HATING THE JEWS, BUT WHO CARES?

Let us imagine that a prominent American evangelist held a prayer meeting at which he called upon God to kill his enemies and suggested that his followers might wish to help the Almighty achieve that objective. Not much time would elapse before he would be denounced in every newspaper and magazine and by everyone with access to a microphone and a TV camera. There could be serious legal implications, especially if he was taken at his word and people were killed.

So how come the world is silent following a July 11 prayer by the Mufti of Jerusalem and Palestine at the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem? Sheikh Ekrima Sabri (a Yasser Arafat appointee) prayed, "Oh Allah, destroy America, for she is ruled by Zionist Jews. ... Allah will paint the White House black. ... The Muslims say to Britain, to France and to all the infidel nations that Jerusalem is Arab. We shall not respect anyone else's wishes regarding her. The only relevant part is the Islamic nation, which will not allow infidel nations to interfere. ... The homes the Jews are building will become Arab property, with Allah's help. ..."

The Mufti went on to proclaim that "Allah shall take revenge on behalf of his prophet against the colonialist settlers who are the sons of monkeys and pigs, who sought to harm your sanctity."

The Mufti's prayer is being answered, if not by Allah, then by those who believe they are doing Allah's will. It is why the so-called "peace process" is a complete failure as far as Israel's peace and security are concerned. But that doesn't stop the West, particularly the United States, from continuing to push Israel toward political and actual suicide.

Since mid-June there have been 24 days of rioting in Hebron alone. Israel was pressured into ceding Hebron to the Palestinian authority under the misguided belief that the more land Israel gives up, the closer to peace it gets. Some peace. Palestinians have thrown more than 600 Molotov firebombs at Israeli troops and Jewish men, women and children. They also tossed several dozen acid bombs and 13 explosive devices, as well as directing live gunfire at Israelis. Not a peep from those who regularly criticize Israel for anything and everything.

Last Monday (July 21), the Israeli government issued a welcome and detailed 35-page report assessing Israeli and Palestinian compliance with the Hebron accord, signed last January.

The report notes complete Israeli compliance with the accord, from the beginning of troop redeployment, to the release of Palestinian women prisoners, the resumption of negotiations with the Palestinian Authority and an offer to resume final status talks.

According to the report, the PA has violated the fundamental security provisions of the Hebron accord. The Palestinian police, rather than containing disturbances, organized riots in Hebron in March and April and again in June and July, failing even to contain Palestinians who surged toward the Jewish quarter. The report discovered that, in many cases, the PA paid youths for taking part in riots and attacking Israeli soldiers. The PA has deployed 1,500 policemen in Hebron, nearly four times the 400 allowed, and it has armed them with weapons forbidden by the agreement.

The government report also notes that the PA has failed to fulfill any of its four obligations: amending the covenant that calls for the destruction of Israel, combating terror, reducing the size of its police force and restricting its governmental activity to areas under its control.

Still, pressure continues from the Clinton Administration and anti-Israeli forces inside the State Department under the totally misplaced faith that only what Israel does or doesn't do determines whether genuine peace is achieved. In these matters, more attention should be paid to the Mufti of Jerusalem and those who act on his prayers than to those in the West who seek to prey on Israel and the Jewish people's right to live safely and securely in their ancient homeland.

Cal Thomas is a columnist for the Los Angeles Times.