We live in a very sad world. Someone writes silly cartoons, and most of the Muslim world is rioting and threatening death to anybody not Muslim. Jews have their own fanatics, but rarely have I seen that they have used violence to spread their religious beliefs. The Christians must never forget the terrible atrocities committed during the crusader period for example. If I mention that religion can be the core of terrible hatred and violence, I will probably be marked as left wing, radical, atheist, pacifist or idiot. That's the way fanatics put labels on people. Always looking for reasons to justify more hatred and violence. Many wicked people just take advantage and use religion as a way of inciting others to act violently, even though it is dubious if these people have any religious beliefs at all. Most religious people in all religions if they have respect for other religions are great people, and can offer tremendous warmth and hope to the difficulties and tremendous demands the human race has to continuously cope with. It is in the wake of so much hatred on our planet, that I am not surprised but saddened by the reactions to what happened at the Church in Nazareth last Friday. The people who attacked the church that evening, had no religious hatred in their motivation. These were people were under stress that their baby would be taken away by social workers. Two out of the three were Christians anyway, which destroys the arguments of all those wicked politicians that believed they had finally found enough reason to incite racial and religious animosity. I have lived in Israel for the past 20 years, and I have never heard even once any Jew speaking derogatorily about other religions. In fact it is in England where I have come across antisemitism both from Christians and Muslims. I have heard many racial and antisemitic statements made by Arabs in Hyde Park corner, and have heard from many Christian friends, that at their village churches, the clergy had spoken very negatively (to say the least) about Jews. Jews in Israel, except for a fanatical and outcast few, have always respected other religions, and those that visit Israel know this is true. There is terrible antagonism between Israel and its Palestinian neighbours, but I can also honestly say that hatred from the Jewish side is rare, the Israeli people pray and hope for the day when they can shake the hands of their neighbours, and not have to raise the mighty sword to daily defend their existence. The Hamas on the other hand has mostly used religion as a fuel to incite hatred and to recruit suicide bombers, willing to die in the name of Islam. In Israel I am worried that fanatic religious Jews are using the past confrontations in Amona and the disengagement in Gaza to induce a feeling of hatred between secular and religious Jews, which if the fire is allowed to spread could cause a terrible and frightening civil war in Israel, not only bringing disaster to the Jewish people, about it would be allowing one of the ultimate goals of the Hamas to be achieved.
If we are looking for a better and more promising world, we must learn to be calm and talk and listen to each other, every nation and religion should show respect for each other, and yet fight without remorse or rest, against those who are trying so desperately to spread violence and hatred.
I hope in Israel, leaders from all religions, political parties and backgrounds will immediately cease their wicked and cynical parley used to incite others in order to gain political momentum, and finally light the fire of dialogue which I hope will bring peace and prosperity to our region, which would be a wonderful example of sanity that could be copied and used by the whole world .
Michael Bloom