Better Jew than Umno

YOURSAY 'Hadi is right, we should cooperate with the Jews. In fact, we should cooperate with all races, except with Umno.'

Hadi: PAS prepared to work with Jews, not Zionists

Imraz Ikhbal: There are many peace-loving Jews all around the world who condemn Zionism outright, and many even wish to disassociate themselves from Israel because of that.

Jews are not the enemies. They are our brethren. It is Zionism the ideology that is Satanic, and it is responsible for the bloodthirst of the Zionists.

I salute PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang for his statement as this has also been my stand all along.

WeCANLive: I totally agree with PAS. Zionists are extremists, while the Jews are people of the Middle East. Abdul Hadi is getting wiser and bolder everyday. I see this as real reformation.

Matsalleh1: I agree that one should try to distinguish between the Jewish people (and by the way, there are many anti-Zionists among them) and the hateful racist ideology of Zionism.

Who can deny the tremendous gifts people of Jewish race have brought to us all?

In the arts (think music: violinist Yehudi Menuhin, conductor Leonard Bernstein), philosophy and science (think philosopher Averroes, scientist Albert Einstein), etc. The human family would be poorer without this very gifted people.

But Israel, this hyper-aggressive, militarised occupying power, is a calamity that is dragging down the reputation of Jews everywhere - and the more intelligent know it.

I strongly believe in ‘BDS' - boycott, divestment, sanctions - against the Israeli state. But it is quite hard to get Malaysians to act on BDS as opposed to making strong statements.

Also, the Malay mindset is so distorted by official Islamic propaganda that really, frankly, with regret, I would say that the Israel/Palestine tragedy is secondary to sorting out the Malay mind at home, to become less fearful and more open to other Malaysians and to building a future together.

That is the more important challenge than fretting about Israel. Right now, Islam in Malaysia has not very much to do with the Prophet Mohammed, and a great deal to do with keeping Umno in power.

Armageddon: Hadi is right, we should cooperate with the Jews. In fact, we should cooperate with all races, except with Umno.

Anonymous: Hadi's comments show only too clearly why some people with no love whatsoever for BN are still cautious about voting for Pakatan Rakyat, especially the non-Malays in areas where the Pakatan candidate is PAS.

Hadi's comments aren't in themselves problematic. Most Malaysians have some sympathy for the Palestinians, and even those who don't can understand why one might oppose Zionism - and indeed Hadi's comments that Jewish does not equal Zionist are to be welcomed and is something on which even the most ardent pro-Israel supporter would find hard to disagree with.

The problem is in the delivery. Somehow Hadi managed to make a reasonable and moderate enough point come across as absolutely loathsome and racist.

If PAS really is to be for everyone, as it claims, then it really needs to get control over its public relations and get some proper speech writers.

PAS has come some way in moderating its policies and embracing the Pakatan platform, but it still sounds ‘same old, same old'.

Blind Freddo: Get real PAS. You are supposed to be striving to govern a 21st century multicultural country. Get over your 1,400-year old irrational obsessions and start thinking for yourselves.

Maybe Hadi could explain to us how he would determine a Zionist from a Jew, or from any other sort of person for that matter.

ONG: Blind Freddo, you asked, "How do you tell a Zionist from a Jew?"

‘How do you tell a Ketuanan Melayu bumiputera from a Malay?' and you should get the answer to your question.

OrangKlang: Blind Freddo, I kindly suggest that you get updated on your world history.

Not all Jews, even in the land they call Israel, support the actions of the Zionist government in place.

Differentiating Jews from the Zionists is akin to differentiating responsible Malaysians from Malaysians who support a corrupt government, their actions reveal who they truly are.

Pakman: If cooperation with the Jews in commerce or other technical aspects are beneficial to both parties, why not.

The Jews in Apco has been hired by the PM to boost his image and the PDRM (Royal Malaysian Police) has engaged Jews to upgrade its efficiency toward better technology in police work.

Jews and Zionism are two separate matters. Only Umno cannot differentiate between these two.  - Malaysiakini