Quote:
Originally posted by Desdicado:
He doesn't have to say anything, action / inaction / blocking of any UN resolutions criticising Israel speak louder than words for him.
No-one can surely claim the US is even handed in it's dealings with the Middle East, due to the power of the Jewish lobby in the US?.
The Palestinians kill someone it's a terrible crime, if the Israelis do it it's self defense, I can't see the distinction myself. If anything the Paletinians are defending their territory. I would do the same if someone gave West Lothian to Israel I guess.
I have no axe to grind, I am a Scotsman of solely European Christian descent but I am getting p**sed off about how the US can be so one sided and unfair.
I think this is why a good proportion of the world dislikes the US.
They are very much do as I say, not as I do.
Israel to me seems to behave very much like a certain other power from the past, ie segregation, limited travel for one group, limited citizenship for one group, persecution of one group. Need I say more?.[/QB]
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I agree with you that there's an apparent difference in how killings by the PLO and Israel are percieved, but it appears to me that Israeli attacks on Palestinians (at least the ones that get international press) are always reactions to a previous PLO action. Most people will not have a problem with someone punching a guy back that's just punched him.
Regarding the US being one-sided. I am of a mind that if the rest of the Arab world and the Soviets would have kept their noses out of the whole affair, the US wouldn't need have needed to participate in the first place. Early actions (Documented so succinctly by Magik) caused us to get involved, and we have been ever since (even though these days the Israeli's hardly need our help... save at perhaps a political level)
I also believe that many of the onorous restrictions on Arabs in Israel and the occupied territories are a RESULT of the conflict, not a cause. When one is attacked I think it's reasonable to take steps to limit your exposure to further attack.
Pertaining to possession of Jerusalem and again to treatment of Arabs, I would also suggest we look at a scenario where Arabs were in possession of Jerusalem... what would be the likely living conditions of non-Muslem's in such a place? Having a number of times been less than 50 miles from Mecca (a place I'd dearly love to visit) and been unable to take a cab there (because I'd have been under penalty of death if I did)... I tend to think that non-Muslims would have very limited access to a Palestinian Jerusalem.
My modest research has turned up some biased treatement of Arabs with Israeli citizenship, and I definitely don't agree with that... but I have absolutely no doubt that Jews living in an Arab nation would be at least as "constrained" as the opposite situation.