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36 Responses to “Israeli Citizen Attempts to Throw U.S. Presidential Election”

1. Richard Silverstein says:

   September 29, 2008 at 5:53 PM

   @amir:
   

   I came to is that insulting the Muslim Prophet can be very dangerous much more than insulting any other religion’s symbols

   And you think insulting the modesty code of the Haredi moral majority doesn’t qualify as similarly dangerous religious supremacism? People have been beaten up in Jerusalem & otherwise intimidated. Every religion has its intolerances.

   My God, there are intolerant Muslims in the world capable of doing something as boneheaded as throwing a firebomb through someone’s mailbox. Hard to believe! Seems to me we have Jewish extremists who’ve also planted a pipe bomb outside a professor’s front door injuring him. What’s the diff, as they say?

   Why is it you are obsessed w. Muslims who do such terrible things but it doesn’t bother you as much when Jews behave the same way? Could it be that you believe Jews are superior? That couldn’t be the case I’m sure.

   Don’t start playing those melodramatic violins. Beaufort Press is publishing it here in the States. It will be available shortly & there have been no threats connected w. its publication. But I guess that news is a little inconvenient for yr theories about Muslim hatred, intolerance & violence, isn’t it?

   You are intolerant & prejudiced. Of course, YOU don’t believe you are. And you’re not the worst bigot I’ve come across. But your views are intolerant.

   Reply
2. amir says:

   September 29, 2008 at 11:56 PM

   And you think insulting the modesty code of the Haredi moral majority doesn’t qualify as similarly dangerous religious supremacism? People have been beaten up in Jerusalem & otherwise intimidated. Every religion has its intolerances.

   I concede that this is true, though I don’t thnk it is “similarly dangerous.” Enforcing a dress code in a predominantly Haredi neighborhood is not unreasonable in my opinion. Beating peole up is. So I don’t have an easy solution to that problem since I don’t think the government should use the police to enforce a dress code either. Voluntary mutual tolerance is the only solution. Seculars should refrain from entering Haredi neighborhoods dressed imodestly and the Haredim should refrain from beating them up. I don’t think this issue is as significant as members of one religion trying to intimidate desenters or members of another religion to expressing their opinion through the arts or other media.
   

   Seems to me we have Jewish extremists who’ve also planted a pipe bomb outside a professor’s front door injuring him. What’s the diff, as they say?

   There is no difference. Fortunately these events are few and far apart, are nearly unanimously condemned by Israeli sociey and usually the perpetrators are caught by the Shin Bet. I hope thay will be apprehended in this case as well.

   Why is it you are obsessed w. Muslims who do such terrible things but it doesn’t bother you as much when Jews behave the same way?

   I’m not obsessed. Why do you assume that it doesn’t bother me when Jews behave the same? Because I haven’t posted a comment? You haven’t blogged about all the Katyushas that have been fired into Israel since the “calm” took effect, am I to assume that it doesn’t bother you. Of course not. Give me the same benefit of the doubt.

   And you’re not the worst bigot I’ve come across.

   That’s close to one of the biggest compliments you’ve given me.
   If I was to say “men are taller than women” does that make me sexist. Does this picture prove that I’m wrong?
   http://img.thesun.co.uk/multimedia/archive/00460/SUN381GM28-682new_460011a.jpg
   On average, men are nontheless taller than women. Today, it seems to me that some Moslems are more likely to resort to violence when their religious sensibilities are offended than members of other religions and that this is having an effet primarily on self censorship. (i.o.w. some people are afraid to say or write anything that may offend Moslems. Others are forced to go into hiding) Jews use other means to stifle debate on issues that are important to them. You have pointed this out many times, yet I have never accused you of self hatred or bigotry for doing so.

   Reply
3. Richard Silverstein says:

   September 30, 2008 at 12:08 AM

   @amir:
   

   Fortunately these events are few and far apart, are nearly unanimously condemned by Israeli sociey

   Isabel Kershner, writing from Israel for the N.Y. Times said that the Sternhell attack caused barely a ripple in Israeli society because it is so inured to such violence. Certainly, Haaretz has covered the story. But whether the avg. Israeli really cares much about Sternhell & finding his attackers, I wonder.

   You haven’t blogged about all the Katyushas that have been fired into Israel

   I write here (mostly in comments & not in posts) regularly denouncing Qassam attacks and ALL attacks against civilians both Israeli & Palestinian. I denounce such attacks on Israelis FAR MORE than you ever criticize any Israeli policy or action in yr own comments.

   Today, it seems to me that some Moslems are more likely to resort to violence when their religious sensibilities are offended than members of other religions

   You are neither an objective, dispassionate or expert observer of this phenomenon. There are violent elements in almost every modern religion & for every Muslim attack & I can point to a violent attack by Christians, Jews, whomever. Is there violence within the Muslim community? Yes. Is there violence within other religious communities? Yes. Once again & for what seems to be the 50th time, Muslims are no different than anyone else. They may not be better, but they certainly are not worse. Simply stated, they are human as are all of us. Your attempt to spin theories about Muslims being more prone to violence or more intolerant than the rest of us are grounded in yr own experience & anecdotal evidence that ignores evidence that is not convenient to you.

   Reply
4. amir says:

   September 30, 2008 at 2:27 AM

   Isabel Kershner, writing from Israel for the N.Y. Times said that the Sternhell attack caused barely a ripple in Israeli society

   I don’t know what she expected to happen. The press has given this story more coverage then the residents of Sderot would get for an attack that didn’t kill anyone. Even yesterdy, five days later, Yediot dedicated an entire page (page 4) of the news section to this, even though it didn’t report any new development. If a Kassam hits Sderot and no one is killed it wouldn’t get more than a blip on page 11. “dog bites man”.

   whether the avg. Israeli really cares much about Sternhell & finding his attackers, I wonder.

   The average Israeli cares about is going to get bumped from “big brother.” There should be no surprise there.

   Your attempt to spin theories about Muslims being more prone to violence or more intolerant than the rest of us are grounded in yr own experience & anecdotal evidence

   When I said men are taller than women, I didn’t say that most men played for the NBA. My own personal experience with Moslems I know is that they are no more prone to violence than anyone else I know. Extreme acts are usually carried out by extremists. So I’m talking about a small group of people within the Moslem world who seem to have a very negative effect on free speech and expression in Europe, mostly, and the US. There are other challenges to free speech and exression, as well, including the tendency for the politically correct to label anyone they disagree with as sexist, racist or anti-semitic

   Reply
5. Richard Silverstein says:

   September 30, 2008 at 3:04 AM

   @amir:
   

   I’m talking about a small group of people within the Moslem world who seem to have a very negative effect on free speech and expression in Europe, mostly, and the US.

   I would agree with this, with the caveat that Muslims have absolutely no deleterious impact on free speech in the U.S.

   Reply
6. dennis says:

   November 3, 2008 at 10:44 PM

   This election campaign has seen lot of allegation and counter allegation based on lies.I wonder where we are heading. If some vested interest want to malign the country’s image I am sure they will be failure in the long run. But they did harmed the decency and fairness of democratic image of this country.
   To mingle politics and religion is a shame to the secular thinking of this country.
   Now, today 4th of November we have only one prime responsibility to must go to the polling station and cast our votes in this historical election. Thanks
   Http://www.statedemocracy.org

   Reply