Tariq A. Al-Maeena



After a month of fasting, all Muslims look forward to Eid which signifies the breaking of the fast.  It is a time to cheer and indulge in what was suppressed during the previous month. But this Eid is somewhat different. There is not much cheer among Saudis I talked to, and the reason behind such sobriety is Israel’s barbaric adventure into Gaza this past month.



Mona, a Saudi linguistic professor said:  “How can my family and I celebrate Eid with hoopla when we have witnessed the horrific events that have befallen the innocent in Gaza this past month?  How can we feel good about getting dressed into our fine clothes when women and children in Gaza have been murdered on live television by Israeli bombs?  How can we prepare Eid feasts like we did in the past when we know many civilians have been driven out of their homes after the Israelis demolished them?  Even though my children are too young to understand what is going on, they somehow sense that this Eid is different.”



Saeed who works in a public utility company added:  “In between my observing the rituals of Ramadan, I followed events transpiring in Gaza closely.  It is difficult to understand how many in the West were making excuses for the massacre of mothers, infants, and the elderly by the Israelis, by blaming it on rocket attacks. 



Show me one instance of massacre or carnage with loss of human life by these rockets!  It is a shame that much of the Western media is controlled by a strong and silent Zionist group and they will always project Israel as the victim.  But we know better.  And while my Eid this year will be spent in prayers for the fallen, the Israelis should clearly understand that the Saudi people know who our enemies are.  Israel is on top of a short list.”



Mustafa, a retired banker said:  “I witnessed how the Israeli forces were using state-of-the-art weaponry against these helpless people.  They cornered them and would send their planes to mow them down in cold blood.  The Israelis were blatant and vicious against the residents of Gaza, and particularly against women and children. They bombed schools, murdered children on the beaches and elsewhere, and yet the world watched and did nothing.

 

“The ratio of women and children among the dead is not accidental.  Some in the Israeli government have been reported to have advocated the strategy of killing them to break the back of the resistance.  It will not work.  This will make all of us stronger against their expansion and brutality.  My family will spend a subdued Eid in remembrance of all those victims of Israeli bloodshed.”



Hussein, an executive in a petro-chemical company said:  “The Israelis are masters of spin — meaning that they will explain all their murderous acts in a way that projects them as victims.  They have been raining a holocaust on the Palestinian people for more than sixty years and defying every international law in their killing and land-grabbing practices.  They deny them the basic needs, including medical aid for a decent living and expect a kiss on each cheek?  They round up Palestinians and lock them up for years without due process of law and expect a bouquet of roses in return?  They bomb houses into rubble and clear the ground for illegal settlements and expect Palestinian to be cheerleaders on the sidelines? They steal their farms and their means of a living and expect no resistance? They surround the lawful residents of the land by huge walls and barbed wire just as in concentration camps and expect goodwill?  Yes indeed, the children of Auschwitz and Dachau have learned their lessons well.  Just as Hitler was intent on exterminating them, they are using the same practices against the Palestinians. What is pathetic about it is that it is being done in broad daylight and on a global stage, while the audience remains muted.”



I am sure many more would be harboring similar sentiments after witnessing the bloody and brazen assault on the innocent of Gaza, and will be offering prayers for the dead among them.  It would be difficult to cheer much this Eid knowing that many families have lost their loved ones to Israeli terror.



— Tariq A. Al-Maeena can be reached at talmaeena@aol.com. Follow him on Twitter.com/@talmaeena