For a frame of reference, I grew up Jewish. Saturday school, Hebrew school, Bar Mitzvah, etc. But I gave it up for two reasons. One is that there is no such thing as "god," so I don't qualify to identify myself with any religion. The other is that it became clear early that Jews are fixated on the Holocaust. It seemed that between that any a number of their holidays, Judaism was about feeling like a victim, of everyone, for millennia. Which I don't.
I had no categorical problem with Zionism after WWII. I didn't disagree that it seemed that unless Jews were alienating everyone, which they might have been, they did need a safe home. A number of places were considered -- mostly Palestine and parts of Africa -- and under heavy lobbying, the "Israel" part of Palestine was chosen. Palestinians were mostly nomads then, and this solution could have been workable, with Palestinians getting the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, except the Israeli Jews were still being attacked by other Arabs, who were more offended by the "West" than they were by Jews, and the Israeli Jews decided they wanted the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, too, so every Israeli government since 1948 has tolerated illegal Israeli settlements, mostly in the West Bank, and attacks and other hardships on innocent Palestinians.
The Israelis today complain about Hamas, but they don't stop to think why Hamas exists, and Hezbollah, and the PLO. Carter helped negotiate peace with Egypt, and Clinton tried to help negotiate peace with the PLO. But the Israelis never stopped creating misery for the Palestinians.
So I "forgive" Zionism, in its original theory. One million Palestinians were displaced to create Israel for the Jews, and that could have been workable, if the Israeli Jews had allowed it to be, which they didn't. They think their complaint started on 10/7/23, but they were feeding the problem before that.
"Free Palestine?" Absolutely. "Fuck Israel?" Keep in mind that most Israelis do not approve of what Netanyahu is doing, but he, and his predecessors appear to be unstoppable. "Fuck the Israeli governments?" No question.
Israelis and Palestinians can get along well, if Israel chooses it to be so. There were plenty of Palestinians who had jobs, and good jobs, in Israel. This is not a structural and categorical problem. Clearly, Donnie, then Biden, and now Donnie again, make it much worse.
Jews do not self-reflect. They were thrown out of the middle east on a number of occasions. They were thrown out or converted by the Spanish. Shakespeare made fun of them in "The Merchant of Venice." Tom Lehrer, who was himself Jewish, sang a hatred song containing the line "everybody hates the Jews." Jews have made a career out of being hated, and working to earn it. So the question you might ask is if antiSemitism is not as inappropriate as people reflexly think it is. Jews go around telling the world they're the "chosen people," by which they seem to mean better than anyone else. It's no way to make friends.
Good for you for not continuing to support some aspects of Zionism. But, some ideologies are so toxic, none can remain standing when based on false premises.
"Palestinians were mostly nomads then" The only source for claims such as these were from Zionists, and can't be supported by the unbiased historical record.
The actual history, which has been written by many reputable scholars, Pappe, Morris, Finkelstein, and more, show the existence of settled communities going back millennia. Please do not buy into any part of the lies that have gone into perpetuating this massive, genocidal fraud.
Joy, my apologies. As you summarize, there is certainly more of the story to tell. I would venture confidently to agree with you that for millennia, there is no place in the world where there were not congregations of people living together ("settled communities," as you restate it). And I have no doubt that the "middle east" contained them, and impressive cities, too. Part of the issue might be the definition of "Palestinians." Or "Palestine." I don't know what Judea and Samaria were before they were Judea and Samaria, but at some point, they became "Palestine." If you want to scold me for not looking this up before I shoot my mouth off, I'll plead guilty.
At any rate, the entire middle east was recertified after WWI. Countries were renamed, and boundaries redrawn. As best I understand it, that's what the Arabs have against the "west." And Arabs/"Palestinians" never had a problem with Jews until the west not only destroyed the system that was the middle east, but gave part of what was then "Palestine" to the Jews, and called it Israel. There are many people who say Jews/Israelis and Palestinians never had a problem getting along well until the past 70 years.
So once again, "everybody hates the Jews." It's not possible, if you're being honest and responsible, not to wonder about that.
Jackie Mason was a comedian who had originally intended to be a rabbi. And a number of his jokes made fun of how demanding and impossible the Jews are.
I don't not support Zionism. I don't support antiPalestinianism. And the Israelis have taken that tack as a theme. So I'm opposed to them for mistreating Palestinians, or anyone else. I'm not opposed to them for wanting peace, if they do, which they might not. Which is why I said maybe the larger consideration is if there's something wrong with Jews, and if antiSemitism is not as uncalled for as many people say it is. For what it's worth, it should also be noted that the OT "god" was vicious, destructive, and punitive. The NT "god" is very different.
I appreciate your working through this. I think we best not leave out another group of religious folks, who began promoting Zionism back in the 16th century in England. I don't know how far back this group wants to go, but I'm all for studying Christian Zionism.
A new institute is being launched for the study of Christian Zionism
This is an important topic, given the numbers and strength of the support Israel receives from these people and organizations .See what they are doing, and support them if you think this is a valuable thing to be doing at this time.
As a side issue, it's also fair to note that Jerusalem was an international/universal city, that was the birthplace and special home for Jews, Christians, and Muslims. Until Donnie destroyed the system by moving the US Embassy there from Tel Aviv, after which the Israelis declared it their new capitol city.
Joy, if you want to spank me for not having researched all of this first, and for not having looked at the link you sent, I'll pull down my trowsers, and you can go ahead.
I will tell you that my understanding of why Christians support Zionism is that they believe that once all the Jews are back in whatever we want to call it, then the Messiah will come back, it will be the "End of Days," and whoever is supposed to go to heaven will go. So Christians want the Jews back in... Not for the benefit of the Jews, but for the benefit of the Christians.
We see this, all of us. Zionism will never be forgiven, it is an evil and destructive ideology.
I am so sorry and sad for the people of Palestine, but hope to see their triumph over Zionism.
Free Palestine, Fuck Israel.
For a frame of reference, I grew up Jewish. Saturday school, Hebrew school, Bar Mitzvah, etc. But I gave it up for two reasons. One is that there is no such thing as "god," so I don't qualify to identify myself with any religion. The other is that it became clear early that Jews are fixated on the Holocaust. It seemed that between that any a number of their holidays, Judaism was about feeling like a victim, of everyone, for millennia. Which I don't.
I had no categorical problem with Zionism after WWII. I didn't disagree that it seemed that unless Jews were alienating everyone, which they might have been, they did need a safe home. A number of places were considered -- mostly Palestine and parts of Africa -- and under heavy lobbying, the "Israel" part of Palestine was chosen. Palestinians were mostly nomads then, and this solution could have been workable, with Palestinians getting the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, except the Israeli Jews were still being attacked by other Arabs, who were more offended by the "West" than they were by Jews, and the Israeli Jews decided they wanted the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, too, so every Israeli government since 1948 has tolerated illegal Israeli settlements, mostly in the West Bank, and attacks and other hardships on innocent Palestinians.
The Israelis today complain about Hamas, but they don't stop to think why Hamas exists, and Hezbollah, and the PLO. Carter helped negotiate peace with Egypt, and Clinton tried to help negotiate peace with the PLO. But the Israelis never stopped creating misery for the Palestinians.
So I "forgive" Zionism, in its original theory. One million Palestinians were displaced to create Israel for the Jews, and that could have been workable, if the Israeli Jews had allowed it to be, which they didn't. They think their complaint started on 10/7/23, but they were feeding the problem before that.
"Free Palestine?" Absolutely. "Fuck Israel?" Keep in mind that most Israelis do not approve of what Netanyahu is doing, but he, and his predecessors appear to be unstoppable. "Fuck the Israeli governments?" No question.
Israelis and Palestinians can get along well, if Israel chooses it to be so. There were plenty of Palestinians who had jobs, and good jobs, in Israel. This is not a structural and categorical problem. Clearly, Donnie, then Biden, and now Donnie again, make it much worse.
Jews do not self-reflect. They were thrown out of the middle east on a number of occasions. They were thrown out or converted by the Spanish. Shakespeare made fun of them in "The Merchant of Venice." Tom Lehrer, who was himself Jewish, sang a hatred song containing the line "everybody hates the Jews." Jews have made a career out of being hated, and working to earn it. So the question you might ask is if antiSemitism is not as inappropriate as people reflexly think it is. Jews go around telling the world they're the "chosen people," by which they seem to mean better than anyone else. It's no way to make friends.
Good for you for not continuing to support some aspects of Zionism. But, some ideologies are so toxic, none can remain standing when based on false premises.
"Palestinians were mostly nomads then" The only source for claims such as these were from Zionists, and can't be supported by the unbiased historical record.
The actual history, which has been written by many reputable scholars, Pappe, Morris, Finkelstein, and more, show the existence of settled communities going back millennia. Please do not buy into any part of the lies that have gone into perpetuating this massive, genocidal fraud.
Joy, my apologies. As you summarize, there is certainly more of the story to tell. I would venture confidently to agree with you that for millennia, there is no place in the world where there were not congregations of people living together ("settled communities," as you restate it). And I have no doubt that the "middle east" contained them, and impressive cities, too. Part of the issue might be the definition of "Palestinians." Or "Palestine." I don't know what Judea and Samaria were before they were Judea and Samaria, but at some point, they became "Palestine." If you want to scold me for not looking this up before I shoot my mouth off, I'll plead guilty.
At any rate, the entire middle east was recertified after WWI. Countries were renamed, and boundaries redrawn. As best I understand it, that's what the Arabs have against the "west." And Arabs/"Palestinians" never had a problem with Jews until the west not only destroyed the system that was the middle east, but gave part of what was then "Palestine" to the Jews, and called it Israel. There are many people who say Jews/Israelis and Palestinians never had a problem getting along well until the past 70 years.
So once again, "everybody hates the Jews." It's not possible, if you're being honest and responsible, not to wonder about that.
Jackie Mason was a comedian who had originally intended to be a rabbi. And a number of his jokes made fun of how demanding and impossible the Jews are.
I don't not support Zionism. I don't support antiPalestinianism. And the Israelis have taken that tack as a theme. So I'm opposed to them for mistreating Palestinians, or anyone else. I'm not opposed to them for wanting peace, if they do, which they might not. Which is why I said maybe the larger consideration is if there's something wrong with Jews, and if antiSemitism is not as uncalled for as many people say it is. For what it's worth, it should also be noted that the OT "god" was vicious, destructive, and punitive. The NT "god" is very different.
I appreciate your working through this. I think we best not leave out another group of religious folks, who began promoting Zionism back in the 16th century in England. I don't know how far back this group wants to go, but I'm all for studying Christian Zionism.
A new institute is being launched for the study of Christian Zionism
This is an important topic, given the numbers and strength of the support Israel receives from these people and organizations .See what they are doing, and support them if you think this is a valuable thing to be doing at this time.
https://studychristianzionism.org
As a side issue, it's also fair to note that Jerusalem was an international/universal city, that was the birthplace and special home for Jews, Christians, and Muslims. Until Donnie destroyed the system by moving the US Embassy there from Tel Aviv, after which the Israelis declared it their new capitol city.
Joy, if you want to spank me for not having researched all of this first, and for not having looked at the link you sent, I'll pull down my trowsers, and you can go ahead.
I will tell you that my understanding of why Christians support Zionism is that they believe that once all the Jews are back in whatever we want to call it, then the Messiah will come back, it will be the "End of Days," and whoever is supposed to go to heaven will go. So Christians want the Jews back in... Not for the benefit of the Jews, but for the benefit of the Christians.