tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6547653347296107692.post5523025102530665198..comments2024-01-09T12:59:32.666+01:00Comments on Narrative and Ontology: A blogger's view on the Gaza conflictPhil Sumpterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16491514886782881340noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6547653347296107692.post-75776847502275196362009-01-15T18:19:00.000+01:002009-01-15T18:19:00.000+01:00Concerning the article you link to, you may want t...Concerning the article you link to, you may want to check out this <A HREF="http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1054580.html" REL="nofollow">recent Ha'aret editorial</A>, which makes the following statement:<BR/><BR/>It is precisely the intense "debates between the extreme right and Arab parties that exemplify Israeli democracy and its ability to include such disparate factions under one roof."Phil Sumpterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16491514886782881340noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6547653347296107692.post-70077210706476868762009-01-15T18:08:00.001+01:002009-01-15T18:08:00.001+01:00Sorry, it wasn't a post, it was a long comment in ...Sorry, it wasn't a post, it was a long comment in the comment thread.Phil Sumpterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16491514886782881340noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6547653347296107692.post-63961148142175473592009-01-15T18:08:00.000+01:002009-01-15T18:08:00.000+01:00Hi Brian, thanks for your thoughts. I agree that t...Hi Brian, thanks for your thoughts. I agree that the Israeli's are not as innocent as they are sometimes made out to be. One of the issues I've been having is with the Shlaim article I linked to. Kevin has kindly responded to that with another well-written post <A HREF="http://narrativeandontology.blogspot.com/2009/01/hard-pill-to-swallow.html" REL="nofollow">here</A>.Phil Sumpterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16491514886782881340noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6547653347296107692.post-5125833156409089882009-01-14T06:31:00.000+01:002009-01-14T06:31:00.000+01:00Thanks for the compliment, Philip. I really do ap...Thanks for the compliment, Philip. I really do appreciate it.<BR/><BR/>Brian, it likely stands better as a comment in the original post, where it appears in response to particular things. It should be seen in its context.<BR/><BR/>There are other Arab parties represented in the Knesset. Did you know that there have even been Jewish parties that have been banned from running? That doesn't hit the news. It's a democracy in that the system works and it's certainly thriving, judging by the number of parties and by voter participation. That's an objective fact. But some groups put together parties to present extreme views that can be considered incitement to religious or racial violence, a very touchy subject in Israel, obviously. Since that's illegal, those parties can't run. They can change their platform and try again in the next election. But they won't end up shot dead in a Gaza gutter because they won't support Hamas.Kevin P. Edgecombhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16590490181739464401noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6547653347296107692.post-10212636038414255882009-01-13T18:41:00.000+01:002009-01-13T18:41:00.000+01:00I apologize if that last comment was a bit sharp a...I apologize if that last comment was a bit sharp and trollish. The post sounded too much like propaganda to me, and I reacted. Here's yet another reason to doubt the idea that Israel is a thriving democracy:<BR/><BR/><A HREF="http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1054867.html" REL="nofollow">Israel bans Arab parties from running in upcoming elections</A>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6547653347296107692.post-11447679976632572942009-01-13T16:10:00.000+01:002009-01-13T16:10:00.000+01:00Amid your recent posts, which have done so well to...Amid your recent posts, which have done so well to respect to <EM>complexity</EM> of the situation, this is like a whiff of something noxious. Hamas (who in this post <EM>replaced</EM> the Palestinian people themselves, who otherwise don't appear*) is evil, fanatical, driven by madness; Israel is peace-loving, big-hearted, self-sacrificial. If this were fiction, I would throw it away because of its stupid moralism--and indeed it is fiction. The beautiful, thriving, easy-going, even-tempered, self-sacrificial country KE describes exists only in his imagination.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com