eet, I get your point, but you are a little incorrect.

Israeli Arabs may serve in the Israeli army, and do, some in units that are particularly 'sensitive'.

Arab Israelis are not liable for conscription, however. They, like the ultra right wing religious 'students' and their ilk are exempt from military service.

That the ultra-religious are exempt sticks in the craw of many Israelis by the way, in that these 'religious' are often the pompous ultra-Zionists who are not willing to actually get in and serve in miltary that does their bidding.

At least the ultra-islamics are willing to die for their own cause.

@CHRIS SHAW wow..that informative article telling us about an oil pipeline etc etc..... err mate.. get real here is a quote from the SAME article.

“At the moment (1947)only one pipeline EXISTS leading from Kirkuk in Iraq to Haifa.” (my emphasis)
So...’duh’ what in the world are those brain cells in your head actually doing ?

I wasn’t transformed, I just saw REALITY for crying out loud.. it mentions many countries all looking out for their interests. WHAT IS YOUR POINT ? yes..I’m shouting at you..sorry but your rediculous post deserves it... to WHOM are you pointing as the “Nation without blemish or spot” which does NOT look after its own interests ? yes..I DO want a reply, because if you can’t point to one, why the heck waste our time trying to get us all emotional over what EVerybody does ?
(You don’t ?)

EV..
and your point (re the quotes) was ? I recommend you do some study on the Old Testament and get back to us when you can do better than simply cut and paste the most salubrious quote which suits your purpose. Err what do you KNOW about those nations ? care to enligthen us on their socially progressive and ethical practices ? such as the burning of children to those idols which the Israelites destroyed ? Hmmm somehow I would want to sink my wood splitter into such idols if that is what they demanded from their worshippers. You have a problem with that ?

MANGO..
yes..I’m going to take a bite out of your backside over those ‘protocols’... mateeee.. if ur want credibility, please check your primary sources. I’ve seen them debunked in chapter and verse, not by Jews but by a Christian scholar who had done his homework. I mean.. LOOK at them, don’t you have even a tiny bit of suspicion that they ‘might’ have been composed for reasons given by 2BOB ? I challenge you.. LOOK UP THE REFERENCES and see if you can find them. I did. (look)
a) The books/references mentioned
b) The actual words quoted.

Boaz David& 2bob,
When I need to know if its raining , I look outside to see, I dont have to go outside to get wet, you both say the "Protocols of the Elders of Zion" are false written by a anti/semetic, does it matter who wrote them down. what matters is, the Protocols do set out /discribe what is actually happening, I dond have to read books to know in is raining, it does say in the Protocols that the media must be controlled by the Zionists, now that is a fact, for instant those cartoons you supported many months ago, were published by 127 newspapers around the world why , the answer is in the Protocols and who owed those newspapers, I made an effort to find out because the countries where the newspapers were distributed were blamed, now if the real culprits were blamed you and your one eyed mates would be screaming, the question is why are there more than two hundred I sraeli nuclear missiles ready for launching, why do you support the demolition of the Holy Mosque in Jerusalem, now if you go to a site called " The Forum on the Middle East" you will find people who have been indoctrinated with the same kind of garbage that you find in the "Protocols of the Elders of Zion" the members of that Forum should be in your favorites list, I see with both eyes, it is a pity you cant, I feel sorry for you , because history proves governments who kill women and children out of hatred, do eventually pay the price, you need to think about the price that will have to be paid, before it is two late, now if your mates had looked after those humun beings they uprooted of their land, things might be different now, mangotree

No matter how the warmongers try to excuse Zionism, the fact is Israel has overreacted and, with continued support from USA, peace in the Middle East remains a dream.

Israel by, destroying the Beirut airport, blasting communications towers into oblivion and cleansing southern Lebanon of its civilian population, will only mean that the world will see an attack on innocents rather than on Hezbollah terrorists. The Israeli campaign is so intense and widespread that it is creating more terrorists than it kills.

And ultimately Israel will be less secure, and so will the rest of us.

Hezbollah started this with its rockets, but the unrestrained Israeli response threatens to make an iconic hero of Hezbollah leader, Hasan Nasrallah.

Bush’s Christian fundamentalists do not want a humanly constructed peace. The current willingness of the US to turn a blind eye to the wanton killing and suffering of innocent people in Lebanon will certainly fuel the rage of the Islamic extremists and lead to further acts of terror.

Mango
I won't dispute that there is a very serious level of Jewish influence and control of Media. (but Murdoch is not a Jew) That is a separate issue.
By saying it "doesn't matter" whether the protocals are true or not, is a very dodgy position to take mate. It DOES matter, because they were used to justify incredible persecution and mass slaughter..i.e. to 'massage' public opinion and dehumanize Jews.

I'm not 'one eyed' in the sense you mean. I can find as many 'anti Jewish' issues as the next man, but mine will be based on fact, not anti semitism. The classic example I often use is the collusion between the British Crown and the Jewish Sasoon family in the Opium trade. There was a network of Jews from that family spread all throughout China, systematically dehumanizing Chinese into Opium addicts. That is not "Judaism" nor "Jewish" behavior it is as much Italian,Russian,English.
Our Federal court membership is another concern. Can you imagine 6 of 12 Victorian FC Judges being Aboriginal and being unbiased in a Land Rights case ?

I am not in the business of supporting Israel uncritically.

I take Scouts point about the destruction of infrastructure prior to telling the civilians to 'get out'. Its a bit hard with no servicable roads. I would have done it in the reverse order.. Civvies OUT... then *CRUNCH* and the crunch would be 'final'.

A "Human" Solution.

1/ Civilians OUT (international aid to assist the elderly and infirm)
2/ Infrastructure DOWN
3/ Hezbollah destroyed.
4/ Civilians allowed back under sworn treaty of
a) "no involvement with or support for any anti Israel armed militia" (under pain of execution)
b) Guarantee of peace in perpetuity.
5/ Israeli withdrawal and Nato peace keeping force.

A "Christian" Solution

1/ Invite all parties to Faith in Christ
2/ They embrace Jesus as Saviour. (Muslims and Jews)
3/ There is nothing more to fight about. Land can be easily resolved now that 'Islamic Waqf' is no longer applicable. Lots of new homes in the Negev area (massive construction underway)

A realistic approach as opposed to the flights of fantasy dreamt up by BD

Hezbollah to move out of south Lebanon and the Lebanese army would move down to the border with Israel. The idea is that this would remove the source of conflict.

Both Israel and Hezbollah accept a ceasefire and the agreement formalised in a new Security Council resolution.

An international force would be deployed in the border area at least until the Lebanese army arrived.

The Israelis might maintain a self-declared "buffer zone" for a time, but any settlement would have to see an Israeli withdrawal.

Some kind of deal would be done to resolve the original trigger for this war; the capture of two Israeli solders by Hezbollah. Israel wants their unconditional release. Hezbollah says they were taken to be exchanged.

But we have to start somewhere.

For long term peace: A trade embargo on all Middle East countries until all M.E. leaders reach an agreement to cease terrorist activities and the fact, that both Palestine and Israel exist and, as such, have a right to survive.

And for western countries such as USA to develop practical energy sources thus eliminating the need for M.E. oil reserves.