Israeli terrorists on the rise

As a Muslim American of Palestinian descent, I would naturally be accused of anti-Semitism if I were to say, “An evil wind of extremism, of hate, of maliciousness, of violence, of losing control, of lawbreaking, of contempt for the institutions of state, is passing though certain sections of the Israeli public.” This statement is in reference to Israeli terrorists who are threatening and attacking those who don’t agree with them.

But the statement was made by outgoing Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, so arguably, it’s not anti-Semitic but merely a statement of informed opinion based on facts.

And it’s interesting – and more than a little frustrating – that these extremist Israelis are not being called what they are: terrorists. For God’s sake, these people planted a bomb at the home of a prominent Israeli critic of the Settler Movement. This and other actions are described by Olmert as “threatening Israeli democracy and the ability of those in charge in Israel to make decisions, and the ability of people to freely express opinions without fearing that they will be hurt by wild and violent people, people who break the law and break the framework of normal democratic life.”

To any reasonable person, that is the definition of terrorism: causing fear and disruption of life.

But despite the fact that these people – the hard-core Settlers – are absolutely committed to wiping out the Arabs, think of them as sub-human, and see their killing as not just acceptable, but as a moral duty, they are somehow not called terrorists. And, just as important, they are not seen as characterizing Israelis or Jews as a whole.

This latter distinction is critical. Fear-mongers and racists like Daniel Pipes and Brigitte Gabriel look at the actions of radical Islamists and extrapolate them to all Muslims, even going so far as to say that there is no such thing as a “moderate” Muslim; that any Muslim who really believes in their religion is necessarily in agreement with the radicals. But you can be sure that if the same logic were used to characterize Jews as being violent, racist, intolerant fanatics, they would (rightly) point out how absurd such a contention is.

Let’s be logical about this: if it’s indeed true that all 1 billion Muslims on the planet are as radical as the nut-cases we see publicized by the anti-Muslim folks, what chance would any country in the world have against them? The truth is that most Muslims see these radicals as so out-of-touch as to be beneath contempt. Most Muslims in Western nations are grateful for the opportunities afforded them. I know I thank God that my father came to the U.S. and that I was born here. The last thing on my mind is going to a “Muslim” country or changing the U.S. to be a “Muslim” country. As far as I’m concerned, the U.S. is just as Muslim as it is Christian or Jewish or Buddhist or Pagan. Nobody stops me from worship or tells me I have to do it differently.

There are Israeli terrorists, just as there are Islamic terrorists. Most Muslims are moderate and want only peace, just as most Jews and Israelis are moderate and want only peace. It’s pathetic that extremists on both sides point to the evil elements in each others’ camps as evidence that an entire religion is worthy of contempt and persecution.