Reply #14: Excellent summary

[Lithos]

I'm afraid that is exactly what I've been seeing for many years. I do wish to offer up an addendum if I may.

One issue the left has is identifying the motives of those who are critical of Israel. It is awfully easy to pull in "as allies" those who seem to be against Israel's policies when in fact they are obfuscating their position. What is not realized by some is that these very people are putting on a front and are deliberately choosing the left's vocabulary in order to mask their anti-Semitism. Of course I'm talking about the paleo-Con Libertarians, the Holocaust Deniers (American Free Press, David Irving, etc.) and those who contribute to them and freely reproduce their material. The truth of the matter is, the vast majority of these people are not part of the left and if you dig a little deeper, they are definitely no allies of the left.

And to add further, these very same groups are so good at promoting their agenda in a deceitful manner and their message is based on half-truths whose mis-focus is usually only seen when taken in toto, not piece part that it is sometimes hard for people who are learning or only half-engaged to know the difference. Thus I've seen many an innocent who did not know better, repeat something that sounded extremely plausible, and receive quite the verbal assault here. It's a education and diligence that must be shared by all sides of the debate.

Another issue we have to deal with is the stereotyping of groups or nationalities based on the actions of a few people. I've seen attacks made against Palestinians and Israeli's using the quotes of a few leaders. Just as people re-emphasize the diversity of political opinion (and culture) of Israel, it must be realized that such is true for Palestine, Lebanon and every other nationality or group inside of Israel. Even groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood or the Ultra-Orthodoxy cannot be be lumped in this way.

<soapbox>The I/P and the Middle Eastern issue is one of of human or civil rights where one of the leading problems is intolerance and/or disrespect for diversity. From Biblical times, the Middle East has been prospered when diversity tolerance was valued and it has retrograded and stagnated when it was not. </soapbox>