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Ari   United States   
June, 13, 2008 6:10 PM
Wow. I wish I had the time to adequately pick this apart, but alas, at the moment i do not. I will, however, say a couple of quick comments. First off, it seems to be a tendency to eschew the claim of the Jewish people to that land and say that the only people who have a rightful claim to it are those who were there when it was part of the Ottoman and British empires. True, we could keep going further and further back until we eventually say that all lands should go back to ne rightfully ruled by single celled organisms, but that's not very productive. I would, however, like you to mark that your choice of who should have control over that land is arbitrary and temporally linked to the creation of the United States, the normative beginning of what we here in the U.S., and many others throughout the world, look at as the beginning of modern political space.
I will, then, ask you this: If you want to claim the start of this as 1948, have you asked the question as to why the Palestinians didn't make any attempts to throw out the British? No matter how you look at it, between 1920 and 1948, the British were the authoritative power of the area. You may claim that the Balfour declaration was proof that the British favored the Jews, but the declaration can be seen now as a sort of attempt at appeasement.
TO be very brief and without much explanation, it was, arguably, the presence of the British in Palestine (you can also go back to the Ottoman empire), that worked to create and maintain tension between Jews and Arabs in the area. Look at the Balfour declaration, and then look at the fact that the Arabs in the area decided to fight with the occupying British forces. This all leads to the supposition that the hatred of one group for another was carefully constructed by occupying powers.
your rhetoric is hateful and meant to insight fear and contempt. this is not the way to address the situation. as a historically situated problem, we need t
Ari   United States   
June, 13, 2008 6:12 PM
to recognize that the schism has little, if anything to do with the ideological differences. Arabs and Jews alike have spent the last hundred years holding each other in contempt because of outside governing powers. This is a problem that needs to be looked at as deeper than who has a right to this land. Legitimate fears exist on both sides, but that only clouds the fact that most of the fears come down to xenophobia.
You'll notice that I haven't said anything regarding your equation of Israeli politics and actions to those of the Nazi's. I don't think you realize the full weight of what it is you say. I can not simply brush off your claim by saying that it was an absurd one because that would lend legitimacy to your argument in that I haven't adequately defended my position. Your statement, short as it may be, demands a thousand criticisms. To simply address one aspect of why what you say is wrong would not do the opposing argument any justice. No, it demands a book, or more.
I wish I could write more, but our friendship has clouded my ability to argue anymore, especially in light of the way some of what you said denigrates who I am, my family and loved ones, as well as our friendship. I can write that off when someone like Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says it. I can't, however, do the same when a friend does. It is insulting and belittling.

 
 
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