Patchwork and Its Pitfalls

Dying as a Shahid: Martyrs in Islam examines the motives, religious and psychological, which make the so-called "suicide bomber" tick.What is usually so called, must rather be termed "Islamikaze," a combination of Islam and kamikaze, due to the phenomenological resemblance between the Japanese kamikaze who fought in the Pacific during World War II, and the present-day Muslim terrorists.In addition to the religious, social, and psychological underpinnings of the phenomenon of Shahid (martyr), there is a rich array of historical precedents that have fixated this sort of terrorism with self-immolation, dubbed "self-sacrifice," as a prominent feature of Islamic life.(About the Author)Raphael Israeli has taught Islamic, Chinese, and Middle Eastern history at Hebrew University in Jerusalem. A graduate of Hebrew University in history and Arabic literature, he earned a Ph.D. in Chinese and Islamic history from the University of California, Berkeley. Now retired, he has been a Fellow of the Harry Truman Research Institute at Hebrew University and the Jerusalem Center since the 1970s, and is the author of over 50 research books, a dozen edited books, and 100 scholarly articles about Islam. Born in Fes, Morocco, at fourteen, "I left my family when I could no longer bear the oppression of Jews in an Islamic country and moved to fledgling Israel. To this day, I consider that the wisest and most game-changing decision I took in my life."

For many years, Islam has behaved in total authoritarian domination over masses of populations, with a total disregard of basic human rights, based on the Sharia holy law of Empire and rule over its own Muslim subjects. Even more so over a multitude of Christian, Jewish, and other minorities, Islam has ignored Western developments since the American and French Revolutions, which little by little developed the liberal predominance of human rights. The prevailing rationale in Islam was, and has remained, that Allah's Law as expressed in His Holy edicts forever takes priority over any law that humans can produce. While similar beliefs were modified in other faiths and creeds, which resulted in Western philosophical thought due to the established separation of Church and state, Islam has never known such a separation, and has perpetuated the ancient traditional views, rationalizing that while human-made laws are ephemeral and transient, Allah's are immutable and eternal. Hence the severe laws on apostasy in Islam, which forbid Muslims the right to deny their faith under threat of death. Even the religions of Christianity and Judaism are under restriction in Islamdom. If their followers wish to convert, they are permitted to do so only to Islam, which is why the record of human rights in Islam is so poor. (About the Author) Raphael Israeli has taught Islamic, Chinese, and Middle Eastern history at Hebrew University in Jerusalem. A graduate of Hebrew University in history and Arabic literature, he earned a Ph.D.in Chinese and Islamic history from the University of California, Berkeley. Now retired, he has been a Fellow of the Harry Truman Research Institute at Hebrew University and the Jerusalem Center since the1970s. He is the author of over 80 books and 100 articles.

Inspired by the June 2020 demonstrations and riots in America and in other parts of the world, which were triggered by the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, this volume compares the upheaval of the Arab minority in Israel and its claims of "racism" and "discrimination" with the plight of the African Americans in the U.S.The history of Black Power and the Nation of Islam militant activism in America claims that the present conflict between Blacks and whites, which has existed for four centuries, cannot be quelled by human rights demonstrations (peaceful and violent), or legislative measures.Since the 1930s, leaders of Black Power have floated the idea of Black territoriality and sovereignty, self-rule, and independence from white rule as the only way to restore Black dignity and self-confidence.It has been suggested, following the failure of all other solutions after the end of the Civil War, to assign Blacks a section of American soil where they can constitute the largest Black population, and be allowed, with federal assistance and funding, to move freely into and out of this chosen territory, until a Black majority state within the Union affords them the opportunity to practice self-rule.(About the Author)Raphael Israeli has taught Islamic, Chinese, and Middle Eastern history at Hebrew University in Jerusalem. A graduate of Hebrew University in history and Arabic literature, he earned a Ph.D. in Chinese and Islamic history from the University of California, Berkeley. Now retired, he has been a Fellow of the Harry Truman Research Institute at Hebrew University and the Jerusalem Center since the 1970s, and is the author of over 60 research books, a dozen edited books, and 100 scholarly articles about Islam.

Noted scholar Raphael Israeli describes the surprising "normalization" process that occurred during the pandemic year 2020, in his latest book, Glittering Stars in a Dark Landscape: Early Auguries of the 2020 Arab "Normalization" with Israel.He explains how the 2020 explosion of the "normalization" between Israel and some Arab Gulf States was the fruit of a long process of Arab self-reckoning.Its fruition was crowned, thanks to the efforts of President Donald Trump and his Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, with counsel from presidential advisor Jared Kushner.The process marks a revolution, insofar as it not only reverses the negative position taken by some Arab States that refused to deal with Israel as long as the Palestinian issue is not resolved, but in view of the Gulf States' wealth and influence, this reversal will encourage others to follow in their footsteps.Great economic and political benefits will also accrue to Israel as a result.(About the Author)Raphael Israeli has taught Islamic, Chinese, and Middle Eastern history at Hebrew University in Jerusalem. A graduate of Hebrew University in history and Arabic literature, he earned a Ph.D. in Chinese and Islamic history from the University of California, Berkeley. Now retired, he has been a Fellow of the Harry Truman Research Institute at Hebrew University and the Jerusalem Center since the 1970s, and is the author of over 60 research books, a dozen edited books, and 100 scholarly articles about Islam.

The twenty percent Arab-Palestinian minority in Israel, which enjoys officially equal rights, refuses to recognize and accept the concept of a Jewish-Zionist state.Even though Israel is where Palestinians live, they strive to misuse Israeli democracy, allowing their representation of fifteen MK, or Members of Parliament, to subvert the legitimacy of the Israeli state and to totter it. This would allow them to create a bi-national Jewish-Arab country, where Arabs can veto anything Jewish or Zionist in its symbols or regime.But since the Jewish majority is adamant in maintaining the Jewish state, established more than seven decades ago, the Arabs who cannot reconcile their present situation will have to choose eventually between living in permanent friction and frustration, or restarting a new life in one of the surrounding 22 Arab or 57 Muslim countries where their likely adaptation would be much smoother and seamless.One major figurehead mentioned in the book is MK Ahmed Tibi, who despite being the darling of the liberal Israeli media, often adopts extremist anti-Israeli views and claims that Israel incites against his nation.(About the Author)Raphael Israeli has taught Islamic, Chinese, and Middle Eastern history at Hebrew University in Jerusalem. A graduate of Hebrew University in history and Arabic literature, he earned a Ph.D. in Chinese and Islamic history from the University of California, Berkeley. Now retired, he has been a Fellow of the Harry Truman Research Institute at Hebrew University and the Jerusalem Center since the 1970s, and is the author of over 60 research books, a dozen edited books, and 100 scholarly articles about Islam.

The long history of the dhimmi subordination of Christians and Jews to Islamic rule in the Middle East, North Africa, the Iberian Peninsula, and the Balkans produced a lengthy trail of persecution, oppression, population cleansing, and transfer.In the modern world, in the wake of more than a millennium of subjugation, a series of reactions by the suppressed peoples brought about either the removal of Muslim invaders, as in Iberia, the Balkans, and Palestine, or the exodus of the Christian and Jewish communities out of Islamdom.In North Africa and the Middle East, the rise of Zionism was the form that the Jewish rebellion took, causing the convergence of various Jewish dhimmi communities in Islamdom into Palestine, where they reconstituted their independence in their ancient Land of Israel.About the Author:Raphael Israeli has taught Islamic, Chinese, and Middle Eastern history at Hebrew University in Jerusalem. A graduate of Hebrew University in history and Arabic literature, he earned a Ph.D. in Chinese and Islamic history from the University of California, Berkeley. Now retired, he has been a Fellow of the Harry Truman Research Institute at Hebrew University and the Jerusalem Center since the 1970s. He is the author of over 80 books and 100 articles.

Patchwork and Its Pitfalls: The Cost of Half-Way Solutions describes decision makers’ patchwork actions that occur due to hesitation and lack of firmness and determination.Under the pretext of "humanitarianism," "saving lives," or taking an otherwise wimpy action, they end up taking a cowardly action at the cost of human lives and much material damage.The costliest action often turns out to be the cheapest, but is seldom done, while the easiest and apparently cheapest action ends up being the most expensive in the aggregate.This book is important, because indecisive decision makers can emerge in all nations at all times.The author’s inspiration for writing this book: "When I watch politicians who repeatedly take cowardly decisions out of ‘human considerations’ and concern for lives and material preservations, but in fact end up wasting both."(About the Author)Raphael Israeli has taught Islamic, Chinese, and Middle Eastern history at Hebrew University in Jerusalem. A graduate of Hebrew University in history and Arabic literature, he earned a Ph.D. in Chinese and Islamic history from the University of California, Berkeley. Now retired, he has been a Fellow of the Harry Truman Research Institute at Hebrew University and the Jerusalem Center since the 1970s, and is the author of over 60 research books, a dozen edited books, and 100 scholarly articles about Islam.