Anyone with any familiarity at all with the reality in Israel knows that an enormous majority of Arabs living in Israel would never dream of living in Palestine were there ever to be such a country, and it's not hard to fathom their line of reasoning: Israel is a free democracy with an ever-rising standard of living (and at the moment one of the strongest currencies in the world, but that's a different matter), while the Palestinians can be relied upon to screw up whatever chances they're offered with perfect consistency. That's why there was such an outcry among Israel's Arabs when in 2004 Arik Sharon proposed redrawing Israel's border so that the towns alongside the north-western flank of the West Bank be re-mapped into the West Bank. That's why Avigdor Lieberman is perhaps the most hated and feared of all Israeli politicians in the eyes of Israel's Arabs: he advocates a similar move. (And note: not a single Arab would have to leave his home. The border would simply be moved a few miles west, leaving the homes in putative Palestinian territory... shudder...).
Life for Israel's Arabs is far from perfect and leaves much to be desired, but it's a lot better than life in any other Arab country, unless you're a millionaire Saudi sheik or a fully subsidized citizen of a Gulf State living off oil and the sweat of disenfranchised Pakistanis.
It's also a well-known but never mentioned secret that the Arabs in East Jerusalem, who aren't even full Israeli citizens, dread the day the city will be divided and they'll end up on the Palestinian side; when Israel began putting up that evil wall a few years ago, tens of thousands of Palestinians scrambled to make sure they were inside it, on the Israeli side, and not outside it, on the Palestinian side. It doesn't take much imagination to understand them: would any of you make a different choice in their situation? Of course not.
Still, having said all that, it's still a bit surprising to read that 77% of the Palestinians who have Israeli citizenship, wouldn't want to live in any other country in the world. Not in America, not in Norway, not in Australia, not even in the UK, home of the Guardian. Nope. They want to stay in Israel. Moreover, if you follow the link, you'll find lots of other interesting statistics, almost all of them positive. I recommend.
Now, if you were a person who cares about people and their well-being, a mantle often claimed by the so called Progressives, or the political Left, or Liberals, depending on the country you live in, you would be celebrating all this, and perhaps even commending Israel for having proven that Arabs actually can be productive and functioning citizens in a modern democracy even in the Mideast, and not only when they move to New Jersey, and if so they can certainly be encouraged to do so in France, Algeria, Saudi Arabia or Lebanon. But I wouldn't recommend holding your breath until the praise starts coming in, not from those people anyway.
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5 comments:
FROM CAROL HERMAN
Oh, and let me menton a BIGGER COUNTRY: The USA!
It's one of the reasons that arabs are in a dither. Because they're aware that Americans have "removed the welcoming mat." Lots of arabs do not don their headdresses when they go about "business." Instead, they desire to fit in.
Things are not so good in Canada. But the arabs hate how cold it gets up there.
And, after 9/11 ... a lot of the muslims; where they do well in Black communities ... aren't looking to "settle there." They prefer American communities. Where, because we're a huge nation ... they don't pick Jewish communities at all. And, then? Well, they try to blend in.
You need to remember that the Sauds took over all of Islam. They bought the Madrasses ... (which is sort'a like by all the Yeshivot.) And, they then tossed out all the locals; who ran the local Madrasses BY GETTING ALONG WITH THEIR NEIGHBORS!)
The Sauds are stupid. They saw no down-side.
Doesn't mean "down sides" aren't there. It's good to remember, also, that hitler met his downside to the point where he stuck a gun down his throat. Didn't exactly die at the top of his game, ya know?)
WHile the Sauds have so much money they're making arms dealers rich.
Well, the germans, too, instead of paying off their WW1 debt, went for broke. A lot of good it did 'em, huh?
Sometimes, ya just gotta see the big picture. Ya gotta see that the "beautiful girl" grows old. Unless she's Marilyn Monroe. And, then the Kennedy boys "grew tired," and killed her. Fancy that outcome.
I have no idea what's going to happen in the mideast.
I do know that Mubarrak is one of these despots who grows rich; and the suffering of eygptians doesn't even make a dent on him.
If you think everything is coming up roses for the gazoo? And, their parades? I'd differ with ya.
But the events which will prove "outcomes" are still in the future.
And, believe it or not, the arabs have tribal alliances that cut across borders. And, the Sauds didn't get the "rise" they thought they'd achieve by funding 9/11.
Nor does the press "get it," either.
Circumstances, however, remain the same. And, in my own "what if" scenario ... what if there are enough arabs that hate the "red-checked tablecloths?" What if it wouldn't matter to you. But it does matter to them?
And, what if iran is crazy enough to try to over-run the Emerates?
HA! You think I'm kidding. Well, I'm not.
The best news for all of us Jews is that in Israel there's no running away from conflict. True. The arabs only want to kill unarmed citizens. But look!
And, I mean, really LOOK! Do you know what happens to bullies that are picking on Israelis thinking they're "Jews?" The old european standard has bitten the dust.
And, Olmert's not half bad!
It's only the ding-a-lings who think Bibi is more than a mouth. And, quite capable of picking the wrong maneuvers. (At least he's outside of government.) And, Olmert keeps holding his place.
The newspapers, fishwraps for the limosine liberals, haven't really had a hit in quite a while.
FROM CAROL HERMAN
Avigdor Lieberman is an idiot.
All you have to do is look at SHAS, to realize the political know how of the Sephardic Jews; and what they get in return for their votes.
While Lieberman gets a cigar. But other than throwing prime ministers into turmoil, he is then discarded. And, SHAS walks right through the door.
Even Olmert would tell ya. Most of the news isn't serious. But SHAS is very serious. And, Olmert's not looking to lose his government any time soon.
Besides, the 1967 War, was the 6-days-BIG ONE. And, it's been a headache ever since. Since Israel got arabs, as well as territory.
That's why, in the summer of 2006, I figured it out. NO MORE TERRITORY!
The problem, now? Letting the arabs live with their noses right up to the barbed wire.
And, if there's anything ahead. (Besides Mubarak cleaning up on the underground tunnel trade), it sure looks like there's gonna be "distance" ... or empty space ... Between the barbed wire. And, arab noses.
Don't ask me how.
Because there's nothing in the newspapers.
On the other hand? We can all guess. And, I'm guessing that Olmert holds on. And, the longer he holds, the closer he comes to a 2010 end date. Which would be a first, for any Israeli government.
I just discount what I read in the paper.
Just as I discount the FBI agents who always come out after a terrorist attack, and say "NO TERRORIST ATTACK." Nope. Planes fall out of the sky because their fuel tanks "burp."
And, El Al Airlines? That was on July 4th. July 4th is a holiday. And, all the reporters, back then, were in Martha's Vineyard. Boozing it up with the "in-crowd."
While I kid you not, the FBI agent said "NO TERRORISM, HERE." The man had a grievance with some other airline; only their counters were close.
When you realize just how the system works. In other words, how the FBI is "given the last word." Once they say "no terrorism," the story bounces away.
Olmert's "going." And, Ehud Barak played. He dropped his card. Only to discover his popularity went down. How far down? he went from the curb, into the gutter. It's not as if he's finding favor with voters, ya know?
I'm still thinking it's possible that Morris Talansky is a no-show on July 17th.
And, then? Well, I'll watch the skies. Maybe, I'll see Superman?
Asking the Israeli Arabs what country they would like to live in is mostly rhetorical, because they don't have anywhere else to move.
During the military dictatorship of 1976-83, the Jews of Argentina, however, had a country that would have received them with open arms -- Israel. Yet they voted with their feet, remaining in Argentina. That's to say, they preferred Argentina over any other country in the world, including one where they could have moved whenever they wished.
We must conclude, then, that the military dictatorship was very benign toward the Jews?
Not so. It was a repugnantly antisemitic dictatorship. Fully 15% of the desaparecidos where Jewish, in a country where the Jewish community made up 1% of the population.
What happened, then?
Very simple. All people prefer their country, the place where they were born, over any other country in the world. Even if the government discriminates against them, like the Argentinian government of 1976-83 did with the Jews, or like the current Israeli government does with the Arabs.
Hasbara argument busted -- yet one more time.
Unsurprisingly, Ibrahim is wrong re: Argentine Jews. According to Wikipedia (check under 'Aliyah'), between 1972-1989 - they don't provide yearly numbers - over 23,000 Jews from Argentina immigrated to Israel. That's about 15 percent of Argentine's Jewry. I bet that during the same period a good number of them also immigrated to the U.S., Canada, etc.
What is it with the Pals and their supporters that compels them to make up shit, an easily discredited shit to boot?
Ibrahim wrote "All people prefer their country, the place where they were born, over any other country in the world."
Where is the source? This is just an assumption and proves nothing.
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