WDSmart

If I want to bring up "facts," I do usually post a link. If, however, I'm just expressing my opinion based on what I've read online, heard on CNN, or read here in the posts of others, I just express my opinion on that.

Good question. I do find it difficult to follow all these posts. When I log on, which sometimes is many hours after I've logged off, I try to find the last post I've read and then start reading them in order. If, however, I post a reply to them, my window jumps to the end of the Issue, and then I have to go back again and look for where I was. If you have a suggestion of how I could do this better, I'd appreciate it.

I see both your "facts" and my "fantasies" as just our opinions.

If the "why" question had already been answered, what is the purpose of the "period" at the end of your statement, because your statement did not include the "why" the Palestinians were fighting.

You've hit upon the argument that is probably the entire basis for all our (and many others on an off this Issue) differing point of view on this issue. And that is your statement above, "Palestian starting this war." This "war" over the rights to the land that is now called Israel has been going on for at least ever since the UN created the state of Israel. It actually has gone on way before that, but I won't go any farther back than that. Don't you understand or accept that fact? So, I could agree that the Palestinian militant faction Hamas did start this most recent flare-up of the "war" with their horrible, terroristic attack on Israeli civilians on Oct 7. And now, the IDF are continuing the horrible, terroristic killings by their actions in Gaza and the West Bank. I understand these are retaliatory actions, but they will, IMO, not "solve" this "war", but only intensify it, and maybe enlarge it to include other parties (on both sides).

Yes! Yes! Yes! 👍

Yes, many things I post are my opinion. That's what discussions are SUPPOSED to be about. These Forums are discussion groups, aren't they?

I've gone so far as to define, in detail, the terms I use, how I use them, and why. We obviously didn't have an "agreed upon common ground, so I have clearly defined the terms I use that you object to. Your main problem is, IMO, that you are extremely arrogant. You think EVERYONE must think the same way you do, accept the same facts, and then draw the same conclusions. If that were the case, there would never be any need for a discussion. It would always just be, yes, yes, yes. That's not how discussion, especially on volatile subjects such as this one, works. They are an exchange of differing ideas, opinions, and, yes, references to "facts" (which I define as just other people's opinions - even if those other people are on the ICJ.)

Okay, but I'll ignore the period and ask you WHY are they fighting to kill Israelis?

War crimes are not matters of opinion. That, of course, is what "IMO" means. These are war crimes "in my (and many others') opinion." You may not agree, and that's your prerogative, just as labeling them "war crimes" or "acts of terror" is mine.

Wouldn't the act of "burning your house down" most aptly apply to the IDF's indiscriminate bombings in Gaza? What, then, should the IDF be called?

And you don't consider the indiscriminate IDF bombings and killings in Gaza "terror"?

Yes, and those reasons are mostly that they back Israel.

I just don't understand why you go on and on like this. I disagree with everything you say above. The only one, the first one, depends on what you take the word "country" to mean. Since you've objected to it so much, I've changed my wording and now refer to it as a "territory" or just a "land." Anyway, all that's before the UN made it an official state.

This is where you and I differ the most. What I believe (and assume and deduce) is very material to me. It might not be to you, I understand that, but it is to me.

Thanks, I didn't remember that. So, yes, I guess they could be called "Freedom Fighters" because of the above explanation.

I don't recall ever referring to Hamas as "freedom fighters," but I do believe they are fighting to drive the Israelis out of what they believe is their country.

The 10% (actually 9%) figure was before 1948, and what I said was correct. The 32% figure was probably just before or the same date that the UN created the state of Israel.

If that's the wording, then the recent IDF bombings in Gaza do not comply with that. In fact, that's exactly what the charges against Israel are that the ICJ was reviewing.

If you are referring to the rule of "no history lessons," then what were you doing when you posted the percentages of Jews living in Palestine before it became a state? You're the one who first posted that, not me. I just responded to it by disagreeing with it and posting what I thought was a more accurate figure.

And, I do not support Hamas. I do support the Palestinians' struggle against the Zionist forces of the Israelis.

I don't think I've ever used the term "war crimes" in any of my posts until today. I may have, but that is not a phrase I usually use. IMO, both Israel and Palestine in the past, and now Hamas and the IDF, have committed heinous acts against each other in the horrible conflict.

What do you think the rules are? That someone cannot disagree with you? You stated the percentages first. I disagreed since you only referred to it as "before the state of Israel" or something like that. The percentages of the population changed over time. If you want to specify a specific date, I could probably find the percentages at that date. And, you could too. My point was there were more non-Jews living in Palestine than Jews when the UN created the state of Israel.

Both of which, IMO, are war crimes.

At the risk of irritating our moderator, I'll post a table that I copied from Wikipedia that shows the population of Palestine since 1922. I won't post the whole table or the link, (I'll provide that in a Mail if you'd like), to keep from posting links to "history lessons." The population figures are in "thousands" Year Jews Christians Muslims Total 1922 84 71 589 752 1931 175 89 760 1,033 1947 630 143 1,181 1,970