why does the world care about a patch of dirt that is hot,rocky and pretty much barren? seriously , who freaking cares.Its time Israel and "Palestine" stopped being Americas Foriegn policy priority. Its time we cut off aid to Egypt, Israel and Jordan...then we can let Israel take the gloves off. any dirty goat herders who ******** with them they can bomb the SOB's back to Torah times... * for those who say Israel needs aid.. Let the European and American jewish communites give as much aid as they want.. its time for the US govt. to quit subsidizing them*
I agree, and they ARE doing it. Sharon has rammed through his plan to evacuate all the Gaza settlers.
I'm trying to get my head around the idea that what the Middle East needs is more violence. Care to elaborate?
I think that's great, but haven't there been some signals that perhaps this is a move to scuttle any removal of the settlements from the West Bank? Or is that just rumor? I really don't know, I'd love to hear that it isn't true.
who are you going to punch the guy whos buddy is holding his arm back or the guy whos buddy isnt holding his arm back. The arabs attack because there is no real punishment.
Without suggesting that the IDF in general shows a lot more restraint and civilized behavior than suicide bombers do, I'm not so sure that the residents of recently-bulldozed homes in the West Bank would agree with you. Just for an example.
In a related development, Dan Rather and Mary Mapes are working on a blockbuster report for 60 minutes which outlines the secret conspiracy of jews documented in "The Protocols of the Elders of Zion." Rather said "It doesn't matter if the 'Protocols' are a forgery, we still know the story to be true. But our experts have authenticated the 'Protocols' faxed to us"
I hadn't heard that. Doesn't mean its not true, but I'm not sure how much sense it makes. I think even Sharon is starting to recognize that letting the Palestinians live in the occupied West Bank will lead to a true crisis around 2035 when Arabs outnumber Israelis, at which point they'll simply demand voting rights and one nation. Then, Israel would REALLY be hard pressed not to succumb to international pressure, and the idea of Israel would be destroyed within one day. I do not want Israel to become the next Lebanon with a careful and artificial government by disparate groups. Nor do I want Israel to end up like the Maronites.
They were already beaten to it by a Syrian television production company who unveiled their "documentary" over Ramadan, citing works by such intellectual luminaries as Herr Heinrich Ford.
I am curious, just how do you plan on retaining Israel as a sovereign state if you allow a right of return? Incidentally, why does everyone forget that after the intial Arab Israeli war a limited right of return was granted? Funny, I don't see a detailed discussion on Hebron either. Eh? The Arabs letting the Jews keep a tiny bit of sand in the middle east the size of Connecticut without killing them all. How generous. (And what will they do for land??)
What's going on? Are the mods going yellow card crazy or something? How come you got a yellow card? Did they take my advice and give verybdog carding privelege for a day?
Try cutting off those silly jewish curlylocks. That's why the Arabs are so implacable toward Israel, they figure that nobody who looks like that could be very tough.
It's a tough bind. I don't want to play into the hands of crude so-called "anti-Zionists," but I just wonder how feasible the idea of a Jewish state is anymore. Once the outside threats from hostile Arab states and the threat of terrorism is removed (a fella can dream), it will be interested to see how the most democratic and secular state in the Middle East copes with having an ethnic/religious identity. I'm not trying to be provacative or shifting the terms of debate. Just thinking out loud.
And there was that time Ehud Barak dressed up like a woman. Of course, he also killed 5 guys that day. We got tough women.
Its a very legitimate questions that I think too many in Israel don't want to ask. I've always said that the moment Israel found a vast reserve of oil in its territory and joined OPEC most hostility toward Jews would cease. I guess its too late to make Manhattan the new Israel officially. Ah well.
After the outside threat will be, one day, gone, the Israeli society will continue like any other. Israel's identity lies in not only being a home for the Jews, but also in being a vibrant diverse society in a region that is anything but. I think that Israelis tend to overdramatize the divisions in their country -- I think that the country is becoming more of a "normal" country with problems like crime and poverty and ethnic divisions... as opposed to the idealistic spirit of its early years... But I don't think these are existential issues.