The Middle East problem has all but ceased to surprise us. In conversation the other day, a relative working in Israel as a precious-stone jeweller spoke with evident disgust against everything Jewish. He spoke how Jews in spite of being only an infinitesimal percentage of the world’s population owned over 90% of the big companies. Of course, he had no facts to substantiate his claims and for all his prejudices, he was eager to return to Israel from the heat of India. Interestingly, as a parting shot he said, that why should be all so surprised at the greatness of the Jews: after all, they are the chosen race? The interesting bit is that the said person is a Jain and had never before heard of the Jews as being God’s own people. Evidently he has picked it up with fellow workers at Israel. A little probing revealed that his fellow artisans were all Muslims. The Muslims in Israel, he finally confessed, are tired of Jewish snootiness. The Jews look down upon all, said he in disgust.
The above conversation I had with him makes it easy to analyze the report by Toni O’Loughlin in the UK Guardian. O’Loughlin reports dispassionately the possibility of a truce being brokered by Israel and Hamas. The recent ceasefire by the latter and the uneasy calm thereof has prompted O’Loughlin to reach this conclusion. Israel’s Prime Minister, Ehud Olmert, has already denied the rumors of any peace brokered by either Israel or the US. The conservative Jewish rabbinical bodies have criticized Olmert for even allowing this sort of rumor to surface. All this is common knowledge and makes do as news just able to fill up those hungry gaps in mainstream media spaces. But what are the ground realities? The truth is that Muslims and Jews in the Middle East just cannot tolerate each other ay more. There is only animosity. Egypt is Muslim and there is no way that she can any longer carry on any fruitful talks with Israel. The hard truth and ground reality is that the people both of Palestine and Israel hate each other. That is all. There is no more any question of peace in the region howsoever Western Allies pretend otherwise. And politicians, unfortunately, are slaves to popular passions. It is thus unlikely, that Egypt has brokered any deal which will bring peace to Israelis. Judaism and Islam are now at loggerheads. And I am not talking merely at the level of dogmas, but at the grassroots of lived cultural ethos. My far-off Jain relative has naively revealed to me in hinterland India, sad truths about Israel and Hamas. O’Loughlin missed the mark when he commented on Israel and Hamas, he should have written about the snooty Jewish people and the prejudiced Muslims of the Middle East.
Source: UK Guardian
Image: BBC
