Long Beach Jewish Life September 2014 | Page 31

[ NEWS | Spanning the Globe ]

messages read: “No peace in Gaza,” and “No peace to you Zionist pigs,” among other such despicable comments. But there, even-handed local politicians are helping to fight back by proclaiming a “kippah march” in Copenhagen in support of people’s right to display their religion openly.

An authority speaks on the Arab-Israeli conflict: We spoke to the director of Tel Aviv University’s Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Iranian Studies,

Professor Uzi Rabi, concerning reasons behind the big Arab States sitting on the sidelines, watching and waiting for Israel to do the dirty work, making the knock-out blow to Hamas. He replied, “This notion for some of these countries, is true. Egypt has perceived Hamas as a bi-product of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt—if Assisi names the Muslim Brotherhood as terrorists, it is applicable for Hamas, too,” Rabi said. “It seems that Saudi Arabia could be considered as one of the rivals of Hamas

and the states or movements which adhere to political Islam—former Morsi, Ardugan and, of course, Iran—it goes without saying that Abu Mazen would like to see a weakened Hamas in order to bolster his position on the street."

However, all these players would create a dichotomy between Hamas and the Palestinian people, so when it comes to a humanitarian crisis in Gaza or elsewhere, they would support the Palestinian people and focus the blame on Hamas.

On the other hand, Hamas enjoys the support of Qatar and Turkey who want to strengthen the Muslim Brotherhood all over the region. So this, indeed, serves to illustrate the polarization of the Arab political system and the fact that the whole negotiation system is yet to materialize. So it seems we just have to wait and see. And the Arab mind, as we already know, radiates, 'We've got plenty of time. If it takes a hundred years!'

And in the meantime, there is a tentative cease fire, though who knows how long it will last? And, we wonder, is there still a Human Rights Council and where is it hiding? And how about Amnesty International, which many of us have so blithely been sending our dollars to? The Simon Wiesenthal Center in a recent dispatch says that Israel Defense Forces found a Hamas manual belonging to a brigade of Hamas’ military wing explaining how the Palestinian civilian population can be used against the IDF forces revealing that Hamas knows the IDF is “committed to minimizing harm to civilians.”

The Handbook makes it clear, according to the Wiesenthal Center, that “Hamas actually desires the destruction of homes and the civilian infrastructure, knowing it will sow the seeds of hatred for the IDF and support their fighters.”