Showing posts with label Islamic terrorism. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Islamic terrorism. Show all posts

Wednesday, July 31, 2024


Dr. Carole Lieberman, AKA The Terrorist Therapist®, has provided expert advice to readers of my parenting columns since 2016. In all that time, we never met face to face, and I never told her where I lived. It was all by email.

Not long after October 7, however, I decided to tell Dr. Carole that I live in Israel and was worried about my grandchildren, whose home had taken a hit from a rocket on the first day of the war. I even sent her a photo of rockets flying over my son’s home in Netivot in southern Israel.



I guess I just felt a need to connect. Dr. Lieberman’s gig was, after all, terror, and my grandkids had been directly affected. Plus, my Jewdar told me Dr. Carole was a safe place to confide the reality of my life—where I actually live—after working with her remotely all these years.

Carole was quick to offer help. She took my address and told me that her book, Lions and Tigers and Terrorists, Oh My! How to Protect Your Child in a Time of Terror, was on its way to me here in Israel. Now that she knew where I lived, however, Carole wondered if there was something I could do for her.

Lions and Tigers and Terrorists, Oh My! How to Protect Your Child in a Time of Terror (photo: book cover, by permission) 

Dr. Carole Lieberman wanted to find an organization to work with to bring her book and her expertise in terror to Israel to help children and families affected by the war. I was so touched by Dr. Lieberman’s desire to help us—help Israel—in our time of need, and was thankfully able to put her in touch with the right people.

Carole’s book arrived some time later, and I was immediately impressed that it was a beautiful book, bright, colorful, and printed on quality stock—something you don’t often see these days. Then too, the book was well written—frank and filled with good, solid, honest advice. I wanted to review the book for this column. But I wasn’t sure that would be a good move for Carole Lieberman.

I put it to Carole straight: "I want to interview you and review your book, but EOZ is right wing on Israel. Would the politics of this blog space harm you by association? I don't want to negatively impact your book sales."

I sent her some samples of past interviews.

Carole responded, “You don’t have to worry about me being offended by anything right-wing. I am a Trumper all the way. If he doesn’t win it will be a disaster for America and Israel.”

The things you find out about a person after kinda sorta knowing them for almost a decade . . .

***
Varda Epstein: What made you decide to place a focus on terror and children in your professional life? Did you have a mentor who influenced your work—or a body of literature to guide your way? It really seems as if you pioneered this work, at least in the United States.

Carole Lieberman: I’m a born and bred New Yorker, so when 9/11 happened, it broke my heart because, although I had moved to California, my heart was still in New York – and so was my daughter. She gave me a minute-by-minute description of what was happening – from the gray smoke that drifted all the way from lower Manhattan’s World Trade Center-Twin Towers to the upper tip of Manhattan where she was attending Barnard College. While the tragedy was happening, I was overcome by a strong sense, a premonition perhaps, that terrorism was going to be the worst threat that the world would have to cope with and I asked myself, ‘What can I do – as a psychiatrist, author, talking head in the media - to help?’ From this, I formed the concept of devoting myself to work as The Terrorist Therapist® and have continued doing this to this day. I did not really know much about terrorism when I began, but I quickly began attending conferences and have been researching and studying it ever since.

My work has evolved quite a bit since 9/11 and taken me on a journey of a lifetime. I am honored to do this work because no one else has ventured this deeply into helping people and warning them about terrorists’ jihadi goals – especially not since America has become so ‘woke’ and some consider it offensive to tell it like it is – by calling ISIS, Al Qaeda and other terrorist groups “terrorists.”

I started by creating an audio-video program that was played on airlines’ inflight entertainment to relax passengers who had become nervous after the four planes attacked America on 9/11. I used guided imagery and called it “Shrink on Board.”

Since then, in addition to working 1 on 1 with people, I’ve written two books on terrorism; host a podcast called “The Terrorist Therapist Show;” do media interviews; and speaking engagements. I also created a music video that I play on a mobile billboard going around Manhattan and Washington D.C. each 9/11 anniversary, to remind people about the tragedy and terrorism in general; how to talk to kids about it; psychological symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder; how terrorists are determined to create global jihad; and how those who forget history are doomed to repeat it.

Dr. Carole's mobile billboard

Varda Epstein: You’re based in California. How many children are you currently working with who have experienced terror, either firsthand or second hand? Can you give us some idea of what these children have gone through and how it affects them? What is the age range of the children you work with?

Carole Lieberman: As a psychiatrist, I do therapy with children, teens and adults in California and New York – since I am licensed in both states. I’ve also helped families in London and Paris, in regard to the trauma they feel from their terror attacks. I’ve lived in these cities, so it was especially heartbreaking to see the damage terrorists had done. London’s “9/11” was their 2005 attacks on the Tube and on one of their iconic double-decker buses. My first book about terrorism, Coping with Terrorism: Dreams Interrupted, was published by a London publisher in 2006, as the 1st anniversary edition of 7/7. I spent two weeks in London, when the book came out and helped families, especially those who had lost loved ones in this attack, to heal. When my second book about terrorism, Lions and Tigers and Terrorists, Oh My! How to Protect Your Child in a Time of Terror, won an award from the London Book Festival, I returned to London and went to Manchester as well, because there had been a terror attack on the concert hall there. I met with people in a floating bookstore on the Thames; libraries; cafés; and at Anna Freud’s Hampstead Clinic, where I had studied years ago. I helped families process the increasing threat of terrorism and found that children were especially hungry for an opportunity to talk about their feelings and to hear the truth instead of being told not to worry about it. Grownups were surprised at their questions: how much they knew, how many misconceptions they had, and – how eagerly they expressed their feelings, despite the usual British stiff-upper lip.

Paris has suffered several terror attacks. Their ‘9/11’ was the 2015 attack on Le Stade soccer stadium, restaurants, bars, and Le Bataclan concert venue. When Lions and Tigers and Terrorists won the Paris Book Festival, it was another opportunity for me to help, since I spoke French. I went to a concert at the Bataclan to try to better understand what it was like for the audience when they were attacked. It was chilling to see that they were easy prey for the terrorists because it was like ‘shooting fish in a barrel.’ I met with people at the Café Bataclan who were clearly still traumatized. I met with teachers at a school; a parents’ group; librarians; and doctors at the American Hospital in Paris, encouraging them to express their feelings about terrorism. I also met with a group of writers at Shakespeare and Company, the iconic French bookstore on the Left Bank. It was fascinating and rewarding to talk with so many different people about the impact of terrorism on their lives. Parisians are very proud of their beautiful ‘City of Light,’ so they were pained, not only by the deaths and injuries, but by the destruction of their surroundings.

As the years since 9/11 have passed, many Americans who weren’t living near the sites of the attacks in New York City, Washington D.C., or Pennsylvania have pushed their memories of that day into their unconscious mind or gone into denial. So, patients in America don’t necessarily say that 9/11 is the reason they’re coming into therapy. Yet, the problems they have – depression, anxiety, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, and so on – have a connection to 9/11. It is always fascinating to see how that date coincided with something significant in their lives, in addition to the attack.

Depending upon the age of the children, teens and young adults who I work with currently, they either weren’t born yet by 9/11, or were children during that time and in the aftermath. What has been most striking and very worrisome is the powerful and lasting impact of terror attacks. Even if the person wasn’t alive at the time of the attack, but they were raised by parents who were alive then, they absorb the “terror” from their parents by osmosis. In other words, the trauma that the parents experienced gets inadvertently communicated to their children and makes them feel fearful of the outside world; feel more amenable to having “Big Brother” take care of them; and feel less ambitious because they have a sense of uncertainty and impending doom. These effects can be mitigated by parents and families who recognize these dangers and actively seek to soothe and counteract them.


Speaking at Route 91 Survivors (Las Vegas shooting) on recovering from trauma

Varda Epstein: Tell us something about your book, Lions and Tigers and Terrorists, Oh My! How is it structured—is it for parents or for children? Can you talk about the use of The Wizard of Oz as a frame of reference, or metaphor for terror?

Carole Lieberman: My book, Lions and Tigers and Terrorists, Oh My! How to Protect Your Child in a Time of Terror, was written to help grownups talk to their kids about terrorism and to help kids learn the truth about terrorism without feeling terrified.

The first half of the book, for parents and teachers, answers kids’ most common questions (including the ones they don’t ask aloud); provides guidelines for how to make kids become more resilient; and how to process the experience of terrorism so that it leaves the least scars. Too many grownups are afraid to talk to their kids about it because they say they, “don’t want to scare them.” But they don’t realize that kids have seen and heard so much about terrorism that already scares them because they don’t understand it. They get snippets of news and may even have seen an attack at their front door. Their friends tell them stories, too, and it all becomes a muddle of confusion. Kids can handle a lot if grownups explain it to them calmly and provide a way for them to digest it. The most important role that parents can play is to get kids to express their feelings so that they don’t just swallow them and develop psychological problems later on. The grownups part of the book concludes with 88 ideas that parents and teachers can do with kids to help them grow up healthy and happy, despite it being a time of terror.

The second half of the book is an interactive picture book for kids. This is best read together with a grownup, so that kids can ask questions as they go along. For example, in answer to the question, “What is a terrorist?” the book shows a picture of a bully on the playground with the words, “A terrorist is like a big bully on the playground,” and goes on to explain more.

Before the page with Osama Bin Laden’s picture, kids are asked to draw what they imagine a real terrorist looks like. There are pictures of terrorists in the Middle East, too, along with answers to why terrorists are trying to hurt people. There are opportunities for kids to draw how they’re feeling and point to emojis that match their feelings; draw their “safe place” and so on. The children’s part of the book concludes with 10 lessons or activities kids can do to make themselves safer.

The overall idea is to turn homes and classrooms into more nurturing and comforting nests to nourish and develop kids into more resilient beings who can cope with terrorism.

The Wizard of Oz is the story from which the book title comes. It describes Dorothy, the Tin Man, and the Scarecrow skipping off to find the Wizard. When night falls, the forest becomes a scary place, especially when the Tin Man says they might meet “lions and tigers and bears.” But, since they each want to ask the Wizard for something important, they find the courage within themselves to continue, now singing, “Lions and tigers and bears, Oh My!” The Tin Man wants a heart, the Scarecrow wants brains, and Dorothy wants to go home. Later, the Lion joins their quest because he wants courage. So, the moral of the story is that we each have enough heart, brains and courage to see us through scary times and there’s “No place like home.”

Carole in Paris, helping teachers talk about terrorism with their students


Varda Epstein: Do you think the experience of terror is universal? Do children in the United States, for example, experience terror differently, and if so, how so? Are their needs in the aftermath of terror different?

Carole Lieberman: To some degree, the experience of terror is universal, but different societies raise children with different tolerances and strengths to withstand it. For example, in America these days, many children are coddled too much and aren’t given enough opportunities to build character by being put into character-building situations – such as learning to be independent in summer sleepaway camps. The more challenges children have, that they are helped to overcome, the more confidence they have in themselves for dealing with future challenges – including terrorism. The only caveat to this is that children who already have psychological problems before terror attacks are often less able to cope with the added stress of terror. In the aftermath, every child needs a loving support system to see them through.


"The Terrorist Therapist®" on Good Morning Britain 

Varda Epstein:  Your book, published in 2017, tells parents to “teach tolerance.” You write, for example, “Explain that most Muslims, believers in Islam, are not terrorists or ‘bad guys.’ They want to live peaceful lives, too.” Do you still believe this, even in the wake of what happened on October 7, when ordinary Gazans and UNRWA teachers joined in the rape, sexual violence, and massacre of peaceful Israelis? How can one know that most Muslims are not terrorists? Are there statistics? Is this a helpful thing to teach Israeli children as well as American children?

Carole Lieberman: It is very tricky to walk the fine line of not teaching kids to be Islamophobic while giving them a true picture of Muslims and Radical Islamist terrorists. All Muslims have the potential to be or become Radical Islamists because they believe in the Koran to a greater or lesser extent and most belong to a mosque. In America there are fewer madrassas than in the Middle East, so there are fewer children who are taught to become terrorists from the time they are toddlers. Israel, on the other hand, is surrounded by countries that do have madrassas which teach children that the holiest life they could lead, and for which they would be rewarded in the afterlife, is to devote themselves to destroying Israel and killing Jews. This puts Israel in greater danger.

Certainly, there have not been many Muslims – anywhere in the world - who have spoken out against terrorists and terror attacks, so they seem to be giving tacit approval by quietly condoning them. Still, there are Muslims who don’t approve and want peace. It’s safe to say that, “Not all Muslims are terrorists, and not all terrorists are Muslim.”

It's hard to know percentages as to how many Muslims are radical Islamists. Some radical Islamists can be said to “misinterpret” the Koran in a way that gives them the right to kill Jews or even encourages them to kill Jews. Radical Islamists claim that they are not “misinterpreting” the Koran – but that all Muslims are commanded by Allah to not only destroy Israel and Jews, but to perpetrate global jihad against ALL infidels – Jews, Christians, anyone who doesn’t worship Allah as their only God.

Of course, it is hard to explain why children (or adults) in Israel should not be terrified of all Muslims, no less open their hearts to them, after October 7. The terrorists acted like primitive animals, driven by their religious zeal, believing that they were doing the most honorable acts – even as they were raping and murdering. But, on the other hand, Israelis and American Jews have the most open hearts on earth, so it is not good to teach them to harden their heart to anyone, but rather to be very careful.

 

Dr. Lieberman is a highly sought talk show guest for her expertise on children and terror

Varda Epstein: Reading your book after October 7, while Israel still has captives in Gaza, I found myself nodding at some parts of your book, while other parts distressed me, because they didn’t seem like they made sense for the children directly affected by Israel’s “Black Sabbath.”

This part, for example:

Child: What will happen to me if you don't come to pick me up at school or you don't come home? What if you get hurt?

Parent: you don't have to worry about being left alone to take care of yourself. If you are at school, the teachers will take care of you until someone from our family or one of our adult friends comes to pick you up. If I don't come home because I am hurt, then someone in our family or one of our adult friends will come home to take care of you. I will be in a doctor's office or in the hospital getting well. If you ever get scared because I am not where you think I am supposed to be, then ask a teacher, or your babysitter, or some other adult taking care of you, if you can call me. If you can't reach me, then call the people on the list of family and friends we made together. These people will take good care of you. You will always have someone to love you, no matter what happens.

Things didn’t exactly play out this way for the children of Be’eri, Nir Oz, Kfar Aza, and other places that came under attack. What should Israeli parents be telling their children to do if their mommies don’t pick them up from school or don’t come home because they are being held hostage in Gaza? What do you tell Israeli children who saw atrocities visited on their siblings, parents, and neighbors?

Carole Lieberman: Although it is true that many of the children of Be’eri, Nir Oz, Kfar Aza and other places that came under attack lost parents and siblings, and were plunged into chaos on October 7, they were eventually rescued by friends, family, or social agencies who tried to comfort them and help them get back to as normal a life as possible. These children who saw atrocities and lost loved ones will be more traumatized than children in parts of Israel that were not attacked. The best way to help them is to gently get them to express their feelings – not to hold them in, and to provide food, shelter and caring people around them, as well as a simple and steady routine of school, mealtimes, bedtimes, and so on.

 

At Bataclan in Paris

Varda Epstein: Is there a right or wrong way to teach children about a loved one’s death due to terror? For example, on October 7, there were children whose parents and/or siblings were killed or brutalized in other ways in front of them. How can we explain to them why this happened, or the nature of what happened, and why it had to happen in front of them? Is there a way to make them feel safe going forward?

Carole Lieberman: The way to teach children about a loved one’s death due to terror will depend upon the age and psychological maturity of the child. If they are younger than 7 or 8 or so, they are not usually able to understand the permanency of death. If a child saw their loved one killed, in some ways it is easier to explain death, but harder to erase the memory of how they died. Ask them what they believe happens to someone after they die. If what they believe comforts them, such as their mommy or daddy being up on a cloud in heaven, listening to angels play harps and eating chocolate-covered macaroons, there’s no reason to take this away from them. It’s especially helpful to point out signs that their loved one is still with them in spirit, such as when they see something that had special significance to their loved one – like an animal or poem, or when something good happens to them. If possible, it’s comforting for them to carry with them a photograph, an article of clothing, or something else that belonged to their loved one. It’s important to encourage the children to talk about good memories they have of their loved ones, and to write these down in a diary, so that they can think of the good memories whenever the bad memory of their death comes to their mind.

You can explain that the people who brutalized or killed their loved one were driven by a false belief that they were going to be rewarded for killing people who don’t believe in the same religion that they do – radical Islam. For some, you can explain that terrorists were taught from the time that they were little, in schools called madrassas, that their goal in life should be to kill all the people who don’t believe in their god, Allah, and to start with Israel first. It wasn’t because their loved one was bad or did anything to deserve being killed. If it happened in front of them, it was because this gave the cruel terrorists pleasure and they wanted to warn others that they had better follow their rules in the future.

To reassure these children, you can tell them about all the people, organizations, the IDF and so on, who are working to keep them safe all the time. It often helps to tell them that their lost loved one has become their guardian angel and will try to guide them to keep safe.


Varda Epstein: There was a recent story about a social worker who stayed on the phone with the Idan children (ages 6 and 9, the siblings of released 4-year-old hostage Abigail) for 12 hours as they hid in a closet from terrorists who had infiltrated their kibbutz on October 7. Their mother had been murdered and her body was right outside the closet door. How would you grade this social worker’s performance? 



The Idan children hid on the shelves on this closet for 12 hours until they were rescued, with their mother's body right outside the door.

Carole Lieberman: I think this social worker did an excellent job of keeping the Idan children comforted and safe. Her instincts told her when they shouldn’t open the door to terrorists or be seen by them from the window. She also realized how important it was for the phone to have enough charge to keep her connected as their lifeline. She made sure that the little boy was able to bear the sight of his deceased mother, who he would have to see if he made his way to get the charger. She kept her voice calm and soothing and promised that she would stay with them until they got rescued, which turned out to be 12 hours later. But she kept her promise.


Book talk at the Hollywood Book Festival

Varda Epstein: How should Israeli parents talk to their children about October 7th and the hostage situation? What can we say or do for children whose loved ones are still held hostage? For very young children, is it better to distract them from the subject of an absent, hostage parent or sibling, or is it preferable to help keep their memories of these loved ones, alive? 

Carole Lieberman: It is important not to pretend that a child’s loved one, who is still being held hostage, hasn’t been taken by Hamas. On the other hand, this isn’t something that needs to be spoken about 24/7. Children can be comforted by knowing that there is still a chance that their loved one may survive and be returned to them, as they have seen in the news happen for other families. Of course, they want to know why their parent or sibling hasn’t returned, but at least there is still hope. It’s important to reassure them that their loved one isn’t choosing to be away from them, but that the “bad people,” the terrorists, are holding onto them to try to get what they want from Israel.

Families should not promise children that their loved one will absolutely return home in case this doesn’t happen. But you can keep a photo or an object that brings back memories of the hostage in a visible place, and pray together for their safe return. You can also ask the child to talk about what they would like to do with their loved one when they get back. The most important thing is to get the child to express their feelings: sadness, anger, longing, hope, and so on.

Varda Epstein: Should all Israeli children, in general, be considered to be affected by terror? What should Israeli parents be on the watch for with their children? What are the warning signs that a child affected by terror needs help from a mental health professional? 

Carole Lieberman: All Israeli children are affected by terror – whether they have seen it up close and personal, or in the media, or have just absorbed the terror from those around them. Some children won’t show it and will try to pretend that nothing is different or wrong, especially if they get the message from others that they’re not supposed to talk about it.

Terror often makes children regress, behaving as they did when they were much younger. For example, they may wet the bed, be afraid of the dark, or suck their thumb. It’s important not to shame them for these signs that they need more comforting. If these behaviors persist, they need help from a mental health professional.

The four basic reactions children have to terror are feeling scared, sad, mad, or bad. It’s natural to feel scared after October 7, but parents need to be on the lookout for symptoms that this has progressed from reasonable fear to more serious anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder, or Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. It’s also natural for children to feel sad, knowing terrorists have hurt people or taken them as hostages, but parents need to be aware that this can turn into more serious depression. It’s also natural for children to feel mad about what happened on October 7, and that their life has still not been able to return to normal. But parents should get professional help if their child starts acting out their anger. Feeling bad happens when children can’t distinguish exactly how they feel. They feel a muddle of scared, sad, mad and perhaps other emotions, too. If their confusion and malaise persists, they, too may need professional help.

Book launch at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.


Varda Epstein: What about the Israeli children who were held captive, and then released? What should we expect to see, and how can they be helped? Will they ever experience complete healing—is that possible?

Carole Lieberman: The Israeli children who were held captive and then released will have psychological scars, the gravity of which will depend upon their age, their psychological stability before they were held captive, and how they were treated in Hamas captivity. Of course, they’ll be happy and excited to return to their families, but this should not be interpreted as their having no scars. All of them need to be in intensive psychotherapy – at least for a few years – depending upon the severity of their trauma. The biggest risk, when families are so thrilled to have them come home, is to overlook the deeper wounds inside and pretend that everything will be okay just because they’re back home. These children won’t want to worry their families by telling them about the worst atrocities they’ve experienced as hostages. So, they need a professional therapist to gradually allow them to talk about it, or to express their feelings through play therapy, and eventually heal.

Varda Epstein: I have heard it said, even before October 7, that there is not a person in Israel who is not suffering from PTSD as a result of terror, even when the terror is only something they hear about or read about happening to others. Do you think there is any truth to this idea? 

Carole Lieberman: In America, studies show that people who weren’t anywhere near sites of 9/11 attacks, but who watched news reports of that day over and over again on television, developed PTSD. So, it is likely that there’s not a person in Israel who is not suffering from some degree of PTSD as a result of terror, even when the terror is only something they hear about or read about happening to others. This is especially true for those Israelis who have endured many terror threats and attacks beginning way before October 7th.

Varda Epstein: How should parents talk to kids about terror? What are some common misperceptions children may have about terror and how can we help clarify things for them in a helpful way?

Carole Lieberman: The two most important things that parents must remember when talking to kids about terror are to tell them the truth (though softening the roughest parts is allowed, especially for young children), and to prioritize getting them to talk about their feelings, so that they don’t swallow them and hold them inside, or else they’ll have psychological problems down the road.

The most damaging misperception that children have about terrorism is that they, their family or their country as a whole, must have done something wrong to deserve the punishment dished out by terrorists. This is why it’s important to explain that terrorists are taught - from the time they are toddlers - to hate everyone who doesn’t believe in their God, Allah, and to wage war (jihad) on them. Grownups need to reassure children that there are many people who are aware of this and who work every day to protect them.

Route91Strong Anniversary Fundraiser For Victims Of The October 1st, 2017 Las Vegas Shooting, with Lisa Vanderpump

Varda Epstein: What advice can you offer to Israeli parents and children at this difficult time?

Carole Lieberman: Israelis have some advantages over Americans when it comes to coping with terrorism. For one thing, Israeli children are raised to value becoming resilient. For another thing, there is a stronger appreciation of God than in some American homes. It is comforting to remember that God has always looked out for Israel and Jewish people. He is more powerful than terrorists. With His help, you can turn all the evil that has happened, from October 7th on, into something good: making your home an even more loving and nurturing nest that provides even more comfort and strength for all family members. Am Yisrael Chai.

***

Carole Lieberman, M.D., M.P.H. is a Board-Certified Beverly Hills psychiatrist who treats patients; testifies at trials as an expert witness; and is a regular, three-time Emmy Award-winning guest on such top TV shows as Oprah, the Today Show, Good Morning America, CNN, FOX News, HLN, ET, ABC, CBS, NBC, Oxygen, Court TV, and Law and Crime. Lieberman received her training at NYU-Bellevue and at Anna Freud's London Clinic and has served on the Clinical Faculty of UCLA's Neuropsychiatric Institute. She hosts “Dr. Carole’s Couch” on VoiceAmerica and the “Terrorist Therapist Show” podcast.

Known worldwide as The Terrorist Therapist®, Dr. Lieberman is also the bestselling award-winning author of four books, two of them on terror. Dr. Lieberman’s book, the first of its kind on children and terror, can be purchased on Amazon at the following link: Lions and Tigers and Terrorists, Oh My! How to Protect Your Child in a Time of Terror



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Wednesday, February 07, 2024


Disclaimer: the views expressed here are solely those of the author, weekly Judean Rose columnist Varda Meyers Epstein.

Robert Werdine was my friend. He was also a Rhodes Scholar, historian, ardent defender of Israel, serious music lover, and a devout Muslim. Robert died too soon from complications of diabetes and was buried as a Catholic, his father’s faith, but he was undeniably Muslim. Through our three years’ worth of correspondence, Robert left me with a wealth of material on Islamic thought as it relates to Jews, Judaism, and Israel. These were subjects he cared about and wrote about, but never published.

More than once, Robert alluded to being in bad odor with certain family members over his stance on Israel. He detailed an incident in which his uncle, a member of Hamas, roughed him up when he found out that Robert was writing blogs at the Times of Israel, an Israeli publication. Which is actually how I met Robert. We were both blogging there in 2012, the year that TOI was launched.

Robert also mentioned that his mother was afraid for him to say in his blogs that he was a Muslim. She didn’t know what, if any repercussions there would be for him, and for the family as a whole. After some back and forth, Robert’s mom came to see it his way, and agreed that he should no longer hide his Muslim identity or his strong affection for Israel.

Since Robert died in 2017, I haven’t known what to do with the prodigious material he sent me—brilliant material, meticulously researched. These papers should be published. And I believe that is why he sent them to me. He knew he wasn’t going to live much longer. I think he hoped I would do something with his work after he died. Yet, all this time I haven’t been sure I should.

I’m still not certain it’s the right thing to do—publish Robert’s work without his permission. But I think he felt he could not publish them while he was alive, and trusted that I would make a decision about what to do with his work, and that it would be the right decision. All of this came to mind last week during an exchange yet another confrontational antisemite on Quora.

The exchange began, as usual, with a “question” I was asked to answer, that as per usual, was some gross, not-so-thinly-veiled anti-Israel propaganda: “Why does Israel have the right to occupy land where the Palestinian have lived?”

This was my answer:

“Israel builds in very few areas where Arabs once might have lived. In those areas, the Arabs either left of their own volition, at the behest of Arab leaders preparing to extinguish the fledgling Jewish State, or the land was retaken during the course of a defensive war, in which case, it is perfectly legal.

“The Jews expelled from Arab countries were absorbed by tiny Israel, while the 22 Arab states in the region, which cover an enormous breadth of territory, refuse to absorb the Arabs who fled Israel in 1948 (and their descendants).

“It is normal for a population exchange to occur as a result of war. The shameful aspect of what happened here is the Arab refusal to absorb and resettle their brethren.”

Naturally, there were confrontational comments. One particular commenter, Esmailjee Mohamed Ali, wrote: "How can there be Judhas or Jews in Palestine when they lived in Europe for 2000 years from the time they were created by the Romans in 69BC.

It was from EUROPE after the Second World War, 5MILLION Judhas or Jews migrated to America and another 6Million was brought landed and in PALESTINE by the British Empire and the League of Nations on creating the State of Israel in 1948CE."

“It was the British Empire that was upto [sic] all the mischief. Allah wiped out the British Empire because of all their cruel acts. Today, unfortunately the PALESTINIAN PEOPLE are suffering at the hands of the Poor downtrodden criminals who came from EUROPE because of the British Empire.”

Well, I couldn’t leave that alone, now could I? So I said, “Funny, because that’s not what the Quran says,” said I thinking of all the Quranic references to the Bani Isra'il.

To which Mr. Ali took umbrage, responding, “Do not misinterpret the QURAN.”

As I am so often wont to do in these situations, I went to my Robert Werdine gmail folder to see what my dear late friend had to say on the subject. I was looking for what he had said about Muslims living under non-Muslim rule. Because really—why did the Arabs have to kick up a fuss over the establishment of the Jewish State or be in denial about Jewish history, detailed in their own holy book? The Arabs didn’t have to leave, nor did they have to “suffer” at the hands of the Jews. They could have—and would have—been perfectly happy and prosperous under Jewish rule. Instead they were turned—by their own people—into perpetual refugees, filled with hate and blood lust. And their own people didn’t—and don’t—want them.

None of this had anything to do with the British Empire. Nor did it relate to “downtrodden criminals from Europe” supposedly brought to the region by the Brits.

It had to do with Muslims who are ignorant of what their own holy books and commentators have to say on the subject. They should have stayed. They would have been free to practice their religion under the Jews, and they would have led happy, content lives. And of course, the October 7th Massacre would never have happened. What happened on that Black Sabbath was in fact, proscribed by Islam. 

I found what I needed in my “Robert Werdine” email treasure chest, and it was so perfect I quoted it word for word. I knew Robert would forgive me. And I never heard a peep back from Mr. Ali:

The Shafi’i jurist, Imam Abu Zakariyya Muhyi ’l-Din al-Nawawi (1233–1277) [stated]: 

If a Muslim is able to declare his Islam openly and living therein (in a land dominated by non-Muslims), it is better for him to do so […] because by this it becomes Dar al-Islam […] (Al-Nawawi, rawda al-talibin, (Beirut: Dar ibn Hazm, 2002), p. 1819)

Al Nawawi also stated: 

Where a Muslim is able to protect and isolate himself, even if he is not able to proselytize and engage in combat, in such case it would be incumbent upon him to remain in this place and not emigrate. For such a place, by the fact that he is able to isolate himself, has become a dar Islam

The opinions of al-Ramli, al-Mawardi, and al-Nawawi are all consistent with prophetic practice in the authentic Sunnah. Two Hadiths, one from Sahih Bukhari and one from Sahih Muslim attest that the prophet would refuse to attack any non-Muslim entity that allowed for the practice of the Muslim religion by Muslims living there. Here is the Sahih Bukhari (Vol. 4, Book 52, #193):  

Narrated Anas: Whenever Allah's Apostle attacked some people, he would never attack them till it was dawn. If he heard the Adhan (i.e. call for prayer) he would delay the fight, and if he did not hear the Adhan, he would attack them immediately after dawn.

Nawawi interprets the Hadiths as follows: 

In this narration is evidence that verily the call to prayer forbids invading (yamna‘) a people of that area, and this is an evidence of their Islam.

This is only one tiny fragment of the material I have from Robert. Some of what he wrote was conversational. I’d ask him questions, and he’d answer. Once, for example, I asked him how he felt about the word “Palestinian.” What did he, Robert, call the Arabs who call themselves “Palestinians?”

He wrote (May 20 2015), I'm not sure what to call the you-know-who. I call them the Nowhere People; they came out of nowhere and they're going nowhere, fast. I generally call them Palestinian, but I don't remember my grandfather using that term. He just called them Arabs and refugees. Probably "Arabs" is the best word to use, or Palestinian Arabs, either word refers to the customarily delusional, intransigent, and recklessly self-destructive people whose leaders will continue the long, hard slog of hatred, violence, and deligitimization of a people who have shown them more humanity and compassion than their own Arab brethren ever will.”

Robert knew more than Islam. He ate, drank, and slept history and was always happy to share with me what he learned—especially if there were a reference to Jews. On May 27, 2015, he wrote: “I’m reading Robert Markus’ biography of Pope Gregory the Great. What a phenomenal figure. He was almost an exact contemporary of Muhammad. Gregory was a great reformer. He also wrote a six-volume commentary on the Book of Job. He was a font of wisdom, integrity and able statesmanship. The chants that bear his name are the earliest music that is written on record, and still haunts the monasteries of Italy, France, and Germany. 

“He was also a great protector of the Jews. He forbade compulsory conversions that so many popes of the past had winked at, and he gave them full rights of equal citizenship—a true rarity in that day and age.  When he learned that the bishops in Palermo had appropriated the local synagogues, he ordered that they make full restitution. Here is what he wrote to the Bishop of Naples: 

“‘Do not allow the Jews to be molested in the performance of their services. Let them have full liberty to observe and keep all of their festivals and holydays, as both they and their fathers have done for so long.’’’ 

Sometimes I wonder what Robert would have said about October 7. I know that he was sickened by Arab terror against the Jews of Israel. On September 23, 2015, he wrote, “My mother and I were talking the other day about what it would be like for us to know that there were people living in the next county who would be only too happy to murder us and all our love ones, and celebrate the deed afterward. How could we help from hating such people filled to the brim with such murderous hatred for us, and who demonstrate such hatred in deeds of unmentionable horror day after day? It's a sobering thought to ponder.”

By ironic coincidence, on October 7 (!), 2015, he wrote to me in regard to the murder of Eitam and Na’ama Henkin in front of their four young children, one of them a four-month-old infant, only one week earlier:

“Your feelings after that savage murder of the Henkin couple are completely natural and understandable. How would any person of conscience react to an act of such naked savagery?  In their evil they could not be more evil. The hysterical glee that they show whenever Jewish blood is shed is like something out of a nightmare. The one, true accomplishment of the Palestinians is their societal normalizing of savagery as a virtue to be emulated: murders celebrated like weddings, streets and village squares named after suicide bombers. These people are sick. I mean: SICK.” 

People don’t believe me when I tell them about Robert. They think he was pulling the wool over my eyes. That he was deceiving me the Sunni Muslim way with taqiyya. But I know that he was good. And that the scholarly works he sent me should be read by more than one person (me). Robert did not agree with the idea of “Islamic reform.” He believed that the violent, Jew-hating form of Islam all too unfortunately practiced by too many Muslims the world over, was due to ignorance of what Islam actually preached.

Believe me, I am no apologist for Islam. But I also know that it doesn’t need to be practiced in the violent way it is currently practiced by way too many ignorant, blood-crazed cretins. I would like others to at least see and wrestle with Robert Werdine’s writings.

So now I would like to ask a question of regular readers of this column: would you like to read these works sitting and doing nothing in a Gmail folder? Shall I post them here in weeks to come? Or should I keep them hidden, buried away where no one will ever see them?

I honestly seek your opinions. And I’m guessing that Robert, were he able to weigh in, would hope that you’d view the idea with favor. He wished with all his heart that more people were open to the Islam that he saw and believed—an Islam that respects the rights of people of all faiths to follow their beliefs in peace.



Buy the EoZ book, PROTOCOLS: Exposing Modern Antisemitism  today at Amazon!

Or order from your favorite bookseller, using ISBN 9798985708424. 

Read all about it here!

 

 

Tuesday, June 28, 2022




On June 15, 2021, the Biden administration released the first U.S. National Strategy for Countering Domestic Terrorism.

It was created as a response to the January 6 events in Washington, and it is mostly concerned with the threats of white supremacist terrorists, with a smattering of other potential ideologies:

According to this assessment, one key aspect of today’s domestic terrorism threat emerges from racially or ethnically motivated violent extremists and networks whose racial, ethnic, or religious hatred leads them toward violence, as well as those whom they encourage to take violent action. These actors have different motivations, but many focus their violence towards the same segment or segments of the American community, whether persons of color, immigrants, Jews, Muslims, other religious minorities, women and girls, LGBTQI+ individuals, or others. Their insistence on violence can, at times, be explicit. It also can, at times, be less explicit, lurking in ideologies rooted in a perception of the superiority of the white race that call for violence in furtherance of perverse and abhorrent notions of racial “purity” or “cleansing.”

 Another key component of the threat comes from anti–government or anti–authority violent extremists. This significant component of today’s threat includes self–proclaimed “militias” and militia violent extremists who take steps to violently resist government authority or facilitate the overthrow of the U.S. Government based on perceived overreach; anarchist violent extremists, who violently oppose all forms of capitalism, corporate globalization, and governing institutions, which they perceive as harmful to society; sovereign citizen violent extremists, who believe they are immune from government authority and laws; or any other National Strategy for Countering Domestic Terrorism 9 individual or group who engages in violence – or incites imminent violence – in opposition to legislative, regulatory, or other actions taken by the government. Other domestic terrorists may be motivated to violence by single–issue ideologies related to abortion–, animal rights–, environmental–, or involuntary celibate–violent extremism, as well as other grievances – or a combination of ideological influences. In some cases, individuals may develop their own idiosyncratic justifications for violence that defy ready categorization.
Nowhere in this document does it discuss any threat from Islamic terrorists.

It doesn't even mention 9/11 once. 

This is frightening. Federal authorities have foiled many attacks from Muslim extremists over the past two decades, both against Jewish targets and against governmental targets. 

The majority of unsuccessful terrorist attacks foiled by the FBI and others in this Wikipedia page were motivated by Islamist ideology. And there have been hundreds of Islamist terror attacks worldwide in recent years.

It is mind boggling that given the history of Islamist terror attack attempts over the past two decades, the White House implictly declares that this is no longer a problem that deserves strategic thinking - and possibly resources.

Many lives have been saved by US intelligence services and police monitoring for domestic Islamist terrorists. No one can doubt that the desire from both ISIS-style groups and Iranian-aligned terror groups to kill Americans and specifically Jewish targets has not abated. 

It is difficult to escape the conclusion that this national strategy is partially motivated by political factors. American lives, and American Jewish lives, should not be sacrificed on the altar of political correctness - but this appears to be exactly what is in danger of happening.

(h/t JM Phelps)




Buy the EoZ book, PROTOCOLS: Exposing Modern Antisemitism  today at Amazon!

Or order from your favorite bookseller, using ISBN 9798985708424. 

Read all about it here!

 

 

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