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Why do we give Jews a 'Pass'?
When I encounter a parent telling her children about Santa Claus, I may find it unfortunate that someone would lie to one's own child merely for entertainment purposes. The potential for harm here seems trivially small. I cannot say the same for the Muslim parent instructing his son in the virtues of martyrdom or the Christian who tells her daughter that her Jewish friends will go to hell because they have not been "saved."
Could we not add something like the following to the last sentence:
...or the jew who tells his kids that he's "chosen" and has a covenant with god that entitles him and his "people" to the land of Israel, and then uses that as justification for a bloody occupation of Palestine.
The one-year anniversary of Operation Cast Lead is approaching (Dec. 27th) and I think we should take a look at where we've come since then. The Goldstone Report: buried. Settlements: expanding. Palestinian house demolitions: continuing.
As atheists, we should be appalled whenever religion is used to justify actions that result in suffering or death. We do not seem to hesitate to speak out when a child dies because a Christian Scientist eschewed Western medicine in favor of prayer. We do not seem to hesitate to speak out when a Muslim nutjob finds motivation in his religion to grab some firearms and gun down some people. Why are we silent when an ethnic group uses a story about chosen people and covenants in The Big Book of Jewish Fairy Tales (aka, the Old Testament) to justify what is looking more and more like a slow, methodical ethnic cleansing campaign? Why do the Jews need to have Jerusalem all to themselves? Why is it so important to them to have a Jewish majority that they'll turn Gaza into a prison camp and The West Bank into Swiss cheese where the Palestinians are forced to live on smaller and smaller plots of land and endure more and more restrictions on their movement? If this were being done to a Jewish population they'd be screaming about a second holocaust.
The bottom line is that all three major religions are guilty of many modern-day atrocities and have a great deal of blood on their metaphorical hands. Why do we only bewail the actions of two of those three major religions?
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Doc on -
Size notwithstanding, that's what we already did. That's how we got Texas and New Mexico. That's what the others are trying to tell you. After the Louisiana purchase -- a land grab from the Indians by way of the French -- we took more land from the Spanish/Mexicans.
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Permalink Reply by Jonathan Chang on
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I know my history. But now that I got you to admit it's okay to rape other people's lands if only you haven't got enough, I guess that's the plateau of our argument, right? This is why you think it's ethnic cleansing for Jews is Jews don't steal Palestinian land because Jews don't have enough. Pffff!
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Permalink Reply by Doc on
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As long as Israel allows Muslim Arabs inside its borders to live, it is, by definition, not ethnic cleansing. Full citizenship rights are additional. Muslim countries don't allow Jews in to live, and more than a few don't allow any Jews in at all. That's ethnic cleansing. If, after this, you still don't get it, I recommend a dictionary.
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Permalink Reply by Glen Rosenberg on -
There are differences but if you want to equate the rank and file palestinians with orthodox jews-its okay. But when you equate anything israel has done with historical genocide you are mistaken more than a little.
I aint in favor of persecuting nobody, nowhow.
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Permalink Reply by Jonathan Chang on
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Right? It's okay to criticize Palestinians holistically -- the entire race -- but when you criticize Israel, you are mistaken. Palestinian people are backwards and racist, therefore it's okay to hate on them.
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Permalink Reply by Glen Rosenberg on
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Dont be going all civil. keep up the vitriol. It makes it more fun!
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Permalink Reply by Jonathan Chang on
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I respond to vitriol with vitriol, so it starts with you. Ready, set, GO!
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Permalink Reply by Glen Rosenberg on
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I gazed and gazed but little thought what wealth to me the show had brought for oft when on the computer I inveighle the bagel and gefilte fish, they flash upon that inward eye which is the bliss of solitude. And then my heart with pleasure fills and dances with the propaganda bills.
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Permalink Reply by Jonathan Chang on
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Did you just buy a new thesaurus?
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Permalink Reply by Glen Rosenberg on
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Rape the nape of the neck for JCs sake.
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Permalink Reply by Glen Rosenberg on
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JC, I am going to cafe lebanon tommorow and going to have some arabic food with my non girlfriend who wants to be my girlfriend but she cant cuz she tooooo damn religulous. You go to a Jewish deli and get the whitefish salad and we can exchange all kind a new understandings.
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Permalink Reply by Jonathan Chang on
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Glen, I am not a Muslim, but I've had Arabic food and Jewish food and they are both delicious.
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