Viewed the movie Exodus yesterday and did some follow up research. Found
the below article interesting:

Why do Americans, who otherwise have a fair moral sense and have often
intervened around the world to protect victimized groups, continue to
tolerate any and all Israeli crimes against Palestinians, and then blame
the Palestinians for fighting back? Why do Americans consider
Palestinians undeserving of basic human rights? Why don't Americans
realize that Zionism is a form of ethnic and religious bigotry and
discrimination? Why did Americans go to war on the basis of U.N.
resolutions in order to prevent the ethnic cleansing of Kosovo, yet
continue to aid and abet the ethnic cleansing of Palestine in
contradiction to the U.N. Resolution 242 and 338?

I believe I can shed some light on this issue. Any feedback would be
highly appreciated.

1. Physical isolation - Americans live on a continent on the other side
of the Earth. Most Americans never travel to the Middle East. Here they
may know some Jews, but few know any Palestinians. Americans are not
close enough to the people or the conflict to receive any unbiased
factual information. They must rely on the American media for
information.

2. Media bias - The American media and political establishment is
rabidly pro-Israeli for a variety of reasons, some listed below. Many
newspapers and media giants are owned by Israel-sympathizing Jews. In
addition, the Israeli propaganda machine is sophisticated and powerful,
practically guaranteeing that Americans receive nothing but pro-Israeli
propaganda. Anyone who attempts to criticize Israel's actions is shouted
down with the all-purpose charge of "anti- Semitism." Any attempt to
present a "neutral" journalistic view of current events in the Middle
East plays into Israel's hand, as such a treatment ignores the
historical and moral context that has produced the current violence. The
movie "Exodus", seen by millions of Americans, presented the ethnic
cleansing of Palestine as a peaceful transition.

3. Jewish manipulation of the American political system - Politicians
are afraid of the Zionist lobby. They should be.

4. No comprehension of suffering - Americans generally have grown up
comfortably in a stable country that was never threatened. They have no
idea what life is like for people who see relatives killed, who are
displaced from their homes, who live under the power of a hostile
tribalistic government, who have their houses bulldozed, whose ability
to earn a living depends on their captor's whims. Americans simply
cannot understand why the Palestinians hate their overlords so much that
they will take up stones against soldiers firing bullets. Let any
American live with some Palestinians in the West Bank for a few days and
his views would be transformed.

5. Shared racism and genocide - America, like Israel, was created by
Europeans through a genocide of the indigenous people. White settlers
drove the American Indians off their ancestral land. If they fought,
they were killed. Indians were confined to a few reservations. No
thought was given to the rights of the Indians. Whites believed that God
wanted them to have the land. Until recent years, the Indian genocide
was celebrated in Western movies, and never criticized in schools. Just
as Indians were considered uncivilized heathens not deserving basic
rights; so are the Palestinians. The parallels between the establishment
of the American and Israeli states are many. The American genocide and
enslavement of African people likewise has been insufficiently
recognized, criticized, or corrected.

Racism thrives at a subconscious level in the vast majority of
Americans' minds. Americans consider themselves and their country to be
especially righteous and blessed by God. The Israeli Jews, of course,
consider themselves the 'Chosen People'. The religious bigotry and
tribalism inherent in this idea require no comment.

6. The Bible - Having little history of their own, and being descended
largely from fervent Christians, Americans have grown up in Sunday
schools being taught stories from the Bible about the Jews - their
suffering in Egypt, their march through the desert, their wars, their
kings, their prophets, their heroes and heroines, etc. From the Old
Testament, American kids learn that the Jews' attack upon, conquest of,
and slaughter of the Canaanites, Philistines, and other indigenous
peoples of Palestine was good and right; ordained by God himself!
Imagine the effect of such ideas on little children!

The Old Testament makes it clear: Jews-Good; Canaanites-Bad. Now, of
course, the formula is Israelis-Good; Palestinians-Bad. Is it any
surprise that when they grow up, Americans think that it's perfectly all
right for Israeli Jews to kill and displace the Palestinians? Isn't God
on the side of the Jews now just as in the Old Testament? Shouldn't they
re-conquer the land that God gave them? Aren't the Palestinians to be
blamed for resisting this holy crusade?

The other world history that Americans learn in public schools about
other places and events is comparatively dry and meaningless. The only
meaningful ancient history for most Americans is Jewish history.
Furthermore, many fundamentalist Christians are 'Friends of Israel'.
They take the Book of Revelations in the New Testament very seriously.
They believe that Christ's Second Coming to Earth will be preceded by
the re-establishment of the Kingdom of Israel and a war over Israel. All
the more reason for Protestants to help establish Israel and remain its
'friend'.

7. The Crusades - After Jewish history and Cowboy history, Americans
know Crusader history. Castles and knights fascinate them, and of course
the Holy Quest to take back the Holy Land from the Arabs. What could be
more wonderful than to see the evil Saracens finally vanquished. How
much better if the Jewish people also recreate Israel in their Biblical
home in the process? In fact, history will look back on the
establishment of the state of Israel as the Ninth Crusade of Western
Christendom against Islam. The history books will relate how the
collapse of the Ottoman Empire allowed the West to retake the Holy Land
and re-enact Biblical history with no risk and little expense - using a
small proxy army of Zionist volunteers.

8. The Holocaust - Americans fought the Germans and liberated many Jews
from the concentration camps. The mass- murder and atrocities committed
by the Nazis rightly filled Americans with pity. This prompted American
to support the establishment of the state of Israel against all wishes
and rights of the people living there. The Zionists have continued to
shamelessly play on this pity for their own advantage. Their leaders
never fail to mention it as a justification for whatever atrocity they
commit. One is reminded frequently of the psychological phenomena of
identifying with the aggressor. The Zionist Jews have externalized their
anger and attempted to undo their own victimization by repeating the
Nazi's crimes - the victim this time being the Palestinians.

9. Islam - Judaism is familiar through the Old Testament, which is
included in every American's Bible. For American Christians, Judaism is
not the right religion, but it is familiar and is no threat. God chose
the Jews for the first covenant with man. Judaism was supplanted by the
second covenant through Jesus. So to Christians, Judaism is tribalistic
and anachronistic and poses no threat. Most Christians are unaware of
the bigoted and unethical teachings of the Talmud. Islam is a completely
different matter. It is a universal religion, not confined to a single
race. It is growing and represents a threat to Christianity. Christians
know that Islam reduces Christ to a prophet. Christians don't look on it
as just another religion; they see Islam as an heretical sect of Judaism
and Christianity - which is much worse. Americans fear and loath Islam
all the more because they've encountered it primarily in the context of
the Israel-Arab conflict. Unfortunately, Americans generally don't
actually know any Muslims so that they might realize that they're humans
also.

10. Arab 'Terrorism' - Americans have been assaulted for years by images
of Arabs committing terrorist acts. Ignorant of the history of the
region, they cannot understand that Arab terrorism has been a reaction
to Israeli terrorism - its ethnic cleansing of Palestine and its
apartheid regime. They've become convinced instead that Arabs are
inherently violent and untrustworthy. They have mistaken a symptom of a
moral disorder for the cause. Arabs are not violent people in general.
By any measure, there is far less violence in their societies than in
America. The Palestinians are fighting for their freedom against an
implacable enemy. The Palestinians have suffered much, much more at the
hands of the Israelis than the American colonists ever did from the
British, yet Americans celebrate their violent struggle against the
occupying British. The Palestinians' desperate acts against the
occupying Israelis and their supporters are morally justified given the
violence that the Israelis have committed and continue to commit against
them. Under altered circumstances, Americans would support the
Palestinians as freedom fighters and understand that they were driven to
suicidal violence and terrorism by the criminality of the Israeli state.

Morally, most persons believe that violence is justified in order to end
violent oppression, and this is the case in Palestine. Psychologically,
people who are violated and oppressed will strike back in any way they
can, especially when they have nothing more to lose. The Palestinians
cannot take on the Israeli war machine, so in their intense anger, they
attack any Israeli or supporter of Israel that they can reach. They use
any means available, even if they can only throw stones at soldiers who
are shooting at them, and even if they must kill themselves in suicide
bombings.

The above factors, taken together, are a sufficient explanation for
America's collusion with Israel's theft of Palestine, with its ethnic
cleansing of the Palestinians, with its apartheid regime, and with its
use of violence to force the Palestinians to accept a peace plan that
lets it get away with murder and theft. In reality, the current state of
affairs is a violent affront to the values that Americans hold dear. I
sincerely hope that more and more Americans will wake up and open their
eyes. If only they begin to understand the true historical and moral
context of the conflict, they would demand a moral solution.

They would support U.N. Resolutions 191, 242, and 338. They would demand
an end to the payments and the arms shipments. They would demand that
the refugees be allowed to return, that Israel's victims be compensated,
and that Israel reconstitute itself as a non-tribal, secular democracy
with equal rights for all human beings. Ed. Note: They really don't get
it do they??????

--
Skipper

Skipper,
Two points I would like to highlight. You were the person who was
chastising Harry and others for cut and pasting political articles in an
effort to troll and were the reason for the downfall of rec.boats. They
have all stopped. Since this post is a cut and paste from :

http://www.crescentlife.com/heal%20t...e_so_blind.htm

isn't that exactly what you are doing? Cut and pasting a political
article into a boating NG in an effort to get into a flame war? As you
stated numerous times, i Isn't this detrimental to a NG where boaters
can discuss boating issues?
--
Reggie
************************************************** *************
That's my story and I am sticking to it.

************************************************** *************

On Sun, 12 Feb 2006 08:18:59 -0500, Reggie Smithers
wrote:

Skipper,
Two points I would like to highlight. You were the person who was
chastising Harry and others for cut and pasting political articles in an
effort to troll and were the reason for the downfall of rec.boats. They
have all stopped. Since this post is a cut and paste from :

http://www.crescentlife.com/heal%20t...e_so_blind.htm

isn't that exactly what you are doing? Cut and pasting a political
article into a boating NG in an effort to get into a flame war? As you
stated numerous times, i Isn't this detrimental to a NG where boaters
can discuss boating issues?

Thank you so much for not quoting his dribble. It's *really* appreciated.
--
'Til next time,

John H

******************************************
***** Have a Spectacular Day! *****
******************************************

Reggie Smithers wrote:

http://www.crescentlife.com/heal%20t...e_so_blind.htm

Yes, I like that site much better.

Now, think you can find one with big bold letters so even a JimH and
Krause can comprehend the text?

--
Skipper

"Skipper" wrote in message
...
Skipper

Thanks for contributing nothing to peace, love, understanding, or rec.boats.
If I weren't so busy anticipating the start of boating season (for me), I
would take the time to call you a knucklehead.
Regards.

Bryan wrote:

Skipper

Thanks for contributing nothing to peace, love, understanding, or rec.boats.

You've been doing such a great job in those departments, it's probably
best just to allow you to continue setting the example of good NG
behavior.

--
Skipper