IsraelNatlNews

Crude Attacks on Giuliani in the Arab Press

26 October 2001

In reaction to New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani rejecting a ten million dollar donation from Saudi Arabian prince al-Walid ibn Talal after the latter made reference to the “root cause”, US foreign policy, of the Septemer 11th terrorist attacks on New York, several Arab columnists expressed crude and venomous attacks on the mayor.

Inventing a quotation from Rudy Giuliani, the Saudi newspaper al-Riyadh, printed the following in an opinion column, “Giuliani said: ‘The Prince´s declarations are grievous and irresponsible; these Arabs have lost the right to dictate [to us what to do]. What we (America) must do is kill 6,000 innocent people.’” The author’s response to the invented quotation is even more revealing: “By Allah, I am amazed at your act, you Jew; everything Prince Al-Walid said was true.” That’s right, the author of the al-Riyadh editorial understood Giuliani’s refusal as proof positive that the NY mayor is a Jew. Not only a Jew, but also a homosexual, according to the editorial piece, “If democracy means a governor [sic] who is a homosexual in a city in which dance clubs, prostitution, homosexuality and stripping proliferate, the U.S. can keep its democracy.”

Echoing Saudi sentiments, the editor of the Palestinian Authority newspaper, al-Hayat al-Jadida, wrote, “New York mayor Rudolph Giuliani was obsessed by his hatred of Arabs even before the terrorist attacks on New York.” Another Saudi columnist expressed the opinion that Giuliani turned down Saudi money for American victims for the sake of narrow political capital, in the form of Jewish votes,” while the al-Hayat al-Jadida editorial claims that, “[h]e hides his first name, chosen for him by his Italian father, so as not to remind the Jewish voters of the infamous Rudolph Hitler [sic]. This is why he prefers to shorten it to Rudy.”

A Lebanese newspaper, al-Safir, points out the “…insults that the American government directed at Prince Al-Walid bin Talal. One by the Zionist New York mayor whose public feelings go far beyond what Israel demands of him, and another by the spokesman of the American State Department.” The Lebanese columnist considers the New York incident as indicative of the oft-mentioned American “arrogance.” The acceptance of Arab money, al-Safir chides, “expresses absolute and unconditional loyalty… it emphasizes submission to the ´master´ without the latter having to say thank you. The master is benevolent enough to accept the money .”

-- Anonymous, October 26, 2001