Look at this photo showing the backs of seated dignitaries waiting for Trump to arrive at Ben Gurion Airport. You may remember — it was last week, after all — the photos of Trump and Company being welcomed on the tarmac at Riyadh. The welcoming party was a very limited group of people: all of them males, all of them Muslims, all of them Sunnis, all of them Arabs, all of them very rich indeed, and many of them, unsurprisingly, members of the very same family. There was one odd man out, an odd man out precisely because, you see, she wasn’t a man but a woman, a foreign photographer, snapping away both for ephemeral posts and for posterity.
The rest of the visit offered the same narrow range of dramatis personae. The audience for Trump’s speech consisted only of Muslims, that is, of Sunni Muslims, and almost entirely of male Sunni Muslims, that is, of male Sunni Muslims who were either despots themselves, or representatives of despots. I did make out one, possibly two, females in the audience — either despots themselves, or representatives of a despot. To sum that audience up: no females (unless the head of a Muslim state, or his deputy), no Christians, no Jews, no Hindus, no Shi’a, no atheists, no democrats (in the Periclean not Clintonian sense).
Then there was the Ardah Sword Dance outside the Murabba Palace. Small Wilbur Ross, tall Rex Tillerson, and very briefly, Trump himself, all tried their hand at the ceremonial ardah dance, traditionally performed before battle, a symbolic celebration of male martial prowess, but now performed on all sorts of occasions. (“Available for weddings, but not yet bar mitzvahs,” as a future skit on Saturday Night Live will have it). They linked arms with their Saudi hosts, and briefly moved their swords out toward the floor, then up, at a 90-degree angle to the floor, and again, all the while swaying slightly. Their Saudi hosts, including King Salman, were bemused. As at the airport, the Americans found themselves in a sea of Sunni Muslim males, many of them members of the ruling family, the Al-Saud. But what else would one expect in a country named after the Wahhabi founding family, “Saudi” Arabia? And in any case, the Dance of the Sword isn’t what frightens us about the Saudis and their coreligionists — it’s the Verse of the Sword. As for the American guests and their eager-to-please hosts — all that glitters in the kingdom, it turns out, is gold, and a good and lavish and over-the-top time was had by all. After all, the Saudis have only one request to make of the Americans right now. All the Saudis want is for the Americans to keep those Rafidite dogs in Tehran on a short leash. Even the real “solution” to the permanent problem of Israel — not its size, but its existence — the Saudis are now willing to postpone for a later date, an attitude that President Trump and others have misinterpreted as a Sunni Arab “readiness for peace.” And what will the United States get in return for dealing with Iran? Well, spending hundreds of billions on arms from the Americans is the best way the Saudis have to show their appreciation, and they’ve already started to spend.
I was prompted to muse on these matters when I saw the photographs of those awaiting Trump at the tarmac in Tel Aviv and compared them with what had just happened in Saudi Arabia. The Israeli soldiers at the airport included machine-gun-toting girls. This was Israel, after all, where, since 1949, military service has been mandatory for both sexes. Meanwhile, in Saudi Arabia, women cannot drive, and cannot travel abroad, and are not supposed to even leave the house alone, without a male relative’s permission. And even the time spent by a woman with male fellow workers is deliberately limited. The religious police, the mutawwa, are everywhere present to insure that the Shari’a is observed.
One photograph, the one above, taken at Ben Gurion Airport, particularly struck me. It was taken from behind a group of seated dignitaries, with their varied head coverings. I saw a bearded, orthodox Jew, whose face was caught in profile. Then there was a high Catholic prelate — a bishop, to judge by his red skull cap, or zucchetto. Several Greek Orthodox priests, with their distinctive dress — perhaps one of them was Russian Orthodox. A Druze, with his white cylindrical cap, though no Druze women with tantours in evidence. And then others whom I could not identify from behind — Protestants perhaps, of varied denominations, Orthodox or secular Jews, Christian or Muslim Arabs almost certainly. For despite all the BDS talk of Israel as an “apartheid state,” Muslim and Christian Arabs are everywhere in Israeli political life. A dozen of them are members of the Knesset; they serve on the Supreme Court (one of them, Salim Joubran, has lifetime tenure); they serve in the Israeli foreign service, and two of them are presently ambassadors, with many more at the consular levels. Others serve as judges at the local level. There are Muslim and Christian Arabs in the Knesset. There are Christian and Muslim Arabs serving, as volunteers (for unlike Jews they are exempt from mandatory service) in the Israeli military. Of particular note and value are the nearly 2,000 Bedouin in the Israeli army, famous for their skills as desert trackers.
That’s what Israel has to offer. It does not have a Dance of the Sword. Nor a Verse of the Sword. It does have the Hatikvah. It does have compete equality of the sexes. Israel cannot spend hundreds of billions of dollars on American arms, but Israelis have proven invaluable in helping in the development of some of the most advanced American weapons, including the Arrow missile system, the F-35 “Adir” stealth fighter plane, and the Tactical High Energy Laser (Nautilus). One wonders if, in the vast Saudi arms arsenal, there is even a single item that the Saudis themselves managed to produce. And as for intelligence sharing, in the Middle East it is the United States that depends on Israel, more than Israel on the United States, for no other country has the intelligence-gathering abilities in the Middle East equal to those of the Israelis.
The photograph of Sunni Muslim males, dripping with gold chains, who owe their fabulous wealth not to hard work, nor inventive talent, nor entrepreneurial flair, but only to an accident of geology, and who greeted Trump’s plane in Riyadh, tell one story. The airport welcome by Jews, Christians, Muslims, Druze, both men and women, who met Trump’s plane in Tel Aviv, tell quite another.
That’s what that photograph, the one which I put at the beginning of this piece, the one taken at the tarmac at Tel Aviv, prompted me to think about. I thought I’d share those thoughts with you.
Michael says
I cannot get over Trump giving billions in defence spending to one of the most barbaric countries on earth .they behead over 100 people per year .Isis/Saudi Arabia .Is there much difference?
Jim says
They are paying us billions; we are not giving them billions.
jewdog says
Trump focused too much on terrorism, something the Saudis oppose only if it’s directed at their rule, and not enough on the thing that most threatens America: The divisions of a weak region with its risks of nuclear war and a clash between meddling outside powers sucked into its vortex. Terrorism is just a symptom of the primitive us versus them mentality of Islam with its intolerance and belligerence that has ripped the region apart and retarded its civilization. It’s time to call that out.
Steve Klein says
Thank you Hugh. Shared widely.
somehistory says
A photo chosen to illustrate a news story says a lot, too. In the story from msn/usnews, a moslum woman is shown lighting a candle at a *vigil* for the victims as the threat level is raised to critical…meaning an attack is imminent.
A moslum woman in this case is beyond bad taste.
http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/the-latest-britain-raises-terror-level-after-concert-attack
Gen Jones says
The main stream media always needs to find “the good Muslim” in the aftermath of a terrorist attack. The three fold benefit is they signal their virtue and the virtue of Muslims and reassure the kaffir that there’s nothing to fear.
Terry says
A top Israeli official was asked about the $100 billion arms sale to the Saudis. He thinks it is great- gives the Saudis the ability to fight the Iranians.
Israel and the Gulf states are ( more or less–more so than at virtually any time in the past) forging sort of alliances for their mutual benefit.
More than Obama was able to do, or George W for that matter, in their 8 years apiece.
But that still will not satisfy the lefties. Or even some of the posters here- who will find something to criticize. (IE. When Pres. & Mrs. trump arrived in SA, posters here- she wore black not white; did not wear a cross; – like- -in my view- as immaterial as when Pres trump had ketchup with a steak- and was on the news. )
Steve Klein says
Mario:
Ayaan Ali Hirsi wrote: My mother didn’t want to move to Ethiopia, because Ethiopians were Christians: unbelievers. Saudi Arabia was God’s country, the homeland of the Prophet Muhammad. A truly Muslim country, it was resonant with Allah, the most suitable place to bring up children. My mother had learned Arabic in Aden; more important, she also imbibed a vision that Islam was purer, deeper, closer to God in the countries of the Arabian peninsula. Saudi Arabian law came straight from the Quran: it was the law of Allah. Inevitably, the life of our family, reunited in Saudi Arabia, would be predictable, certain, and good…..For now we were well and truly stuck. This was Saudi Arabia, where Islam originated, governed strictly according to the scriptures and example of the Prophet Muhammad. And by law, all women in Saudi Arabia must be in the care of a man.
“Infidel,” by Ayaan Ali Hirsi (p. 39).
salim says
Being pro Israel doesn’t necessarily mean being anti Islam. Remember Israel is NOT anti Islam.
Saudi Arabia is the heart of Islamic terrorism and backwardness, giving $350 billions worth of arms to that country is not going to help.
You guys look hard for microscopic signs that Trump is “good” or “going to be good”, by doing so you only fool yourselves. You should come to terms with the fact that Trump was a disappointment. I too supported him but not anymore.
Trump is just another corrupt politician; he is not going to make the change we expected from him.
Pong says
Even if President Trump will spend the rest of his term playing golf, his achievements are enormous. Obama’s policies in many respect were continuation of Carter stupid and dangerous views. The main contrast with Carter was the absence of criticism and opposition from the Democrats.
If HRC was in the WH, Saudi Arabia would be shopping for nuclear weapons now. Obama was pushing nuclear arms proliferation, Trump stopped it. If that isn’t a huge achievement and future legacy of his presidency, I don’t know what is.
Don’t forget, president cannot do everything himself and Trump has a big problem to find good people. 50 years ago, the scum was on a periphery, today they are majority.
salim says
… [ If HRC was in the WH, Saudi Arabia would be shopping for nuclear weapons now..]
Nuclear weapons do not scare me as much as $ 350 billion worth of conventional arms. Conventional arms CAN and WILL be used while nuclear weapons are mere theoretical threat.
Keys says
“The photograph of Sunni Muslim males, dripping with gold chains, who owe their fabulous wealth not to hard work, nor inventive talent, nor entrepreneurial flair, but only to an accident of geology, and who greeted Trump’s plane in Riyadh, tell one story.”
Well said, Hugh. I agree, but I am sure those fabuously wealthy Saudi Arabians do not see it as you and I do. They see it as Allah blessing them because they are faithful Muslim caretakers in the Prophet’s homeland. They are Allah’s chosen; the oil in Saudi Arabia was no accident.
Gen Jones says
Thank you Mr Fitzgerald for another perceptive take on the current events in our upside down world.
Kay says
Important observations. Thanks for the article.
Tom Davis says
Hugh, the prelate who is almost directly in line with the left side of the podium is probably from the Armenian Apostolic Church. Good eyes on all the others.
Tom Davis says
Not only are there Muslims in the Knesset, but a Druze was elected Speaker, and became acting President for a few days. That’s right, the Jewish state once had a Muslim President.
Mike says
Druze aren’t Muslim.
Terry says
Druze (almost all if not all) are Muslims. Many used to live in Syria; few are still there- and thsoe are often used for publicity by Assad. I think it was a month or so ago, there were some Druze Iin Syria) protesting bombings –of (as best I recall) ISIS- and the protest- they lived nearby.
I don’t know census figures, but my guess is probably more in Israel than Syria.
Peter Boardman (Peter the Hermit) says
Since Israel seems to have some input into the design of US armanents why not let the Muslim world aware of this? Future Jihadis might then be compromised and confused as to their weapons of choice!
Gen Jones says
In that case they shouldn’t be using mobile phones either which were developed at least in part at Motorola in Israel.
Terry says
Nor computers-Israel developed the Pentium chip for Intel. (And its descendants).
Lioness says
Muslims will happily use Israeli weapons if those fell into their hands.
MacUalraig says
Thank you for the fine article, Mr. Fitzgerald.
Aaron says
Rabbinical Judaism and Islam are just two strategies that satan has used to aim at the Cross. It creates a false dichotomy. Just because Rabbinical Judaism has certain things that make it seem more commendable to Islam doesn’t actually mean that is actually an avenue that leads to eternal life through the resurrection in the world to come.
dumbledoresarmy says
Muslims are trying to achieve Total World Domination and, flush with petrodollars and numbering 1.3 billion strong, they are making a massive push toward that end, with an ever-mounting death toll.
Rabbinic Jews just want to live at peace in their ancient homeland, tiny little eretz Israel.
That’s all that matters from a purely personal and practical point of view.
I see a lot of evil and/ or foolish people converting to Islam; pro-Islam propaganda *suffuses* our media and academy these days (probably propaganda bought by trillions of petrodollars). Islam *force-converts* people: lots of kidnapped, raped, brutalised, drugged, threatened and ‘converted’ Coptic Christian and Pakistani Christian (and also Hindu) girls and women.
Whereas rabbinic Jews make it *difficult* for people to convert, and do not go out trying to convert people, and – pace the deluded Jew-haters and their mad conspiracy theories – DO NOT have anything like the same resources with which the Muslims are *flooding* the world with pro-Islam propaganda, nonsense-and-lies.
Strikes me that your attempt to represent Judaism as being the same sort of thing as Islam is simply stupid, and false.
terry says
RIGHT ON.
Over a dozen years ago, there was a small, local (Miami, FL area) legal advertising paper. (Note, it only existed because the owner/publisher/editor was quite wealthy, and when he was a child, wanted to own a newspaper; he sold ,his business(es) and started the paper, then decided to retire).
Anyhow, they had a cartoon- and the cartoon was:
one one side a Muslim, in the middle a ‘representative” of the Useless nations, and on the other side, an Israeli.
The Useless Nations person, with a map of Israel open, asks, ” what do you want?” The Muslim answers- ” to kill all of the Jews”. Then he asks the Israeli- who replies ” to be left alone”.
Some things never chnage
Nicolas says
~all of them males, all of them Muslims, all of them Sunnis, all of them Arabs~ Not true! I see the scull cap of a bishop; two head covers of Orthodox clergy, one head cover for the Armenians, etc.
Kathy says
Nicolas, if you read the article again you will see that the photo Hugh Fitzgerald was referring to was not the photo at the beginning of the article (which was of the reception for President Trump at Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport), but rather the reception he received in Saudi Arabia!
Links to photos:
http://static.politico.com/dims4/default/4bae60a/2147483647/resize/1160x>/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fstatic.politico.com%2F99%2F1d%2Fbc1987114c6f9fafe20e0a74a8bf%2Flede-14.jpg
https://www.gannett-cdn.com/-mm-/44f911847e26bfdb11ee2aaff875ef96f96d48df/c=310-0-5162-3648&r=x483&c=640×480/local/-/media/2017/05/20/USATODAY/USATODAY/636308863754648121-AP-TRUMP-US-SAUDI-ARABIA-91050910.JPG
Timothy Zak says
Not only did Trump not address the human rights abuses of the Saudis, he didn’t address the elephant in the room: Their funding for radical organizations in western countries, including Canada.
Lee Stranahan also investigated the “counter radicalization” program discussed with Donald Trump. (Remember that glowing globe picture?). As it turns out, it is closely linked to the Muslim World League, a financier of terrorism:
http://thepopulist.us/2017/05/fox-meet-henhouse-saudi-terror-funder-extremists-muslim-world-league-teams-with-trump-to-combat-extremism/
Trump may have his reasons, but I have to concur with Stranahan: It looks like Trump didn’t realize it’s significance. This alliance with the Saudis will involve many people, forge connections, corruption and back channels.
Kathy says
Thanks for this link, Timothy. Makes for very disturbing viewing, let’s hope that Trump really is playing their own game against them and that he hasn’t just fallen right into their trap!
Terry says
Trump is being pragmatic. One thing at a time–Iran and the terrorists first. (And hopefully the two special elections and then the midterms will diminish the lefties in Congress) so more of Trumps’ agenda can be accomplished.
Terry says
That’s what Israel has to offer. It does not have a Dance of the Sword. Nor a Verse of the Sword. It does have the Hatikvah.
HATIKVAH IS NOT A DANCE. IT IS THE ISRAELI NATIONAL ANTHEM (as far as I know, was years ago, and I never heard that it was changed).
I THINK that you mean THE HORA- which is a dance. Often (usually) done to the words and/or tune of HAVAH NAGAEILAH. Back, (I think the Olympics that were held in China), an American Jewish lady from Boston won (either the gold or silver) to the words of Havah Nagaeilah.
There was a post, somewhere (not JW) from some Israeli soldiers stationed on the Golan heights- as to the pride that this woman chose a HEBREW MELODY TO DO HER GYMNASTICS. THE WINNING OF THE MEDALS BEING SECONDARY.
Terry says
Great post.