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Originally Posted by powerclown
Before preceeding along this line of discussion, I'd like to ask this:
Do you think Israel has the right to exist?
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Well, excellent question, powerclown. That's pretty much the foundation of all of these debates, isn't it? Might be a totally different thread topic, really.
Still, even though you are not asking me, I want to reply. My sheer gut reaction is:
1) Yes, I do believe Jews (and any displaced population) have the right to a homeland.
2) But no, I do not believe anyone has the right to establish a homeland (Jewish or otherwise) on TOP of someone else's land, thus creating another displaced population. It will not work, and it is not working. They could have picked somewhere else. Maybe that sounds simplistic, but honestly... there WERE other options. You would have to be insane to think, even back then, "Hey! Let's create a homeland for the Jews... in that lovely, welcoming place called the Middle East. There's plenty of space and the people are very welcoming to Jews... everyone loves their neighbors there. Let's do it, man." (And people are STILL surprised at the reactions, 60 years down the line... ) I mean, W T F ?
3) That said, if it had to be Palestine... the Jews, as with all other populations in the world, deserve a "homeland" in a troubled area
to the extent that they are able to defend its borders ON THEIR OWN, just like everyone else (other than Israel) is forced to do. Without military crutches to hold them up. Civilizations and populations have risen and fallen for millenia based on their sovereign ability to fight and establish themselves, or surrender and be taken over. I just fail to see why Israel is any more special than any other nation in the history of the world, and why it should deserve special treatment from anyone.
I mean, if I, as a suburban middle-class person, move to the ghetto because my great-grandparents used to have a house there, and Dammit, I WANT to live there no matter how dangerous it is... I'm not going to expect the fucking US government to subsidize my desire to live in the ghetto. Good luck. I would be on my own, no matter what happened to me. Any of you would agree with that...
I welcome other responses to powerclown's question. Maybe it will clear up some things for everyone here.