Why I don't "support Israel"...

Well, I suppose the title is a bit misleading. You see, I do support the nation of Israel's right to defend itself. I DO NOT support Israel's right to conquest. I do support Israel's right to engage in free trade. I DO NOT support Israel's assumed right to my money. I do support Israel's right to "exist". I DO NOT support Israel's right to exist at the expense of another, any more than I support welfare or an "I'm starving, I'm going to kill you and eat your food" attitude here at home.

That said, let's go over a few facts here.

A) The Holocaust was bad. No denying that here. It was some pretty twisted shit, people being slaughtered in the name of religion. That's why I think it was some pretty twisted shit. People were being slaughtered for their beliefs, not because people were being slaughtered for being Jewish.

B) The Holocaust is NOT what brought about the modern-day nation of Israel. The "zionist" movement began in the century preceding Hitler's rise to power. It wasn't some new idea that the UN just decided to think up one day, it was started back in 1870 when Hovevie Zion started the first of 20 new Jewish settlements in Palestine (yes, that's what it was called when Britain ran the place). The "zionist" movement was, ironically, initially supported by wealthy Europeans with anti-semitic views who wanted to see Jewish people leave these European nations.

C) Israel's government is NOT a theocracy, it is a secular government whose citizenship happens to be largely dependent upon ones' affirmation of religious belief. Ironically, it's affirmation of the very same religious belief that led so many Jews to the gas chamber. Seems to me like it's something they'd want to shy away from? Laws regarding religion, I mean...not one's faith.

D) Prior to the UN Partition Plan of 1947, the population of what is now the modern-day state of Israel consisted roughly of 66% native Arab, 11% native Jew, 22% immigrant or first-generation Jew, and about 1% "other". The land was divided in half, with 2/3 of the population getting shafted in favor of 1/3 of the population...most of whom were foreigners. Could you imagine if the UN decided to give half of the US back to Mexico, because they needed a "homeland"? I'd be shooting, too! Now, imagine that the Chinese were supplying warplanes and tanks to the Mexicans, so they could occupy even more!

E) The majority of Jewish people do not live in Israel. Sixty percent of them, in fact, live elsewhere (mainly in the United States, whose Jewish population is roughly equivalent to that of Israel, hovering around 39% in America compared to 42% in Israel).

F) Israel receives more foreign aid from the US, than any other nation on earth...even though it is roughly only seven times the size of Rhode Island, a state which happens to be smaller than the county I live in. The vast majority of Israeli men below the age of 26 are either in the Israeli Defense Forces (military), or are paid welfare to study the Torah. Those in the productive sector of their society are forced to pay income and other taxes, to the tune of over 43%, so the Israeli government can cover what our massive amounts of foreign aid won't cover.

G) To date, the nation of Israel has the infamous dishonor of being the leader of the UN's list of Human Rights Council resolutions for their repeated abuses of basic human rights...and they often commit these human rights abuses with weapons, tanks, and bulldozers which are both made in and funded by the United States of America. In addition to "foreign aid" in the form of cash, Obama has requested military aid to Israel totalling over EIGHT MILLION DOLLARS PER DAY, FOR THE FISCAL YEAR OF 2011.

H) While exact figures are not known, Israel's nuclear weapons stockpile is estimated to be smaller than only the US, China, UK, and Russia. It is, to date, the ONLY nation in the Middle East region to possess nuclear weapons...and they, like the M16 rifles carried by the IDF infantryman, were bought and paid for with money borrowed by the US taxpayer.

I) During the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the overwhelming majority of Palestinian casualties have been children under the age of 14. While it has been said that this occurs because Palestinian fighters (I refuse to use the term "terrorist", because the only difference in the warring parties appears to be religious affiliation and funding) commit acts of war in civilian populations. Well, yes, there is truth to that statement. However, it is also true that Israel is a fairly small nation, and cities are where the "strategic" targets of both sides happen to be. Unlike the forests and battlefields of WWII, tanks roll through the streets. Why? Because both parties are fighting for control of the cities in question. Both sides are attacking civilian populations, because both militaries are interspersed within civilian populations. It's common sense.

J) Israel has kept aid flotillas from reaching Palestine, using their naval and air forces, for the purposes of denying Palestine basic necessities that cannot be manufactured at home or imported due to military-enforced embargoes and otherwise must be smuggled into the Palestinian-occupied lands.

K) Israel has destroyed more than TWENTY FOUR THOUSAND Palestinian homes. Most are destroyed due to "military needs of the IDF". Some are destroyed because they were built without a "permit" from the Israeli government, on Palestinian land. Some are destroyed because someone merely suspected of "terrorism" may have lived in or known someone who lived in, or been related to someone who lived in, the home. To date, the Palestinians have never destroyed an Israeli home as a matter of punitive action.

L) Israel has built over 200 "settlements" on lands taken from the Palestinians since the 1947 Partition Plan.

M) Israel currently holds more than 220 political prisoners, and refers to them as "administrative detainees".

N) Israel has erected steel fences and other barricades around Palestinian-occupied lands, and restricts the movement of Palestinians at gunpoint in a manner similar to the Soviet Union's occupation of East Berlin.

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So, there you have it. This is why I say "I do not support giving guns and money to Israel." It's not because I'm some evil Jew-hater, or I "support terrorism". I think both sides should lay down their arms and "just give peace a chance". If they're unwilling to do that, I say let 'em fight it out...but without my money. Certain people may use the line "Blessed by those who bless Israel, and cursed by those who curse Israel", because it came straight from the bible.

I'm cool with that. Somehow, I just don't think nuclear weapons and welfare are a "blessing".