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Politics : Foreign Affairs Discussion Group -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Lou Weed who wrote (240773)	9/3/2007 2:54:57 PM
From: Nadine Carroll	Read Replies (4) \| Respond to of 281500

You couldn't find anything that condoned suicide bombing? What an easy one. Suicide bombers are the heroes of Palestine on every state-run medium: Schools, TV and mosques are all state-run. All glorify "martyrs" and suicide bombers are the most glorious kind. Even in the Palestinian Authority's public schools, incitement to violence plays a major role. Needless to say, interest in reconciliation with Israel is notably absent. The Palestinian Authority's Deputy Minister of Education, Naim Abu Humus, called on school administrators to dedicate the first class to praying for the souls of those killed during the intifada, saying, "Today we glorify Al-Aqsa and Palestine, and remember the Palestinian martyrs." Signs on the walls of kindergartens proclaim their students as "the shaheeds [martyrs] of tomorrow," and elementary school teachers and principals commend their young students for wanting to "tear their [Zionists'] bodies into little pieces and cause them more pain than they will ever know." Posters in university classrooms proudly remind the world that the Palestinian cause is armed with "human bombs." Sheik Hassan Yosef, a leading Hamas member, summarized this process of incitement by saying, "we like to grow them from kindergarten through college." Palestinian Brig. Gen. Mahmoud M. Abu Marzoug reminded a group of 10th grade girls in Gaza City that "as a martyr, you will be alive in Heaven." After the address, a group of these girls lined up to assure a Washington Post reporter that they would be happy to carry out suicide bombings or other actions ending in their deaths.8 jcpa.org From a new PA textbook in 2001: My brother, the oppressor has crossed the line and the time has come for jihad and martyrdom." mfa.gov.il Schools and students make memorial books glorifying martyrs (suicide bombers). With lots of examples Albums and school notebooks imbued with messages of admiration for Palestinian martyrs (shahids), portraying them as role models to be emulated http://www.intelligence.org.il/eng/sib/si_86_4/index.htm Here's a review of the ways Palestinian kids get the message about martyrdom, through the mosques, the TV and the schools, a seamless package. The TV ads that say, look, Mohammed al Dura did it and he's in Paradise, you can be in Paradise too! are particularly notewothy: Palestinian Children and the New Cult of Martyrdom hcs.harvard.edu Not every Palestinian agreed with the policy of pushing children into martrydom. Here's an article from a Palestinian author in 2002, concerned about the rising numbers of child shahids: Why Palestinian Children Commit Suicide Attacks "The phenomenon of martyrdom [perpetrating suicide attacks] is on the increase, particularly among youth and minors. It seems that the Palestinians' distress from their lives of difficulty and degradation under the occupation pushes many to disdain life and seek the shortest way to the Hereafter, in order to free themselves of reality and reach Paradise." "The honor and esteem that the Palestinian people gives to the martyrs has, no doubt, had a crucial effect on the emergence of this phenomenon. Likewise, the funerals of the martyrs and the celebrations held in their honor have always been accompanied by talk of life everlasting and the eternal serenity [promised] in Paradise, making people think: 'Why wait and go on living a life of misery when Paradise can be reached by the mere press of a button or even by coming in range of Israeli shooting…'" "There is danger in exploiting the nationalist sentiments and enthusiasm among minors to encourage them to martyr themselves for nothing, as has happened in the Gaza Strip. There, children have recently risked their lives to be martyrs and to attain life everlasting, or at least a hero's funeral and festivities in their honor, as are held for martyrs." "Some Gaza children are influenced by the schools, the mosques, or the gatherings attended by many children at which praise for sacrifice and martyrdom is voiced." http://memri.org/bin/articles.cgi?Page=archives&Area=sd&ID=SP37602 Here's an exerpt from a USA today article from 2004, where the Israelis managed to stop a 16 year old suicide bomber who looked and acted like a much younger kid, before he detonated. In subsequent interviews, the kid said he did it because a friend of his had died, he had been taught in school that suicide bombers go to Paradise, and it was a way to get out of going to school anymore. In the newspaper interview, Abdo said he wanted to reach paradise, which he was taught in school was the reward for suicide bombers. "A river of honey, a river of wine and 72 virgins. Since I have been studying Koran I know about the sweet life that waits there (in Paradise)," the newspaper quoted the boy as saying. usatoday.com