Israel

There's no point in writing about this without telling the truth.

I have a friend who was raised in Iran and sees Israel from that perspective. I was trying to explain our perspective. Elements of that perspective are:

*Large numbers of Jews were slaughtered in the holocaust during WWII, and the remaining ones no longer felt safe living in Europe, or perhaps in any country where the majority population was not Jewish. Israel was chosen for this safe place because of its ancient, ancestral status as the promised land of Abraham and Moses. To function as a haven for Jews the population must be majority Jewish.

*Large numbers of American Christians also believe that Israel is the Jewish promised land, that it was assigned to them by God as their homeland, and that their right to it comes from God. [Please note: I am just explaining, not defending.] This, and the large numbers of American Jews, is the explanation for the level of support the US gives to Israel.

*Israel is a country based on a religion, an idea that is generally considered outdated. However, countries that enforce Sharia may also be considered to be based on religion. This is the opposite of separation of church and state as we define it here. Many American religious people would like religion to control certain government decisions, such as abortion and gay marriage, too. We like to act superior, but don't quite come up to snuff.

I am not religious but was raised religious. I know what people think and why they think it while not thinking it myself.

On the subject of Israel's right to exist I find myself able to see both sides. Moslems argue that they want to create a secular state while often denying religious freedom, persecuting Curds, Christians, Jews and any other group they find in their own countries. This argument is therefore seen to be specious.

If I cede to Israel its right to exist and the process through which it came into existence, namely by displacing large numbers of Moslems into the west bank and Gaza, I am still left with a problem.

*Israel's majority Jewish country is achieved by denying normal political rights to the actual majority population. This problem might be solved by moving all the American Jews to Israel, but they don't seem to want to go, except maybe on vacation.

However one might view all the above information, one is still left with this basic fact. I don't use this fact to form the basis for thinking Israel should be overthrown. I view the situation differently.

I see Israel as responsible for every small detail of these people's lives. If you want me to sympathize with your desire to deny political freedom to large bodies of people, then I need to see you taking responsibility for them. Why are there no sewers in Gaza? And what are you doing about it? If they have any complaints about how you treat them, I expect you to fix them. You created this situation, actively desired it, so that makes you responsible. Stop bellyaching and get to work.