A visiting Israeli professor named, rather appropriately, Professor Israeli has called for a “preventative policy” to be adopted by the government in a bid to stop what he sees as a two-pronged threat from Indonesia and Muslim immigrants who will otherwise swamp Australia.
The Australian Jewish News report:
In an interview with the AJN, Professor Israeli said radical Islam would not be defeated by a war of words.“You have to infiltrate all those circles where the Muslim radicals operate, to arrest them, and to limit immigration into western countries where these Muslims, who are bent on destroying western civilisation … to limit immigration, even students who apply to come from Islamic countries to the West,” he said.
“It serves no purpose when you have this home-grown terrorist, who has been preparing for years to blow up undergrounds in London, and all you do is lead a war of words. The war of words doesn’t help. There is a whole gamut of actions that are possible in order to check this threat of Islam.”
Citing France, where Muslims comprise about nine per cent of the population, as an example, Professor Israeli warned growing Muslim communities could change the political, economic, and cultural fabric of a country.
“You have to adopt some kind of preventative policy. In order not to get there, limit the immigration and therefore you keep them a marginal minority, which will be a nuisance, but cannot pose a threat to the demographic and security aspects of a country.”
However, The Age are reporting today that Professor Israeli says he was taken out of context or perhaps just misunderstood, and did not actually say that Muslim immigration should be capped. Oh, the ironies.
But Professor Israeli distanced himself from a report in yesterday’s Australian Jewish News that quoted him as saying Australia should cap Muslim immigration or risk being swamped by Indonesians.
Regardless, Professor Israeli is standing by his Ten Percent Tipping Point Theory which states that once Muslims reach ten percent of the population, all economic, social and demographic hell will break loose. Just like France, apparently.
In France, which has the highest proportion of Muslims in Europe at about 10 per cent, it was already too late, he said. There were regions even the police were scared to enter, and militant Muslims were changing the country’s political and cultural fabric, and demanding anti-Semitic and anti-Israel policies.
“French people say they are strangers in their own country. This is a point of no return. If you are on a collision course, what can you do? You can’t put them all in prison, and anyway they are not all violent. You can’t send them all back. You are really in trouble. It’s irreversible.”
Firstly, there is no dispute that the Muslims in France experience a number of social and economic difficulties. However, is this really the fault of their religion or culture, or are these difficulties more likely the result of the French economic system, particularly its rigid labour market policies? Policies which ensure that new entrants to the French economy — who are overwhelmingly North African Muslims — are excluded?
Given that other large Muslim communities, such as in the United States, do not seem to experience the same issues as the French suggests that the empirical cause of these problems is something other than their religion. Professor Israeli’s suggestions are not supported by the experience of other Muslim communities and it makes no sense to try and extrapolate the French experience into a general rule about Muslim immigration (and, implicitly, conversion).
UPDATE: To their credit, the Australia-Israel Jewish Affairs Council (AIJAC) have dumped Professor Israeli in response to his comments.
AIJAC is very concerned by Professor Israeli’s implication that the Muslim community as a whole is a threat or a danger,” the council’s executive director, Colin Rubenstein, said. “His comments are both unacceptable and unhelpful and AIJAC cannot be associated with them.
16 comments ↓
Israeli uses the Hillai defense.
I think that his “theory” for which he proffers only very limited evidence is his own prejudice.
The irony is of course that Jews living in the west have been subject to the same prejudices for a thousand years.
I don’t think we need to even discuss the merits of his assertion, as they are so easily refuted.
One wonders if there will be saturation 24 Hour coverage like the Hilali issue, I think not. One can say things about Muslims that one cannot say about any other group.
As a side note, the fact that he is professor of Islamic, middle eastern and chinese history all together suggests that there is not much academic depth in his department.
Australia already has some pretty strict immigration policies. And this guy is not even Australian. The majority of Muslims in Australia are fast becoming the 1st and 2nd generation Muslims.
And to think this guy is considered an “expert” on Islam is horrifying. How can barriers be broken when we have “experts” making stupid remarks like this?
I would expect this guy to be treated the same as anyone else that makes inflammatory speeches.
Tobias said:
The standard of scholarship on Islamic matters at Israeli-Jewish universities is, sadly, often (but not always) severely and detrimentally infected by what can only be described as a deranged hatred serving ideological ends. For example, Professor Moshe Sharon, an “expert” in Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem explains the theological reasons behind why Iran should not be given access to nuclear technology as follows:
It is amazing that this poor man can be a Professor of anything at a university. Well, maybe he is qualified to be a Professor of Anti-Islamic Propaganda, but a Professor of Islamic studies? Surely not. But there he is.
Salaams,
Israel can well adopt Professor Israeli’s remarks, and that way no wannabe settlers can settle on Palestinian land. As for Australia, let the immigrants go and the Aborgines reclaim what’s theirs. The fact that most Muslim immigrants are into skilled occupation has not entered the minds of either Professor Israeli. All credit goes to AIJAC for their objection to it. Professor Israeli should be aware from the terrible history of the Jewish community that if you participate in scapegoating minority groups, your turn may be next, because the right-wing fascists with whom he is aligning were slaughtering Jews earlier.
“French people say they are strangers in their own country.”
I doubt that, except he may have borrowed a line from the late fascist Orianna Fallaci.
There is a letter in today’s SMH from the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies which seems to be almost attempting to spin Professor Israeli’s comments.
Salaams,
In short, it is endorsing Professor Israeli’s remarks.
NSW: “On the other hand, the idea that Australia should exclude persons engaged in undermining the Australian way of life, and those who incite racial hatred (which contravenes the Australian ethos of a fair go for all)…”
You’re right that Australia should exclude racists and those who incite racial hatred. Professor Israeli, out you go! And what about the Prime-Minister who has made his entire career out of race politics? I am waiting for the brave NSW Jewish Board of Deputies’ verdict on that.
Is the “Shalom Institute” (or should that be “Fitnah Insitute”?), by sponsoring the Prof., a contributing agent to the “undermining the Australian way of life”?
Here is the Shalom Institute’s brochure for 2007 courses.
The description of Prof. Israeli’s course reads:
Martyrology? Was that made up on the fly?
Irfan Yusuf justifiably goes to town on Prof. Israeli (and David Knoll).
I have spent some time reading this guy’s stuff. Its all over the internet and is deliciously virulent.
Why on earth would we want to shut him up? This guy needs a megaphone, a blog and a budget.
Prof Israeli; you go girl!
So much flack being shown. He as been condemned (he shouldn’t be a Professor he is a Racist) etc etc.
Point is that he has claimed he was misreported in the Australian press (notoriously inaccurate in recent years) , let’s find out first of all what he really said before criticizing.
He made his clarifying remarks … and they were even more racist and xenophobic than his previous statements! So much for that.
E. Mariyani
You claim that “his clarifying remarks were even more racist and xenophobic than his previous statements!”
What were they? Words are cheap, let’s have some facts. I checked Israeli on the internet. My search failed to turn up anything by Israeli which was offensive. Those who claim the contrary, let me know what these links are.
Please read the comments on:
http://www.honestmediatoday.co.....emitic.htm
Adelaide Institute,
I have read the piece that you have linked to, it is an odious bit of anti-semtism. If you thought that you would find sympathy for your nasty anti-jewish views here then you are profoundly mistaken.
There is an immense difference between attacking the views of one individual and letting ones hate of an entire people spill over in statements such as:
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