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The Hatred for Jews in the Palestinian Narrative
(Los Angeles Jewish Journal) David Suissa - It's comforting to think that the terrorist who murdered seven Jews coming out of a Jerusalem synagogue was striking a blow against "the civilized world," as President Biden asserted. But he wasn't. Khairi Alqam, 21, a resident of eastern Jerusalem, was specifically going after Jews. His Palestinian brethren who celebrated his murderous act were rejoicing at the death of Jews. The hatred for Jews within much of Palestinian society is ugly and personal. They teach Palestinian kids that "the Jews don't belong here." No amount of clever reframing can change that. The narrative that has always been exceedingly difficult for Westerners to contemplate is that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is not a political conflict but an existential one. This narrative doesn't lend itself to solutions. Unlike the Palestinians who kept saying no and built an identity around victimhood, the Zionists took what the UN gave them in 1947 and built a powerful state. The Jews, who for centuries had to accept their second class dhimmi status in Arab and Muslim lands, have broken free to a place of empowerment through the Jewish state. Until a radically new and brave leadership infiltrates Palestinian society, teaching its people that Jew-hatred is violently against their interest, we are relegated to dealing with facts on the ground. Terrorists will continue to try to kill Jews, and Jews will continue to try to stop them. This may not be very comforting for the civilized world, but for the Jews of Israel, it's the only world they know.