Zvi Yehezkeli (צבי יחזקאלי), one of Israel’s best journalists specializing in Arab issues, author of books, films and documentary series, a man who returned to religion and has entered the palaces of Muslim monarchs, was interviewed by Yediot Ahronot.
I am personally interested to hear someone who speaks to the Arabs in their language.
■ The Hamas massacre was not surprising. When Sinwar promised to rip the hearts out of Israeli soldiers and eat their livers, he was not lying. He was laughed at until it was time to cry ….
■ Arafat once said to me: the war will never end here. Peace is your fiction. In the end, one will survive.
■ Many people don’t want to hear when I talk about the effect of big numbers. How many casualties are there in Gaza right now? They say 38,000. Another 10,000 are missing. Another 80,000 are wounded. Did it have an effect? No. We should have killed 100,000. And in the first week. Everyone who took part in the massacre. In the first, second and third ranks. Then it would have had an effect.
■ Democracy is seen by the Arabs as a weakness. Middle Eastern democracy is nonsense. It is something that justifies the enemy. Debating whether there was rape or not, whether children were burned in ovens or not, whether everyone was slaughtered indiscriminately or not, is weakness, from their point of view. If it hurts, it hurts unbearably. They understand that. If you force something, you hold it by the throat.
■ When murderers in Gaza see humanitarian aid flowing; when terrorists in East Jerusalem see the BAGATS forbid the demolition of their homes; when a bloodthirsty villain stabs a soldier in the back and the family receives a stipend for the loss of the (eliminated) breadwinner – that’s what sends a signal to the Arabs: go ahead, you’re right.
■ I am not interested in what and how the law says about Bituah Leumi benefits for terrorists. What interests me is that this money comes out of my pocket. That I, an Israeli citizen, encourage terror, legitimize terror and pay for terror with my money.
■ A Harvard graduate cannot understand the East. You have to speak to the Arabs in their language. Otherwise, you can break your tongue. And your head, too.
■ I think that the Israeli right-wingers – led by the most important right-winger – are primarily responsible. And everyone else, from the conceptualizers to its implementers, including the army leadership and the political-military cabinet.
■ It is better not to fight at all than not to fight like this …
We also recommend reading:
Oppression in the Middle East, 7 OCTOBER MASSACRE, Not To Kill Each Other — OPEN LETTER, Herta Muller — OPEN LETTER
