33 thoughts on “Rice: ‘Nothing Wrong With People of Middle East’–Whew – Tikun Olam תיקון עולם إصلاح العالم
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  1. Bush Democracy = autocracy
    Bush Freedom = Bush is free to give orders; everyone else is free to obey.

  2. the words these government representatives choose to speak about the middle east says so much about their perspective and their expectations.
    nothing has changed in the american and israeli perspective on the palestinian situation and nothing will change unless force bends the will of the israelis and americans…the british boycotts and the un resolution may eventually cause israel to bend to world public opinion, but i suspect israel does not have the motivation yet to cede to international law demands…things ought to really get interesting on the world stage as public opinion among the nations swings against israel and u.s positions with regards to palestine and the one or two state solution…it still boggle my mind how a country and a people can choose to discriminate and exlude an entire race of peoples from being included like israel does with the palestinians living in the special zones..or ghettos.

    The recently established U.N. Human Rights Council agreed on a set of procedures that single out Israel for special scrutiny.

    Jewish groups decried the agreement, reached late Monday in Geneva, to consider Israel as a separate agenda item — the only country in the world to merit such special scrutiny — and to extend the mandate of the special rapporteur on the human rights of the Palestinians “until the end of the occupation,” the only such open-ended mandate.

    the biblical mandate to pray for the peace of jerusalem has never been the order of the day as it is in our age.

  3. Democracy doesnt always bring the best choice. After all, Adolf Hitler was elected democratically. What democracy does is make the electorate responsible for whom they elected.
    Although you call yourself a zionist, I am disappointed that you havent responded to the anti-zionist comments of Samuel Burke. He repeatedly states the lie that other races arent welcome in Israel. As Mr Burke knows, Israeli Arabs constitute 20% of Israels population and serve in the Knesset. Compare that to 22 Arab countries that ban Jewish ownership of land, and that some Arab countries (Saudi Arabia) ban Jewish entry. However, only a Jewish state bothers Mr Burke. While Israel was not created because of the Holocaust, thanks to Israel, Jews no longer have to rely on the “good will” of citizens of the world like Mr Burke

  4. mr burke is NOT only bothered by a jewish state, my parents fled their coutry because of communism, it just so happens that this site is primarily dedicated to this (israel) issue. i wish you would ply that sensitivity to mr burkes comments and apply it to the pllight of real live human beings living in ghettos and concentration camps in the land of israel…. jews in america do not need any good will from me or any american since the constitution grants you that good will, but thanks for thinking of me in your gratefulness towards your comfort here in the states…now try to think of the lives of the palestinians and the israelis living in the hell called the middle east nation of israel and palestine….the israeli occupation forces are floundering with moral defections because of the way they have been called on to abuse other humans who are supposedly their own brothers…alas they havent much choice other than to serve, although some do and are speaking out against the means and methods applied to the eneny in their midst. i hope that israelies start to reject the powers here in the states that seem to be pushing them towards this total insanity and possilble destruction.

    i sincerely wish israel could be a home for jews who wish to leave the lands in which they presently live and find themselves fully at home and at peace there, but the truth is very different than the dream….israel is a living hell into which people are not migrating, there is more emigration from there than the nations leaders would wish.

    youre funny in your sad attempt at sarcasm….israel is a direct cause of the holocaust…jews from europe didnt want to go to palestine and rejected zionism in the majority, the judaic scholars very much rejected zionism, the founders of israel only wanted the young and strong who would be ready and willing to be pioneers of zionism to migrate there, the history of the emigration of the arab jews leaving the arab nations is a sad one when one reads the stories of those men and women who left their homelands to find themselves treated as second class citizens with less value than the european elitist zionist…but that would be a lot of truth for you to bear..your type is more at home dismissing any criticism as anti semitic or anti zionist……isolating and pillorying the criticizer so not to have the truth brought out and dealt with….

    israel is a house built on sand…….they need to reset the foundation to be able to handle the stresses underlying its existence….i am all for this resetting ….an excellent start would be to deal with the refugees ethically so that all the world could see the judaic principles that made israel the nation that it once was and what it could one day again be, but alas israel has lost its moral compass and the question of the day is are they willing to change and redirect their forces and strengths to serve and aid rather than to destroy and conquer….israel a great people with a poor mission statement.

    if my sin is that i am concerend for the oppressed palestinians then i am forigiven already.

  5. I am deeply touched by your “concern” for the Jewish people, and the plight of the Palestinians. First, if you are truly concerned about the plight of the Palestinians, please address the plight of Palestinians living as second class citizens in Lebanon, Jordan and Syria, where they have been kept in ghettos like you describe. Alas, in these countries, Palestinians are not worthy of your attention because they are not being oppressed by Jews. I have spent a fair amout of time in Israel and did tno find it to be a living hell. Gaza and the West Bank used to be fairly nice places too before they chose war against Israel. If Arafat had not chosen to launch an intifada, the West Bank and Gaza might still be nice places. When one chooses war, one cannot be assured the conveniences of peace.
    The Jews who chose immigration from Europe chose this because the host countries and people of good will like yourselves did not afford them the possibilities of living up to their potential. The Holocaust proved to the Jews that the world was not interested in their fate and that international law was a fallacy. The fallacy of international law has been proven again and again, while the world watches while Tibet was invaded, while the Cultural Revolution in China killed millions, while Pol Pot killed millions, while Saddam Hussein killed more Muslims than any other person in the 20th century, while Hutus killed hundreds of thousands of Tutus. We dont need your approval to defend ourselves, we know that we would never obtain it anyhow.

  6. so the question on democracy is another interesting concept….can a country choose their own government via the vote and choose theocracy? what if a country and its people choose to live in a country governed by rules that do not conform with what we in the west consider an acceptable form of democracy? will not imposing one type of democracy on another people be another form of totalitarianism?

    the anwer is plainly yes, unless we change the meaning of democracy to a government acceptable to the powers that deem it acceptable regardless of preference of the people in that nation.

    democracy is what we say it is.
    this is from juan cole…
    http://antiwar.com/cole/?articleid=5019
    Much of the authoritarianism in the Middle East since 1945 had actually been supported (sometimes imposed) by Washington for Cold War purposes. The good thing about the democratization rhetoric coming out of Washington (which apparently does not apply to Algeria, Tunisia, Jordan, Yemen, Uzbekistan, and other allies against al-Qaeda) is that it encourages the people to believe they have an ally if they take to the streets to end the legacy of authoritarianism.

    But Washington will be sorely tested if Islamist crowds gather in Tunis to demand the ouster of bin Ali. We’ll see then how serious the rhetoric about people-power really is.

  7. I am disappointed that you havent responded to the anti-zionist comments of Samuel Burke.

    I think you’re both doing a good job of debating the issues amongst yrselves. There’s no need for me to intercede. Besides, it’s not my responsibility to take to task those commenters you disagree with. That’s why the comment thread exists–allowing you to do that yrself.

    22 Arab countries that ban Jewish ownership of land

    I have news for you: Israel virtually disallows Arab ownership of land as well. There are very few Arabs who actually own any land in the State of Israel.

  8. Sam-Don’t know where you came up with this bizarre quote:

    ————————————————————————
    ….israel is a living hell into which people are not migrating, there is more emigration from there than the nations leaders would wish.
    ————————————————————————

    I live in Israel and can assure you that neither Israeli Jews or Arabs would agree with your nonsesicle statement. It is true that there has been a downturn in Aliyah which has been dominated for the last two decades by Jews coming from the former USSR. However, there is a slow but steady increase in aliyah from North America and Western Europe. There are stories of about people that came from Russia (largely non-Jews who used loopholes in the Law of Return to come to Israel) going back…that is fine with me if they don’t consider themselves part of the Jewish people. The economy is booming, in spite of the war and the incompetent, bungling government. Israeli Arabs are also largely satisified with their life in Israel, (no doubt they resent being a minority, but this is an ideological problem, not one that affects their day-to-day life). That is why they fight to the death against any suggestion to transfer sovereignity of their towns from Israeli to Palestinian rule.

    Israel and Zionism is one of the big success stories of the post-War world. As Melvin put it so well above, we don’t need the approval of you and the “progressives” to defend ourselves.

  9. ’22 Arab countries that ban Jewish ownership of land; Israel virtually disallows Arab ownership of land as well’

    Looking at it one way, these two outlooks would serve only to enhance and consolidate the gulf between both these groups. No bridge building on that score, no letup in the jockeying for position so characteristic of the all the local power-bases in the region.

    Of course, you could look at it another way. This very real desire by both parties to deny each other even the vestige of any right or ownership to land could be worked to the eventual advantage of everyone. All it takes is a little imagination and, perhaps, the merest modicum of outside intervention.

    “A little imagination can go a long way.”

    http://yorketowers.blogspot.com

  10. a different view on the middlle east from another perspective….

    http://ericmargolis.com/
    June 25, 2007
    THE COUP AGAINST HAMAS
    America’s foreign policy works pretty well around most of the world, but when it comes to the Mideast, Washington seems to make a mess wherever it goes.

    After the huge fiascos in Afghanistan, Iraq and Somalia, Washington’s political alchemists are now working their latest magic in the Palestinian Territories, two, giant, open-air prison camps – the West Bank and Gaza – surrounded by Israeli security forces.

    Having gotten rid of Fatah founder Yasser Arafat, who refused to condone US-Israeli plans to parcel up his nation, Washington installed Mahmoud Abbas as Palestinian leader. Arafat’s death still remains highly suspicious and should, like the murder of Lebanon’s former prime minister, Rafik Hariri, be formally investigated by the United Nations.

  11. What is the evidence that Israel disallows Arab land ownership? It would be a lot easier for an Arab to purchase land in Israel than for a Jew to buy land in a so called moderate country like Egypt or Jordan. If Arafat had chosen to negotiate on the principles of Camp David, the Palestinians would be in a better position today. Alas, not all of the blame can be let at Arafats feet, he read haaretz and convinced himself that with a little violent push, just like in Southern Lebanon, he would get all of Israel in addition to the West Bank and Gaza. Of course, Sam Burke (from a communist country in eastern Europe, perhaps Ireland) put all of the fault on Israel. It requires a lot of gymnasitcs to blame all of the worlds troubles on a Jewish state and try to be avoid being labeled with the dreaded label of anti-Semite. Sam, I hope you are a good gymnast

  12. First, if you are truly concerned about the plight of the Palestinians, please address the plight of Palestinians living as second class citizens in Lebanon, Jordan and Syria, where they have been kept in ghettos like you describe.

    Talk about crocodile tears! The reason these Palestinians are living in Lebanon, Jordan, & Syria is because they were expelled by Israel and haven’t been allowed to return, in order for Israel to preserve its Jewish majority.

    Gaza and the West Bank used to be fairly nice places too before they chose war against Israel. If Arafat had not chosen to launch an intifada, the West Bank and Gaza might still be nice places

    Actually, they weren’t such great places to live, which is the major reason why the second Intifada was launched. By all accounts, life worsened during the Oslo period -closures, checkpoints, & curfews increased. The Gaza Strip was cut off from the West Bank. Israel continued its illegal expansion in East Jerusalem. Israel doubled its settler population from 1993 to 2000 and created bypass roads for settlers that cut up the West Bank.

  13. What is the evidence that Israel disallows Arab land ownership?

    13% of Israeli land is owned by the Jewish National Fund, which has an explicit policy of not selling or leasing land to non-Jews. But beyond the explicit restrictions on Arab land ownership are land and planning policies that are designed to benefit Jews and treat Arabs as second-class citizens. The Israeli Land Administration follows a policy of concentrating Jewish settlements in areas that are predomintantly Arab. There are all sorts of restrictions on Arab towns and villages that don’t apply to Jewish municipalities. There are hundreds of unrecognized Palestinian & Bedouin villages that don’t receive water, electricity, & other services, and are constantly targeted for demolition. Haaretz has an article on a Bedouin village that was destroyed this week:
    http://haaretz.com/hasen/spages/874814.html

  14. For what it’s worth, most of the Jews in China were sent to Israel in 1949. I don’t know how it was negotiated, but I’m told orally that the ships were chartered by the Jewish Agency. The ancient and very assimilated community of Kaifeng was not sent away, and if what I read in _Jerusalem Post_ in the ’80s is still, true, they are not allowed to immigrate to Israel. Tens of millions of Chinese people would discover Jewish ancestors if they thought it’d help them immigrate, I then read.

    Zhu Bajie

  15. Israeli Arabs are also largely satisified with their life in Israel, (no doubt they resent being a minority, but this is an ideological problem, not one that affects their day-to-day life). That is why they fight to the death against any suggestion to transfer sovereignity of their towns from Israeli to Palestinian rule.

    That is a laughable statement showing you know nothing about what real Israeli Arabs believe or feel. They are certainly not satisfied with their lives. They fight to the death to against expulsion because it would be a violation of their basic human rights. They fight to the death against Avigdor Lieberman’s racist proposal to transfer their sovereignty because they know it is a feeble Israeli attempt to resolve the ethnic issue by sleight of hand & mirrors.

    we don’t need the approval of you and the “progressives” to defend ourselves.

    This is precisely the type of truculent defiance which guarantees Israel to be forever only a marginal member of the family of nations. Israel DOES require the consent of the world and esp. the Palestinians before it is fully accepted. That’s why compliance with international law is so important. And whatever you say, Israel desperately needs such acceptance for many reasons.

  16. What is the evidence that Israel disallows Arab land ownership?

    From the Arab Association for Human Rights:

    In 1948, the Palestinian Arab community owned and used most of the land within the State of Israel. Today it owns less than 3% of these lands. Palestinian Arab citizens ability to own or use the rest is severely restricted by a series of discriminatory laws and practices which are detailed below.

    Land Expropriation

    93% of the land within the State of Israel is today controlled by the State and is formally known as “Israel lands.” This extensive territory has been accumulated by a continual process of land expropriation from private (Arab) owners, that has systematically reduced Arab land ownership to cement Jewish control over all parts of the country…

    The quotation above proves the utter fallacy of yr following statement:

    It would be a lot easier for an Arab to purchase land in Israel than for a Jew to buy land in a so called moderate country like Egypt or Jordan.

    It is actually impossible for an Arab to buy a piece of land today. There are some Arab families who’ve retained rights to lands they owned before 1948. That is the 3% figure referred to above.

    Sam Burke (from a communist country in eastern Europe, perhaps Ireland)

    I find disparaging someone’s ethnic background, even in a feeble attempt at wit, to be repugnant. Don’t do this again.

  17. I find it disappointing that you chose to erase the statements of a moderate Arab who recognizes that BOTH Jews and Palestinians have suffered. I am also concerned of the overuse of the term “racist”, because Jews and Arabs are members of the same race, but not necessarily the members of the same nation. The Arab Association of Human Rights is just as biased as MEMRI or Little Green Footballs. I am also disturbed by efforts by members of this board, and Richard too, to promote the most extreme elements of the Palestinians and silence moderate Arab voices. The erasure of the commentso of Khaled Diab prove my point. While promotion of the extreme elements undermines any chance of peace, it more importantlt to you, promotes the right wing argument that there is no one to talk to
    By the way, where is international law when the Chinese poison our cough syrup with diethylene glycol and our pet food with melamine?

  18. They fight to the death against Avigdor Lieberman’s racist proposal to transfer their sovereignty because they know it is a feeble Israeli attempt to resolve the ethnic issue by sleight of hand & mirrors.

    As Steve Sailer has said (I believe it was him), they know it is better to be a second class citizen in a first rate country than a first class citizen in a third rate country. (I, of course, disagree that they are second rate citizens, but that’s another story.)

  19. I distinctly recall polls showing Israeli Arabs basically satisfied with their lives. If you are going to demand a link to the poll, I can’t give it to you, I don’t recall where I saw it, but I remember it clearly. Israeli Arabs are FAR more satisfied with their lives than the average Egyptian or Syrian Arab. Sure they resent being a minority.
    I did not refer to “expulsion” so there was no reason for you to bring it up. I don’t see why it is “racist” to transfer Ul el-Fahm to Arab control (which Ha’aretz also calls “racist”) but it is not ‘racist” to transfer East Jerusalem to Arab control (which Ha’aretz supports). If they resent being a minority in Israel, here is their chance to live under Arab rule, if that is so great.

  20. Herbert: I deleted yr comment because I told you you quoted an entire article & that I don’t allow that in order not to destroy the continuity of the comment thread. I explained this to you privately & offered for you to republish w. the article excerpted. You chose not to do so. That’s yr prerogative. But don’t go complaining about it when I gave you a perfectly reasonable alternative.

    If you want to showcase that article in full go to Blogger, get yrself a blog & do so to yr heart’s content. You comment here, you follow my rules.

    As for the ACRI source, it is entirely accurate & provides actual percentages you can verify. If I read a statistic at MEMRI I would not discount it until I could find an alternate figure at a site I trusted more. So why don’t you get off yr tush & do some research instead of asking me to do the work for you. The figures at ACRI are easily verifiable at many other sites.

    I am also disturbed by efforts by members of this board, and Richard too, to promote the most extreme elements of the Palestinians and silence moderate Arab voices.

    This is not a board or forum. It is a blog. My blog. Don’t like the rules, you have plenty of alternatives. I didn’t silence anyone. And this isn’t yr comment thread. If you’re not having fun in this sandbox find another.

  21. Steve Sailer has said (I believe it was him), they know it is better to be a second class citizen in a first rate country than a first class citizen in a third rate country.

    Israel is a “first-rate” country for you & yr fellow Jewish citizens. It is certainly not a “first rate country” for its non-Jewish citizens. In fact, the Israel they live in is an entirely diff. country than the one you live in. But you wouldn’t recognize that because you have no direct experience of how these people, yr fellow citizens, live.

    Steve Sailer won’t pass muster as a credible source here. He certainly passes muster at conservative blogs, but you must’ve taken a sharp right turn on yr way to this one. And what are Sailer’s bona fides to speak on living conditions for Israel’s Arab population.?

  22. I distinctly recall polls showing Israeli Arabs basically satisfied with their lives.

    I spent 10 seconds on Google & found the survey you’re referring to. Why make me do the work for you?

    First, the survey is published in the Jpost, not an entirely reliable source. 2nd the poll was conducted by the Israeli Census Bureau which certainly has a vested interest in providing a positive result. The article I read didn’t provide the questions asked nor say anything about the survey itself. Find me a more detailed version of the poll results & then we can talk.

    Sure they resent being a minority.

    They don’t resent being a minority. They resent being an oppressed minority.

    it is not ‘racist” to transfer East Jerusalem to Arab control

    Israeli Arab towns have been within Israel since 1948. The only reason to transfer sovereignty is to help purify Israel of “excess” Arabs. Their inhabitants do not want to be patriated to Palestine. E. Jerusalem has not been under Israeli control since 1948. E. Jerusalem is disputed territory & populated by Arabs who want to have Palestinians sovereignty. That’s the difference.

  23. uber zionist and the christian zionist are a marriage made in sheol and they deserve each other…..i wonder if the wedding will be held under a kippa by an interdemoninational cleric?….
    the muslims will not be negotiated out of the principles they live for…..the forces are alligning themselves…..china and it’s many deals with iran and their knowledge and fear of the empire called america …russia will deffinitely not side with the u.s in the middle east since they know that the empire of democracy is trying to check mate them in europe and will not allow this to happen….so the forces are polarizing themselves and all one hears from uber zionist is ….BRING IT ON…….just keep in mind that war is hell and we will all be asked to pay a price in an extended conflict…..i say lets negotiate a peace treaty in the middle east….let israel allow for the palestinians to live in dignity and not under the boot of their israeli prison guards…….the time for peace is now….the more entrenched both sides get the harder it will be to come off those polar forces of pride and hatred…..and fear.

    preferences can be negotiated but me will die for principles.
    it really is a shame that so many of the american zionist are watching this from the sidelines and pushing buttons like if it were a playstation game…..problem is that this game is with real lives and not some fantasy on a tv screen.
    shalom to y’all

  24. as soon as i find the migration numbers for israel i will post them so you can also see that israel is in a net minus position with regards to those entering and those leaving there.

    PARIS – 18 Nov. 2003 (Reuters) “Roger Cukierman, head of the Crif umbrella group of Jewish organizations, said Ambassador Nissim Zvili may have exaggerated the situation in the hope of winning immigrants for Israel. Zvili spoke of rising concern on Saturday after a Jewish school near paris was firebombed in an attack that prompted the government to launch a fight against a “new anti-Semitism”, coming mostly from the immigrant Muslim community. ”
    TURKEY – Tovah Lazaroff – 21 Nov 2003
    “Turkish Jewish leaders accused Israel Thursday of exploiting the twin synagogue bombings Saturday to make a public relations point about anti-Semitism and immigration. Executive Vice president of the Turkish Jewish Community Lina Filiba called the Jerusalem post from Istanbul, upset about the way the Israeli media and officials have portrayed the bombings, particularly articles and comments talking about the need to bring Turkish Jews to Israel in light of the attacks anti-Semitic nature.”
    OXFORD, BRITAIN – Brian Klug, a senior research fellow in philosophy at St Benet’s Hall, Oxford, and a founder member of the Jewish Forum for Justice and Human Rights, published an article in “The Guardian” entitled: No, anti-Zionism is not anti-Semitism. He describes how the British foreign secretary, Arthur Balfour (sponsor of the 1905 Aliens Act to restrict Jewish immigration to the UK), wanted the government to commit itself to a Jewish homeland in palestine, his declaration was delayed – not by anti-Semites but by leading figures in the British Jewish community. They included a Jewish member of the cabinet who called Balfour’s pro-Zionism “anti-Semitic in result”.

  25. Richard-as far as the Arabs are concerned, all of pre-67 Israel is “disputed” territory. That is why they call the 1948 War the Naqba (the Catastrophe), not the 1967 War. That is why the Arabs insist on the so-called “Right of Return”, since they do not recognize Israeli sovereignity within the pre-67 Green Line. If they did they would realize they have no claim on who Israel lets in over the Green Line. I challenge your claim that East Jerusalem Arabs want to live under Palestinian Authority rule. Many Arabs are trying to get residency permits in Jerusalem.

    Why is publishing something in the Jerusalem Post automatically suspect? Why are statistics put out by the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics unreliable? Who is reliable in your eyes?

    Why is it immoral to get rid of “excess Arabs” from Um el-Fahem by transferring sovereignity to the Palestinians but it is moral to expel Jews physically from Gush Katif when Jews have been living in Gaza continuously for over 2000 years? Why is it understandable that all Jews be removed from parts of Eretz Israel simply because the Arabs don’t like seeing them? It would be unthinkable to say that Arabs should leave Yaffo because Jews don’t like seeing them.

    What is the difference between a Zionist and an “uberZionist”. I have never heard that term.

    Aliyah is increasing from France. Also from North America. There is a whole new French neighborhood in Beit Shemesh, for example.

  26. as far as the Arabs are concerned, all of pre-67 Israel is “disputed” territory.

    There must be a political group you’re an expert in portraying, but it isn’t the Israeli left and it certainly isn’t “the Arabs.” To say “the Arabs” find all of Israel “disputed territory” is like saying “the Jews” want all territory from the NIle to the Euphrates for themselves. There are a few Jews who believe this. But does this accurately portray the views of “the Arabs?” No. It portrays the views of the rejectionists. Poll after poll of Palestinian opinion shows them fully prepared to accept an Israeli state within 67 borders. Try again.

    That is why the Arabs insist on the so-called “Right of Return”

    Again, incorrect. Most Palestinians want the Right of Return recognized IN SOME FORM. Not necessarily in a literal form by which all expelled families could return physically to Israel. Prob. the majority are now prepared to accept compensation in lieu of physical return. You’ve apparently not heard of the term ‘nuance’ in describing the views of anyone you oppose.

    I challenge your claim that East Jerusalem Arabs want to live under Palestinian Authority rule. Many Arabs are trying to get residency permits in Jerusalem.

    Your argument is hopelessly confused. Of course, E. Jerusalmites want Jerusalem residency permits. Israel has done to E. Jerusalem a modified form of what it’s done to Gaza. Palestinians cannot get into or out of E. Jerusalem. It is virtually sealed off fr. the W. Bank. All allegedly in the name of security. But a convenient outgrowth of the policy is to suffocate E. Jerusalem residents making them want to leave. Hence those who wis to get Jerusalem residence permits. If you doubt E. Jerusalem residents want to live under Palestinian sovereignty you’re more obtuse than I thought you were.

    Why is publishing something in the Jerusalem Post automatically suspect?

    Because the J. Post is the Washington Times of the Israeli media. Conrad Black may not own it but his right wing spirit is alive & well there.

    Why are statistics put out by the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics unreliable?

    Because it is in the interest of the State of Israel to show the world that ‘our Arabs’ are happy shiny ones. I truly would like to know more about the content of the survey in order to gauge whether it is reliable. So if you find a more substantial article about it let me know.

    Who is reliable in your eyes?

    Any professional pollster who publishes their results along w. the questions asked & the methodology followed as all professional surveys do.

    Why is it immoral to get rid of “excess Arabs” from Um el-Fahem by transferring sovereignity to the Palestinians but it is moral to expel Jews physically from Gush Katif when Jews have been living in Gaza continuously for over 2000 years?

    It’s a little thing called “democracy.” Israeli Arabs don’t want to transfer sovereignty. And even if Israel did so those same Arabs would have an excellent case for an international court as a flagrant violation of international law. But even Israeli Jews haven’t yet supported Lieberman’s racist proposal so it hasn’t even got the support of the government.

    As for Gush Katif, the Israeli government which you & yr fellow citizens elected removed yr settler friends. The vast majority of Israelis supported the government’s actions. If you have a problem w. that elect a new government & put the settlers back in there.

    It would be unthinkable to say that Arabs should leave Yaffo because Jews don’t like seeing them.

    No, not unthinkable. Some polls show as many as 40% of Israelis in favor of forced transfer of Arab population from Israel.

    What is the difference between a Zionist and an “uberZionist”

    A Zionist is someone who believes that Jews have a right to a homeland. An “uber-Zionist” is someone who believes not only that Jews have a right to a homeland; but that Israel has a right to oppress another people, flagrantly violate international law all in the name of Zionism and the Jewish people, & that Israel can virtually do no wrong while Arabs can do no right.

    Aliyah is increasing from France. Also from North America. There is a whole new French neighborhood in Beit Shemesh, for example.

    But just think about the broad stream of aliyah that would occur if Israel actually was a secure, stable & peaceful place to live. Then Israel could truly realize all its potential as a place of ingathering for those Jews who wished to live there.

  27. I have just discovered that the comments written by Herbert Kaine and AMin Nusseibeh were sent from the same IP address indicating they are one and same person. Why a right wing Jew would feel the need to assume the identity of an anti-Zionist Palestinian in this blog’s comment threads is beyond me. As far as I’m concerned anything written by either of them here or in the past is utterly treif and unless a satisfactory explanation is forthcoming from whoever this person is they won’t be commenting here in future.

  28. But you wouldn’t recognize that because you have no direct experience of how these people, yr fellow citizens, live.

    What do you mean to say with this assertion?

  29. What do you mean to say with this assertion?

    Yr. comments, assumptions & generalizations about the attitudes & everyday life of Israeli Arabs indicate to me you have very little, if any direct contact or knowledge of this community. I hear sweeping generalizations that seem divorced fr. reality, but instead based on politics or ideology.

    If I’m wrong about yr direct experience of Arab life in Israel then instruct me howso

  30. The idea of a two state solution is that there should be a Jewish state and an Arab state (though I understand you endorse a two state solution of an Arab state and a binational state, but that is not what most people mean when they speak of a 2 state solution). It only makes sense that the borders be drawn in such a way as to maximize each nations majority in their own state. There is no reason to insist on the 48-67 borders if both sides agree on changes. It is obvious that Israeli Arabs reject changes of their citizenship status for the obvious reason that life is better in Israel as an “oppressed minority” than it will ever be in what is emerging as a non-democratic, corrupt Palestinian state. And I don’t blame them.

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