Comment

Comment by Doc on August 9, 2017 at 9:07pm

If you want a more modern view from people living there, check out Corey Gil-Shuster's videos on YouTube.  He receives questions from viewers and takes those questions, one by one, to the streets, to ask real and random people.  Though it's not a scientific survey, it is enlightening in many ways.

Comment by Doc on August 9, 2017 at 9:05pm

Regarding peace between Israel and its neighbors, perhaps Golda Meir said it best:  "We will only have peace with the Arabs when they love their children more than they hate us."  She was Prime Minister of Israel.  (The U.S.A. still hasn't had a female president.)

Ayaan Hirsi Ali said the Koran forbids a Jewish state, because it forbids Jews and Christians be treated as equals.  [All others are infidels, of course, worthy of conversion or execution.]

These, and the warrior culture of two eyes for an eye, etc., among the Arabs, who value their pride and ego over life, to the point of murdering female relatives for presumed un-chaste behavior, have a lot to do with the Arab-Israeli Conflict.

And so does propaganda, like that which changed the name of this issue to the Israeli-Palestinian War.  We can thank Arafat for that.  His uncle, the former Mufti of Jerusalem, was very close with Hitler, though, so it isn't surprising.

Comment by Thomas Murray on August 8, 2017 at 1:39pm

   I've have had 6 doctors of Muslim faith and I will tell you that all of them have nothing but genuine interest in my health and often ask how my family is doing. Their bedside manner is far more personal and warm than the white American doctors.

Comment by Joan Denoo on August 8, 2017 at 1:21pm

Carl, thanks, I think! No! I don't think any of it makes sense! The explanations make it more chaotic.  

According to Chaos Theory, chaos generates heat, which makes actions. It seems the only actions they can come up with are violence, bombs, and bullets.  With violent Muslim on the march, there doesn't appear to be many prospects towards peace. 

What about the peaceful Muslim? Do they offer any hope?

The Muslims I know exhibits outstanding character qualities. They own businesses, serve their customers well, and their restaurants offer outstanding food. 

Comment by Joan Denoo on August 8, 2017 at 11:28am

Ian, Yes, religion kills progress in so many ways, and this dreadful one pulls in neighbors and the mighty powers that created Israel because of Israeli suffering, and their "promise" from god that they owned the land. 

Yes, and Islami countries have a way of persuading people to join them with their powerful use of sword and fable. 

Comment by Joan Denoo on August 8, 2017 at 11:18am

 Craigart14, thank you for the clear description of the Palestinian and the Israeli history. You would think that after repairing the damages and burying the dead of one war, they would begin to think of the price they paid for their efforts. After two or three wars, one would start to wonder if they like war more than peace. 

What would it take for the two enemies to listen to each other, begin to negotiate and compromise in the interest of peace?

Comment by Bertold Brautigan on August 8, 2017 at 10:03am

Atheists Denounce White House Bible Study At Taxpayer Expense

Progressive Secular Humanist

• … It can’t be considered proper or in keeping with American values for government officials to get together on taxpayer time to study a book that condones slavery and the subjugation of women and the eternal torture and torment of people who don’t believe like you. So even if it doesn’t violate the Constitution directly, it certainly violates that core principle of American government, the separation of state and church.

--Freedom from Religion attorney Andrew Seidel

Comment by The Flying Atheist on July 29, 2017 at 1:09am

Throwing this video out here as an addendum to the Middle East general topic.  Any resemblance of future stability in the entire region will come at a heavy cost.  Hard-line religion and tribalism are the driving factors locally.  Globally it's oil and nuclear weapons.  

Comment by Ian Mason on July 29, 2017 at 12:15am

I think there are two stumbling blocks to some sort of peace.

1) Religion. The 'god-squads' on both sides are never going to admit DNA and archaeological evidence as valid. That would weaken them.

2) The Islamic countries. They use Israel as a distraction from their own internal politics. Iran is an obvious example.

I have no idea what to do except try to chip away at the religious and nationalist monoliths in the hope that they will one day fall.

Comment by Craigart14 on July 28, 2017 at 11:02pm

Joan, you would have a hard time convincing Palestinians that the Israelis are their cousins.  You would have an equally hard time getting Israelis to admit that the ancient texts deeding their land to Abraham are fictions.  After the Romans conquered Israel in the early second century, the Jews were scattered, forced out of one nation after another, including England in 1390 and Spain in 1492.  After WWI, the Brits, having defeated the tottering Ottoman Empire, ruled Palestine until 1947, when they pulled out, which resulted in an invasion the very next day by the armies of five Islamic nations.  With British and American aid, the Israelis fought the Muslim armies to a standstill and the new nation of Israel was established.

Here's where things get sticky.  Between the two World Wars, a host of Turkish absentee landlords sold out to Jewish settlers.  In the Thirties, surrounding Muslim nations expelled their Jews, around 600,000 to 700,000 people.  Some settled in Israel, many emigrated to Britain, the US, Canada, etc.  Though the Israeli government urged Palestinians to stay, but Arab and Muslim leaders urged them to leave Israel temporarily while their armies conquered Israel.  Since they didn't win, 500,000 Palestinians found themselves stateless.  Though the Arab and Muslim nations promised to take care of their Muslim brothers and sisters, the Palestinians were placed in camps.  They have demanded the right of return for the past 80 years while their population has risen to more than two million.  The Israelis of course believe that Israel is theirs as a gift from God, to the extent that its first Prime Minister, David Ben-Gurion, urged archaeologists and anthropologist to "find the title deed to the land of Israel."  The Palestinians believe that Israel is their land by the right of occupation ever since the Jews were dispersed by the Romans.

There never was a nation called "Palestine," and there hadn't been a nation called "Israel" since about 160 CE.  What right had the Romans to displace the Jews?  Roman legions.  What gave the British and other European powers the right to give their land back and displace the Palestinians?  The military might that had just helped to defeat the Nazis.  Britain fulfilled the 1915 Balfour Declaration by establishing a Jewish homeland and, not incidentally getting a bunch of Jews out of the UK.

There's no end in sight.

• ‹ Previous
• 1
• 2
• 3
• …
• 143
• Next ›
• Page