Monty Python's Guide to the Muddled East

When I first got to Israel two years ago, I dropped by the news bureau of a British daily to seek advice from Harvey, who has been a friend since I first threw myself at his mercy in Tehran, at the start of Ayatollah Khomeini's revolution, when he was the wise Reuters Bureau Chief and I was on my first foreign assignment. Back then, Harvey helped me out (I had a little misunderstanding with the Revolutionary Guards who thought I was a C.I.A. spy), and so I sought his advice when I first came to Jerusalem.

“What books should I read on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict?” I asked, pen and notepad in hand, ready to jot down a dozen or so titles.

“None,” Harvey replied with finality.

“None?”

“All you have to do,” said Harvey, “Is see Monty Python's ‘Life of Brian'”.

I laughed. And, I took it for a joke --until I visited Gaza. There, I went to see a noted Palestinian, an academic who looked like he would become Hamas' foreign minister (it's really not much of a job unless you like crawling through Rafah's tunnels to escape from Gaza, which can be hell on a three-piece suit).

And what did I see on his desk? A DVD copy of “Life of Brian”.

Harvey was right. And it may explain Hamas' mastery of the situation in Gaza: it's reality imitating satire, only they cut out the laughs.

By Tim McGirk/Jerusalem