Kuwaiti writer's support for Israel provokes social media backlash

[grossproffit]

[quote]Abdullah al-Hadlaq has provoked a backlash for his views on Israel's right to defend itself against the "terrorism of Palestinian knives"

A Kuwaiti columnist known for his pro-Israeli views provoked a storm of criticism on social media when he wrote this weekend that Israel had a legitimate right to defend itself against the "terrorism of [Palestinian] knives".

Abdullah al-Hadlaq was referring to the recent wave of violence in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories some have dubbed "the intifada of knives", because of the number of stabbing attacks against Israelis.

Hadlaq's latest article, The terrorism of knives and the right of Israel to self-defence, was published in the Kuwaiti daily al-Watan on 17 October, but had apparently been taken down by the morning of 19 October.

"With the increase of [Palestinian] crimes, and the terrorism of knives against Israeli soldiers... and against innocent civilians," Hadlaq wrote, "Israel's legitimate right to defend itself and kill [Palestinian] terrorists, whatever their age, children, youths, male and female, is clear," Egyptian news site Rassd reported. [/quote]

[url]http://www.alaraby.co.uk/english/blog/2015/10/19/kuwaiti-writers-support-for-israel-provokes-social-media-backlash[/url]

[Little Tich]

1. This guy seems to be a little bit unhinged, so I suppose he fits in with the pro-Israel crowd...

He's got a definite problem with Iran, and seems to think that anyone or anything that hurts Iran is good. He praises the intercepting of the Gaza flottilla, and he supported the attacks on Gaza in 2008. I've already used up my hate-site linking quota by linking to Jewish Press in another thread, but there are a lot of unsavoury sites praising Abdallah Al hadlaq.

Anyway, here's a excerpt from the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs with details on his support for the 2008 attacks on Gaza:

Behind the Headlines: Pragmatic Arab views of Hamas
Source: Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 10 Apr 2008
(snip)

In an article entitled 'Who plunged Gaza into darkness', Abdallah Alhadlaq strongly attacks Hamas, consistently labeling it a terrorist organization throughout the article, and firmly stating that Hamas alone is the real enemy of the Palestinian people, solely responsible for the misery of the civilian population in Gaza. "Terrorists attack Israel and let the people of Gaza pay the price, dressing them in mourning. The people of Gaza continue to suffer. It is clear there will be no progress in any peace talks without cutting the military, ideological, political, and financial ties between Hamas, the Persian [Iranian] entity in Teheran and the Baath regime of Damascus as well as the terrorist Hizbullah movement. The firing of missiles carried out by Persian orders against Israel must stop."

Abdallah Alhadlaq accuses Hamas of operating under orders from Teheran, as "an agent of the Persians [Iranians]", and of obstinately blocking any hope for peace in return for the millions of dollars the Iranian regime pours into Gaza.

Alhadlaq concludes by stating that "I think we owe an apology to the Israel army for using force against Hamas because it is the only language these terrorists understand!" (Al-Watan, 27 January 2008).

Read more: http://www.mfa.gov.il/mfa/foreignpolicy/issues/pages/pragmatic%20arab%20views%20of%20hamas%2020-feb-2008.aspx

[oberliner]

2. That's funny

You think this writer is "unhinged" because he has a problem with Iran and supports attacking Hamas, yet you just posted an article that whips up fears about Israel replacing the al-Aqsa mosque with a Jewish temple by a guy who claims that Israel is engaged in an "on-going campaign to desecrate and destroy holy sites that anchor non-Jewish peoples to their faiths."

[Little Tich]

3. Do you honestly believe that Israel wasn't trying to change the status quo?

And I can't really find an unbiased article by or about this Abdullah al-Hadlaq - he seems to be pretty extreme in his views, and a darling of the right-wing Zionists.

[oberliner]

4. The article I referenced goes much further than suggesting that

If it had only made that implication, then I would not have suggested that the author was unhinged. But the article presents the idea of Israel destroying the al-Aqsa mosque and replacing it with a Jewish temple as something to be genuinely concerned about and also asserts that Israel is going around destroying non-Jewish houses of worship which is preposterous, and an even more despicable statement in light of the fact that actual mosques are being blown up in other countries on a fairly regular basis with near impunity while in Israel people of all faiths are free to worship safely.

[Little Tich]

5. That particular OP is well within the bounds of reasonable interpretation of evidence and discourse.

While it's basically an appeal, and therefore not balanced, it's not wrong. If you don't like it, why don't you try to refute it?

And if you have anything about Abdullah al-Hadlaq that doesn't make him look unhinged, please share...

[oberliner]

6. No it's not

It's certainly as "unhinged" as anything Abdullah al-Hadlaq has written.

But I don't want to derail this OP by discussing another one.

The point is that opposing the government of Iran and calling Hamas a terrorist organization do not make a person look unhinged.

The vast majority of Israelis share the views you've associated with al-Hadlaq.

The fighting against Hamas in Gaza, for instance, was supported by upwards of 90 percent of the population.

[Little Tich]

7. I think it's legitimate (while I don't agree) to call for armed intervention in Gaza,

but I draw the line when it comes to justifying massive civilian casualties.

I don't agree with Abdullah al-Hadlaq, he's no voice crying out from the desert - he's wrong.

[shira]

8. So you don't agree Israel has a right to defend its civilians from terrorists....

.....hellbent on killing Jews with their knives?

[Little Tich]

9. I think your framing of the question is wrong.

The defense against terrorists shouldn't involve harming innocent people, nor should there be a mandate to to do harm that isn't proportional.

There is a disturbing tendency to execute swift lethal justice to any attacker as well as measures that would be considered collective punishment in any civilized country. It seems as if Israel is throwing the rule of law out of the window, and this will have repercussions.

The duty to protect has become a right to oppress...

[shira]

10. That's a ridiculous post...

What do you expect Israelis to do when people waving knives are running to or attacking innocents?

Now compare that to what any other civilized society would do.

============================================

It seems you're more concerned about the rights of terrorists in the act of murdering civilians than the actual victims of the knife attacks.

I'm also having a hard time relating other "victims" attacking their oppressors (innocent civilians) in the same way - with murderous intent and rage - demonizing an entire ethnicity (from children to elderly) wanting them either dead or kicked out of the country. What kind of "victims" do this? Seriously. Point me to a similar situation elsewhere in the world or in history.

[Little Tich]

11. I expect Israelis to uphold the rule of law, in spite of the crypto-fascist racists in charge of

the country.

Justifying oppressive measures for the sake of security is a slippery slope, and if Israel continues to treat the violence as a security issue that can be solved by ever harder measures, Israel will eventually cease to be a democracy.

Interestingly, I didn't think Israel would lose its democracy this way. I thought it would be by making the Jewish state more Jewish by gradually disenfranchising non-Jewish Israelis and by making the Supreme Court the lapdog of Israeli politicians.

[shira]

12. Sure, we all do - and Israel does so.

Justifying oppressive measures for the sake of security is a slippery slope, and if Israel continues to treat the violence as a security issue that can be solved by ever harder measures, Israel will eventually cease to be a democracy.

Israel can't treat as victims those extremists who want to murder Jews.

They're simply not victims. And decent people who are victims wouldn't even imagine going out and stabbing innocent people.

If you want the situation to be better, you should be calling for Western nations to shame the Palestinian leadership for inciting their people to murder random innocents. As it is, Abbas receives less press for his incitement than Netanyahu for his historical revisionism. Abbas doesn't just incite people to kill Jews, he's a Holocaust denier. Enough of the kid glove treatment. He is no victim.

Taking it easy on Abbas only gives him a green light to continue. That means more violence and death. He has no reason to stop inciting and neither does Hamas when the world is more interested in condemning Netanyahu for one dumb remark.