Islam And The West

Dr. Moshe Kantor the president of the European Jewish Congress has launched a scathing verbal attack on the makers of Oscar hit Slumdog Millionaire.

Kantor’s remarks were made at the Institute for the Study of Contemporary anti-Semitism and Racism at Tel Aviv University:

“The president of the European Jewish Congress on Monday waged a verbal attack against members of Hollywood, specifically the makers of Oscar-winning film Slumdog Millionaire.

“I have seen two movies recently made by Jews in Hollywood,” said Dr. Moshe Kantor. “One was Valkyrie, which is a pro-Nazi film. The other is Slumdog Millionaire, which deals with the Muslim population in India, and in which one of the characters says, ‘Allahu Akhbar’ before dying.”

“This is strange in my opinion,” Kantor said at a press conference at the Institute for the Study of Contemporary Anti-Semitism and Racism at Tel Aviv University.Kantor added that it is crucial for Jews to understand the educational value of cultural and artistic works.” [Source: Haaretz]

Well there you have it, absolutely no need for me to make any further comment!

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A new study conducted by Saadia Izzeldin of Qatar University has found that two major American publications over a 48 year period used images of Muslim women to illustrate stories of “misogyny”, female circumcision, and famine:

“A study conducted by Saadia Izzeldin Malik of Qatar University on images of Muslim women in two popular US magazines — Time and Newsweek — found that in 44 articles in the two news magazines from 1950 to 1998, women in Muslim countries in Africa were depicted within the themes of veil/Islam,female circumcision, and famine….

..”The significance of this study stems from its concern with western media’s coverage of the most unrepresentative category of people (North African and Muslim women),” she said. Malik said the study had three purposes. First, to fill the literature gap related to the representation of African women in Western/US media. Second, to examine the main themes the two newsmagazines chose to represent and identify Muslim women of North Africa. Third, to examine the differences in the portrayal by the two newsmagazines of African Muslim women from Northern and African Muslim women from sub-Saharan Africa.” [Source: The Peninsula]

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Recently the Coptic Church in Egypt tried to censor a film showing the difficulty that Christian women face in gaining a divorce.

Since then a new storm is enveloping Mid-East Christians over reports that an Israeli comedian insulted the Virgin Mary and Jesus during a late night comedy skit.

Feeling are running so high that there have even been calls from Christians for Pope Benedict XVI to postpone his May visit to Israel over the affair. Christian lawyers are also considering a lawsuit against Israel’s Channel 10 :

“Leading Christian and Muslim clergymen are calling on Pope Benedict XVI to postpone his planned visit to Israel, which is scheduled for May, in protest of a comedy skit seen on the late-night variety television show hosted by comedian Lior Shlein.

In a press conference held on Wednesday in Nazareth, religious leaders denounced Shlein for a spoof entitled “Like a virgin” which depicts two characters who play Jesus and the Virgin Mary.

In the skit, Mary is heard saying she had slept with many men and that she was not a virgin at all. The provocative segment prompted Christian lawyers to consider filing legal motions against Shlein and his television home, Channel 10. In response, Shlein sent a letter to one of the attorneys pledging to apologize on the air for the skit.

Christian leaders said Shlein’s jokes are “hurtful and humiliating to Christianity.” Salim Kubti, an attorney and the chairman of an umbrella organization representing Christian courts, said he and a number of other lawyers are considering a lawsuit against Channel 10.”

(Source: Haaretz)

Maybe I’m wrong but I always thought that Christians were supposed to turn the other cheek.

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According to media reports American actor Leonardo DiCaprio must convert to Judaism in order to marry his Israeli girlfriend and supermodel Bar Refaeli:

“Supermodel Bar Refaeli won’t be marrying beau Leo DiCaprio if her father, Rafael Rafaeli, has anything to say about it. Aaron Braunstein, who’s promoting the Brawl at the Wall boxing match between Israeli and Palestinian fighters July 4, saw Bar’s dad in Jerusalem last week: “He told me that if Leo doesn’t convert to Judaism, there will be no marriage.” (Source: NY Daily News)

The couple have been dating since 2005 and it is claimed that the 34 year old actor wants to marry and settle down with 23-year old Bar Refael.

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Recently during the Israeli anti-terror operation in Gaza Islaam TV carried a video produced by the IDF and addressed to the inhabitants of Gaza. The video spoke to them in Arabic and without any translators nor subtitles.

For those familiar with the manner in which Israel tries to get its message across to the Arab world the IDF video would not have come as a surprise. With a 20% minority Arab population of it’s own, Israel has tried to put its view point to the Arab world in Arabic before.

Image by: Hoyasmeg

In this vain Zvi Mazel a current research fellow at the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs and former Israeli ambassador to Egypt has launched a website aimed at putting Israel’s point of view to the Arab world in Arabic. In so doing he gives the Arab reader access to views the former ambassador says they would never otherwise see:

“An Arabic-language “hasbara” Web site edited by a former Israeli ambassador to Egypt offers a sampling of news items and perspectives that many Arabs in the Middle East are rarely served.

As a research fellow at the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, Zvi Mazel selects a variety of Western and Israeli news items related to Israel and its conflict with the Palestinians and the Arab world, which are translated into Arabic and then posted.

A recent glance at the site features short items centered on Operation Cast Lead.

“Americans sympathize with Israel more than Gaza,” states an excerpt of a January 24 Bloomberg article, which cites a CNN poll that found 60 percent of Americans polled sympathized with Israelis while only 17% sympathized with the Palestinians over Israel’s military operation…..

…Mazel, who served as the Israeli ambassador to Egypt from 1996 to 2001, said the 13-month-old Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs Web site is meant to allow the Arab public to become familiar with facts and ways of thinking that are not being presented to them by their own media outlets…..

…The Web site, which Mazel said has a limited budget and garners between 2,000 and 3,000 readers a month, also features historical pieces about the Jewish people’s historic connection to the land of Israel, such as an article entitled “the Arab village of Aqbara was a Jewish village until the 13th century” and another about a Jewish presence in Acre since the time of the Mishna.

Many of the letters sent by readers from around the Arab world had been positive toward Israel, Mazel said.

A political researcher, who identified himself as an Iraqi Kurd, wrote to Mazel on January 28, saying: “I am among those who love the state of Israel and support what it did against Hamas – while I regret the killing of civilians – and I would like to communicate with you.”

Another reader from Morocco, who has a blog in French called “Fundamentalist Zionist Muslims,” wrote in French that he loses hope for change in the Arab world “when I see the Arab world reacting in a way that is far from reality concerning what is going on in Gaza.”

Some readers from the Arab world have even asked for political asylum or job opportunities in Israel.” (Source: Jerusalem Post)

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