A Hamas official on Tuesday accused Israel of exporting to the Gaza Strip chewing gum laced with an aphrodisiac to “corrupt the young,” according to a report in Israeli daily, Ha’aretz.
As goofy as this claim is, and it was labeled “absurd” by an army source, it tells us something about the nature of all religiously coercive societies. When faced with a problem like drug sales, which are rampant in Gaza and which relgious culture should have done away with, the only way to deal with the problem is to blame outsiders. But this is not a Muslim thing, or a Jewish thing or a Christian thing.
Hamas’ claim is not the real issue. The ireal ssue is how religious fanatics find it impossible to let people take responsibility for their lives or take responsibility for their own. They legislate matters of conscience for others and substitute wild conspiracy theory for real personal accountability for the cultures they create. A sad and dangerous state of affairs wherever and whenever it happens.
Beliefnet
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Author, radio and TV talk show host, and President of CLAL-The National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership, Brad Hirschfield is the author of 
posted July 14, 2009 at 2:31 pm
In Singapore, of course, ALL chewing gum is banned.
posted July 15, 2009 at 7:50 am
I think the economic blocade of Gaza imposed by Israel is the very thing allowing Hamas to wash it hands off and come with such absurd comments and it has little to do with eny security concerns.
posted July 15, 2009 at 3:24 pm
Its good to see, that at the very least, some gum is getting through the embargo.
posted July 15, 2009 at 8:53 pm
There was a similar claim made in the US. A new company came out with a soft drink, initially distributed in the Bronx: but the leaders of black people claimed it was causing black people to become impotent. The black people believed it, stopped buying it, and the company went belly up.
Stupid people will always blame others.
posted July 16, 2009 at 9:37 pm
OK, and Israel would want to send aphrodisiacs to Gaza, so the Gaza residents can produce more babies? THAT would help Israel HOW?!?!!
Such an accusation doesn’t even make sense!
posted July 19, 2009 at 2:02 pm
This sounds like it is right out of the Democrat playbook. They accuse their opposition of doing what they themselves do.
posted June 4, 2010 at 10:29 pm
It seems to me the real issue here,is to find some bizarre anecdote, and use it as an excuse to paint every Gazan as both stupid and dangerous.
How does this observation help anyone?
I find observations such as this more dangerous than the obvious stupidity of a bit of the gum chewing public in Gaza.