…of President Obama’s selective Koran quotations:
The translation is, “Anyone who destroys (kills) one soul of Israel is viewed as having annihilated an entire world. Anyone who saves or sustains one (soul) of Israel is viewed as sustaining an entire world.” It’s pretty culture-specific, but the possibility of extrapolating the larger notion about the meaning of murder to other tribes is there.
The Talmud was compiled in the late 2nd century, so we know it precedes the Koran, which was written half a millenium later. Not that there is anything wrong with borrowing wisdom, of course.
It is only a little ironic that, in this Reuters survey of reactions to Obama’s speech from Islamic leaders, that is the line that got the most positive response. And the matter of Israelis who putatively don’t want to negotiate with Palestinians remained the major grievance.
I found this passage of the speech quite troubling, and again, indicative of his apparent deep naivete of the history of the region:
For decades, there has been a stalemate: two peoples with legitimate aspirations, each with a painful history that makes compromise elusive. It is easy to point fingers – for Palestinians to point to the displacement brought by Israel’s founding, and for Israelis to point to the constant hostility and attacks throughout its history from within its borders as well as beyond. But if we see this conflict only from one side or the other, then we will be blind to the truth: the only resolution is for the aspirations of both sides to be met through two states, where Israelis and Palestinians each live in peace and security.
That is in Israel’s interest, Palestine’s interest, America’s interest, and the world’s interest. That is why I intend to personally pursue this outcome with all the patience that the task requires. The obligations that the parties have agreed to under the Road Map are clear. For peace to come, it is time for them – and all of us – to live up to our responsibilities.
He talks about the “legitimate aspirations” without describing them. The reality is that the Israelis have an aspiration to live in peace in their ancient homeland, and the “Palestinians” (there’s no such thing, really, they’re just Arabs who formerly were Jordanians, Lebanese or Egyptians) have an aspiration to destroy the state of Israel. Whether the latter is a legitimate aspiration or not, it’s completely incompatible with that of the Israelis, which is why they have never been able to come to an agreement.
A two-state solution may be in the “Palestinians” interest, but they don’t seem to think so, since every time they’ve been offered it, they’ve turned it down in favor of continuing the war against the hated Jews. Arafat turned it down in 2000, and Hamas and the “Palestinians” who voted for them turned it down when the Israelis gave them Gaza, and instead of creating a nation, they continued to bombard Israel with rockets. Why the president thinks that pressuring Israel for more concessions will change this is far beyond me. Perhaps one needs a Harvard education to understand it.