As I boarded El-Al flight LY 0008 for Tel Aviv on November 14, 2005 with my wife, Kiran, my mind was busy arranging and re-arranging the list of things I intended to accomplish. I wanted to use my first visit to Israel to feel the strength of the Jewish spirit that refuses to give in to evil forces despite thousands of years of anti-Semitism. It was not Israel's suicidal sacrifices that I wanted to investigate, but the foundations of Israeli determination to live in peace.
There are many things that I wanted to talk about with Israelis, the foremost among them being their reluctance to do something about the bad press that continues to paint them as villains. Although I understand why the media, which reasonably covers most events accurately, chooses to ignore all rules of ethical journalism when it comes to Israel, I could not fathom Israel's reluctance to challenge the negative press effectively. Media bias against Israel reminded me of the Nazi-era German press that was recruited by Hitler's Minister of Propaganda, Joseph Goebbels, who picked every hate-laden word against the Jews. Just like the German press that refused to print the truth about the gruesome atrocities in Europe's death camps, or claimed that it was all an exaggeration, the media today also ignores Arab terrorism.
I wanted to see if there was any truth in the media allegations that Israel was an apartheid state, undemocratic and discriminatory.
I knew that a true Jewish State could not be undemocratic, since democratic concepts were always a part of Jewish thinking and derived directly from the Torah. For instance, in the Preamble to the Declaration of Independence, when Jefferson wrote that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness, he was basically referring to the Torah, which said that all men are created in the image of God. I was confident that Israel cannot be racist or discriminatory since it is based on the idea of the covenant between God and the Israelites, in which both parties accepted upon themselves duties and obligations, underlining the fact that power is established through the consent of both sides, rather than through tyranny by the more powerful party.
My understanding of the Jewish State was confirmed when the entry form that I needed to fill out before landing in Tel Aviv did not ask for my religion, as is the law in Pakistan. Also, unlike Saudi Arabia, no one in Israeli immigration demanded from me any certificate of religion.
As the El Al plane approached the Promised Land, I continued to shuffle the list of charges made routinely against Israel by its enemies: Israelis live in a perpetual state of fear; Israel is undemocratic; Muslim Arab citizens of Israel do not have equal rights.
Israelis live in a perpetual state of fear.
From Tel Aviv to Tiberias, Jerusalem to Jezreel, and from the Golan Heights to the Gaza border, I could not find any evidence of fear. In fact, the people felt so secure that none of the stores, gas stations, market places or residences we went to, and where it was known that we were Muslims, deemed it necessary to either search or interrogate us. Especially when Kiran and I went to Ben Yehuda Street in Jerusalem on a Friday evening, we found it bursting at its seams with people of all ages. The ground was shaking with music and young boys and girls were so busy having fun that they did not bother to even look around. Tourists were busy making deals and the whole crowd seemed to throb with the beat of the music.
I could not help but compare Israel's sense of security with the environment of insecurity that exists in Muslim countries. From Indonesia to Iran and from Afghanistan to Saudi Arabia, people are not sure of anything. In Pakistan's capital, Islamabad, and in the port city of Karachi, I was constantly advised not to make big purchases publicly for it encourages robbers to come after you. I did not hear news of any rape, honor killing or hold-up in Israel.
Israel is undemocratic.
As a Muslim, I am much more sensitive to the absence of democratic freedoms in any society. And I do not believe that anyone but a committed anti-Semite will deny that Israel is a democracy. Democracy in Israel is proportional and representative, but democratic coalitions, necessary in order to effect any decision-making, also have their problems.
The very first day in Caesarea introduced us to Israeli democracy. The air was full of political debate and discussion. Ariel Sharon's decision to leave the Likud and form a new political party dominated the hotel halls and underlined the problems caused by the necessity of having democratic coalitions. Someone commented: "The object of a free and democratic Israeli society is to reach satisfactory compromise, but often the conclusions are less than satisfactory - especially for the majority. It involves coalitions and unity, which are also checks and balances on any potential abuse of minority rights. It is a better system than the American representative Republican system - which is really a representation of power and special interests. In the US, you get a democracy for the few. In Israel, you have a democracy for everyone."
I tried very hard to find any Muslim state that has true democracy and where religious minorities are accorded equal democratic rights, but failed. The map of the Muslim world is too crowded with kings, despots, dictators, sham democrats and theocratic autocrats, and the persecution of minorities is an essential part of Islamist social behavior. But here, protected by Israel's democratic principles, the Muslim Arab citizens of Israel are afforded all the rights and privileges of Israeli citizenship. When the first elections to the Knesset were held in February of 1949, Israeli Arabs were given the right to vote and to be elected along with Israeli Jews. Today, Israel's Arab citizens are accorded full civil and political rights, entitled to complete participation in Israeli society. They are active in Israeli social, political and civic life, and enjoy representation in Israel's parliament, foreign service and judicial system.
The Israeli faith in democracy also explains their refusal to respond to Islamist terrorism in violent ways. Despite my being aware of the human weaknesses that allow anger to subvert the best of intentions, I could not find Israelis acting in vengeance against their Arab compatriots. My experience as a Muslim was also instrumental in expecting the worst in human behavior; Muslims under the influence of radical Islam have been unleashing their terror against non-Muslims even when the charges of anti-Muslim offenses were determined to be false.
I thought that it requires a superhuman effort to ignore the atrocities meted out to you and remain free of vengeful emotions. In my experience of Muslim societies, minorities have never been allowed the benefit of the doubt. Hatred of non-Muslims and outbursts of violence against minority faiths among radical Islamists have remained a norm rather than an exception. As a non-Wahhabi Muslim, I have personally faced their barbarism and have watched Christians, Hindus and other minorities being persecuted on false pretenses. I thought that if Wahhabis in Saudi Arabia can sentence a teacher to 40 months in jail and 750 lashes just for praising Jews, it will not be unreasonable on the part of Israelis to punish Palestinians for throwing stones at worshippers at the Western Wall and burning down the Tomb of Joseph.
But even in this case, Israelis have proved the world wrong. Despite daily provocations, they have managed successfully not to descend to the same level of depravity as their Arab enemies. The world is used to daily violence that is unleashed against religious minorities in the Muslim world. Only a couple of days ago, the Muslim faithful in Pakistan had broken through the walls of a church, torching and tearing open its doors. They were reacting to a rumor that a Christian had desecrated their holy book, the Koran. They smashed the marble altar of the Holy Spirit Church and shattered its stained glass windows. They torched a Christian residence and the neighboring St. Anthony's Girls School. Within moments, flames were licking the walls and black smoke filled the sky. For days, the Wahhabi clerics kept on calling their Muslim followers to come out from their houses and defend their faith by unleashing a reign of terror against Christians.
I wondered if an Israeli may someday find it justified to copy what Wahhabis have been doing in Iraq and other places - abducting, murdering and beheading "infidels". Most recently, the body of a Hindu driver, Maniappan Raman Kutty, was found with his throat slashed in southern Afghanistan for no evident reason but his faith.
But there was nothing in history that could have substantiated my fears; Jews, despite being subjected to the most barbaric acts of terrorism, have yet to react in vengeance against the perpetrators.
I concluded that my first visit to Israel will help me in untangling the knot of Israel's insistence on continuing to remain a target of Islamist terror.
[Part 1 of 2]
There are many things that I wanted to talk about with Israelis, the foremost among them being their reluctance to do something about the bad press that continues to paint them as villains. Although I understand why the media, which reasonably covers most events accurately, chooses to ignore all rules of ethical journalism when it comes to Israel, I could not fathom Israel's reluctance to challenge the negative press effectively. Media bias against Israel reminded me of the Nazi-era German press that was recruited by Hitler's Minister of Propaganda, Joseph Goebbels, who picked every hate-laden word against the Jews. Just like the German press that refused to print the truth about the gruesome atrocities in Europe's death camps, or claimed that it was all an exaggeration, the media today also ignores Arab terrorism.
I wanted to see if there was any truth in the media allegations that Israel was an apartheid state, undemocratic and discriminatory.
I knew that a true Jewish State could not be undemocratic, since democratic concepts were always a part of Jewish thinking and derived directly from the Torah. For instance, in the Preamble to the Declaration of Independence, when Jefferson wrote that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness, he was basically referring to the Torah, which said that all men are created in the image of God. I was confident that Israel cannot be racist or discriminatory since it is based on the idea of the covenant between God and the Israelites, in which both parties accepted upon themselves duties and obligations, underlining the fact that power is established through the consent of both sides, rather than through tyranny by the more powerful party.
My understanding of the Jewish State was confirmed when the entry form that I needed to fill out before landing in Tel Aviv did not ask for my religion, as is the law in Pakistan. Also, unlike Saudi Arabia, no one in Israeli immigration demanded from me any certificate of religion.
As the El Al plane approached the Promised Land, I continued to shuffle the list of charges made routinely against Israel by its enemies: Israelis live in a perpetual state of fear; Israel is undemocratic; Muslim Arab citizens of Israel do not have equal rights.
Israelis live in a perpetual state of fear.
From Tel Aviv to Tiberias, Jerusalem to Jezreel, and from the Golan Heights to the Gaza border, I could not find any evidence of fear. In fact, the people felt so secure that none of the stores, gas stations, market places or residences we went to, and where it was known that we were Muslims, deemed it necessary to either search or interrogate us. Especially when Kiran and I went to Ben Yehuda Street in Jerusalem on a Friday evening, we found it bursting at its seams with people of all ages. The ground was shaking with music and young boys and girls were so busy having fun that they did not bother to even look around. Tourists were busy making deals and the whole crowd seemed to throb with the beat of the music.
I could not help but compare Israel's sense of security with the environment of insecurity that exists in Muslim countries. From Indonesia to Iran and from Afghanistan to Saudi Arabia, people are not sure of anything. In Pakistan's capital, Islamabad, and in the port city of Karachi, I was constantly advised not to make big purchases publicly for it encourages robbers to come after you. I did not hear news of any rape, honor killing or hold-up in Israel.
Israel is undemocratic.
As a Muslim, I am much more sensitive to the absence of democratic freedoms in any society. And I do not believe that anyone but a committed anti-Semite will deny that Israel is a democracy. Democracy in Israel is proportional and representative, but democratic coalitions, necessary in order to effect any decision-making, also have their problems.
The very first day in Caesarea introduced us to Israeli democracy. The air was full of political debate and discussion. Ariel Sharon's decision to leave the Likud and form a new political party dominated the hotel halls and underlined the problems caused by the necessity of having democratic coalitions. Someone commented: "The object of a free and democratic Israeli society is to reach satisfactory compromise, but often the conclusions are less than satisfactory - especially for the majority. It involves coalitions and unity, which are also checks and balances on any potential abuse of minority rights. It is a better system than the American representative Republican system - which is really a representation of power and special interests. In the US, you get a democracy for the few. In Israel, you have a democracy for everyone."
I tried very hard to find any Muslim state that has true democracy and where religious minorities are accorded equal democratic rights, but failed. The map of the Muslim world is too crowded with kings, despots, dictators, sham democrats and theocratic autocrats, and the persecution of minorities is an essential part of Islamist social behavior. But here, protected by Israel's democratic principles, the Muslim Arab citizens of Israel are afforded all the rights and privileges of Israeli citizenship. When the first elections to the Knesset were held in February of 1949, Israeli Arabs were given the right to vote and to be elected along with Israeli Jews. Today, Israel's Arab citizens are accorded full civil and political rights, entitled to complete participation in Israeli society. They are active in Israeli social, political and civic life, and enjoy representation in Israel's parliament, foreign service and judicial system.
The Israeli faith in democracy also explains their refusal to respond to Islamist terrorism in violent ways. Despite my being aware of the human weaknesses that allow anger to subvert the best of intentions, I could not find Israelis acting in vengeance against their Arab compatriots. My experience as a Muslim was also instrumental in expecting the worst in human behavior; Muslims under the influence of radical Islam have been unleashing their terror against non-Muslims even when the charges of anti-Muslim offenses were determined to be false.
I thought that it requires a superhuman effort to ignore the atrocities meted out to you and remain free of vengeful emotions. In my experience of Muslim societies, minorities have never been allowed the benefit of the doubt. Hatred of non-Muslims and outbursts of violence against minority faiths among radical Islamists have remained a norm rather than an exception. As a non-Wahhabi Muslim, I have personally faced their barbarism and have watched Christians, Hindus and other minorities being persecuted on false pretenses. I thought that if Wahhabis in Saudi Arabia can sentence a teacher to 40 months in jail and 750 lashes just for praising Jews, it will not be unreasonable on the part of Israelis to punish Palestinians for throwing stones at worshippers at the Western Wall and burning down the Tomb of Joseph.
But even in this case, Israelis have proved the world wrong. Despite daily provocations, they have managed successfully not to descend to the same level of depravity as their Arab enemies. The world is used to daily violence that is unleashed against religious minorities in the Muslim world. Only a couple of days ago, the Muslim faithful in Pakistan had broken through the walls of a church, torching and tearing open its doors. They were reacting to a rumor that a Christian had desecrated their holy book, the Koran. They smashed the marble altar of the Holy Spirit Church and shattered its stained glass windows. They torched a Christian residence and the neighboring St. Anthony's Girls School. Within moments, flames were licking the walls and black smoke filled the sky. For days, the Wahhabi clerics kept on calling their Muslim followers to come out from their houses and defend their faith by unleashing a reign of terror against Christians.
I wondered if an Israeli may someday find it justified to copy what Wahhabis have been doing in Iraq and other places - abducting, murdering and beheading "infidels". Most recently, the body of a Hindu driver, Maniappan Raman Kutty, was found with his throat slashed in southern Afghanistan for no evident reason but his faith.
But there was nothing in history that could have substantiated my fears; Jews, despite being subjected to the most barbaric acts of terrorism, have yet to react in vengeance against the perpetrators.
I concluded that my first visit to Israel will help me in untangling the knot of Israel's insistence on continuing to remain a target of Islamist terror.
[Part 1 of 2]