."
believe in tikkun olam — repair of the world.
"Even the Israelites were drawn to it," Marcus says. Citing
"This is how the Jews can serve as a light unto the nations
Jeremiah 32:35, he says they built altars to give their sons
of
the world," Aliza says. "The concept of homicide bomb-
and daughters to Molech, the Canaanite god of fire, even
ings
is antithetical to this mission." ❑
though God did not command or consider "this abomina-
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