Writing from Jerusalem on Tuesday as rioting left dozens injured, Bradley Burston said:
Hamas has designated this day, in this place, its Day of Rage. Why, then, the smiles on the faces of Mahmoud Zahar and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad?
Perhaps it’s because after more than 22 years of costly trial and error, Hamas has finally come upon the secret of how to bring down the Jewish state:
Let the ship sink itself.
This month, down here in the engine room of the Titanic, a single coherent order continues to sound from the officers shrouded in fog on the bridge: “More power!”
To the delight of Mahmoud Zahar and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Israel’s homemade weapons of mass destruction – pro-settlement bureaucrats with conflicts of financial and ideological interest – have done in one meeting what Israel’s foes have sought for generations: driving a stake through the heart of Israel’s relationship with the White House.
We should have known. But in the swamp of anomaly and impossibility that is Jerusalem, you can easily lose sight of, and belief in, the basics:
One of the curses of endless war, is the tendency to become one’s own worst enemy – in every sense.
A self-conception grounded in the notion that one is an object of enmity, whether this be within the self-identity of an individual or a nation, is no basis upon which a constructive relationship with the world can be formed. The world is seen as otherness and engagement with such a world becomes equated with annihilation. This is indeed the definition of a nihilistic outlook.
I understand that there is a difference between Israel being hated (as it is by some) and Israel being founded on the basis of Israeli hatred of Palestinians. Nevertheless.
The people of the USA (and the English colonies before that) may not have “hated” the Indians, but they not only “did them in” originally, but continued to do so over quite a long time, ignoring any “rights” the Indians might have wished to assert. Even quite recent treaties were ignored when oil was discovered or other reason found to ignore them.
And, still, the USA stands. So don’t underestimate Israel, whther there was or was not Israeli hatred of the Palestinians. What might make the difference is the way OTHER COUNTRIES respond. So far (perhaps under the heavy hand of the US) the nations have scarcely been able to say “the settlements are illegal” much less to say “the settlements are illegal and must be pulled down” (or “the settlers must be recalled”).
Israel is still looking good, its hatred and all. The rest of the world seems to think more of easily replaced commercial relations than of not-so-easily-repaired moral or ethical (or legal or human rights) issues.
I fear for the jewish population once the influence of american empire ends.
Most empires before also functioned the same way. They all thought that they would be around forever. Even the longest running empire was quite shocked when the ottomans marched into constantinople!
The Muslims shouldn’t get too smug. The problem goes to the heart of monotheism.
The universal state of the absolute is basis, not apex, so a spiritual absolute would be the essence of being from which life rises, not an ideal form from which it fell. To the extent we are all one, it’s like branches of a tree. We all point in different directions. These are simply tribal entities exciting each others immune reactions to foreign bodies. Nationalism, if you prefer.
It was the polytheists who invented democracy. Likely because there must have been a deeply ingrained concept of cooperation and compromise. Qualities monotheism has been rather poor at promoting, except within the already defined group. Historically Israel was a monarchy.
In the process both are ( Judaism and Islam ) are destroying itself.It is frightening to think but the specter of Morish decline over Spain comes to mind. Spain came out victorious but at a costly fallout for rest of the World .Morisco and Morrano could not protect themselves even after converting.
This war on land has morphed into religious war and one or other is going to win it but it does not have to be that way.There are a lot more saner options out there.
It never ceases to amaze me how almost everyone takes their eye off the ball here. Bait & Switch, as simple as that. But then, the obvious is too difficult for even the most learned of those who read & comment analogies. This is just like what’s taking place in the Congress in the U.S.A., “Kabuki”.
Actually, Israel’s monarchy was and is a prelim to a coming Theocracy. It’s hard to explain.
One thing that the monotheism of Islam has “not” going for it is that Judaism is 2 millinium older. The big protest over Abrahams tomb and Sarah’s tomb should be non issue for the Palistinians.
They just want to exploit any and every opportunity they can to derail peace talks and, therefore, peace.
Their ultimate goal is the total destruction of the Jew. History shows and proves this but the UN, Duhbama and the EU are either ignorant to this fact or they are demonically influenced. Since satan is the power behind earthly politics and therfore, in control, I choose the later.