Sarsour, Ashrawi, and Palazzi

Sar Shalom

A popular explanation for Arab and Muslim vitriol against Israel is that Islam, through the Koran and Hadiths, commands such vitriol. However, this explanation fails to explain certain things. To start, consider Linda Sarsour who is secular and only wears a hijab as a matter of cultural identification and because that cultural identification transformed her, as she claims, into a "person of color." Given her religious sensibilities, one would expect such Koranic injunctions and Hadiths to have as much influence on her as Leviticus 11 has on the average American Jew's diet. Yet, Sarsour is as vitriolic against Israel as any imam from Hamas. If she demonstrates a willingness to deviate from religious dictates, why would she be so fastidious to that dictate?

Yet, one could argue that she picks and chooses what aspects of sharia she observes. She might not bind herself with her religion's dictates on permitted and forbidden foods, as a possible example, but she does bind herself to her religion's dictates of holding onto Dar-al-Islam. If that is so, why is Hanan Ashrawi equally vitriolic towards Israel? For those who don't know, Ashrawi is Christian and thus any religious dictate of Islam would have no authority over her.

Yet, one could argue that Ashrawi is motivated by proleptic dhimmitude and thus indirectly influenced by Islamic dictates. However, how does Abdul Palazzi, the leader of Italian Islam, fit the claim that Islam prohibits acceptance of Israel? Palazzi is someone who unambiguously supports Israel, going so far as to interrupt a visit in New Haven in order to join Avi Weiss for a protest at the Palestinian UN Mission, support the Jewish community of Hebron, and support for Jews on the Temple Mount. He is someone who takes any religious requirement of Islam seriously, and indeed writes that Islam requires recognition of Israel as a Jewish state.

I am not going to suggest an alternative theory for vitriol aimed at Israel from the Islamic world because the source of that vitriol is unimportant. Whether this vitriol stems from religious decree, culture, or brainwashing from fake news, all that is important is that it is real and that it is not based on anything that liberals would recognize as a casus belli. However, attributing it to religious dictate advertises that your objection is not to their racism directed at us, but to who they are. Doing that turns away potential allies, and for what gain? If you're not dealing with how to turn people away from opposition to Israel, just ignore their motives.