If, upon reading the book, you were wondering what the author’s political stance may be, you need not look beyond the fact that he discusses the Palestinians – or, rather, addresses the Palestinians and indeed the wider Arab world – as though it is they who pose an obstacle to peace, whilst writing overtly sympathetically about the Jews. Perhaps this is the reason he addresses only Palestinians and Muslims rather than both involved parties in the conflict.

The author’s emotional literary style is laid out clearly throughout the book for all to see. When discussing the Jews, he goes to some lengths to portray them as the victims, the weaklings, and ultimately on the losing side; when it comes to the Palestinians, he only lectures.

In the sixth letter, “The Partition of Justice”, the author discusses the concept of justice from a Jewish outlook; an outlook which doesn’t match the Islamic interpretation of justice in which every individual is granted his rights. Indeed, Islamic justice is well demonstrated by the Arabic proverb based on an old poem from the age of ignorance, the Jahiliyah period, which reads: “each one sings for his own Layla”. This essentially means that every individual cherishes his or her own way of doing things.

What justice are you asking us to divide, Yossi? Did the Jews ask the Palestinians permission to come and live with them on their land in search of their historical roots? How did they enter Palestine? What did they do in the process of entering the land and where is the justice in that?

In the letter “Fate and Destiny” the author speaks about a legitimate destiny, meaning that the Jewish fate to settle on this land is legitimate. But this begs the question: who granted the Jews the legitimacy to proclaim such an alleged destiny on this land? Fate and destiny are both real. I believe in both concepts equally. My doubt lies in the question of legitimacy, for one must ask: who determines that the Zionist project is indeed “legitimate”? Who grants Jews legitimacy in their “Need and Longing”? It is clear that emotions, sympathy and humane feelings dominate the author’s literary rhetoric. I’m not denying the nobility of these traits, but unfortunately, none such attributes feature in this conflict.

When addressing a particular side of a conflict through letters brimming with emotion and appeals to humane values, it is incumbent upon the writer to verify that he does in fact share the same feelings as the other side. The deployment of emotional literary devices doesn’t, by any means, alter the fact that the conflict is, in reality, best understood as a series of atrocities.

Any author can master the art of words and manipulation through appeals to emotion or by giving undue attention to only positive subject matters. Unfortunately, the reality isn’t as beautiful as the author’s words; the disconnect is alarmingly vast. No matter how much Israeli Jews speak and whitewash, the shocking and horrifying reality will always expose their plans.

To make a statement and justify it with ethical and scientific concepts alone isn’t enough; those who read history and have seen the bitter reality of the conflict will understand what I mean. Only God knows what the author’s intentions were in writing such a book. We can’t judge it solely by his beautiful and expressive discourse about justice, destiny and legitimate claims [الأسس المشروعة]. The understanding of these terms can vary from one person to another, leaving only God with the capability to understand their true meaning and the author’s real intentions. The author himself is Jewish and Jews are well-known for their battles with God and his judgement upon them. This matter is clear and I don’t have to explain it any further.

To summarise, I don’t recommend reading this book to anyone. It is, in my opinion, an attempt at intellectually infiltrating minds. Those whose minds are fragile can be dangerously led astray by such letters and may even end up fervently defending them.

 

Jahshan from Yemen

January 3rd, 2021