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ISRAEL IS GOOD and JUDAISM IS GOOD. It is the LIKUD manifesto that is destructive.
Somewhere along the way, many become confused by the propaganda or just don't understand the message.
The message is not that 'Israel is bad' but that the Israeli government policy is bad.
Those who are genuinely unable to differentiate between what is said by hundreds of thousands of other Jews, like myself, around the world - and the fundamentalist dogma of the ultra-right, should get out more.
ISRAEL IS GOOD AND JUDAISM IS GOOD. NOTHING CAN CHANGE THOSE TWO FACTS.
It is the Likud manifesto and the neo-zionist political movement that is not only bad but destructive. The anti-Jewish sentiment that is rising throughout the world, is a direct result.
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bluecanary,
What you say is absolutely correct. It was also correct, eventually, as applied to our own repressive and shattering 8 years of Bush/Cheney. An exact and equal comparison. The people of Israel for the most part do not agree with the policies of their government. The Palestinian issue is completely out of sync from what humanity demands. In moral and legal terms, it is abhorrent to decent minds. But it is what is performed by one's government that ultimately resonates and is reflected to the rest of the world. Frankly, with the lock that governments and the powers that actually control them have on the Main Media, the only opinions that are projected to an ignorant world are those in power. The feelings and demands of the populations are rarely put forth with any relevance. So we see, read and hear only the versions that are intended to further the agendas of corrupt governments.
September 20, 2009 2:40 AM | Reply | Permalink
Where does Buddhism fit in, though?
September 20, 2009 4:50 AM | Reply | Permalink
LisB
Interesting question. Buddhism is really the basis of what you need to know, for everything you will encounter while on this earth. I don't know what exactly you are trying to find out, but first you must discover that you, and you alone are all that matters. Nothing else matters.
September 20, 2009 6:18 AM | Reply | Permalink
I don't know whether "Israel is good," or "Judaism is good." But anti-Jewish sentiment surely has long preceded any "Likud manifesto" or "neo-zionist movement."
September 20, 2009 8:57 AM | Reply | Permalink
True. But that's a total cop-out when used to avoid the very real criticism regarding the brutality of the Israeli state and the negative effects of the racist philosophy of Zionism.
IMO, until the Jewish community gets far more vocal against the systemic racism and micro-colonialism that underlies the policies of the Israeli government, it is misdirected energy to try and convince the rest of the world that Israel is good. Don't tell us about it ... SHOW us how good Israel can be.
September 20, 2009 2:39 PM | Reply | Permalink
Don't happen to agree. The problem isn't Likudism, it's Israel itself. Likkud didn't start the settlement building--Labor did. Peres was and Rabin is just as pro-settlement and IMO anti-viable Palestinian state as any Likudist.
The problem is that that old scandalous shibboleth "Zionism equals racism" is true. ("Zionism equals colonialism equals racism.") As long as Israel is defined by religion (effectively race and class) and denies Palestinian Arabs full citizenship, it will continue to be the problem. Today's Israel is far, far from "good."
September 20, 2009 10:50 AM | Reply | Permalink