(Ynet News) Ben-Dror Yemini - Rula Jebreal wrote in the New York Times (Oct. 27) about an ordeal she allegedly suffered at Ben-Gurion International Airport. It's sad and unfortunate, but Muslims are treated with suspicion at almost every airport in the West. British travelers, for example, refused to board a flight from Malaga to Manchester only because there were two Arabic speakers on the aircraft; and another incident in Minneapolis saw six imams removed from a flight. In Washington, nine Muslims, three of them children, were removed from a flight. The New York Times reported the incident, but it didn't brand the U.S. as racist. "Death to the Arabs" graffiti does indeed appear here and there. Some Israelis are racist - but not more so, and probably much less so, when compared with similar phenomena in other civilized countries. In the real Israel, hundreds of thousands voted an Arab contestant, Lina Makhoul, into first place in the singing contest "The Voice." In The Netherlands, Theo van Gogh was murdered by an Islamist. The Muslims in The Netherlands were quick to condemn and protest against the act. In Israel, on the other hand, some members of the Arab leadership have specialized in offering understanding for murderers. The Netherlands was considered one of the most tolerant countries in the world. Yet a total of 117 mosques were torched or damaged there between 2005 and 2010. France has imposed a ban on the wearing of niqabs and burqas. Switzerland has banned construction of minarets. And polls in France, Britain and Germany show that more than 70% of their populations view Islam in a negative light. Indeed, incidents of racism, violence and hostility in Europe far outnumber those in Israel.
2014-11-06 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive