Israel (Is Real?)

TerryWalstrom

Every nation is a kind of weird intellectual construct.
When we say: China--all of us get some kind of fictional mental snapshot in our head. Sure, there IS a country called "China".
We just don't really know a soul living there. Our ignorance is rather profound.
The idea of "recognizing" a certain country is also weird.
It's like deciding whether or not you'll snub one of your neighbors.
"Are you worthy of my attention?" That sort of thing.
Countries which are persona non grata may NOT be recognized as legitimate players--and yet--we talk about them non-stop. Sort of like gossiping about that neighbor you've decided to snub.
All in all, it says a lot about a person and a nation when it comes to snubbing.
Our character really comes down to how we treat other human beings, doesn't it?
Who the "good guys" and the "bad guys" are is a function of how far they're willing to go in helping and hurting ordinary people.
WAR, for instance. Do "good" guys blow people up for a good cause?
Uh-oh, our clean, clear, crisp image of "good" starts to blur suddenly.
Thou Shall Not Kill is always gleaming brightly like the star of Bethlehem until it comes into conflict with survival instincts, political positioning postures, and money.
No matter what we say we "believe," it's what we DO unto OTHERS which tells the true story.
Actions speak louder than words.
The United States is a lot of things to a lot of people. Half of us don't at all agree with the other half. Many of us will punch you in the nose if you disagree, in fact. So? So what?
So this...
Israel has an opinion of what its capital should be.
Right now, our President agrees with that opinion.
His opinion makes it official. But--it won't change hearts and minds.
What it will change is the balance of emotion in the hearts and minds of people who are in a position to react.
What that reaction finally comes down to will tell the tale of how great an idea it is to express such an opinion.

Finkelstein

The power of politics is in kind to the power of opinion.

Finkelstein

Trump has taken an established biased position concerning who he favors, the Jewish state/religion over the Palestine state the Muslim religion, for obvious reasons.

Half banana

Israel is a secular state and needs no help from the US fundamentalist right wing. It has done very well with its own self serving myths.

waton

Millions and Millions of people were displaced in the last century. At what point are we willing to stop rewinding history, to the past?

Finkelstein

At what point are we willing to stop rewinding history, to the past?

When religion disappears and the divisions it causes.

Fisherman

It is easier for us to steal oil with an outpost in the ME.

waton

Is that a story of a religion or a family? I wish my family had made the attempt to keep it's history or at least a version of it. With all the money in the world in that big region, why can they not make the desert bloom and make room for all of them, and then some?

LoveUniHateExams

Israel (Is Real?) - yes, it certainly is.

It's the only place in the Middle East where gay couples can marry and march in support and solidarity with their sexuality. (Did you know that gay Palestinians flee their own people and end up in Tel Aviv? Gay Palestinians are treated better by Israel than by their own people. Sad but true.)

Everywhere else, for thousands of sq kms, gays are stoned to death - if not by state-funded Shariah then because of 'honour killing'.

Perhaps one day Cairo, Tunis, Marrakesh, Gaza City, Beirut, Damascus, Amman, Riyadh, Abu Dhabi, Khartoum and a load of other moose limb cities will have Gay Pride annually, like Tel Aviv does.

Until that day, let us all rejoice that Israel has gay rights and other human rights, yeah? ...

OnTheWayOut

Maybe an old-school 70-something year old Texan who doesn't travel much unless he can get there on a bicycle thinks like you do. The rest of us, whether we know anyone in China or not understand that's where all the socks and eye glasses and tons of other stuff come from and we know it's pretty important in our lives.

We don't talk much about places until it's in the news. That much is true.

What Trump has done is bring this issue to the forefront. Virtually nobody was aware of the controversy. Now they are (if they wanna be). And they will learn more as the process causes uproar in the region. It will be too much to put that embassy there- too much drama and literal explosions. It'll be another "wall" that doesn't get built.

Israel (Is Real?)

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