I was entertained by this reminiscence by Ray Hanania:
I grew up in a predominantly Jewish neighborhood on Chicago's South Side. In fact, many Arabs I knew grew up in predominantly Jewish neighborhoods, because Arabs and Jews actually have much in common. And were it not for the Arab-Israeli wars, we would have had a fine existence together, eating the same foods, sharing the same ties to biblical history (my last name is a Hebrew word that means "God has been Gracious"), and boasting the same kind of overbearing mothers.
He tells how Jews and Arabs fought for American support on university campuses:
The Jewish students would try to do it by organizing festivals recognizing Israel's independence every May. They'd hold rallies at the Circle Forum, where they would sing folk songs, hold candlelight vigils, recite poetry, hold hands and dance, and eat "Israeli foods" like wariq duwally, felafil, and humos.The Arab students would do it by organizing "Palestine Day" protests -- marking the day the Israelis tookover Palestine -- and surrounding the Jewish students. They waved placards written in Arabic, chanted Marxist slogans, embraced weird organizations, and slung angry epithets at the Jewish students.
And what it means to be an Arab reporter:
Arabs dislike reporters. That's because there is no such thing as true journalism in the Middle East. Arabs hate to admit it, but journalists in the Arab world are synonymous with political hacks, government shills employed by government-controlled newspapers and television and radio stations that are filled with government-controlled propaganda, high with emotion and nearly always wrong.
He also spreads a few lies (I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt and assume that he’s misinformed. Israeli Arabs openly support our enemies without retribution.)
While the Arabs have stringent controls over their media, so do the Israelis, who impose harsh censorship on the Arab press. They frequently jail Arab reporters, another reason to stay out of the business.
He asks hard questions:
Eban was born "Aubrey Solomon" in Cape Town, South Africa. My dad was born in Jerusalem. "How come you can go to Jerusalem anytime you want and become a citizen of Israel, and I can't?" I asked.
But doesn’t wait for an answer:
There are over three million Jews in Israel from Arab countries (including their descendents) how come they can’t go back? There are thousands of Jews born and raised in Gaza and the West Bank, how come they have no right to live there when millions of Arabs who have never lived there claim that right?
Posted by David Boxenhorn at July 12, 2004 06:39 PM