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| By Israel Insider staff and partners January 25, 2005 |
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While much of the world is hailing the Palestinian Authority as a shining beacon of democracy and co-existence, Israel's Diaspora Affairs Minister Natan Sharansky offers a cautionary note on anti-Semitism in the Palestinian official media.
To coincide with the 60th Anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, Sharansky will hold a press conference today on the Nazi like propaganda that is disseminated by the Palestinian Authority. The report, called 'Kill a Jew - Go to Heaven,' was compiled by Palestinian Media Watch, an Israel-based media organization which monitors incitement in Palestinian society.
Sharansky will use this date specifically to draw parallels between the systematic dehumanization by the Nazis and what is being seen, heard and read by Palestinians today. Itamar Marcus, the co-author of the report and the head of Palestinian Media Watch explains a fundamental message in sermons, academic discourse and even children's shows is that "the Jews are an evil force, and it's inherent to the Jews, and therefore they have to be killed."
Marcus observes that although most of the world thinks the war between Israelis and Palestinians is about borders or national rights, it is far more about religious issues such as redemption through killing. "It's not connected to borders, it's not connected to compromise, and no compromise will be reached [once] it's a battle of God against the Jews."
Marcus also points to sermons by state-sponsored imams in The Palestinian Authority. One such sermon was given on January 14th, in which an imam declared "The days of the pilgrimage to Mecca remind the Muslim of the connection to his history and remind him of his past glory and the lowliness of the Jews, who today rule the world; how Muhammad expelled them from Medina in retribution for their actions and their hostility and their corruption, and not on false charges, not unjustly. No, it was retribution for their hostility toward Islam."
Sharansky charged in a statement issued by his office ahead of the press conference that, "As in Nazi Germany, there is an entire 'culture of hatred' in Palestinian society today, from textbooks to crossword puzzles, from day camps to TV music videos."
"Calling for the murder of Jews, as Jews, is the end result," Sharansky statement said. Sharansky asserts that this bombardment of anti-Semitism is a problem that transcends the Arab-Israel conflict.
"The whole world has to be aware of anti-Semitism, because it isn't just the problem of the Jews. It's the problem of any democratic society," a Sharansky aide said. "The world has to understand what we are dealing with. It's not only whether there was a bombing yesterday or not. If you don't change the atmosphere in books or on TV, it won't be enough."
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