Jews and Terrorists: JPost

Yeah, I know this has nothing to do with Shooting Sports or RKBA.

Still, it's my blog and I think this is important.

A Jew who interviews Palestinian Terrorists, for years, and survives? I think this it worth some attention.

The Jerusalem Post interviews WND columnist Aaron Klein.

Klein has established his credentials as a bold journalist, and has survived in an environment which we would usually describe as 'suicidal':

"The one thing the terrorists don't like," says author Aaron Klein, "is being called terrorists."

This is why, says Klein - the Jerusalem bureau chief for the right-wing news Web site WorldNetDaily.com, and a columnist for the equally conservative Jewish Press - the subjects of his best-selling book, Schmoozing with Terrorists (published by World Ahead Media), are unhappy with its title.

"They prefer to be called 'jihadists,'" explains Klein, noting the apparent nuance that is a clear-cut distinction in the eyes of those who believe it is their religious duty to spread Islam throughout the world, by any means at their disposal.

"My response was to tell those who complained to me about my use of the word that when someone violently targets civilians, that's what he is."

That members and leaders of every major Palestinian terrorist organization ever agreed to talk (via translators) to Klein - a 28-year-old "nice Jewish boy" from Philadelphia - let alone continue to contact him after reading what he writes, seems surprising, if not unlikely. Klein disagrees. Not only does he insist that any journalist who wishes to interview terrorist leaders "can simply phone them up," but, he asserts, "they are proud of their goals and achievements, and glad to have a platform for promotion."

Klein talks about the reasons why Radical Islamics readily sacrifice themselves to kill Jews in Israel ... and non-Jews around the world.

What makes terrorists tick?

That's a good question. A lot of people think that terrorism is about pieces of territory - that Hizbullah just wants to get the Shaba Farms back, for example. Others think that Hamas, Islamic Jihad and the whole rest of the alphabet of Palestinian terrorists simply want to destroy Israel or that al-Qaida wants America out of the Middle East. But one thing that has really been driven home to me in all my talks with terrorists - which is the thesis of all of my work - is that they are looking to serve Allah by spreading Islam around the world. That's what makes them tick.

It is often said of terrorists that desperation and poverty - sometimes mental illness - is at the root of their actions. Is there truth to that?

It's true that if you watch CNN or read The New York Times, you would get that impression. Because whenever there's a suicide bombing in Israel, right away they present human interest stories about how the bomber is poor and living under Israeli occupation. And this is in spite of the fact that in the history of modern civilization, there's no other instance of people under occupation blowing themselves up.

But, about a year and a half ago, I met with a 22-year-old Palestinian who had been recruited to become a suicide bomber for Islamic Jihad and his recruiter in Jenin, and I specifically asked them whether they were carrying out their operations because of poverty and desperation. Their response was to get offended and call it Zionist propaganda. They explained that suicide is forbidden in Islam, and that blowing oneself up in the midst of innocent men, women and children does not constitute suicide, but rather jihad for Allah - that therefore it is not only allowed, but it is the creed.

Okay, so you're determined. But ... Suicidal?

Are you not afraid that these terrorists you interview will kidnap or kill you?

I understand that there's danger in what I'm doing. At the same time, if you look at the kidnappings of journalists in the Palestinian areas, you'll note that they were carried out by masked gunmen - not by a particular terrorist interviewed by a reporter. Believe it or not, when you go in, they protect you.

Okay, but still ...

How is it they're willing to talk to you if what you're doing is exposing them? Aren't you killing their lobby, in effect?

Maybe that's the way you see it, but they think I'm doing them a favor - and perhaps I am - by giving them a platform from which to explain themselves. I don't analyze what they say; I quote them, and they are very thankful for this.

What's the difference between the Jews and the Terrorists? They're still killing each other.

Couldn't one argue that there are plenty of Israelis who see Arabs in general, and Palestinians in particular, as all evil?

Maybe there are misconceptions on both sides, but on one side there are people telling their kids to become suicide bombers and kill Israelis indiscriminately in cafes, and on the other side, there are people advocating freedom and democracy. So you can't compare the two.

Geez, these guys are bad news. They're forty miles of bad road. How can they live with themselves?

But how do they envision their own society, in the event that their goals of defeating Israel and the US are achieved?

That's just it. They have no plan beyond jihad. Look, there are a million and a half Arabs in Gaza - some would say trapped there. Can you imagineif there were a million and a half Jews trapped there? They'd build Singapore. When I ask the terrorists about why they haven't built anything in Gaza, they say that they can't build anything until they get all of their land back. They don't seem to have a long-term plan beyond that.

And that, Children, is the root of the problem. They aren't rebelling against poverty or against being "second-class citizens". They just want everyone else to be just like them.

Firmly grounded in the sixth century. Mad as hell, ready to kill. And they don't very much care who they kill.

If you don't love Allah, you're just a target.