Kuwaiti Writer: It Is High Time To Put Aside Hatred Against Jews, Which Has Gotten Us Nowhere

MEMRI
In a January 17, 2022 article on the English-language website Fanack.com, Kuwaiti writer and poet Nejoud Al-Yagout notes that, when, in December 2021, the U.S. embassy in Kuwait wished the local Jews a happy Hanukkah, many Kuwaitis responded with fury. They used the incident not just to troll the ambassador, but to express hatred for any and all Jews. Al-Yagout wonders where “this cringe-worthy fear” towards Jews comes from, and why Kuwaitis are not ashamed of it, given that their country prides itself on tolerance and coexistance. She notes that this antagonism has caused most of Kuwait’s Jews to emigrate, and the few who remain to hide their identity, which, she says, is a great loss for the country.

Nejoud Al-Yagout (Source: Bazaar.town/an-interview-with-nejoud-al-yagout, February 5, 2017)

Al-Yagout adds that the Quran preaches diversity and refers to the Torah as a sacred book and to the Jews as People of the Book; therefore, Muslims who harbor resentment towards them cannot pretend to be following the principles of their faith. Moreover, Muslims who feel such hatred have no right to complain about Islamophobia, she says. Nor is there any legitimate political reason for harboring resentment towards Jews, she argues, since it is possible to support Palestine without feeling such resentment. She concludes that it is high time to put aside hatred, which has brought nothing but destruction and war, and become a more open and welcoming society.   

The following are excerpts from her article:

“On November 28, 2021,  there was quite a controversy when the US Embassy wished Jews in Kuwait a Happy Hanukkah on social media. Some commentators trolled the Ambassador, and anyone who responded to the message in a spirit of love was verbally abused. Some argued that there are not many Jews in Kuwait, so why would the US Embassy post such a message? The commentators used the message not only to accuse the ambassador of having an agenda but to attack Jews as a whole.

“What is this cringe-worthy fear we have toward Jews? We cannot use the excuse that we don’t celebrate the festivities of other religions, because many Kuwaitis love to celebrate Christmas, and a few celebrate Diwali with Hindus. We cannot say we are protecting Islamic principles, because Kuwait is filled with people of all faiths and no faiths. As such, is this who we have become in a country whose heritage prides itself on coexistence? What a pity. What a loss for us. How heartbreaking for our forefathers, a few of whom were Jews who lived here alongside us.”

Read The Full Report

January 27, 2022 | 1 Comment »

Leave a Reply

1 Comment / 1 Comment

  1. Two men arrested in UK as part of Texas synagogue hostage-taker investigation
    London (CNN) — Two men were arrested in the English city of Manchester on Wednesday as part of an investigation into this month’s Texas synagogue standoff, Greater Manchester Police said.

    Malik Faisal Akram, a 44-year-old British national, held four people hostage at Congregation Beth Israel in Colleyville, Texas, in an 11-hour standoff with authorities on January 15, the FBI has said. An FBI team killed Akram after one hostage was released and three escaped.
    UK counterterrorism investigators have been helping US authorities look into the incident, which is being treated by the FBI as a hate crime and an act of terrorism.
    “As part of the local investigation, two men have been arrested this morning in Manchester. They remain in custody for questioning,” Greater Manchester Police said Wednesday.
    Last week, two men were arrested in the English cities of Birmingham and Manchester in connection with the standoff investigation, and were held for questioning, Greater Manchester Police said at the time without elaborating.
    Jewish communities across the US are on heightened alert after the Texas standoff: 'Is our community under attack again?'
    US investigators believe Akram was motivated in part by a desire to see the release of extremist Aafia Siddiqui, who is serving an 86-year federal prison sentence in Fort Worth, Texas, they’ve said. She was not involved in the Colleyville standoff, her attorney said.
    Akram arrived in the United States in late December via New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport, a US law enforcement source familiar with the investigation told CNN.

    Akram had been known to UK security services and had been the subject of a brief investigation in 2020, a UK official told CNN. The investigation was closed when authorities determined Akram to no longer be a threat.
    The incident put Jewish communities across the United States on edge. Attacks on Jewish people have been on the rise, the Anti-Defamation League warns. And while the majority of anti-Semitic incidents involve harassment and vandalism, assaults have also happened, with at least six turning deadly since 2016, including at Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life synagogue in 2018.

    Jew-hatred also extremely common among Muslims in Britain.
    Clearly the attack on the Texas synogogue was part of a conspiracy. The Brits have already arrested four co-conspirators of the terrorist inside Britain.