OT: Iran Announces Conference on Holocaust

[MrBigglesworth]

Originally Posted by Donnie Baker

Ah yes, dust off the card and play it.

I thought racism was a common theme throughout history, I guess I was mistaken. I suppose colonialism, the trail of tears, slavery, and partitioning of Arab lands by Europeans was made up by the liberal media.

[Solecismic]

Originally Posted by MrBigglesworth

I thought racism was a common theme throughout history, I guess I was mistaken. I suppose colonialism, the trail of tears, slavery, and partitioning of Arab lands by Europeans was made up by the liberal media.

To be fair, the lands the Jews were given were lands they worked their asses off to irrigate and settle during the preceeding 50 years. The Arabs did not consider most of the area that is now Israel to be inhabitable. The United Nations made this decision. It was not an arbitrary one made by just a couple of land-grabbing countries.

For a population that's now six million people, the Jews were given the land of Canaan, which, according to the Bible, was where Moses led the Jews in their escape from slavery in Egypt. The 12 tribes settled in this land - they are considered Israel's version of the Mayflower.

This is a tiny, tiny land. If Israel were a US State, it would rank 48th in area, behind New Jersey and ahead of Connecticut. Think about that.

I understand that the Arabs feel screwed in that they were not a voice in the UN at that time. They have expressed this feeling by promising to drive Israel into the sea. They started wars in 1948, 1967 and 1975, all accompanied by rhetoric promising to kill every man, woman and child in Israel. Israel won those wars, against staggering odds.

To this day, these countries and territories refuse to acknowledge that Israel even has the right to exist. Even at the cost of their own lives, and the economic vitality of an entire region, they pursue this genocide. The leading political party in Palestine was formed by militants who, to this day, still list the destruction of Israel as their sole focus.

Compare this to our own treatment of Native Americans. Our history has its negatives, and we pushed these people around. And when they fought back, sometimes as the aggressors, sometimes unfairly, sometimes in defense, America was often ruthless.

Today, our government genuinely tries to work out fair solutions, even though the situation isn't perfect. Native American tribes have some fairly large sovereign areas within our borders - many of them far bigger than the entire country of Israel. No one advocates genocide on the Indians, in fact we try to help them along (in somewhat misguided fashion, thinking of the casinos).

It isn't a perfect analogy, nor is it a terrific situation, but I believe our hearts are in the right place in that we want these people to succeed and sustain their own cultures and traditions.

[MrBigglesworth]

Originally Posted by Solecismic

To this day, these countries and territories refuse to acknowledge that Israel even has the right to exist. Even at the cost of their own lives, and the economic vitality of an entire region, they pursue this genocide. The leading political party in Palestine was formed by militants who, to this day, still list the destruction of Israel as their sole focus.

The current administration has made me jaded. I wonder how much of this is real and how much is propaganda to prop up their regimes or political party.

[Wolfpack]

Originally Posted by MrBigglesworth

The current administration has made me jaded.

Given the tenor of your other posts, this would qualify as an understatement to me....

[Solecismic]

Originally Posted by MrBigglesworth

The current administration has made me jaded. I wonder how much of this is real and how much is propaganda to prop up their regimes or political party.

Not sure what you mean here. I believe that the explosives strapped to the bodies of Hamas recruits are real explosives. I believe that the ammunition used by Hamas fighters to shoot into Israel from the Gaza strip is live ammunition.

This has been reported in the international press as well as the US press, so I don't see how Bush is needed to ensure the legacy of these groups.

Egypt, Syria, Iran, Iraq, Jordan and Lebanon, among others, have been pretty clear about their official positions in the past. When they refer to Zionism, they are referring to the existence of Israel as a whole, not just the West Bank.

[MrBigglesworth]

Originally Posted by Solecismic

Not sure what you mean here. I believe that the explosives strapped to the bodies of Hamas recruits are real explosives. I believe that the ammunition used by Hamas fighters to shoot into Israel from the Gaza strip is live ammunition.

This has been reported in the international press as well as the US press, so I don't see how Bush is needed to ensure the legacy of these groups.

Egypt, Syria, Iran, Iraq, Jordan and Lebanon, among others, have been pretty clear about their official positions in the past. When they refer to Zionism, they are referring to the existence of Israel as a whole, not just the West Bank.

My point is that demonizing an opponent is an easy way of gaining political support in your country. Fiery speeches blaming the Jews for everything wrong and vowing to send them into the sea are big winners. As long as Isreal is seen to be a perceived threat, the Arab people will rally around their leadership.

But suppose you are the leader of Iran. You have immense power, you have immense celebrity, you have immense wealth. Would you REALLY want to attack Isreal? You'd want to keep the status quo. You couldn't even beat Iraq in the '80's, how are you going to take on Isreal and the United States? You're not stupid. But part of keeping your hardline government in place is keeping attention on the boogeyman, so you rail against the Isrealis every chance you get. The polls go up, crowds cheer wildy for you, but in the end it's a lot of sound and fury, signifying nothing.

I'm sure the leaders of the countries hate Isreal. The GOP supposedly hates government spending, but once you get the power and start feeding at the government trough, you do all you can to stay in power and keep the status quo. Power corrupts your ideals.