Benjamin Netanyahu and Barack Obama have spent a great deal of energy trying to forestall any discussion of Israel's Jewish character and what that actually means. The Israelis want the feckless and illegitimate Palestinian Authority head, Mahmoud Abbas, to affirm Israel's "right to exist as the Jewish state." But that raises the question: Does Israel have a right to continue as a race-exclusive state?
Israel is the Jewish state for the Jewish people. It came to be through an act of ethnic cleansing -- creating the world's most protracted refugee crisis in the process. Today, the Jewish state is home to about 1.5 million non-Jews. To be a non-Jew in the Jewish state is to be a second-class citizen. The ideology that underpins the existence of the Jewish state -- Zionism -- is a racist doctrine.
Zionism is the belief that Jewish people ought to be privileged in Palestine/Israel solely because of their race. Moreover, non-Jewish indigenous people -- the Palestinians -- must be forced off the land so that it can be settled by Jews. That's what happened in 1948 and that's what's happening today in East Jerusalem and the West Bank. Many liberal Zionists don't like to acknowledge it, but the process that yielded the land west of the green line was just as wrong as anything the setters have done. Its scale was also several magnitudes larger.
I don't believe that militia that purged my people from their lands to create a racially pure Jewish state had a right to do so. I don't believe that the Jewish state has a right to exclude me from living as an equal citizen on the lands of my forefathers. I have a right to exist in Be'er Sheeva -- that's where my family is from. But, I am barred from doing so because I am not Jewish.
And that's really what all of this is about. I believe strongly that all people are equal, irrespective of race or religion. Israel was founded on just the opposite view. Most people agree that no state that takes racial supremacy as its foundational germ has a right to resist reform. So why is Israel the exception? Well, it's not.
It's astonishing that this is a controversial view in the 21st century. It's surely a feat of Zionist historicizing that otherwise intelligent and moral people in the West continuously affirm the "right of Israel to exist as the Jewish state." The racism inherent in this statement -- Jewish privilege exists through ethnic cleansing and apartheid -- is appalling. Yet, people uncritically affirm that "right."
Frankly, it is perverse and absurd to ask a brutalized people, a people who have been ethnically cleansed from their homes at the ends of European Zionist guns, to affirm the "right of the Jewish state to exist."
Barack Obama recently told the UN General Assembly that "Israel's existence should not be subject for debate." The American president should be reminded that as Leader of the Free World, his mandate ends with Palestine; the Palestinians are not free. Furthermore, as the principal enabler of Jewish Likudik policies, Obama is hardly a disinterested party to the conflict. He has a vested interest in a robust Israeli occupation. The Israel lobby threatens to derail his bid for reelection, and the lobby endorses Jewish privilege. That's how Obama ends up stumping for a racist state at the UN.
The existence of colonial entities is always subject for debate, and Obama should understand that. When he took the Oval office, he famously returned the bust of Winston Churchill to the British authorities. He was right to do so. Churchill was a rabid colonialist and was Prime Minister when Britain suppressed the Kenyan Mau Mau rebellion. Obama's grandfather was tortured by the colonial British authorities for resisting colonialism and fighting for his freedom.
The elder Obama had it right. Freedom is a human prerogative which propels people to resist overwhelming power, even in the face of torture. One wonders how the grandfather would react to see his grandson come down so forcefully on the side of racial oppression and colonialism.
It is time for the world to reject Zionism and Jewish privilege in Palestine/Israel. It is time for all the people in Palestine/Israel to live as equals. It worked in South Africa, and it has to work there.
I will never affirm the right of a Jewish person to purge my grandparents from their lands for being the wrong race. But I will work with that Jewish person's grandchild to create a non-racist, egalitarian future for all of us. What I'm talking about is the one-state solution, where all the people of Palestine/Israel live as equals under the law. Is that really so controversial?
Snark aside, the definition of Zionism is blatantly made up. Here are some definitions of Zionism. Merriam-Webster: an international movement originally for the establishment of a Jewish national or religious community in Palestine and later for the support of modern Israel. Oxford dictionary: a movement for (originally) the re-establishment and (now) the development and protection of a Jewish nation in what is now Israel. It was established as a political organization in 1897 under Theodor Herzl, and was later led by Chaim Weizmann.
I pray that someday soon the people in America will wake up and realize that the Middle East isnt worth the cost we pay to be involved.
Can we see this surveillance video?
consumed with the hatred for the Jewish state attempt to pretend otherwise.
2. Fact:Arabs in the Jewish state have access to more freedom of speech and democracy than Arabs do in most of Arab states.
3. Denial of the right of Jews to national self-determination on ANY basis, is the domain of antisemitic propaganda..
2. except when they don't. like when it's made illegal for them to call for a boycott on israeli goods.
3. denial of the jews to national self-determination "in palestine" isn't. you're not entitled to palestine because you're a jew.
Israel doesn't insist on anything, Israel Is a Jewish state. And it founded so the Jews would not have to depend on fluctuating caprices of various non-Jews, Judeophobic or otherwise.
Deal with it.
It was an important and absolutely necessary decision.
Other stateless people of the world -Kurds, Basques, Roma, Native American tribes understand this very well.
Most of nations allow their ethnic diaspora to return home and receive automatic rights as citizens-- Germany, Armenia, Israel, Ukraine, Lithuania and many other states.
The Jewish sagas and epics generically called "The Bible" specifically refers to the tribes of Israel, of which Judah was one of the two that survived. The word "Jew" comes from Judah, or Judea, to use the Greco-Latin term.
"The good cannot seize power, nor retain it; to do this men must love power. And love of power is inconsistent with goodness; but quite consistent with the very opposite qualities--pride, cunning, cruelty.
...ruling means using force, and using force means doing to him to whom force is used, what he does not like and what he who uses the force would certainly not like done to himself. Consequently ruling means doing to others what we would not they should do unto us, that is, doing wrong.
To submit means to prefer suffering to using force. And to prefer suffering to using force means to be good, or at least less wicked than those who do unto others what they would not like themselves.
And therefore, in all probability, not the better but the worse have always ruled and are ruling now. There may be bad men among those who are ruled, but it cannot be that those who are better have generally ruled those who are worse."
The Kingdom of God is Within You. p. 242-243.
I, personally, don't buy this explanation, but it was interesting.
We will spilt the land into two countries, here is your part will you accept the fact that what little is left is ours? Will you agree to end the conflict and not try to take the tiny piece of land the Jewish people are left with?
The total refusal shows the true nature of the Palestinians plan, the famous plan of disowning the Jews of their conutry in stages, first take over the 67 lines and then try rest whether by war or by flooding Israel by refugees until they can annex it to Palestine.
We will spilt the land into two countries, here is your part will you accept the fact that what little is left is ours"""
You do realize you are being play for a fool, don't you?
Let me explain.
Ghandi said he would never accept the legitimacy of Pakistan. In the same fashion, the elected leadership of Palestine, Hamas, said they would allow a peaceful two-state solution, since 2005. While, some, not accepting the legitimacy as a Jewish state. I believe some Israeli politicians speak in public of grabbing all of Eretz Yisrael from the Nile to the Euphrates, should we take that as refusal to allow a Palestinian state? This Spanish inquisition-style insistence on bowing down to the concept of a "Jewish State" is absurd and Israeli leadership knows this and plays you and the Palestinians against each other, for what reasons I can only speculate. You can't threaten people to change their heart, it does not work that way.
At this point it does not matter. Israel has blown it. You've colonized and ethnic cleansed your way out of a two-state solution. Land will never be given back regardless of what the Palestinians claim.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2006/jan/30/comment.mainsection
Islamic clerics speak of conquering the entire world.
"By Allah, we will conquer Italy. By Allah, we will conquer Italy and move into [the rest] of Europe. Islam will enter that entire region. Even America, you ask? Yes, even America."
http://www.memritv.org/clip/en/2597.htm
But the request is a smart political scheme to show the world their true face and true intentions.
Hamas says when ever its asked they will never allow a permanent solution based on the 67 borders only a temporary one until they manage to occupy the rest of Israel.
Hamas says when ever is asked they will never allow a single inch of Jewish Sovereignty, so please don't twist their words.
If you made a survey saying do you think Israel from the Nile to the Euphrates is essential you will get less than 5% that will agree.
Arab World for Research & Development (AWRAD) made a survey in Palestine to the question :Historic Palestine – from the Jordan River to the sea as a national homeland for Palestinians.
here were the results:
Essential 78.2%; Desirable 12.5%; Acceptable 4.3%; Tolerable 3.1%; Unacceptable 2.0%.
Only 12.8% didn't find it essential to take every last inch of Israeli land!
This simple twist of fate reasoning hinges upon the phrase "were offered." What was the entity that did the offering? God? Aipac? King David? King Solomon?
Until someone here in the zionist cadre can furnish the details of who offered what, I am not buying any of this rot. Of course, the reason this phrase is left to one's imagination goes straight to the cognitive dissonance underpinning phrases such as "(religious-biased) democracy," "western-style (jewish) democracy," and even "modern state (furnished by ancient edicts from god)."
Granted, most jewish people do not adhere to the strict edicts of the faith and are sometimes accused by other jewish people of not being true to their faith. The point being that when birth rather than faith determines one's cultural coherence and according traditions, then this faith borders upon the very definition(s) of a racial identity. Thus: welcome to the very definition of apartheid, and to the wrong side of history.
United Nations offered it.
Fact:Palestinain Jews agreed to it Led by Ben Gurion Palestinian Jews had enough maturity to understand that a bad deal of statehood is better than no statehood at all.
Fact:Palestinain Arabs and most other Arabs refused it. And refused to proclaim a state. Because they lacked political maturity to understand that 60% of all land for a state is better than no state at all.
Here's the U.N. map of what they have refused..
http://www.mideastweb.org/un_palestine_partition_detail_map_sept_1947.htm
And no amount of verbal gyrations will change above facts.
never missing an opportunity to miss an opportunity.
Many of its former subjects got offered a state or found other ways to build a state.
All agreed to what they got. Except one group who arrogantly thought that they should get it all.
Because of their lack of political maturity they missed the self determination boat.
Now they have to ask, very, very politely their neighbors for some of the land they rejected before.
Cause now their neighbors from all sides are not very pleased with their behavior. Especially Jordanians, Lebanese, Israel Egyptians and Syrians.
Did I miss any one? Oh, yes, Americans, Europeans, Saudis, Kuwaitis are not too enthused either..
The punishment for being short-sighted is that they won't get all that much. And no amount of whining will change that.
Realpolitik.
""Truman experienced continuous pressures, from the Jewish community, from the moment he took office as president.[119] Truman writes, "Top Jewish leaders in the United States were putting all sorts of pressure on me to commit American power and forces on behalf of the Jewish aspirations in Palestine."[120]' " "The facts were that not only were there pressure movements around the United Nations unlike anything that had been seen there before, but that the White House, too, was subjected to a constant barrage. I do not think I ever had as much pressure and propaganda aimed at the White House as I had in this instance."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_S._Truman
Whining, crying and lying to the powers that be and all the while having the cloaked agenda to expel the indiginous population along with their rights. And Israel today, continues with the whining, crying and lying while her blatent war crimes are committed, you are no winner but an incessant whiner, yes, congratulations.
Palestinian Jews wisely choose to proclaim their state, despite a terrible deal from U.N.
Palestinain Arabs, under the leadership of former SS officer, Al Husseini, chose war and collaborated with foreign occupiers. And lost. And have paying the price of that preposterous lack of vision and political maturity ever since.
Isn't it time Palestinains chose peace?
Do you REALLY think that all this bellyaching and demonizing of Israeli people would get Palestinains any closer to their state?!
Come on, forget the propaganda. Try reality.
Never missing the opportunity to miss an opportunity.
Go figure.
BUT Arabs ended up controlling--W. Bank, Gaza, part of Negev desert,, East Jerusalem,Golan Heights, part of Galilee.
ALL THAT LAND. NO settlers. Here was an opportunity to proclaim Palestinain. Did they do it?-- NO WAY.
Never, ever missing an opportunity to miss an opportunity.
So what did Palestinians do? .... drum roll.... Palestinains PLEDGE that ALL THAT LAND Jordanians and Egypt in exchange for continued attacks on Israel.
Never, ever missing an opportunity to miss an opportunity.
ALL THAT LAND THEY SAY THEY WANT NOW. BUT REFUSED AS A STATE FOR DECADES.
Never, ever missing an opportunity to miss an opportunity.
Don't even try to figure this Palestinain theatre of absurd.
It wouldn't be believable.
NOBODY would agree to parlay for maybe years while the building continued. Not TWICE, anyway.
And, most of the civilized world agrees. The settlements ARE the problem.
2. I guess he cannot live there because he is not an Israeli citizen.
3. He will probably won't be either, as resolution 194, if ever accepted, requires the returning refugees will leave in peace with their neighbors, and that article give no reason to suspect this is his intention.
There are some good exceptions.
Jordanian occupiers and their Palestinain Muslim collaborators totally ethnically cleansed Wet Bank and E. Jerusalem of Jewish populations. In the process wiping off the face of the Earth many indigenous Jewish communities. Even Germans didn't manage to ethnically cleanse Poland of Jews as thoroughly.
Luckily heroic Israeli army defeated Jordanian invaders and their Palestinian collaborators.
And now Jews can once against live in Judea, Samaria and their eternal capital--Jerusalem.
And if Palestinian Arabs play their cards right, they also might get part of that land for their own, if and only if they choose the non-belligerent way.