re: #292 ryannon

Yes, I’m kind of new here. But thank you for pointing me in the right direction!

You’re welcome.

I think even many rational people, because they ARE rational, don’t get that people can hate Israel for irrational reasons, or that the people who hate Israel are being manipulated by their governments to do so, so they don’t revolt. People don’t hate Israel for what it DOES, that’s mostly just an excuse (and one that’s pushed by Israel’s enemies). They hate Israel for existing. No other nation on Earth, not even the U.S., receives the kind of vitriol Israel does for merely defending itself, for protecting its citizens.

It’s true that Israel exists on land that was formerly part of a Muslim empire. On the other hand, the area IS the former homeland of the Jewish people, and before the rise of Islam the Middle East was made up primarily of Jews, Christians, and people of other faiths. Also, the Jews did not “invade” the land and take it by force—they bought land from absentee Turkish landlords. It was sparsely populated, and most of the Arabs there did not arrive (mostly from Jordan and Egypt) until after the Jews started businesses and jobs became available. The Jews did not kick the Arabs out… in fact they improved housing and sanitation for the Arabs already there, who were living in primitive conditions.

The Palestinians were ordered to leave their homes by invading Arab armies, who promised to let them return once Israel was crushed. Israel won the war, however. While it would have been easy enough for Jordan and Egypt to re-absorb the Palestinians, it’s served their propaganda purposes much better to present them as a refugee population, cast out of their “ancient homeland” by the evil Jews. And, unfortunately, many people buy this story.