Reply #26: Herzl wasn't the leader of a nation...

[Violet_Crumble]

He was the founder of modern Zionism, and he died decades before Israel came into being. Where I disagree with the poster yr replying to is that it's clear from Herzl's writings that he and his ideas were a product of the Enlightenment and there was nothing in the way of guilt, victimisation, or attempts to solidify support for Israel (especially as his ideas were for a Jewish nation-state from what I remember didn't care if it was in what is now Israel or not). Where I disagree with you is this thing about 'cherry picking' quotes. There are some quotes from leaders like Ben-Gurion and Barak that some people would love to ignore coz those quotes don't show them in the light of *peace-maker* or *great humanitarian* etc. While some of those quotes have to be taken in the context of the era they were from, or the situation they were in, that doesn't make those quotes worthless. And an interesting thing to note is that when it comes to cherry-picking quotes, that's a habit that's very popular when it comes to Arab leaders but decried when it's about Israeli leaders. I mean, if I were to repeat a popular quote from Arafat's address to the UN 'I come bearing an olive branch in one hand, and the freedom fighter's gun in the other.' am I cherry-picking a quote?

on edit: sorry for the crappy sentence construction in there, btw. Plus, I'm not sure if I was entirely clear on what I was trying to get across about quotes from leaders, so I apologise in advance for the waffle :)