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  1. Larry Koler Inactive
    Larry Koler
    @LarryKoler

    Zafar:

    Richard Fulmer:

    What is Dhimmitude if not apartheid by another name? What’s so bizarre is that Muslims around the world are killing people of other sects and other religions, homosexuals, and women for reasons of “honor” while you’re complaining that Israelis are building settlements in their own country.

    Criticising Islam and Muslims (very legitimately) isn’t a cogent defense of Israeli actions.

    As usual you ignore the fact that there are lots of Palestinian Christians who are dispossessed by Israel. That’s a pretty big indication that the issue is not a conflict over religion (Judaeo-Christianity vs Islam) but about land. Which brings us to:

    I know you keep saying the West Bank is Israel’s, but that’s not accepted by most of the world, or by the Palestinians who remain a majority there. Even the Israeli a government doesn’t say that. Iow, it’s wishful thinking – so far.

    Do you think the Christians could be brought to the negotiating table and live with the results? We know the Muslims cannot.

    • #121
  2. Richard Fulmer Inactive
    Richard Fulmer
    @RichardFulmer

    Zafar:

    Richard Fulmer:

    What is Dhimmitude if not apartheid by another name? What’s so bizarre is that Muslims around the world are killing people of other sects and other religions, homosexuals, and women for reasons of “honor” while you’re complaining that Israelis are building settlements in their own country.

    Criticising Islam and Muslims (very legitimately) isn’t a cogent defense of Israeli actions.

    As usual you ignore the fact that there are lots of Palestinian Christians who are dispossessed by Israel. That’s a pretty big indication that the issue is not a conflict over religion (Judaeo-Christianity vs Islam) but about land. Which brings us to:

    I know you keep saying the West Bank is Israel’s, but that’s not accepted by most of the world, or by the Palestinians who remain a majority there. Even the Israeli a government doesn’t say that. Iow, it’s wishful thinking – so far.

    In pointing out Islam’s “bloody borders,” I’m suggesting that Israel is in a very tough neighborhood surrounded by people who will never agree to Israel’s continued existence.   By giving up the West Bank, Israel would make itself vulnerable to attack.  Whether the “world” refuses to accept that the West Bank is Israel’s or whether Israel’s leaders refuse to say that the West Bank is Israel’s is immaterial.  Israel cannot give up the West Bank and survive, so it will not give up the West Bank.

    • #122
  3. Umbra Fractus Inactive
    Umbra Fractus
    @UmbraFractus

    Richard Fulmer:

    In pointing out Islam’s “bloody borders,” I’m suggesting that Israel is in a very tough neighborhood surrounded by people who will never agree to Israel’s continued existence. By giving up the West Bank, Israel would make itself vulnerable to attack. Whether the “world” refuses to accept that the West Bank is Israel’s or whether Israel’s leaders refuse to say that the West Bank is Israel’s is immaterial. Israel cannot give up the West Bank and survive, so it will not give up the West Bank.

    “The world” refuses to accept that Israel even has a right to defend itself from violence, so their opinion doesn’t count for much.

    • #123
  4. Larry Koler Inactive
    Larry Koler
    @LarryKoler

    I wonder if the Indus valley should be given back to the Hindus? Using this reasoning of Zafar’s it seems obvious. The name Hindu derives from Indus. Instead, a conquering tribe came in and claimed right to all of India and when part was given back to them in 1947 that doesn’t close the case at all. The rest should go back to them, also — eventually. Just using this reasoning. But, India is run by grownups and they just got on with their lives, raising their kids and contributing to the world and to that international community. Instead, the Palestinians are parasites — and parasites always will have a grievance like all leaches — they have a child’s notion of entitlement.

    The left and the Soviets exploited these kind of grievances all over the world. The Palestinians are totally a creation of the international left.

    • #124
  5. Zafar Member
    Zafar
    @Zafar

    Richard Fulmer:

    Israel cannot give up the West Bank and survive, so it will not give up the West Bank.

    So it’s theirs because they need it.

    What about the people?

    • #125
  6. Larry Koler Inactive
    Larry Koler
    @LarryKoler

    Zafar:

    Richard Fulmer:

    Israel cannot give up the West Bank and survive, so it will not give up the West Bank.

    So it’s theirs because they need it.

    What about the people?

    They need to get on with life and grow up. But, they need to get rid of the haters in their midst who teach their children evil things.

    • #126
  7. Zafar Member
    Zafar
    @Zafar

    Larry Koler:I wonder if the Indus valley should be given back to the Hindus?

    The Palestinians are totally a creation of the international left.

    The Indus Valley is still largely inhabited by their  descendants.

    And if anything, the Palestinians are Israel’s creation.  How’s that for irony?

    • #127
  8. Zafar Member
    Zafar
    @Zafar

    Larry Koler:

    Zafar:

    Richard Fulmer:

    Israel cannot give up the West Bank and survive, so it will not give up the West Bank.

    So it’s theirs because they need it.

    What about the people?

    They need to get on with life and grow up. But, they need to get rid of the haters in their midst who teach their children evil things.

    Practically, what does that mean? Which country are they citizens of? Which parliament represents them? If Israel keeps the West Bank there’s no Palestine. So then…?

    • #128
  9. Zafar Member
    Zafar
    @Zafar

    Larry Koler:

    Zafar:

    Larry Koler:

    Zafar: (And 15% of India’s population is Muslim, just saying.)

    So, India is like Israel — good analogy, Zafar. And Pakistan is like the Arab states and the Palestinians. Well, how many Hindus and Sikhs felt safe staying in Pakistan?

    I think India is more like Israel in a lot of ways, and Pakistan like the Arab countries in those same ways – but the equivalent to the Palestinians are the Kashmiris, which is where the analogy fits less well.

    I see you are cherry picking.

    On the contrary.  Life is not neatly black and white.

    • #129
  10. Larry Koler Inactive
    Larry Koler
    @LarryKoler

    Zafar:

    Larry Koler:

    Zafar:

    Richard Fulmer:

    Israel cannot give up the West Bank and survive, so it will not give up the West Bank.

    So it’s theirs because they need it.

    What about the people?

    They need to get on with life and grow up. But, they need to get rid of the haters in their midst who teach their children evil things.

    Practically, what does that mean? Which country are they citizens of? Which parliament represents them? If Israel keeps the West Bank there’s no Palestine. So then…?

    They are like spoiled children that no one wants in their homes. They pee in the corner and set cats on fire and abuse everyone. They need to accommodate to the real world and grow up and make themselves productive — this is the simple formula that everyone knows and practices except parasites.

    • #130
  11. Larry Koler Inactive
    Larry Koler
    @LarryKoler

    Zafar:

    Larry Koler:

    Zafar:

    Larry Koler:

    Zafar: (And 15% of India’s population is Muslim, just saying.)

    So, India is like Israel — good analogy, Zafar. And Pakistan is like the Arab states and the Palestinians. Well, how many Hindus and Sikhs felt safe staying in Pakistan?

    I think India is more like Israel in a lot of ways, and Pakistan like the Arab countries in those same ways – but the equivalent to the Palestinians are the Kashmiris, which is where the analogy fits less well.

    I see you are cherry picking.

    On the contrary. Life is not neatly black and white.

    As Dennis Prager says there are only two types of people: the decent and the indecent. People who learn to be decent can solve seemingly difficult problems. They don’t want to solve these problems.

    • #131
  12. Larry Koler Inactive
    Larry Koler
    @LarryKoler

    Zafar:

    Larry Koler:I wonder if the Indus valley should be given back to the Hindus?

    The Palestinians are totally a creation of the international left.

    The Indus Valley is still largely inhabited by their descendants.

    And if anything, the Palestinians are Israel’s creation. How’s that for irony?

    The Palestinians of today are the creatures of the evil among us. They embrace death over life.

    • #132
  13. Larry Koler Inactive
    Larry Koler
    @LarryKoler

    Zafar:

    Larry Koler:I wonder if the Indus valley should be given back to the Hindus?

    The Palestinians are totally a creation of the international left.

    The Indus Valley is still largely inhabited by their descendants.

    And if anything, the Palestinians are Israel’s creation. How’s that for irony?

    Oh, so as long as a certain percentage of their blood is derived from the women the Mughals raped and forcibly converted then it’s OK if the evil that they represent is given large tracts of land? Is that how you think? It’s a blood thing — not land. So, the Israelis should have raped themselves into ownership — like Herod the Great. Just another form of conquest.

    • #133
  14. Richard Fulmer Inactive
    Richard Fulmer
    @RichardFulmer

    Zafar:

    Richard Fulmer:

    Israel cannot give up the West Bank and survive, so it will not give up the West Bank.

    So it’s theirs because they need it.

    What about the people?

    Which people are we talking about?  The ones who elected Hamas to rule over Gaza?  The same Hamas that is dedicated to the destruction of Israel?  The people who celebrate the murderers of women and children?  The people who teach their children to hate Jews?  The people who refuse every offer for a state of their own because they won’t accept the condition that they recognize Israel’s right to exist?  You mean those people?

    • #134
  15. Umbra Fractus Inactive
    Umbra Fractus
    @UmbraFractus

    Zafar:

    Richard Fulmer:

    Israel cannot give up the West Bank and survive, so it will not give up the West Bank.

    So it’s theirs because they need it.

    What about the people?

    So, the Jews can just die, then?

    Redacted by the author. This was unnecessary.

    • #135
  16. Podkayne of Israel Inactive
    Podkayne of Israel
    @PodkayneofIsrael

    Larry Koler:

    Zafar:

    Larry Koler:I wonder if the Indus valley should be given back to the Hindus?

    The Palestinians are totally a creation of the international left.

    The Indus Valley is still largely inhabited by their descendants.

    And if anything, the Palestinians are Israel’s creation. How’s that for irony?

    Oh, so as long as a certain percentage of their blood is derived from the women the Mughals raped and forcibly converted then it’s OK if the evil that they represent is given large tracts of land? Is that how you think? It’s a blood thing — not land. So, the Israelis should have raped themselves into ownership — like Herod the Great. Just another form of conquest.

    Larry, you may be amused to note that a few years there was an academic paper published complaining that the IDF was racist because they weren’t raping Palestinian women.

    You can’t make this stuff up…

    • #136
  17. Zafar Member
    Zafar
    @Zafar

    Larry Koler:

    As Dennis Prager says there are only two types of people: the decent and the indecent.

    Indeed. If only we could tell who was which on the basis of their nationality or stated religion.

    • #137
  18. Zafar Member
    Zafar
    @Zafar

    Richard Fulmer:

    Which people are we talking about?

    The Palestinians on the West Bank.

    Let’s say Israel officially takes the land. What happens to the people?

    • #138
  19. Richard Fulmer Inactive
    Richard Fulmer
    @RichardFulmer

    Zafar:

    Richard Fulmer:

    Which people are we talking about?

    The Palestinians on the West Bank.

    Let’s say Israel officially takes the land. What happens to the people?

    Why should anything happen to them?

    • #139
  20. Ontheleftcoast Inactive
    Ontheleftcoast
    @Ontheleftcoast

    Ray Kujawa: Is the rest of Israel supposed to be considered to be “occupied” because 2 million Arabs are living in Israel ‘proper?’

    Palestinians and their supporters consider Israel to be “occupied” because Jews live there under their own sovereignty. For Islam, the normative view is that the only legitimate rule over land once ruled by Muslims is Muslim rule and jihad is in order. Transnational progressives are offended by national sovereignty in general and Israel’s in particular.

    If Israel were bordered by Costa Rica, Israel wouldn’t feel such a compelling need for the strategic depth afforded by retaining a military presence in the “West Bank.”

    But the Palestinians don’t want a demilitarized, peaceful Costa Rica-like Palestine. They want an army to use against Israel. After all, the UN, the EU and the OIC have for decades been funding schools that teach Palestinian children to hate Jews. A new factor is that the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, which slashed its funding of Hamas due to the sanctions on Iran, has just experienced a large infusion of cash and is renewing its ties with Hamas.

    Also, it is a mistake to think of Palestinian Christians as being neutral or even pro-Israel. Hamas was at one point headed by a Christian. Before there was a Jewish state, family and ethnic loyalty and years of dhimmitude, meant that Palestinian Christians often, like their Muslim brethren (and many non-Arab Christians abroad) hate Jews and Israel.

    • #140
  21. Zafar Member
    Zafar
    @Zafar

    Richard Fulmer:

    Zafar:

    Richard Fulmer:

    Which people are we talking about?

    The Palestinians on the West Bank.

    Let’s say Israel officially takes the land. What happens to the people?

    Why should anything happen to them?

    If which country are they citizens? Do they remain stateless?

    • #141
  22. Zafar Member
    Zafar
    @Zafar

    Podkayne of Israel:

    Larry, you may be amused to note that a few years there was an academic paper published complaining that the IDF was racist because they weren’t raping Palestinian women.

    That was a very strange way of making a point.

    But de profundis – endemic racism can’t be a great thing

    Can it?

    • #142
  23. Podkayne of Israel Inactive
    Podkayne of Israel
    @PodkayneofIsrael

    Zafar:

    Richard Fulmer:

    Zafar:

    Richard Fulmer:

    Which people are we talking about?

    The Palestinians on the West Bank.

    Let’s say Israel officially takes the land. What happens to the people?

    Why should anything happen to them?

    If which country are they citizens? Do they remain stateless?

    If Israel annexes the area, they would be granted Israeli citizenship, just like the Arabs in the Galilee have. Just like the Jews, but without the obligation to military service. Part of the debate over annexation is worry over enfranchising them, because obviously they would be fully entitled to vote and to serve  in the Knesset.

    • #143
  24. Zafar Member
    Zafar
    @Zafar

    Podkayne – what is your opinion of that approach? What are the dangers, what are the benefits?  Might it significantly change Israel’s relations with its neighbors for the better?

    • #144
  25. Richard Fulmer Inactive
    Richard Fulmer
    @RichardFulmer

    Zafar,
    What do you think would happen if the Palestinians in the West Bank were allowed to vote and to serve in the Knesset?  How long could Jews survive in a majority Muslim country?

    • #145
  26. Kay of MT Inactive
    Kay of MT
    @KayofMT

    My mother spent Christmas week of 1959 in Trans Jordan. She was a beautiful 43 year old woman. The only time she came near to being molested was by the Priest who sat at the table raking in the tourist money to visit, supposedly, the tomb of Jesus. Her Arab tourist guide had to take her to the police to extract her from the Priest. He had insisted she stay with him as her arranged lodging would be unsafe, which turned out to be the home of a nice Arab widow and her daughter. Except for Easter 1960, another fiasco with the Christians, she spent the rest of the year in Israel, and felt perfectly safe. My mother was an ordained Christian minister so was allowed into Trans Jordan.

    • #146
  27. Zafar Member
    Zafar
    @Zafar

    Richard Fulmer:Zafar,
    What do you think would happen if the Palestinians in the West Bank were allowed to vote and to serve in the Knesset? How long could Jews survive in a majority Muslim country?

    Well, if le pouvoir reflected the people Jews would no longer be privileged over Arabs in Palestine.  That’s a hard d thing to give up.

    Otoh, you would have millions of people who were pro their (your common) State rather than opposed to ‘yours but not theirs’.  That could make life a lot better for everyone.

    Jews in the Muslim world have done  sometimes fantastically well,  and then sometimes catastrophically.  It’s hard to say either is the default.

    The big difference in Palestine is that Israeli Jewws would be both close to half the population and also not easy to push around by anybody.  Otoh the well may have been well and truly poisoned by. Rhetoric and actions by people in both sides of the divide.

    Fwiw I think you and I could be good equal neighbors and fellow citizens – but we have no negative history between us.  So…meh?

    • #147
  28. Richard Fulmer Inactive
    Richard Fulmer
    @RichardFulmer

    Zafar,
    You have a subtle way of implying a moral equivalence between Israelis who have been trying to defend themselves for 70 years and the people who have been trying to slaughter them.  Denying the Palestinians the vote may be an injustice on some cosmic scale, but it pales before the injustices that the Palestinians and the Arabs have rained down on the Israelis for all those decades.  Perfection is never an option, and it’s certainly not an option in the Middle East.  Right now, the Israelis are keeping the Palestinians from slaughtering them and each other, and that’s probably the least bad option that the Palestinians have left them.

    • #148
  29. Umbra Fractus Inactive
    Umbra Fractus
    @UmbraFractus

    Zafar:Well, if le pouvoir reflected the people Jews would no longer be privileged over Arabs in Palestine. That’s a hard d thing to give up.

    Especially to people who want your entire race exterminated.

    • #149
  30. Zafar Member
    Zafar
    @Zafar

    Richard Fulmer:Zafar,
    You have a subtle way of implying a moral equivalence between Israelis who have been trying to defend themselves for 70 years and the people who have been trying to slaughter them.

    Or between the invaded and the invader.

    To be honesty ‘moral equivalence’ arguments always seem to imply ‘I’m good so I can take what I want and they’re bad so they deserve whatever I do to them’.

    Iow, they seem terribly self serving.

    • #150
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