hmm….i was just listening to a conversation about israel.
2 people were arguing about whether or not america should support israel. well, i’m pretty ignorant as to the ways of international statecraft, but i do see that israel is a sovereign country and a democracy (as far as i know) and our ally. i can understand people having academic discussions about the role of the u.s in the middle east and israel, but i do admit that i’m offended when people use supposedly dispassionate discourse as a vehicle for promoting anti-semitism or racism.
it is my simple opinion that racism and anti semitism are always wrong. i will not be drawn into a debate regarding whether israel’s policies are offensive or not. i don’t live there and i haven’t studied the issues, so my opinion would be really unfounded. i have seen some interviews with palestinian suicide bombers and islamic fundamentalists that have terrified me. but regarding israeli policies, the truth is that i don’t know.
i was in israel once and i found the israeli’s that i met to be thoughtful and lovely people (and by that i mean jews and arabs alike). and of course i’m saddened when i hear about jews killing arabs and arabs killing jews.
ok, time to head out now.
thanks,
moby