The fate of hate

BY URIEL PALTI

When the 13-year-old boy got on his bike after school last Monday (12th October), he planned to go buy candy. He told his worried mother that he would be back in 15 minutes. But, five minutes later he was not home. He was brutally attacked and almost lost his life. He never expected to be stabbed 15 times. He never expected that he would finish his ride in intensive care. He – and most other people – never expected that his assailant would turn out to be a 13-year-old Palestinian.

Yet most of the attackers in the recent wave of terrorism in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and other Israeli cities were young Palestinians between the ages of 16 and 25. Yes, it is shocking that a 13-year-old could carry out a terrorist attack, but sadly it is not surprising to those acquainted with the degree of incitement to violence that these children are exposed to.

Earlier this month in Kuje, an Abuja suburb, a teenage female suicide bomber blew herself up near a police station. Sadly, the Nigerian public has grown all too accustomed to the tragic results of incitement of youth, in the hands of Boko Haram. In both situations, the youth is ideologically-inspired, fueled by hatred and supported by an environment that values violence over co-existence.

When Palestinians are involved in terrorism, many try to understand the motivation for attacks based on their own moral codes, experiences or mindset. Therefore they assume that the current wave of terrorism stems from the stalemate in the peace process or the situation at the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. These assumptions ignore the genuine cause of the terror attacks: a Palestinian society that deliberately nurtures a culture of hate and indoctrinates its young people in the dehumanization of Jews.

From the earliest age, Palestinian children are subjected to propaganda that promotes hatred and incites to violence. Young children watch TV shows with Disney-style characters and friendly-looking hosts that encourage them to kill all the Jews and become martyrs. Kindergarteners “graduate” in military uniforms, carry toy guns as they chant their support for violence.

School children in the West Bank study, according to an official Palestinian Authority (PA), curriculum that legitimises indiscriminate violence against Israelis. They play on sports teams and walk through squares named after terrorists. Children in Gaza attend summer camps and after-school programmes that teach them how to use weapons, attack IDF soldiers and kill Jews. They watch TV shows that honour convicted terrorists and follow social media outlets (including those belonging to PA and Fatah officials) containing videos, graphics, cartoons and texts that glorify violence against Jews.

Palestinian children are being raised in a pervasive culture of hate and fed a steady diet of lies. They are trained to believe that compromise is surrender, violence is the preferred path and martyrdom is the highest honor. In a recent interview on 16 September on the official Palestinian TV, Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas incited his people to violence, stating, “We welcome every drop of blood spilled in Jerusalem. This is pure blood, clean blood, blood on its way to Allah. With the help of Allah, every shaheed (martyr) will be in heaven, and every wounded will get his reward.”

Nigeria and the rest of the international community should unequivocally condemn any act of terrorism, whether in Abuja or in Jerusalem. Both Nigeria and Israel have a responsibility and a duty to act decisively when its citizens are under attack by extremists. Yet the harder task at hand is to address the incitement and indoctrination that create the strong ideological framework on which terrorism flourishes.

Palestinian children, as well as Nigerian children and all children around the world, deserve to be taught to strive for a better future. Their fate should not be held hostage by the culture of hate. For the violence to end and peace to be realized, and for Palestinian State to come into being, its leadership must educate to peace instead of promoting bloodshed.

Palti is the ambassador of Israel to Nigeria and permanent representative of Israel to ECOWAS