Religious Extremism

Not that readers of this blog weren't already aware of this, but here's yet another example of how religious extremism is as alive and kicking in Israel as it is anywhere else.

(Except for perhaps as much as it is in the U.S.? Afterall, close to a third of our electorate voted for Bush for religious reasons, didn't they? Puke.)

JERUSALEM (AFP) - Israel's extreme right has launched a nationwide campaign to have the jailed assassin of prime minister Yitzhak Rabin released on the 12th anniversary of the murder.

On November 4, 1995 Amir fired three bullets into Rabin's back at the end of a Tel Aviv peace rally in a bid to torpedo the Oslo autonomy accords with the Palestinians that had earnt the Israeli premier a Nobel peace prize.

"I saw Rabin go down (from the podium). I decided to shoot him dead, to neutralize him politically. I don't regret anything. God will look after me." Amir said in an extract broadcast by local media.

Yes, yes God will look after. You are afterall one of “the chosen people,” aren't you? Allah o Akbar! Oh, wait...wrong religion.

This isn't meant to be an attack on Jewish doctrine, but rather a reminder that ALL religions have the potential to divide people if read in a dogmatic and narrow-minded way. I nonetheless believe that they also have a tremendous potential to unite people in sharing the common message of love for god and his creation.