If you want to be able to discuss Israel and Palestine outside the confines of I/P

[cali]

you might consider the following:

Steer clear of broad brush smears of Palestinians and Israelis.

Don't conflate Jews and Israelis.

Don't conflate Palestinians and Hamas.

Keep away from calling anyone involved a Nazi.

Don't use outrageous hyperbole.

Don't spread outrageous CTs about how Israel/the Jews control the media/DU

Don't accuse people of being "zionist trolls".

Don't accuse people of being "Hamas/terrorist apologists".

I appreciate that the mods let us discuss the I/P issues outside ot the I/P forum when the crisis in that part of the world intensifies. It causes a LOT more work and headaches for them. If we work to keep the inflammatory rhetoric to a minimum, that not only helps the mods and enhances the likelihood that threads will be retained in GD or GD-P, but increases the odds of a real discussion instead of a flamefest.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

1. Agreed--and kudos to the moderators!

Theirs can be a very challenging job--your guidelines, if followed, can make things a lot easier for them.

[cali]

2. yes, the mods deserve a lot of credit.

trying to balance the desire of DUers to discuss this outside of I/P with keeping out ugly bigotry is a real challenge for them. They deserve our thanks.

[chimpymustgo]

5. I appreciate this discussion. AND people should not be called anti-semites for being appalled

at the killing of more than 300 Palestinians - among them many defenseless people and children.

[oberliner]

6. What about people who post "I am so sick of Jews" - are they antisemites?

I think those are the kinds of posts in question.

[cali]

7. I haven't seen anyone called an anti-semite because of that

I have seen someone who wrote: "Fuck all the Jews" called an anti-semite. I've also seen a lot of posts claiming someone will call them an anti-semite for criticizing Israel. I've also seen the label thrown out when it wasn't warranted. Both are tactics to shut others up.

[conscious evolution]

14. I was called anti semitic

for saying fuck Israel.
Not fuck the Jews.
It seems that some people can't seperate the two.

[ellisonz]

12. Nor should they be compared to Nazis for understanding where the Israelis are coming from...

[cali]

3. kick. well the OP is either non-controversial

or people are vested in hewing to their inflammatory rhetoric re I/P.

[oberliner]

4. Have the mods made a statement about allowing discussion of I/P in GD?

Are I/P posts allowed in GD and GDP now in light of the current situation?

[Festivito]

8. The moderators in I/P go out of their way to do a good job.

Bravo and thank you.

[MattSh]

9. I'm so not believing that...

But even if you follow those guidelines, it may still be moved to I/P anyway.

Like this thread...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=124x196261

It could have been written by just about any oppressed person anywhere in the world, and the poem does not even mention Israel OR Palestine, but since the URL included the word "Palestine" it was shipped off to the I/P netherworld.

[cali]

10. I'm not in on why some posts are moved and others aren't

but this post hasn't been. And neither has another I posted in this forum entitled "the myth of defense". Perhaps they will be, but they've both been up for around a day.

All I can say is I really appreciate how difficult it is to moderate these threads.

[BelgianMadCow]

11. A well-timed post, and :thumbsup: for the mods too

it seems justified in these times.

[conscious evolution]

13. I agree with all but one

And even that one I don't really like using in Israels case
But when people start acting like nazis they need to be called on it.
And given the Jewish peoples history with regard to the nazis I think it is especially important to call them on their actions.