Islamophobia in Western world unsurprising

‘’Islamophobia, a worldwide phenomenon, has become increasingly menacing in parts of Europe and the US.’’ So writes Iqbal Jassat in The Star, 13 October 2020, and those of us who know our history, aren’t surprised. Who can forget the 3 000 deaths of 9/11 and the Muslim terrorists who hijacked the four passenger-laden planes involved, murdered and replaced their pilots, and then flew those planes to their final destruction in the United States?

Or, the five wars that have been forced on tiny and mostly outgunned Israel by surrounding Muslim countries, all of which the Muslims lost, but which cost the Israelis heavily in death and injury? Or the fact that almost all terrorist attacks worldwide have had a Muslim background? It’s not just a matter of religious antipathy; there are two main Muslim factions: Sunni and Shia. They have been attacking each other with Russian assistance, and in Syria alone, casualties have amounted to more than half a million.

Jassat is a spokesperson for Palestinians. They are adamant that Palestine is theirs “from the Jordan to the sea”. In spite of the fact that Jews have lived in the territory for the past 3 000 years, had their kingdoms and temples in Jerusalem, developed and industrialised the country, replanted its vanished forests, made its deserts bloom, and drained its malarial swamps, they arrogantly and obstinately refuse Jews any role in its history. After each of its conquests, Israel offered to share territory with the Palestinians in spite of ongoing terrorist attacks.

Israel is regarded as the only democracy in the Middle East. Its government is elected by popular vote by all its citizens, Jew and Arab. This makes Jassat’s description of its government as a “settler/colonial regime” all the more puzzling. Regimes aren’t elected by popular vote. Nations colonise territories that have exploitable assets, gold, diamonds, or oil. Hence Ephraim Kishon’s title for a book on Israel: No oil, Moses.

Jassat lauds the anti-Israel movement BDS (Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions) four times, and reports that there is a pro-Israel group named PJTN in South Africa, opining that its existence “ought to be of concern to the intelligence and security cluster and Palestine solidarity movements”. But even when BDS has been known to disrupt a concert held here by an Israeli musician with antisemitic shouts, his disapproval isn’t on record.