A Comparison of Israeli treatment of Palestinians and Apartheid

College Confidential Community
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<p><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/israel/Story/0,,1703245,00.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.guardian.co.uk/israel/Story/0,,1703245,00.html&lt;/a>
"Worlds apart: A comparison of the Israeli treatment of Palestinians and Apartheid"</p>

<p>I thought this was an amazing article, very carefully organized and very thorough. There are so many things I could quote-- This one's nice:</p>

<p>"This is how a unique term which does not exist in the professional literature was born in our country: 'grey racism'. This is not a racism stemming from hatred of the 'other', but a 'lite racism' rooted in a Zionist ideology which strove to be democratic but, in giving priority to Jewish interests, inevitably deprived others of their rights. When there is no equality, there is bound to be discrimination, and when all those discriminated against are of the same nationality, there is no alternative but to call it what it is - 'national discrimination' - which belongs to the same family as the infamous racial discrimination." </p>

<p>Regardless of your position, I hope you at least take the time to read the article.</p>

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<p>Nothing but a stupid, intellectually dishonest portrayal of the situation in the Middle East.</p>

<p>Arab nations are the most bigoted in the world toward minorities--especially Jews, yet you see very few reports of their abuses compared with the number of reports criticizing Israel. Arabs in Israel have more rights than Jews in any Arab nation hands down.</p>

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<p>South Africas economy boomed during the Apartheid. Now it is a ****ty country with huge amounts of crime.</p>

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"Nothing but a stupid, intellectually dishonest portrayal of the situation in the Middle East."

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<p>Care to point out how? Or is this just a wild accusatory flame thrown out just for the sake of it.</p>

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Arab nations are the most bigoted in the world toward minorities--especially Jews, yet you see very few reports of their abuses compared with the number of reports criticizing Israel. Arabs in Israel have more rights than Jews in any Arab nation hands down.

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<p>Um, again reference would be nice specially when I've given an article which gives NUMBERS and references which can be checked. Otherwise, what you say has no value.</p>

<p>I am not saying there is no discrimination in Arab nations- the article has nothing to do with that- there is discrimination in Arab nations just as there is in European nations and in North America, and presumably elsewhere where groups of people are together. But no where </p>

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South Africas economy boomed during the Apartheid. Now it is a ****ty country with huge amounts of crime.

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<p>Slavery to an extent helped prop up the US's economy at its infancy, does that means its justified? </p>

<p>South Africa's situation is complex, the country racist system was removed only a decade ago, (1) no one expects everything to magically turn over, these are the same people as a decade before, their attitudes aren't going to change just because the system changed. Time has to pass. (2) Crime is an indication of corruption, and an indication of a flawed system. South Africa's system is far, far, far from perfect, but at the very least its given some dignity back to the black majority of the country. It can go downhill or uphill from here, like any other nation. </p>

<p>The fact is that with apartheid a minority in South Africa enjoyed a rich economy, while the rest were dehumanized and degraded because of their race. That's not the kind of world that I would want, and I think that it's kind of disturbing that some would support that system...</p>

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<p>Until the Palestinians stop being idiots then they will continue to have *****ty lives. </p>

<p>And by being idiots I mean supporting terrorist organizations by electing them into power. </p>

<p>Until they can prove that they are capable of functioning rationally then they will not have the sympathy of me or of the vast majority of other Americans. We don't care when they get their homes demolished because they have done a great job over the years of portraying themselves as heathens hell-bent on massacring innocents above all else. This may or may not be the case, but the Palestinians need to do a better job of proving the latter if they want to be respected and cared about by the majority of civilized people throughout the world.</p>

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<p>^ "idiots" "heathens hell-bent on massacring innocents above all else." "civilized people"</p>

<p>Yes. Of course... which brings to mind the thought... I am glad bigotry doesn't exist anymore. <em>snort</em></p>

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<p>
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Slavery to an extent helped prop up the US's economy at its infancy, does that means its justified? </p>

<p>South Africa's situation is complex, the country racist system was removed only a decade ago, (1) no one expects everything to magically turn over, these are the same people as a decade before, their attitudes aren't going to change just because the system changed. Time has to pass. (2) Crime is an indication of corruption, and an indication of a flawed system. South Africa's system is far, far, far from perfect, but at the very least its given some dignity back to the black majority of the country. It can go downhill or uphill from here, like any other nation. </p>

<p>The fact is that with apartheid a minority in South Africa enjoyed a rich economy, while the rest were dehumanized and degraded because of their race. That's not the kind of world that I would want, and I think that it's kind of disturbing that some would support that system...

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<p>Whites are moving out since they are all being killed. Pretty soon there will be no White people in South Africa left. Country will go to hell (as it already did). </p>

<p>Truthfully speaking, it was the Boers who built SA to what it was (the most powerful country in Africa that had Nukes!). Now they are being killed in the most horrible ways. Look up South African genocide.</p>

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<p>When you look at Arabs around the world--be it in their own countries or as minorities in Western countries--you see that the problem is not restricted to Palestinians. If all Jews pulled out of Israel tomorrow, the Palestinians would still have miserable lives with even fewer freedoms.</p>

<p>Iraq? Yeah, that was a great place to live...still is.</p>

<p>Iran? An absolute paradise.</p>

<p>Lebanon? Welcome to war-torn Beirut.</p>

<p>Syria? If you're not with Hezbollah, you're against Hezbollah.</p>

<p>Saudi Arabia? Sure, we have the richest oil reserves in the world...yet we're still a theocratic monarchy with a per capita GDP lower than than Estonia...but hey, at least we're ahead of Croatia.</p>

<p>Get it? Arabs bring these problems on themselves. Even when they're a majority, they can't help it. There sure as hell aren't any Israelis to blame for the wonderful living conditions in any of those countries.</p>

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<p>It's time for Arabs, and especially Palestinians, to take responsibility for their own actions and stop blaming everything on Israel.</p>

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<p>If Arabs stopped distorting Islam, controlling the media, and many other things, the citizens would see what a good life is like, revolt, and establish a secular government. However, the first two requirements will never happen, so secularism will never come, either.</p>

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<p>"If all Jews pulled out of Israel tomorrow, the Palestinians would still have miserable lives with even fewer freedoms."</p>

<p>How can you back this up? You're pulling crazy conclusions out of your.......mouth.</p>

<p>"Iraq? Yeah, that was a great place to live...still is."</p>

<p>Well, the British actually created the fiasco that is now known as Iraq. They promised the arabs there the right to govern thier own land if they helped fight the ottomans during WWI. But instead they kept it, and after WWII they set up thier own puppet government. No one really like this and who else but Saddam took over and started a regime of terror. Now America has set up its own puppet government, and who knows whats gonna happen.</p>

<p>"Iran? An absolute paradise."</p>

<p>Iran is one of the few Muslim democracies, in addition to being a theocracy. And women there have more rights than women in Western-backed arab countries. Oh yeah, and Iran is not an arab country, it is persian, and the people thier don't even speak arabic. Better get ur facts straight buddy.</p>

<p>"Lebanon? Welcome to war-torn Beirut."</p>

<p>During the first world war, the jolly good old british promised the lebanese arabs that if they helped defeat the ottomans, the british would give them thier freedom and let them rule thier own country. But, i guess the brits had a change of heart and gave the land to the french after the collapse of the ottomans. And you wonder why arabs have such hostility towards the west.</p>

<p>"Syria? If you're not with Hezbollah, you're against Hezbollah."</p>

<p>Well it seems the same could be said of America, so I guess you're saying Hezbollah is in fact exactly like America. By the way Hezbollah is a lebanese group thats backed by the Iranians. Syria hardly gives them supplies compared to what they recieve from Iran, so they should not even be used as an example for hezbollah. again you should get you're facts straight, especially if you're going to try to be clever. </p>

<p>"Saudi Arabia? Sure, we have the richest oil reserves in the world...yet we're still a theocratic monarchy with a per capita GDP lower than than Estonia...but hey, at least we're ahead of Croatia."</p>

<p>If they want to be a theocratic monarchy, let them. Who gave us the right to go to other countries telling them that they have to follow a certain type of government. And we call ourselves a democracy? a tad bit hypocritical. Saudi Arabia is financially well off. My parents lived there for a few years and never had to pay tax and lived in luxury, and at this time my dad was just a junior research chemist at a hospital. Honestly, the majority of the people there are happy with the way thier government does things, or, like in the fashion of thier fellow arabs, they would revolt. Let them be.</p>

<p>"Get it? Arabs bring these problems on themselves."</p>

<p>I have given examples of how Arabs have been ripped off in the past and tricked by the west. Honestly, there has to be a reason for such hostility to the west, and Israel is not the only one. You are brainwashed and you should really try to see what the root of the problem is and why there is so much anger among arabs towards westerners.</p>

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<p>I love that you call us brainwashed while attempting to say that the actions of these despotic regimes are morally equivalent to and even justifed by the bad actions of Britain and America.</p>

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<p>I love that you don't know how to read and interpret a passage properly. I said that if we look back at the past, we can see that the root of all the current mideast problems is because of the allies after World War One. I never said they are morally equivalent, and really the actions of these despotic regimes?? Saudi Arabia has backed the US in all its missions, so how are these actions bad if they are done with the US. And we have had our fair share of bad actions, so do not even begin to say that we are a beacon of light for the world to follow. Our past is tainted and if you think it isn't you should pick up a history book.</p>

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And we have had our fair share of bad actions, so do not even begin to say that we are a beacon of light for the world to follow. Our past is tainted and if you think it isn't you should pick up a history book.

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<p>You are the one that needs to pick up a history book, my friend. Sure, everyone's past is tainted, but America's great and noble actions of the 20th century more than make up for our shortcomings.</p>

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<p>Cuse, we meet again. lol</p>

<p>"but America's great and noble actions of the 20th century more than make up for our shortcomings." </p>

<p>Please look at this from a realistic point of view. We have hurt more people than we have helped. Period. I think only World War Two was a noble deed when we helped rid the world of Nazis and freed the Jews. But Hiroshima and Nagasaki did not have to happen, we naplamed many other cities and killed hundreds of thousands of them for the few thousand they killed of ours. Korea, didnt end up that great, we lost so many men that it really killed any good taht we did for the Koreans. Vietnamese, ditto. Gulf - we freed kuwait in the first couple days, and then left our soldiers in Saudi Arabia and that is the main reason why 9/11 happened. Afghanistan I would have to agree was good and noble. Iraq, not so much.</p>

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<p>guguru: You **** with us, we'll **** back. It's called TOTAL WAR. If we treated Iraq the way we treated Germany, we'd have won the damn war. America is the only country FOUNDED on the idea of individualism and freedom - and thus is the best country in the world, no matter how much the leftists are trying to undermine BOTH.</p>

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<p>guguru,</p>

<p>We saved Europe from Facism and Nazism. Then we saved Europe from the Communist USSR.</p>

<p>Enough said.</p>

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<p>Facism is coming back to Europe :). Yeah Le Pen & Russia.</p>

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<p>"If we treated Iraq the way we treated Germany, we'd have won the damn war."</p>

<p>didnt we win the war??</p>

<p>"You **** with us, we'll **** back. It's called TOTAL WAR"</p>

<p>And i agree with you, but this is stupid. The terrorists follow the same philosophy, so this will never end. It is an ongoing cycle of murder. In his last video released Osama offered a truce and we straight out said no. I think we should have at least tried to bargain with him, that is the only way to stop. Even though there are many rogue terrorists now, the majority of terrorists still probably support him.</p>

<p>"America is the only country FOUNDED on the idea of individualism and freedom - and thus is the best country in the world"</p>

<p>I'm not talking about America and the rights it gives to citizens, because on that I agree with you, I'm talking about the governments foreign policy.</p>

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I think we should have at least tried to bargain with him,

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<p>And that is why you shouldn't make any decisions. If a serial killer tells the police not to prosecute him if he promises not to kill any more people, would you take him up on his offer?</p>

<p>You don't negotiate with terrorists. Period. Otherwise you just give them more power, and encourage other terrorists to follow in their footsteps and ratchet up violence in order to get what they want.</p>