David Bukay
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David Bukay () is a Professor of Middle East Studies at the
University of Haifa The University of Haifa (, ) is a public research university located on Mount Carmel in Haifa, Israel. Founded in 1963 as a branch of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, the University of Haifa received full academic accreditation as an inde ...
. He is the author of ''Islamic Fundamentalism and the Arab Political Culture''. He specializes in the
Arab–Israeli conflict The Arab–Israeli conflict is a geopolitical phenomenon involving military conflicts and a variety of disputes between Israel and many Arab world, Arab countries. It is largely rooted in the historically supportive stance of the Arab League ...
; inter-Arab relations and the Palestinian question; international
terrorism Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of violence against non-combatants to achieve political or ideological aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violence during peacetime or in the context of war aga ...
and fundamental
Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...
; theoretical issues and political applications in the
Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...
;
Asad Asad (), sometimes written as Assad, is an Arabic male given name literally meaning "lion". It is used in nicknames such as ''Asad Allāh'', one of the by-names for Ali ibn Abi Talib. People Among prominent people named "Asad" or "Assad" a ...
's foreign policy towards
Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
and
Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...
; the culture approach to understanding the Middle-East.


Views

Bukay is a supporter of the controversial
Huntington Huntington may refer to: Places Canada * Huntington, Nova Scotia New Zealand * Huntington, New Zealand a suburb in Hamilton, New Zealand United Kingdom * Huntington, Cheshire, England * Huntington, East Lothian, Scotland * Huntingto ...
thesis of the
Clash of Civilisations The "Clash of Civilizations" is a thesis that people's cultural and religious identities will be the primary source of conflict in the post–Cold War world. The American political scientist Samuel P. Huntington argued that future wars would be ...
. He argues that there is a wide gap between what he categorises as "Western political culture" and "the Arab-Islamic political culture". Bukay also holds controversial opinions in his own right. In a speech to a conference in Jerusalem in 2003, he argued that "the aggressiveness and fanaticism of Islamic fundamentalism is an existentially lethal phenomenon". He went on to claim that "Islam and democracy are totally incompatible, and are mutually inconclusive. The same applies to Modernity, which is perceived as a threat to Islamic civilization", and that "Leaders and policy-makers in the West refuse to grasp that the Islamic and Palestinian terrorism embodies the SARS decease: Suicide and Ruin Syndrome of democratic society. Until it is understood that this struggle is the war between the Son of Light against the Sons of Darkness, that they represent the invasion of the Huns, in order to destroy modern culture—the world will continue to face an existential more growing threat".Bukay, David
"Cultural Fallacies in Understanding Islamic Fundamentalism and Palestinian Radicalism"
, First Jerusalem Summit, October 12–14, 2003.
In his book ''Arab-Islamic Political Culture'', Bukay writes: "This is a culture where rumors are an integral part of social activity, and they quickly become absolute truth that cannot be challenged. It has to do with exaggerations, flights of fancy, and especially, in a society that believes in conspiracies, a society wherein every date is important, that remembers everything and forgives nothing. This is a society wherein the lie is an essential component of behavior patterns, and lying is endorsed by religious sages".Bukay, David. , ''NATIV'', Vol. 1, 2003. According to an article in ''
Haaretz ''Haaretz'' (; originally ''Ḥadshot Haaretz'' – , , ) is an List of newspapers in Israel, Israeli newspaper. It was founded in 1918, making it the longest running newspaper currently in print in Israel. The paper is published in Hebrew lan ...
'', Bukay also wrote in the same book: "There is no condemnation, no regret, no problem of conscience among Arabs and Muslims, anywhere, in any social stratum, of any social position". The article further alleges that he distributed a document to his students stating that "when an Arab or a Muslim opens his remarks with the expression wallahi, he is apparently intending to lie".Rappaport, Meron
"In the name of truth"
, ''
Haaretz ''Haaretz'' (; originally ''Ḥadshot Haaretz'' – , , ) is an List of newspapers in Israel, Israeli newspaper. It was founded in 1918, making it the longest running newspaper currently in print in Israel. The paper is published in Hebrew lan ...
'', April 28, 2005.
Bukay held a presentation at the 2008 "Facing Jihad" conference in Jerusalem, a
counter-jihad Counter-jihad (also known as the counter-jihad movement) is a self-titled Islamophobia, anti-Muslim political movement loosely consisting of authors, bloggers, think tanks, demonstrators, and other activists across the Western world. Proponents are ...
summit hosted by MK
Aryeh Eldad Aryeh Eldad (; born 1 May 1950) is an Israeli physician, politician and former medical officer. Eldad is a professor of medicine, and was head of the plastic surgery and burns unit at the Hadassah Medical Center. He was a member of the Knesset ...
that included a screening of the film '' Fitna'' by
Geert Wilders Geert Wilders (born 6 September 1963) is a Dutch politician who has led the far-right Party for Freedom (PVV) since he founded it in 2006. He is also the party's leader in the House of Representatives. Wilders is best known for his right-wing p ...
. His 2016 book ''Islam and the Infidels: the Politics of Jihad, Da'wah, and Hijrah'' cites
Bat Ye'or Gisèle Littman (; born 1933), better known by her pen name Bat Ye'or (, ''Daughter of the Nile''), is an Egyptian-born, British-Swiss author and historian, known for her promulgation of the Eurabia conspiracy theory. She claims that Islam, and ...
's
Eurabia "Eurabia" (portmanteau of Europe and Arabia) is a far-right Islamophobic conspiracy theory that posits that globalist entities, led by French and Arab powers, aim to Islamize and Arabize Europe, thereby weakening its existing culture and u ...
thesis as "acclaimed research".


Criticism

The Arab Association for Human Rights alleged that in the 2004–2005 University of Haifa semester Bukay made a number of offensive and anti-Arab remarks in his lectures, including "we should shoot terrorists in the head in front of their families" as a deterrent and "destroy a whole house, with everyone in it,” in order to get rid of one wanted person, that "the Arabs are just alcohol and sex", and that "the Arabs are stupid and have contributed nothing to humanity." Cook, Jonathan
"On the Margins: Annual Review of Human Rights Violations of the Arab Palestinian Minority in Israel 2005"
, Arab Association for Human Rights, June 2005.
Bukay wrote a lengthy article rebutting the claims, insisting that the comments attributed to him had been fabricated.Bukay, David
"The Image of Evil: On the Hideous Slander of Arab Students, Anti-Zionist Jews and the Scoop-Chasing Media"
, ''NATIV'', Volume 8, October 2005.
The rector of the University conducted his own investigation and concluded that the alleged remarks "were not made in the way they were quoted and parts of sentences that were uttered in different contexts were yoked together by manipulation." The AAHR also took issue with a number of statements he made in an article titled "The First Cultural Flaw in Thought: The Arab Character"; the latter were also criticized by the Anti-Defamation League, which stated they "fall... into the trap of old and hurtful stereotypes, which express prejudices that are liable to be very destructive..."


Publications


Books

* ''Islam and the Infidels: the Politics of Jihad, Da'wah, and Hijrah''. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Publishers, 2016. * ''Total Terrorism in the Name of Allah: The Emergence of the New Islamic Fundamentalists''. Shaarei-Tikva: Ariel Center for Policy Research, 2002. * ''Arab-Islamic Political Culture''. Shaarei-Tikva: Center for Policy Research, 2003. * Ed.: ''Muhammad's Monsters: A Comprehensive Guide to Radical Islam for Western Audiences''. Green Forest, Ar.: Balfour Books, 2004. * ''Arafat, the Palestinian National Movement and Israel: The Politics of Masks and Paradox''. New York: Mellen Press, 2005. * ''From Muhammed to Bin Laden: Religious and Ideological Sources of the Homicide Bombers Phenomenon''. New Brunswick, New Jersey: Transaction Publishers, 2008.


Articles

* "Zionists, Post-Zionists and Pseudo-Zionists: The Media Leftist Complex and the al-Aqsa Intifadah", in: S. Sharan (ed.). ''Israel and the Post-Zionists''. Brighton: Sussex Academic Press, 2003. * "The New Islamic Anarchistic Groups", in: D. Bukay. ''Muhammad's Monsters''.


Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bukay, David Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Counter-jihad activists Israeli political scientists Academic staff of the University of Haifa