Israel/Palestine
In reply to the discussion: Israel Hate is Anti-Semitism [View all]TeamsterDem
(1,173 posts)If hating a government's actions meant hating its citizenry then I guess sometimes I'd hate myself for being American - like when Bush lied to invade Iraq, or like when Clinton signed NAFTA. But I don't hate my country or its citizens, but I do hate some of the mistakes that we've made. That's how I see Israel: An imperfect government (as they all are) which makes mistakes (as they all do). But I don't equate Israel's government's errors with Judaism, instead I blame politicians whose religion has either nothing or very little to do with their political decisions and calculations.
It's a lot like how most Americans detest the Iranian government without equating that government's actions with Islam: That Iran is a hostile country doesn't mean it is so because of its majority religion. Instead it simply means its geopolitical aims conflict with ours irrespective of the religion. If anyone thinks Iran is hostile to us because it's an Islamic republic I suggest that person is ignorant of history and facts ... just as I'd suggest the same to anyone who held that Israel's belligerence has anything at all to do with its majority religion.
And by the way, I condemn both sides' violent actions: Israel's and the pro-Palestinian actors as well. It's just as wrong to blow up a bus in Israel as it is to murder Rachel Corrie with a bulldozer, and rocketing innocent civilians inside of Israel's borders is equally abhorrent to forcibly annexing tribal lands and killing those who resist.