Does Israel have a right to exist?

[mawilson 2,133]

Israel as it is now never should have happened. The fact is, Jews need a homeland--it is essential to Jewish survival. But now everyone has to deal with the way it is today, and that's messy and terrible. Why is that so cut and dried for some people? I don't get that.

There was no Jewish homeland so the Jews had to take it from someone else.

What difference does it make who you take it from? Palestinians were just an easy target

at the time, but would you feel better if the land was taken from Uganda* instead?

[*] Theodor Herzl actually met with Joseph Chamberlain, the British Colonial Secretary

and others, to seek support from Great Britain for the Uganda proposal. The British

agreed, in principle, to the creation of a Jewish homeland in East Africa, but the Uganda

proposal was ultimately rejected by the Zionist movement.

[Mags 112]

If you want some fun reading on this very topic, go read this #######....

http://www.wicca.com/celtic/forums/view_to...d=15&page=1

(Oops. I didn't realize Sian had logged me off.... This is Larry)

Edited March 23, 2007 by mags

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

Israel as it is now never should have happened. The fact is, Jews need a homeland--it is essential to Jewish survival. But now everyone has to deal with the way it is today, and that's messy and terrible. Why is that so cut and dried for some people? I don't get that.

There was no Jewish homeland so the Jews had to take it from someone else.

What difference does it make who you take it from? Palestinians were just an easy target

at the time, but would you feel better if the land was taken from Uganda* instead?

[*] Theodor Herzl actually met with Joseph Chamberlain, the British Colonial Secretary

and others, to seek support from Great Britain for the Uganda proposal. The British

agreed, in principle, to the creation of a Jewish homeland in East Africa, but the Uganda

proposal was ultimately rejected by the Zionist movement.

Perhaps one could be established in the middle of the Sahara. Or the Antarctic, perhaps? No one would be displaced and I'm sure Jewish people who feel guilty about displacing Pallies would be pleased - especially if they don't actually live in the new Jewish homeland.

[Sofiyya 1,687]

Israel was a creation of Europe, as is so much of the Middle East. I'm Palestinian, and my family lost property with no compensation with the founding of Israel and have since have had to suffer the indignity of being blamed for what was done to lots of people, Arab and Jew, by the British. Terrorism there is not a new phenomeon there. Zionists practiced terrorism right along with everyone else, but you rarely hear about that. There is very little about western opinion about the Middle East that's based on fact because the facts are rarely part of the debate.

[Alex+R 0]

Actually, there were colonies of Jews in the US in kibbutzesque collective farms but they all failed. This was pre-Israel. Other options were explored. Why don't we give the Jews Wyoming?

[mawilson 2,133]

I'm Palestinian, and my family lost property with no compensation with the founding of Israel

Green-eyed girl,

How did your family lose their property? Did they voluntarily abandon it when they chose to leave

Israel, as many Palestinians did? Or were they driven from their home by Israeli forces?

[Caladan 19]

Gupt your question doesn't make sense in the abstract. The warp and woof of the question is whether Israel as it is now, not as some idealized abstraction has a right to exist.

So I'm not quite sure what the question means. Should a Jewish homeland exist? Should it exist with "right of return"? Does it get to keep the Golan Heights because it won them? Does the 'right to exist' mean 'right to ignore the humanitarian problem'?

Could we go Way Back in the Way Back Machine, we should have moved the Jews to Wyoming. Pleasant area, lots of natural resources and nothing to displace but timber wolves.

[Scott & Lai 12]

we should have moved the Jews to Wyoming. Pleasant area, lots of natural resources and nothing to displace but timber wolves.

And no connection with ancient Jewish history/holy sites, which is why they wanted a Jewish state in the Holy Land.

[Caladan 19]

we should have moved the Jews to Wyoming. Pleasant area, lots of natural resources and nothing to displace but timber wolves.

And no connection with ancient Jewish history/holy sites, which is why they wanted a Jewish state in the Holy Land.

Potato, potahto. Wyoming's big; we coulda moved the holy sites.

[mawilson 2,133]

we should have moved the Jews to Wyoming. Pleasant area, lots of natural resources and nothing to displace but timber wolves.

And no connection with ancient Jewish history/holy sites, which is why they wanted a Jewish state in the Holy Land.

Potato, potahto. Wyoming's big; we coulda moved the holy sites.

LOL

[Ban Hammer 13,344]

Actually, there were colonies of Jews in the US in kibbutzesque collective farms but they all failed. This was pre-Israel. Other options were explored. Why don't we give the Jews Wyoming?

i vote for giving them wisconsin. and minnisota!

[Alex+R 0]

Actually, there were colonies of Jews in the US in kibbutzesque collective farms but they all failed. This was pre-Israel. Other options were explored. Why don't we give the Jews Wyoming?

i vote for giving them wisconsin. and minnisota!

Too late. They already took New York.

[Nagishkaw 510]

Easy, now, your fangs are showing.

[Alex+R 0]

Easy, now, your fangs are showing.

Mine?

[Nagishkaw 510]

I apologize. I meant that in jest.