The Society of Hatred

"The Society of Hatred," the title of one of the six books written by the late Saad Jum'ah, former Prime Minister of Jordan for two terms in 1967 — who was of Kurdish origin — ... and Amal Mohyeddin Al-Kurdi wrote on 7-7-2018 about this book that it is considered an honest historical document by a Jordanian Prime Minister who was wounded by events, frustrated by the defeat, and lived through one conspiracy after another against the homeland and leadership, from friend before enemy (according to her article). So, according to what is stated in the book, in a society of hatred there remains of the meaning of the competition among people nothing but gossip and slander against the absent, hypocrisy, and the timidity of cowards!

One of the features of the society of hatred that the late "Saad Jum'ah" pointed to in his book is that in some of our Arab societies you can (criticize) an official and he remains in his position even if he is annoyed by the criticism; but if you want to remove him from his position, all you have to do is (praise him). Your praise of him, especially if it is accurate, is the closest way to secure what is necessary for the hands of his enemies and to raise suspicions about him!

He also said that there are two classes of officials: one relies primarily on false marketing to gain trust and praise, and this is a class that does not achieve results!. It has nothing qualifying it to remain in public office except by inflating the image, and another class is exactly the opposite, and is sometimes unable or unwilling to publicize its experience, but it always fears the onslaught of the enemies of success upon it!

As for revenge, if we understood its meaning and realized the meaning of faith, we would know that a Muslim fighting a Muslim is unbelief and that Arabs attacking Arabs is treachery, and that our internal destruction is the goal of the conspiracy...!

The late Saad Jum'ah adds in his book, which he wrote more than five decades ago, that as a society we need to confront the Party of Corruption, which has deployed all its energies to preserve its privileges and to smear the image of others, whom their achievements and integrity reveal. We also need to confront the Party of Hatred, which tries to assassinate everything beautiful in our lives and societies and insists on depriving us of celebrating success. I believe the two parties are "two faces" of the same "picture," and that the defeat of one of them will give us an opportunity to build a society free of grudges, corruption, and malice, which has become easy on our hearts and minds!

The English poet Keats says: "Love is continuity and purity... and hatred is death and wretchedness."

As for (our Palestinian society), despite the fact that the war of extermination being waged by the Israeli occupation army in the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, and other places in Palestine is ongoing — a destructive vendetta against all aspects of Palestinian life, human, tree, and stone, with starvation and siege — with participation, cooperation, arming, protection, and recruitment of all capacities from the United States of America, Britain, and Germany ... in addition to other regional and global powers, and in addition to shortcomings in some United Nations agencies operating (in contrast), there is supposed to be a cohesive, compassionate, integrated Palestinian society that rallies with sleeplessness and fever around the wounded body of the homeland. Yet we see a worm gnawing at our society in these difficult times, where verbal battles and waves of score-hunting, and gossip with a black tongue, rage among individuals and groups in Palestinian society — on social media platforms, in meetings, in writings, in press statements, in whispers... and insinuations... about public figures from among the people of Palestine who, by what God has given them of diligence, strength, and influence, defend their people through media platforms and international conferences. Some then launch a campaign reeking of hatred more than balanced evaluation, emitting a desire to silence the Palestinian voices that defend their people's causes faithfully and the injustice inflicted upon them. Among them are those who possess the command of speech and correct media appearance, enabling them to rise up and defend with all their might, harnessing their skills, talents, and knowledge to refute the narratives of the enemies of the Palestinian people... Yet each of these public figures has his own method, acquaintances, and intelligence to convey the message of the Palestinian people and the narrative of its just cause, which differs from one person to another. Every Palestinian feels that way, but it is not wise to systematically attack a personality among these figures and blacken their record in a programmed and successive manner, as if out of a deep-seated hatred, at a time when none of us has an all-white record to overshadow our black records..! It is a scourge..! This "system" may present itself, as can be smelled, as speaking the truth, but it wants falsehood behind that..!

Let us leave this wave that confuses, undermines, and diverts our compass — whose single direction is to drive out the occupation and achieve freedom — and let us remain as one rank, tending our wounds... and refrain from the traits of the society of hatred; enough has befallen and continues to befall this struggling people for more than a century.....!