LDLD forgets that Jews have in the past and continue to suffer from antisemitic discrimination – something that MondoLies is trying to promote at all costs.

That Jewish positions on cultural or political issues are accepted in the West is very much related to the West being “Judeo-Christian”. Western values (and most democratic values) are common to those 2 religions.

Islam is radically different. Killing one’s sister is a matter of HONOR in the Islamic world, but not in any other culture. Beheading human beings to appease one’s god is ACCEPTED in Islam but not in any other major religion. Promoting genocide is HOLY in Islam but generally viewed very negatively by everyone else.

If the Muslim world finds itself on the outside, perhaps Islamism is the problem. Don’t try and blame the Jews.

And can we have an open thread on the new format?

The Palestinians are not Israeli citizens, Israel doesn’t give them the same rights as it does citizens.

You are right about America, anyone (with rare exceptions) born in America is an American citizen. However, not all countries grant automatic citizenship to children born of foreign nationals.

BTW, territories are the lands (or near land seas) of a State. Do you consider the Palestinians a State? If not, whose territories are they?

In general, most people – including Israelis – are uninformed on this conflict. How many public debates have you seen where a Zionist ‘wins’? They have never had the facts on their side.

And just as an example – imagine the commentary of Jake/Eitan/Thom being implemented into a mainstream debate against someone such as Noam Chomsky. First off, such commentary would be taboo – even for our country which has been subjected to nearly a century of anti-Arab and anti-Islamic media.

You have to factor in the general intellectual laziness of the masses. It’s not just I-P. It’s everything.

Just check opinion polls during the 2004 election. Bush voters AND Kerry voters were uninformed but the Bush voters were much MORE uninformed. People do not elect a President based on substance.

They vote based on A) who is presented to them as a mainstream (safe) choice and B) who they *think* (image) will deal w/ domestic issues the best (by and large the majority).

A conflict like I-P – which is swamped in intellectual dishonesty and outright lies is very difficult to communicate w/ sincerity to the masses.

We – as a country – are against Arabs and Islam – who themselves are disorganized and relatively ‘new’ to the US. Meanwhile, the organized Jewish community has been here for much longer and is a part of the Establishment.

They can shape the discourse and act as gatekeepers.

It’s a constant uphill battle for Arabs and Muslims JUST to shatter the stereotypes and outright racist/bigotry conflations that they are subjected to as a norm.

Jews have an institutional advantage and a societal advantage. Arabs have neither. They have to work – meaning, living life as a ‘game’ and doing all the insane things the organized Jewish community does (like distributing ‘Hasbara’ handbooks which promote purely rhetorical strategies for the I-P debate).

Until then, expect the usual imperial racism and mentality.

I mean, look on YouTube and you’ll see tons of Jake in Jerusalem’s. These people are a dime a dozen. Bottom-feeders are worst and mediocre at best. They are not meant to be taken seriously but they comprise that force of intellectual dishonesty and outright lies that the Arabs and Muslim Americans have to work against. It’s a constant uphill battle.