Article in PLO funded youth magazine depicts Islamic verse about killing Jews as Jewish source
Zayzafuna, a PA-funded youth magazine, published an article by Dr. Idris Muhammad Sakr Jaradat on the process of making straw baskets. The writer lists the raw materials needed – various plants that can be used to make baskets. Among the plants listed is the Gharqad tree. The writer presents the Hadith (sayings and practices attributed to Islam's Prophet Muhammad) associated with this tree as if it were from a Jewish source:
“The Jews – and the Samaritans in Nablus among them – are very interested in the Gharqad plant. It is a holy plant for them because, according to their belief and legends, it will protect Jews from Muslims at the End of Days: [‘The Jews will hide behind stones or trees, and the stones or trees will say:] O servant of Allah, O Muslim, there is a Jew behind me; come and kill him’ – all except the Gharqad tree, for it is the tree of the Jews.’”
The story of a stone or tree beckoning a Muslim to kill a Jew appears in numerous Islamic texts. One example is the following Hadith from the Sahih Muslim book of Hadith: “Abu Huraira reported Allah's Messenger (Peace be upon Him) as saying: ‘The last hour will not come until the Muslims fight the Jews and kill them until the Jews hide behind a stone or a tree, and the stone or a tree will say: “Muslim, or servant of Allah, there is a Jew behind me; come and kill him”; but the Gharqad tree will not say [this], for it is the tree of the Jews.’”
Zayzafuna is a PLO magazine for children funded by the PA. The magazine, which includes material written by both the magazine’s staff and child readers, represents the values of the educators and serves as a window into the minds of the Palestinian children submitting material to the magazine. PMW’s book Deception includes a chapter on Zayzafuna. Following PMW’s exposure of Hitler glorification in the February 2011 issue, UNESCO halted its funding of the magazine. View UNESCO’s statement and PMW's bulletin on the December 2011 issue of the magazine.
“The Jews – and the Samaritans in Nablus among them – are very interested in the Gharqad plant. It is a holy plant for them because, according to their belief and legends, it will protect Jews from Muslims at the End of Days: [‘The Jews will hide behind stones or trees, and the stones or trees will say:] O servant of Allah, O Muslim, there is a Jew behind me; come and kill him’ – all except the Gharqad tree, for it is the tree of the Jews.’”
The story of a stone or tree beckoning a Muslim to kill a Jew appears in numerous Islamic texts. One example is the following Hadith from the Sahih Muslim book of Hadith: “Abu Huraira reported Allah's Messenger (Peace be upon Him) as saying: ‘The last hour will not come until the Muslims fight the Jews and kill them until the Jews hide behind a stone or a tree, and the stone or a tree will say: “Muslim, or servant of Allah, there is a Jew behind me; come and kill him”; but the Gharqad tree will not say [this], for it is the tree of the Jews.’”
Zayzafuna is a PLO magazine for children funded by the PA. The magazine, which includes material written by both the magazine’s staff and child readers, represents the values of the educators and serves as a window into the minds of the Palestinian children submitting material to the magazine. PMW’s book Deception includes a chapter on Zayzafuna. Following PMW’s exposure of Hitler glorification in the February 2011 issue, UNESCO halted its funding of the magazine. View UNESCO’s statement and PMW's bulletin on the December 2011 issue of the magazine.