Dear Foxy,

You wrote: “The words used by Ismail al Wahwah are hateful and disturbing but so is the ongoing treatment of the Palestinians in the territories occupied by Israel. This problem will continue to exist and escalate until Israel recognises Palestine as an independent state which to date Israel refuses to do.”

“The article contains: Ismail al-Wahwah, spiritual leader of Hizb ut-Tahrir, accused Jews of corrupting the world, describing them as "the most evil creature of Allah" and threatening "the ember of jihad against the Jews will continue to burn … an eye for an eye, blood for blood, destruction for destruction. Judgment Day will not come until the Muslims fight the Jews," he fulminated. "There is only one solution for this cancerous tumour: it must be uprooted and thrown back to where it came from."

Wahwah insists he was referring only to Israel; his words and numerous references to "Jews" unmask this claim.”

If the article is accurate Ismail al-Wahwah was not attacking Israel for its treatment of Palestinians, he was attacking all Jews. That is a very different matter.

Dear David F.,

There is no doubt that the words of Ismail al Wahwah
are hateful and venomous - spoken by
an extremist spiritual leader of a fringe
political group - who blames all Jews
for the actions of Israel. He spoke to a large
gathering in Lakemba after a public rally in Sydney
against Israel's bombing of the Gaza Strip.

cont'd ...

David F.,

Antony Loewenstein tells us in his book, "My
Israel Question,"

"The Kadima vision is of a concrete wall, with Jews on
one side and as many Arabs as possible on the other.
Sooner or later, Israel and the Palestinians will have to meet
face-to-face, listen to each other's grievances and
negotiate with honesty. Only then - and on the condition that
both Israel and the Palestinian state achieve safety and
security - will this conflict be resolved. Neither side has a
monopoly on suffering, but only one party has the power to
end the occupation and to recognise that Israel and
Palestine are historically destined to share the same homeland."

Unfortunately, until that happens - there will continue to
be fanatics who will preach hatred on both sides -
who will only see their own side of things and
blame each other.

Dear Foxy,

Ethnic and religious nationalism is toxic. There should be no Jewish, Christian, Muslim, Hindu or Buddhist states. All citizens everywhere should be given equal treatment under law regardless of religion or ethnicity. There should be separation of religion and state. Government should not use religion to advance its agenda and vice versa. Unfortunately most nations don't operate that way.

Australia sends beasts of pray called chaplains into the public schools. They are not supposed to proselytize. As Ron Williams said, "That is like sending in the clowns and asking them not to be funny.

//That is like sending in the clowns and asking them not to be funny.//

You don't have to ask clowns not to be funny. They have a natural talent in that area.

Dear David F.,

My apologies for not responding to you any earlier.
I had to wait because I had used up my posting limits.

Regarding religion? Secularised organised religions have
become in many cases, as calcified as other institutions
that form the structure of our modern world. However as
Rabbi Williamson points out - true religion is internal,
not external. The spirit within us cannot be blamed
for the blasphemies carried out in its name. What some have
done in the name of religion, projecting their neuroses,
even perpetrating evil on the world, does not make religion
as a mystical phenomenon invalid.

As far as Ismail al Wahwah is concerned - I see him as a
fanatic, an extremist - who I suspect blames all Jews for
the policies of the Israeli government. Not all Jews in the
West and also many in Israel support the Israeli government's
policies. It is obvious that this individual does not have
a grasp of the facts and therefore he blames all Jews as being
evil.

A rational person would not blame people of any country for
the actions and policies of their governments. One cannot
blame the Russian people for the heinous crimes of the
Soviet regime or all Muslims for what ISIS is doing, and so on.

Unfortunately, extremists do not see things that way.