Antony Loewenstein says -
along with Amira Hass, Gideon Levy is Israel's
other truly maverick journalist. Having worked
at "Haaretz," for over 20 years. He's spent
most of those years - writing solely on the
occupation.

"I want to write about what Israelis are doing on
my behalf." Levy said that the occupation had become
more brutal during the years of reporting.

"I can recall the famous scene during the first intifada,
broadcast on CBS, that showed Israeli soldiers breaking
the bones of Palestinians with stones. Everyone was
shocked by that scene and it was broadcast all over
the world. It was, we thought, the most terrible thing
we could imagine. Today I wouldn't even mention it because
kids are killed like flies."

Levy argues that Israelis have been conditioned to believe
that "Palestinians are not human beings like us," otherwise
"they would never be able to live with the thought that
they were doing such terrible things to other human beings."
Levi explains - world Jewry both supports and condons Israeli
brutality:

"For them, military strength is the only strength.
American Jews and in Australia too, offer the ultimate
self-orientation: "We are the ultimate victim" and nobody
else has the right living here, especially after the
Holocaust. Every time I hear this slogan that Israel is
the only democracy in the MIddle East, I don't know
whether to laugh or cry, because a state with one of the
most brutal and cruel military occupations in the world
isn't a democracy."

Levy calls himself an "anti-Zionist" although he (like
Loewenstein), believes Jews living in Israel have every
right to live there. He imagines a two-state solution -
(as do we all).

"Listen we absorbed over one million Russians in ten
years, more than half of them were not Jewish. So why,
for God's sake, can't we absorb half a million Palestinians
who were born here, who own this land, whose memories are
here, whose everything is here? They belong to here ten
times more than all the Russians and the Europeans ..."

Time for a radical re-thinking of the conflict.

Dear LEGO you wrote:-

"Everybody looks down on other groups of people. It is a cultural universal..."

No, it is not the case! There is no reason for any one to look down on others, provided one has the basics right; we all are the creation of the Same and One and the Only God. We all are descendants of same parents, Adam and Eve. What right have I to look down on or to be looked down upon by, own kith and kin. We must not hate each other, yet we should hate the evil if any one of us commits.

You also wrote "you look down on Nazis and Ku Klux Klan, .. If it is wrong for me to consider Muslims as my people's enemies, then it is also wrong for you to make the same judgement about Nazis and Ku Klux Klan members."

I am sorry, I do not see the logic. Nazis are Nazis, KKK is KKK and Muslins are Muslims and Jews are Jews. I will treat each on its merit and not group them together.

And then you wrote
"It is also a cultural universal that every nation at war with another usually depicts the enemy as sub human....Japs in the press as "yellow monkeys". ....

Yes it has happened in the past and it is happening in our times; remember the Vietnamese were projected as the evil and subjected to chemical and incendiary bombardment and Iraq has been ripped apart for possessing WMD. Imagine the plight of people who committed those atrocities on the innocent...they are doomed to burn in the hell of remorse for their evil deeds, hence the high suicide rate of Vietnam and Iraq veterans.

TO McAdam.

I know that religious people like your good self have trouble seeing self evident logic, but I will try again.

I am equating Muslims with Nazis as they are both religious/political social groups with much in common. Both groups advocate an extreme ideology which places themselves at the top of humanity, while claiming that people who are not part of their group are not really human. Both ideologies advocate extreme violence towards people who are not members of their group. Both ideologies are extremely anti Semitic. Both are noted for their extreme persecution of minorities. According the German Armaments Minister Albert Speer, Hitler even praised the Islamic faith as a warriors religion like the old Norse pagan religion (which the Nazis were trying to resurrect), far more suitable for Germany than pacifist Christianity.

But your premise appears to be, that Muslims and Nazis must be judged differently.

It seems like your own ideology needs a bit of work if it advocates Equality, and then says that some social groups should be more equal than others.

Now, you seem to admit that it has always been the case that combatants in wartime routinely view each other as sub human. Then why are you getting worked up over the Israelis doing the same thing that everybody else does? Are we once again seeing this Equality double standard which you seem to be practicing? You are judging the Israelis to a different standard to everybody else.

Continued! (Left over from last post)

Dear LEGO, deception is in the very nature of war. Propagandist has to dehumanize the enemy, otherwise the world and own public wouldn't swallow the intended atrocities, and to this end, may project white as black and black as white. Wiser ones aught to discern. Pitfall of propaganda is the risk of believing it and thus ending up standing on the quick sand of falsehood. Let me give you an example here. It is well documented that the terrorism was introduced in the region by right wing Zionist militant organizations. One of them namely, Irgun conducted the infamous King David Hotel Explosion. You know who was heading it then, Menachem Begin who later rose to be the prime minister of Israel. An other terrorist of the time was Yitzhak Shamir, a former Lehi fighter who also rose to be the prime minister of Israel.You see, terrorism is in the DNA of Israel. It is not in past only, terrorism continues even today, remember the assassination of Mahmoud Al-Mabhou by Israeli Mossad agents who travelled to Dubai on false Australian and European passports. And pleas google "Lavon Affair" and "USS Liberty" to know Israeli terrorism against USA, yes USA. And what is happening in Gaza? None other than terrorizing the Palestinians into submission; state terrorism. Yet the propagandist would like us to believe that it is that stone throwing boy or a fringe group in some Muslim country who initiated and conducts all the terrorism in the world. And gullible of the world have fallen for it.

And then you wrote
"Allah refers to non Muslims in the Koran as " composed of "base matter."

I am not aware of such a Quranic injunction and doubt very much if it exists at all, as to how could God say any thing like this about His own creation; for they too are His creation after all. Please recheck and kindly get back to me with reference, it will be addition to my knowledge and I'll thank you for that.

Best regards

NC,

Your fundamentalist slip is showing.

Firstly, you cocksurely predict the future of the world: This will happen …and then that will happen blah, blah, blah –a regular Nostradamus! LOL

Then, you arrogantly appoint yourself spokes thing-a-me for the <<the rest of the world>> LOL

Some of your stuff reads like it’s been cut and pasted from a kindy reader –such as this:<<Go for an impartial third party arbitration – trust the world - and achieve a sustainable peace; >> While others reads like it’s from some from a Boys Own adventure thriller : <<Keep digging graves for other and during the process, as history tells us, dig one for your own self>>. (really wild stuff!)

However, despite your arrogance assertions of what << the rest of the world>> will do.The fact you have repeated refused to enunciate your own definition of occupied territory makes me think that you may not be as confident of the <<rest of the world’s>> reaction as you like to pretend. Indeed, there is good possibility that when the <<rest of the world>> gets down to it. Places like The Philippines , Thailand, Nigeria, South Sudan, Myanmar, China, Russia (and practically every country with a large immigrant Muslim population) will realize that they have a Palestinian like problem in their own back yard from Islamic groups who are singing the language of victimhood whilst bombing every infidel in sight. And they will choose not to play out your preferred fantasy. And we are already some evidence of that in Egypt’s opposition to Hamas and Saudi’s championing of anti –Brotherhood forces--sorry to expose you to such unpleasant possibilities!

Haven't left for the ME yet McAdam? I'm sorry Foxy, I'd left you off the list.

So with you explanation of Israeli Terrorists in the past that excuses Islam from it's terror acts now. I thought you were expounding that Islam was above that sort of thing. Obviously not. So you are using that as an excuse to perpetrate terror on innocent Israeli citizens even though not very successfully.

Foxy: Levy calls himself an "anti-Zionist" although he (like
Loewenstein), believes Jews living in Israel have every right to live there. He imagines a two-state solution - (as do we all).

This is no different to the LNP/ALP divide in Australia. Big deal. Why a two State solution. Why not, like Singapore where everybody live intermingled in peace & harmony. Nope, Israel has got its original Nation back & the Muslims hate anyone that isn't Muslim as shown by the ISIL march for the New Caliphate.

McAdam: Allah refers to non Muslims in the Koran as " composed of "base matter." I am not aware of such a Quranic injunction and doubt very much if it exists at all,

A bit of Poetic Licence there, but close. I have seen similar & heard many Imams on uTube expounding that very thing.