i think it's clear by now that israel not only has a right to exist -- it has a right to exist free from fear of being blown up. a no-brainer (obviously, since republicans get it). i would agree, also, that israel is a special case. there is no getting around it. a peoples so persecuted through time should be given special consideration -- especially when one thinks about the amazing cultural, political, and social contributions judaism has brought to the world. secular humanism -- ironically -- being its greatest contribution, in my mind.
that said, i think there are more steps that need to be taken for israel to strengthen its democracy -- truly recognizing non-jewish arabs as equals under the law, for instance, and perhaps not worrying about whether the country maintains its jewish majority. after all, a truly democratic state should have the kind of government that serves anyone who wants to live within that state -- jewish, muslim, christian, pagan, atheist, or whatever, in whatever numbers they come to that state.
i think that, even if israel insists on maintaining its jewish majority, this piece in the NYT accurately reflects the growing sentiment in israel itself that it shouldn't maintain this majority through the illegal annexation of arab lands. this is political zionism, something vastly different from religious zionism, and it is inherently discriminatory. it's sad to me that a nation built on such beautiful religious and cultural practices has, in some ways, hurt that religion because of certain leaders' practice of rabid political zionism.
yes, israel's annexation of the golan heights and the west bank were in direct response to attacks from arab lands. but i think, finally, that more and more people are recognizng that moving israel's borders back to pre-1967 norms would be greatly beneficial to all parties involved. it would even make a dual state system -- one israeli and one palestinian -- palatable.
that said, i think there are more steps that need to be taken for israel to strengthen its democracy -- truly recognizing non-jewish arabs as equals under the law, for instance, and perhaps not worrying about whether the country maintains its jewish majority. after all, a truly democratic state should have the kind of government that serves anyone who wants to live within that state -- jewish, muslim, christian, pagan, atheist, or whatever, in whatever numbers they come to that state.
i think that, even if israel insists on maintaining its jewish majority, this piece in the NYT accurately reflects the growing sentiment in israel itself that it shouldn't maintain this majority through the illegal annexation of arab lands. this is political zionism, something vastly different from religious zionism, and it is inherently discriminatory. it's sad to me that a nation built on such beautiful religious and cultural practices has, in some ways, hurt that religion because of certain leaders' practice of rabid political zionism.
yes, israel's annexation of the golan heights and the west bank were in direct response to attacks from arab lands. but i think, finally, that more and more people are recognizng that moving israel's borders back to pre-1967 norms would be greatly beneficial to all parties involved. it would even make a dual state system -- one israeli and one palestinian -- palatable.
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