I beg your pardon, Kessler claims jews have been in Palestine since biblical times, as the bible is not real what are these so-called biblical times?

Dear Bempec and Ira. The issue is not whether or not Jews have lived in Palestine since the year dot. Nor is it fruitful to debate ancient history. It is obvious that many contributors to this thread have a viewpoint that is only marginally related to historical fact.

The criticism that I, and many others, level at Israel is not that it's inhabitants are Jewish. Nor have I ever expounded a criticism of the Jewish faith. What is of profound concern is the conduct of its government which justifies its treatment of Palestinians, it's ignoring of world opinion, the UN and the World Court, in terms of some imagined Jewish "right" to illegally occupy land, invade its neighbors, wage clandestine warfare, constantly threaten to bomb, invade or otherwise attack countries it doesn't like and so on and so on.

Contrary to the image cultivated by the mainstream media it is Israel that is the international pariah. Australia is one of only a handful of countries that provides uncritical support. That must change, but don't hold your breath.

Marilyn Shepherd

Even if you hold that the whole bible is completely a work of fiction, its stories are set in a historical context. “Since biblical times” can therefore perfectly reasonably be taken to mean “since the times written about in the bible”, without necessarily implying “since the events described in the Bible occurred”. And many of the major historical events described in the bible do have independent corroboration from archaeology (the Roman occupation, Baylonian exile, certain of the kings etc)

"Pappe seeks to recruit his listeners to his insight that, if only there were no Jews in the picture to complicate things for others, the world would be a simpler place; and to his ensuing action plan of voluntary or enforced Jewish disappearance in order to make things easier for everybody else."

Justify this claim. Ilan Pappe has never made any such statement.

Dear James,
Israel has had at all times tried to establish a peaceful relationship with the Palestinians. The fiction that Israel is an invading force neglects the history since it's establishment in the modern era of it's unilateral withdrawal from area it controlled after the 6 day war. Prior to the "peace Treaty" at Camp David and Oslo the management of the West Bank and Gaza went to Palestinian control. It was hoped that the creation of a second state would evolve.

Israel accepted the UN partition and established a country, the Palestinians did not.

However Hamas refuses to recognize Israel's right to exist and calls for the extinction of all the Jews. This has lead to continuous attacks till the security procedures become onerous. Read

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamas

Yes the current condition's are bad but the number of suicide bombers and murders of civilians both Jew and Arab have been reduced dramatically.

Israel has been the target of terror since it's inception. I would say the tolerance displayed has been remarkable.

Australian's would never have put up with a barrage of murders and rocket attacks on it's civilian population to the degree that Israel has.

Dear Ira, there are mo.re reliable sources than Wikipedia if you wish to understand the history of modern Israel. You could start with Norman Finkelstein and continue with Alan Hart for a start.

Unfortunately you have a very selective view of recent history. Israel continues to occupy, inter Alia, the West Bank and there are now more than 500,000 illegal settlers there alone. Israel continues to occupy the Golan Heights which it failed to withdraw from after the 1967 war. It occupied southern Lebanon for more than 20 years and has invaded Lebabon more than 3 times.

With the British and the French Israel invaded Egypt in 1956.

Of course rocket attacks by the Palestinians are unacceptable. But compare the death toll of Israelis from those attacks and he Palestinian death toll from Israeli attacks. Quite apart from legal issues there is also a question of proportionality.

Israel persists in portraying itself as the victim rich is a bit rich given that it is the sole nuclear power in the Middle East, has unqualified support from the Americans, and pretty much does as it pleases knowing that it will not be held accountable.

That may be the type of regime that you support. It most assuredly is not one that I do.