Martydom

These guys may be correct about one of these things:

One of the more high profile supporters of Ilhan Omar’s primary opponent shares his thoughts on Palestinian children: https://t.co/dIIVPXqk0j

— Ryan Grim (@ryangrim) November 30, 2023

It is not "incredibly racist," except in the literal, unintended sense. It is not credibly racist because it is not racist.  Minnesota State Senator Ron Lutz did not imply the innate inferiority of any race and did not even characterize individuals as a race, but as inhabitants of Palestine.

It is not why six-year-old children are killed. Israel cares little about what one state senator says. The Israeli counterattack against Hamas/Gaza was a response to a brutal and sadistic attack upon its innocent civilians.

It is not "why college kids are shot."  The assailant who shot Tahseen Ali Ahmad, Kinnan Abdalhamid, and Hisham Awartani probably did so because, wearing kaffiyehs and reported speaking "a combination of Arabic and English," they did appear to be Arabs. 

However, that has not yet been confirmed- and the crime was committed on November 25, several days before the state senator spoke. If old enough, you remember a time that voices on the left were concerned about firearms being in the hands of individuals who should not possess them. However, that was before, or in the absence of, the left's obsession with race reared its ugly head. This may have been a hate crime, in contrast,, I suppose, to becoming victims of gun violence in a "love crime."

Yet, it is not clear "Palestinian youth (typically) dream of the opportunity to achieve glory and martyrdom by killing as many Jews as possible."  Last December, in the midst of violence between Israeli soldiers and Arab/Muslim residents of the West Bank resulting from terrorist attacks by "Palestinian assailants"

The high Palestinian death toll has cast a fresh light on the practice of armed and political Palestinian groups claiming as members or publicly honoring all those killed by Israel, one that blurs the distinction between civilians and armed fighters. It is a tradition that some families object to, saying they don’t want loved ones used for political purposes.

Mr. Abu Naise said he raised his two sons to stay away from the armed Palestinian resistance groups fighting against Israeli occupation. His eldest, Muhammad, spent his days working as a civil servant in city government and nights as a barista, to support his wife and two young children.

Now he was dead, killed on the street by Israeli troops conducting a raid in Jenin, according to the Palestinian authorities.

“The Israeli army doesn’t distinguish between civilian or fighter. This year we’re all at risk of a bullet striking us,” Mr. Abu Naise said.

Every Palestinian killed by Israel is considered a martyr by the community, reflecting a widespread view that each Palestinian is part of a resistance to decades of occupation by Israel. But the rush by armed groups to claim those killed as martyrs worries some Palestinians, who feel it is being used by Israel to justify raids even when civilians are the victims.

It seems to be a mixed bag. At least as of late last year, some Arabs of the occupied territories did view dead terrorists as martyrs; others didn't, or at least believed they should not be publicly proclaimed as martyrs. The Times did not explore whether youth were being educated to accept the "widespread view," preferring its readers to assume that it is due to "a resistance to decades of occupation by Israel."

More significantly, no mention was made of "Islam" or "Muslim" or even "religion," as if martyrdom were common in bloody confrontations throughout the world. The media clearly is unwilling even to consider the possibility that the religious faith, properly interpreted or instead wildly distorted, by Muslims, may play a role. Besides obscuring a possible contributing factor to the ongoing conflict, it robs the public of the opportunity to assess the impact of legitimate religious belief versus religious extremism.

Ironically, this unwillingness by reporters sympathetic to terrorists (as responding to ongoing occupation) bears a resemblance to the broad stroke cast by the Minnesota state senator in arguing "Palestinian youth dream of the opportunity to achieve glory and martyrdom by killing as many Jews as possible."  We don't know whether Palestinian youth are taught that and if so, whether in Gaza, the West Bank or elsewhere. Nor do we know the extent to which religious fanaticism contributes to the murderous intent. 

Instead, we are left with a Midwestern politician implying that all Palestinian youth are the same, while much of the left believes any suggestion of any blame toward Palestinians is inherently racist. It's a sad state of affairs. However, unlike some of his critics, at least Ron Lutz believes that, if true, children being taught to hate Jews and to kill them is an actual bad thing..

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