Israeli paper praises Najib’s call for new dawn in Muslim-Jewish ties

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak met his Israeli counterpart, Benjamin Netanyahu (left), during the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Thursday. A Jewish newspaper has praised Najib’s call for better Muslim-Jewish ties. – Flickr pic, October 4, 2015.Israeli online newspaper The Times of Israel has praised Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak for calling for a new dawn in Muslim-Jewish relations during his speech at the United Nations general assembly in New York on Thursday.

In a report, the paper said although Najib was critical of Israel’s actions during a recent violence at the Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem, he had also called for improvements in Muslim-Jewish relations, which the paper said was a departure from the generally hostile tone taken by previous Malaysian prime ministers against Israel.

“Despite Razak’s criticism, it was notable for a Malaysian leader to speak positively about Judaism and to recognise Israel as a legitimate interlocutor. 

“Malaysia is a formally Muslim state and some of Razak’s predecessors were hostile to Israel and to Jews,” it said.

Najib quoted the Torah and Judaism in his speech, referring to the sage Hillel’s quote in calling for a new dawn in the Muslim-Jewish relationship.

“Given the Rosh Hashanah violations of Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem and aggression against its worshippers three weeks ago, I call on the Israeli government to live up to Judaism’s highest ethical principles, and the essential message of the Torah as succinctly expressed by the first century B.C. sage Hillel,” Najib said during the assembly.

The paper quoted Najib as saying: “When asked to describe the Torah in a soundbite, (Hillel) said: ‘That which is hateful to you, don’t do to your fellow human being.’

“This dictum, known universally in all religions as the Golden Rule, could herald the dawn of a much needed revised relationship between Muslims and Jews.”

The paper also said that Malaysians had protested in capital city Kuala Lumpur against Israel over the Al-Aqsa mosque violence.

Last Friday, a group of about 1,000 gathered for “Himpunan Hari Kemarahan” in front of the United States Embassy to protest against Israeli actions.

“Currently, Israel has forced its authority over Islam’s third holiest site – in defiance of the jurisdiction of King Abdullah of Jordan, the lawful custodian,” Najib was quoted as saying by The Times of Israel.

“It is, therefore, Israel’s duty to facilitate Muslims from around the world to visit. For this is an aspiration that all devout Muslims harbour and pray to be able to realise in their lifetime.” – October 4, 2015.