H -°, L 7° | Tomorrow: 
H 17°, L 4°Israel is a criminal nation. This statement has been a verifiable fact for many decades and continues to gain support with each new violation of international law Israel commits. Most recently, a U.N. report authored by Richard Goldstone — a South African judge and self-proclaimed Zionist — found that Israel (and Hamas) committed war crimes and (quite possibly) crimes against humanity earlier this year during the Israeli invasion of Gaza. During that war the Israeli army killed more than 1,300 Gazans including 437 under 18. They also wounded nearly 2,000 Gaza children. In contrast, the Israel Defense Forces suffered 13 causalities, nearly half victims of friendly fire. Tens of thousands of Palestinians were left homeless in the war’s aftermath. Even before the war, figures as diverse as President Jimmy Carter and Archbishop Desmond Tutu had compared the conditions of Palestinians in the occupied territories to those of blacks in South Africa under apartheid.
If this seems like the complete antithesis of a “campus issue,” you might be surprised how far reaching the conflict really is. Allow me to explain how this tragic story actually does affect students at this university and what genuine opportunities we have to seek justice for the Palestinians, safety for the Israelis and perhaps even the beginnings of a resolution to one of the most obdurate conflicts in modern history.
The war in Gaza was the most recent outburst of violence stemming from a persistent aggression that has been smoldering in its modern incarnation for more than 60 years. Of the many factors contributing to the seething animosity between the Israeli and Palestinian peoples, the pervasive occupation of Palestinian lands, accompanied by the wanton demolition of Palestinian homes and businesses by the Israel Defense Forces, have been central.
The rationale behind this destruction has been disputed since the practice began in 1945 under a British mandate. The IDF insists the demolition of Palestinian property is for the sole purpose of destroying militant hideouts and supply chains. However, in the occupied territories it has been argued that the true rationale behind the bulldozing of Palestinian homes is to disembowel Palestinian dignity and what little control they have left over their own lives. The latter point is certainly supported by the tragically farcical bulldozing notice given to residents, usually on the order of minutes to a half hour.
When Israel destroys hundreds of Palestinian homes as “punishment” and thousands more to root out “terrorists,” its motives are brought into serious doubt. Indeed, the IDF violates the Geneva Convention every time they destroy private property for purposes other than those “rendered absolutely necessary by military operations.”
So how does all this affect us and what can we do as students to send a message to Israel that we denounce their cruel and gratuitous mistreatment of Palestinians? Well, it all starts with money.
The UW system has an endowment that is invested in a long list of corporations. One of those corporations is Caterpillar — the manufacturer of the bulldozers that the IDF employs to tear down Palestinian homes — to the tune of nearly $400,000. The tuition dollars we give the university every year fund this system and makes us, in part, responsible for how and where this endowment is invested. A brief review of the facts makes it clear the UW System Board of Regents must follow historical precedent and withdraw endowment funds from companies doing business with perpetrators of war crimes.
In the past, the UW has divested from countries and companies that are complicit in violations of international law. These include South Africa, Burma and Sudan. In fact, the UW System Trust and Fund Policy states it will “seriously reconsider” investments in companies that “violate, frustrate or subvert” international law. Cases involving Caterpillar’s complicity in violations of international law as well as the legality of Israel’s demolition policy are currently being litigated; indisputably, compelling evidence of criminality exists. Other universities in the U.S. and Europe have already divested from Caterpillar for these very reasons.
Ultimately, divestment would send a message to Israel that one of the largest public universities in the United States views its conduct as abhorrent and in need of drastic change. That is the message Israel needs to hear not only from the federal government but also from the myriad institutions in this country that support the apartheid-like conditions Israel brandishes over the Palestinian people.
That message and the position it embodies is ironically the most pro-Israel stance one can take. Indeed, it is only by being critical of Israeli policy and endeavoring to change it that one can hope of achieving a peaceful resolution to the conflict. Any practical and serious observer knows that a two-state solution is the only just resolution for the Palestinians and the Israelis. Only after serious concessions are made can peace, safety and healthy livelihoods be made manifest in the region. That process begins by withdrawing unconditional support for Israel and instead holding them to tough, honest standards by which the Palestinians are treated humanely. That process can begin with UW students.
Sam Stevenson ([email protected]) is a graduate student in public health.
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You neglect to mention the rockets fired by Palestinian terrorists into sovereign Israeli territory. Hmm, Is it criminal for a nation to exercise self-defense when its citizens are at risk from indiscriminately fired explosives? There are too many biases and incorrect claims in your article to respond to your claims of Israeli aggression.
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I don’t want to get into the habit of responding to every attack that this article will attract but 11:48 brings up a reasonable point. Had I not run out of space I would have described the circumstances that gave impetus to the Israeli invasion of the Gaza strip. Essentially, in the decade prior to the war, Hamas militants had been firing rockets into southern Israel. Most of them did not find their targets, thankfully, but of the ones that did, 28 Israelis were slain and many more were injured. These numbers do not address the atmosphere of fear that the attacks engendered in the threatened communities. In spite of this tragic loss of life the response by Israeli army that led to the slaughter of many hundreds of innocent Palestinian civilians was unambiguously excessive. One of my goals with this op-ed was to generate a discussion about the Israeli treatment of Palestinians and to more broadly open a discourse about the conflict that is sober, objective and able to posit culpability on both sides. Unfortunately, Israel has largely been defended totally and without exception in this country all the while it is becoming clear that that myopic perspective has done more harm than good to the peace process. I do not claim that Hamas and other militant organizations are not at fault but to continually deny the severe war guilt that rests on Israeli shoulders is folly and will only stymie efforts to resolve the conflict. - Sam S
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Running out of space is a copout. In making an argument, you should at least be able to present the side of the Palestinians in a concise manner. It only takes a sentence or two, but you can continue using that as an excuse, a lame and poor one at that, but an excuse nonetheless.
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You’re an idiot.these Palestinians are nothing more than terrorists. Islamic facism is a huge problem to the world. These people cry about how oppressed they are, look at what Israel has scratched out of the desert through hard work: a thriving country. Hamas and other Islamo-facist nations are working to destroy Israel as well as the West every day because they hate freedom, hate to see women have RIGHTS. You disgust me for writing this.
Should we stop buying forks from Oneida because they contribute to fat people? Should we stop buying cars from Ford and Honda because they contribute to the deaths of many people? If Caterpillar doesn’t build bulldozers under contract, other heavy equipment companies will.
Caterpillar is one of the most successful American companies over the last 100 years and for you to criticize them for this is quite frankly un-American. I’m proud to say my family does a great deal of business with Caterpillar and will continue to do so in the future, whether they’re used to bulldoze the homes of terrorists or not.
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While I disagree with the way the rhetoric of this article, I think commenter number three is the idiot here. At least make relevant arguments.
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the way the rhetoric was presented**
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Sam- If you’re so keen on “achieving a peaceful resolution to the conflict,” maybe you should consider divesting from your own government.
Since 1993, the U.S. has donated more than $2.2 billion in aid to the Palestinians of Gaza, including some $900 million in the past year after the Israeli operation. Noticed any notable improvements in the situation there? Read anything about how all that money’s been spent? Probably not, given the majority of it has been funneled to Hamas, to be used for arms and Qassam rockets then say… actual improvements for the needing Palestinians.http://www.usaid.gov/wbg/home.html
And if you’re so hell bent on acknowledging blame on both sides and on imposing liability on a corporation for the actions of its customers, maybe consider urging the UW to divest from Caterpillar simply because Palestinian terrorists have used their bulldozers to kill innocent Israelis in Jerusalem. I myself was almost a victim of one of these attacks back in March, while studying abroad at Hebrew University. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWUb2J4RKlc) Notice the Caterpillar logo at :20.
If you’re truly committed to peace, Sam, maybe it’s time to ditch you’re narrow-minded belief that only one side of the conflict bears any responsibility.
(Oh, and if you were worried about getting the Swine Flu any time soon, better not get the new vaccine, since it was largely developed by an Israeli research team. And you never know if those flu shots will also be given to those evil Israeli soldiers!) http://israelity.com/2009/04/26/its-flu-but-not-as-we-know-it/
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How about divesting the companies that make the rocket and bomb components that the Palis use to murder innocent women and children?
Israel leaving Gaza was supposed to be their goal but it appears the the Palis are serious about all the “kill all the Jews” stuff instead.
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I think we now have concrete evidence only of the lack of intelligence in Badgerland. Neither Caterpillar nor any other company is responsible for how their products are used. This has been proved time and again in firearm legislation and needs no further proof. The author’s ill-informed view, however, lacks any compelling proof except that perhaps he’s found that some other institutions have become more liberal in their view than UW and he wishes to catch up. Fortunately, we live in a free country where these views are welcome and, so long as they are harmless, can be enjoyed by all.
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I think most people want their efforts or investments to create the greatest impact or return the greatest investments. I doubt that UW has enough money invested in any one company to really make a substantial difference, but every dollar, every vote, every letter written hopefully makes some impact. I’m sure the author of the artical on Divesting of supposed Corporate bullies means well, but why not take on a larger tragedy or moral wrong and make a greater impact. Every year in the US, 1.5 million babies are aborted so that people don’t have to face their responsibilities, or they don’t want to be inconvienenced, or they are embarrassed to let people know the truth. Every human life is precious, but why not put your energy behind something that will really make a moral, just, impact? Those 1.5 million aborted babies weren’t firing rockets, or breeding Hamas hatred cells, or chanting Death to Israel.
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Is it half-way to St. Pancake’s Day already? Please feel free to order delicious, buttery flatstacks in joyous memory of the death of idiotarian Hamas-hugger Rachel Corrie who stupidly threw away her life so that free people may devour batter, butter and syrup without reservation. Free occupied Constantinople!
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mmmm… flatstacks
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This article is not well thought out on a number of grounds.As a nation we are imminently aware of the blame both sides take because we do hear quite a bit about it from both perspectives. The glossing over of this fact that you speak of is because we have political and social interests in the Israeli state. Therefore while the U.S. internationally wants a two agreement to end the mutual aggression and illegal attacks, we are ultimately on the side of the Israelis. More importantly though, in what world does investing in Caterpillar have anything to do with terrorism. Several millions of dollars worth of investment (if that) in Caterpillar does not mean the UW supports any of this atrocities. Its analogous to being a gun salesmen means you support killing people, except your argument is even less plausible because Caterpillar sells heavy machinery. Wouldn’t divesting from Caterpillar also mean the UW doesn’t support helping third world countries get homes, because I’m sure Caterpillar is used there. Overall I just don’t like the accusatory tone directed at the reader for being complicit in something we already knew about. Its just pompous to address the audience the way you did as if you were bringing earth shattering news to our attention because Caterpillar support terrorism. DUMB
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Not only a divestment from Caterpillar but a complete boycott of all things Israeli is needed to help bring an end to the apartheid state that it obviously is. It worked to change apartheid South Africa; it will work with apartheid Israel.
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What about Saudi Arabia and the apartheid state that it obviously is?
Try being a Jew there, or a Christian, or a woman for that matter. Fine life if you like being a third-class person or a virtual slave.
PS. South Africa is sure a fine place to live now, ain’t it?
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How about truly divesting from the profits of Crimes Against Humanity: Return the UW campus to the Native Americans. Stop prolonging your enjoying the fruits of ethnic cleansing and genocide. And while you’re at it Mr Stevenson, return to whatever place your family came from in Europe - or at least pay rent for your home, to the true owners of the land Madison is built on.
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Sam, if you want to see peace in the Middle East, there are three things that need to happen:
End our dependency on foreign oil. Terrorists get their money from oil-producing countries that want Israel and all Jews dead. They fluctuate the price of a barrel of oil every so often just to piss us off.
Stop selling arms to Arab countries. After the Iran-Iraq War back in the 80’s, most Arab countries no longer have the stomach for war against each other and instead just brag about how someday they’re going to gang up on Israel.
Let the Arab countries take in the Palestinians. It’s their turn to babysit the bastards.
But no, Sam, I guess you and all your anti-Jewish liberal friends just can’t go a day without bashing something. Fine, the rest of us Americans who actually have a clue will be there to kick your ass the next time you get in a Jewish person’s face and hassle him about something going on halfway around the world, something he/she has nothing personal to do with. And no, we do not believe that someone as twisted as you has any Jewish friends who agree with you. It’s doubtful that you have any friends at all, asshole.
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Actually if the Arabs would just stop trying to kill Jews there could be peace in the Middle East.
If the Arabs had no weapons there would be peace.
If the Jews had no weapons they would all be killed.
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Mr. Stevenson, If you think it’s criminal for Holocaust survivors to re-establish a nation whose ancestors were exiled from it for 2,000 years and have to continuously fight for their survival, then how can you call yourself a tolerant person? You’re a neo-Nazi jerk! Everyone knows the truth about what’s really happening over there. You, however, would rather soak up every bit of BS that comes out of the Hamas rumor mill. Go back to pre-school and start over!
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Does the Badger Herald have anything better to print than this hatemongering crap?! Seriously, do we need to be bombarded day after day with some left-wing BS about Israel? I hope Israel just pounds the shit out of its enemies once and for all. Also, I now hate Muslims with a passion. I’m not kidding! Muslims are one cancerous bunch who have no business being outside their own pathetic little countries. Who needs the bastards?!
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It’s always been paradoxical to me that there are so many Jews on this campus but there is so much anti-Israeli sentiment
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Query: Why do legitimate attacks on Israeli foreign policy inevitably devolve into charges of anti-semitism and neo-Nazi apology?
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What “legitimate attacks”? These refried Hamas-inspired slanders are demonstrably illegitimate.
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You know, I read once how hate groups always try to recruit the least-educated, socially detached kids the can find. They are easy targets who will go along with anything just to belong. The same could easily be said of most liberals nowadays. Just find some lonely freshman and pump their tiny little brains full of bullshit and they’ll follow you off a cliff. Honestly, I don’t really see that much difference between left-wingers and right-wingers. They both like to blow shit up, brainwash other people’s kids and they all hate the Jews. The world is a cruel place, I pray for its timely demise.
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This is a well-written piece that I hope puts pressure on your university to do what’s right and pull all support for anything that contributes to Israel. Israel is an illegal, terrorist state that is practicing genocide against not only Palestinian Christians and Muslims, but Arab-Jews as well. I personally boycott all Israeli products that I can, and encourage you to do the same. Zionists have no morals, have no compassion and will be the death of the Jewish people. Mark my words. Thank GOD many Jews are waking up and fighting for justice alongside the Palestinians and others in the world community. Hopefully THAT movement will take flight. Sam, you keep up the good work. It is the voices here against you that are the misinformed and morally corrupt. Seek out the interviews with Noam Chomsky if you need to hear a refreshing perspective from a Jew who knows what he is speaking about. Also read Avi Shlaim http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avi_Shlaim, Penny Rosenwasser�s �Voices from a Promised Land: Palestinian and Israeli Peace Activists Speak Their Hearts�� there are a lot of other Jewish voices of morality and reason. Remember, No Justice, No Peace — free Palestine! (and with a free Palestine, comes a free Jewish people).
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Why doesn’t Israel just keep expanding and killing all the Muslims and destroy Islamic countries that hate it? Because they aren’t the heartless people you describe them as.
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Return Muslim occupied Greek Constantinople and the sacred Hagia Sophia (Christendom’s 2nd holiest cathedral)… then we can talk about that tiny strip of Judea (land of the Jews) you’re obsessed over. http://media0.terrorismawareness.org/files/MPAC.swf
/Gaza delenda est
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The basic flaw of the Goldstone report is that, without a scintilla of evidence, the biased commissioners concluded that the Israeli military action in Gaza was motivated not so much by the defense of its citizens but rather by desire to punish Palestinian civilians. Based on that unproven, untrue and biased conclusion, the commission was then able to ignore massive evidence, much of it self-proving and easily available on the internet, that the Israeli army did everything it could to reduce civilians casualties, while engaged in a military action designed to prevent the murder of its own civilians.
Only a fool or a knave could ignore this massive evidence of Israeli efforts to comply with international humanitarian law. Only a fool or a knave would fail to see that Israel has done more to reduce civilian casualties that virtually any other country fighting an equally comparable war. Only a fool or a knave would allow his name to be attached to such a deeply flawed report. Richard Goldstone is not a fool.
The Goldstone report should be rejected on its demerits. The added fact that it was authored by a self-aggrandizing Jew�selected precisely because he is a Jew with aspirations to be honored by the international community�should diminish, rather than increase, its credibility.
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This is the most biased and flawed argument I have ever seen. The author is a disgrace to the UW.
Mr Stevenson, if Canada started sending missles over to the UW campus, how long do you think it would take for the UW to demand a military response? One hour, maybe two? Isreal waiting 8 years, sustained over 10,000 missles attacks from Gaza before they struck back in self defense of children and civilians. Is this not a reasonable timeframe for you? Are Israeli students not entitled to self defense as the UW students would be? Where was the UN Human Rights Council then? Why was there not one single UN resolution passed denouncing the Palistinian rocket fire during that time?
The world is whole new place when you look at historical facts. I suggest you do this next time you write an article. Otherwise you come off as very ignorant.
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This article is absurd at best, dangerlously biased at worst. One needed to look no further than the chants shouted at rally’s for the different sides to see who really wants peace…
Pro-Palestinian rally chant: “Death to Israel! Death to America”
Pro-Israeli rally chant: “We want peace! Peace now!”
The biases and flaws in this article are too many to even point out.
If Israel just want to destroy homes and kill Arabs, how come they have been able to make peace with Egypt and Jordan?
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“How about truly divesting from the profits of Crimes Against Humanity: Return the UW campus to the Native Americans. Stop prolonging your enjoying the fruits of ethnic cleansing and genocide. And while you�re at it Mr Stevenson, return to whatever place your family came from in Europe - or at least pay rent for your home, to the true owners of the land Madison is built on.”
Exactly! It’s okay if you enjoy the fruits of a country built off of enslaving African-Americans and displacing and killing Native Americans, but you somehow use false equivalence to say Israel is doing the same thing when they’re clearly not, as they have historical roots to the land that date back thousands of years and moved to the country as a safe-haven after being slaughtered 6 million strong in the Holocaust. For anyone to call this a “terrorist” state is hateful and deceitful, to say the least, and is not looking at the situation at all objectively.
But this country truly did justify the killing and enslaving of scores of individuals. You live here and I don’t see you saying that you should move out of what is truly an imperialistic country. This is just a horrible article on so many levels, Sam. You deserve all the criticism you are receiving and then some. You bring up some legitimate issues, but the way you conveyed them through spewing, hateful rhetoric is a disgrace to this campus, a campus that is easily manipulated by bullshit like this. People will probably read this and just accept this as the truth. Today is a bad day on this campus and the Badger Herald also should truly be ashamed of itself for letting such a hateful inaccurate article like this run.
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“This is a well-written piece that I hope puts pressure on your university to do what�s right and pull all support for anything that contributes to Israel.”
TRANSLATION: “This is a we-written propaganda piece that is sure to brainwash a few lost souls looking for a lost cause. I hope it puts pressure on the intelligent, rational thinkers to finally ostracize the left-wing shitheads and the Islamic extremists they shill for. Hopefully, anti-Islamic sentiment will reach an all-time high and we won’t see any more of them in this country. As for the hippies who don’t have anything better to do, let ‘em flip hamburgers for a living, see how they like it.
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Liberals suck and so does their muslim-sympathizing socialist president. I’m not paying my federal income taxes next year. I’m paying it to Christian charities. Long live Israel and the USA. All others get the hell out!
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Sam seems to be naive to the extreme. The United States cannot simply withdraw all support of Israel. Israel is a crucial buffer to true criminals against humanity such as Iran. Do you think it will be a United States flagged aircraft that destroys Iran’s nuclear facilities? No. Those warplanes will feature the Star of David. We must support Israel because that is in our national interest. That is the way the world works. There is no sin in pursuing what’s best for yourself NOT ‘innocent’ Palestinians.
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Your position is incomprehensible.
You demand the UW divest from Caterpillar because some of their vehicles are used by Israel? How many of those same vehicles are used to reconstruct Israeli or Palestinian structures?
There is a significant difference between making a tool (excavation equipment) and deciding how its used. If you want to comment about Gaza, go ahead. If you want to spew about Caterpillar’s market performance, that’s your right. There is, however, no relation between the two.
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Hey Sam, you realize that Caterpillar is an American company. Thousands of Americans will be thrown out of work. Why should we do that just for you? Does that also mean we should boycott carmakers whose cars are used by suicide bombers to blow themselves up? What the hell do the manufacturers have to do with anything? Jackass!
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From www.jpost.com:
A new kind of portable electrochemical battery that can produce thousands of hours of power - and soon replace the expensive regular or rechargeable batteries in hearing aids and sensors and eventually in cellphones, laptop computers and even electric cars - has been developed at Haifa’s Technion-Israel Institute of Technology.
The unique battery is based on silicon as a fuel that reverts to its original sand. The battery can also be left on the shelf for years and inserted into a device to provide immediate power.
It was developed over the last two-and-a-half years by Prof. Yair Ein-Eli of the Technion’s materials engineering department, with collaboration by Prof. Digby Macdonald of Pennsylvania State University in the US and Prof. Rika Hagiwara of Kyoto University in Japan.
So Sam, do you still want a full, comprehensive boycott of Israel? Just think about what we’d be missing out on.
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So, you going to write an article calling for Spain to return Al-Andalus to the Caliphate next?
I know that the Muslims think any land they ever conquer makes it their forever but that doesn’t mean the USA has to support their blood lust for the Land of the Jews.
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Don’t worry, history will judge Israel and the mouth-breathers who defend it, reflexively, without merit.
“I know that the Muslims think any land they ever conquer makes it their forever but that doesn�t mean the USA has to support their blood lust for the Land of the Jews.”
I am sure the jackasses posting here are familiar with the Irgun, or how the Israelites you so love poisoned the wells of Palestinian villages after the British Mandate.
Isn’t history fun? Maybe instead of attacking the author, you should get educated - would do you a world of good.
Who am I kidding? Go back to Little Green Footballs and you can all wax poetic on Islamo-facism (a oxymoron if ever there was one) and why Persians are evil.
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11:49am I cannot tell if you are joking, stupid, or just that brainwashed? You are really going to bring up something about the Irgun, a resistance organization from the 1930’s? Where is your information coming from? Where is the evidence? Who brainwashed you with this information? What a surprise that you bring up some made up thing that the Jewish resistance in the 1930’s did but in modern “reality” Hamas and Hizbullah rain rockets down for the soul purpose of killing innocent civilians and when they use money to build rockets, guns, and bunkers instead of using the money, gas, and materials that ISRAEL provides to them to make a prosperous and flourishing society and land. Oh yeah its Jews being killed.. who cares
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successful troll is successful.
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On Nov. 4th, 2008, the day Obama was elected to the US Presidency, Israel, in an unprovoked action, launched an incusion into Gaza, killing six palestinians. This day was chosen by the vile Zionists specifically because it was a day in which they knew Americans would be distracted. That is, this incursion was launched with the specific intent of provoking a response from Hamas on a slower news day. Thus when Hamas was able to scrape up enough rocks and gunpowder to make the feeblest pretense of fighting back, the Israeli propaganda machine in the US went into overdrive, controling the details of the story and establishing the starting point of this conflict as Dec. 19th. This in an attempt to justify the brutal, and premeditated, act of ethnic cleansing commited against the Palestinians last Christmas. Reading above, I see this same propaganda machine going to work against UW.