Israel Matzav

The Olmert government: A government of Dhimmis

For those of you who don't know yet what a Dhimmi is, allow me to educate you:

A dhimmi (also zimmi, Arabic: ذمي, plural: اهل الذمۃ, ahl al-dhimma) is a free non-Muslim subject of a state governed in accordance with sharia — Islamic law. A dhimmi is a person of the dhimma, a term which refers in Islamic law to the pact of surrender contracted between non-Muslims and their Muslim conquerors. This status was originally only made available to non-Muslims who were People of the Book (i.e. Jews and Christians), but was later extended to include Zoroastrians, Mandeans, and ultimately also Hindus.^[1] The status of dhimmi applied to millions of people living from the Atlantic Ocean to India between the 7th century, when dhimma was first introduced, and the mid-19th — early 20th century, when the dhimma was abolished. Living in areas conquered by Muslims, these people were reduced to the status of second-class subjects^[2] and tributaries of a Muslim state.^[3]

Fellow blogger Jihadwatch explains what a Dhimmi means in 2006:

Dhimmitude is the status that Islamic law, the Sharia, mandates for non-Muslims, primarily Jews and Christians. Dhimmis, "protected people," are free to practice their religion in a Sharia regime, but are made subject to a number of humiliating regulations designed to enforce the Qur'an's command that they "feel themselves subdued" (Sura 9:29). This denial of equality of rights and dignity remains part of the Sharia, and, as such, is part of the law that global jihadists are laboring to impose everywhere, ultimately on the entire human race.

The dhimmi attitude of chastened subservience has entered into Western academic study of Islam, and from there into journalism, textbooks, and the popular discourse. One must not point out the depredations of jihad and dhimmitude; to do so would offend the multiculturalist ethos that prevails everywhere today.

But in this era of global terrorism this silence and distortion has become deadly. Therefore Dhimmi Watch seeks to bring public attention to the plight of the dhimmis, and by doing so, to bring them justice.

Some of you may have noticed that I was a bit disgusted with Foreign Minister Tzippy Livni yesterday. If you didn't notice, please go back and read that post. But Livni is just a reflection of most of Ehud Olmert's government - including Olmert himself. Say what you will about Ariel Sharon - I don't believe he was a Dhimmi. I believe he was corrupt and that his corruption and legal troubles led to the unilateral disengagement surrender of the Gaza Strip and the expulsion of its Jewish residents. But I don't believe Sharon was a Dhimmi.

Olmert, on the other hand, is a Dhimmi. So is Tzippy Livni. So is Shimon Peres. And so are many of the other ministers in Olmert's cabinet.

Livni wasn't the only one to demonstrate Dhimmitude yesterday. In fact, if anything, Olmert outshined her.

Olmert had a meeting Sunday with the fascist of Cairo, Hosni Mubarak in Sharm el-Sheikh. Mubarak, who throws bloggers like me who criticize him in his own country into jail, is a tyrant who has dominated the Egyptian scene since Anwar Sadat's assassination in 1982. Currently, Mubarak is trying to suppress all dissent so that his son Gamal (that means camel in Hebrew :-) can succeed him. For reasons known only to the US State Department, George Bush met with Gamal three weeks ago.

At his meeting with Mubarak, Olmert told the joint, post-meeting press conference that, "On behalf of the State of Israel, I would like to express my deepest regret over the incident that occurred over the weekend in which two Egyptian security personnel were killed. We have initiated a joint committee to investigate the incident; we will consider its findings. Similarly, we have instructed our security and intelligence forces to cooperate on the issue and to make every effort to prevent a recurrence of such incidents in the future."

According to Arutz Sheva correspondent Koby Finkler, the IDF is furious about this statement. And with good reason:

An IDF commanding officer at the scene described what happened:

"Today [Friday] at around 6 AM, our forces stationed here [Mt. Saguy, close to the Israeli-Egyptian Negev-Sinai border] were attacked by a 3-man terrorist cell, which opened fire at them. They quickly took positions of cover, opened fire and killed two of the terrorists. We later found that the terrorists were dressed in uniforms of a foreign army, and were equipped with radios and Kalachnikov rifles, and undoubtedly crossed the border in order to attack our forces."

An investigation shortly afterwards, with the participation of Southern District Command Chief Officer Gen. Yoav Galant, found that the terrorists had infiltrated 150 meters inside Israel, and were the first to fire in the gun battle in which they were killed. Nine magazines of bullets were also found alongside their bodies.

In other words, the two "Egyptian security personnel" were carrying out a terror attack, opened fire first, and were killed by the IDF soldiers in self-defense. But there's more:

A commanding officer in the region told Finkler, "Ever since the IDF left the Gaza Strip, we see an increasing phenomenon of terrorists who realize that the border with Gaza is closed nearly hermetically, and therefore try to infiltrate via Egypt and Sinai into Israel. We are catching increasingly high quantities of weapons and arms, and we can definitely say that this is something that must be addressed."

In other words, Israel has good reason to be vigilant on the defense in Sinai. Mubarak's forces are helping the smugglers as active participants instead of trying to shut them down.

What kind of government apologizes for its army acting in self-defense? A government led by Dhimmis. MK Yuval Shteinitz (Likud), who chaired the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee from 2003-2006, puts the problem in perspective

In general, we must stop our fawning and groveling before Egypt, whose behavior is the main cause of the massive smuggling of arms to Gaza. Egypt should apologize to us! 90% of all arms and explosives used in Judea, Samaria and Gaza for terrorism against us comes from Egypt. They are no different than Iran and Syria in their support for terrorism. Jordan succeeded in dealing with the arms smugglers, but Egypt somehow manages not to succeed in this.

"But what interest would Egypt have," Arutz-7 asked, "in sending weapons to Gaza? It is widely assumed that Egypt, like Israel, is against Hamas and does not want it to gain strength."

Shteinitz responded, "Who said so? I do not agree with this supposition. Egypt is not against Hamas, but is rather responsible for its growth in many ways."

Political analyst Dr. Aaron Lerner of IMRA noted that Olmert bent over backwards to lavish praise upon Mubarak - despite the fact that Mubarak continues to refuse to visit Israel, continues to ensure that radical forces in Gaza remain armed, and continues to spend billions of American aid dollars on sophisticated weaponry in apparent preparation for a future war against Israel.

Olmert said at Sunday night's press conference:

"I see you, Mr. President [Mubarak], as a true partner in the effort to bring peace to our region... Your contribution is as vital as it was during the successful implementation of the Disengagement Plan.

"I am very pleased by the cooperation between our countries in the struggle against global terrorism... We have agreed to enhance cooperation and coordination between us and between our countries on this issue.

"...And lastly, permit me to take this opportunity to add something personal that is not in the written statement. Mr. President, this was a very moving personal experience for me to sit with you now for approximately 1.5 hours, to hold talks and to listen to one of the most experienced and important leaders that I have had the opportunity of meeting with. Bilateral relations between Israel and Egypt are very fundamental and very important to our worldview and to the network of relations that we want to build in the region, and the leadership of Hosni Mubarak is an important key to the success of this process."

Excuse me while I puke and while Olmert wipes his nose. I hope he's wearing his yellow star. After all, Muslims were the first to make their Jewish Dhimmis wear the yellow star, long before Nazi Germany.

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 8:02 AM