Chris said:
This quasi-democracy state is what worries me. If Israel can be a quasi democracy why shouldn’t other countries do the same?
Do you know of any other MENA country besides Israel where every citizen can vote and all elections are honest and upright? Why don't they emulate Israel? You already know the answer Chris.
Chris said:
If Jews were not persecuted by the region's Muslims I don't feel that the relgious makeup of the country would matter.
Yes, and
if the moon were made of cream-cheese...
Chris said:
Israel was created as a safe haven for a group of people who had no safe haven throughout most of the world. However, I disagree with Zionism as the best solution to this problem. The upwards of 10 million Jews outside of Israel shouldn't be forced to immigrate there out of necessity for survival. People should be able to live and contribute to society in whatever country they live in. I don't feel that Zionism is a good solution to anti-Semitism because it does nothing to address the root of the problem (racism among non-Jews) and has created many of its own (unprecedented hatred of Jews by a large portion of the Muslim world).
Perhaps I'm mistaken, but Islam predates Zionism by many centuries. What was the excuse for unprecedented Muslim hatred before Zionism?
Chris said:
You could easily argue that the US has a great deal of "Jewish character". Many elements of American culture have been greatly influenced by Judaism, despite the fact that only a small of the country is actually Jewish. A group of people doesn't need to form a majority to have a major influence. As for the UN partition plan, I never felt it provided a realistic solution, hence its failure.
Since it is my field, I could also easily argue that modern physics has a Jewish influence far, far beyond its global demographic. In Western culture, Jewish influence is deep and pervasive in religion, science, philosophy, medicine, economics, politics, law, and the arts (yup, even Hollywood). For the life of me, I cannot understand anti-Semitism in light of how much the Jewish people have contributed to civilization. Jealousy?
Chris said:
Israel is a very multi-cultural country. Almost all of Israel’s people are descended of people who immigrated there from all over the world. And while the majority of citizens are Jews, there is a significant non-Jewish minority (about 20% of the country). I agree with you that most Arabs probably have little or no desire to co-exist with you guys either. The question I ask is if given the choice would you rather co-exist peacefully with them or live separately and constantly be at one another’s throats? Only when both agree that the first option is better than the later will there be any prospect for that elusive peace.
Until all Arabic peoples accept Israel as a soverign nation with a right to exist in peace and harmony, there will be discord. Israel has peace treaties with Egypt and Jordan, and with Morocco probably in 2006. Nothing terrible has happened to these Arab nations. Pakistan recently indicated that it is interested in formal diplomatic relations with Israel. Many Arab nations are beginning to realize that Israel is here to stay... and the benefits of mutual cooperation far outweigh archaic religious and historical prejudices.
Chris said:
My intent was not to lecture. I was simply trying to get people to look at things from other people’s perspectives. The failure of the world to respond to the plight of German Jews during the 1930’s was a monumental tragedy and a shameful part of my country’s history.
I didn't mean to be harsh. My apologies.
Chris said:
I don’t favor one group over the other, nor do I blame individuals for all of their leader’s actions. Although I make no apologies in expressing my objection to actions or policies that I find are unfair or unreasonable. I feel that demanding Israel remain a Jewish state at the expense of several million Muslim Arabs or the prospect of peace and reconciliation, is unreasonable.
Why is a tiny Jewish state (smaller that New Jersey) so unreasonable in the great expanses of the Middle East? Why must the Middle East be exclusively Muslim? Why must Eretz Israel itself become a Jewish diaspora? Why do your 'feelings' not also apply to other entities that have separated such as Eritrea/Ethiopia, Serbia/Bosnia etc?
Chris said:
I see is no reason why Saudi Arabia or any country for that matter, has to be a “Muslim” state or should be.
Saudi Arabia is a Muslim state, because Saudis wish it to be a Muslim state. Be that as it may, the differences between a Jewish Israel and a Muslim kingdom are legion....
You can visit Israel anytime you wish Chris, but you cannot visit the Kingdom. It is closed to all non-Muslims without the express permission of the Saudi government. You could indeed become a non-Jewish citizen of Israel Chris. You could never become a Saudi citizen... not even if you converted to Islam. Israel has free, open, and binding elections Chris. The Kingdom has no such quaint liberties. If you wished Chris, you could even marry a Jewish Israeli woman and live happily ever after. You could never marry a Muslim Saudi woman without a concomitant death sentence that would follow you to the ends of the Earth. The next time you have the urge to chastise Israel Chris, think a bit about the simple things in life.