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August 10, 2016 Special Dispatch No. 6566

Article In Palestinian Online Daily: The Claim That Jews Are The Descendants Of Apes And Pigs Is Foolish And Primitive

August 10, 2016
Palestinians | Special Dispatch No. 6566

In his column in the Palestinian online daily Dunya Al-Watan (Alwatanvoice.com), Anwar Al-Waridi, a Palestinian poet and author living in Jordan, mocked Muslim clerics who scream about Jews being the descendants of apes and pigs,[1] while Jews control Arab land and have been defeating the Arabs for the past century. According to him, this claim about the Jews is ridiculous, and is indicative of a backwards collective Arab mentality that underestimates the enemy.


Anwar Al-Waridi (Image: Twitter.com/anwarwardat)

 The following are excerpts from the article:[2]

"The problem is the Arab collective mentality. The Jews are not the descendants of apes or pigs, but human beings, sons of Adam and Eve. The cry made repeatedly by some of the crazed and primitive Muslim clerics, 'Jews, the descendants of apes and pigs," is shameful. To those who rely on the esteemed verse: 'We said to them, Be apes, despised' [Koran 2:65] or the verse: 'and made of them apes and pigs and slaves of Taghout' [Koran 5:60], [I say as follows]: though there is disagreement among commentators about the meaning of these verses, the favored opinion is that [the Jews] became apes in character, not in form - meaning that they did not physically transform into actual apes, but rather that their attributes became apelike.

"Moreover, the transformation from people to apes [only] happened to some of them [and only] during a certain period, and did not include all Jews. And even if we assume that they did turn into actual apes, and that this happened to all [Jews] - can an ape give birth to a human? How, therefore, can the Jews of today be the descendants of those who turned into apes, in the opinion of these ignorant Muslim clerics? An ape begets an ape and a human begets a human, and therefore the Jews of today are not the descendants of apes or pigs as we scream stupidly and primitively, as though this is a crushing blow to [the Jews]. Moreover, if they are the descendants of apes and pigs, and have managed to defeat us for close to a century - is there honor in being defeated by apes and pigs?

"In the past, the Arab would praise his enemy as he praised himself, describing him as brave, heroic, and strong, and then would add: Despite his might, I defeated him... Today, on the other hand, and for the past century, we curse the Jews and describe them as cowards, weaklings and fools, and as apes and pigs. This, while they mock us and laugh at us, as though saying to us: Curse us [all you want], since this nonsense does not concern us so long as we are the strong ones who rule, win, and occupy you and your lands.

"A relative [once] said to me that [he] attended a Friday prayer in the Cave of the Patriarchs in occupied Hebron, which, for those who don't know, is divided into two parts, and has strict arrangements for prayers by both sides [Muslims and Jews]. [This has been the case] since 1994, when the criminal [Baruch] Goldstein massacred 29 peaceful Muslim worshippers. The occupiers, who are not the descendants of apes and pigs, divided [the cave] between Muslims and Jews, and soldiers of the Zionist army are stationed there to prevent clashes between the sides. My relative continued: At the end of the prayer, the preacher began cursing the corrupting Jews and asked Allah to destroy the descendants of apes and pigs and strike blows against them. The [Israeli] officer standing next to me tapped his colleague on the shoulder and signaled him to listen, and both of them smiled ironically.

"Gentlemen, this backwards mentality is one of the reasons for our ongoing defeats..."

 

Endnotes:

 

[1] On the use of this expression in Muslim religious discourse, see MEMRI Special Report No. 11, Based on Koranic Verses, Interpretations, and Traditions, Muslim Clerics State: The Jews Are the Descendants of Apes, Pigs, And Other Animals, November 1, 2002.

[2] Alwatanvoice.com, July 14, 2016. For other articles calling to stop using this expression, see Special Dispatch No. 5914, Kurdish Iraqi Writer: Stop Calling The Jews 'The Descendants Of Apes And Pigs', December 24, 2014; Special Dispatch No. 5581, Yemeni Columnist Denounces Custom Of Calling Jews 'Descendants Of Apes And Pigs,' December 30, 2013.

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