Israel Has Fewer Friends Than Ever, Even In America

guy,
How would you like it if someone was sending rockets into your neghborhood a hundred at a time. What should you do, pack up and get out? Or maybe wait until some other country like Iran supplies the thamas errorists with rockets that will reach further into Israel?
Israel didn't do the right thing. They should have not stopped until hamas gave up or went back to iran. NO terrorist left behind as far as I am concerned, and that doesn't mean save them, kill all of hamas and let there be peace in Israel. If the Palestinians didn't have to bow to hamas there would be peace. Terrorists deserve to die, let their god sort them out.

How can violence against children, mothers, fathers, grandparents Not be condemned? How dare anyone call me an anti-Semite because I do! That's always their clarion call..."don't object to our cruelty or I'll call you an anti-Semite" There are Jews for a "Just Peace" who are not anti-Semite who stand with me against the persecution of the Palestinian people.

Where were the Democrats for the past eight years when Hamas was firing on Israel's cities?? Schools there have been closed for years!! Where were they? Where was CNN?? Where were all the news broadcasts?? Where was the UN?? Where was the EU?? Tsipi Livni was flying from country to country to try to find a political solution. What it comes down to is the world WANTS Hamas to win. They WANT Hezbollah to win. They want Israel out of the middle east so their lives (at least they think that) will be easier and more secure. Who needs the Jews anyway??

Let's all try to return to the fact based world. First, the truce between Israel and Hamas. This began in June. For stopping rocket fire, Israel was supposed to lift its seige on Gaza. A blockade is an act of war. Israel did not lift the seige. Second Israel violated the truce on Nov. 4 (does anyone believe that this date is an accident?) when no one was paying attention. They went into Gaza and assasinated six members of Hamas and then tightened their already tight seige on Gaza. Israel's primary concern was not rocket fire but de-legitimizing Hamas, because the international community was starting to gesture toward finding ways to recognize Hamas, since they saw that sanctions was not getting rid of Hamas. The goals of Israel's assault on Gaza were primarily political, not ones of security. Or rather legitimate security issues were used as a rationalization for an assault designed to prevent a Palestinian unity govt. from forming, to try and get Gazans to overthrow Hamas (this was really wacko, since Gazans especially in Gaza city supported Hamas overwhelmingly in the 2006 elections), and to offload responsibility for Gaza and its welfare onto the international community.

Israel has the right to defend itself against attacks. While the current response was a bit hard, the killing of children and civilians was not intended. However, with the Gaza war, has another key motive. Through the war against Hamas, Israel has reminded the USA that a quick withdraw from Iraq might not be in in its long term interest. It still has to face the Hamas (the terrorist element) in Iran, therefore it would be better for the US armed forces to remain in Iraq where quick action can be mounted in case of need. Thus Israel's action provides Obama administration a good reason to continue its presence in Iraq. With the majority of US population behind the Gaza war, it follows that they will support Obana should he decide to keep the army in Iraq to fight terrorists. The US should really thank Israel for the Gaza War.

The world must come to an understanding that Isreal is a chosen nation. Whether you believe the bible or not historical
facts tells us that for hundreds of years there have been nations or empires who have attempted to eliminate Isreal as a
nation, but the outcome of every attempt is total failure. Egypt, Babylon (modern day Iraq), the Romans and Hitler-Nazi army , just to name a few has all failed. Isreal does not need any friends or allies, because they have the only friend or ally they need. Think about this, how can a nation so small, surrounded by so many enemies still exist. You see they have the only ally they need. So whether it be Iran, Hamas or the United Nations, whoever decides to come against
Isreal will fail. Now the nation who choses to be an ally of Isreal will be blessed. As every president of this great country
has stated "MAY GOD BLESS AMERICA".

"Think about this, how can a nation so small, surrounded by so many enemies still exist."
Yes...you should think long and hard about this.
Remember the famous DeGaulle say:"States do not have friends...they only have interests."
It may come a time when the US will have very divergent interests than Israel. What then?

"Israel has the right to defend itself against attacks."
(Sigh!!) No one is arguing against that. It could be said that as a legitimately elected government, Hamas has the right to defend itself too.
The question is: Was this war really in the best interest of Israel? Was it necessary to use so much firepower? Only if the preservation of the myth of deterrence against Hamas is the driving force behind this strategy. Gideon Lichfield has some interesting observations about that.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/08/opinion/08lichfield.html

The killing of a high number of children and civilians was absolutely unavoidable and the IDF knew that very well. So long for the "not intended" fiction. For more see http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1026539.html

What Israel AND its ally must do, is to place Hamas in a situation where governing for the good of their people is far more preferable than playing resistance movement/terrorist/call it as you please. But this will never happen if checkpoints prevent Palestinian people to access the basic necessities of life and settlements keep sprouting everywhere, making a Palestinian state impossible.

Israel wasn't defending itself. Israel proactively went on the attack to indiscriminately kill innocent Palestinians that are living in what is likened to concentration camps. Are my statements antisemitic? No. Will the Jews who always play victim call my statements antisemitic? Absolutely. Don't be fooled. You are smarter than that, aren't you? Or are you?

@deusXmchna - When you boil this down to it's lowest common denominator this is about REAL ESTATE not Religion. I remember once watching an elderly Palastenien being interviewed on TV news. The reporter asked him why do you hate the Jews? I thought his response was both simple and genuine. He said I do not hate the Jews because they are Jews. I hate them because they took by force what belongs to me. I would fight my Bother if he stole from me and refused to return the thing he stole.

What would you do if I came to your house in the middle of the night and put you and your family on the street? I suspect you would call the Cops. They tell you tough titty. You would probably then come back and TRY to kick my @ss. You would of course be justified in trying to do. Could I then call the Cops and say hey this NUT keeps coming to "MY" house and harassing me I have no idea why Officer.

I cave. I just watched "60 minutes". I didn't realize how out of control the ultra-conservative Israeli settlers had become. It's one thing to have read it, its another to see it fairly clearly through the camera lens. There's no gray area here. The settlers are clearly in the wrong and are following a very aggressive expansionist policy for the sole purpose of displacing the Palestinians. I'm not backing down that Israel already exists, and isn't going away- and has the right to protect itself from Hamas rockets... but those religious nutbag settlers are... I'll just shorten it and say that they are wrong. Anyone who's been arguing the Israeli side needs to see the piece aired on "60 minutes" this evening. I'm sure it's on CBS's website, or will be within a day. I apologize for some of the things I've said.

When a child goes to his fiirst class he is taught words like, good or bad, right or wrong, etc. All of us know what was done in Gaza, was it good and or right? Science has helped us to see things happening thousands of mile away and journalist are taking risks of covering almost every incident happening all over. Those who have watched televison during the 2nd half of the month do not need to be told who was wrong? Israel must be feeling the pressure of killing innocent people in Gaza. Hopefully that pain will open eyes of people who can help solve the 60 year old hotspot.

"Middle East peacemaking has been smothered in deceptive euphemisms, so let me state bluntly that each of these claims is a lie. Israel, not Hamas, violated the truce: Hamas undertook to stop firing rockets into Israel; in return, Israel was to ease its throttlehold on Gaza. In fact, during the truce, it tightened it further."

-"Israel's Lies", Henry Siegman, quoted by Jewish Peace News

Full essay at: http://www.lrb.co.uk/v31/n02/sieg01_.html

Siegman, a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and former Executive Director of the American Jewish Committee, is also a rabbi and a Holocaust survivor from Germany.

They, Israelis, have the right to live and security too. What is wrong with self-defense?

Brutal? Over 1,300 Palestinian people have been killed by Israeli forces during this recent 2008/09 Gaza invasion which includes 400 children and 100 women among the dead. Compared to 10 Israeli soldiers (of four killed by friendly fire) and three Israeli civilians killed by rocket fire, total 13 deaths. Israel has a right to defend itself, not to kill innocent children.

If the Palestinians would police thier own area, getting rid of the militants firing the rockets into Isreal, then there would be no Isreal military in Palestine. Quit trying to place blame on the real victims i.e. Isrealis.

It is important to remember that you cannot fight the will of the people. Not with bombs, planes or tanks. How long can the Israelis carry on with their murderous behavior against the Palestinian people? How do you fight a war against an enemy who has no arms or ammunition against the fire power of Israel. Israel has continued to grab Palestinian land in the interim. United States, needs to have a balanced approach to this problem and be an honest broker. A two-state solution with peace treaties is the only way forward. Israel can never live in peace with its current behavior.
Also, this cannot change unless the powers of AIPAC is reduced where they have total control over all the US politicians who need to be re-elected to the Senate or House etc. An interesting piece can be seen on a documentary "Peace, Propaganda and the Promised Land". It details how the media is controlled by a set of people in the US and how news is filtered into the US media.