I throw a rock. You throw it back. I shoot you. Authorities Watch.

Who started the fight?

 

According to the article, the settlers from Yitzhar started shooting the villagers. This is a normal day for them.

http://972mag.com/watch-settlers-shoot-palestinian-in-head-as-soldiers-stand-by/46354/


Yizhar is famous for one Yitzhak Shapira, a rabbi who wrote "The King's Torah," where he explains that it's a mitzvah to kill non-Jewish children because the are "Amalek."

His followers also venerate Baruch Goldstein and Meir Kahane.

They are complete and utter scum, religious nut-balls and right-wing extremists who believe it's their god-given right to evict their neighbors and eventually build a theocratic monarchy to replace the Israeli government. And the military does nothing, partly I think because they are afraid of them.

 

Got to love religion, a bunch of people yelling at each other and proclaiming their made up stories are more right than the other guys.

And we are supposed to be civilized....yeah, right.

DD

 

As I said before, these kinds of things happen every day. The average Israeli doesn't like settlers or the settlements and doesn't go there, but enjoys not having to make any decisions about changing the status quo. These days there's a lot more effort to demonize African refugees and get them deported or (ironically) rounded up into camps and treated as criminals.

There is debate as to who actually set the fires...either story could be true and both could be lying. Sadly, that's just the way it often is. But there's no denying that the settlement in question is one of the biggest problem children in the West Bank. It's a place no soldier wants to be sent and they are often treated as poorly by the Kahanite religious Jews there as they are the Palestinians.

People like this are every bit as fanatical as the Taliban. If your mother isn't Jewish, you don't have a soul and you have no right to be on their holy ground given to them by God. And it's more than OK to kill you. It's of no moral consequence to them and it's all part of God's awesome plan. Period.

Since I am a convert, and not Orthodox I'm the freaking devil incarnate. I've had my life casually threatened in a cafe in Jerusalem by these types. They were trying to be my buddy at first. My girlfriend at the time was a grand-daughter of holocaust survivors from Bulgaria who was born and raised on a kibbutz. But her mom is a Danish Christian. They called her "an abomination" and that when "they" win, people like her will have to leave Israel or be killed. Only one one of them was even from Israel. They were mostly from New York and France.

For that matter, they also said most American Jews (who are Reform or Conservative) aren't "real" Jews and their equal treatment of women is offensive to God and they would risk their lives to burn down any synagogue that wasn't Orthodox.

Technically, the area is under Israeli security, so the IDF IS legally obligated to enforce security, but as you can see, it's largely lawless. It's only the guns that are always right, no matter who it is that owns them.

I think the Israeli government is avoidant about the whole thing. They don't want to create turmoil or wreck their core voters. They may not be a majority, but they are enough of a swing vote to keep them in power, so you know how that goes.

I find it troubling that the West gets its panties in a bunch about the Muslim Brotherhood taking seats in Egypt's election and lectures about secularism and democratic values, and then provides cover for Israel's exact analog, who are doing their best to tear down what's left of the country's democratic character.

 

People on both sides of this conflict seem to be idiots.

Plus, the closet salafist who is reporting it to portray Jews as evil is one as well.

 

These are the type of extremists that are holding the peace process hostage.

 

My understanding is that the government can't offend the Ultra-orthodox Jews because, although they are technically a minority, they have a 95% voting turnout, so they dominate the elections. They hold a large block of seats in the Knesset, and therefore wield a lot of power. Most are largely uneducated and are excused from serving in the IDF - causing a lot of stress between them and the IDF. The easiest way to get around this would be to get the non-orthodox people to actually turn out and vote..they could change the whole system if they did.
Another concern is that the Orthodox Jews, while a small % of the country, are having 4-5 kids or more, while the rest of the country has 2-3 at most. They will soon be the majority.
There is some hope, as while I was at the western wall on their memorial day last month, there were numerous amounts of Orthodox Youth actually talking (friendly) to IDF forces - something that doesn't usually happen Hopefully, they can make a change in the future.

The concern with Egypt, is the idea that the Brotherhood would take a similar power block in Egypt's government.

Lesson: The Minority can rule a small country easily if they have a 95% turnout while the rest of the country has a 45% turnout.

 

Sort of on topic, did anyone see that "60 Minutes" yesterday where they did a thing on Tel Aviv? That is one whacky place where everyone lives in a bubble and all walks of life are accepted regardless of race, sexual preference, religion, etc. ? It sounds like the equivalent of Vegas over here.

 

Thanks for the heads up...I found it online. http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7409182n

 

Guys, just an FYI. Clutch doesn't like religious or political stuff in signatures. It goes on your signatures in all your posts in all forums, not just D&D.

 

a snake and a woman?

 

A chicken or an egg?

Or was it a Monkey and an ape.

And if mankind evolved from Monkeys and apes, why are there still monkeys and apes?

DD

 

Tel Aviv is definitely a different place. I had a wonderful time there and that has to be one of the most western feeling cities I've ever felt. Felt very European but at the same time very modern (while many European cities have a much older feel to it)

Tel Aviv is emblematic of Israel. The secular and religious communities have segregated themselves quite thoroughly. The few orthodox Jews in Tel Aviv tend to be the ones that are tolerant enough to stick around. The more intolerant ones have left.

Tel Aviv to me is what many of the original Zionist leaders thought Israel should be like. It is a place for Jews as a homeland but it is not governed by religious dogma, it is largely free of Palestinians, and it is modern and western leaning.

That of course really only worked out in Tel Aviv. Other cities either have large Arab populations or like West Jerusalem, large Orthodox communities. Neither of those communities really fit the mold of what the original Zionists thought should make up the Israeli population.