October 27, 2006, - 10:51 am
Notes on the Friends of the IDF
By
A friend invited me to the Michigan Friends of the Israeli Defense Forces banquet, last night.
I note a lot of interesting contrasts between what happened at that event and those at other places in America, including airports and Islamic gatherings:
* Because there were several Israeli generals and soldiers there, security was high. But there were no metal detectors. Instead, at the door, there was a line of Israeli security officers looking everyone up and down. Yup, they were profiling. And, guess what? It worked. That’s the Israeli way of doing security. And that’s why they haven’t had the problems we can and will have at airports and other locales.
* The event opened with the singing of the American National Anthem (with the Israeli soldiers dutifully removing their hats and holding them to their hearts). That’s something I see at many Jewish events I go to.
And something I’ve NEVER seen at any of the many Islamic events to which I’ve gone undercover. On the scant few occasions that Muslims in America actually sing the national anthem, it’s purely for show–for the invited press and guests there–and predictably, the press goes ga-ga for the staged phoniness, as the Detroit Free Press’/USA Today’s Arab reporter Tamara Audi did recently. (Hallelukah, Americans who are supposed to be Americans are for once singing the American national anthem for a newspaper reporter. Let’s all bow down and end the war on terror now.)
At most Muslim events I’ve gone to, it usually starts with a “blessing” that’s basically a rant-and-rave against Jews and America (and often, Christians, too). Sometimes, it includes praise for the Hezbollah, HAMAS, or sundry other “martyrs,” and occasionally, some statement about George Bush being a terrorist. But the National Anthem? Sorry, despite their claims, they generally don’t see America as their nation. Study after study shows that–they see themselves as Muslims without borders.
* While a lot of mention and praise was made of America and Israel and both of their fighting forces, there was again–unlike at the Muslim events to which I’ve gone–no mention of jihad, no attacks on America, no mention even of Islam or Muslims. Even though an Israeli general spoke about the war with Hezbollah in Lebanon, this summer, he didn’t mention the “Religion of Peace” even once. He did say something I’ve never heard at the Islamic events–that Israel wants peace and that Israel hopes to bring Lebanon and Hezbollah to the peace table.
But you’ll never hear that at the other sides’ events, that they want peace and to go to the peace table with Israel. And that’s the best evidence there is that they don’t want peace. Which they don’t.
Interesting contrasts in behavior that tell us a lot about the psyche of the American Muslim community.
Tags: America, Detroit Free Press, George Bush, Hamas, Hizballah, IDF, Israel, Lebanon, metal detectors, newspaper reporter, reporter, Tamara Audi, the American Muslim, the Detroit Free Press, USA Today
I’ve got a lot of respect for the IDF.
FSM-FTW!(descent) on October 27, 2006 at 11:22 am