Tolerant Like Hezbollah
In what can only be the least amusing practical joke of the year, Hezbollah's PR shop apparently seized control of Fareed Zakaria's teleprompter:
And now for the "Last Look." With all the talk about places of worship and where they do and don't belong, I wanted you to see this. This is the Magen Abraham synagogue. It's not in Miami. It's not in Tel Aviv. It's in Beirut. That's right, Beirut, Lebanon.
The synagogue is just now emerging from a painstaking restoration project. When the repairs began over a year ago, the temple was literally a shell of its former self. So why did this nation, often teetering on the brink of religious hostilities and hostilities with Israel, restore a Jewish house of worship? To show that Lebanon is an open and tolerant country.
And indeed, the project is said to have found support in many parts of the community, not just from the few remaining Jews there, but also Christians and Muslims and Hezbollah. Yes, Hezbollah -- the one that the United States has designated a foreign terrorist organization.
Hezbollah's view on the renovation goes like this. "We respect divine religions, including the Jewish religion. The problem is with Israel's occupation of Arab lands ... not with the Jews." Food for thought. Thanks to all of you for being part of my program this week. I will see you next week. Stay tuned for "Reliable Sources."
"Arab lands," if Hassan Nasrallah is reliable enough a source for you, include all of Israel. Food for thought.
(via Noah Pollak)
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Re: Tolerant Like Hezbollah
Oh, I'd love to have Judy and/or Claire comment on this. Maybe this would be fun for Peter to review with Claire during the UK taping?
May '10
Re: Tolerant Like Hezbollah
"Arab lands," using Hassan Nasrallah's definition, include all of everywhere.
And yet there are churches and synagogues in all kinds of places. Even more proof of Hezbollah's generous, tolerant spirit!
May '10
Re: Tolerant Like Hezbollah
To be fair, Fareed's family is Muslim, so I suppose the strain of the argument that aims to conflate the religion with the terrorist acts has to chafe a bit. And also to be fair, the opinion that the dispute between Israel and the Arab world is fundamentally a political dispute rather than a religious dispute is a credible and informed one, even if some might disagree. I don't like the backhanded suggestion that those who dislike the project are ergo intolerant or bigoted, but I doubt he would actually make that argument outright and if confronted with the inference would probably retreat from it.
But Adam is the one to ask about this: Adam, any chance Ricochet could spot Zakaria $3.47 and get him to volunteer some of his incredibly valuable time to do some 'splainin'?
Jul '10
Re: Tolerant Like Hezbollah
Can I just point out how infuriating it is when these people talk as if critics of the Park51 project want to prohibit the building or operation of any mosque anywhere in the US?
Re: Tolerant Like Hezbollah
Trace, we're both friends of Fareed, so we know he could indeed do a fine job 'splainin' himself. I daresay Ricochet could spot him the $3.47. It would only be a temporary outlay: once Fareed saw some of the comments here about the GZM he would probably give the money back to us. (As he did with the ADL: http://www.newsweek.com/2010/08/06/fareed-zakaria-s-letter-to-the-adl.html)
May '10
Re: Tolerant Like Hezbollah
Thanks for that Adam. I should have done more research before wading in with an admittedly flip comment. But to be fair to the forum and the discourse -- Ricochet is merely a platform and one of the things that makes it unique as far as these things go, is the level of good faith exhibited here -- certainly relative to other Internet fora -- so for starters I would like to think he would keep the $3.47.
In truth I am eager for the public discourse and the news cycle to move past this one -- I personally don't believe the heat/light quotient is balanced on either side of the debate. I would though, really love to be a fly on the wall in a discussion between Fareed and Claire. I daresay the world would be a better place to hear those two discuss this issue.
And I do consider Fareed a friend, though am more in the category of groupie than intimate these days, so if you think it might be anything other than tiresome for him, you might ask...
Jul '10
Re: Tolerant Like Hezbollah
Do you mean to tell me that Fareed Zakaria's insights have been so little valued by Newsweek, CNN, al-Jazeera that he can't afford the $3.47 himself?
Edited on Aug 27, 2010 at 7:34amJun '10
Re: Tolerant Like Hezbollah
Adam: "Trace, we're both friends of Fareed, so we know he could indeed do a fine job 'splainin' himself. I daresay Ricochet could spot him the $3.47. It would only be a temporary outlay: once Fareed saw some of the comments here about the GZM he would probably give the money back to us."
So should us commenters take that as a compliment? Somehow I don't think so. But, just in case, thanks anyway.
Re: Tolerant Like Hezbollah
cdor: Adam: "Trace, we're both friends of Fareed, so we know he could indeed do a fine job 'splainin' himself. I daresay Ricochet could spot him the $3.47. It would only be a temporary outlay: once Fareed saw some of the comments here about the GZM he would probably give the money back to us."
So should us commenters take that as a compliment? Somehow I don't think so. But, just in case, thanks anyway. · Aug 27 at 7:06am
I certainly don't mean it as a criticism, cdor. I was drawing the analogy to Fareed's decision to return a prize that the ADL had awarded him earlier -- because of the ADL's position in favor of relocating the mosque. Given that many of the Ricocheterati (including me) are in favor of relocating the mosque, I might expect a similar reaction. I do think Fareed is a man of integrity, no matter how much I disagree with him on the GZM.
Jun '10
Re: Tolerant Like Hezbollah
Thanks for the explanation, Adam. With all due respect to your friendship, I have developed a lukewarm, at best, feeling towards the ADL and really don't know much about Zakaria. From where I sit I don't know which is more, or less honorable, the ADL giving him a prize to begin with, or him giving it back. I would suspect that the GZM isn't the only, or even the most important, disagreement they have.