Israel, Zionism and the Media

Tag: christian

First Israeli Arab female paratrooper

The State of Israel has begun its own blog.

It will run a ‘Faces of the IDF’ feature.

First up is Corporal Eleanor Joseph, or Elinor Yosef, a female Arab Israeli from near Haifa who is following in the boot-steps of her father. She strikes a very winsome pose on the website. But behind the obvious PR exercise of having attractive Arabs serving in the IDF, (she also happens to be Christian) lie some contradictions and issues of being an Arab in a Jewish state.

The eye2israel website tells us:

Eleanor Joseph is a true Israeli Patriot, she sings the Israeli national anthem Hatikvah, and feels proud and excited to see the Israeli flag fluttering in the wind – “it’s always windy during military ceremonies,” she says with a smile. “I don’t have any other country” is a line from the well known Israeli song written by one of the most esteemed poets, Ehud Manor and is also Eleanor’s motto. This line was written for her by her commander and she keeps it in her pocketbook – it’s always with her. Eleanor doesn’t have any other country; she is a true and a proud Arab Christian Israeli.

But  ElderofZiyon reveals that:

Al Arabiya has a lengthy and flabbergasted Arabic article on Jozef. When asked if she would kill Arabs if necessary, she answered that she would hardly be the first Arab to kill other Arabs.

She also said that while she doesn’t celebrate Yom Ha’atzmaut, she doesn’t sit and cry either.

Isn’t there a contradiction between singing HaTikvah which speaks of the hope of 2000 years that Jews return to Zion and yet not celebrating Israeli Independence.  Logically, it should be the other way round, no?

Such are the contradictions and issues of loyalty or nationhood if you are an Arab Israeli.  The sub-text of “I don’t have any other country” is, surely, one of resignation and making the best of it. This further implies that she doesn’t feel that, ultimately, this is her country or at least, her choice of country.

Or maybe it’s just that her enthusiasm for Israel and the IDF has to be tempered in the context of her ethnicity and the history of Israel with its contradictory narratives of expulsion and redemption.

But compare with the UK. Muslims serving in Afghanistan are proud to be British and serving their country whilst some of their co-religionists consider them to be sell-out pariahs.

Is there really much difference?

Let’s hope Elinor is the first of many Israeli-Arab women to show their pride in their country by serving as paratroopers.

Disgraceful Israeli TV spoof

It does not help Israel counter claims of racism and intolerance when  a TV station, albeit a private one, screens an offensive skit on Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary.

The Australian reported:

In the program, Israeli comedian Yair Shlein joked that since Christians “deny the Holocaust, then I want to deny Christianity.” Following protests, he later apologised to Arab Israeli Christian dignitaries.

This has brought protests to the Israel government from the Vatican who, perhaps, see an opportunity to counter recent protests about Holocaust-denier Bishop Richard Williamson who the Vatican recently rehabilitated.

Israel is a free country and free speech is practised there as in any other free democratic country. However, when will Israelis realise that they have to be careful about the image they are projecting and the fuel they are providing to its enemies.

Case in point: who should come out on the side of outrage? None other than the very nice people in Hezbollah. freerepublic.com reported that: “Hezbollah blasts sacrilegious Israeli show (that offends Christianity!) A Hezbollah representative stated: “It was not surprising to see ‘Zionists’ broadcast such sacrilegious material, given their history, which is filled with ‘the massacre of prophets, destruction of mosques and churches and offensive behavior toward Islamic and Christian sanctities…” The hypocrisy, inaccuracy and thinly veiled anti-Semitic “Zionists” and “massacre of prophets” bits are pretty much common currency for “The Party of God”

This isn’t the post to rebut every single one of Hezbollah’s statement which says a lot more about them than it does about Jews.

But all this does not absolve Yair Shlein. The Israeli government made an immediate apology to the Vatican (and Shlein himself admitted the error). Let’s hope that Israeli broadcasters do not repeat any further affronts to Christianity, Islam or any other religion or group. 

I always think “How would I react if this were a Christian talking about Jewish beliefs” and I base my reaction on that. To say I am disappointed is an understatement. But it is indicative that Israel has to tread so carefully. How did the Vatican learn of this? No doubt mischievous elements in Israel ran screaming to Pope Benedict. But in other countries religious ‘jokes’ go unreported and ignored.

See the full text here: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2190138/posts