Hide yo' wife, hide yo' kids - they kidnappin' errebody!

[Indy Texas]

So far, the body count is Hamas: 3, Israel: 1.

Who's going to mysteriously disappear next? And should we get Liam Neeson on the case?

[Indy Texas]

Another 30 today....looks like it's about time for Israel to "cut the grass" again.


...but of course most of you don't want to hear that. (hence the crickets)  When Israel responds though....oh you'll care then.

...30 people kidnapped? What are you talking about?

[Indy Texas]

The Forward's J.J. Goldberg has an excellent article on how this whole mess is at least partly Netanyahu's fault.

http://forward.com/articles/201764/how-politics-and-lies-triggered-an-unintended-war/

The article focuses on how 1) The government implemented a gag order on the news of the deaths of the three teens (which they learned of the day after the abduction), and 2) immediately denouncing this as a Hamas operation and a result of Hamas-Fatah unity. In fact, the Hamas in Hebron is generally independent from Hamas in Gaza. Both of these dangerously inflamed right wing sentiment, so that when the bodies were finally found, Netanyahu found himself between a rock and a hard place with respect to his Jewish Home ministers.

There are also rumors abound that the Israeli authorities on some level may have deliberately forsaken an opportunity to rescue the victims because having them end up dead would provide an excuse to demolish some Palestinian houses while having them alive and held hostage would possibly have ended in a prisoner swap they really didn't want to do. Supposedly one of the teens called the police and managed to stay on the phone long enough to trace the call, but whatever police department it was did not attempt to pursue their location and didn't take any further action until their parents actually reported them missing.

[Indy Texas]

AIPAC isn't that bad. They are more moderate than the Canada's foreign affairs minister, which more or less said than wanting a cease-fire is supporting terrorists. (Not than it's surprising, there a common saying than he is "Israel First, Canada Second", which is wierd considering he has no link with Israel.)

And besides, the Christian Zionists are just as big if not a bigger influence in US support for Israel, for their own purposes.

AIPAC is mainly Jews supporting Israel, and the focus on it - especially any talks of how it should be "cracked down on" makes me uneasy.

So because it is mainly "Jews supporting Israel" it should be immune from criticism?

They certainly don't deserve more scrutiny or "Crackdown" than any other advocacy group in the United States. The overemphasis as them as "power brokers" while the Christian zionists get less attention is a bit disturbing.

I agree that Christian Zionists don't get enough attention. I also think Jewish Zionists need to realize that people who support Israel for particularly nasty reasons (i.e. anti-Islamism, anti-Arabism, a desire to foment Holy War in the Middle East, a desire for the Jewish people to face End Times destruction and forced acceptance of Christ) aren't really their friends.

[Indy Texas]

AIPAC isn't that bad. They are more moderate than the Canada's foreign affairs minister, which more or less said than wanting a cease-fire is supporting terrorists. (Not than it's surprising, there a common saying than he is "Israel First, Canada Second", which is wierd considering he has no link with Israel.)

And besides, the Christian Zionists are just as big if not a bigger influence in US support for Israel, for their own purposes.

AIPAC is mainly Jews supporting Israel, and the focus on it - especially any talks of how it should be "cracked down on" makes me uneasy.

So because it is mainly "Jews supporting Israel" it should be immune from criticism?

They certainly don't deserve more scrutiny or "Crackdown" than any other advocacy group in the United States. The overemphasis as them as "power brokers" while the Christian zionists get less attention is a bit disturbing.

I agree that Christian Zionists don't get enough attention. I also think Jewish Zionists need to realize that people who support Israel for particularly nasty reasons (i.e. anti-Islamism, anti-Arabism, a desire to foment Holy War in the Middle East, a desire for the Jewish people to face End Times destruction and forced acceptance of Christ) aren't really their friends.

Agreed. Any port in the storm and all that is convenient, but some of these people are our enemies as much as the radical left can be.

This is a dilemma for the other side too. I abhor anti-Semitism for the same reason I abhor any blanket hatred for a religious or ethnic group; so the support that occasionally bubbles up from paleoconservatives for the Palestinian cause based on whacky fears of internationalist Jewish bankers or whatever is support I'd just as soon do without. The same applies to the regressive Gulf Arab monarchies and Islamic states like Iran and Pakistan that have never been wronged by Israel but use them as a bogeyman for their own shortcomings and care nothing about the Palestinian people apart from using them as a bloody shirt to "bait the rubes" in Muslim society.