Jews vs. Muslims

Throughout the day and in the weeks to come the US nationalist Press, co-opted by Israeli Nationalist interests, and tinged by an American evangelical perversion that sanctifies Israel in a bizarre end times fantasy, will frame today’s criminal act in Jerusalem as the holocaust part two by Muslims.

Never mind the disrespect that affords to the actual holocaust, and the truths about that terrible period in human history. the belief that this is part of an endless and unsolvable historic hatred between Muslims and Jews is simply a lie to hide the root cause of the conflict. Indeed, the Palestinian/Israeli conflict is more akin to neighboring hillbilly clans bickering over overlapping hunting grounds than a religious conflict.
Jews and Palestinians are basically family stuck in an antagonistic rut, each knowing precisely how to incite the other.

I live between a predominantly Muslim neighborhood centered on Devon Avenue here in Chicago, and a predominantly Jewish neighborhood centered largely on Touhy Avenue, with the two communities mixed quite amiably in the middle along Lunt. Jews and Muslims shop at the same Jewel grocery store, with Muslims shopping their Kosher section when in a bit of a pinch. Halal and Kosher preparations are acceptable. See, they can coexist.

But if it was really about Religion than Jews would be bulldozing homes on Lunt, while carpet bombing Devon. Muslims would be firing rockets from Devon at Touhy, although their crappy homemade rockets would usually be landing in the Chicago River or hitting Lincolnwood. Devon would eventually be blockaded and Muslims would have to dig a tunnel to Loyola for food and medicine, and FOX news would report that Jews in Skokie were the real victims. But they aren’t, and the Jews and Muslims on Touhy, Lunt and Devon live quite peacefully as neighbors because it isn’t about religion. It is about politics and power and racism, on both sides. It is just that one side has the backing of a superpower and one does not.

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