How Have The Israeli Attacks Attacks Effected Your View Of Israel?

[DistressedAmerican]

I was a pretty tepid supporter of Israel before this began. Their actions have turnd me against them.

How about you? :shrug:

[Finder]

1. Like the US, one can support a country without supporting its...

policies and leaders.

[jsamuel]

44. right, I do not support the policy of Suicide Anti-Terrorism

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=364&topic_id=1712265

[wtmusic]

2. DA, this is simplistic

Always supported Israel, and still do. Don't support the bombing (along with many Israelis).

[SledDriver]

3. "Affected"

[H2O Man]

4. Other.

I support Israel. The country has a right to exist. There should not bethreats to its borders, or suicide bombers targeting Israeli people. I do believe that there are threats to Israel in the Middle East. However, I do not share the opinions or respect the tactics of the current leadership in regard to how to best deal with those threats. It is perhaps similar to my support of the USA, and the belief that we live in a dangerous world, but not sharing the opinions or respecting the tactics of the Bush administration.

[eFriendly]

5. Before, I was rather neutral on the whole Israel thing. . .

But now, I am 110% opposed to Israel and hope they get what is coming to them for what they have done.

[cali]

8. And what, precisely, is it that you

hope is coming to them? Not that I expect an answer.

[eFriendly]

11. Justice! n/t

[Name removed]

13. Deleted message

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[Name removed]

16. Deleted message

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[sabbat hunter]

10. does that mean

you dont support israels right to exist?

[eFriendly]

15. I don't buy into that bogus claim...

NO nation, under any circumstances, has any 'right' (divine or otherwise) to exist. The world is (and always has been) based on survival of the fittest. Nations and empires have come and gone throughout history.

Why is Israel any different? Are they 'special'?

[cali]

17. And there I agree

The right to exist debate is silly.

[dolo amber]

21. But in order to "survive" as "the fittest"

one must not be discretionary as to whom they destroy. And if they're willing to do that, that gives them the "right" to exist by that principle, no?

[eFriendly]

27. Uh... No. n/t

[sabbat hunter]

24. is that a no

does that mean you think israel should be removed as a country?

[eFriendly]

29. If Israel's latest actions. . .

eventually leads to it's demise, then so be it.

Israel (like Hezbollah) has exacted state-sponsored terrorism on its neighbors for far too long.

[David__77]

34. What does that mean?

Apartheid South Africa was replaced by a multi-ethnic democratic state, but the whites weren't removed, if you are talking about "people removal."

[eFriendly]

19. Israel...

would have to first possess this magical 'right to exist' for me to be able to support it... and NO nation has such a 'right.'

[sabbat hunter]

26. yes or no

should israel exist

[David__77]

That's not up to anyone but...

...those people of the nation now ruled by the state of Israel and the PA. My personal hope is a secular, democratic state with "one person, one vote," with citizenship rights to all refugees from Israel/Palestine since the UN partition.

[David__77]

32. Did the Soviet Union have "the right to exist?"

It dissolved, and Russians, Ukrainians and others are still here on earth. I don't care what the country is CALLED. You can call it whatever, so long as it is secular, democratic, and refugees have the right to return with full rights of citizenship.

[meganmonkey]

6. Supporter of their foreign policy?

Or supporter as in they have a 'right-to-exist' as a nation?

Not quite sure how to answer, depending on what you mean by 'supporter of Israel'...

7. I knew when they put in Sharon

their choice was to use force to handle problems they were having with Palestinians. And force will never bring two peoples together.

[sabbat hunter]

14. sharon

was elected legitmately by the people of israel. I might point out that it was under a likud government that peace with egypt was signed and has lasted ever since.

[DLCisGOP]

9. for quite some time I have compared Israel to apartheid South

Africa . Most activists for human rights are aware what goes on there and have been for quite some time.

this jewish human rights group tells it all in their findings:

http://www.btselem.org/English/

[sabbat hunter]

12. totally differnt

isreal isnt south africa and it isnt aparthied.

any citizen of israel has full and equal rights. the palestinians living on the west bank and gaza arent citizens of israel, they will be citizens of palestine, hopefully soon.

the comparisions to apartheid in south africa are a joke IMO. in south africa citizens of the country were treated differently based on the color of their skin.

in israel if you are a citizen you have the same rights as everyone else.

[Laotra]

20. You are correct

Much better analogy for the current situation in Gaza is the Warsaw Ghetto.

[David__77]

37. They SHOULD be citizens of Israel.

And there are millions of other refugees of the partition that have not been allowed to return to their homeland now ruled by the state of Israel, because Israel is obsessed with maintaining a "Jewish majority." Just because it has a "democratic" fig leaf doesn't excuse its behavior.

[sabbat hunter]

40. why are

palestinians the only group where refugee status is inherited? there werent millions who left in 1947. how is it millions now?

the ones who left (some fled, some were forced out, some left at the behest of the attacking arab nations) should be compensated monetarily, as should the jews who were forced to leave arab countries.

[David__77]

46. No they should be allowed to return to their homelands.

The Iraqi or Syrian Jews should be allowed to return and reclaim their citizenship and rights, and the Palestinians should be allowed to return to the area under authority of state of Israel, and should likewise be accorded rights.

[sabbat hunter]

47. does that mean

you think the american indians should also be allowed to return to their lands and reclaim them?

[originalpckelly]

18. I used to feel really bad for Israel and supported them...

that illusion is now gone. Over the past few weeks I have learned so much about Israel, that now I know the government has a dark, dark side. They have the Taliban Jews (the Haredi), the nutcases who don't want peace with the Arabs, the people assassinate Prime Ministers, the people who want to destroy the Al-Aqsa mosque in order to build a new temple so the Messiah will finally come. All these crazy things that we hear about Muslims in the same part of the world are true for the same percentage of the extreme-religious fundamentalists in Israel. The right-wing Likud party has to compete with all of these nutty extremists and they take on these extremists elements. Only two weekends ago, the former Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, attended a celebration of a terrorist attack upon the King David Hotel. The attack killed 91 people, and some of them were even Jews. I don't like terrorists whether they are Jewish or Muslim. It might be different if this terrorist attack had been renounced by the Israelis in some official way, but unfortunately it was celebrated by the Israelis. Sickening.

[sabbat hunter]

22. destroying the mosque

the group of people that want to destroy the mosques and build a new temple consist of a few dozen people.

also the person that killed rabin is not the same group that want to build a new temple.

[Little Star]

23. My heart has hardened

I basically had no strong opinion, it was all to confusing. Now, through the discussions on DU, combined with my own research on the history, I have gained some insight. I feel for all the people, but now that I am gaining more insight, I know there are two sides to this story. As for the brutal, disproportionate, destruction of Lebanon, it has caused my heart to harden against the policies of Israel and it's government. There is NO EXCUSE for a so called civil country to become so evil and barbaric, NONE.

[nadinbrzezinski]

25. false choices all but that is ok

[DistressedAmerican]

28. Feel free to post another poll inquiring on the topic then.

Do not criticize if you are not ready to go do better.

[nadinbrzezinski]

33. For starters this poll fails any rules of logic

but that is ok, I expect this now at DU....

[Name removed]

36. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[warrens]

30. I still support Israel's right to exist, but reluctantly

It ain't like you can pick a whole country up and move it. But I wish another decision (such as Saskatchewan, which was an option discussed after the war) had been made. I don't see this mess ever getting better. I've always been pessimistic about this issue, but I am far moreso now. At one point, Israel was more or less admirable. The Six Day War, for instance, was simply a racist attack by a bunch of Jew haters, and Israel showed admirable restraint in winning the war without destroying its neighbors.

Its treatment of Palestinians after that, though, was just as racist as the original attack. They must have known that it would come back to bite them. And the settlement issue has always infuriated me. It was senseless and craven catering to the right-wing religious lunatic portion of the Israeli population.

But this latest incursion is close to the last straw. This is just murder. And if it keeps up, it could turn into a total bloodbath. I even see their point, but their actions are just insane. Yeah, Hezbollah are not a bunch of sweeties, but they haven't been particularly dangerous to anyone in many years. To call them terrorists is just propaganda; the IDF has created more terror by a factor of a thousand than Hezbollah has even dreamed of.

[meatloaf]

35. Uhm, why not?

Israel was created from nothing by the world body in the late 40s.

[meatloaf]

31. Never really supported or opposed but wondered why

innocents killed by suicide bombers count for more than innocents killed by bombs or guns?

[Hell Hath No Fury]

38. I grew up a very strong, unquestioning supporter of Israel...

but over the years I had become very disillusioned with the general leadership and the tactics used in controling the Palestinians. The more I found out about such things as detention without trial, collective punishment, and other basic civil rights violations Israel was engaging in, the more disgusted I became.

This latest insanity is just another indicator that Israel has become a perpetrator of the type of terror they were once subject to.

It is said that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. Israel has been doing just that -- it is time for something new and radical. Israel needs truly visionary leadership that has the courage to address and rectify the genuine wrongs commited -- a Marshall plan for the Palestinians -- and lead Israel to a real peace.

South Africa has lead the way by showing us that old wrongs can be made right and old wounds can be healed when there is the political will to do so.

My hope is that there can come a time when all sides have the will to make a lasting peace happen.

[Virginia Dare]

39. I've been pretty much in opposition of Israeli policy...

towards Arabs in general, since Sharon came on the scene. Now, even more so.

[QuestionAll...]

41. Opposed before, much more now.

I cannot support anything that resembles what Bush and the cons has been doing in Iraq. Israel and the US are playing off the same score sheet - you have to be without eyes and brain not to see the similar use of propaganda language, blatant lies and general same formula of pure ugly unreasonable aggression against people that have no equal way to defend themselves.

[mmonk]

42. Other. I've seen this type of operation before.

My view of my government (both parties) has changed along with any hope of changing course. In the past, we would have requested restraint and tried to work out a solution. Allowing it to escalate and having no conscience or remorse to what is happening to Lebanon gives me the impression we have jumped the shark.

[samsingh]

43. i'm very upset at the civilian casualties

[JackNewtown]

45. I once was a pro-Israel zealot like Hillary, O'Reilly, and co.

Then I learned about the "other side" of Israel's past and present, specifically its neo-colonialism in Palestinian lands. My view of Israel was also shaken by the fact that Israel itself used terror against the British occupation, and Israel subsequently elected a series of prime ministers who either led terrorist groups, were members of terrorist groups, or had ties to such groups. After learning the truth (I already knew about the Palestinians' crimes via the MSM) I adopted my current position which I consider to be even-handed and driven by a primary concern for American interests, with the interests of the two parties coming second.