Opinion
The Man Behind The Mosque
Columbus, Ga./JTA
the historic dhimmi status of the Jew in
Muslim cultures actually implies the deep
world, including Pakistan-India over
Kashmir and Russia-Chechnya,"but the
admire my colleagues and friends who
intimacy that Rauf imagines.
Israeli-Palestinian conflict is viewed in
have shown themselves to be coura-
And a subtle but telling point: Is the
the Muslim world as being sustained by
geous enough to speak out against
nation-state as a concept to be condemned America" (page 161).
the anti-Islam hysteria that tends to sur-
(an arguable point), or only if
He not only drastically
round conversations about the Islamic
that nation-state happens to be
understates the number of
center that is being planned for a property Jewish?
conflicts that exist today in
that for many is uncomfortably close to
In his imagined history of
the Muslim world (how about
Ground Zero. They have shown themselves the Middle East, Rauf contin-
Darfur, the Balkans, etc.), but
to be paragons of religious tolerance, and
ues to say that because of the
he clearly believes that America
for this I commend them.
Israeli-Arab conflict, Sephardic
is at the root of the problem in
But in the general category of "Is this
Jews became "unfortunately
the Middle East — and not, for
good for the Jews?," we might want to exam- victimized" in many Muslim
example, the fact that the Arab
ine the words of the man who is the imam
societies. He goes on to say that
leaders themselves cheated
of the Masjid al-Farah — Feisal Abdul
the worst thing about this is
the Palestinians out of their
Jeffrey K.
Rauf. Luckily, we have no shortage of those
that it deprived those societies
land (see Palestine Betrayed by
Salkin
words. A brief perusing of his book What's
of their rich, deep pluralism.
Ephraim Karsh).
Special
Right With Islam Is What's Right With
Rauf lists notable dates in
For the record: I believe that
Commentary
America (HarperOne, 2005) might prove
Islamic history — among
a Palestinian state is necessary
both instructive and sobering.
them 1924, when the Ottoman
— not out of any sentimental
What does Rauf believe about Israel?
Caliphate ended; 1947, when India was
admiration of Palestinian nationalism, but
Rauf states that the creation of Israel was
split into Pakistan and India; and 1948,
also because of a belief in Zionism, the
an unfortunate byproduct of the nation-
when Israel was "created as a homogenous idea that we might truly be "a free people
state idea. Jews, he said, lived completely
Jewish nation-state within the geographi-
in our land:' a people free to continue to
peacefully in the Muslim world for centu-
cal envelope of the Muslim world" (page
craft our own national narrative, complete
ries.
243).
with our national values. Is there room for
"They looked, spoke and ate — even
I realize that we Jews carry our own
that narrative in Rauf's worldview?
sang — like the rest of the people around
historic losses with our souls; the wound
On Sept. 12, 2001, I heard the baristas at
them:' he wrote, adding that the creation
of the destruction of the Temples in
the Starbucks in Manhasset, N.Y., whisper-
of Israel began a most unfortunate schism Jerusalem is still memory-resident.
ing about the cars that remained overnight
between Jews and Muslims, who had
But Rauf is mourning the loss of the
in the railroad station parking lot — cars
previously experienced "a deeply intimate
power of the Caliphate and simply repeat-
that would never be claimed because their
kinship with each other" (page 169).
ing the Palestinian narrative — and say-
drivers had disappeared. That moment
Rauf would have us imagine that life
ing that the Muslim world is a restricted
will be with me forever.
in the Middle East was Woodstock until
neighborhood into which a Jewish sover-
Since that moment, I have worked at
the creation of the nasty State of Israel,
eign nation-state need not apply.
combating Islamophobia and criticizing
which comes to ruin everyone's good time.
Rauf acknowledges that a number
those who are ready to brand all manifes-
We might rightly wonder aloud whether
of conflicts exist today in the Muslim
tations of Islam as a dangerous religion.
I
I have urged Jews to reject the anti-intel-
lectual temptation of essentializing Islam
and writing off an entire religion as a ter-
rorist operation.
Maimonides, a victim of Muslim radi-
calism, had every reason to hate Islam and
didn't.
But if Rauf is the man who is the reli-
gious leader of the controversial mosque,
then you might understand why Jews are
permitted to worry. This says nothing
about the rights of that institution to exist.
It says nothing about privileging the feel-
ings of the bereaved families of 9-11 over
other American values of pluralism, which
itself is debatable.
I am merely saying that we should not
expect a "kumbaya-fest" with this gentle-
man.
Of course, I would rejoice at the possi-
bility that I will be wrong. I would rejoice
in hearing, from his lips, an affirmation
of the right of the Jewish state to exist,
even in what he believes to be his Middle
Eastern 'hood.
And so I would hope that as the board
of the Islamic center starts to prepare the
guest list for the inevitable opening event,
they might invite Israel's ambassador to
the United States, Michael Oren, to speak.
Now that would be a grand gesture
that would help many Jews, and many
Americans, sleep better at night. El
Jeffrey K. Salkin is the rabbi of Temple Israel in
Columbus, Ga., and the president of Kol Echad:
Making Judaism Matter. He is the editor of "A
Dream Of Zion: American Jews Reflect On Why
Israel Matters To Them."
Palestinian Leaders from page 37
others that when Arafat was offered a
Palestinian state at Camp David and Taba,
he refused because he was concerned that
his own people would kill him.
Why would official Palestinian media
and textbooks create a situation that
would put their own leaders in danger for
doing what is in their own best interest?
"What can be done to prepare for
peace?" I asked Erekat.
His answer: "We will educate for peace
when there is peace."
This is a recipe for disaster.
We saw what happened when Israel
withdrew from Gaza with hopes of peace,
but Palestinians there had not been pre-
pared for peace. As a result, Hamas took
over by a combination of the ballot box
and force. Israeli civilians sustained a bar-
rage of thousands of rockets and missiles;
and innocent lives on both sides were lost.
38
August 26 2010
The Palestinian Authority has made
some progress combating the culture of
hate. School textbooks no longer demonize
Jews to the same extent. However, they still
do not recognize Israel on their maps or
pages. Some 12th-grade textbooks devote
several pages to extolling "ribat," which is
similar to "jihad," holy war. More must be
done to prepare the Palestinian people for
peace and a better future.
While Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu
has urged direct talks immediately with-
out preconditions, the Palestinians still
refuse face-to-face talks.
Erekat told us that he is concerned about
going to negotiations without knowing
there will be a successful outcome.
"If we can't produce the 'white smoke,
" he said, alluding to the process where
cardinals pick a pope, "we should not raise
expectations:'
A large majority of Palestinian people
favors a two-state solution yet does not
recognize Israel's right to exist as a Jewish
state. Israel's security demands that
Palestinians look for a permanent end of
conflict, not a temporary two-state solu-
tion as a staging ground to destroy Israel.
World leaders, led by President Obama,
must continue to encourage Palestinian
leadership to foster a culture of hope, not
hate.
Only then will there be lasting peace for
both Palestinians and Israelis.
❑
Jennifer Laszlo Mizrahi is founder and president
of the Israel Project (www.theisraelproject.
Answering
Israel's Critics
The Charge
The Turkish foreign ministry has
changed its position on Israel of late,
making criticism of Israel's "acts of
violence" in Gaza and the West Bank a
key element.
The Answer
The Turks have now joined much of
the Muslim world in denying Israel the
right to use military means to legiti-
mately defend itself against terrorism.
org) a nonprofit educational organization that
provides factual information about Israel and the
Middle East to media, leaders and the public. It
has offices in Washington and Jerusalem.
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Jewish Community Relations
Council of Metropolitan Detroit
© Jewish Renaissance Media • August 26, 2010