Tag Archives: Muslims

September 16, 2014

I only Hate Muslims when they Hate me

By davidgroen1

Pro Palestinian protester burns an Israeli flag during banned demonstration in support of Gaza in central ParisWhy is it not being called what it is?  Why the pretense that this is something far less specific than it is?  Why are people not identifying those responsible?  Over the past few months we’ve been hearing a lot about the increase of anti-Semitism in Europe and the United States. Although it’s been far worse recently, the rise in anti-Jewish sentiment is hardly a new development, particularly in some notable parts of Europe.  Cities like Paris, Antwerp, and Malmo, Sweden have been notorious for increasing incidents of vandalism and violence against Jews for quite some time now.  If you hear the reports, it clearly sounds like the Jewish people are becoming increasingly unwelcome in the European community.  There’s a catch though.  It’s not the overall European community primarily guilty of this expression of hatred. From all accounts most of the hatred is coming from within the Muslim community.

A few weeks ago I wrote an article in which I renounced my status as a Liberal.(CLICK TO READ) This issue is one of the reasons I’ve done so.  I have friends and acquaintances that still do call themselves liberal who are not squeamish when it comes to identifying the root source of the danger to the Jewish people, but there are many within the liberal community who would turn around and call this article the epitome of Islamophobia.  Those are the ones  I know longer align myself with.  Call it what you like, but it’s no phobia.  A phobia is something irrational.  I don’t hate a person because they’re Muslim.  But I do hate a person who hates me, those like me, and anyone else who doesn’t think like them.    That’s not irrational, that’s logical.  Interactions I’ve had in the past with Muslims who wanted an equal relationship have proven that I indeed do not have some automatic dislike because of what religion they were born into. That goes against everything I believe in.  But that also doesn’t prevent me from identifying the sad truth, and that is that an overwhelming percentage of anti-Jewish sentiment in the world today comes from within the Muslim population.

Although the BDS  Movement has non-Muslim followers and participants due to its excellent and cynical marketing, it’s a group formed by a Palestinian. Anti-Jewish demonstrations and violence against Jews in Paris consist primarily of Algerian Muslims.  Anti-Jewish behavior in Holland comes primarily from Moroccan Muslims.  One third of the population of Malmo is Muslim.  Is it a coincidence this small and once cute city in Sweden that I visited with my parents and sister in 1976 is a powder keg of anti-Semitism?

Although there is an element within the so-called liberal elite behind some of the anti-Israel activities on college campuses in the U.S., I have no doubt you would find that at the very least a significant number of those active against Israel in these institutes of higher learning are Muslim.

Here’s the point people conveniently miss.  No one is happy about this.  We want to hear the Muslims within these cities and institutions take a stand against hatred. But where are they?  Where is their voice?  These people would be my friends. They would be my partners in moving towards a better world, and in return it would be easy and enjoyable for me to respect and support them in whatever life they might choose to live, be it Muslim or something else.  But that element within the Muslim community is silent, most likely out of fear, and therefore missing the opportunity to alter the perception that all Muslims feel that way.  You see, if I was guilty of Islamophobia, I might say all Muslims feel this way.  But I don’t.  At the same time I am not willing to deny the basic truth, and that is that if you took the Muslims out of the equation, we most likely wouldn’t even be talking about anti-Semitism today.

It’s time we accepted the truth.  It will catch up with us whether we do or not. The funny thing about reality is that it doesn’t go away just because you ignore it.  If anything, when the reality is that one large group of people is out to get you, if you ignore it, it only gets worse.

 

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August 3, 2014

Open Letter to Ban Ki-moon:Regarding the term “moral outrage”

By davidgroen1

UN-Secretary-General-Ban-Ki-moonDear Mr. Secretary-General,

I write to you today out of concern for your reaction to a recent attack in Gaza you referred to as a “moral outrage and criminal act.” I will not address your outrage since that is a feeling one has and it is pointless to debate one’s feelings, but what can be, and in this case needs to be clarified is your definition of morality.

The outrage you speak of is caused by Israel’s attack on a United Nations school in which 10 people were killed.  It is without question another tragedy in a very tragic war.  However, if you are to use the term moral outrage now, I believe it prudent to ask you what exactly you deem moral and immoral.

Is it moral for “militants”, as your organization now refers to the terrorists of Hamas, to hide in hospitals and schools?  Is it moral to consistently fire missiles at Israeli population centers with one intent, to kill civilians?  You have moral outrage for Israel’s attack, an attack whose purpose was to target terrorists and sadly killed civilians, but you do not express similar outrage when Hamas targets Tel-Aviv with the sole intent of murdering civilians.  I understand Israel is a stronger force and that it’s ability to defend itself has prevented the amount of casualties Hamas has hoped for, but is the action itself not one deserving of your outrage?

Is it moral to agree to a cease-fire and shortly after ambush the opposing force’s soldiers killing three of them?  Hamas has had numerous opportunities to stop the fighting but has rejected each cease-fire.  If you truly feel so strongly about human life where is your moral outrage for the fact that Hamas insists on continuing the fighting?  Where is the moral outrage with an organization using billions of dollars in financial aid on weapons and terror tunnels while the people it pretends to care for live in squalor?  Is it moral that the leaders of Hamas travel in private jets and hide in luxury hotels in Qatar while it uses its citizens as pawns in its effort to wipe Israel off the face of the earth?  If your outrage was truly sincere you would hear that while one side calls for the other’s destruction, the one you and your organization consistently oppose calls for peace.

Myself, and many like me might listen to your organization more if it were not for the one-sided approach consistently exhibited when it comes to matters regarding Israel.  I took some time to look up some of the resolutions and condemnations over the years and one in particular made me feel moral outrage.  Just before Israel destroyed Iraq’s nuclear capabilities the United Nations passed a resolution calling for a nuclear-free Middle East, and soon after the attack passed a resolution condemning the attack despite the fact that Israel’s actions kept nuclear weapons out of the hands of a crazy and dangerous dictator.  I also look back at the warm welcome received by PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat and to this day question the credibility your organization gave to someone who waged his war by murdering innocent civilians.  There was no moral outrage then.  The UN then proceeded to provide the PLO support laying the groundwork for future terrorist organizations to gain acceptance on the world stage.  That fact alone puts a lot of blood on the collective hands of the United Nations even though it is something it will never openly accept accountability for.  It did however very efficiently proceed to pass the resolution equating Zionism with racism.  This treatment towards Israel has gone on for quite some time and is no surprise to anyone, but with all the facts so readily available today, your comments and the reaction of the United Nations as an institution are even more absurd than they were in the past.

I could speak of other atrocities such as having Syria, Libya and China on Human Rights councils over the years and the lack of action against Syria and ISIS today, but that would take too long.  The amount of criticism given to Israel while so many people are being murdered by brutal regimes and organizations all over the world, mostly Muslims I might add, is, and I use the phrase many like to use when criticizing Israel’s actions, a disproportionate response.

Quite frankly, and I say this without apology, the organization you lead has shown itself to be anti-Semitic beyond compare, and has functioned as though it is clearly in the pocket of the corrupt and the criminal.  While you call for investigations of Israel’s actions I call for an investigation of your actions and the actions of the organization you are running.  However, no one, myself included, is naive enough to believe there will ever be full disclosure of what takes place behind the scenes.  At the end of the day it is not about right and wrong, it is about money and power, something the United Nations has a lot of and therefore is bulletproof and untouchable.  When you have the degree of responsibility for funding and influence that you possess, to abuse it as you are doing Mr. Secretary General is a true moral outrage and criminal act of enormous proportions.

Sincerely,

David Groen

 

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July 10, 2014

My letter to United Nations Secretary General

By davidgroen1

un_logoDear Mr. Secretary General,

Despite my understanding that it is not only a one in a million shot that you will ever read this, but equally unlikely that you will care what I have to say, as a Jewish man, an American citizen, and as a supporter of true human rights all over the planet, I feel compelled to write to you.

I am increasingly perplexed by the approach taken by the organization you lead.  It may be that since the organization is called the United Nations, and not the ‘United Nations of Morality and Fairness’, that all that truly matters is that there is an understanding and agreement among the representatives.  Therefore it would not matter if the statements and inquiries made would be fair and equitable, merely that they would be convenient to those encouraging or enforcing them.  My point being that fair treatment of Jews all over the world is not something many of your member nations concern themselves with as evident in continuing UN policies.

I try to be objective and see it differently but then I hear about another brutal attack in France and the world is silent.  I hear about a Swedish man become the latest  supporter of Israel to be attacked in Malmo, Sweden, merely for putting out an Israeli flag and once again the world remains silent.  You are unquestionably intellectually superior to me, so I am sure you know this, but the number of Jews in Malmo is less than 1,000, probably closer to 500, while the number of Muslims in Malmo is about one-third of its population which would put it in the 100,000 range.  And yet I never hear a statement of how there is a disproportionate act of aggression being committed against the Jewish people in European cities like Malmo and Paris.

What I do hear from you is a comparison of the kidnapping of 3 Jewish teenage students, far away from any frontline, kidnappings we later learned were almost immediate murders, to targeted attacks by Israel on Hamas locations in the Gaza Strip.  With all your intellect and understanding Mr. Secretary General, how do you justify comparing the attack on terrorists to the kidnapping and murder of 3 innocent children?  As I indicated in the beginning of this letter, I realize the unlikelihood of you even seeing this question, let alone caring, but despite that I feel it to be an important question and one that really does need to be asked.

I also need to address the bizarre inconsistency in an organization such as yours, taking votes, many that result in condemnation of Israel, a democratic country, by representatives of countries that are actually non-democratic, totalitarian dictatorships.  It is the most cynical twist on the democratic process I’ve ever encountered, yet somehow it seems to work if it means the demonization of Israel.

In conclusion I would like to say that I am an open-minded man who understands that the government of Israel does not do everything correctly when it comes to the Palestinian issue.  However, on what basis does the United Nations demand fairness from Israel when they insist on not giving Israel any unbiased fairness in return?  Or is it just that the member nations are indeed “United”, united against Israel.

Sincerely,

David Groen

 

 

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December 11, 2012

Arabs and Me-The Unedited Version

By davidgroen1

feature_IsraelPalestineConflictWhenever I write something about Israel, the Jewish people, and the Mideast situation, I stop, plan, and do some degree of research.  I never just write and share my basic fears and feelings.  So I thought I would try something new.  I’d speak, or write the thoughts that come to my mind, whether they are rational or not, and see where the article ends up.  We are all products of our environment and experiences, so as you read this know that this is not a planned or structured piece.   This is how I feel, directly and uncensored.

I don’t hate Arabs.  If anything I have found it somewhat exciting when I’ve befriended one over the years.  I worked with a bunch of Egyptians who were decent, hardworking people.  I worked in an office with a beautiful woman who was at least half Saudi.  She was classy, intelligent, and sweet.  Years ago I bought sandwiches in a Bodega from a Palestinian store owner.  The guy was friendly and the sandwiches were great.  All was good in the world.  But I never spoke about Israel with any of them, and only spoke of religion to the degree in which we needed to show respect for each other’s practices.  Honestly, I was afraid to broach any political discussion because in my heart I expected them to have nothing nice to say about Israel, and since I considered that unfair and knew it would at best tarnish how I felt about them, at worst cause a conflict, I kept quiet.

I live in New York.  In New York, whether Arab or Jew, you are removed from the real problems.  I am just another outspoken Jew who sits comfortable in safety and talks a big game.  Granted I know there are some who have served in either the U.S. or Israeli military and have put themselves in real situations, but myself and many others talk about “what needs to be done” and then go home to relative or complete safety.

Is Israel wrong? Is that even possible? Well I’ve heard the arguments and I guess I need to seriously consider it, but as a Jew I almost feel like I am betraying my people.  Even so, I’ll try, for the sake of argument to understand the Palestinian’s “plight” and consider Israel’s fault in the conflict.  Israel is, by far, the stronger of the parties involved.  Israel controls, or as they like to say, occupies the territories, so can it really be fair to call it the victim?  All the Palestinians want is to live peacefully without an outside force controlling their lives, right?  I want to be fair and try to accept that on some level, but it just doesn’t happen.  Do I feel bad when innocent people get killed? Of course I do.  But do I believe the Israeli government and its officials or population get any joy in killing an innocent Palestinian? For the most part, I believe the answer is no.  There will always be people seeking revenge or caught up in their own personal hatred, but an overwhelming percentage do not see hurting Palestinians as a priority or pleasure.

Do all Palestinians want all Jews dead?  Of course I don’t think that.  But I do believe perception becomes reality, and that an overwhelming amount of Arab leaders create power from creating a perception that Israel is a war-mongering, bloodthirsty occupier that wants to commit genocide against the Palestinians and possibly all Arabs and Muslims worldwide.   The Palestinian population, handcuffed by poverty and lack of options, is powerless to fight the information fed them, and buys into that perception.   What that basically means is that they don’t hate me because they want to hate me; they hate me because their leaders give them no choice.

So where does this leave us?  Honestly? With a nation, Israel, that has no choice.  With the attitude that many in the world have, which is “please be a good Jew and take what we do to you without resistance”, I’m happy Israel is hated by them.  In the Arab world it means they’re respected and feared, and unfortunately that is what it takes to be safe.

In some ways the whole thing breaks my heart because it would be great to live in a world with no hate, no hunger, and no violence.  But if it has to exist, you always prefer it to happen to someone else.  In that sense very few people are like a Gandhi or Mother Teresa.  To people like them, hardships to anyone is like hardships to everyone.  Most of us, even those of us not gaining pleasure from other’s pain, still take solace in knowing that their pain is what prevents a worse pain and suffering being put on us.  And as a Jew, and with our history, can you blame us?

 

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