Demonstrators burn Israeli flags at Embassy Protest in Bangkok

[Morch]

The reason Israel is supported by the USA and many other nations is because Israel serves the western nations as an allied base in the middle east, for military reasons and as a means to help the west protect it`s supply of oil from the dictatorships of the middle eastern oil producing countries. The Israelis are no more than cannon fodder in some circumstances and the west is paying financially towards the existence of Israel to ensure a foothold in the Middle East.

Certain nations support Israel not because they love the Jews as the majority of Jews worldwide are not or never want to be associated with Israel in real terms, except perhaps in their prayer books.

In reality no one gives a damn about the Arab countries or their welfare, this is purely about military domination of the region and the insurance that the western nations will continue to have their supply of OIL and that the prices set and complete terms and conditions of the imports of oil will not be determined by the Arab states. And this is why the west will continue to support Israel. It is that simple.

Tragically the innocents of certain middle eastern countries are now suffering the bombardments of the American, British and western backed Israeli forces against them and are being caught in the firing line for what is considered as being in the west`s interests or western interests vs the fanantics. A terrible state of affairs.

As far as I am aware, there are no major USA forces (or those belonging to Western nations) stationed in Israel. In most of

the regional conflicts which involved the USA, there was no emergency deployment of troops and forces in Israel, and no

major operations which used Israel as a base.

On the contrary, the USA did not wish Israel to actively take part in Iraqi campaigns and was pretty much against Israeli

forces carrying out their own operation independently during the first Gulf War.

How does Israel serve to protect oil supply to the West? Do Israeli forces patrol the oilfields in the Gulf? Take care of the

security situation in Libya? The USA got its own forces in the area, and bases in the region, non of them to do with Israel.

So do tell how this is all "as simple as that".

The assertion that most Jews worldwide want nothing to do with Israel is supported by....?

Nobody cares about Arab countries and their welfare - well, international relationship and diplomacy are usually not about

humanitarian ideals, but rather revolve around political and economic interests. That is pretty much the same all over. Also,

some of them Arab rulers do not seem to care all that much themselves.

In case you missed it, the current fighting related to Israel is focused in the Gaza Strip, not the whole of the Middle East,

not "some Middle Eastern countries". It also does not have much to do with oil.

[Morch]

Its sad to see innocent people die.

But i see no hate towards their people the HAMAS who are responsible for escalating this!

Hamas, a terrorist organization, purposefully fires missiles from civilian homes, schools and mosques and orders it's people to form human shields around these launch sites so when Israel responds

Hamas was set up to fight for the stolen land of the Palestinians. The Israeli govt are also terrorists and their response is unproportional and a war crime..look at the numbers being killed daily.its a massacre..

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Netenyahu is a right winger hell bent on stirring up trouble but the pictures the world has seen of children killed by high tech weapons has done the Israeli cause no good.

The UN has said that Israel may have committed war crimes in its offensive against Hamas in Gaza, in which hundreds of Palestinian civilians have been killed in two weeks, and voted to launch an international inquiry. The US opposed the move, and 17 countries abstained.

"There seems to be a strong possibility that international law has been violated, in a manner that could amount to war crimes," Navi Pillay, the UN high commissioner for human rights, said in the debate in Geneva.http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jul/23/israel-may-have-committed-war-crimes-in-gaza-un

Aid agencies said a child had been killed every hour on average in the past two days!

Not that much in a hurry to raise hell over other countries in the neighborhood, are they?

[Morch]

Its sad to see innocent people die.

But i see no hate towards their people the HAMAS who are responsible for escalating this!

Hamas, a terrorist organization, purposefully fires missiles from civilian homes, schools and mosques and orders it's people to form human shields around these launch sites so when Israel responds

Hamas was set up to fight for the stolen land of the Palestinians. The Israeli govt are also terrorists and their response is unproportional and a war crime..look at the numbers being killed daily.its a massacre..

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What stolen land you refer to? The one Israel withdrew from and no longer occupy since 2005?

What proportional response do you expect? Sending them flowers and pizzas?

If I was living in Israel and a group of terrorists was continuously firing missiles to my city and digging terror tunnels from their land, under my border into my land, endangering my house, property, life and the lives of my people, I'd first do everything I can to protect myself (like using "iron dome" anti-rocket defense system, with the 90% accuracy/success rate. Which, by the way, explains the minimal damages in Israel during this round of violence) and hunt that terror group down and annihilate it, doesn't matter if it's Muslim, Christian, Jewish or any other religion.

If that group of terrorists was firing those missiles from hospitals, houses, schools and any other civilian building, while using innocent civilians as human-shields to protect themselves and their rocket launchers from my weapons, I'd do everything I can to warn the innocent civilians to leave/evacuate the area first (as Israel does with 100,000 leaflets it throws from planes to areas before the army gets there, calls hundreds of thousands of homes and mobiles and send SMSs, and of course the using the final "knock on the roof" warning routine), and surgically eliminate the terrorist and their weapons.

If there are still civilians who refuse to leave, or stay on purpose because they want to sacrifice their lives for the terrorists they are supporting, then by all means - they will die with them, no question asked. Hamas tells Gaza residents to ignore IDF warnings: http://www.ynetnews....4541484,00.html

I will also do everything humanitarian I can possibly do to help innocent people who get caught in the cross fire, as Israel does (among many other things, Israel has established a large field clinic with hundreds of Israeli doctors to help Gaza citizens in need of any medical assistance. This, my friends, you won't see in the super-biased BBC (with the rest of the biased British media), Al-Jazira and other similar media channels): https://scontent-b-s...565861878_n.jpg

Israel is around 2 weeks into this war on terrorism, but only a few hundreds Palestinian casualties. If there was a massacre, as some anti-Israel and pro-Palestinians keep saying, the Israeli army with all its mighty power could and would have killed hundreds of people per second, not per 2 weeks.

Obviously Israel is doing it's very best to surgically eliminate the weapons, , terrorist & terror tunnels (a city of many tunnels which the Palestinians dug from their territory into Israel to execute terror attacks and into Egypt to smuggle weapons they receive from Iran & Syria among other friends).

Of course there are always going to be innocent people who get caught in the cross-fire in wars, but I know for a fact that nobody in Israel or the Israeli-army is deliberately targeting civilians and Israel does do everything it can to warn & protect innocent lives.

Israel was constructed as a state after the holocaust. Palestine was a british mandate at the time.therefore palestine originally belonged to the palestines. Its not rocket science is it? The israelis have been grqdually squeezing the palestinians out of existence. A bit like what hitler tried to do to them.american support and supply of israel is disgusting..Im Irish so I can understand, in an historical sense, how the PAlestinians feel..slaughtering children in response to a rocket attach that kills one is pure evil..excuse my spellling.im on a tabl3t!

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Not rocket science, just not exactly correct.

There wasn't that much of a Palestinian national sentiment as such prior to latter stages of the conflict, the UN partition plan

and resolution. One could say that in a sense, the Jewish quest for a homeland also coalesced the Palestinians into what they

are today. Given a different set of historical conditions and events, things could have looked different.

While Israel did win wars which ended up in territorial gains, and despite denials, did its fair share in evicting the Palestinian

population during these wars, it did not "squeeze the Palestinians out of existence" - if it did, there wouldn't be that much of

an issue today. It is also nothing like what Hitler did to the Jews - there are no death camps, no genocide. Enough things to

bash Israel with (and no mistake, Israel deserves a bashing for some of its actions) without going hyperbole.

[Bluespunk]

Tragic events with the 3 Israeli boys but as usual the Israeli response it out of all proportion and is indeed murderous and hateful. I'm glad people are protesting this.

The current actions of Israel are due to hamas firing rockets into civilian areas of Israel, not the murder of the three teenage boys by alleged hamas members.

[Bluespunk]

Disgusting to see this racist protest in Thailand.

Disgusting to see the racist thing in Israel too...

I am not saying Hamas is innocent, but the Israelis are no angles.

What is Israel doing that is racist? Heavy handed, yes, but hamas is responsible for this conflict. Israel is responding to the terrorist actions of hamas' organisation.

[CBR250]

What is Israel doing that is racist? Heavy handed, yes, but hamas is responsible for this conflict. Israel is responding to the terrorist actions of hamas' organisation.

Your byline: "Never forgive. Never forget" is prophetic. Israel's once influential control over western media has become useless in the Twitterverse. Many more people following the current events in Gaza on uncensored social media now understand that Israel is a rogue state, and the IDF a tool of madmen. They will not forget. And they will not forgive. Smart move, Israel, condemning your grandchildren and their grandchildren to generational distrust by not just Palestinians, but many of those across the world who were once avid supporters.

[theslime]

Disgusting to see this racist protest in Thailand.

Disgusting to see the racist thing in Israel too...

I am not saying Hamas is innocent, but the Israelis are no angles.

What is Israel doing that is racist? Heavy handed, yes, but hamas is responsible for this conflict. Israel is responding to the terrorist actions of hamas' organisation.

[theslime]

Well I stuffed that up. Bluespunk your comment heavy handed deserves an award for tosser of the century.

[Bluespunk]

What is Israel doing that is racist? Heavy handed, yes, but hamas is responsible for this conflict. Israel is responding to the terrorist actions of hamas' organisation.

Your byline: "Never forgive. Never forget" is prophetic. Israel's once influential control over western media has become useless in the Twitterverse. Many more people following the current events in Gaza on uncensored social media now understand that Israel is a rogue state, and the IDF a tool of madmen. They will not forget. And they will not forgive. Smart move, Israel, condemning your grandchildren and their grandchildren to generational distrust by not just Palestinians, but many of those across the world who were once avid supporters.

Hamas began this current conflict. Hamas rejected a ceasefire. Hamas is culpable for the current violence.

Edited July 25, 2014 by Bluespunk

[Bluespunk]

Well I stuffed that up. Bluespunk your comment heavy handed deserves an award for tosser of the century.

Nope.

[Asiantravel]

Disgusting to see this racist protest in Thailand.

Disgusting to see the racist thing in Israel too...

I am not saying Hamas is innocent, but the Israelis are no angles.

What is Israel doing that is racist? Heavy handed, yes, but hamas is responsible for this conflict. Israel is responding to the terrorist actions of hamas' organisation.

All the moral authority the Jews gained from being victims of the holocaust has been squandered now that they're the perpetrators of one

[theslime]

European jews invade Palstine and by Terror, crave out the locals from there land. What would be a the difference, if say, Germans decided to invade Israel and took your purported land and by terror Craved you up. I dont see a difference. Same if china decided enoughs enough and we,re going to Australia, like it or not.

[ABCer]

Tragic events with the 3 Israeli boys but as usual the Israeli response it out of all proportion and is indeed murderous and hateful. I'm glad people are protesting this.

Did you forget about the ROCKETS?

Yeah I agree nothing wrong with protesting Israeli government policies, and yes, they are happening in many places in the world today.

But so many of these protests are downright racist.

Here -- the Jew hate posters.

In Seattle, more Jew hate posters and a picture of a Jew eating a small child.

In Frankfurt, Islamists and Neo-Nazis gathering together, shouting Jew hate slogans, assisted by the local POLICE (who provided a loudspeaker)

In Morocco, a rabbi on a walk brutally attacked, asking for help, nobody helped.

What rockets? There was no rockets. There was no Holocaust. There was no Nazis. No Israelis were ever damaged by those non existing rockets. But a lot of innocents in Gaza are killed. The others were simply Jews.

The ugliest part of this OP photo is not the bearded fat uglies burning some effigy but the fact that 'authorities' observed it and did nothing. Despite the military rule. Despite the prohibition.

The Thai rulers think it will ease their own problems in the South... Wrong... They will come for you too... Actually they are here already... Just look again at the photo.

[ABCer]

European jews invade Palstine and by Terror, crave out the locals from there land. What would be a the difference, if say, Germans decided to invade Israel and took your purported land and by terror Craved you up. I dont see a difference. Same if china decided enoughs enough and we,re going to Australia, like it or not.

Wouldn't even argue.

Theslime is the slime.

Can't talk, can't write, can't spell, but can have original ideas.

Not too bad for a German.

[Local Drunk]

I just don't understand what the thrill is that people find in hating and killing other people because of their faith or religious beliefs..all that time and energy placed into such actions that do nothing to better you as an individual..its mind boggling.. Whats the point?...

It's very simple, Palestinians are under occupation and they resist to it, that makes them terrorists. When the Americans fought against the British and killed many of them, when the Thai fought the Burmese at bang rajan, when the Frenchmen resisted (la resistance) against the Germans and killed many of them, they were all called heroes. Everybody has the right to fight for freedom, but Palestinians and Huygurs are called terrorists.

Very poor analogy.

[Udoth]

Blame the UK and UN for establishing that state right on top of the homes of natives.

[Bluespunk]

Disgusting to see this racist protest in Thailand.

Disgusting to see the racist thing in Israel too...

I am not saying Hamas is innocent, but the Israelis are no angles.

What is Israel doing that is racist? Heavy handed, yes, but hamas is responsible for this conflict. Israel is responding to the terrorist actions of hamas' organisation.

All the moral authority the Jews gained from being victims of the holocaust has been squandered now that they're the perpetrators of one

Nonsensical to compare these two events to say the least.

[Bluespunk]

European jews invade Palstine and by Terror, crave out the locals from there land. What would be a the difference, if say, Germans decided to invade Israel and took your purported land and by terror Craved you up. I dont see a difference. Same if china decided enoughs enough and we,re going to Australia, like it or not.

Hmm, what was that you said about deserving an award? You have made several attempts at winning it on this thread. Bravo sir. Edited July 25, 2014 by Bluespunk

[CBR250]

To my chagrin, I have only recently paid any attention to Al Jazeera's news. What an eye opener. Very admirable organisation that reveals little or no bias in the most sensitive stories. I was flicking through my new True system and found that Channel 119 is actually Al Jazeera English news.

A very polished media source. Their coverage of the Ukrainian tragedy of the MH17 being shot down has been balanced and extensive. They interviewed Ukrainians, foreign spokespeople from countries most affected by the crash (Dutch, Malaysian, Australian) as well as seperatists and Russian government figures. Their journalists are sharp and respectful, but allow fools to hang themselves in contradictions.

Even better has been their coverage of the Gazan tragedy that is unfolding before us each day, and looks like spreading to the occupied territories in the West Bank. Unlike Israeli media, they allow senior mouthpieces from both sides to have their say without comment or interruption. They have journalists (westerners, by the way) on site in Gaza, unlike Israel which feeds its journalists IDF propaganda as "reporting". When Al Jazeera has a panel discussion - again unlike the Israeli media - they do not set up some poor inarticulate Israeli with some bright pro-Palestinians, a habit of the insecure Israeli media. If anything, I think Al Jazeera overdo ithe balanced perspective thing. Many of the Israelis interviewed don't bother addressing questions put to them, but use the opportunity as a platform to repeat the Likud line. I would turn them off and invite more considered points of view from Israelis who can think for themselves. But still, respect for AJ. Especially given that the organisation is funded with Arab money, I was pleasantly suprised to find very little bias. Mainstream Western media (CNN, BBC, ABC, Fox) sold out to vested interests long ago. And Israeli media is generally no more than an extension of the government (aside from a few NGO sources like B'tselem, Gush Shalom, Gisha etc). The Jerusalem Pravda is a total waste of time.

Anyway, both sides in this debate will find they are far better informed about events in Gaza by tuning in to Al Jazeera on the web or on Channel 119.

[chongtak]

I just don't understand what the thrill is that people find in hating and killing other people because of their faith or religious beliefs..all that time and energy placed into such actions that do nothing to better you as an individual..its mind boggling.. Whats the point?...

It's very simple, Palestinians are under occupation and they resist to it, that makes them terrorists. When the Americans fought against the British and killed many of them, when the Thai fought the Burmese at bang rajan, when the Frenchmen resisted (la resistance) against the Germans and killed many of them, they were all called heroes. Everybody has the right to fight for freedom, but Palestinians and Huygurs are called terrorists.

Very poor analogy.

Extremely poor argument.

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[Johpa]

To my chagrin, I have only recently paid any attention to Al Jazeera's news. What an eye opener. Very admirable organisation that reveals little or no bias in the most sensitive stories. I was flicking through my new True system and found that Channel 119 is actually Al Jazeera English news.

I agree that Al Jazeera English language broadcasts are often top knotch and thanks to my Mr. ROKU I can watch Al Jazeera here in the US on a regular basis. But like most of what comes out of the Arab world in the form of media broadcasts, the voice in English is very different from the voice broadcast in Arabic. For translations one needs to visit this website. Whereas Israel as HaAretz to voice opposition to the government, the Arab world has no such indigenous voice.

[Morch]

They've got the right idea. The United Nations has declared that Zionism is racism. Since Israel is a Zionist state, then logic tells us that Israel is a racist state, on a par with the former Apartheid South Africa.

Please understand that Jewish nationalism or the wish for a Jewish homeland/state is not in and of itself racism, just the theories and tenets of Theodore Herzl and Zionism are racist.

If the UN said so, it must be true.

Surely, there are no political interests effecting the way members vote.

You forgot to mention that there is an automatic biased majority against Israel in the UN since its establishment in 1948, the Arab lobby, and every resolution against and/or related to Israel has always been and probably always will be automatically approved in the general assembly.

If anyone wants to condemn Israel for the 2004 Indian Ocean's tsunami, just bring it for voting in the UN general assembly and it will issue a resolution against Israel on this. This is no joking matter, I am darn serious.

It also has quite an impartial majority in the security council, with Russia and China usually automatically voting against Israel, to satisfy and preserve their close relationships with their allies, the Arab league and other Muslim countries.

Luckily for Israel, they at least have its ally, the USA, with its veto right to balance this a bit and block most security council unbalanced resolutions.

P.S. The UN declaration of "Zionism = racism" (resolution 3379, which was part of the Soviet-Arab Cold War anti-Israel campaign) was made on 1975 and revoked by the UN on 1991 (Resolution 46/86) when Israel had made the revocation a condition of its participation in the Madrid Peace Conference of 1991.

When a country is in violation of hundreds of UN resolutions and occupies foreign territory for 60 years in violation of UN resolutions and wantonly goes about sowing death and destruction throughout its surrounding region, it tends to earn an "automatic" bias.

The same UN did not have that many issues when Egypt and Jordan held on to Palestinian territories.

The same UN does not have much objections to the PRC holding on to Tibet, or to Russia's actions in the Caucasus.

Same UN that does not seem all too bothered about events in Syria.

List goes on. The UN is many things, impartial isn't one of them.

[Morch]

All I know is if I got sick I will like a Jewish Doctor over a Arab Doctor

What is your Choice?

I would choose a Jewish doctor nearly every time. For a start Israel has a good education system (if we ignore the brainwashing aspect of it). Jews not living in Israel also tend to live in developed countries where they are able to access good quality education. I doubt I could find an Arab doctor from Gaza, mainly because schools in Gaza are overcrowded & under-resourced. Kids there attend schools in shifts - sometimes 3 shifts a day. Teachers are often unable to be paid. Schools are often closed because of danger to the children, as is occurring now. Not many schools are able to function well in Gaza, so don't expect to many medical degrees from there. However, if I went to a medical clinic and found the doctor was an Arab, and had qualifications I see as credible, I would happily see him - or her.

So what is your point? Because I oppose the excessive militarism and land grab of Israel that I must hate Jews so wouldn't use a doctor who is Jewish? Sorry, I don't subscribe to ethnic discrimination and hatred. Happy to se a Jewish doctor. Or perhaps you are gloating because Arabs from Gaza will almost never be doctors? Next time, don't be so obtuse. Say what you mean.

The question itself smells like bigotry to me.

Don't see how a doctor's ethnicity, nationality or religion would be a major factor in preferring one over another.

There are fine Arab doctors, there are lousy Jewish doctors.

Anyhow, I do not believe that the question was about Arab doctors educated in Gaza, but more general in nature.

Making it sound that all Arab doctors are a product of a Gaza-like education system is preposterous. While I fullly

agree that the education system in the Gaza Strip is in shambles, that does not necessarily hold for all of the Arab

world. Certainly with the resources available to them, some of the richer Arab countries could potentially support a

fine system of higher education. For various reasons, this does not, for the most part, a reality.

[Morch]

Disgusting to see this racist protest in Thailand.

Disgusting to see the racist thing in Israel too...

I am not saying Hamas is innocent, but the Israelis are no angles.

What is Israel doing that is racist? Heavy handed, yes, but hamas is responsible for this conflict. Israel is responding to the terrorist actions of hamas' organisation.

All the moral authority the Jews gained from being victims of the holocaust has been squandered now that they're the perpetrators of one

Are there death camps, organized mass executions, and a few million Palestinians dead?

Don't let reality stand in the way of a nonsense argument, but do tell how the two situations are the same.

[Morch]

European jews invade Palstine and by Terror, crave out the locals from there land. What would be a the difference, if say, Germans decided to invade Israel and took your purported land and by terror Craved you up. I dont see a difference. Same if china decided enoughs enough and we,re going to Australia, like it or not.

Apart from Jews not invading Palestine, rather immigrating peacefully, and apart from there not being a Palestine as a country

and a nation at the time....The PRC makes a fine example, as they actually took over Tibet, while by and large, the world does

naught.

[CBR250]

To my chagrin, I have only recently paid any attention to Al Jazeera's news. What an eye opener. Very admirable organisation that reveals little or no bias in the most sensitive stories. I was flicking through my new True system and found that Channel 119 is actually Al Jazeera English news.

I agree that Al Jazeera English language broadcasts are often top knotch and thanks to my Mr. ROKU I can watch Al Jazeera here in the US on a regular basis. But like most of what comes out of the Arab world in the form of media broadcasts, the voice in English is very different from the voice broadcast in Arabic. For translations one needs to visit this website. Whereas Israel as HaAretz to voice opposition to the government, the Arab world has no such indigenous voice.

Yes, you are at least partly correct as I am not aware of any strong voice of opposition in Palestinian media. Not that there is the extensive media presence that allows such diversity, for obvious reasons. But if not media, there are certainly people in Palestine who oppose the pro-war views of Hamas, and argue vehemently for non violence. I have just now finished listening to Mustapha Baghouti and Alin ---- ( an Israeli opposition MP, so not very influential) debating on - you guessed it - Al Jazeera.

Mr Baghouti is a Palestinian MP, and condemns all forms of violence. Even though he is clearly upset and angry because of the killings of the protesters on the West Bank yesterday, he still does not agree with any violence - or the use of rockets by Hamas for that matter. He stated that quite clearly. He is an MP because of the votes he received, so we can assume that his views are reasonably popular in the West Bank. Unfortunately, Netanyahu and his allies will never talk to people such as him, because, I believe, it may help lead to peace and prevent the grand project of a Zionist land grab continuing, which Netanyahu supports.

Al Jazeera (in its English version) is not really an opposition voice, I agree. It is more of an objective analyst. I can't comment on the Arabic versions, as I do not speak the language. Haaretz is a bit wishy washy, not a good example of an opposition voice. I once read them occassionally, but find they are often selective and limited in their analysis. I doubt that Netanyahu loses much sleep over Haaretz. But your point is still valid - there do seem to be more oppostion organisations in Israel, such as B'tselem and Gisha and Rabbis for Human Rights. This does reflect positively on Israeli society. I hope that these voices of peace are listened to and respected by many Israelis, even if the government ignores them.

[CBR250]

European jews invade Palstine and by Terror, crave out the locals from there land. What would be a the difference, if say, Germans decided to invade Israel and took your purported land and by terror Craved you up. I dont see a difference. Same if china decided enoughs enough and we,re going to Australia, like it or not.

Apart from Jews not invading Palestine, rather immigrating peacefully, and apart from there not being a Palestine as a country

and a nation at the time....The PRC makes a fine example, as they actually took over Tibet, while by and large, the world does

naught.

You have drawn our attention to the tragic injustice inflicted on Tibet. OK, it does seem you are concerned about the world, and not merely an apologist for a fascist Israeli government. I look forward to you opening a new thread telling us how you are trying to influence this terrible situation.

[dr_lucas]

I just don't understand what the thrill is that people find in hating and killing other people because of their faith or religious beliefs..all that time and energy placed into such actions that do nothing to better you as an individual..its mind boggling.. Whats the point?...

It's very simple, Palestinians are under occupation and they resist to it, that makes them terrorists. When the Americans fought against the British and killed many of them, when the Thai fought the Burmese at bang rajan, when the Frenchmen resisted (la resistance) against the Germans and killed many of them, they were all called heroes. Everybody has the right to fight for freedom, but Palestinians and Huygurs are called terrorists.

Very poor analogy.

Extremely poor argument.

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It's simple. Since 2005 Gaza is not under occupation. And even if it was, Hamas (which is funded, armed, trained and encouraged to terrorize by Iran) targeting civilian population with the sole intent to terrorize them makes them terrorists. Resistance against an army is not a resistance against civilians, different story.

Not all Palestinians are terrorists of course, there are peace-loving, moderate & reasonable people among them, there are many people who oppose the Hamas and their terrorist provocations and believe in abandoning the armed-resistance way and prefer a dialog with Israel on more reasonable terms (than the Hamas demands).

However they are so scared to even hint this because of fear for their life, as when Hamas finds out a person has such an independent and liberal opinion - they immediately arrest or in most times kill that person (with no trial, no human right NGOs, no criticism) for treason (in some of the most repulsive ways known to mankind) and declare that "the dog was murdered for collaboration with the Zionist regime".

Edited July 25, 2014 by dr_lucas

[Morch]

To my chagrin, I have only recently paid any attention to Al Jazeera's news. What an eye opener. Very admirable organisation that reveals little or no bias in the most sensitive stories. I was flicking through my new True system and found that Channel 119 is actually Al Jazeera English news.

A very polished media source. Their coverage of the Ukrainian tragedy of the MH17 being shot down has been balanced and extensive. They interviewed Ukrainians, foreign spokespeople from countries most affected by the crash (Dutch, Malaysian, Australian) as well as seperatists and Russian government figures. Their journalists are sharp and respectful, but allow fools to hang themselves in contradictions.

Even better has been their coverage of the Gazan tragedy that is unfolding before us each day, and looks like spreading to the occupied territories in the West Bank. Unlike Israeli media, they allow senior mouthpieces from both sides to have their say without comment or interruption. They have journalists (westerners, by the way) on site in Gaza, unlike Israel which feeds its journalists IDF propaganda as "reporting". When Al Jazeera has a panel discussion - again unlike the Israeli media - they do not set up some poor inarticulate Israeli with some bright pro-Palestinians, a habit of the insecure Israeli media. If anything, I think Al Jazeera overdo ithe balanced perspective thing. Many of the Israelis interviewed don't bother addressing questions put to them, but use the opportunity as a platform to repeat the Likud line. I would turn them off and invite more considered points of view from Israelis who can think for themselves. But still, respect for AJ. Especially given that the organisation is funded with Arab money, I was pleasantly suprised to find very little bias. Mainstream Western media (CNN, BBC, ABC, Fox) sold out to vested interests long ago. And Israeli media is generally no more than an extension of the government (aside from a few NGO sources like B'tselem, Gush Shalom, Gisha etc). The Jerusalem Pravda is a total waste of time.

Anyway, both sides in this debate will find they are far better informed about events in Gaza by tuning in to Al Jazeera on the web or on Channel 119.

That would be Al-Jazeera English, I presume?

They do have their biases, for example, as you say - they do pick certain Israelis to interview, sure to present a certain point

of view. I do not believe this is coincidental. Shouldn't be too hard rounding up some less gung ho Israelis for an interview.

The Arabic version is certainly biased and includes much harsher rhetoric. Interestingly enough, they do occasionally interview

Israelis and Jews more representative of alternative (or rather, pro-peace, left wing) opinions. Again, this is mostly done as a

way to highlight the usual Israeli government positions.

Both are funded by Qatar, and as such are generally supportive of Sunni Islamic movements and goals - such as the coverage

of the so-called Arab Spring, the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, The fighting in Syria and in Iraq. Objective is not necessarily the

word associated with media outlets such as this. Their coverage of issues not related to the Middle East could be more even

handed.

Israeli media, for the most part is indeed a bit same same. Its saving grace is that there are actually a few media outlets that

publish different opinions and points of view. Not much of that on the Palestinian side, I'm afraid. The NGOs mentioned are

not necessarily objective as such, but in the same way, are free to publish information and opinions as they see fit. There were

instances in the past when some of their reports were found lacking in accuracy. Like most involved, they too have an agenda.

I do not believe that there is a single information source giving wholly accurate and up-to-date reports on the situations, without

having certain biases and objectiveness issues. People either choose whatever sources are readily available, or those that

pander to their point of view. Getting an in depth view of this conflict and its current instance takes some effort, and without

a certain amount of background knowledge it is quite easy to get things wrong.

[CBR250]

All I know is if I got sick I will like a Jewish Doctor over a Arab Doctor

What is your Choice?

I would choose a Jewish doctor nearly every time. For a start Israel has a good education system (if we ignore the brainwashing aspect of it). Jews not living in Israel also tend to live in developed countries where they are able to access good quality education. I doubt I could find an Arab doctor from Gaza, mainly because schools in Gaza are overcrowded & under-resourced. Kids there attend schools in shifts - sometimes 3 shifts a day. Teachers are often unable to be paid. Schools are often closed because of danger to the children, as is occurring now. Not many schools are able to function well in Gaza, so don't expect to many medical degrees from there. However, if I went to a medical clinic and found the doctor was an Arab, and had qualifications I see as credible, I would happily see him - or her.

So what is your point? Because I oppose the excessive militarism and land grab of Israel that I must hate Jews so wouldn't use a doctor who is Jewish? Sorry, I don't subscribe to ethnic discrimination and hatred. Happy to se a Jewish doctor. Or perhaps you are gloating because Arabs from Gaza will almost never be doctors? Next time, don't be so obtuse. Say what you mean.

The question itself smells like bigotry to me.

Don't see how a doctor's ethnicity, nationality or religion would be a major factor in preferring one over another.

There are fine Arab doctors, there are lousy Jewish doctors.

Anyhow, I do not believe that the question was about Arab doctors educated in Gaza, but more general in nature.

Making it sound that all Arab doctors are a product of a Gaza-like education system is preposterous. While I fullly

agree that the education system in the Gaza Strip is in shambles, that does not necessarily hold for all of the Arab

world. Certainly with the resources available to them, some of the richer Arab countries could potentially support a

fine system of higher education. For various reasons, this does not, for the most part, a reality.

You are right - but it doesn't just smell of bigotry. It stinks. I'm glad that you are as intolerant of this repugnant expression of an ethnic superiority complex as am I. Proof that despite our differences in some areas, there is common humanity between us. It is others being able to find such common humanity that will allow for any constructive dialogue about resolving the tragedy of Gaza. Once people stop throwing blame about they can start to focus on the future (presuming, of course, that the hidden agendas of revenge and land grabs don't constantly derail the process of finding common ground, as they have for decades).

Oh, ok. I'm not allowed to mention Gaza. Alright. To get back to the point - I would also be cautious in being treated by an Arab doctor from Afghanistan. Or Iraq. Or Pakistan. Or Bangladesh. But only because I suspect that their education systems are nearly as shambolic as Gaza's (oops) - not because they are Arabs. I would be less concerned about a doctor from Egypt, Kuwait or UAE, although I would try to find one who has undertaken some postgrad study in a western system. And finally, my dislike for the worst manifestations of Zionism would never influence me to avoid a Jewish doctor.