[saden1]

Originally Posted by djnemo65

First of all, Israel is not the new South Africa. The apartheid in South Africa was based on and justified by colonial notions of racial inequality. Israel's current imbroglio is a sovereignty/ security issue. Israel has behaved punitively but it has been in response to decades of terrorist attacks. Both sides share blame. Saden, your position lacks any degree of nuance or historical perspective. If you accept that Israel has a right to exist then you have to recognize its right to defend itself.

And while it’s true the PNAC was as pro-Israel as it gets, such support was part and parcel of their larger thesis, which was that the United States, as a unique unipolar power, needed to basically act imperially. Israel was to function as an extension of US military power in the region. One can criticize this policy, as I certainly have, without characterizing them as a Jewish group, which can be more problematic.

Second, there is a qualitative difference between the fanatical anti-semitism of far right fringe groups, which tends to be based on demonization of the Jewish race and conspiracy theory, and criticism of the "neo-cons," which is principally a policy objective. As a Jew, I don't get offended by criticisms of people who happen to be predominantly Jewish; nor do I by criticisms of Israeli policy, even when I think they are kind of dopey. I do obviously by the former, as well as the illuminati style conspiracy theories involving Jewish banking cabals frequently propagated by people on the "left" (true story, my Greek friend once asked me if I was aware that no Jews had died in 9/11. His point? The illuminati had tipped off every Joe Rubenstein from the Bronx working in the towers. That I found more moronic than offensive, but you do hear stuff like this from time to time).

The oppressed have become the oppressor under the guise of the right to defend itself and that's the real shame. Israel should exist but it shouldn't be caging and expanding at the expense of others. Correlation to South Africa isn't racial but grounded on ethnicity and to an extend religion.

I've dealt with the 9/11 cooks too. They're a scary bunch and one wonders how they manage to tie their shoes every morning. You ask them for proof and they tell you to go watch the video on-line...when you tell them that's not good enough they say "the truth is right in front of you, you just choose not to see it." F'ing morons.