18 Menachem Av 5772
Last motzaei Shabbat, 13 people on buses in two separate locations were injured by rock-wielding Arabs. Last night, what was termed a major attack by all accounts was prevented on the border with the Sinai. No Israelis were injured, thank G-d, but 16 Egyptian policemen were killed. (More on the Sinai attack here.)
Ramadan is traditionally a time of increased terror activity...
Ramadan Broadcasts 'Rife with Anti-Semitic Themes'
Many of the popular television specials airing across the Muslim and Arab world during the month of Ramadan are "rife with anti-Semitic themes and expressions of hatred for Israel," according to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL).
While anti-Semitic conspiracy theories and anti-Israel plot lines are common themes in the Arab media, there is an upsurge of such programming during Ramadan when satellite television viewership increases.
"Ramadan is where the television networks enjoy high viewership numbers and a captive audience, and several networks in the Arab world are once again peddling anti-Semitic content," said Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director.
...“The significant factor about these shows is not just that they are drenched in the traditional tropes of anti-Semitism in which Jews are portrayed as cheap as well as cheats and villainous victimizers of Muslims. It is that these programs are clearly crafted to appeal to a popular audience throughout the Middle East. While they can be rightly accused of promoting hatred at the same time they must also be understood as a reflection of the attitudes prevalent in Muslim societies,” explains Jonathan Tobin of Commentary Magazine. “The producers of these shows are guilty of pandering to the deeply ingrained prejudices of the Islamic world as much as they are feeding them.”
“Those who believe such attitudes are caused by West Bank settlements or the refusal of Israel to make enough concessions to the Palestinians need to understand that the hatred of Jews is not so much a function of politics but of culture,” Tobin asserts.
“Until there is a sea change within the Muslim world in which this kind of hatred is not only no longer popular but rejected by mainstream opinion, Middle East peace is just a dream,” he adds.
And that's not even to mention the inciteful sermons being preached in the mosques.
Posting a comment received by email:
ReplyDeleteApropos of your post -- I might also point out that the war we know of as the Yom Kippur War, they call the War of Ramadan, since they lauched that all-out war during their "holy" month.
(Since the Muslim calendar is based solely on the lunar cycle without taking into account the solar cycle, any given Muslim month will regress through the seasons over the course of several years. That's how it can be that, although this year Ramadan falls in July/August, in 1973 it was September/October.)
I wondered if the war could have been launched near their Night of Power (or Destiny), but although the day for it seems to vary, it's always in the second half of the month and some say only the 27th day of the month is valid. It would have been the 9th or 10th of Ramadan.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comment!