About Eeyore

Canadian artist and counter-jihad and freedom of speech activist as well as devout Schrödinger's catholic

10 Replies to “Israeli expert on Middle East and Islam, speaks to Knesset”

  1. I hope one of the site’s language experts can correct me if I am mistaken.
    Shalom is from the word SH-L-M, which indicates completion.
    Salaam from S-L-M, which indicates submission.
    Those are two paths to what English-speakers call “peace.”

  2. Peace, Safe Space, No Offence.
    Past, Future, Present Tense
    Prophet Man
    Five Year Plan
    Fake I Am
    Submitting Slaves Silence Sense.

  3. Dr. Mordechai Kedar is a senior lecturer in the Department of Arabic at Bar-Ilan University. He served in IDF Military Intelligence for 25 years, specializing in Arab political discourse, Arab mass media, Islamic groups and the Syrian domestic arena. Thoroughly familiar with Arab media in real time, he is frequently interviewed on the various news programs in Israel.”

    I’ve posted Dr. Kedar’s articles here several times. A foremost Arabist, he stresses the fact that Arabs say one thing in Arabic and something entirely different for foreign consumption. Translations are sanitized or worthless.

    Arabs are acutely attuned to nuance. It’s crucial to understand the language, the cultural allusions, and the psychology of the intended audience. The Trump administration is smart to appreciate the expertise of people like Dr. Kedar.

  4. Kedar has two wondetful interviews on Aljazeera, both available on youtube with English subtitles. It took them 9 years to invite him back after the first one.

      • Certainly!

        First interview from 9 years ago:
        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VHpMhAzj-Tk

        Recent interview:
        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N3qTnSdmeNU

        There’s also an interview with the host of the first interview, in which you can see just how much it upset him:
        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4e6M9ZtFK7k

        It’s particularly interesting because Kedar talks to the Arabs like an Arab, not like a westerner who is translating his words into Arabic. He understands that the interview is a zero-sum honor-shame arena, and comes prepared to act the role. If you watch several videos in succession, you see him hammer the same points home.

        The host’s reaction at 4:32-4:35 in the second interview is particularly telling, when Kedar tells him that Judaism is just as valid a religion as Islam. You can see him thinking “Oh God, I had to get an uppity one…”