I know when I enter into this space that it’s likely
to set the cat amongst the hadedas, but after weeks of listening to and reading
much of the media coverage regarding the conflict in Gaza has made it
impossible for me to remain silent about it out of shear frustration and bewilderment.
At risk of sounding clichéd, I regard myself fortunate
to have a number of very close friends of both the Jewish and Islamic faiths. Despite my Methodist-Protestant heritage, for
what it’s worth, they all know me for my fervent anti-religious views. However on many occasions I have highlighted
to all of these mates, usually over a glass of wine or limoncello late in the
evening, of the fact that their faiths, traditional lifestyles, traditional
dress and personalities are so similar that they could be ‘sub-sects’ of one another. They’ve only lost a broader perspective of one
another due to religious fundamentalism leading to distrust and even hatred. Not something any religious person wants to
hear of course. Interestingly however
their reaction has never refuted my reasoning, which perhaps may offer some hope
for the Middle East. Allow me to
elaborate.
The traditional rules pertaining to Jewish and Islamic
dress, for example, are surprisingly similar.
All for the purposes of not dressing to emphasise physical appearance or to attract attention, not to
mention to protect one from the extreme elements of living in hot, desert
conditions. I suspect that some of this may
have stemmed back to the fact that both religions (whose origins are intertwined
incidentally) practiced arranged marriages, even to a greater or lesser extent
today, but certainly more so in the past.
I say this in that it may have had something to do with not wanting to
disappoint the prospective bride or groom with a ‘fugly’ suitor prior to
marriage. After all, if no-one else, besides the ‘unlucky’ spouse could see their
arranged partner fully exposed after marriage, no-one would judge, be envious,
tempted or left gagging at social events. A woman may wear a burqa (Islamic scarf) or mitpachat
(Hebrew scarf) or tichel (Yiddish). A man would protect his bald patch from the
elements with an Islamic taqiyah or Jewish yarmulke , both skull caps. Prayer shawls, robes, etc., are all part of
the dress, and very similar depending upon their exact origins and orthodoxy. There are many more similarities all with
practical origins, not religious at all.
However, practicalities over the
years can become traditions which in-turn can later become rigorous religious
laws.
The same is true for food restrictions between halal
and kosher, practically passed down due to the hot, Middle Eastern climate that
Jews and Muslims originated from, all for practical, life preserving reasons. According to the Quran, the only foods explicitly forbidden are meat
from animals that die of themselves, blood and the meat of swine (porcine
animals, e.g. pigs). Food hygiene is an important part of Islamic dietary law
and rightfully so back in the day or even in modern, unhygienic settings.
The animal slaughtered must be killed
quickly with a sharpened blade for humanitarian reasons. It must not suffer. It must not see the blade and it must not see
or smell the blood from a previous slaughter. In Judaism, the Torah specifies that the shellfish
such as lobsters, oysters, shrimp, clams and crabs are all forbidden as is the ‘rock
badger’, hare and pig because they don’t have ‘fins’ or lack cloven hooves are therefore not kosher . Those are merely practical ways of
differentiating beasts who’s meat can be easily infected by disease or goes off
quickly if unrefrigerated. Cattle,
sheep, goats, antelope and game are kosher, but must be killed in accordance
with humane Jewish law. As with halal, kosher
requires that all blood must be drained from meat and poultry or broiled out of
it before it is eaten as the blood is the part of the animal that runs the risk
of going off first. Obviously, these all had practical health and preservation
motivations, and are remarkably similar, bar he who may bless or slaughter the
beast. That’s where the ‘tradition’
stepped in and tribal infighting left the Middle East in religious twain. In other words, best it’s someone you know
and trust who butchers your meat and provides it to you to ensure its quality
control and your best interests at heart.
Practical? Of course! There is much wisdom in the good ‘books’ of
old. But I maintain, merely guides to
practical living rather than religious fervor.
I have been struck by how
similar the Israelis and Palestinians actually look in Israel, having spent
some time there working and travelling around the globe. In fact, I was constantly mistaken as to who
was who, unless they identified themselves by their dress or the area in which
they lived (Apart!). Naturally, I didn’t
expect to find Palestinians working and living on a Kibbutz, yet it appears
they may really want to, having gone to the trouble of building complex
networks of underground tunnels in order to access them. Perhaps it’s purely a network of tunnels
lovers from different ‘sides’ use to gain access to one another in secret, like
royal lovers and concubines of old? Perhaps
that’s wishful thinking for now.
So, why with all that’s
similar then is there this ongoing hatred and distrust in the Middle East? Simply put, it is political more than religious,
where religion is used merely as a convenient form of division and alienation. It stems back to the Jews being incarcerated
by the Egyptians thousands of years ago, yet even that fact is being disputed.
There is no doubt that
what is going on in Gaza and Israel is horrendous and that there has to be a
workable political solution to the conflict and hatred. Yet what is somewhat perplexing however is
how the world at large appears to be aghast at the Israeli military response to
thousands of deadly rockets being fired indiscriminately by Hamas into their cities
and suburbs. These rockets are not aimed
at military targets, not in the slightest.
Yet the fact that the Israeli’s have what is known as the ‘Dome’, an
automated counter measure protective response to enable the shooting down of
missiles mid-air, has prevented tens of thousands of Israeli’s (Jewish,
Christian, Muslim and others like me perhaps) from being slaughtered arbitrarily
from a distance. What is Hamas' real
agenda I wonder? Of course more Palestinians
are going to be killed in such a response; however that’s not because Hamas
intended for their rockets to kill few Israelis or to be shot down mid-air and
not reach their ‘soft’ targets in suburban Israel. The fact that hundreds of millions of Dollars
have clearly been channelled from the building of schools and infrastructure in
Gaza to supporting dozens of tunnels in order to infiltrate Israel speaks reams
of fundamentalist Palestinian priorities.
So the response of any government to defend its people is
understandable. Nevertheless, the
killing of innocent people is never acceptable, however it is clear that Hamas
have absolutely no qualms in doing so themselves, yet quick to throw their arms
up in horror when the reverse occurs, despite unusual Israeli warnings being
issued in advance. This whilst the heads
of Hamas hob-knob with Middle-Eastern ‘Royalty’ safely outside of the conflict
zone.
Israelis themselves are just
as guilty of racism and being somewhat overzealous when it comes to how they
react militarily. There’s much pent up
anger, hatred and desire for revenge at any opportunity from both sides. It’s like an open wound. Things have just spiralled out of control and
it’ll take a lot to bring it back from the brink. But it is still possible.
Being South African, the
experiences we’ve endured have taught us many things about the stupidity of ‘blind
faith’ and ‘traditional ignorance’ when it comes to people of different
cultures, creeds and traditions. Despite
Apartheid we have an incredibly tolerant and embracing society, on the whole,
and much to offer those in war torn parts of the world. Israelis and Palestinians need to forget the
differences and focus on their similarities.
The hope for one’s children’s futures, for decent living conditions, good
education, infrastructure, peace, neighbourliness, freedom of cultural traditions
and peaceful interaction. There is little
doubt that there is so much that is similar, far more so than the differences
between them. It is time to leave the ‘religious
fundamentalism’ behind and sit down as parents, grandparents, lovers and
children and focus on common desires.
There’s got to be room to accommodate all, amicably. Sadly however, religious fundamentalism and
inherent distrust will never allow for such practical alternatives to divide
and rule.
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