- Israelis as a people are well-armed. A lot of them carry guns in ordinary life, in fact, at least one parent or teacher chaperoning field trips are required to carry weapons to protect the children from attack. Gun permits in the Israel are issued on a shall-issue basis, as in Pennsylvania and other states, and people travelling around Israel can even stop by the local armoury and sign out a weapon. They obviously believe that a well-armed populace is an essential component of a safe and free populace. So why do they insist that the Palestinians MUST be unarmed completely? The only thing that distinguishes a Palestinian from an Israeli is racial make-up. Either the right to self-defense is a human right and the Israelis have no right to make such a demand or we've all been lying to ourselves here, and then maybe, the Israelis should hand over their weapons in a good faith effort to start the process of global disarmenant. Yeah, I didn't think that was going to be an option. There is, of course, more than two options, but the one that I find most likely is disturbing to me. It's that the Israelis believe that owning a gun is a human right, but they're intent on prohibiting the Palestinians from exercising it. Any time a State is intent on denying some people their natural rights, I get mad.
- Hezbollah and Hamas, two (terrorist|political|freedom-fighting)organizations in Israel/Palestine/Lebanon made statements condemning the killing of Nick Berg as 'hurtful to Islam' (I'm paraphrasing here). I'm wondering if they, in the same statement, explained how a human bomb climbing on a bus and killing scores of innocent civilians, including children somehow IS in line with Islamic principles, given the beheading of one adult male from the US? Or does it somewhere say in the Koran 'you may kill the our enemies, unless they're from the United States.' If it does say that, I'd love to see a quotation.
Two Things I Heard Yesterday That I Don't Understand
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I'm going to tread lightly here, because this is a hot topic for me right now. I wish I knew more about the specifics, but it seems to me, the reason that Israelis are allowed to own guns and can carry them, are because they are citizens. I do not *think*, but don't know for sure, that Palestinians have the same class of citizenship as Israelis, if they even are citizens. And quite frankly, why bother legalizing the arming the Palestinians, when they get enough weapons from Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and the PLO as it is anyways. Why would the Israeli government legalize and sanction it, when they know its going to happen regardless? I personally don't blame them, after all, these are the same terrorists that blow up their buses, cafes, rail stations, anything to make their point and to send them to their beloved Allah, and take as many "infidels" with them as possible. So, to me, it makes sense to not legally "allow" them to have guns, because they would just be used against them. I've never been accused of being overly sympathetic to the Palestinian cause, though, especially not since those bastards were burning our flag in glee and celebrating on 9/11/01. I realize that there are a few hotheads over there that brainwash the people, but the people listen and believe what they're being told, so that makes them culpable, as well. I don't think the natural rights apply in this situation, because all you'd be doing is extending weapons to your enemy, and making it that much easier for them to bring you down. How many times since 1948 has Israel been invaded by neighboring Arab states? How many countless numbers of Jews, and Arabs, have been killed in this latest intifadah? I know the Israelis have committed some atrocities in retribution, but its on a far less scale, and it is just that, it is vengeance for the countless suicide bombings. That may not excuse it, but it helps to explain it.