The truth about the disgusting anti-Semitism that is at the core of the belief system of the Muslim Brotherhood government of Egypt is finally gaining the attention it deserves. As we wrote yesterday, the belated coverage given by the New York Times yesterday puts the Obama administration’s embrace of the regime of President Mohamed Morsi in an extremely unflattering light. But when put on the spot about the video in which Morsi employed a standard Islamic epithet for Jews calling Israelis “the descendants of apes and pigs,” the White House and the State Department both condemned the Egyptian president’s statements, as did the Times in an editorial. But when a delegation of visiting U.S. senators confronted Morsi today over his hate speech, they got the sort of answer that ought to make Congress as well as the administration reconsider the continuation of the massive aid package that Egypt receives.
According to Reuters, Morsi told a group of senators, including John McCain and Richard Blumenthal, that his remarks were taken out of context. What conceivable context could justify this sort of hate? Morsi said his comments should be understood as an understandable response to Israel’s counterattack against terrorist rocket fire from Gaza. In other words, in the view of Egypt’s president an Israel willing to defend itself against the rocket attacks launched by the Muslim Brotherhood’s Hamas ally is excuse for any sort of vile slander against the Jewish people or the United States. That may make sense in an Egyptian political culture in which anti-Semitism has become so drilled into the minds of the people by groups like the Brotherhood as to be unexceptionable. But it can only be a reminder to Americans that while we desire friendship with the Egyptian people, there can be no question of further American subsidies for a regime that is built on hate.
Ever since the fall of Hosni Mubarak, much of the American media as well as the administration has chosen to buy into the myth that the Brotherhood is composed of well meaning moderate Muslims who aren’t different from any other political or social party except for the fact that they take their faith seriously. That was always a transparent lie easily dismissed by those who knew anything about the Brotherhood’s history and ideology. But the notice given to the Morsi video, unearthed by the essential Memri.org group that monitors the Arab media, has made it impossible for Washington to go on pretending that normal, friendly relations were truly possible with Cairo while it was ruled by Morsi and his party.
There will be those who will argue that while Morsi’s calumnies are to be condemned, they are matched by hate speech uttered by Israelis. The Times slipped in a piece of this sort of false moral equivalence in its editorial when it stated:
The sad truth is that defaming Jews is an all too standard feature of Egyptian, and Arab, discourse; Israelis are not immune to responding in kind either.
While it cannot be denied that individual Israelis are as capable of uttering vile things as any other group of humans, there is no comparison between stray haters and the way anti-Semitism and hatred of the West is mainstream discourse in the Muslim and Arab worlds. It should also be pointed out that while hatred of Jews and Israel is part of the standard curricula in Arab countries (this is especially the case in Gaza and the West Bank), peace education is standard in Israeli schools. Israel’s leaders, be they from the left or the right, have always condemned hate against Arabs as well as instances of violence or discrimination. To mention Israeli attitudes against Arabs in the same breath with a discussion of the Arab and Muslim prejudice against Jews that fuels the ongoing war against the Jewish state is to turn the truth on its head.
It is to be hoped that McCain and Blumenthal and their colleagues will return home from Cairo determined to press the administration to stop coddling Morsi and the Brotherhood as well as to put a hold on any further disbursement of the billions in U.S. taxpayer cash to Egypt. If they don’t, Morsi will be forgiven for concluding that he is free to say and do anything he likes without fear of being held accountable by his American patrons.
In Egypt, publicly calling for the murder of Jews, or slamming all Jews as a religion or ‘race’, is a good way to gain social and political acceptance.
In Israel, publicly or privately calling for the murder of Arabs or of Muslims, or publicly slamming Islam as a religion or Arabs as a ‘race’, is a good way to end up in jail, often including pre-trial detention without bail.
The sad truth is that the NYT is not above ignoring the difference.
As noted in the post, what Morsi said isn't at all remarkable – it's standard Muslim fare in that region. n nFor some reason, though, it doesn't matter what the Arabs say – it doesn't even matter what they do. No matter what, we'll continue to urge Israel to "make the sacrifices necessary for peace."
The "Commentariat" has regularly rejected any claim that Islamic theology is inherently anti-Semitic, racist (they hate blacks as much as the KKK and were the first to use race as the basis of slavery), and anti-Christian. No point pushing the point with them.
True. At the present time Mr. Tobin and those like him will not be persuaded. However, as the menace of Islam grows greater and greater, the consequences of Western inaction will be to severe to ignore. Mr. Tobin is an intelligent and reasonable person ,as are most of the other writers for Commentary-they will come around. Sadly, the situation will need to get even worse than it is now, and it can and WILL most certainly get worse. If I may quote Shakespeare form Henry 5th: "Self-love,is not so vile a sin as self-neglecting."
regarding: n nAs noted in the post, what Morsi said isn't at all remarkable – it's standard Muslim fare in that region. n nit is standard muslim fare in every region…………..anywhere and everywhere n nIt is as standard as Jesus to Christianity n nIt is as standard as the Torah to Judaism n
Absolutely dead on! Mr. Tobin adamantly refuses to learn too much about the core texts of Islam- Koran , Hadith, and Sira. I suspect at some level he knows that it is these texts that inform the attitudes and behaviors of the adherents of Islam. Attitudes and behaviors that are readily apparent to anyone with their five senses intact , and a modicum of intellectual honesty. n Perhaps , as the great Hugh Fitzgerald points out, it is just too depressing for Mr. Tobin and those like him to accept that there is no "solution" to Arab-Israeli conflict , or the myriad other Muslim wars being waged against non-Muslims on a global scale- the Jihad! The best we can do is lessen the menace that Islam presents through a series of wise policies that contain the threat. Several such recommendations are as follows: 1) halt Muslim immigration into Western lands. 2) Do not intervene in sectarian Muslim disputes, as these Muslim on Muslim wars weaken the camp of Islam and are good for the infidels. 3) NO Turkey in EU. 4) Destroy Iran's Nuclear project. 5) Stop all Jizyah payments to Muslim states- particularly Egypt, Pakistan, Iraq. After all, the oil-rich gulf states have plenty of undeserved oil wealth (accident of geology) to spread to their fellow Muslims. n There are ways to lessen the menace of Islam, and we Christians, Jews, Bhuddists, Hindus, atheists, whatever, need to unite to defeat this fascistic ideology.
excellent
Well spoken! Pithy and to the point.
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… and the point should not be lost that Morsi's views were expressed (cf MEMRI) well before the 'Pillars of Defence' episode cited as the 'correct' context in which his expressions of hate for Jews should be taken. If the MSM swallows that gumpf, they'll swallow anything that buttresses their impossible vision for the ME. And they do, and always will.
if the MSM swallows it? are you kidding? the MSM says Chuck Hagel will be a great SecDef, and he likes Israel a lot! they will swallow anything.
well, to be completely accurate, the Times took its sweet time in covering the true story of the Muslim Brotherhood, which broke years ago.
The Times also took its good, sweet time in covering the Holocaust, so what's changed?
Has it ever covered Stalin's use of starvation to commit the mass murder of Ukrainians ? Tens of millions of Ukrainians.
Let's remember that Morsi and Obama have similar positions with respect to Jews and Israel (regardless of the lies Obama expounds in public), so there will be no suspension of military aid to Egypt and anyone who thinks there is even a remote chance of this happening is not in touch with reality.
All these Islamists and other Muslims and many of the white world are being fed the same rotten milk of IGNORANCE, JEALOUSY and HATE. They know no better because that is what they have been fed with for centuries. Morsi point of view is not different from the West that insists on the notion of controlled tit for tat where because it is the Jews they are not entitle to win square and fair, once for all, against an enemy whose only goal is the destruction of IL. nDefaming the Jews is also a standard feature in the world of the WHITE Men. It is evident all over Europe and becoming more obvious in the US all over academia. nMr. Obama failure to impose his will on IL leads him to his favorite position: leading from behind and now he may give the EU a chance to break IL! Time will tell if Pr. O has learned something about the Muslims from the ME & North Africa.