Sigmund, Carl and Alfred

Joseph Massad plays a role, that of an Arab comedian. Unlike the new crop of Muslim and Arab comedians, he is of the old school. He doesn’t make fun of himself or the plethora of obvious blemishes and dysfunctions that can be found in the Arab world. Instead, like Mahmoud Ahmadenijad, he finds his humor in attacking his civilized adversaries.

Joseph Massad thinks he’s funny because he’s counting on a few like minded imbeciles to laugh along with him.

In the great scheme of things, Joseph Massad doesn’t really matter. Inasmuch as he is an associate professor of Modern Arab politics at Columbia University (as if dysfunctional, backward and murderous Arab regimes can be discussed as ‘political’ entities in the same way western civilized nations can), he becomes fair game for critique.

Massad is just another in the legions of armchair jihadi’s that is unhappy with the current state of affairs in the Middle East. The rules have changed in the region and he isn’t happy, because the much dreaded ‘nightmare scenario’ for the Palestinians and the Arab world is unfolding before their very eyes. There are now expectations (other than failure) of the Arab world and there is now a groundswell for accountability and civilized behavior, from both the Americans and some Europeans. The ’say one thing in the West and another thing to the folks back home’ is a tactic that is not working anymore. He and others are desperate that the ‘Arafat Model’ of inertia that worked so well for decades be reinstated. They believe that ‘model’ served to legitimize Arab and Palestinian dysfunction.

Joseph Massad and the other armchair jihadis want to avoid they respond to demands of accountability and civilized behavior by attempting to deflect attention away from the dysfunction and moral implosion of much of Palestinian and Arab society- they same parts with which they are so transparently identified.

Massad starts Israel’s Right To Be Racist, with an attempt at humor:

Israel’s struggle for peace is a sincere one. In fact, Israel desires to live at peace not only with its neighbours, but also and especially with its own Palestinian population, and with Palestinians whose lands its military occupies by force. Israel’s desire for peace is not only rhetorical but also substantive and deeply psychological. With few exceptions, prominent Zionist leaders since the inception of colonial Zionism have desired to establish peace with the Palestinians and other Arabs whose lands they slated for colonisation and settlement. The only thing Israel has asked for, and continues to ask for in order to end the state of war with the Palestinians and its Arab neighbours, is that all recognise its right to be a racist state that discriminates by law against Palestinians and other Arabs and grants differential legal rights and privileges to its own Jewish citizens and to all other Jews anywhere.

And so begins yet another example of what passes for ‘thought’ in the Arab world.

Still, whenever an Arab writer brings up racism, there is cause to be grateful because hot button charges such as racism always invite a kind of moral comparison with the accuser- and in this case, what separates any kind of moral equivalence between the Israelis and Palestinians, is a huge chasm. By referring to Jews, Massad invites comparisons between Islam, Judaism and Christianity.

If Joseph Massad and those who share his ideology really wanted to make a case for the Palestinians, he would demand accountability and civilized behavior from them. He would the Palestinians clean their own house of filth and remove the vile stench before castigating and excoriating. Casting the first stone does not highlight Palestinian or Arab credibility.

In the real world, Arab and Palestinian racism is rampant in schools, broadcast in the media and reinforced from the pulpit, every day. Does Massad realy want to play the comparison game? Has his agenda rendered his olfactory capacities useless? Is he really unable to smell the stench emanating from Palestinian and Arab society?

The search for the real racists and bigots in the Middle East does not require an archaeological dig. It is clear for all to see- and hear- who the real racists and bigots are.

Listening to Joseph Massad criticize Israel, Jews and Americans who support Israel is like listening to a whore talk about family values. As we noted, Massad is no position to attempt to portray the Palestinians or the Arab world, for that matter, as equals, moral or otherwise, to the Israelis. The litany of Arab corruption, crimes committed by government officials and that is a part of Arab culture is legendary.

Massad hopes the vile and despicable Muslim world portrayals of Jews, Judaism, Christians and Christianity, as well as religious pronouncements of the same, can be somehow ignored.

Massad hopes the violence directed at mosques, churches and Jewish places of worship can be ignored.

Massad hope the barbaric torture, beheading and violence toward women so commonplace in the Muslim world can be ignored.

Massad hopes the UN Report on Human Development that denotes spectacular Arab World failure in education, economy and healthcare can be ignored, so that Palestinian and Arab world bigotry can go on unimpeded.

Massad hopes that indiscriminate terror directed against women and children can be and celebrated by the Palestinians in their schools, media and religious outlets can be ignored.

Massad hopes that Muslim clerics who whip their flocks into a frenzy, with cries of ‘ITBACH AL YAHUD!‘ ‘Slaughter the Jew!’ and ‘Slaughter the Christian!’- and how all too often, parishioners leave prayer services, looking for victims, will be ignored.

Massad hopes that increasing Palestinian and Arab world ‘honor killings’ and attacks against women can be ignored.

Massad hopes we will ignore the truth that in the Palestinian and Arab world Mein Kampf is at the top of the best seller list, year after year.

Joseph Massad says he wants to see a bi national state, which is a nice way of saying he wants to see a Jewish state replaced with say, an Islamic state. Massad seems to believe that a bi-national Israel/Palestine would be the first Arab state in history that did not discriminate or persecute minorities. Given the generations of Palestinians for whom documented hate taught in schools, reinforced in media and preached from the pulpit is the mother’s milk of their existence, that would be quite the achievement. Yet for some reason, Joseph Massad doesn’t talk about the spectacular and noteworthy achievement that the abrogation of hate, racism and bigotry by the Palestinians in the bi-national state he so mightily envisions.

Massad only want to discuss the ‘racism’ of Israel and Jews. It is no surprise that he yearns for the ‘old Arafat days,’ when he didn’t have to work so hard at camouflaging reality. What has stunned Massad and others of his ilk is that despite decades of obfuscation and deceit, the Palestinians and Arab world are seen exactly for what they are. Despite those decades of claiming victimhood and taking comfort in the belief they had pulled a fast one over western eyes, Palestinians and Arabs are being held accountable for their actions or lack thereof- and they aren’t happy wearing the Emperor’s clothes.

The welfare days are over.

Massad speaks of Hamas as if it were an elected government like all other elected government. That is not the case. As we have noted many times, Adolph Hitler’s National Socialists, were also freely elected- and had we eliminated Hitler and his supporters rather than engage in endless and meaningless negotiations, 50 million lives would have been saved. No civilized nation is under the obligation to recognize and assist the Hamas (‘we’ll finish what Hitler started’) government in their stated aim of eradicating Jews.

That Massad embraces Hamas and spares no effort in legitimizing them, says much about Massad. The old days are gone. The nice things Massad has to say about Hamas cannot hide the not so nice things Hamas has to say for themselves.

Perhaps we should conclude that Joseph Massad is unaware of the Hamas Charter and it’s contents. After all, it isn’t as if an esteemed professor at Columbia would deliberately deceive anyone, right? That said, if that is indeed the case, Joseph Massad has very little in the way of credibility. His opinion would carry very little weight. For example, in what a bit of euphoric, if ill informed optimism, Massad states that the Hamas, the Palestinian Nazi Party, as ‘willing to recognize Israel.’

Unfortunately for Massad, Hamas has made clear that is not on the table.

Israelis and civilized people everywhere are by no means obligated to recognize or deal with some of the most dysfunctional people in the world.

It is said that you are known by the company you keep. When the Israelis look to allies and for counsel, they seek out and confer with the western democracies and civilized societies. When the Palestinians seek counsel, they take their advice from some of the most dysfunctional, failed and murderous regimes in the world.

Joseph Massad decries the immigration policies that gives Jews preference in acquiring Israeli citizenship and residency.

He also appears to be woefully ill informed when it comes to immigration policy. As a free and sovereign state, Israel has the right to have any immigration policy it chooses. Further, Israeli immigration policy is remarkably similar to the immigration policies of other nations.

Citizenship status is derived by way of one of two criteria- ‘blood’ or ‘land.’

In the United States, for example, citizenship is primarily derived by ‘land’ status. That means that if you were born here, you are automatically awarded citizenship.

Conversely, being born in Switzerland is no guarantee of citizenship. In fact, there are generations of people that have been born in Switzerland that are not entitled to Swiss citizenship according to Swiss law.

Descendants of British, Irish and Polish ancestry, for example, are all entitled to enhanced and privileged immigration status by those nations. Throughout most of Europe, having even a bit of ‘preferred’ blood entitles one to a citizenship ‘fast track.’

Israel has every right to determine her own immigration rules.

Consider too, the rescue of Ethiopian Jews (the largest rescue of Blacks by whites in history) and compare that to the slaughter by the Arab tribe janjaweed in Darfur and the ongoing slave trade by Arab slave traders in Mauritania. It isn’t surprising that Muslims that made their way from Sudan want to stay in Israel.

In fact, when the Israelis pulled out of Lebanon after occupying an 11 mile security zone (After years of rocket attacks against civilians and the Lebanese government’s inability or unwillingness to halt those attacks, the Israelis had enough), even the Alawites, the clan than claims the ruling Assads of Syria, pleaded to remain under Israeli jurisdiction, preferring Israeli rule to that of an Arab country.

One might ask Mr Massad why there are no long lines for residency permits at Arab embassies and consulates and yet other Arabs and Muslims would be happy to live in Israel.

We have noted before that,

In our world, environment helps to shape values. The values found in free societies are very different than the values taught in dysfunctional, oppressive and repressive regimes.

The values of free societies are passed on to free citizens. We engage in free dissent, debate, argue and we are free to challenge each other, our government and especially, ourselves. We are free to formulate our own opinions and if we wish, we are free to change those opinions.

The values of repressive and dysfunctional societies become the values of citizens living in those societies. Subjugation, repression and hate are a part of everyday life in those societies.

When we compare the values of the western free societies with the dysfunctional and oppressive values that are force fed in the Arab world, we have to ask ourselves…

‘The Arab world see the rejection of their values as a rejection of themselves- they do not see or understand that by rejecting the ugly values they have had forced upon them, they can only elevate themselves.’

Instead of rejecting the values of failure and dysfunction, Joseph Massad embraces them.

Not a word from Massad as Palestinian kindergartens teach their charges to march and sing the ditty, ‘HAMAS! HAMAS! JEWS TO THE GAS! It goes without saying that proud parents applaud. Not a word from Massad as children of suicide bombers appear on state television proudly parrot what they are taught hold up a hand, fingers outstretched and declare their pride in the mother that killed ‘this many Jews!’

As a society and a culture the Palestinians are severely dysfunctional, if not broken altogether.  That observation is indisputable. It is also clear that the Palestinian leadership, with the ‘help’ of the armchair jihadis and apologists in the west are unwilling and incapable of acting in a way that might best serve the Palestinians. They refuse to deal with or even recognize those truths that are clear to everyone else. They have an ‘allergy to reality’ and they revel in that.

Joseph Massad won’t tell you why there were never any PR campaigns that featured 5,000 beautiful little blue eyed Palestinian 8 year old girls, blocking the bulldozers that were used in building Israeli settlements. After all, that would have been the ‘made in Paradise Palestinian dream PR campaign.’

What Joseph Massad doesn’t want you to know is that the construction companies that built the ’settlements’ were owned by members of Yasser Arafat’s cabinet. Those construction companies were supplied with labor from Hamas money big wigs (that was why there were never any Hamas demonstrations against the settlement construction), who received a few shekels per hour for each of the thousands of workers they provided. There was not a single demonstration that might have hindered or slowed down settlement construction. There was never a single violent attack directed at settlement construction crews.

Whose best interests does Joseph Massad really have in mind? The Palestinians or the corrupt and broken regime he defends, apologizes for and supports?

Joseph Massad cannot comprehend that truth that a government led by those who would send suicide bombers (including mentally disabled children) into civilian populations, is capable of negotiating agreements is absurd.  Is it unreasonable to assume that if the negotiations aren’t to their liking, Hamas might send out another wave of suicide bombers? In fact, they have already threatened to do just that.

Israeli, American and western policy have been remarkably consistent since 1948. When the Arab world and the Palestinians in particular offer up the cessation of hostilities, secure borders and diplomatic recognition of Israel, the floodgates of goodies will open up. In other words, the Arabs and the Palestinians have been told what is behind door number one- the big and only prize-and yet consistently, they have chosen door number two or door number three. One would think that after decades of nothing but deceit, fraud and heartbreak, the Palestinians would finally choose door number one.

Joseph Massad has helped make sure the Palestinians never chose door number one.

The Israelis- and the western world cannot be expected to deal with a dysfunctional society or the government the Palestinians elect. Demanding that the Israelis deal with Hamas, a government not much different from the one in Sudan that has for decades been overseeing and facilitating the slaughter in Darfur, is like proposing the Jews negotiate with the Nazis as a precondition to determining German borders in 1938.

From Adam Daifallah:

I have no problem saying this as someone who is of partly Palestinian ancestry. Israel is a democratic, pluralistic western outpost in the middle of a cesspool of tyranny and despair. The image you get on TV of Israel as a country full of religious people is wrong. Israel is actually quite a secular country, and its inhabitants come from all different faiths. There are a million or so Arab Israelis inhabiting its lands, many of whom are Muslim. There are Christians, Druze, Zoroastrians — and lets not forget the Bedouins. When we visited a hospital, we met a Bedouin woman who, while still living the traditional nomadic life, was being trained as a doctor by Jewish doctors.

As someone who thought he knew a fair bit about Israel before going there, I came away with a sense that I really didn’t know the half of it. I think it probably takes a visit there to truly appreciate the nuances and intricacies of this country.

After all the terror and the two intifadas, it was amazing to see and hear so many Israelis still so committed to peace and willing to do just about anything to achieve it. If the Palestinians and their leadership would truly recognize Israel’s right to exist tomorrow, I have little doubt a state would follow very soon. This is not just rhetoric. It is the sense I got from almost every Israeli we talked to, from the left wingers on the kibbutz to the Likudnik settlers. Everyone wants peace, but it takes two to tango. The peace partner on the other side is simply not there…

How do we let this happen? How is it that the lessons of history are so often ignored? Why is there such a willingness to appease and placate evil, especially in the West? I don’t know – I don’t understand it and I never will. But if more people visited Israel, I think more people would understand the need for vigilance and to stand up to wrongness and evil. War is ugly, but there are situations in the world in which no other option exists. Sometimes war is necessary to bring peace. Always has been, always will be.

Always try to remember: freedom isn’t free. To many people don’t.

Joseph Massad has quite the racket going. He never has to pay for his betrayal, dressed up as comedy, of the Palestinian people and the Arab nations.