From Jeffrey Goldberg at The Atlantic:
An African-American President with Muslim roots stands before the Muslim world and defends the right of Jews to a nation of their own in their ancestral homeland, and then denounces in vociferous terms the evil of Holocaust denial, and right-wing Israelis go forth and complain that the President is unsympathetic to the housing needs of settlers. Incredible, just incredible.
The settlements issue pisses me off more than anything. Here's how I describe it--let's say I decided to go into Mexico to create my own village. Let's say I decided to build my village on some Mexican's land. The Mexican protests, saying it's his land. Oh, but I have an ancient book that I believe was written by an invisible deity that says it's my land, so it doesn't matter whatever "deed" or "title" you may have that grants you the land under secular law. So now I build my village, and I set up roadblocks so that the Mexicans can't get anywhere near my village without going through checkpoints, which greatly impairs their ability to get around. And now they're getting pissed off, so they start throwing rocks and Molotov cocktails. So in response, I DEMAND that the U.S. government send in the Army to protect me.
In such a situation, do you think the U.S. government should send the Army in, or laugh in my face and remind me that I chose to live there and therefore have to deal with the consequences?
UPDATE: Read this to understand how this whole controversy over settlements is being driven not by *actual* Israelis but by a hardline right-wing fringe of American Jews both here and in Israel.
6 comments:
This is a preposterous characterization of Israel. Much of the land in question was bought legally. Much of the rest of the land was seized in a war that Israel didn't start.
Unbelievable that you feel this way. You left out any Mexican attacks and promises to drive you out of existence in your scenario. I mean really. You should change your name to Stella.
Glen, you really don't understand the difference between Gaza and the West Bank, do you? That's ok, just admit it.
Oh Ari, you and I both know that a good chunk of the land in controversy this moment is populated by a bunch of crazy Americans (not REAL Israelis) who went over there to live out a Biblical fantasy of "Judea and Samaria," believing that every bad thing that's happened to Israel is the fault of not claiming all of the land. You and I both know people who did just that. And no, I don't want my tax dollars or family's charitable contributions going to fund that life, any more than you would want your tax dollars going to fund my tropical paradise in Cabo.
But once again, if you believe that it's all good and noble, you're more than welcome to go over there and fight for it. You like to think you're all gutsy and martyr-like for living as a conservative first in Ithaca and now in Berkeley, but there's no doubt in my mind what your reaction would be when confronted by an ACTUAL war.
So, Ari, as long as Ilissa buys her land legally, she can call in the U.S. Army to protect her? And if she can get enough other Americans to buy surrounding land, they can just appropriate the whole area to the U.S.?
The funny thing: The Mexico scenario you posited comes very close to how we got Texas. With a few more steps added, of course.
It is indeed very interesting to hear what the President of United States have to say about muslims. Quoting from the Quran for emphasis, President Barack Obama called for a "new beginning between the United States and Muslims". This is truly a new page upon which history is being written. His words will mean a lot, but it's the policies that count. Hope for the best.
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