“Mother of the Decade” Dies

Yesterday, Mariam Farhat died in Gaza City after a long illness. Mark Steyn noted her passing with a quote from his book America Alone. Steyn was writing about Hamas’s victory in the 2006 election:

Among the incoming legislators was Mariam Farahat, a mother of three, elected in Gaza. She used to be a mother of six but three of her sons self-detonated on suicide missions against Israel. She’s a household name to Palestinians, known as Um Nidal – Mother of the Struggle – and, at the rate she’s getting through her kids, the Struggle’s all she’ll be Mother of. She’s famous for a Hamas recruitment video in which she shows her 17-year old son how to kill Israelis and then tells him not to come back.

Thousands attended her funeral, where she was hailed as a heroine:

Gaza Premier Ismail Haniyeh mourned the Khansa of Palestine in a speech he delivered at the Omari mosque in Gaza City center, and promised to follow her example in the way of struggle and resistance until the liberation of Palestine from the Israeli occupation.

Haniyeh reminded of Farhat’s sacrifices and legendary steadfastness and endurance. He said she was “a gift from heaven to the people of the earth” and described her as “an exceptional woman”. …

All her sons are members of the Hamas armed wing Al-Qassam Brigades, Haniya said. One of them, Commander Nidal, made the Qassam rockets which have reached Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. Her son Mohammed has carried out a martyrdom operation in Atzmona settlement and killed 9 soldiers.

Mrs. Farhat’s funeral was supervised by armed Hamas terrorists:

In noting Mrs. Farhat’s death, the Associated Press doesn’t sugarcoat her bloodthirstiness:

In a video that mother and son made together just before the attack, Farhat said: “I wish I had 100 boys like Mohammad. I’d sacrifice them for the sake of God.”

“When I see all the Jews in Palestine killed, that will be enough for me,” his mother said on camera. “I wish he will kill as many as he can, so they will be scared.” …

The video showed Mohammed holding hands with his mother, who prayed for him to become a “martyr,” the term Palestinians use for militants killed in attacks on Israelis. Armed with grenades and automatic rifles, he broke into a study hall, killing five seminary students before he was shot dead by a soldier.

The AP notes dispassionately Israel’s disapproval of such doings:

Israelis view such attacks as terrorism and are generally appalled by the way some Palestinians celebrate such militant attacks.

Hey, one woman’s mass murderer is another woman’s dutiful son.

In a closely related development, protesters in Bethlehem burned pictures of Barack Obama to protest his upcoming visit to Israel and the West Bank.

Scores of protesters gathered near Manger Square and threw shoes at a US diplomatic vehicle as it arrived at the scene in the context of preparations for Obama’s visit to the city later this week.

Remember how delighted liberals were when an Iraqi radical threw a shoe at President Bush? Now it is Obama who is the target of Arab shoes.

The protesters also trampled on Obama’s picture, chanting: “America is the head of the snake.” …

As one of the helicopters hovered over the compound, a woman standing near the area shouted: “Allahu Akbar! Obama is not welcome in Palestine. He is an Israeli agent.”

I think President Obama and his advisers really were foolish enough to think that his Islamic background and middle name, combined with a few pro-Muslim speeches like the one in Cairo and an apologetic interview on Al Arabiya television, would make a real difference in the Middle East. The Arabs just needed to see that America is finally being led by someone who understands them. Or something like that. One wonders: has Obama ever figured out how monumentally he misjudged the enemies of civilization? Based on his ongoing efforts to empower the Muslim Brotherhood, it appears that the answer is No.