Paul Sheehan Dishes It Up

Here's celebrity chef Paul Sheehan's true-and-tried recipe for old-fashioned Arabophobic/ Islamophobic stew.*

It's so easy, anyone can do it! All you need do is chuck a teaspoon each of the following fresh ingredients into a large pot of bile water, stir vigorously, and bring to the boil:

Car-torchings - France, Muslim
Armed takeover of city - Iraq, Muslim
Attacks on churches - Iraq, Muslim
Car bomb - Lebanon, Muslim
Sunni Muslim fundies vs Shia Muslim fundies, Syria
Taliban resurgence - Afghanistan, Muslim
Violence - Egypt, Muslim
Armed militias - Libya, Muslim
Rebels - Central African Republic, Muslim
Hotel bombing - Somalia, Muslim
Nukes - Iran, Muslim
Missiles - Hezbollah, Muslim

Then add lashings of Israeli propaganda:

"'We have entered a new era of chaos, the Arab Spring has given way to the Muslim winter,' Israel's Economy Minister Naftali Bennett said during a recent visit to Sydney. 'The Arab world has never been more unstable. The Muslim winter is here to stay.' The facts support him. Israel is surrounded by repression, dysfunction, stagnation, medievalism and open war among Muslim populations."

And the latest in HOT Israeli chilis ('Actually, these HOT Israeli varieties have a decidedly aphrodisiac effect on me': Paul)

"Putting to one side [Bennett's] ardent Zionism, there are simply no politicians in Australia with a resume like his: former commando in the Israeli Defence Forces; still a major in the reserves; a law degree from Hebrew University; self-made multi-millionaire after founding two cyber security companies; the former chief of staff to Benjamin Netanyahu; the founder of The Jewish Home party that won 12 seats at the last election. He is aged just 41."

Bulk up the brew with bucketfuls of Israeli hysteria and hype, courtesy of The Jerusalem Post:

"'[I]nexplicably... we see... the surreal spectacle of the relentless advance of a grotesque two-state juggernaut of failed formulae and disproven dogma, undeterred by the death and destruction left strewn in its wake, edging ever-closer towards its inevitable destination of catastrophe and chaos...'" aka the 'peace process'.

"'Israel could soon be facing the daunting prospect of a vast radicalised Islamist expanse stretching from Iran westward, pressing on its eastern frontier. Whether that frontier is the Jordan Valley or the indefensible 'Auschwitz' pre-1967 lines is a matter of life or death for Israel and Israelis'."

Chuck in - why not? - a bomb explosion in Prague and a death sentence in Gaza - no, not the Israeli variety - it's all grist to the (propaganda) mill.

Blend the above until it smells just right - say, like a Palestinian refugee camp in the Gaza Strip after an Israeli phosphorus bomb or two have just been dropped on it, or maybe a Cronulla Beach pogrom.  

Finally, top with the following gormless question and apropos-of-absolutely-nothing statement: "What does all this mean? The peace process is a facade."

Serve across two (2) Herald opinion pages and top with humongous Michael Mucci** graphic of a swarthy, frowning face wrapped in Palestinian keffiyeh and an arm brandishing a Kalashnikov submachine gun mysteriously emerging from a cloud.

Enjoy, bogans!

[*Arab spring yields to Muslim winter, Sydney Morning Herald, 6/1/14; ** One of Michael's listed "passions," you'll be pleased to know, is "The promotion of Human Rights through the visual arts," michaelmucci.com]