Syndication
Saudi Arabia
Arabs Like Matzo, Too
Lisa Goldman, the writer of what may be Israel’s best irregularly updated English-language blog, has a new post up that shines some light on a little-known gustatory fact: Arabs love matzo!
She directs readers to a Ha’aretz article on this topic from last Passover:
A journalist associated with the Islamic Movement in Israel told Haaretz that he also bought Matza. “The kids can’t get enough of it,” he gleefully reported. “They eat it like crackers. But it also represents a sense of folklore for us. Maybe we like it more than Jews do because no one’s forcing us to eat nothing but Matza all day long,” he said in explanation.
But, she learned recently, this may be more than just an Israeli thing. A contact in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, recently sent her a photo of a tray engraved with Hebrew script for the word “matzo” that was for sale in a local store. The correspondent also informed her that local supermarkets sell kosher matzos, certified by a London rabbinic court.
Saudi Envoy Calls Kettle Black
How’s this for jaw-dropping hypocrisy?
The JTA reports:
Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to the United States rejected recognizing Israel as a Jewish state
“There are 1.5 million civilians in Israel who do not define themselves as Jewish,” Adel al-Jubeir told reporters at the U.S.-convened Israeli-Palestinian peace talks in Annapolis, Md. “We do not believe states should define themselves according to religion or ethnicity.”
Yeah, Saudi Arabia — where a gang-rape victim was just sentenced to be lashed for “adultery” under a particularly backwards reading of Shariah law — isn’t a religious state at all. And, as far as the ethnicity bit goes, maybe we should refuse to call it “Arabia.”
Incidentally, it is true that neither ethnicity nor religion — while certainly central to the Saudi state — is Saudi Arabia’s single most defining characteristic. Instead, the defining fact of Saudi statehood would actually be that a single family — the House of Saud — sort of owns the entire country. Imagine if the Israeli ambassador had retorted: We don’t think that states should define themselves according to the principles of absolute monarchy or oligarchy. But, thankfully, even Israeli diplomats are too polite to say something like that at a peace summit.
John Podhoretz Spins a Saudi Prince
Here’s future Commentary editor John Podhoretz’s take on a recent interview that Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister, Prince Saud al-Faisal, gave to Time magazine:
He says he will refuse to shake Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s hand, even though he is a seeker after peace. He never says there will be peace with Israel, only “normalization,” and that this will only occur after Israel does every single thing he wants it to — and will not say there will be an exchange of ambassadors if that happens.
It’s helpful to look at the actual Time magazine interview to see that Podhoretz is spinning the prince’s words.
The prince did say of Annapolis, “I’m not going to be there for theatrical gestures of shaking hands that mean nothing.” But he also said, regarding shaking hands with the Israelis, “The hand that has been extended to us has been a fist so far. Once it opens for peace, it will be shaken.”
The prince also said: “We have made clear that peace means more than the end of hostilities. It means normalization. It means open borders. It means all those elements that normal human beings in one neighborhood act with together.” Asked a follow-up question about opening reciprocal embassies, the prince was evasive: “I hope we can imagine that they will withdraw, first of all. And that normalization will come after withdrawal.”
It’s certainly true that the peace process could benefit from some Sadat-like generosity on the part of the Saudis (though it’s worth remembering that they do have political considerations to take into account). But Podhoretz’s characterization is that of someone who is determined to see the Saudis’ intentions (and the prospects for Annapolis) in the worst possible light.
