Brigitte Gabriel and The TimesI was taken aback on shabbos morning to see The New York Times Magazine matter-of-factly refer to Brigitte Gabriel as a "radical Islamophobe."
Gabriel, a Lebanese-American, is a staunchly pro-Israel Christian woman whose family suffered at the hands of Lebanese Islamic fanatics. To be sure, she is provocative, but what basis does the Times have to call her a "radical Islamophobe"?
The bottom line: When someone from the Arab world supports Israel and bashes radical Islam, they are an Islamophobe - and their stance is so unbelievable that they are asked - as Gabriel was in the Times interview - whether they work for the CIA.
In sharp contrast, when a Jew - especially an Israeli - supports the Arabs and bashes the Jewish religion, the Times finds them to be a progressive, humanitarian role model.
Indeed, not too long ago, a Jewish law professor with an obsession about legal systems based on Islamic law bashed observant Jews and the Jewish law they practice. The same Times Magazine gave him a front page feature to rant about those terrible Orthodox Jews who - much worse than suicide bombing or hijacking planes - never wished him a formal mazel tov in his high school's newsletter after his marriage to a non-Jewish woman.
posted on 8/18/2008
