For clarity I would never have reached the end of my post if I had attempted to argue about the definition of Zionism, but perhaps I should have. It most commonly refers to the right of Israel to exist, though it is sometimes interpreted as the right of Israel to expand, and these are fundamentally different. In stating that anti-Zionism is anti-semitism I am using the former definition. The view that Israel has no right to exist is anti-semitic, in fact it's genocidal racism that is not aimed at any other country in the world, to my knowledge, apart from the one Jewish state.
The right for Israel is exist now....Well, I think that is only argued against by people who are anti semitic because for that to happen would have to involve genocide.
The right and wrongs of what happened in 47-49 during the formation of the original Israel state, that's a different matter. Einstein for example was against the formation of the Israeli state but said that once it was created that it had to fight for it's existence when attacked......I agree, but as the AI said, it was a complex situation with many moving parts.
There's a discussion to be had about the past if people want it, but I think that in the present no one sensible is suggesting that Israel shouldn't exist.
If you are against what has happened to the Palestinians and others under old Netty, then you'd also be against what would be required to make Israel not exist as well.
People talk about the genocide in Gaza, but they are talking less than a hundred thousand people....maybe it's more, we won't know properly for a long time. But Israel is over ten million people.
But the right of Israel to expand, and settle in the occupied territories is completely different. My post refers to Israel's borders being set by international law - clearly their extension into Palestinian territory is therefore contrary to international law, and in my view wholly wrong. I would argue strongly that our support for Israel should be on the expectation that it removes its settlements from the occupied territories. I also make no argument for the merits of Netanyahu and his government - of course it is not anti-semitic to criticise them and what they do.
Sounds pretty reasonable to me.
What you are saying has basically been the position of everyone except the US and Israel for all my life. The only difference being that most US administration have said this but have in reality allowed Israeli governments to do what they want without it effecting the massive amounts of money they give them.....which has only increased over the years....essentially the expansion into the west bank and other areas was only possible with US tacit support.
I would point out however that if there was a country which neighboured Britain whose government was dedicated to the annihilation of Britain, and it launched a terror attack to murder thousands of our citizens (pro-rata on populations of Israel and Britain for the nit-pickers, 1,200 Israelis is equivalent of 8,200 Britons), I would probably demand that Britain utterly destroyed that government, and my sympathy for its citizens would in turn be quite limited.
This is of course true.
However, I would like to think that we wouldn't bomb a residential complex to get one person......If we do that then I condemn it. I would condemn it because I love my country and I have to think we have some kind of moral standard other than 'us good, them bad'.
I think the west has lost a lot of soft power since 9/11 and that saddens me.
But the argument that Israel has no right to exist is another matter altogether, and sadly most of the people out on the pro-Palestinian marches appear to believe it.
Agreed.....We have a lot of imported foreign loyalty, first and second generation, that is anti western and it shouldn't be here.
The left, social liberals (in power), left media and big business, worked their socks off to create that situation (whether deliberately or not) and continue to work their socks off to protect and nurture it today.
They betrayed their own working class to make it happen and demonise them every day for resisting these changes that they never agreed to.....Changes that effect their lives more than the mostly middle class and business and housing lobbies who ask and vote for it.