Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Actually Israeli support for Hamas is quite well documented and reported on as any google search will show.
As to Israel using terror against civilians, we know that Israel would never use human shields like this one.
I'm sure that those reams of photos showing Palestinian civilians being shot are all photo shopped and that everything is because Palestinians are what... blood thirsty savages with no compassion for men, women, and children?
I have no problem with folks pointing out the brutality of Palestinians against Israeli soldiers and citizenry alike, as there is plenty of it, however it is quite unfair to think Israel isn't just as equally responsible for a great many inhumane and brutal acts.
Al Dura has been shown to be very likely faked.
As to the first pic,it looks like the Arab has been apprehended,how could you easily use a bound and blindfolded person as a human shield???
They would fall down all the time.
It is when discussing the Palestinians feelings regarding suicied bombing civilians.
I would consider the use of nuclear weapons a last resort,as has been doctrine for most western nations.
I don't consider the use of nuclear weapons in WWII terrorism.
But there was no indication in the poll of the number of Palestinians who would consider suicide bombings to be a "last resort," just as there's no indication in the Israeli poll of how many would only support nukes as an absolute "last resort." You may not consider the use of nuclear weapons to be "terrorism," but how would a guy with a C4 belt blowing himself up in Jerusalem be any more evil than a hypothetical nuclear missle shot to Tehran?
Of course it is. You implied that the rest of the region enjoyed suffrage; I pointed out that, with the exception of Israel, such is not the case.
I didn't imply that at all... we were talking about the various reforms of the US Government's continually two-party system, which have taken centuries to take place while the "Pals" have had little over a decade, with truly "free" elections only beginning relatively recently.
I didn't imply that at all... we were talking about the various reforms of the US Government's continually two-party system, which have taken centuries to take place while the "Pals" have had little over a decade, with truly "free" elections only beginning relatively recently.
We had no working examples to model when we crafted our republican democracy; please don't be disingenuous enough to suggest that the Palestinians do not.
Why, there's one right next door. It has functioned quite well since 1948.
So you're saying Israel's own policies have played no part in the failure of the various peace talks? It's not like the PA is the only group that hasn't always kept its word.
So you're saying Israel's own policies have played no part in the failure of the various peace talks? It's not like the PA is the only group that hasn't always kept its word.
No, I'm saying -- in this context -- that the Palestinians have been offered peace and the opportunity to have their own state several times (most recently when Israel gave them Gaza), and they've responded with intransigence and murder.
With the exception of working for the people living in the territories it occupies...
When the issue of Democracy in Israel is addressed there are some things that you should also consider. (outside of the fact that Israel has not ratified a Constitution itself yet)
Quote:
With regard to political participation, rights, and representation, Israeli laws directly discriminate against the Israeli Palestinians by restricting the terms of citizenship. One example is the “Basic Law: the Knesset, section 7A” passed by the Knesset (Israeli’s parliament) on May 15, 2002. The law empowers the central election committee to prohibit individuals and entire political parties from running for the Knesset if they either a) reject Israel’s identity as a “Jewish and democratic state”, or b)
Support the armed struggle of an enemy state or terrorist organization of Israel. The Law further requires candidates to make a formal declaration consistent with those provisions. They must say, “I pledge allegiance to the state of Israel and refrain from acting contrarily to principles of section 7A of the Basic Law: the Knesset”.
Thus the law prevents and limits free speech of elected representatives and outlaws the expression of support for the Intifada. It also restricts political participation to only those whose positions are supportive of official Israeli state ideology.
Israeli scholars Rouhana and Sultany observed:
Making the required pledge in effect bars the candidates (and needless to say, the candidates who are elected) from acting contrary to what they may consider racist and detrimental to their own community’s political rights, even using democratic and legal means. In essence, the pledge outlaws working toward changing the state’s political ideology even if this ideology is fundamentally in contradiction with democracy.
Another example is the Marriage Law. Renewed and extended by the Israeli parliament just last week, the law states that marriages between Israeli Palestinians and Palestinians living in the occupied territories will not be recognized by the Israeli state. No such marriage restrictions apply to Jewish Israelis.
Israel’s inability to become a liberal democracy stems from its origins and the ways that its laws define the nation. Because the Israeli state was not originally conceived of as a democratic state but, rather, as a state that would serve the interests of Jewish populations throughout the world, the ability of Palestinian “citizens” of Israel to gain equal rights is difficult, if not impossible, and the ability of Israel to function as a democratic leader is diminished.
One can also look at Israels immigration laws for further examples.
The Law of Return which allows any Jew a “right to return” and further reduces the difference between real and potential citizenship. Only Jews have the right to immigrate creating a system whereby non-state individuals have more of a claim to citizenship than those (non-Jewish) individuals residing within the borders of the state.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
