In 2006 war between Hizbollah and Israel, many sought an early cease-fire but US Congress voted overwhelming in favor of Israel's "right to defend itself." I let my Congressman know I was not happy with his vote that led to even more death and destruction, and asked why he voted the way he did. His answer? "Well, it was going to pass anyway." link to clerk.house.gov
Dear Dr. Cole,
Could you please write an article (or a book!) about these settlements? I have several questions and can guess the answers but it would be nice to know definitively. First: if a non-Jewish family wished to move into one of these settlements, would they be allowed to do so? Would it matter whether they were Christian, Muslim or Atheist? I ask because I'm an American and it's hard for me to imagine a situation where the government actually allows -- or even encourages -- discrimination based upon race, religion, or ethnic heritage. (Yes, I realize we do have such here in the USA but it's not as yet government sanctioned.) How do they decide who is "Jewish enough" to buy property in a "Jewish" settlement? 2nd question: do the settlers who move out of Israel proper into occupied territories retain full rights of Israeli citizenship? Do they become dual citizens of both Israel and Palestine? I have so many other questions. The whole situation seems so bizarre to me. I don't understand the distinctions between religion and ethnicity, and I don't understand how these distinctions are applied in Israel and the Occupied Territories. I'm pretty sure they're not doing DNA tests. How, then? They keep ancestral family records and use those records in order to determine who has which rights? Or you just look Jewish or sound Jewish or act Jewish, as though that's a thing? What happens if a so-called "Black Jew" such as Lenny Kravitz, or an Ethiopian Jew family wishes to move to a settlement in Occupied Palestine? Do they pass the DNA test or ancestral-records test or whatever they use to determine Jewishness?
I'm wondering the same thing. Christian Conservative Media? Cardboard Cutout Mannequins? Crass Contemptuous Mercers? Condescending Capricious Moguls? Pls let me know if you find out!
You have really frightened me. Trump is nothing without his supporters / enablers, people who "get off" on his amoral posturing. He delights in their obsequiousness. They feed each other. I can understand a narcissistic half-idiot running for office. What I'm having a hard time grasping is how on earth the foolish buffoon managed to garner any kind of following. Uh... maybe if he had run as a Democrat he would have been laughed off the stage? But as a Republican candidate seemed somehow saner than the rest? Better to go with the pussy grabber than deal with Santorum? Or Cruz?
I'd like to see a real debate. Get experts involved; the National Speech and Debate Association comes to mind. They can help with framing of questions and ideas for dealing with rudeness, time overruns, and other bad manners. They could also probably supply objective moderators.
It has been 69 years since the General Assembly adopted the UN Partition Plan for Palestine -- aka Resolution 181(II) -- and the subsequent outbreak of war. As Wikipedia states, "The plan was never implemented." What will Israel/Palestine look like 69 years from now? Does anyone think the status quo can last for 69 more years?
Russia sponsors Iran
Iran sponsors Syria
Syria sponsors Hezbollah
That's a lot to take in all in one sitting. Yeah, there are nuances here and nudges there... Sunni vs Shiite, Baathists vs. other ragtag remnants... just keep in mind that Russia's new-found support for Assad &co isn't something new, isn't something different. Syria has become a very poor country: people who can afford any hope of getting out are getting out -- to Western Europe! Leaving Russia with little to work with.
First -- the Arabic word for God is Allah. The Christian Bible, written in Arabic, uses the name Allah. A Christian minister speaking in Arabic refers to God as Allah, just as a Christian speaking Spanish uses the name Dios and a French speaker uses the name Dieu.
Second -- there are all sorts of doctrinal differences, and I can see where certain Christian sects may believe the Christian God is not the same as the God of Islam. The Christian Triune God (Father, Son & Holy Spirit) is not the same as The Father alone.
"At least 20 years, and probably longer." Um... an analogy... it's been 67 yrs since the 1st Palestinian refugee camps were created; generations of people are still calling those places Home; as near as I can determine there's no plan nor impetus to work new conflict boundaries EVER. 20 years? What are you smoking?
Ms. Mogahed, I saw you on MSNBC today. You're very well-spoken. THANK YOU for bringing the conversation back to the US Constitution. I hope you will become a regular contributor to their programming.
Hateful rhetoric is abhorrent, shameful. Saying “Islam is at war with us – we’ve witnessed its evil face firsthand over and over" is especially despicable coming from the mouth of religious leader Franklin Graham. John Hagee's Christians United for Israel promotes Islamophobia.
Words matter. Hate speech is hate speech. It leads to distrust and fear of Muslim neighbors and others in our communities who may or may not be Muslim.
Ginning up Islamophobia hurts not only Muslims, but others who may be perceived as such.
I'm with you! Yes, we need observers. And we need reporters. Yet the Middle East is like a big gang war between partisans of old, proud families. Maybe gang war is the correct analogy. Prof. Cole, can you shine a light on this and figure out a path for peace?
I agree with you completely. Events prior to 1950 created 750,000 Palestinian refugees. Here it is 65+ years later and that number has risen to about 5 million. Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories... the settler movement... the continued segregation of Palestinian refugees in Syria and Lebanon (stateless, cannot vote, living generation after generation in camps, hotbeds of radicalization).... When and how will it all end? What will the geopolitical reality be 65+ years from now? 33 million descendants of the original Palestinian refugees living in UN camps? Israel still occupying Palestinian territories? Settlers still staking claims? It's unsustainable.
Where will Israel/Palestine be 10 years from now? A two-state solution? A one-state solution? Or the status quo: a no-state situation. There are millions of UN-registered Palestinian refugees: over 2 million in Jordan, half a million in Syria, about 450,000 in Lebanon, 2.5 million in the West Bank, 1.2 million in Gaza. Let's urge CNN and the other networks to ask each Presidential candidate what they envision for Israel/Palestine 10 years from now, and what they will do to make that happen.
Intriguing! I'd like to find a way to get all players to check their ego at the door. "The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, or the one," quoted in Human history by John Stuart Mill, is a fundamental element of Vulcan philosophy.
© 2025 All Rights Reserved
In 2006 war between Hizbollah and Israel, many sought an early cease-fire but US Congress voted overwhelming in favor of Israel's "right to defend itself." I let my Congressman know I was not happy with his vote that led to even more death and destruction, and asked why he voted the way he did. His answer? "Well, it was going to pass anyway." link to clerk.house.gov
Tom is right, but we dare not look away!
Dear Dr. Cole,
Could you please write an article (or a book!) about these settlements? I have several questions and can guess the answers but it would be nice to know definitively. First: if a non-Jewish family wished to move into one of these settlements, would they be allowed to do so? Would it matter whether they were Christian, Muslim or Atheist? I ask because I'm an American and it's hard for me to imagine a situation where the government actually allows -- or even encourages -- discrimination based upon race, religion, or ethnic heritage. (Yes, I realize we do have such here in the USA but it's not as yet government sanctioned.) How do they decide who is "Jewish enough" to buy property in a "Jewish" settlement? 2nd question: do the settlers who move out of Israel proper into occupied territories retain full rights of Israeli citizenship? Do they become dual citizens of both Israel and Palestine? I have so many other questions. The whole situation seems so bizarre to me. I don't understand the distinctions between religion and ethnicity, and I don't understand how these distinctions are applied in Israel and the Occupied Territories. I'm pretty sure they're not doing DNA tests. How, then? They keep ancestral family records and use those records in order to determine who has which rights? Or you just look Jewish or sound Jewish or act Jewish, as though that's a thing? What happens if a so-called "Black Jew" such as Lenny Kravitz, or an Ethiopian Jew family wishes to move to a settlement in Occupied Palestine? Do they pass the DNA test or ancestral-records test or whatever they use to determine Jewishness?
I'm wondering the same thing. Christian Conservative Media? Cardboard Cutout Mannequins? Crass Contemptuous Mercers? Condescending Capricious Moguls? Pls let me know if you find out!
You have really frightened me. Trump is nothing without his supporters / enablers, people who "get off" on his amoral posturing. He delights in their obsequiousness. They feed each other. I can understand a narcissistic half-idiot running for office. What I'm having a hard time grasping is how on earth the foolish buffoon managed to garner any kind of following. Uh... maybe if he had run as a Democrat he would have been laughed off the stage? But as a Republican candidate seemed somehow saner than the rest? Better to go with the pussy grabber than deal with Santorum? Or Cruz?
I thoroughly enjoyed this well-written piece. Kudos to Faris!
I'd like to see a real debate. Get experts involved; the National Speech and Debate Association comes to mind. They can help with framing of questions and ideas for dealing with rudeness, time overruns, and other bad manners. They could also probably supply objective moderators.
Trump is not running for Student Council President. He's running for Homecoming King.
It has been 69 years since the General Assembly adopted the UN Partition Plan for Palestine -- aka Resolution 181(II) -- and the subsequent outbreak of war. As Wikipedia states, "The plan was never implemented." What will Israel/Palestine look like 69 years from now? Does anyone think the status quo can last for 69 more years?
Russia sponsors Iran
Iran sponsors Syria
Syria sponsors Hezbollah
That's a lot to take in all in one sitting. Yeah, there are nuances here and nudges there... Sunni vs Shiite, Baathists vs. other ragtag remnants... just keep in mind that Russia's new-found support for Assad &co isn't something new, isn't something different. Syria has become a very poor country: people who can afford any hope of getting out are getting out -- to Western Europe! Leaving Russia with little to work with.
Two more points:
First -- the Arabic word for God is Allah. The Christian Bible, written in Arabic, uses the name Allah. A Christian minister speaking in Arabic refers to God as Allah, just as a Christian speaking Spanish uses the name Dios and a French speaker uses the name Dieu.
Second -- there are all sorts of doctrinal differences, and I can see where certain Christian sects may believe the Christian God is not the same as the God of Islam. The Christian Triune God (Father, Son & Holy Spirit) is not the same as The Father alone.
Yes compare to Mafia families and their lackeys in USA early 20th century, but on a much grander scale.
"At least 20 years, and probably longer." Um... an analogy... it's been 67 yrs since the 1st Palestinian refugee camps were created; generations of people are still calling those places Home; as near as I can determine there's no plan nor impetus to work new conflict boundaries EVER. 20 years? What are you smoking?
Ms. Mogahed, I saw you on MSNBC today. You're very well-spoken. THANK YOU for bringing the conversation back to the US Constitution. I hope you will become a regular contributor to their programming.
Hateful rhetoric is abhorrent, shameful. Saying “Islam is at war with us – we’ve witnessed its evil face firsthand over and over" is especially despicable coming from the mouth of religious leader Franklin Graham. John Hagee's Christians United for Israel promotes Islamophobia.
Words matter. Hate speech is hate speech. It leads to distrust and fear of Muslim neighbors and others in our communities who may or may not be Muslim.
Ginning up Islamophobia hurts not only Muslims, but others who may be perceived as such.
I'm with you! Yes, we need observers. And we need reporters. Yet the Middle East is like a big gang war between partisans of old, proud families. Maybe gang war is the correct analogy. Prof. Cole, can you shine a light on this and figure out a path for peace?
We are each ideological descendants of another generation.
I agree with you completely. Events prior to 1950 created 750,000 Palestinian refugees. Here it is 65+ years later and that number has risen to about 5 million. Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories... the settler movement... the continued segregation of Palestinian refugees in Syria and Lebanon (stateless, cannot vote, living generation after generation in camps, hotbeds of radicalization).... When and how will it all end? What will the geopolitical reality be 65+ years from now? 33 million descendants of the original Palestinian refugees living in UN camps? Israel still occupying Palestinian territories? Settlers still staking claims? It's unsustainable.
Where will Israel/Palestine be 10 years from now? A two-state solution? A one-state solution? Or the status quo: a no-state situation. There are millions of UN-registered Palestinian refugees: over 2 million in Jordan, half a million in Syria, about 450,000 in Lebanon, 2.5 million in the West Bank, 1.2 million in Gaza. Let's urge CNN and the other networks to ask each Presidential candidate what they envision for Israel/Palestine 10 years from now, and what they will do to make that happen.
Intriguing! I'd like to find a way to get all players to check their ego at the door. "The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, or the one," quoted in Human history by John Stuart Mill, is a fundamental element of Vulcan philosophy.
I have a dictionary compiled & published in 1931. It says Jerusalem is "The capital city of Palestine."
Wish we could put this on a loop and make Hannity watch it for 24 hours straight.
Let us hope for a better outcome!