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Ideology and Victory

Reader comment on item: How Can Israel Win the Palestinian Conflict?

Submitted by Dave (United States), Jan 8, 2023 at 10:05

Ideology is always important in warfare as an adjunct to force. Here are some suggestions.
A salient aspect of the jihad against Israel is religious intolerance. Jews are routinely assaulted when they visit their holy sites, such as Joseph's Tomb or the Western Wall. They are hardly alone in suffering this humiliation, as Muslims also attack Hindus at their holy sites and have destroyed thousands of Hindu temples, Christians are attacked throughout Africa and thousand of churches have been vandalized or burned down in many worldwide locales, including Europe.
Modern, leading-edge historical research into the seventh century shows that this behavior does not accord with the tolerant and inclusive approach towards religion practiced by Muhammad and the early progenitors of the Islamic faith. It was precisely their tolerance that enabled them to conquer much of the eastern Roman empire, as they were able to form a broadly based, powerful coalition drawn from people with diverse backgrounds. At that time, there was no formal Islamic canon, nor was there any concept of sectarian religious superiority. As proof of such tolerance, seventh century witnesses attest to the respect shown to Christians and Christianity, despite the fact that the Roman rulers being fought were Byzantine Christians.
Also, the prohibitions on Jewish settlement in Jerusalem that the Romans had imposed were reversed, and work on rehabilitating Solomon's Temple was initiated as a holy place meant for all of Muhammad's followers, regardless of faith. Jews probably fought alongside his troops.
Religious intolerance and sectarian superiority only seeped into the Islamic canon long after Muhammad and his companions passed away. Given the central importance of Muhammad to Muslims, these historical facts should be discussed as a means of undermining the lethal religious intolerance which is so key to maintaining the conflict.
It is also important to counter leftist ideology, which has been a major western ally of the jihad. In order to do that effectively, the source of leftist anti-Zionist ideation must be identified accurately. This is a rather straightforward task, but it has been obstructed by an over-emphasis on antisemitism as the cause of the problem. Certainly, antisemitism is one major cause of anti-Zionism, and the tendency of Jews to focus on it is understandable given their experiences, but the root cause of leftist anti-Zionism can be found mainly in globalism and its extreme notions of equality, rather than in antisemitism, which is more a result of rather than a cause of their anti-Zionism.
First, defining Zionism must be done honestly and accurately. In a positive sense, it is the reanimation of the historical Jewish homeland for the purpose of providing political self-determination and physical protection for the dispersed Jewish nation. More problematically, it is also a novel approach to the Jewish question which is based on a form of nationalism based on ethnic and religious identity. It is this latter means of of defining Zionism which alienates the globalist Left. The globalist Left is fundamentally opposed to value judgements based on race, culture or nationality which could be in a any way construed to discriminate against anyone. These ideas of extreme equality, sometimes referred to as cultural relativism, are becoming ever more prevalent in the West; they are painfully evident in the Biden administration's deliberately lax border policies. If one accepts the idea that all cultures, all countries and all people are equally worthy, then why have a border, why have a country? This naive policy, which could actually spell suicide for western civilization, is a major source of anti-Israel hostility. To top it off, Israel has very strict border controls. How sinful. Obviously, conservatives are more at home with nationalism, its justifications and requirements, and this is very evident politically in their stronger support for Israel. Those are the guys that Jews seldom vote for.
Many Jews are attracted to these deceptively seductive ideas since they are ostensibly against all forms of racism, including antisemitism. Yet, ironically, antisemitism has been a major result of this globalist leftist assault on Israel. Jewish leaders have done an abysmal job at understanding this phenomenon, obsessed as they are with the more familiar traditional right wing antisemitism. On the other hand, Islamists understand it well and have adroitly adjusted their political strategy. One may note their hypocrisy, however, as Islamic states are anything but open-border paragons of religious or ethnic tolerance.
Thus, there are two main components that I can think of in the ideas war: The mismatch of modern Islamic religious intolerance with the historical evidence of Muhammad and his successful seventh century conquests, and the necessity to expose and oppose leftist globalist anti-Zionism and its invidious infiltration into Jewish and western liberal circles.

Submitting....

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Reader comments (47) on this item

Title Commenter Date Thread
2Re-Conquer Gaza & Impose Social Engineer with Israeli Arabs & West Bankers [188 words]
w/response from Daniel Pipes
RobertFeb 11, 2023 23:57292938
Hossein Karaka cold blooded murder: Feb.10.23 rammnig attack, and racist "Palestinian" praise [591 words]AharonFeb 10, 2023 12:40292792
Pure souls... victims of child killers racist Arab - Islamic bigotry [262 words]AharonFeb 12, 2023 06:44292792
2We need to directly blame Islam for the murders by Muslims [116 words]PrashantFeb 12, 2023 10:35292792
4The root cause of islamic violence & terrorism [163 words]aktFeb 14, 2023 03:20292792
Islamofascist Raja Abdulrahim strikes again in her NYT piece: white washing racist massacre on innocent Jews [20 words]SallyFeb 5, 2023 10:52292162
Lying "Palestinian" from Gaza propogates on the "Forward?" [73 words]SallyFeb 2, 2023 06:53291965
Arab Pallywood, the bigot Abeer Salman and vile cartoons [18 words]AharonJan 30, 2023 18:04291856
The racist Arab Islamic fascist Alkam Khairy's massacre in front of synagogue: Jerusalem, Jan 27, 2023 [4607 words]AharonJan 30, 2023 13:30291846
1For Islam violence is just an idiom [308 words]PrashantFeb 1, 2023 06:00291846
Jewish Israel in the Context of Christian Russia and Muslim Iran [104 words]RobertJan 29, 2023 08:57291788
22023 1-28 "In Israel, India, and Elsewhere the Civilization State is Taking Over" [92 words]RobertJan 28, 2023 20:45291769
12020-2023 "Jerusalem Declaration on Antisemitism" [282 words]RobertJan 25, 2023 20:51291622
1Self-Hating Jew Kenneth Roth Gets Fellowship at Harvard University [434 words]RobertJan 23, 2023 12:03291490
1Tough and direct question for people like Kenneth Roth [175 words]PrashantJan 24, 2023 23:57291490
2Kenneth Roth, of Human Rights Watch, and Harvard University [357 words]RobertJan 21, 2023 08:02291356
1That is why we, the people, need to capture the bandwidth. [173 words]PrashantJan 21, 2023 21:26291356
11980 [2017] "Close Settlement on the Land" by Eugene V. Rostow [197 words]RobertJan 20, 2023 16:59291335
1Sergey Lavrov and Antisemite Ken Roth (of Human Rights Watch) [232 words]RobertJan 19, 2023 12:44291266
Anti-Zionism and Anti-semitism is not what Islam follows. [264 words]PrashantJan 20, 2023 02:15291266
1Treason and Citizenship [337 words]RobertJan 16, 2023 16:32291104
2We don't want to become like them but... [160 words]PrashantJan 17, 2023 08:59291104
12,000+ Years in Other People's Countries, ... and Now What to Do with Area C. [328 words]RobertJan 15, 2023 21:04291058
Minister Zohar: "There were thousands at the [lefty] demonstration, [but] millions at the election" [52 words]NirJan 15, 2023 00:59291030
28.1% Muslim Population of Israel [633 words]RobertJan 13, 2023 15:05290976
118.1% not 8.1% (Muslim Population of Israel) - Sorry for the typo. [46 words]RobertJan 14, 2023 12:47290976
1Thanks Robert, can I add... [31 words]NirJan 15, 2023 00:52290976
118% muslims is the beginning of the danger zone for democracies [201 words]PrashantJan 16, 2023 11:08290976
"Palestinian" policeman/terrorist - eliminated (Jan.12.23) [25 words]NirJan 12, 2023 03:54290906
"I prefer for Jordan to run the West Bank" [18 words]
w/response from Daniel Pipes
DenisJan 10, 2023 06:18290829
Minister Akunis: "The fact that they (LEFT) are losing does not mean that democracy is in danger" [388 words]AharonJan 9, 2023 21:38290808
State of Israel presents: Discrimination of Jews in the Galilee settlements - From reasons of conservatives' rise in Israel [1388 words]AharonJan 9, 2023 16:49290795
Rule "a democratic government cannot defeat its citizen" has a qualifier [259 words]
w/response from Daniel Pipes
PrashantJan 8, 2023 23:32290759
You are right. [68 words]PrashantJan 18, 2023 23:13290759
2Ideology and Victory [778 words]DaveJan 8, 2023 10:05290726
Time to bring back the short-wave radio. [140 words]PrashantJan 8, 2023 23:48290726
2I read Dave's letter twice to learn from it. [377 words]PrashantJan 9, 2023 04:19290726
1The Buddhists can surprise you [69 words]DaveJan 9, 2023 10:32290726
1Good points [59 words]Gary KatzJan 8, 2023 00:13290699
comment [846 words]
w/response from Daniel Pipes
DavidJan 7, 2023 21:45290697
Three Issues; Jordan, Jordan, & Jordan [462 words]RobertJan 8, 2023 13:39290697
1Regarding Jordan's peace treaty and other treaties with Islamic politico-religious regimes [233 words]PrashantJan 8, 2023 23:11290697
2denying facts [203 words]adel saoumaJan 7, 2023 21:27290696
2Policy, Strategy, and Tactics [205 words]RobertJan 7, 2023 14:51290686
2The realities in a nutshell [144 words]G MarcusJan 7, 2023 20:36290686
2I like the 3-state solution as long as... [91 words]PrashantJan 8, 2023 04:07290686
2Muslims need to be defeated in the war for the bandwidth [397 words]PrashantJan 8, 2023 22:00290686

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