Obama Should Not Abandon Israel in His Effort to Court Muslims

to "State" the obvious

Where would Israel be today... If it hadn't been for the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob leading them out of Egypt and into the Promised Land, who knows where Israel would be today but it would be wherever God chose. The God of Israel is faithful to His promises to protect His chosen people and woe to whoever touches the apple of His eye.

There aren't going to be two states in Palestine

For all the rhetoric and intellectual ping-pong, there never will be two states in the middle east living peacefully side by side.

The situation has lttle to do with displaced Palestinians. Muslims believe the Quran is the eternal, literal word of God. It was revealed to their Prophet in one of the last surahs that the goal of Islam is to fight the Christians and Jews until they convert to Islam, submit to Islam and become second-class citizens that pay a special tax, or die.

Don't believe me? Read Surah 9 verse 29. God has told Muslims to conquer the world. Muhammad himself said in one of the hadith (second religious books only to the Quran) "I have been ordered to fight the people till they say: 'None has the right to be worshipped but Allah'"

Muslims take this seriously. All talk of diplomacy and compromise is a waste of time. It would go against the word of God.

Zuckermann on Israel

Making the country of Israel in the Middle East was the dumbest thing ever done by the USA (with the minor aid of the other countries in the UN). This land has been under non-Jewish control for most of its recorded history.

If the west feels guilty about the Jews, and it should, then make a New Israel using some German territory. If the Germans don't like it, tufffffff. Germany should have been wiped off the map after WWII anyway.

Take what is now Lebanon, Israel, Palestine, Jordan, half of Saudi Arabia (especially some with oil), and the Sinai and form a new country called Holy Land. These people can live wherever they want within their country. This secular country would be governed by a very secular government. If religious people don't like it, send them to heaven quickly using methods of mass destruction. Win-win solution.

Obama will do well on this

if he follows through with what he said in Cairo, that we will say to all parties in public what we say to any parties in private.

The days of non-public "understandings" between the USA and Israel need to be over.

We can be supportive friends of Israel AND BE HONEST to our own citizens and the world at the same time.

That said, the Palestinians have about as much chance of getting their ill-advised fragments into "statehood" as jello has of sticking on the wall. The neighboring countries need to absorb the folks who want to be Islamic and Israel needs to annex the territories and absorb the folks who would stay and be Israeli. Sixty years of "refugee" talk is a crock of bull. There is no sense or humanity in it.

Re Statehood for palestinians ?

Those poor miserable refugees of four or five wars against Israel who want to live in unhealthy and unsanitary conditions is a very hopeless and helpless situation...they cannot and will not support themselves and they have been on the dole for over 60 years now.... to believe that these people just need their own "State" to make them happy and peacefull is a pipe dream or some thing close to it..... Cordially, ....

two state solution

the soltion recomended in this article is really one state and really surprised me Is this what Israel is proposing ? The situation we have now is how best to resolve an almost 100 year attempt to resolve the expulsion of the Jews by the Romans in approx. 100 A.D. In the late 1800's, Jews in Eastern Europe began to think that they needed to return to their origional nation in Palestine because the the persecution that they were enduring in Eastern Europe Over time they covinced the English to support them {the Balfour Agreement} and eventually ,President Truman to form a state that is open to all Jews whether they are perscuted or not from America or anywhere to resettle in this state.Since 1948, 100's of thousands of Jews and Palsetinians have moved in and out of the new Israel. The new Israel Foreign Minister, an imegre' from Russia wants to expell preent non Jewish residants from Israel for example. I thought that the new state of Palestine would start with the West Bank and Gaza but would have to include more territory than that if it was going to absorb the many Palestians living in refugee camps in Lebanon and Jordan for example. The persection the the Jews over the thousands of years is a problem that is really a terrible thing. The solution of forcing the Palestinions to become second class citizens controlled by Israel makes no equitable sense to me.I have not found any history of Arab anti semetic behavior from 100 A.D untill 1918 The "2 state solution proposed is not ambitious enough should expanded materially.

Mortimer is wrong

Im dissapointed that the author would again bring up this nonsense about the "the most generous offer ever given for a state". Everyone knows this is a falsehood and even the liars in the media that kept repeating it know they have lost. Lets argue core issues Mr. Zuckerman, not dance around with the elequent usage of the English language to ordinary dumb dumb's who want to hasten the end of the world and in turn support Israel "cuz Jesus said so". The issue is foreigners came into someone's home, took it by using terrorism ie: stern gang, as well as others. Those former terrorists became heads of state and began the long process of covering up what they did. What a surprise the inhabitants havent capitulated. Unfortunately, a minority are turning to terrorism while the media turns them into savages, the same way the U.S turned Native Americans into scalping thiefs on their own land. In any case, more and more people are beginning to see behind the rhetoric of writers such as this. They are slowly losing their grasp and are beginning to see that they truly may have to negotiate on equal terms. You can only have your cake and eat it to for soo long before someone comes around and snatches it. Don't get me wrong, I like Mr. Zuckerman but this constant skewing of reality has got to stop, a new generation of Americans are no longer beleiving this stuff anymore! Their not as dumb, can read above a 12th grade level and take religious takes as coming from God rather than directly the word of God. Since when did God speak English!!

There is no "side" when both religions are "right".

Why these fools think one group of people has right to those lands over another group of people is some OLD world ish! The world I want to live in excludes ALL of those people who would justify terrorism and/or oppression of people in the name of ones religion, economic plight or race.

You can't teach old dogs new tricks. Peace between groups of people comes with the ellimination or celebration of the differences between them.

The nitpicking leadership of this world's religious are long over due for some lessons in tolerance, logic and reason. People will very easily use ones religion or economic ideology to justify killing people in the name of protecting imaginary lines in a small piece of desert sand no bigger than New Jersey, that has been fought over for thousands of years.

The persecutions of the Jews made warmongers out of them. Now they get nervous just thinking about peace. In order for the Jewish people to build their own country in the middle of Palastine they required massive and sustained military force. Now Israel has the tenth largest arms industry in the world, and makes up twenty percent of the country's employment. If Israel has no enemies, its economy might collapse. Karl Marx made the case that military spending is necessary and useful for capitalism; does Israel agree?

Abandon Israel? Please.... Abandon your warmonger mentality.

enough already

Population of Israel is 7.4 million. CA is 5 times as large. There must be other topics to write about that involve billions of people-not a few million.

I disagree completely

I am so tired of Israel playing the victim card while they break agreements & murder millions as if they are entitled. They sure have learned well from the USA - how to take what they want at any cost just because they want it. We should stop providing them weapons of mass destruction and paying their way. When are we going to demand Israel give back the illegal settlements and stop their vicious acts of violence against innocent people. They don't deserve what they have now nor what they are taking from others. They are acting more like Hitler every day and I am disgusted that we continue to support them.