Do Arabs love their children ?

Israeli TV channel 2 announced yesterday that they will start broadcasting a series of lectures for the children in the South as they cannot go to school .
First one out was Shimon Peres , Israel’s 85 years old President. He spoke about the real values in life. He encouraged the students not to waste the potential within them and not to waste time. He said that every single one of them has greater abilities than they themselves are even aware of and that they can contribute to the future for a better world. He said that the reason why the Jewish people have made progress in many different fields has to do with always trying to get better and to reach further.
He spoke about the hardships of this nation always having to defend itself, and explained that the reason why Israel had not attacked Gaza earlier has to do with the fact that the government has tried to get to the ears of Hamas using nonviolent methods. The present army operation is a result of not succeeding doing that. It is every country’s responsibility to secure its own citizens.
He ended his lecture saying that he had not taught them theories but that he had spoken to them from his heart.

Lecture number 2 was with Haim Yavin. He ended a 50 years media career in August 2007 and has been busy ever since doing his own recordings using a small private video camera to show less sympathetic angels to the Arab/Israeli coexistence. He is known as “Mr. Television” .
He started saying that no media give objective views. Every journalist and news reporter has his/her own personal opinions and that this will color their presentation of the “truth”.
That is probably the most important thing for everybody to know as we watch TV, listen to radio or read the paper.

Israeli Television always had lots of discussion programs. People with opposing opinions are invited to the studio for a discussion broadcasted straight to the watchers. These days every news report consists of a reporter sharing table with three or four experts on different areas (one of them being Arab). In addition to this we get updates from doctors and journalists from Gaza about the situation almost at every news report.

Israel is a society that consequently teaches its inhabitants to question the situation.
I remember a few years ago when a Chinese restaurant owner was interviewed about how it was for him to live in Israel. While asked about differences in mentality from what he grew up with , he answered as follows; “ When I was a boy and my father told me to do something , I turned around immediately to do what I was told. When I tell my son to do something , he turns around and asks me “Why ?”.
I remember my own confusion back in the early nineties as I was studying to be a tourist guide. The “poor” lecturers had to answer for everything they did, both in the class room and on field trips. They were just constantly being bombarded : Why do you say that? Why did you stop here ? Couldn’t you find a better argument ? Are you sure that what you say is based on facts ? I don’t agree with you. ......
I sometimes thought to myself : “Why can't you just shut up and make notes? “
It seems to me that the number one favorite occupation in this land is to sharpen ones mind.

So what does this have to do with whether Arabs love their children or not? …Well, a lot actually. I have always claimed that the main problem for the West understanding what’s going on here has to do with completely different mentalities. A Western mind cannot understand how mothers can send their sons and daughters to die as suicide bombers. They also have problems understanding how organizations like Hamas actually are using civilians every age as human shields for their operations. ( …as do Al Qaida, Islamic Jihad, Hizbullah and any other fundamental Islamic organization. )
Let me tell you that every Arab mother loves her children just like you and I do. Every Arab mother is concerned about her children’s future. By claiming that they do not love their children the Western mind simply reveals lack of understanding for different mentalities.
Are you still with me ? I guess not. Please try for a few minutes to consider the following: Moslems believe that a human being is an eternal being with life on earth being just a small part compared to eternity. ( Up to this point it does not differ much from what the Bible teaches. ) Life on earth is like a “testing period” for how and where eternity is going to be spent. Every good Moslem is “ one who submits to the god of Islam” and as this god is the “boss” in eternity they do well in being at good terms with him. A “short cut” to good conditions in eternity is by “dying for the good sake”. Whoever dies as a suicide bomber has been taught that the best place to spend eternity has been secured by the willingness to sacrifice ones life.
When life is lived under miserable conditions the wish to go for “short cuts” is growing. The only thing that keeps them from doing it has to do with “fear for the unknown”………

The reasons why the Islamic leaders have succeeded in convincing the majority of the people that they are right about the way they think, has to do with controlling education at every level as well as information through the mass media.
(If you wish to get deeper into this I can recommend entering a Google search for video clips with Wafa Sultan)

Elin Elkouby