I agree with Cole but would state it as "Zionism is Jewish Nationalism". This agrees with Herzl et al solution to the "Jewish problem" is for the Jews to have a seperate nation state. Having it in Palestine was not necessary to the thesis of Zionism, but did match the nationalities 'history' of a kingdom in Palestine that they were expelled from. In the twentieth century, establishments of nation-states by conquest, ethnic cleansing and genocide became unfashionable. Too bad for the Israelis! This results in double-standards applied to Israels behavior in trying to complete their nation state project (it took 400 years for the Europeans to complete the effective genocide of the Western hemisphere), but civilization has moved on from "right of conquest". I think the point Cole raises about most nation states failing is a good one and is one of the more troubling parts for those of us advocating a two state solution : the 'Palestinan nations' state looks unviable at the outset : any borders that will be acceptable will result in Palestine being a bizarrely fragmented land mass with an awful lot of people and no apparent economy.
The conviction was for "rape by deception". It is the first time that the law was applied to an Arab
who "deceived" a woman that he was a Jew. Prior cases have been things like deceiving a woman
that you were a landlord who could get the woman an apartment in exchange for sexual favors etc.
A weird law, which under the circumstances looks racist, but that is only the circumstances of
the "rapists" deception. (I put rapist in quotes because in many countries, simply deceiving
a woman into having sex would not qualify as rape).
Juan please, an example of American Xenophobia and stupidity and you blame the "Israel lobby". Remember what happened to the Dixie Chicks, look at how the Neo-Cons are still on talk shows and the "dirty hippies" who were right about how stupid their adventure was going to be are still not talked to. The American Right is fascist, stupid and zenophobic even when they aren't marching in lock-step with Israels stupid, xenophobic right!
Happen to know one of the soldiers... yes it is kids goofing off, and not realizing that anything an Israel does will be placed under a microscope on the world stage. I chastised the soldier because he forgot at that moment that he was an occupier and behaved in a manner that may have brought a smile to a few of the occupied, but others would not smile : they will not dance in the street until the soldiers leave. What you (and the Palestinians) don't know about these soldiers is that these are from a leftie unit in the army and are trying to make the best of a bad situation. They are cognizant that their government is asking them to perpetuate the settler injustice, but they are patriots and will do the best they can. Muhammed Ali is a great example of someone who went to jail rather than serve, but he is a rare example in any country, and that is the honorable choice. As much as I chastised the soldier, it is pretty ridiculous when they skip down the street holding hands. Too bad it has to be interpreted as more than that.
I agree with Cole but would state it as "Zionism is Jewish Nationalism". This agrees with Herzl et al solution to the "Jewish problem" is for the Jews to have a seperate nation state. Having it in Palestine was not necessary to the thesis of Zionism, but did match the nationalities 'history' of a kingdom in Palestine that they were expelled from. In the twentieth century, establishments of nation-states by conquest, ethnic cleansing and genocide became unfashionable. Too bad for the Israelis! This results in double-standards applied to Israels behavior in trying to complete their nation state project (it took 400 years for the Europeans to complete the effective genocide of the Western hemisphere), but civilization has moved on from "right of conquest". I think the point Cole raises about most nation states failing is a good one and is one of the more troubling parts for those of us advocating a two state solution : the 'Palestinan nations' state looks unviable at the outset : any borders that will be acceptable will result in Palestine being a bizarrely fragmented land mass with an awful lot of people and no apparent economy.
The conviction was for "rape by deception". It is the first time that the law was applied to an Arab
who "deceived" a woman that he was a Jew. Prior cases have been things like deceiving a woman
that you were a landlord who could get the woman an apartment in exchange for sexual favors etc.
A weird law, which under the circumstances looks racist, but that is only the circumstances of
the "rapists" deception. (I put rapist in quotes because in many countries, simply deceiving
a woman into having sex would not qualify as rape).
Juan please, an example of American Xenophobia and stupidity and you blame the "Israel lobby". Remember what happened to the Dixie Chicks, look at how the Neo-Cons are still on talk shows and the "dirty hippies" who were right about how stupid their adventure was going to be are still not talked to. The American Right is fascist, stupid and zenophobic even when they aren't marching in lock-step with Israels stupid, xenophobic right!
Happen to know one of the soldiers... yes it is kids goofing off, and not realizing that anything an Israel does will be placed under a microscope on the world stage. I chastised the soldier because he forgot at that moment that he was an occupier and behaved in a manner that may have brought a smile to a few of the occupied, but others would not smile : they will not dance in the street until the soldiers leave. What you (and the Palestinians) don't know about these soldiers is that these are from a leftie unit in the army and are trying to make the best of a bad situation. They are cognizant that their government is asking them to perpetuate the settler injustice, but they are patriots and will do the best they can. Muhammed Ali is a great example of someone who went to jail rather than serve, but he is a rare example in any country, and that is the honorable choice. As much as I chastised the soldier, it is pretty ridiculous when they skip down the street holding hands. Too bad it has to be interpreted as more than that.