“The Jewish religion has no tenet in it connected to the destruction of any people…”

Actually we do Jill, it is Mitzvah No. 188 on Maimonides’ list of positive commandments (Mishnah Torah Volume One, Sefer HaMada, The Book of Knowledge, 1177 C.E.):

To destroy the seed of Amalek, as it is said, “Thou shalt surely blot out the remembrance of Amalek” (Deut. 25:19).

Granted, in modern times, we (and our rabbis) soften this to mean that we are to oppose evil when we confront it, but as Rashi repeatedly tells us, we cannot ignore the plain meaning of the text.

And then there is the problem of identifying who are the descendents of Amalek.

But this is still our most horrible commandment; to commit genocide.

B’shalom,

Jeff

Others may disagree with me or look to different kinds of acts as variations ont eh same theme, but seriously – Israelis do not do what this man did this morning. Do they raze homes without regard for human life? Yes – sometimes, I would say they do and I disagree with such actions.

But they do not do these specific kinds of out of the blue done by civilians kinds of acts. When was the last time anyone heard of an Israeli doing that? A citizen, not the military?

Anyway – that almost really does not matter – it is beside the point. None of it is justified or helpful.

I’ve been thinking about this all day and I really believe that the only way to achieve any change that will matter is one by one by one – seeing people, talking to people, acting on behalf of people and resolutions that do not involve the killing, elimination or further displacement of anyone, provision of human rights to all, by all – without regard for religion. That is – action cannot be premised on religion because then you give the go-ahead to all regardless of what their religion allows.

Everyone must sacrifice something they think they deserve, everyone must get something they want.

But first – mutual interests must be identified – not individual positions stated. And that has been the problem for much of the region’s existence – populations take positions, rather than identify interests.

I’m not familiar with any majority movement in Israel, comparable in size or influence to Hamas or Hezbollah, neither of which are native to the Palestinians, among Israeli Jews who reject the idea of a two-state solution. Those who support the settlements are considered to be on the extreme, not the mainstream. The Jewish religion has no tenet in it connected to the destruction of any people, where as the Jihad groups are connected to that goal.

It is not apples to apples.

This is not to say that there are no groups who teach Israeli children to hate or mistrust Arabs, but that absolutely is not the dominant or majority view or effort – just as I would imagine Jesus Camp isn’t a dominant or majority way of educating Christian children in the US.

I watched a documentary the other night that was filmed a few years ago that interviewed children from Israel and Palestine called “Promises” and it was interesting because the media often tells us how the children of Palestine are raised with hatred, but very little has been reported on how some of Israel’s children are raised to mistrust/hate Arabs as well as both sides teaching their children that the land is “theirs”.

I think this is more than just seeking revenge for some in Palestine it seems to be the only way to send the message that if their lives are not of value then they hold no others lives in value. More senseless deaths will continue, because there will never be a real truce, it will be a selective one that will continue to create a response when Israel kills/raids.

That said, the arab nations that surround Palestine are just as responsible for the suffering in Palestine. If they were truly interested in the well being of their brothers they would do much more and they would not continue to keep Palestinians in refugee camps…

Years of thoughts/experiences in as short of a two cents comment as I could do…

Yet another dangerous analogy and even bigger can of worms:

Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee.

B’shalom,

Jeff

I scarcely would state Israel has no right to defend itself, it also has a responsiblity to act in a reasonable manner that doesn’t inflame. Every time you turn around somebody pours gasoline on this. Everytime somebody pours gas and flames erupt they turn around and say, “well, look what they do”

Ohio and the Indians had a pretty rough go at it back when…