While there are differences, to be sure, between anti-Semitism and anti-Arab bigotry, the animus that has driven the hostility directed against both Arabs and Jews springs from the same source. It is a largely western phenomenon directed against two Semitic peoples, one which the West historically found living within its midst and which it saw as an internal threat, the other which it confronted as an external challenge, but which it similarly defined as a threat to its survival.
In some ways, these “anti-Semitisms” are no different than other racial or tribal conflicts. They are, however, more extensive and persistent in their violence and intensity. Both Jews and Arabs are demonised, with their organisations, wealth, even their corporate identities seen as damaging to the West. And the results have been devastating. Both groups have suffered a history of vilification and both have endured campaigns of systematic violence: Jews as victims of pogroms and the Holocaust, Arabs, first as victims of racist imperial conquest and later, when millions of Arabs emigrated to Europe, as victims of prejudice.
A decade ago, I did a study of political cartoons and other forms of popular culture, comparing the depiction of Jews in Tsarist Russia and pre-Nazi Germany with those of the Arabs in the United States in the 1970s and 1980s. In both content and form the treatments given to each were identical. The two most prevalent German and Russian depiction of Jews paralleled the two most common images of the Arabs projected in US cartoons.
The fat, grotesque Jewish banker or merchant found its counterpart in the obese oil sheikh, and the images of the Arab and Jewish terrorists differed only in their attire. Both groups were uniformly treated as alien and hostile. Both were accused of not sharing western values and were viewed as prone to conspiracy. They were both seen as usurpers and controllers of western wealth, using it to undermine the West. And both were portrayed as coveting western women. The bottom line: Arabs and Jews were defined as threats to western civilisation.
Despite the contradiction, Jews were portrayed as associated both with capitalist greed and with anarchist violence, socialism, and communism. Arab avarice was held responsible for runaway inflation in the West, and Arabs were seen as the main agents responsible for international terrorism. This was true long before 9/11 and the bigoted backlash against Arab immigrants in Europe.
Both communities face challenges that we can confront by first understanding each other’s vulnerability and pain
As we know from history, the systematic dehumanisation of both peoples ultimately led to terrible violence. In the past few centuries alone, millions of Jews lived in fear of the oppression and exclusion of being "other" that they endured in most western countries. All too often this led to outbreaks of violence directed against them as the "outsiders" who were routinely scapegoated for a host of problems, leading to the barbaric Nazi effort to completely exterminate them as a people.
Arabs, whose lands the West coveted, first for religious reasons and later for their economic and political strategic importance, were likewise victims during the past few centuries. Arab lands were conquered and colonised. Western powers divided up the region, holding in contempt the rights of those whom they would dispossess. Millions of Arabs died from war, squashed rebellions and enforced famines.
Given this shared history, it is ironic, if not profoundly tragic, that both groups, as they became locked in a struggle over Palestine, would fall prey to utilising and even propagating some of these same forms of negative stereotyping against one another. In this context, it has long been disturbing to me to hear some Arabs using anti-Semitic tropes to describe Jewish control of the media or government or banks.
Similarly, it is deeply unsettling to hear some Jews speaking or writing about violence, or irrational behaviour as if these were inherent Arab traits, or to hear major Jewish groups dismiss the Arab American community as a "petro-dollar created fiction" that only exists to attack Israel. Or for some groups to engage in "witch hunts" to expose Arab donors, when clearly doing the same to Jewish donors is, and ought to be, off limits.
More troubling was the systematic Israeli propaganda campaign to dehumanise and justify the violence against and dispossession of Palestinians. For decades, Palestinians were not seen as equal human beings. They were pawns on a board to be moved about to make way for Israel to live in freedom and security. Palestinians were expelled from their homes. Their villages were erased, and their rights ignored. At the root of all of this is racism – a belief that Palestinians are less human, more violent, and less deserving of rights.
The response to this must never be to repay in another bigotry. Arabs, and in this case Palestinians in particular, must never be demonised, stripped of their humanity, or collectively held responsible for actions of some Arab governments or groups. Similarly, Jews should never be demonised or collectively held responsible for the actions of Israel or even of some Jewish organisations.
The bottom line is to recognise that both of our communities face challenges that we can best confront by first understanding each other’s vulnerability and pain, and committing to never using learned or weaponised bigotry against each other.
Overall standings
1. Christopher Froome (GBR/Sky) 68hr 18min 36sec,
2. Fabio Aru (ITA/AST) at 0:18.
3. Romain Bardet (FRA/ALM) 0:23.
4. Rigoberto Uran (COL/CAN) 0:29.
5. Mikel Landa (ESP/SKY) 1:17.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
What is Genes in Space?
Genes in Space is an annual competition first launched by the UAE Space Agency, The National and Boeing in 2015.
It challenges school pupils to design experiments to be conducted in space and it aims to encourage future talent for the UAE’s fledgling space industry. It is the first of its kind in the UAE and, as well as encouraging talent, it also aims to raise interest and awareness among the general population about space exploration.
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Honeymoonish
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MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Bayern Munich v Real Madrid
When: April 25, 10.45pm kick-off (UAE)
Where: Allianz Arena, Munich
Live: BeIN Sports HD
Second leg: May 1, Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid
MATCH INFO
What: 2006 World Cup quarter-final
When: July 1
Where: Gelsenkirchen Stadium, Gelsenkirchen, Germany
Result:
England 0 Portugal 0
(Portugal win 3-1 on penalties)
LA LIGA FIXTURES
Thursday (All UAE kick-off times)
Sevilla v Real Betis (midnight)
Friday
Granada v Real Betis (9.30pm)
Valencia v Levante (midnight)
Saturday
Espanyol v Alaves (4pm)
Celta Vigo v Villarreal (7pm)
Leganes v Real Valladolid (9.30pm)
Mallorca v Barcelona (midnight)
Sunday
Atletic Bilbao v Atletico Madrid (4pm)
Real Madrid v Eibar (9.30pm)
Real Sociedad v Osasuna (midnight)
The biog
Year of birth: 1988
Place of birth: Baghdad
Education: PhD student and co-researcher at Greifswald University, Germany
Hobbies: Ping Pong, swimming, reading
ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
In numbers: China in Dubai
The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000
Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000
Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent
Four-day collections of TOH
Day Indian Rs (Dh)
Thursday 500.75 million (25.23m)
Friday 280.25m (14.12m)
Saturday 220.75m (11.21m)
Sunday 170.25m (8.58m)
Total 1.19bn (59.15m)
(Figures in millions, approximate)
Company%C2%A0profile
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In numbers
Number of Chinese tourists coming to UAE in 2017 was... 1.3m
Alibaba’s new ‘Tech Town’ in Dubai is worth... $600m
China’s investment in the MIddle East in 2016 was... $29.5bn
The world’s most valuable start-up in 2018, TikTok, is valued at... $75bn
Boost to the UAE economy of 5G connectivity will be... $269bn
Dengue%20fever%20symptoms
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
How to wear a kandura
Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
Don’ts
- Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
- Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
BLACKBERRY
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