Ramadan, Global Terror, and Peace
Unfortunately for my Jewish friends, both in Israel and worldwide, the Muslim holiday of Ramadan is a dangerous time. Within the past week, there have already been at least three attacks reported in Israel alone. One in Hadera, one in Beer Sheva, and one most recently in Bnei Brak.
This is not a new phenomenon. Despite some ‘experts’ claiming that this years’ attacks on Jews may just be ‘bad timing',’ history has suggested otherwise; not to mention the incitement of Palestinian leaders, and echoed by Islamists all over the world; from Boko Haram’s ‘Ramadan Killing Spree’ in Nigeria, to the slaughtering of Coptic Christians in Egypt to al-Shabaab in Kenya. Christians, in particular, are persecuted in these and many more areas and have been for a long time now, but murders tend to ramp up every year during the month of Ramadan.
In Israel, the attacks on Jews are always centered around an age-old lie that Israelis are attempting to destroy Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. This lie, however, is so old, that it actually predates Israel. The reason for the massacre of Jews in 1929 in what is now infamously known as the Hebron massacre, is the same lie. Arab Muslim religious leaders misinformed their congregants that Jews were attempting to destroy the mosque, to which thousands of the Muslim followers responded by showing up in Hebron on Shabbat morning, surrounding Jewish homes with knives, axes, and machetes, and brutally torturing, raping, and murdering Jewish men, women, and children. Of course, the truth came out later that the Jews were never planning on destroying the mosque, but it was obviously too late.
The same lie persists each year around Ramadan. If you don’t take my word for it, many Arab leaders are crystal clear about what Ramadan is for them.
This year, however, there is another element added to all of this, and that is the Negev Summit, the historic summit meeting between Israeli leaders and their counterparts from Egypt, Morocco, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates. Standing on the foundation of the Abraham Accords, the Negev Summit is in place to continue fostering a peaceful relationship between Israel and the other listed countries. And despite US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s fixation on giving more money to the Palestinian Authority, and the Biden administration’s continual violation of the Taylor Force Act, the Summit is set to be a permanent forum where Abraham Accord countries can convene regularly.
Of course, there are millions of Muslims around the world who do not engage in this deadly behavior, but unfortunately, until more voices speak out against those that do, things will get worse every year. And I will be so bold as to even say that if my calling attention to this offends you, kindly recalibrate and change your focus. This is not meant to disparage a group of people, but to elevate other groups of suffering people. If one is on the side of life, then it should not matter what religious affiliation one has.
During the Gaza war of 2021, I wrote an article called “Responding to BBC and Other ‘Summaries’ on Israel.” The article was an attempt to address some of the many lies that were coming through international mainstream news and popular social media sites like Vox and Buzzfeed. It seems as though this spring may yield more of what we witnessed last year—worse even—unfortunately.
To add massive insult to injury, during and following the 2021 war in Gaza, there were large demonstrations in the streets of New York City where thousands were heard chanting “globalize the intifada!” That chant was also the name of the demonstration. Yes—the name of the demonstration was Globalize the Intifada. Both the first and the second intifada are horrific events wherein hundreds of Jews were killed in violent riots instigated by Palestinian Arabs. The first intifada saw 1,000 Palestinian Arabs killed by their own for accusations of collaborating with Israelis, and nearly 5,000 Palestinian Arabs were killed in the second intifada. It would seem not only dangerous but foolish then to call for a globalization of the intifada when so much life was lost on both ends. Not to mention the fact that intifada means ‘uprising’ and both intifadas were violent uprisings specifically against the Jews. This is what thousands of New Yorkers were calling for last summer. That is not a pathway to peace, but a perpetuation of war.
To my Jewish, Christian, Muslim, and other brothers and sisters suffering as a result of all of this chaos, my heart is with you always. Stay strong. We at the Institute for Black Solidarity with Israel (IBSI) will do all we can to let the truth ring out, and to continue working for peace.