Yawn…wave of terror

The current knife and gun attacks upon Jews and killing of Palestinian youth whose twisted thinking led to such attacks and eventual their death is the direct result of incitement calling on Palestinian youth to murder Jews. It is endemic of a culture of hate. Hate fostered in media, schools, social networks, and last but not least amongst Palestinian leaders. The new and gruesome attacks also point out the desensitized nature of reporting by the West.

While it does not surprise many that a new wave of violence has erupted or that the Western media continues to misrepresent in its headlines and reporting the surprise might be regarding the the context of these attacks. It is not about occupation. The attacks perpetrated by Palestinians who go into the streets to seek martyrdom while killing Jews, and Israeli police and the IDF inevitable reaction shows clearly that borders or territory between Israel and a state of Palestine is irrelevant. These attacks may be categorized as ‘lone wolf’ by terrorism experts and scholars, but the motivation is not based upon frustration. Sadly, it is based on faith-based hate.

Those Palestinians that comprise the angry mobs with knives, rocks and gasoline bombs; the motivations of the people going into the streets to stab random Jews they encounter or the mobs in the West Bank who are seeking to set off confrontations with Israeli troops contain the fever of martyrdom. This is fully supported by the Palestinian television and Palestinian leadership. Palestinians are calling their wave of terrorism the “hibat al-Quds” or the “Jerusalem awakening.” This is significant if one recalls the way Palestinians referred to the second intifada as being about the “al-Aqsa” mosque on the Temple Mount.

Moreover, it fits the narrative when one considers the speech that Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas’s gave using specific language and imagery such as “filthy Jewish feet”. So, the wave of violence are not from lone wolves and not about occupation or frustration over lack of progress in the peace process. It is in fact a religious conflict. A war filled with hate from religious zealots surely and Islamists too, but also populated with the supposed moderates who are touted as partners for peace like Mr. Abbas who instead incite violence.

The West does not want to discuss a religious war. With ISIL and Syria and Iraq the Middle East is full of this ‘kind’ of war. Any serious reporting on the incitement of and acts of violence in Jerusalem and throughout Israel with this as the explanation would muddle an already confusing region. Best to yawn, and stick to the time-tested script. This is more than disappointing. It is shameful. Ignoring facts and choosing to categorize terror a certain way for its audience does no justice to the victims or help in a meaningful way bring peace.