[(Continued from p.9)]
Recently Larry King interviewed the parents of Daniel Pearl, the journalist who was kidnapped and gruesomely killed by Pakistani Muslims. Mrs. Pearl said she was born in Baghdad, a fact which seemed to amaze King. She told the astonished talk show host that in the 1930s, fully twenty five percent of Baghdad's population was Jewish. King would also doubtless be surprised to learn that about 800,000 Jews left homes and possessions in Egypt, Syria, Algiers, Yemen -- where they had lived for generations. While Arabs love to tell of the co-existence between Arabs and Jews, the latter were second class citizens, often harassed, threatened, and forced to pay "tributes" to their national landlords.
In my youth, I visited Morocco, Algiers and Tunisia, the only three Arab nations where Jews enjoyed a modicum of government protection. Large cities such as Djerba, Rabat, Casablanca, Oran, and Algiers had highly visible, thriving Jewish populations. Synagogues were centrally located and often surrounded by shops selling foods, books and even religious garments specifically for Jewish customers. After the advent of Israel, Jews began a steady immigration to Israel, usually following anti-Semitic riots and threats. After the 1967 war, most of those who had remained escaped under cover of night with only their clothing, leaving valuables and heirlooms behind.
Reporters routinely ask Arab "professional refugees" about their longing for their lost homeland, their lost views of the sea, their streets, their schools. They never bother to inquire about the equal number of Jews who left Arab nations and created, in fact, a transfer of populations.
This issue should be widely discussed, but don't expect media types or Israeli representatives to make the case any time soon.
Arab terrorists have threatened to kill Israelis and Americans. The U.S. was on special high alert on July 4th. On that day an Egyptian limousine driver, Hesham Mohamed Hadayat, walked into the El Al terminal at Los Angeles Airport and opened fire, killing two civilians and wounding others. What could have been a major blood bath was averted by a quick response from armed El Al security officers.
The FBI, hard on the heels of so many accusations of failure, declared instantly that this was an "isolated incident," not terrorism. The White House echoed the absurdity. White House spokesman Ari Fleischer intoned: "There is no evidence, no indication at this time, that this is terrorist." The FBI, apparently intent on proving that it is even more incompetent than previously suspected, actually said their investigators had not uncovered anything to suggest he harbored anti-Israel views, this despite the fact that ordinary reporters had no difficulty uncovering plenty of evidence on this score. The New York Times reports an ex-employee saying Hadayet told him "Israelis tried to destroy the...Egyptian population by sending prostitutes with AIDS to Egypt." Hadayet became furious when a neighbor hung American and Marine Corps flags after September 11.
It looks as if there may be more, much more. On July 7 the Arabic London-based newspaper Al Hayat reported that Hadayet had met with Dr. Ayman Zuwahri, the chief of Islamic Jihad who serves as bin Laden's deputy, twice in California, in 1995 and in 1998.
The Egyptian security services (whom the U.S. naively turned to for "cooperation" in "investigating" Hadayet) promptly announced that that the incident was due to a tiff with El Al . The murderer's family declared he was mad because El Al had stiffed him on two limousine charges. Hadayet's wife said he was a victim of anti-Arab racism, denying he had hurt anyone. The Egyptian Foreign Minister complained about the "exaggerated" publicity given the shooting.
Richard Reid, the FBI must have originally concluded, was just mad at his sneaker.
All this recalls the Egyptian reaction when a pilot, Captain Batouti, in a suicide act verified by the "black box" recording, brought down an Egyptian airline killing hundreds of innocents aboard. The Arab media went into total spin, blaming the crash on the CIA and the Mossad -- the usual suspects. Suicide, they averred, was impossible. Scholars, journalists, and mullahs insisted that the Koran forbids suicide, a fact which could come as news to the thousands of victims of Arab suicide bombers. Ahmed Hisham, a professor at Birzeit University near Ramallah, draws the subtle distinction: "A suicide is the worst kind of crime because it is murder that is self inflicted. A suicide mission is an act of sacrifice for the welfare of others." Well that does explain it.
One is also reminded of the FBI's initial response to Richard Reid, a terrorist who tried to light a bomb hidden in his shoe on a flight from Paris to Miami. This too was called an isolated incident. Reid, the FBI must have originally concluded, was just mad at his sneaker. Weeks later, it was revealed that Reid was a disciple of Bin Laden.
While we wait for a more thorough investigation of the Los Angeles terrorist, we are left to wonder if FBI Director's speech to the American Muslim Council was an "isolated incident" of idiocy.
Ruth King is a member of the executive committee of Americans For a Safe Israel.
Outpost - 10 - July-August 2002