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Hamas' Elastic Definition of the Jew
(Tablet) David Mikics - On Oct. 7, Hamas tortured, murdered, and kidnapped not only Jews, but many foreign nationals and Israeli Arabs. How do these acts make sense? The answer lies in the elastic definition of the Jew. Anyone on Israeli soil was symbolically Jewish and therefore worthy of being mutilated, hacked to pieces or burned alive. The terrorists fired 40 bullets into the body of a Bedouin woman, since even a devout Muslim could be tainted by Zionism and righteously murdered. Israeli Arabs, it seems, serve for Hamas as symbolic Jews. Not surprisingly, they have displayed complete solidarity with Israel's efforts to defend itself since Oct. 7. Muslim Israelis do not want to be slaughtered by maniacs any more than their Jewish neighbors do. The writer is Professor of English at the University of Houston.