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Arab writers call for learning from
Israels technology, democracy and
morality
By ARIEL BEN SOLOMON 05/02/2014 02:15
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Despite the fact that the Arab media often uses harsh and
insulting rhetoric describing Israel or Jews, occasional
articles by their intellectuals praise Israel for its
achievements.
Lawmakers gather for a session in the Knesset. Photo: REUTERS
Despite the fact that the Arab media often uses harsh and
insulting rhetoric describing Israel or Jews, occasional articles
by their intellectuals praise Israel for its achievements.
Such articles mainly compliment Israel for its hi-tech and urge
Arab countries to learn from it, explains a new report by the
Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), which
compiled these types of pieces over the past year.
Abdullah Bakheet, a Saudi columnist, tweeted last April that
unlike the Arabs, the Jews help create civilization and are not
[merely] consuming it.
The culture [whose technology] we use to communicate,
whose air conditioners we sleep under, whose hospitals we
are treated in, and whose cement roofs we pray under, is the
culture of the Jews and the Crusaders, he said.
In February and March of last year, Kuwaiti writer Omar
Altabtabaee published three pro-Israel articles, which
explained how Israel gained superiority over the region despite
its lack of resources.
Have you ever asked yourself how the small entity called
Israel managed to hold the entire world in its palm? Instead of
continually cursing the entire world, have you tried to
understand how Israel made all those achievements in all
areas? he wrote.
Israel attracts great Jewish minds from all around the world,
said Altabtabaee according to the report, adding in another
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article that Israel is an entity that lives beside us, has a
climate similar to ours, and if we look a bit further we will
discover that this entity has no natural resources and despite
all this, it surpasses us!... This entity knows that education is
the basis of society and the basis of its culture and unity.
Egyptian writer Ali Khamis wrote in the Al-Wafd newspaper
during the rule of Muslim Brotherhood president Mohamed
Morsi, Jewish revolutions are scientific and Arab ones are
tragic. This is the painful truth and the bitter harvest that we
have reaped from the winds of the Arab Spring that tore us
apart.
Iraqi writer Mahdi Majid Abdallah wrote an article, titled Arabs
and Muslims should learn from Israeli morality, on the Elaph
website last year.
I have suffered and still suffer from emotional complexes I
inherited from the Arab and Islamic society in which I have
lived for a long time.
[These complexes] planted the idea in the heart of society that
the Jews are the most lowly and cowardly people and that no
one believes them; that they are traitorous, hypocritical,
narcissistic, and strive to corrupt nations and peoples; [that
they are] a people that anger Allah, and a jealous and resentful
people that does not wish well for mankind.... As time passed,
and after I met a group of Jewish men and women up close,
the fog lifted and the basic assumptions that were solid facts in
my mind crumbled and quickly became lies, he said,
according to MEMRI.
Abdallah goes on to mention that Palestinians get medical
treatment in Israel. Would any Arab country agree to treat
Israelis this way? Of course [not].
He also praised Israeli democracy.
When you watch sessions of the Israeli Knesset, you can see
the freedom that Arab MKs enjoy, [despite] their harsh criticism
of the Israeli government and even the entire Israeli regime.
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Join the discussion
! Reply !
Xkeyscore ! 7 minutes ago
since arabs have praised jews, will it be time to
end the occupation and killing of innocents ?!


! Reply !
PETER SM ! an hour ago
Shame this is not compulsory reading for leftist
sloganeers and Neo n azis.
It would be great of both those groups got a life

3
! Reply !
Tal_Ben_Avraham ! an hour ago
So out of hundreds of millions of Arabs its
possible to nd a few article's that refrain from
blaming Jews for their problems.
As my daughter would say that statistically, thats
an insignicant number that proves nothing.
One of them even questions his brainwashing?
Big deal,the problem is the vast majority won't.
The only development the Arabs have made is
the suicide bomber.
We have received over a quarter of all Nobel
prizes ever awarded, Muslims have received how
many? 3? 4?.
G*d has blessed them with an abundance of oil
but they have made few advances in the last 100
years.
They hate us because we have shown them their
limitations

1
! Reply !
Yosef ben Israel
! an hour ago
Tal_Ben_Avraham
You mean Nobel Prizes I think.


! Reply !
Tal_Ben_Avraham
! an hour ago
Yosef ben
Israel
Correct,my mistake, the peace
prizes are di"erent.
Obama got one for,well being
black by all accounts.
Mistake corrected.


! Reply !
wingdings ! 2 hours ago
Shouldn't that be made known to the one with
Ketchup in his head?

2
! Reply !
Yosef ben Israel ! 2 hours ago
A little bit of fresh air in the arab house, nally.

1
! Reply !
Tal_Ben_Avraham
! an hour ago
Yosef ben Israel
Still a huge stench.


! Reply !
Giulia ! 2 hours ago
They despise the Jews but yet they want to learn
from the Jews. Chi disprezza compra.

2
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Reply 2
! Reply !
wingdings ! 2 hours ago Giulia
Nietzsche said once (and he was not
judeophile!): "They must have some high
value to be hated so much!" That explains
it all!

2
! Reply !
Shel_Zahav ! 2 hours ago
This will never be reported by the leftist
mainstream media in the US. The Guardian will
never acknowledge it.

2
! Reply !
YuriS ! an hour ago Shel_Zahav
That anti-Israel rag the Guardian would
rather choke on their hatred for Israel than
write a feel good story about Israel....The
Guardian's sole reason for being is to
smear Israel.....There is a lot of money to
be made from writing BS about Israel.....

1
! Reply !
Vandy ! 4 hours ago
The simple reason why things have stagnated in
the arab or muslim world is because of the
unstability and chaos that arose from the
dismantling of ottoman empire and governments
that rule the people.
I am sure our fellow jewish brethren realise that
the golden age of the jews in spain came under
the rule of muslims. Baghdad was the centre of
the universe at one point when it came to
science and technology back in the day. Muslims
were still religious back then as they are now.
Only di"erence was there was a healthy balance
and outlook.
From invention of algebra, to arabic hindu
numerals to even the propogation of the digit
zero. All these happened when there was
stability and peace in arab and muslim lands.
Problem these days is that you cant advance
when there is strife and the muslim countries that
are stable do not really care about science that
much.
For shame.


! Reply !
Tal_Ben_Avraham
! an hour ago
Vandy
Typical Muslim! Its all someone else's
fault.
The only advances the Muslim world have
shown are better communications,
transport and methods of killing
innocents, the mentality is unchanged in
1500 years.
To advance you need to co operate as a
society nor kill and destroy.


Shel_Zahav ! 2 hours ago Vandy
The "golden age of Islam in Spain" came
about because of the contribution of
Jews! Arabs claim all sorts of Jews to be
Muslims.
Arabs do not use the numerals that we
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! Reply !
use today. They did not invent the "zero".
Even during the "golden age in Spain"
there was not peace in Arab and Muslim
lands. And there were many pogroms
against Jews and Christians during this
"golden age". These communities were
often plundered and destroyed even
during the "golden age". You need an
education.
The Arabs did not invent algebra. I am
surprised even a backwards fool like you
is still peddling this nonsense.

2
! Reply !
Yosef ben Israel
! 2 hours ago
Shel_Zahav
Algebra has been invented by Al
Khwarizmi. He was a Persian
mathematician. The name Algebra
comes from the arabic Al-Jabr, the
title of Al Khwarizmi book and
meaning "reunion of broken
parts".

1
! Reply !
wingdings
! 2 hours ago
Yosef ben
Israel
Yes, people always think
Maths came from the
Arabs, it did not! That goes
for many other inventions
as well, like Arab Grammar
or medicines.


! Reply !
O rly ! 4 hours ago
thank god for israel or the world would be
without cement, air conditioning, hospitals and
telecommunications!
wait wut.....


! Reply !
YuriS ! an hour ago O rly
Orly come on tell us your real
name......Fatma Suha or Haninn


! Reply !
YuriS ! an hour ago O rly
And hopefully without you......


! Reply !
Shel_Zahav ! 2 hours ago O rly
Or even unclever anti-Semites who can't
nd the way to be humorous or satirical
even when they want to be.


! Reply !
O rly
! 2 hours ago
Shel_Zahav
woops i did not pledge my
undying love for the state of israel,
i must be an antisemite!


! Reply !
YuriS
! an hour ago
O rly
No you are not an anti-
Semite just a dumbass....

1
O rly YuriS
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! Reply !
O rly
! 40 minutes ago
YuriS
that was not the implication
of the post i was
responding to.
maybe the dumbass is the
one who lightly tosses
around a slurs that got 6
million people killed just to
defend a petty political
position


! Reply !
AlterNation ! 4 hours ago
Theres a few smart arabs - but not enough.

1
! Reply !
JW ! 6 hours ago
Send a copy to Israel's best known self-haters
Gideon Levy and Amira Hass over at Haaretz. At
best, it'll shake them out of their stupor. At worst,
it'll give them sleepless nights.

3
! Reply !
Shel_Zahav ! 2 hours ago JW
They will nd a way to blame Israel for it.

1
! Reply !
valakos ! 6 hours ago
arab intellectuals are a minority in countries like
egypt, iraq, syria, tunisia etc - islamic
fundamentalism sees them as a threat and they
are invariably silenced. I also found the
statement saying The culture [whose
technology] we use to communicate, whose air
conditioners we sleep under, whose hospitals we
are treated in, and
whose cement roofs we pray under, is the culture
of the Jews and the
Crusaders, highly o"ensive - all christians are
apparently crusaders, even to muslim
intellectuals. Firstly the crusades were almost a
thousand years ago but this idiot has yet to
realize that, moreover the same "crusader"
comment could be said about their pedophile
prophet.

3
! Reply !
Shel_Zahav ! 2 hours ago valakos
Most Arab intellectuals are as anti-
Semitic as the rest. These, in this article,
are just a small minority.

1
! Reply !
AmerigoV ! 7 hours ago
Ariel Ben Solomon with all due respect these
quotes from arab government controlled media
are simply innitesimal; close to zero when you
compare them to the behemoth bombardment of
the Islamic demonic culture, in the madrasas, in
the mosques, in the streets, and the pictures on
the walls etc. There are over one hundred million
Arabs/Muslims that are dedicated to Islam and
the teaching of the mosques. The mosques
control the media, the population, the schools
and even their private lives. I like your optimism,
but its not because of Israel that the young
Arabs wants change, it is because the educated
ones discovered that praying 5 times a day
doesn't bring you one loaf of bread at home.

4
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! Reply ! 4
! Reply !
Shel_Zahav ! 2 hours ago AmerigoV
There are over 300 million such Muslims.
Furthermore, among the educated
Muslims, most are still anti-Semitic.

1
! Reply !
busin12000 ! 7 hours ago AmerigoV
Neither does three times a day. But I do
agree with the rst portion of your post.

1
! Reply !
Shel_Zahav
! 2 hours ago
busin12000
Wrong. Praying can be helpful. But
it's best to sleep through the night
and not wake up at 4 am because
somebody with a bad voice wants
to run your life.


! Reply !
nekema ! 7 hours ago
The writer is an Arab, but a useful Arab. Talk nice
about him.

1
! Reply !
Shel_Zahav ! 2 hours ago nekema
There are some.


! Reply !
The Lone Ranger
! 6 hours ago
nekema
As opposed to the Arabs which you
prefer ..... the ones who declare Jihad
against indel non-Muslims especially the
Jews and for no other reason than
because radical Islam is intolerant!

4
! Reply !
busin12000 ! 7 hours ago nekema
Useful to other Arabs. To guide them out
of the dark ages.

6
! Reply !
AmerigoV ! 7 hours ago nekema
You are limited, still; and beyond dumb.

6
! Reply !
davrg ! 7 hours ago
Most of the German intellectuals also were
against the natzis. Unfortunately the feelings of
simple Germans decided the course of the
events.

5
! Reply !
Shel_Zahav ! 2 hours ago davrg
Not true. Most were not against the
Nazzis. Intellectuals are just as racist and
biased as anybody else.


! Reply !
Partyforever ! 7 hours ago davrg
Germany and the USSR lost many
intellectuals. Both collapsed and lost
many intellectuals.
Smart countries and companies picked
them up. Gave them jobs.


Shel_Zahav
! 2 hours ago
Partyforever
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! Reply !
Shel_Zahav
! 2 hours ago
Partyforever
Intellectuals are destroying
America.


! Reply !
Tati ! 7 hours ago
Wise and decent people. They are rare exception
that proves the rule.

7
! Reply !
The Lone Ranger ! 7 hours ago
At least there are some sane minds among Pali-
Abs that recognize there is more to life than just
hating the Jews!
That Arabs have allowed themselves to be all
consumed by their hatred to the exclusion of
living a healthy and productive life!
The problem is if they want to learn from us and
improve themselves, then it will cut into the time
and resources that they currently spend on
hating and killing Jews!
I guess they will have to make a choice!
Do the Pali-Abs have peace and prosperity or do
they hold on to their hatred and bigotry some
more?

5
! Reply !
davrg ! 7 hours ago The Lone Ranger
The problem is not if they "want to learn",
but if they "can learn". Their hatred may
be the consequence of not to be able to.

2
! Reply !
YuriS ! 40 minutes ago davrg
In one of their frequent London
riots against Israel.......There was
this Muslim idiot carrying this
placard reading....."Kill all
Juice"......Their hatred extends to
even Juice and of course to
Jews....


! Reply !
Partyforever
! 7 hours ago
The Lone Ranger
They still have to "earn" their peace prize.

2
! Reply !
The Lone Ranger ! 7 hours ago
At least there are some sane minds that
recognize there is more to life than just hating the
Jews!
That Arabs have allowed themselves to be all
consumed by their hatred to the exclusion of
living a healthy and productive life!
The problem is if they want to learn from us and
improve themselves, then it will cut into the time
and resources that they currently spend on
hating and killing Jews!
I guess they will have to make a choice!
Do the Pali-Abs have peace and prosperity or do
they hold on to their hatred and bigotry some
more?

10
davrg ! 7 hours ago The Lone Ranger
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! Reply !
davrg ! 7 hours ago The Lone Ranger
This is right. Bennett calls it "autonomy
on steroids": either hate us and go hungry
or behave well and live well, while
depending on the good will of the Israeli
Jews.

1
! Reply !
Partyforever ! 7 hours ago
When you live in a rational society, where men
are free to trade, you receive an incalculable
bonus: the material value of your work is
determined not only by your e"ort, but by the
e"ort of the best productive minds who exist in
the world around you.
In proportion to the mental energy he spent, the
man who creates a new invention receives but a
small percentage of his value in terms of material
payment, no matter what fortune he makes, no
matter what millions he earns. But the man who
works as a janitor in the factory producing that
invention, receives an enormous payment in
proportion to the mental e"ort that his job
requires of him. And the same is true of all men
between, on all levels of ambition and ability. The
man at the top of the intellectual pyramid
contributes the most to all those below him, but
gets nothing except his material payment,
receiving no intellectual bonus from others to
add to the value of his time. The man at the
bottom who, left to himself, would starve in his
hopeless ineptitude, contributes nothing to those
above him, but receives the bonus of all of their
intellectual e"ort.

5
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