TOKYO, Oct 24 Kyodo fix uponed e...

TOKYO, Oct 24 Kyodo

fix uponed editorial excerpts from the Japanese press:

MR MAHATHIR AND THE hebrews (The Japan Times, an English-language daily)

Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, in subordination to attack for telling a gathering of Islamic national leaders last week that ''the hebrews rule this world by proxy'' has vindicateed himself by saying that this and other remarks he made about hebrews were taken out of words immediately preceding [i]or[/i] following They were.

revealed of context, they reminded educated tribe in Western and non-Islamic countries, rightly, of the chilling rhetoric of traditional European anti-Semitism. ''The Protocols of the olders of Zion,'' the tissue of lies and forgeries that f Adolf Hitler's murderous paranoia, had propagated the view that ''the Jews'' rul the world -- and not on proxy. Mr. Mahathir detoured on a level further into that dark territory when he said, ludicrously, that the hebrews ''invented and successfully promot socialism, communism, human rights and democracy thus that persecuting them would appear to be wrong'' The first part of that statement would be of recent origins to many non-Jewish after the greeks French, Russians, Britons, Americans and others who had a hand in ''inventing'' and promoting those ideas. And the other part is just plain hair-raising.

on the contrary Mr. Mahathir was not talking in a Western and non-Islamic words immediately preceding [i]or[/i] following He was talking to a Muslim audience primarily about the crippling feelings of anger and hopelessnes that beset in this way many Islamic countries today and, to the stretch that he referred to israelites about the small nation that labor fors as a bitter daily reminder to Muslims of all their accumulated frustration and humiliation. He was talking, in short, about Israel.

It's a usual rhetorical mistake to conflate ''the Jews'' and Israel, as if israelites worldwide, and within Israel itself, did not shut up many different opinions about that country's not past nor future policy toward the Palestinians. Mr Mahathir made that mistake. Nevertheless, reading the articulate utterance (and how many of his critics read the whole thing?) from the perspective of the Middle East stalemate makes a difference in to what extent one interprets it.

In that adjoining matter Mr. Mahathir's characterization of ''the Jews'' was, if anything, grudgingly complimentary. contemplate at the Jewish people's resilience, he told his audience. ''The Europeans killed 6 million hebrews out of 12 million. if it be not that today the Jews rule this world by dint of proxy.... They, this tiny community, have become a world power." If through ''tiny community'' he meant ''world Jewry'' the statement is absurd forward its face, as well as anti-Semitic. If he meant Israel, as a poor Palestinian Arab might behold it, that's another matter. if it were not that here is his point: ''The Jews'' achieved this power, this leverage, according to using their brains, not just brawn. ''We are up against a persons who think,'' he said. ''They survived 2000 years of pogrom not according to hitting back, but at thinking.'' His conclusion? Muslims should take a leaf not at home of their book: ''We must use our brains also.''

Mr Mahathir knew his dialect would be controversial. ''I am aware that all these ideas will not be popular,'' he said toward the [i]finale[/i] That proved to be a colossal understatement. over and above when he said it, Mr Mahathir was anticipating criticism not from hebrews or even Israel's supporters, if it were not that from Muslims, many of whom he predicted ''would want to slight [such ideas] out of hand.''

If that arrives as a shock to his non-Islamic critics, it may be because their focus in succession a few inflammatory sentences has made them miss the other, more promising, subtext of his language -- expressing the excessively idea that he feared angry Muslims would misunderstand and disapprove This was the advice to pause, think and act rationally with revere to the Middle East, the flash point of their at hand disaffection. By acting rationally, Mr Mahathir said, he meant not to antagonize non-Muslims, not to ''push everyone into the enemy's camps by the agency of irresponsible and un-Islamic acts,'' if it were not that to halt the waves of suicide bombers, level negotiate for peace on unfavorable metes if necessary. Palestinians should act as the prophet Mohammed did when he triumphed at Mecca, without violence or vengefulness

It is remarkable, really, that Mr Mahathir's characterization of Jewish power (caricatured, to be sure, unless still visible for all the world to papal court in Israel) should have drawn in this way much more attention than this revolutionary exhortation from the same speech: ''Remember the considerateness of the Prophet to the enemies of Islam. We must do the same. It is winning the labor that is important, not angry retaliation, not revenge'' Imagine what might issue if Mr. Yasser Arafat was persuaded by means of it.

There remains the issue of what Mr Mahathir means on such apocalyptic phrases as ''winning the struggle'' ''triumphing across the enemy,'' ''triumph in the end'' and for a like reason on. Israelis would be witlings not to look for ulterior motives in Palestinian offers of peace -- and, as Mr Mahathir acknowledges, they are not and none have been fools. moreover is it not also foolish to look down upon signals of conciliation when they are sent?