This articles was published in 2001.
Residents of illegal Jewish settlements are adding insult upon murder and injury to the bodies of the young Palestinian freedom fighters by wrapping the corpses in lard and pigskin before returning them for burial to their families.
The illegal Jewish settlements of Gush Katif, in Gaza, and Efrat, outside Bethlehem, claim practicing this disrespectful and unclean pre-burial rite. The Jews are hoping to discourage young men from retaliation of the occupation. The Deputy Minister for Internal Security, Gideon Ezra, suggested this plan of burial during a live interview on Israeli radio in August 2001, since which some settlers have taken notice and put into practice. In a second interview, Mr. Ezra called for the security forces to ‘liquidate’ the fathers of these young freedom fighters. He claims that the parents must know what their children are planning and this is a way to stop any retaliation.
Rabbi Shlomo Riskin of Efraat Kibbutz defended the practice of pigskin burials by saying “If burial in pigskin will deter suicide bombers then it is incumbent on us to do this. We should do anything to save Jewish life.”
Pigs, which are considered unclean in Islam & Judaism, are nonetheless being raised at one kibbutz and eaten by some secular Israelis. Muslim Palestinians declare that the bodies of the shaheed, (soldiers who die in holy war), are unaffected by any taint and their souls go to paradise. Sheikh Hassan Yousef of Hamas pronounced, “The keys to Heaven are not in the hands of Jewish settlers.”
* Saira W. Soufan is a Pakistani-American studied Biology and free lance social worker.
