- Nov 6, 2005
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From the word go I will state this is my MHO opinion and nothing more. As I will also state a certain admiration for the Jewish religions world history. As the Israeli rabbinical traditions has always favored culture and human knowledge. Maybe we can debate if the Israelis were the first religion to advocate monotheism or not, but we can certainly say every ancient civilization had their own religious beliefs to unite and justify their nationality idenity as nationhood hood jumped the shark from being small groups of hunter and gathers to actual larger classes called nations that can go on to being national and united regional powers. United by religion, able to become a regional military power to enforce their national religious will on others.
So right away an agnostic like me asks 3 questions. (1) Why should be religion be a universal organizing principle for ancient civilizations? (2) Why should, in least in Western history, should monotheism be a better principle than polytheism? (3) If we compare various multiple religions, how do we find the one single right religion among the other phonies?
But still I have to admire the Jewish religion, because almost unique among all other conquered small religions, the Jewish religion maintained its religious identity for at least 1800 years after Rome exiled the Jewish people from Israel. As the Jewish people became a small minority religion in almost every country on earth. While Jews had to face religious some alternating periods of alternating discrimination iand acceptance n almost every country they found themselves in. But still, truth be told, that Jewish minority somehow almost always led its host country in culture and learning.
So why should we have anti-antisemitism as a almost universal reaction for the past 1800 years of world history? A key question IMHO. Is it a question that Jews are indeed superior people and lesser people are envious, or it the fact the Jews refuse to assimilate with other cultures, as Jews consider themselves superior and divide the world into Jews and inferior gentiles and thus pissed off all gentiles? Somewhat of a chicken or egg question or maybe a self fufilling propesy.
But still, for the Jewish people, the whole antisemitism came to critical mass with the rise of Adolph Hitler who advocated the ultimate solution to the Jewish question could only be the complete extermination of all Jews on a hereditary basis. The fact that Hitler was a complete anti-antisemitism nut case was not unique in European history, the shocking fact, IMHO, was in the fact so many so called civilized European countries supported Hitler.
As the Jewish Holocaust became part of WW2 and a stain on humanity. But still in a WW2 that cost at least 50 million lives, why should we only blame only antisemitism that only accounted for 12% of all WW2 casualties?
But still as all the dust settled in WW2, the larger European people who supported Hitler faced a Jewish refugee crisis from millionions of penny less Jewish people that had somehow survived the Hitler extermination camps.
If there were was ever a set of people who could say to the world, you owe us justice, The Jewish refugees of Europe would be high up on that list in MHO. Because where to relocate Israeli refugees became problem one. Because giving Jewish refugees virgin land and devolopment money would have been the ideal way to establish a 100% Jewish State with no gentiles. Of course by the 20'th century, there was no depopulated habital land to be found. So to properly compensate the Jew's, the question is where to put them? As the Europeans that were almost 100% responsible for the WW2 Jewish holocaust adopted a brilliant plan to dump their Jewish refuges on Israel. Bot not only did all Arab nations cry NIMB, the former British mandate already populated by mainly Palestinian land owners, became the 1948 state of Israel.
Had the Israeli Jews in 1948 respected the land owned by Palestinians, IMHO, Israel would now be a respected mid-east State, but instead Israel choose the use the same tactics as Hitler to disenfranchise Palestinians who lived in the 1948 former Brisish mandate, who owned 2/3 of the land that became 1948 Israel. In effect punishing unarmed Palestinians for the sins of attacking Arab armies. By 1953, the Palestine ethnic cleansing was compete as it became illegal for a Palestinian to even own land in Israel. As the right of return is still a viable legal principle today. However, Israeli, still fearing stirring up more Arab State hatreds, allowed some Arab Nationals to retain land owning rights inside of Israel As 1948 State of Israel finally got rid of all its Palestiniansand became an all Jewish government.
But then we have to ask, who should be responsible for that set of Palestinians that formerly lived on the land that became 1948 Israel? Who were deprived of their land and human right's without any due process of law. As the Israeli Jews used the same tactics Hitler used on them to disentranchise Palestinians. With the one exception, Israelis felt no need to kill Palestinians after they had gotten rid of them.
But where the Palestinians went is after they were chased out of Israel was mainly to the West Bank and Gaza, both areas weakly held by either Joran or Egypt. And as other Arab nations at least fed and let the Palestinians own land, the 1967&73 Israeli wars brought the Israelis right back at the Palestinians throat, but this time Israel has no place to chase the Palestinians. But since the UN forbids land by conquest, Israel has no legitimate claim to the West Bank and Gaza, Israel remains in control of Gaza, the West Bank, and East Jersalem 39 years later only because they are still allowed to run a miliary occupation.
In 1992, there was some hope, in a land for peace swap where the Palestinians could form a viable Palestinian State in Gaza, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem, but by 2012, Israel has snuck some 500,000 illegal Israeli immigrants onto disputed land. Meaning by now, the hope of a viable Palestinian State is about dead, as Israel now has a totally unsustainable long term survival strategy in the mid-east as Israel tries to outward extend its zone of control.
First, IMHO, its important to understand why the present Israel stance of having total military hegemony in the mid-east was effective before but can't work long term. First the odds are terrible, no more than 7 Israeli Jews Israel can rely on against a total Arab population of a hostile 280 million people Arab. Worse yet, the Arabs have massive oil money and Israel has little national resources to sell. Presidents like Eisenhower and Kennedy took a dim view of the Israeli theft of Palestinian lands, but still Nasser of Egypt and his threats to close the Suez canal made Israeli military might an asset to the US and the EU in keeping the Canal open in 1956 to 1958. As a result the French basically build Israel the nuclear weapons breeder reactor at Dismona. Later on, two US Presidents currently lowly regarded Prez's in LBJ and Nixon as very dull knifes in the drawer also aided and armed Israel to the teeth while engaging in a unwinnable military quagmire in Vietnam. At about the same time, Palestinian protests and attacks started that same unwinningable insurgency against Israel. Because Israel's 1948 land theft sins still haunt it on the eve of Israel 64'th birthday.
Lots of US water has gone under the dam since Nixon met his waterloo at watergate. As the USA has bled blood, treasure, and economic decline in two brand new quagmires in Afghanistan and Iraq. As the EU and most of US allies grow increasing disenchanted with US foreign policy, and now regard Israeli greed and stupidity as the greatest threat to world stability. As the past 10 years for Israel has been a total disaster to its international standing. In just the past two years
Israel has lost 30 years of diplomatic progress in inking treaties with Egypt, Jordan, and Tirkey. In the past 4 years Israel still faces international war crimes charges over its rape of Gaza, and in the past 7 years the Arab still remember the rape of Lebanon. While the events of the Arab spring still continue, as old line Arab Dictator after old line dictator topple, as younger Arab youth demand action and not mere words in terms of improving their economies.
But still, the Israel military dominance strategy demands that Israel military have more military power than all the Arab States combined. Which in the end can't work long term unless, in rising tides, all Arab boats sink, and only Israeli boats rise. Which is simply not happening as Turkish, Lebanese, and Egyptian boats are rising faster than Israeli boars, there will be growing debate about anyone's ability to keep Iranian boats from rising, and question will soon arise if its even wise for Uncle susker to keep only 7 million Jews propped up when (1) Uncle Sam's foreign policy foreign policy money cubbord is bare. (2) When its somewhat stiupid to alienate 280 million Arab with oil to support the questionable and unsustainable policies of Israel? An Israel that is now far more of a laibility than a US asset. In short, the USA and the EU tried the militarily dominate the mid-east strategy and now discover it only leads to unwinnable quagmires in what now amounts to a post colonial era.
Now the next question becomes, since the entire Israeli strategy is now invested in maintaning a unsustainable domiance of all its Arab neighbors, how can Israel avoid being pushed into the sea by all its Arab Neighbors who have a 64 year Israeli track record to inspire their hatreds of Israel.?
And their we can only have hope and wisdom from the South African experience. Israel has a huge amount of Engineering talent, pipelines and water desalification plants can make the entire semiarid mid-east bloom, and only mid-east regional cooperation can make a better life for all possible. I am an optimist, I see the glass half full and refilling, rather than see the glass half empty and better steal as much as you can before the glass is totally empty.
So right away an agnostic like me asks 3 questions. (1) Why should be religion be a universal organizing principle for ancient civilizations? (2) Why should, in least in Western history, should monotheism be a better principle than polytheism? (3) If we compare various multiple religions, how do we find the one single right religion among the other phonies?
But still I have to admire the Jewish religion, because almost unique among all other conquered small religions, the Jewish religion maintained its religious identity for at least 1800 years after Rome exiled the Jewish people from Israel. As the Jewish people became a small minority religion in almost every country on earth. While Jews had to face religious some alternating periods of alternating discrimination iand acceptance n almost every country they found themselves in. But still, truth be told, that Jewish minority somehow almost always led its host country in culture and learning.
So why should we have anti-antisemitism as a almost universal reaction for the past 1800 years of world history? A key question IMHO. Is it a question that Jews are indeed superior people and lesser people are envious, or it the fact the Jews refuse to assimilate with other cultures, as Jews consider themselves superior and divide the world into Jews and inferior gentiles and thus pissed off all gentiles? Somewhat of a chicken or egg question or maybe a self fufilling propesy.
But still, for the Jewish people, the whole antisemitism came to critical mass with the rise of Adolph Hitler who advocated the ultimate solution to the Jewish question could only be the complete extermination of all Jews on a hereditary basis. The fact that Hitler was a complete anti-antisemitism nut case was not unique in European history, the shocking fact, IMHO, was in the fact so many so called civilized European countries supported Hitler.
As the Jewish Holocaust became part of WW2 and a stain on humanity. But still in a WW2 that cost at least 50 million lives, why should we only blame only antisemitism that only accounted for 12% of all WW2 casualties?
But still as all the dust settled in WW2, the larger European people who supported Hitler faced a Jewish refugee crisis from millionions of penny less Jewish people that had somehow survived the Hitler extermination camps.
If there were was ever a set of people who could say to the world, you owe us justice, The Jewish refugees of Europe would be high up on that list in MHO. Because where to relocate Israeli refugees became problem one. Because giving Jewish refugees virgin land and devolopment money would have been the ideal way to establish a 100% Jewish State with no gentiles. Of course by the 20'th century, there was no depopulated habital land to be found. So to properly compensate the Jew's, the question is where to put them? As the Europeans that were almost 100% responsible for the WW2 Jewish holocaust adopted a brilliant plan to dump their Jewish refuges on Israel. Bot not only did all Arab nations cry NIMB, the former British mandate already populated by mainly Palestinian land owners, became the 1948 state of Israel.
Had the Israeli Jews in 1948 respected the land owned by Palestinians, IMHO, Israel would now be a respected mid-east State, but instead Israel choose the use the same tactics as Hitler to disenfranchise Palestinians who lived in the 1948 former Brisish mandate, who owned 2/3 of the land that became 1948 Israel. In effect punishing unarmed Palestinians for the sins of attacking Arab armies. By 1953, the Palestine ethnic cleansing was compete as it became illegal for a Palestinian to even own land in Israel. As the right of return is still a viable legal principle today. However, Israeli, still fearing stirring up more Arab State hatreds, allowed some Arab Nationals to retain land owning rights inside of Israel As 1948 State of Israel finally got rid of all its Palestiniansand became an all Jewish government.
But then we have to ask, who should be responsible for that set of Palestinians that formerly lived on the land that became 1948 Israel? Who were deprived of their land and human right's without any due process of law. As the Israeli Jews used the same tactics Hitler used on them to disentranchise Palestinians. With the one exception, Israelis felt no need to kill Palestinians after they had gotten rid of them.
But where the Palestinians went is after they were chased out of Israel was mainly to the West Bank and Gaza, both areas weakly held by either Joran or Egypt. And as other Arab nations at least fed and let the Palestinians own land, the 1967&73 Israeli wars brought the Israelis right back at the Palestinians throat, but this time Israel has no place to chase the Palestinians. But since the UN forbids land by conquest, Israel has no legitimate claim to the West Bank and Gaza, Israel remains in control of Gaza, the West Bank, and East Jersalem 39 years later only because they are still allowed to run a miliary occupation.
In 1992, there was some hope, in a land for peace swap where the Palestinians could form a viable Palestinian State in Gaza, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem, but by 2012, Israel has snuck some 500,000 illegal Israeli immigrants onto disputed land. Meaning by now, the hope of a viable Palestinian State is about dead, as Israel now has a totally unsustainable long term survival strategy in the mid-east as Israel tries to outward extend its zone of control.
First, IMHO, its important to understand why the present Israel stance of having total military hegemony in the mid-east was effective before but can't work long term. First the odds are terrible, no more than 7 Israeli Jews Israel can rely on against a total Arab population of a hostile 280 million people Arab. Worse yet, the Arabs have massive oil money and Israel has little national resources to sell. Presidents like Eisenhower and Kennedy took a dim view of the Israeli theft of Palestinian lands, but still Nasser of Egypt and his threats to close the Suez canal made Israeli military might an asset to the US and the EU in keeping the Canal open in 1956 to 1958. As a result the French basically build Israel the nuclear weapons breeder reactor at Dismona. Later on, two US Presidents currently lowly regarded Prez's in LBJ and Nixon as very dull knifes in the drawer also aided and armed Israel to the teeth while engaging in a unwinnable military quagmire in Vietnam. At about the same time, Palestinian protests and attacks started that same unwinningable insurgency against Israel. Because Israel's 1948 land theft sins still haunt it on the eve of Israel 64'th birthday.
Lots of US water has gone under the dam since Nixon met his waterloo at watergate. As the USA has bled blood, treasure, and economic decline in two brand new quagmires in Afghanistan and Iraq. As the EU and most of US allies grow increasing disenchanted with US foreign policy, and now regard Israeli greed and stupidity as the greatest threat to world stability. As the past 10 years for Israel has been a total disaster to its international standing. In just the past two years
Israel has lost 30 years of diplomatic progress in inking treaties with Egypt, Jordan, and Tirkey. In the past 4 years Israel still faces international war crimes charges over its rape of Gaza, and in the past 7 years the Arab still remember the rape of Lebanon. While the events of the Arab spring still continue, as old line Arab Dictator after old line dictator topple, as younger Arab youth demand action and not mere words in terms of improving their economies.
But still, the Israel military dominance strategy demands that Israel military have more military power than all the Arab States combined. Which in the end can't work long term unless, in rising tides, all Arab boats sink, and only Israeli boats rise. Which is simply not happening as Turkish, Lebanese, and Egyptian boats are rising faster than Israeli boars, there will be growing debate about anyone's ability to keep Iranian boats from rising, and question will soon arise if its even wise for Uncle susker to keep only 7 million Jews propped up when (1) Uncle Sam's foreign policy foreign policy money cubbord is bare. (2) When its somewhat stiupid to alienate 280 million Arab with oil to support the questionable and unsustainable policies of Israel? An Israel that is now far more of a laibility than a US asset. In short, the USA and the EU tried the militarily dominate the mid-east strategy and now discover it only leads to unwinnable quagmires in what now amounts to a post colonial era.
Now the next question becomes, since the entire Israeli strategy is now invested in maintaning a unsustainable domiance of all its Arab neighbors, how can Israel avoid being pushed into the sea by all its Arab Neighbors who have a 64 year Israeli track record to inspire their hatreds of Israel.?
And their we can only have hope and wisdom from the South African experience. Israel has a huge amount of Engineering talent, pipelines and water desalification plants can make the entire semiarid mid-east bloom, and only mid-east regional cooperation can make a better life for all possible. I am an optimist, I see the glass half full and refilling, rather than see the glass half empty and better steal as much as you can before the glass is totally empty.
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