au1929 wrote: Fringe groups? How can you call almost all the nations and entities surrounding Israel fringe groups? Yes, they recognize Israel as an entity but not a legal one. And they are still bent on it's destruction.
Odd isn't it that both Jordan and Egypt have concluded peace treaties with Israel and have observed their terms rather scrupulously. That leaves only Syria - a large piece of whose territory Israel still occupies. Your assertion above is simply not true.
au1929 wrote: For those of you who have much to say about Israel maintaining it's Jewish character I would question why there has been not word one about the surrounding nations maintaining their Islamic character. In addition why when the plight of the almost a million Jews who have lived in the surrounding Moslem nations and had to flee or were expelled with no more than the shirts on their backs not one word was heard. All I hear about is the plight of the Palestinians. I should note that most of the Middle Eastern Jews are now Israeli's.
There has in fact been a good deal of reference to Islamist intolerance - though you choose to ignore it. It is simply an obvious fact that the cure for Islamist intolerance and theocracy is not Jewish intolerance and favoritism. The solution for injustice to European Jews cannot be built on a foundation of similar injustice inflicted on Palestinians who did not commit the horrors from which the European Jews were escaping. [/quote]
au1929 wrote: In closing one only needs look at the History of the Jews for at least the last thousand years and they should be able to understand why the maintenance and survival of Israel is so important to Jews worldwide.
While I can understand the concern of Jews worldwide, I also recognize that others have similar feelings about their own situations. The Palestinians who were driven out of or fled from their homes in fear in 1948 - and others of their culture - have similar concerns. One has only the experience of his own life, whether he is Jewish or Palestinian.
Further, I am not opposed to the survival of Israel with special provisions for the immigration of Jews. What I oppose is the oppression and exploitation of the prior inhabitants of Palestine by Israelis, often with the financial help of Jews worldwide. I oppose it both because it is unjust and because it quite obviously will not be effective in giving the people of Israel, Jew, Moslem or Christian the peace and security they seek. Indeed Israeli actions since 1967 have had the opposite effect.
Finally I recognize that the United States is being asked to unconditionally support the permanent protection of Israel from the consequences of the injuries it has inflicted on its neighbors. This is a foolish and dangerous policy -- foolish because it insulates the Israelis from the consequences of their own folly and injustice; and dangerous because it threatens our own vital interests.
au1929 wrote: I would also note that despite the event of the Holocaust anti-Semitism and all it's horrors is alive and well. In fact it is thriving.
I suppose this is yet another application of the general purpose escape device of many Zionists, who, absent any effective argument, blandly accuse anyone who takes exception with any part of their plans & policies of 'anti Semitism. This contemptible canard is drug out with depressing frequency by those who have no other defense.
