
 |
The Kosher Gourmet by Megan Gordon With its colorful cache of purples and oranges and reds, COLLARD GREEN SLAW is a marvelous mood booster --- not to mention just downright delish
April 18, 2014
Rabbi Yonason Goldson: Clarifying one of the greatest philosophical conundrums in theology
John Ericson: Trying hard to be 'positive' but never succeeding? Blame Your Brain
The Kosher Gourmet by Julie Rothman Almondy, flourless torta del re (Italian king's cake), has royal roots, is simple to make, . . . but devour it because it's simply delicious
April 14, 2014
Rabbi Dr Naftali Brawer: Passover frees us from the tyranny of time
Eric Schulzke: First degree: How America really recovered from a murder epidemic
Georgia Lee: When love is not enough: Teaching your kids about the realities of adult relationships
Gordon Pape: How you can tell if your financial adviser is setting you up for potential ruin
Dana Dovey: Up to 500,000 people die each year from hepatitis C-related liver disease. New Treatment Has Over 90% Success Rate
Justin Caba: Eating Watermelon Can Help Control High Blood Pressure
April 11, 2014
Rabbi Hillel Goldberg: Silence is much more than golden
Susan Swann: How to value a child for who he is, not just what he does
Susan Scutti: A Simple Blood Test Might Soon Diagnose Cancer
Chris Weller: Have A Slow Metabolism? Let Science Speed It Up For You
April 9, 2014
Jonathan Tobin: Why Did Kerry Lie About Israeli Blame?
Samuel G. Freedman: A resolution 70 years later for a father's unsettling legacy of ashes from Dachau
Jessica Ivins: A resolution 70 years later for a father's unsettling legacy of ashes from Dachau
Matthew Mientka: How Beans, Peas, And Chickpeas Cleanse Bad Cholesterol and Lowers Risk of Heart Disease
April 8, 2014
Dana Dovey: Coffee Drinkers Rejoice! Your Cup Of Joe Can Prevent Death From Liver Disease
Chris Weller: Electric 'Thinking Cap' Puts Your Brain Power Into High Gear
April 4, 2014
Amy Peterson: A life of love: How to build lasting relationships with your children
John Ericson: Older Women: Save Your Heart, Prevent Stroke Don't Drink Diet
John Ericson: Why 50 million Americans will still have spring allergies after taking meds
Sarah Boesveld: Teacher keeps promise to mail thousands of former students letters written by their past selves
April 2, 2014
Dan Barry: Should South Carolina Jews be forced to maintain this chimney built by Germans serving the Nazis?
Frank Clayton: Get happy: 20 scientifically proven happiness activities
Susan Scutti: It's Genetic! Obesity and the 'Carb Breakdown' Gene
|
| |
Jewish World Review
Sept. 27, 2012/ 11 Tishrei, 5773
Who needs reform most: Egypt or America?
By
Cal Thomas
http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
NEW YORK Prior to leaving Egypt for the United Nations General Assembly, Egypt's Islamist President Mohamed Morsi told The New York Times the United States needs to "fundamentally change" its approach to the Arab world. That includes, he said, showing greater respect for Arab values, as well as helping to build a Palestinian state.
Is there an Arab equivalent for the Yiddish word "Chutzpah"? It isn't the policies and attitude of the United States toward the Arab world that need changing. It's the attitude and policies of the Arab world that need to change. For a former leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, who still subscribes to the group's radical beliefs, to blame America for problems in the Arab world is like blaming the mirror for what it reflects.
Which nation is in greater need of an attitude adjustment? In USA Today recently, there was this line: "...more than a year after (Egyptian President Hosni) Mubarak's ouster, not much has changed for women..." The story contains pictures of Egyptian women being harassed by men on the streets of Cairo this summer during their "holy" month of Ramadan. The caption mentions activists who say that "harassment of women in the streets spikes during Muslim holidays." Did U.S. attitudes toward Arabs cause this harassment?
Then there's terrorism. A significant amount of terrorist activity emanates geographically and religiously from the Arab and Muslim world. Hatred for all things Jewish, Christian and Western can be found in children's textbooks in Saudi Arabia and Pakistan and throughout the Middle East -- hate that is then reinforced by mullahs and Arab media. "...Pakistan's public education system goes beyond instilling pride in being Muslim and encourages bigotry that can foment violence against 'the other,'" Husain Haqqani, a Pakistani author and professor of international relations at Boston University, told the Los Angeles Times back in 2005. Is such hatred the fault of the United States? Coptic Christians are fleeing Egypt. It is Egyptian persecution, not American attitudes that prompts them to leave.
| RECEIVE LIBERTY LOVING COLUMNISTS IN YOUR INBOX … FOR FREE! |
| Every weekday NewsAndOpinion.com publishes what many in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". HUNDREDS of columnists and cartoonists regularly appear. Sign up for the daily update. It's free. Just click here. |
|
With a few notable exceptions, Arab and Muslin nations mostly lived in unenviable conditions under extreme religious and tribal codes long before the United States and Israel came into being. Perhaps it was the "thought" of a country that treats women as equal to men, practices religious pluralism and tolerance for other beliefs -- or no belief -- that infuriated the Arab masses prior to 1776?
As for Palestinian-Israeli relations, how many times has Israel relinquished land seized for its security from invading Arab nations bent on its destruction? How many times has Israel compromised in many other ways as it sought peace with its Arab neighbors and the Palestinians? And how many times have the Palestinians not kept up their end of agreements, and, in fact, continue to incite their own people to "jihad" for the purpose of eliminating Israel? Which attitudes are in most need of reform? Meaningful peace must precede discussions of a Palestinian state.
Some might agree with the indictment by Morsi and other Arab and Muslim leaders of American attitudes when it comes to sex and relationships, given the societal consequences -- unwanted pregnancies, single-parent homes. He told the Times he doesn't like the West's looser sexual mores, including cohabiting unmarried couples and what he called "naked restaurants" like Hooters. He is also troubled by the gangs and violence in Los Angeles (he was a graduate student at the University of Southern California).
I don't like the looser sexual mores either, but the difference is that in America we don't have "virtue" police, as some Arab and Muslim states do, to force people to live and act in accordance with the dictates of self-appointed and often hypocritical religious and political elites.
Respect cuts both ways. The United States has demonstrated more than respect in the large amounts of aid we give to Arab nations. Then there is what we pay for their oil. That they have mostly not used those enormous resources to elevate their people, especially women, is not America's fault. It is the fault of a bad economic system, a worse governmental system and a religious system that believes the kingdom of its god is to be ushered in on Earth by force.
Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.
| BUY THE BOOK |
| Click HERE to purchase it at a discount. (Sales help fund JWR.). |
|
Cal Thomas Archives JWR contributor Cal Thomas is co-author with Bob Beckel, a liberal Democratic Party strategist, of "Common Ground: How to Stop the Partisan War That is Destroying America". Comment by clicking here.
© 2011, Tribune Media Services, Inc.
|
|
Columnists
Toons
Lifestyles
|