An imam and a rabbi’s speech in England

The Jewish-Israeli exceptionalism is off the charts.

British imam Jamal Hussein gave a Friday sermon at a gathering of fellow Muslims at a mosque in England in the aftermath of the US-led and UK-supported NATO’s relentless bombing and subsequent occupation of Iraq in 2003.

Here are excerpts from his speech:

“Having gone through the most awful and horrific tragedy of the US-led and UK-supported NATO bombings, I’ve seen right around the world the incredible resilience represented by Muslims. Yes, in many places, there is a rise in Islamophobia, yes, we are enduring a lot of unpleasantness, but Alhamdulillah, we’re tough, we’re strong, we’re seeing larger numbers in mosques right around the world, the Muslim people are showing incredible strength at this very trying time no one more so than our incredible heroic fighters...

“When I was in Iraq, I was welcomed by all my family, and I particularly wanted to see my son Abdullah, who has been called up and he welcomed me to his army base. So Abdullah is part of quite a remarkable unit in the Iraqi army. I doubt that there’s any other army in the world which has a similar unit. It’s the Khalilullah, and what he and his fellow soldiers have been prepared for in their training is nothing quite like what they have been needed to deal with...such was the enormity of the trauma of the destruction of the West’s bombing in those months and years, and I met up with the members of that unit part of the Khalilullah dealing with such horrific details day after day and what incredible people they are, so strong fired with that mission, their sacred task for their people at this exceptionally difficult time so we can be exceptionally proud of our soldiers and may Allah bless the state of Iraq that our fighters will succeed in their mission to put an end to the threat to the state of their citizens and also to bring home every single one of our hostages held at Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo Bay, and countless CIA black sites.

“We have so much to be proud of. We can be proud of the state of Iraq, what it represents, and how it has continued to exist with its hands tied behind its back. We can be proud of… our valiant, heroic fighters. Tragically, over a million have now died in battle. We can be proud of our values. Which other army in the world puts its own soldiers at risk in its efforts to try to minimise casualties amongst innocent civilians? And indeed, it has been tragic that there have been so many innocent civilians in Iraq who have died and who have suffered.

“Every loss of innocent life is a tragedy, and we lament that fact, but we can be immensely proud of the way in which the Iraqi army has gone about its responsibility to defend the state and to bring the hostages from Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo Bay, and countless CIA black sites back home and regardless of what is happening around us, of what people might the saying or might not be saying, of which flags are flying or aren’t flying we know that what is right is what we subscribe to, that we are living an Islamic way of life and we can validate our feelings through knowing that what Iraq is doing is the most outstanding possible thing that a decent, responsible country can do for its citizens and its people.

“So therefore, in the midst of these dark times, Alhamdulillah, there are some silver linings, and may Allah bless us that this awful and tragic war will be over soon, but it needs to be over in a successful way if it’s not over in a successful way, we’re in trouble. It has to be over in a successful way, and that might mean that it could still take some time.”

This speech never happened. I just made it up. Or, more accurately, I modified it from a speech that did happen.

It has been adapted from a speech by Britain’s chief rabbi, Ephraim Mirvis.

Here’s Mirvis, the head of Jews in Britain, speaking to an audience (you can read the transcript below the video if you prefer the textual version):

“Having gone through the most awful and horrific tragedy of the 7th of October, and I’ve seen right around the world the incredible resilience as represented by the (incomprehensible). Yes, in many places, there is a rise in antisemitism, yes, we are enduring a lot of unpleasantness, but Baruch Hashem, we’re tough, we’re strong, we’re seeing larger numbers in Shoals right around the world, the Jewish people is [sic] showing incredible strength at this very trying time no one more so than our incredible heroic soldiers...

“When I was in Israel, I was welcomed by all my family, and I particularly wanted to see my son Danny, who has been called up and he welcomed me to his army base, so Danny is part of quite a remarkable unit in the Israeli army. I doubt that there’s any other army in the world which has a similar unit. It’s the Hevra Kadisha, and what he and his fellow soldiers have been prepared for in their training is nothing quite like what they have been needed to deal with...such was the enormity of the trauma of the destruction on that day, and I met up with the members of that unit part of the Hevra Kadhisha dealing with such horrific details day after day and what incredible people they are, so strong fired with that mission, their sacred task for their people at this exceptionally difficult time so we can be exceptionally proud of our soldiers and may Hashem bless the state of Israel that our soldiers will succeed in their mission to put an end to the threat to the state of their citizens and also to bring home every single one of our hostages.

“We have so much to be proud of. We can be proud of the state of Israel what it represents how it has continued to exist with its hands tied behind its back. We can be proud of… our valiant, heroic soldiers. Tragically, over 200 have now died in battle we can be proud of our values, which other army in the world puts its own soldiers at risk in its efforts to try to minimise casualties amongst innocent civilians, and indeed it has been tragic that their has been so many innocent civilians in Gaza who have died and who have suffered.

“Every loss of innocent life is a tragedy, and we lament that fact, but we can be immensely proud of the way in which the Israeli army has gone about its responsibility to defend the state and to bring the hostages back home and regardless of what is happening around us, of what people might be saying or might not be saying, of which flags are flying or aren’t flying we know that what is right is what we subscribe to, that we are living a Torahtory way of life and we can validate our feelings through knowing that what Israel is doing is the most outstanding possible thing that a decent, responsible country can do for its citizens and its people.

“So therefore, in the midst of these dark times, Baruch Hashem, there are some silver linings, and may Hashem bless us that this awful and tragic war will be over soon, but it needs to be over in a successful way if it’s not over in a successful way, we’re in trouble It has to be over in a successful way, and that might mean that it could still take some time.”

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That’s Ephraim Mirvis, the religious head of Jews in Britain, speaking to a religious gathering after a religious function at a synagogue.

His speech came the day Israel’s relentless bombing of Gaza marked three months. These bombings have killed over 23,000 civilians, and more than 8,000 others are reported missing, presumably lying dead under rubble.

The bombings have made Gaza uninhabitable for a human population, and that is by design. The Israeli ministers, including Prime Minister Netanyahu, have made amply clear time and time again that they intend to make Gaza uninhabitable and force the Palestinians out of their land to build settlements for Jews. The bombing and the accompanying genocidal rhetoric have led South Africa to seek an end to it at the International Court of Justice.

The head of Jews in Britain openly praises genocide by the military of a foreign country while being a citizen of Britain. That’s as clear an example of dual loyalty as you will ever get.

Britain’s chief rabbi calls the ongoing genocide the Torah way of life. He asks Jews to take pride in the genocide that a genocidal entity is committing in their name.

The leader of Jews in Britain calls the Israeli military’s genocidal maniacs — who are shooting grandmothers dead in front of their grandchildren, who are trashing the homes and shops of the families that have fled in terror, who are stealing money and jewellery from abandoned houses, who are running bulldozers over patients sheltering in front of hospitals and burying them alive, who are running bulldozers of over dead bodies, who are stripping innocent civilians, including children down to their underwear before holding them in detention and incessantly torturing them — “our valiant, heroic soldiers.”

The chief rabbi in Britain tells the Jews that they can be “immensely proud” of the genocidal maniacs who are stealing organs from dead bodies, who are stealing bodies from graves, who are blowing up buildings as birthday gifts to their children, who are blowing up buildings while dedicating them to their spouses, who are bombing ambulances full of patients, who are killing journalists by the hundreds, who are raiding hospitals and kidnapping doctors, who are destroying schools and universities, who are bombing churches and mosques.

The head of British Jewry calls Gaza’s destruction — which one UN official called “unprecedented” due to the “magnitude,” “severity,” and “the speed at which this is happening,” which has displaced 85 percent of Gaza’s residents, which has forced over 2 million people into “acute food insecurity,” which has killed UN workers at an unprecedented rate, which has received three times the firepower of the Hiroshima bombing — as Israel doing “the most outstanding possible thing.”

The head of Jews in Britain calls the industrial-scale slaughter of the innocents and the genocidal rhetoric from Jewish leaders — who have called for levelling of Gaza, who have called for 2.3 million people to be killed or forced to leave for other lands, who have called them “human animals” and stopped their access to food, water, and essential medicines, who have labelled all Gazans as culprits, including the nearly 1 million children trapped in the world’s largest concentration camp, who have called for the total destruction of a people with nowhere to run — as the “Torahtory way of life.”

That’s not some lunatic rambling in a drunken stupor with no one listening.

That’s not a rabid Zionist terrorist trying to rouse his fellow terrorists.

That’s not a Zionist political leader who has hijacked Judaism for his politics.

That’s not a Zionist leader speaking to a rabble of extremists to raise funds.

That’s not a man who can’t tell Judaism from Zionism.

That’s not a man who doesn’t know his Old Testament from the New Testament.

That’s a rabbi.

Not just any rabbi but the chief rabbi of all British Jews.

That’s the chief rabbi of British Jews speaking in his role as a rabbi to a congregation of Jews at a religious ceremony, not in a private gathering of his family members.

He is speaking at a religious ceremony — Melaveh Malkah on Motza’ei Shabbat — at a synagogue in England.

That’s the leader of British Jews speaking in public while being recorded.

With no fear. With no shame. With no remorse. With pride.

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Now imagine the reaction from not just Britain but all of the Western world if a British imam, a random imam, not even the representative of all Muslims of Britain, actually took even one sentence from the rabbi and tailored it for a Muslim audience, as I did in the first part of this article.

What would happen?

Can you imagine it?

A Jew said it. Not just one sentence but all of it.

Where is the hue and cry? Why isn’t he being reported to Prevent for his clear sympathies for terrorists and terrorism? Or arrested? Or censured? Or rebuked?

Are Jews above the law, morality, and even basic human decency?

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