Saudi Writer: Critics of Saudi Textbooks Are Ignoring Jewish Racism

Saudi Writer: Critics of Saudi Textbooks Are Ignoring Jewish Racism

Reacting to Western reports on Saudi textbooks' attitude toward Jews and women, Saudi columnist Dr. Umayma Jalahma wrote an article in the daily Al-Riyadh in which she accused the Western media of ignoring Jewish racism toward non-Jews, citing the Talmud as evidence of this racism.[1] The following are excerpts:[2] "Is It Not Their Duty to First Scrutinize Themselves" "The British newspaper Daily Mail described the punishments set out in the Islamic shari'a as barbarism,[3] and expressed concern for the Jews, claiming that the Saudi curricula, which it described as 'shocking,' encouraged schoolchildren to kill Jewish adolescents. [The article also] claimed that all the Saudi [text]books imply that the Jewish people must be annihilated, in that they say that 'the hour [of judgment] will not come until the Muslims fight the Jews and kill them.' The report also described how these curricula harm the status of women, portraying them as weak and irresponsible. [Apparently,] the American Fox News channel [likewise] had trouble finding an interesting topic [for discussion, and therefore] repeated its attacks against Saudi Arabia's curricula, discussing the same issues as the Daily Mail.[4] "I cannot understand how these media allowed themselves to ignore, in a racist manner, what the Talmud says about Jesus and his mother, Mary, and about the Christians, or how they made no mention of the brutal precepts of the Old Testament, which is holy to both the Jews and the Christians. How did [these media] allow themselves to ignore what the Christian religious leaders have said [about the Jews]? If they are truly reformist, as they claim, is it not their duty to first scrutinize themselves before looking to the right or the left?" The Talmud Slanders Jesus and Mary "When we look in the Talmud, we find that it describes Jesus as 'the Nazarene who is in the depths of Hell, among the pitch, tar, and fire', and says that his mother, Mary, was impregnated by the soldier Panthera while having adulterous relations [with him]. [Jesus is also] described as 'crazy' and a 'scoundrel.' According to [the Jews themselves,] the Jewish holiday of Passover coincided with the Messiah's crucifixion, as it says in the Talmud: 'On the eve of Passover, Jesus the Nazarene was hanged [on the cross].' Regarding the Christians, the Talmud says: 'It is obligatory to kill a Christian. Any agreement with a Christian is not a valid agreement that is binding for a Jew. A Jew is obligated to curse the heads of the Christian faith three times, as well as all the kings that express animosity toward the Children of Israel. The Christian churches are on the level of trash, and their preachers are like barking dogs.' "Jewish racism applies equally to all the non-Jewish peoples. It says in the Talmud: 'God created the goy – the non-Jew – in human form so that he would be fit to serve the Jews, for whom the world was created.' It also says: 'The difference between humans and animals is analogous to the difference between the Jew and the rest of the nations.' The Old Testament, which is holy to both the Jews and the Christians, says in I Samuel: 'Now go, attack the Amalekites and totally destroy everything that belongs to them. Do not spare them; put to death men and women, children and infants, cattle and sheep, camels and donkeys.'" Western Protestantism is Antisemitic "I cannot understand why these [Western] media did not dwell on what Martin Luther, founder of Protestantism, wrote in his 16th century book On the Jews and Their Lies, which says that the Jews are 'a nation of deaf, heretical, arrogant, crafty, and abominable people.' He wanted them to be humiliated and even tortured in Hell, as he wrote: 'All who are able should toss sulphur and pitch on them; it would be good if someone could also throw in some hellfire. That would demonstrate our respect for God and Christianity, so that God will see that we are truly Christians. We must destroy their houses [of worship], tear up their prayer books and Talmud, and ban their rabbis from teaching the people now and forever. And if [the Jews] do not [observe this ban], they must be punished with death. We must close our roads and main streets to them. Usury must be prohibited to them, and all the cash and treasure of silver and gold which they have amassed must be taken from them. If this does not help, we must drive them out of the land like mad dogs.'" The West, Not Saudi Arabia, Exploits Women "As for the [Western media's] slanderous and unjust claims that the aforementioned [Saudi] textbooks degrade women and describe them as 'weak and irresponsible'... I say that many Saudi women have proven their worth by serving their religion, their homeland, and their families. What is more, I believe they surpass [non-Saudi] women in many fields... "How does the Western media explain [the fact that] it claims to respect women, yet at the same time it insists on exploiting them by paying them less than men who have the same skills and do the same work, or even less work? If we ask them about this exploitative policy, or why they ignore what is said about the Jews' stance vis-à-vis the Christian faith and believers, or about the stance of the [Jewish] scholars vis-à-vis women, they will have no answer to give. They would be better off focusing on their own problems and seeking to resolve them, instead of occupying themselves with the domestic issues of other countries..." Endnotes: [1] It should be noted that Al-Jalahma has penned a number of antisemitic articles in the past. In a March 2002 article in Al-Riyadh, she claimed that the Jews use teenagers' blood to prepare Purim pastries. (see MEMRI Special Dispatch No.354, "Saudi Government Daily: Jews Use Teenagers' Blood for 'Purim' Pastries," March 12, 2002,http://www.memri.org/report/en/0/0/0/0/0/51/628.htm). The daily later issued an apology for publishing the article (see MEMRI Special Dispatch No.357,"Editor of Saudi Government Daily Al-Riyadh: Statement on 'Purim' Blood Libel Articles," March 21, 2002,http://www.memri.org/report/en/0/0/0/0/0/51/633.htm). In another article, she blamed the Rothschild family for the 2008 economic crisis in the US (see MEMRI Special Dispatch No.2091, "Arab Columnists: The Economic Crisis – A Conspiracy by U.S. Government, American Jews," October 22, 2008, http://www.memri.org/report/en/0/0/0/0/0/0/2888.htm). [2] Al-Riyadh (Saudi Arabia), January 1, 2012. [3] The Daily Mail article discussed the "barbaric textbooks handed out in Saudi Arabian schools [that] teach children how to cut off a thief's hands and feet under Sharia law." Seehttp://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2077658/The-Arabic-textbooks-children-chop-hands-feet-Sharia-law.html. [4] See http://www.foxnews.com/world/2011/12/21/extremist-teachings-remain-in-saudi-textbooks-despite-kingdoms-claims-reform/. On a Saudi school textbook which claims that the enmity between the Muslims and Jews is of a religious nature and everlasting, see MEMRI Special Dispatch No.4345, "Saudi Textbook: The Enmity between the Muslims and the Jews Is Everlasting," December 8, 2011, http://www.memri.org/report/en/0/0/0/0/0/0/5896.htm. http://www.memri.org/report/en/0/0/0/0/0/0/6127.htm