The Israel-Palestinian conflict is not about to end
any time soon. However it is never too late to expect
an Israeli government of any political stripe to behave
morally and legally and re-discover the true Jewish
soul. After decades of failed policies why do so many
Jews and their supporters still think that the Jewish
state can only thrive through force alone.

Surely the time has come in which the long occupation and
the myriad of ways in which Israel has persecuted another
people for generations - the time has come for this to stop
and for all Israeli citizens to be granted equal rights?

But I suspect that this is not about to happen any time soon.

Foxy wrote:

< However it is never too late to expect
an Israeli government of any political stripe to behave
morally and legally and re-discover the true Jewish
soul.>

The true Jewish soul is a mythical creature like the Messiah and the unicorn. Put a people in a situation where they are surrounded by enemies. If they don’t succeed in fighting them off they will be destroyed. If they succeed in fighting them they will be transformed by the victory into a people which relies on force. Power corrupts. So does victory.

The transformation of the Jewish state into a state for its entire people is unlikely.

Dear David F.,

We can live and hope that eventually things
will get resolved.

http://haaretz.com/1.4815975

Foxy wrote:"After decades of failed policies why do so many
Jews and their supporters still think that the Jewish
state can only thrive through force alone."

As I pointed out earlier, the Palestinian enemies of Israel, who exist right on her doorstep, remain committed to the destruction of Israel. Far from thinking Israel can only THRIVE through force, the logical conclusion to that is that Israel can only SURVIVE through force.

The Palestinian and Iranian leadership have said more than once, that while Israel might win war after war, they only need to lose once to have every Jew in the Levant killed or removed.

Israel may not be an ideal democracy. It may not be the most liberal nation on earth. It may not marry up to the lofty, though false, standards Foxy et al demand of it. Yet given the strains its enemies put on it, given the constant vigilance its enemies force on it, it is remarkably democratic, remarkably liberal.

We have seen how Foxy et al, when put under far less threat than Israel faces daily, immediately and wilfully and enthusiastically succumb to the most illiberal and undemocratic policies thinkable. That Israel hasn't so succumb is quite amazing.

"The well respected Amnesty International has said Israel's actions against the Palestinian people amounts to "apartheid","

Well respected by those who like to have their prejudices confirmed.

Amnesty made their announcement in Jerusalem, as free a city as is possible in the middle of a war-zone. Yet while choosing to make their claims in Jerusalem, they - Amnesty - tried to suggest they were actually in Beirut - a far less free and less accommodating place.

For the ignorant, and by way of contrast to the way Arabs are treated in Jerusalem...

"Two notable things about Beirut. First, it’s controlled by Hezbollah, a terrorist organization with no respect for human rights. Second, it’s the capital of Lebanon. For decades, where Palestinians are denied citizenship, and, per Wikipedia, “they are also legally barred from owning property or entering a list of desirable occupations. Employment requires a government-issued work permit, and, according to the New York Times, although ‘Lebanon hands out and renews hundreds of thousands of work permits every year to people from Africa, Asia and other Arab countries… until now, only a handful have been given’ to Palestinians.”

But enough of such unwanted facts....Let's get back to beating the Jew.

mhaze,

Do read the link I gave to David F.,
Anthony Leowenstein explains things far better
than I could. Why do you see only Israel as the
victim in this conflict?