I think the idea of a Jewish state might be over. I hesitate to declare such things because I'm so far away, but certainly its international legitimacy has been dealt a serious blow. And here is Zionist Bernard Avishai saying that the Gaza slaughter is being supported by overwhelming majorities of Israeli citizens because they sense their own political illegitimacy. John Mearsheimer has also hinted that far worse awaits us than Gaza... [emphasis mine]:
[Last week] a majority of Knesset parties, including Kadima, voted to strip the
Arab parties of the right to participate in the upcoming elections (a
right, most agree, the High Court will restore). For the growing
discomfort of Israeli Jews with the country's Arab citizens, and vice versa,
is very much reflected in Israel's fierce response in Gaza. The
prosecution of this attack suggests, not just a fear of some next
crisis, but of the chronic crisis...
What is the crime these Arab parties have committed? They insist on Israel being "a state of its citizens," not a "Jewish and democratic state." ...[S]ince 1948, Israelis have allowed "Jewish state” to evolve in curious ways: most land is reserved for “Jewish settlement,” the state gives the orthodox rabbinate control over marriage and aspects of citizenship, the whole of Jerusalem is decreed a Jewish patrimony, and so forth. (I take this all up in The Hebrew Republic.)
While the Arab minority, 20% of the population, has been marginalized, Israel has spawned a kind of Judean settler state around Jerusalem and the West Bank, which Israelis are reluctant to confront for the sake of Palestinians. For most, the word democracy has come to mean, more than anything else, maintaining “a Jewish majority.”
And this Jewish state, Israelis know in a day-to-day kind of way, is something that they would reject if they were in the shoes of Israeli Arabs. Lurking behind this knowledge is the not unreasonable fear that any peace they make with the Palestinians will unravel as the rejection of Israel by its own Arab citizens unspools. Sadly, you see, Israelis see their Jewish state as a bone in the throat of Palestinians, not just historically, but still. They feel themselves, increasingly, in a desperate “existential” fight where no holds are barred now, because no holds will be barred later.
What is the crime these Arab parties have committed? They insist on Israel being "a state of its citizens," not a "Jewish and democratic state." ...[S]ince 1948, Israelis have allowed "Jewish state” to evolve in curious ways: most land is reserved for “Jewish settlement,” the state gives the orthodox rabbinate control over marriage and aspects of citizenship, the whole of Jerusalem is decreed a Jewish patrimony, and so forth. (I take this all up in The Hebrew Republic.)
While the Arab minority, 20% of the population, has been marginalized, Israel has spawned a kind of Judean settler state around Jerusalem and the West Bank, which Israelis are reluctant to confront for the sake of Palestinians. For most, the word democracy has come to mean, more than anything else, maintaining “a Jewish majority.”
And this Jewish state, Israelis know in a day-to-day kind of way, is something that they would reject if they were in the shoes of Israeli Arabs. Lurking behind this knowledge is the not unreasonable fear that any peace they make with the Palestinians will unravel as the rejection of Israel by its own Arab citizens unspools. Sadly, you see, Israelis see their Jewish state as a bone in the throat of Palestinians, not just historically, but still. They feel themselves, increasingly, in a desperate “existential” fight where no holds are barred now, because no holds will be barred later.
Here's the Joke of the Month. Ha'aretz does it, folks:
"The Jewish residents of Sderot, Netivot, Be'er Sheva and Ofakim are literally starving, afraid to risk their lives to go in search of food and, just as likely, not find it. "
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1055176.html
Blogger,
Please don't do this to me, I almost choked on my afternoon tea reading this drivel.
Eva
The zionist put the bone in the throat of the Palestines long ago and keep stuffing more bones down their throats.
Now the Israelis are afraid of retribution?
They should be. I think most of the world rightly wants to see an end to the zionist madness. Too much money, blood and time has been spent by the world on this one, what can only be called a cult of seperatness, greed and revenge already.
I now think Israel was a mistake. If it is allowed to exist any longer is has to be in another form other than what it is now. The zionist have proven they are not fit nor capable as a people of self rule or governing a country or fitting into the larger universe.
I see it now as the insanity it has been all along, a country created on the zionist premise of "ethnic seperateness" plunked down in the midst of a region and on the confiscated land of non jews was madness to begin with.
I don't know how to end this eternal,never ending zionist insanity except to hope and push for a total withrawal of US aid and support, both verbal and material,and leave Israelis to live or die as they choose.
However I don't think that is likely to happen soon enough. I think Obama will continue the policy of supporting while trying to "reason with" Israel. It won't work of course because the Israelis are literally mad dogs now. They will continue to provoke and finally provoke something horrendous enough to upend themselves and the US.
Then Israel will be finished. In the meanwhile a lot more people are going to die.
We countenance israel's perverse version of "democracy" because our own is largely a fabrication.
Good for Nothing
America’s grandest inventions
Spring from the best of intentions
If not by the book, then by hook or by crook
Relying on sly interventions
In everything we do you see
Our version of democracy.
We loudly plead for tolerance
From many one’s our best defense
Against malingering malcontents
Who travel roads beyond our fence
In everything we say you see
Our version of democracy.
Pretending we’re the power that be
We fight to right all tyranny
And send our checks to Amnesty
I say the truth will make you flee
In everything we do you see
Our version of democracy.
yes, the Zionist Israeli regime will continue, supported by ignorant goys in the USA, kept ignorant by their corrupt American goys in lockstep with the Zionist rubric, "judeo-christian"–goyishekopfs–
we Jews love those stupid naive Christians and Christian agonstics.
American, yes it is so. Bit before Israel is taught to see all humans as humans, the USA will pay a price. All Obama's hires will make it so.
What a pile of dumb, naive humans, the USA goy masses.
This all sounds rather familiar to me. Back when I was in college, in the early 1980s, it was part of the student government ritual every year that at the very first meeting of the student club representatives, the Hillel (Jewish club) rep would try to get the Palestinian club kicked off campus as "supporters of terrorism". It never worked, but that never stopped them from trying. Sounds like Israeli politics has yet to outgrow that childish attitude.
How Israeli children learn to hate Arabs
http://www.middleeast.org/launch/redirect.cgi?c=2&num=143&a=84
A zero-sum game of security is a perpetual motion machine of conflict.
Don't Americans see that Gaza is a prison for people whose crime was being the wrong religion??
Americans would fight each other with our bare hands if Israel's state model were imposed here, with a cross on the flag and your property confiscated.
If we don't listen to Phil Weiss, millions more will die, needlessly and tragically. No one will be left alive in that scorched region, whether right religion or wrong religion.
Americans are circumsized. Keep them from humanitarian masterbation. Cut dicks are in; nothing on MSM indicates otherwise.
Blogger,
I actually thought it was going to be a real joke, given the quoted lead-in.
Posted by: American | January 17, 2009 at 02:06 PM
I agree.
I can't think of anything Israel could do that would cause congress and the administration to abandon their support of it.
The idea that Israel's war against Gaza is a war against democracy is ridiculous. If anything, Israel is the only one in the world respecting Palestinian democratic choice: Palestinians voted 71% in favor of erasing Israel off the face of the earth by supporting Hamas. The rest of the world said: no, you do not understand, they want peace. Israel is the only one respecting Palestinian call for war and by G-d they now have it. No sense in crying about it now. They should have thought about it before and restrain Hamas. They did not, so Israel is doing that for them.
Ohad,
This is the argument straight from the Nazi Germany. Germans felt really threatened by Jews, because they chose Jewishness. Where is this logic taking you?
Ohad doesn't get the simple truth that HAMAS was voted in because
they were the only ones daily helping average Palestinians instead of hindering them, many of whom
never felt as one with the militant arm of HAMAS. Israel-USA have
now cemented those former
doubters of the militant wing of HAMAS into being totally pro-HAMAS.
The election of Hamas was what brought in the abstraction of destroying Israel as policy, the long-range rockets on Ashdod and Ashkelon were what made Israelis realize that Hamas was inching towards it in praxis.
Israel chose not to wait for Iranian-made missiles on Tel Aviv. There are/were plenty of heavily-armed nations which do or did not recognize each other watching across borders that are only cease-fire lines, BRD/DDR, North/South Korea, Northern Ireland/Republic of Ireland, but since the weapons never flew, it didn't matter.
"The election of Hamas was what brought in the abstraction of destroying Israel as policy."
You're crazy. That particular abstraction began when G-d created the Gentiles.