Israel does not practice apartheid. But is it on a path to do so?

By -
Jay Michaelson makes some good points in his article If Israel’s Occupation Is Permanent, Why Isn’t It the Same as Apartheid?

Some thoughts:

The time to separate into 2 states would have been 20 years ago, when support was still high. Now it's hard to imagine how it'll happen. The Palestinians missed chances and then their violent responses hardened Israeli public position.

I don't know what the answer is. I agree with the article, but I don't see a two-state solution happening anytime soon. Israel is stuck in a morass of it's own making and the making of the Palestinians.

One other point - many on the right will take exception to Michelson's 2nd to last paragraph, that the long-term demographics aren't on Israel's side. Caroline Glick, for instance, asserts that the Jewish birthrate is rising and the Palestinian birthrate is dropping. Is that true? It's hard to know. It may just be selective reading of the data by a right wanting to believe that there will always be a Jewish majority.

Comments

  1. Mighty Garnel IronheartAugust 25, 2016 at 10:18 AM

    It's important to understand the real situation.
    Fatah and Hamas are incapable of running a country. They are terrorist organizations sworn to the destruction of Israel and have spent 3 generations indoctrinating their people that this is their goal. For them to suddenly turn around and say "Hey, we're going to live alongside Israel in our own country now" would be a complete betrayal to their followers. In addition, these "leaders" are kleptocrats. Even if they did try to run an independent state, they would drive it off a metaphorical cliff within weeks if not sooner.
    The ideal situation is the one that currently prevails. Fatah has a pseudo-state in Yehuda and Shomron with just enough responsibilities. It relies on Israel for all the really big things including clean water and electricity. It's the same now with 'Aza. Israel can never formally annex these areas and grant the Arabs there citizenship. They can never be an independent country. In order to keep the status quo going we have rockets from Hamas and peace negotiations with Fatah, all done to make it look like there's going to be solution when, in fact, it's in no one's interest.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

What kind of skeptic are you?

By -
A comment on my last post got me thinking: There are 2 types of skeptics hanging out in this zone of the blogosphere. Skeptic type #1: I only believe what is proven by empirical evidence. There is no logical reason to believe in god or any divine source to Judaism, especially since one can trace the entirely social development of superstitious belief in gods or god in various cultures. Plus, in light of modern science, archeology, and historical research, the divine revelation and many other events related in the Torah could not have happened. The definition of a rational human being is one who bases belief on observation. I am such a rational being. It would make no sense for me to believe in something intangible like god. That is outside the realm of empiricism and therefore does not exist. The entire basis of Judaism is riddled with inaccuracies and ancient misconceptions. The Torah is clearly not divine. Therefore, the entire basis of the religion is a myth. Skeptic ty
Read more

Women's ritual roles

By -
On DovBear's blog , LadyKaye wrote a post on whether women can lain from the Torah in public and discussed the reason given in the Talmud against it, that of "Kavod HaTzibur" (respect to the congregation). She discusses the 2 explanations generally given for Kavod HaTzibur. One is that women were simply held in lower regard. The other was a convoluted apologetic that involved women's educational opportunities (see her post for a full explanation.) I thin there's no question that it's the lower regard for women that accounted for Kavod HaTzibur. Women were deemed inferior. That's OK, since most of the world deemed women inferior at the time the halachot were written & codified. (Mishna & Talmud.) Actually, Judaism was more respectful of women's rights and status than the surrounding society. They were deemed inferior, but not property. Since the episode of B'not Zelafchad in the Torah, Judaism has had a tradition of working within the hal
Read more

Boycott the Chidon HaTanach?

By -
Bat-El Levi, 15, from Be'er Sheva is one of the 4 Israeli finalists in the Chidon HaTanach, the international Bible competition for Jewish teens sponsored by Israel. She is also a Messianic Jew who believes in Jesus. From The Jerusalem Post: The controversy surrounding the participation of 16-year-old Bat-El Levi, from Beersheba, began last week as a result of a campaign led by the haredi anti-missionary organization Yad Le'Achim. Yad Le'Achim discovered that Levi belonged to a messianic Jewish congregation. The organization immediately contacted rabbis and other spiritual leaders. Rabbi Shlomo Aviner, a leading religious Zionist halachic authority, called to boycott the quiz if the messianic Jew did not forfeit her participation. His call was joined by other rabbis aligned with religious Zionism, including Safed Chief Rabbi Shmuel Eliahu. Sources close to the Levi family, who did not deny their ties with a messianic Jewish congregation, said there had been attempt
Read more