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Orthodox Jews in Americas views on Terrorism in Israel In the hours after the twin towers came crashing down, a tidal wave of support for a war against terrorism swept across the country; Americans had not been so united about anything in over a haft-century. But almost immediately, an undertow of perverse opinion was created by the "semi-apologists" - those who deplore the acts of terrorism but, at the same time, shift an appreciable amount of the blame onto America. In so doing, they not only minimize the acts of terrorism, but suggest that those acts would stop if America would only behave more nobly. We can take a look what a situation in Israel can be. After a dozen suicide attacks in recent years - and long experience with terrorism in its five decades of existence - Israel copes with the aftermath of such tragedies with heart-wrenching routine. Rescue workers are on the scene in minutes, quickly followed by Orthodox Jews collecting scraps of flesh and blood for burial.
Within hours, the wreckage of the blast is hauled away, leaving only a few burn marks and memorial candles lit by survivors. Radio stations play tapes of sad music, on hand specifically for such occasions, and television stations replace comedies with special talk shows and lists of the dead and wounded. Twenty-four hours after an attack, funerals for most victims are already over, in keeping with Jewish custom requiring immediate burial. (Mistone 46). Terrorism as a generic term can include the systematic use of terror against a military enemy. But the war we have declared is against the terrorism practiced and openly proclaimed by Osama bin Laden and his ilk, which primarily targets civilians. In 1998, one of bin Laden's organizations stated that the killing of American civilians was "the individual duty of every Muslim. " It should go without saying that at least such murderous terrorism against innocent civilians breaks the bounds of civilized behavior and, on its face, can bear no excuse; unfortunately, it cannot go without saying.
It is this kind of terrorism for which the semi-apologists do offer back-door excuses. (Miller 34). Their voices may seem no more than the usual chorus emanating from members of the anti-American and / or anti-Israel brigade, not likely to detract from the prevailing sense of outrage against these acts of serial homicide against civilians. But that outrage may not be enough. We may be facing a civilization al challenge much more difficult to understand than those of 20 th-century fascism and bolshevism.
Beyond aggressive military, diplomatic, and law enforcement action -- and to sustain those action fronts long enough -- this is destined to become an extended war for the minds of the American people. If their understanding of the real and portentous nature of this terrorism falters, the West, America, and Israel could suffer grievously. The exculpatory note is found most clearly in the familiar refrain of the semi-apologists about the "root causes" of bin Laden's terrorism: the role of this country in visiting abject poverty on the Arab and Muslim world; and the arrogance and disrespect America generally shows towards that world, notably in its support of Israel. Noam Chomsky, M. I. T.
professor and pied piper to generations of college students, deplored the terrorist attacks, but then explained that they were committed out of feelings that "the US obstructs freedom and democracy, as well as material plenty for others. In the Middle East, for example, the United States supports Israeli oppression of Palestinians. " Susan Sontag famously wrote in The New Yorker that while the slaughter in New York was inexcusable, it should really be seen as "an attack on the world's self-proclaimed superpower, undertaken as a consequence of specific American alliances and actions. " (1). Rabbi Michael Lerner wrote in his magazine Tikkun that, while the terrorism was deplorable, it was partly explained by resentment about "the hoarding of the world's resources by the richest society in the world, and our frantic attempts to accelerate globalization with its attendant inequalities of wealth. " The publications of the "Mobilization for Global Justice" -- a sponsor of the often riotous "anti-globalism" protests against the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund -- have been a venue for these semi-apologies. (1). And then there have been the universities. George Wright, a professor of political science at the University of California, voiced the refrain heard at many campus "peace vigils" when he said, "We should try to understand why there are people in the world that hate the United States. " He explained that the terrorism in New York and Washington was an attack on America's economic dominance and leadership in "globalization. " At the University of Texas, Professor Robert Jensen indicated that the mass murder in New York was "no more despicable than the massive acts of terrorism...
that the United States has committed during my lifetime. " A Rutgers professor told her students that the "ultimate cause [of the terrorism] is the fascism of US foreign policy over the past many decades. " Cynthia McKinney, Congresswoman from Atlanta, eminently qualified as a semi-apologist in a letter she sent to Prince Alwaleed bin Talk of Saudi Arabia. Mayor Giuliani had rejected the ten million dollars given in aid of New York's terrorist victims by the prince, who expressed his distaste for the slaughter while, at the same time, suggesting that the unfortunate American support for Israel had been a reason for it, In her letter to the prince, Congresswoman McKinney rebuked the mayor and moved swiftly beyond her description of the terrorist attack as "heinous, " to state that "there are a growing number of people in the United States who recognize, like you, that the US policy in the Middle East needs serious examination. " She approvingly quoted an Israeli peace group statement that "Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza strip is the root cause of the violence and hatred. " (2). It is relatively easy, but not enough, to counter that causative logic by examining the expressed motivations of Osama bin Laden and the Qaeda terrorist network. Bin Laden has himself clearly explained his "root causes"; they do not notably include Muslim poverty, for which he offers no program, nor are they centered on the Palestinian cause.
His primary purpose is to bring down the "quietest" Islamic regimes such as Saudi Arabia and Egypt. In an interview in an Arabic language magazine in November 1996, his main attack is on "the police states in the Arab world, " starting with Saudi Arabia, from which he had been ejected. "In particular, " he said, "the role of the religious organization in the country of the two sacred mosques is of the most ominous of roles. " Those "weak and soft" clerics have corrupted Muslim youth with the connivance of the Saudi regime, which "placed the honest scholars in the jails. " (2). But the regime's most grievous sin was "to permit entry into the country of the two sacred mosques to the modern day crusaders, " namely the Americans. The United States is seen as the main operational enemy because it supports the regimes of Saudi Arabia and other relatively "moderate" Arab states, helping to keep them out of the hands of bin Laden and his associates. It is also seen as enemy because it corrupts these countries and their youth with Western values of democracy and cultural permissiveness.
Bin Laden founded the International Islamic Front for Jihad against Jews and Crusaders, which issued that fatwa imposing a religious responsibility on Muslims to kill Americans and their allies, both civil and military, "in any country where this is possible. " Some analysts of terrorism have suggested that such nihilistic movements are usually bound to fail in the end, but in this case, their initial success could at least result in the overthrow of a number of established Muslim states and their takeover by a triumphant radical Islam. Of course, a return to more traditional religious practices would presumably ensue, but that, including the ramifications for democratic practice, might be considered an internal Islamic matter. And some accommodationist tendencies could eventually redevelop, as they may be struggling to do in Iran. But for whatever time it endures, a radical Islamism in power would, predictably, only make matters worse for a large sector of the Muslim world and open up a more destructive and confrontational chapter for the whole world. For the sake of their unflagging support of the war against terrorism, Americans should understand these consequences, even if the moral outrage at any act of terrorism continues to burn. However, if there is a long-range battle for the American mind, the public will not be most vulnerable to the argument that America's "global" capitalism is either a credible cause of terrorism against this country, or one that should be readily abandoned.
If frustration gathers, it is more likely that the public will be more vulnerable to attacks on American foreign policy in general, as exemplified by Pat Buchan-an's populist attack on American "interventionism"; and that attack will center, as it does for Buchanan as well as for the Left, on America's support of Israel in particular. (Mistone 47 - 48). In short, it cannot be denied that American support of Israel is a factor in Islamist hostility to the US. But it is also apparent that it is neither the prime nor the prior reason for Islamic hostility, or for terrorist activity towards this country - and neither would stop if America abandoned Israel. To the contrary, if America were to accede to terrorist demands that it pull away from Israel, it would only be seen as a terrorist success. Ensuing would not only be the immediate danger to Israel, but all the consequences of radical Islamism gaining leverage in its efforts to topple the regimes more open to future moderation.
It may seem surprising that all the disinformation spread about the effect of America's support of Israel should have had so little initial effect on public opinion. Right after the terrorist acts in New York and Washington, surveyed American attitudes were found to have become even more favorable to Israel than before. Over the last quarter of a century, year after year, Americans have consistently said that they were more sympathetic to the Israelis than to the Arabs by a large margin. In the last 12 surveys with this language, more sympathy was expressed for the Israelis over the Palestinian...
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Research essay sample on Osama Bin Laden War Against Terrorism
