Selective Breeding

As Gaza burned, and the shattered bodies of men, women and children lay all around, you might remember Sydney Morning Herald columnist Paul Sheehan putting the boot in thus: "Women, living under sharia law*, are used primarily as breeding stock." (It's too easy to blame the Jews, 12/1/09. See my 13/1/09 post Oriana Fallaci Meets Israeli PR at the SMH) [*Needless to say, Gazans do not live under sharia law.]

I was reminded of Sheehan's smear when I read the recent comments of Israel's housing minister, Ariel Atias. Alarmed at what he called an "Arab [demographic] takeover" of the Galilee, Atias revealed that his "national mission" was to Judaise the area by bringing in ultra-Orthodox Jews (Haredim) whose "birth rate - estimated at 8 children per woman - is twice that of the Muslim population." (Israel calls on ultra-orthodox to 'save' Galilee, Jonathan Cook, antiwar.com, 6/7/09) And again, when I read the reference, in yesterday's Australian, to "cases of Haredi being accused of neglecting children, including an incident in which a large family forgot one of their children when they boarded a plane." (Clashes reveal Israel identity crisis, John Lyons)

Now could you ever imagine Sheehan writing: 'Women, living under halachic law, are used primarily as breeding stock'? Silly question.

Not that Sheehan would have the faintest about either sharia or halachic law. I mean, here's a guy who confuses the hijab with the chador: "Bankstown, the heart of Keating's electorate, now has one of Australia's largest concentrations of non-English speaking background (NESB) immigrants. Bankstown Plaza is filled with East Asians, Muslims and Pacific Islanders. The chadore [sic], headcover for Muslim women, is common at Bankstown Square." (Among the Barbarians: The Dividing of Australia, 1998, p 97)

That must be Bankstown Square, Tehran. Hilarious.