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| Israel-Palestine-Jordan |
| It would be unthinkable for Saladin to behave the way Hamas does |
| 2023-10-09 |
| Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited. by Sergey Khudiev [REGNUM] The massive Hamas attack on Israel has once again focused the world's attention on the Arab-Israeli conflict, which has been going on since the founding of the State of Israel in 1948. Israel's opponents consider its very existence illegal, and all its lands - taken away from the Arabs by deception and violence. The Israelis, as you might guess, do not share this point of view. Nowadays, when the Internet and a camera are in every phone, messages are accompanied by pictures from the scene. The whole world sees the abuse of captured soldiers, and reports about civilian hostages turn from just a set of letters in the newspaper into bright pictures - here is a completely gray-haired old woman, here is a completely frightened young mother with two very small red-haired children. There are two different questions: what the war is about and how it is fought. Methods of warfare, what one side or another considers acceptable, matter. Just as the subject of diplomatic efforts may be not only a peaceful settlement, which has not been achieved in all these decades and is not visible, but also a certain correction in the course of action of one or the other side. I am not at all inclined to consider the Israelis to be impeccable people. But it is very difficult for me to imagine that they would grab some random residents of the Gaza Strip, old women and mothers with children, and use them as hostages in order to extract some concessions from Hamas. Firstly, this would be impossible from the point of view of both Israeli and world public opinion. Secondly, it would simply be pointless - Hamas's interest in the life and freedom of the people on whose behalf it speaks is clearly not that high. For Israel, taking hostages or publicly, on camera, mocking prisoners means losing face, losing support from the audience to which it appeals and whose support it needs. For Hamas, no. The apparent difference in what the conflicting parties consider acceptable gives rise to two similar reactions that could be labeled “left-wing” and “right-wing” racism. "Left" racism is represented by Western sympathizers of Palestine. They would be genuinely offended if someone called them racist. “Racist” is their signature curse word, and they believe that racists are anyone but them. But patronizing racism is also racism. In this case, members of “oppressed groups” are considered to be in principle less able to control their behavior, and therefore they are forgiven for what others will not be forgiven for. It is necessary to ask strictly questions from Israel, because they are adult, civilized people there, but not from Hamas. “Right-wing” racism also highlights the cultural gap between the parties, but is not at all inclined to be lenient. He sees the conflict as a clash between "medieval fanaticism" and "modern civilization". In reality, of course, it’s not a matter of “the Middle Ages.” And not in Islam. Yusuf ibn Ayyub, nicknamed Salah ad-Din (“piety of faith”), known in Europe as Saladin, was precisely a medieval Muslim, the Sultan of Egypt and Syria, who led a successful fight against the crusaders. He owed his success not only to his courage in battle, but also to his generosity towards the vanquished and his tolerance towards non-Muslims. His knightly virtues were recognized not only by his subjects, but also by his crusading opponents. Saladin is still revered in the Arab world as a model warrior and ruler. It would be unthinkable for Saladin to behave the way Hamas does. He would have considered this incompatible with either his honor as a warrior or his duty as a believer. There are also modern examples. Palestinian doctor Izzeldin Abuelaish, an Arab and Muslim, dedicated his life to overcoming hatred between Jews and Arabs. His consistent peacekeeping position did not waver, even when his three daughters and niece were killed by an Israeli shell in 2009. He wrote about his experience in the book I Won't Hate. A Gaza Doctor's Journey to Peace and Human Dignity." People's behavior is not determined by their ethnicity or culture. Everyone is free in their choice and responsible for their actions. People can choose the path of peace or the path of hatred. Even when fighting, they can choose how they will do it. Sometimes these choices can be influenced—and Russia is in a unique position to maintain relations with both sides of the conflict. Extinguishing the fire of confrontation that has been burning for many decades may be (yet) an impossible task. But it’s worth trying to influence the fate of the hostages and the future course of action of Hamas. If it is impossible to convince people to renounce hostilities, you can try to convince them not to dishonor themselves by taking old women and mothers with small children hostage. This is, after all, not a feature of their culture. This is a feature of the behavior of specific people that they could change. |
| Posted by:badanov |
| #3 Arab terrorists are similar to Mexican drug cartels in that they seek to intimidate the Western public with shocking examples of violence. From the Beirut barracks bombing through the Somalia dragging and dismemberment of Shuggart and Johnson to the hanging of the Blackwater contractors in Fallujah, the modus operandi remains the same. While it worked against Bill Clinton, it has not worked against the American public. I suspect that neither will Israel will not be intimidated. Ideally, the Hamas deck of cards will be whittled down to the 2 of clubs in short order. Slaughtering Arab women and children doesn’t do anything. Putting 11 red laser markers on every Hamas bureaucrat with an offshore bank account will achieve what is needed. |
| Posted by: Super Hose 2023-10-09 09:17 |
| #2 Most importantly Salah ad-Din was a Kurd. |
| Posted by: Jerens Black9355 2023-10-09 08:38 |
| #1 This is a feature of the behavior of specific people that they could change. No. They can't. The closest they can come is behaving because they're scared. |
| Posted by: Grom the Reflective 2023-10-09 05:31 |