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Impeached by a patch
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| At one point during the recent Israel debates I came to realize to what an extent wars and conflicts are not over real, tangible issues, but immaterial things. Or things of little value other than that which is assigned to it in the minds of people.
East Jerusalem. Israel's annexation of it can hardly be understood in utilitarian terms. It was (and is today) packed full of Arabs, the annexation did not give the Jews any real living space. Given Israel's weak performance at integrating its Arabs, it hardly benefited Israel economically. It was hardly strategically beneficial, adding land to Israel at the site where it was widest already. It even made the border more tortuous, which is a defensive liability. It even endangered Israel's national integrity as a Jewish state by significantly boosting its non-Jewish population.
So, why did Israel do it? Well, it's ******* Jerusalem! The City of David, The Eternal and Undivided Capitol, etc, etc. And it's got the Temple Mount! The immaterial values of the place are immense to the Jews, making well up for the tangible cost of the annexation!
Another immaterial thing of value would be the recognition of Israel's right to exist. An acknowledgement of the sort would have little real significance, and wouldn't effectively make it harder for anyone to push Israel into the sea. But still, getting such recognition is still valued highly by Israel, even to the point that it did offer to return the 1967 conquests immediately afterwards in exchange for it.
If Jerusalem is the Holy Grail of the Jews, the Right of Return would be that of the Palestinians. It has been rooted deep in Palestinian consciousness for 60 years. Listening to Palestinian radicals makes it very clear that that indeed is the driving force behind the desire to destroy Israel.
However, opinion polls have consistently shown that the actual interest for a return is quite low. Poll results differ obviously, but all have shown a single-digit % interest in return.
So, what's amiss? Why is the right of return more important than actually returning? Well, for one, it's an inalienable human right, following directly from the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights. It is dictated by justice.
Until Camp David 2000 (when Barak offered a very limited right of return under family reunion arrangements, and an Israeli contribution to a compensation fund for the rest), no Israeli statesman or official position even acknowledged the theoretical validity of the Right of Return. How's that, to have your most fundamental human right denied you by hand-waving lawyery in the field of international law? Clearly you would feel an implication of subhuman status.
I can't help to think that addressing and acknowledging the Right of Return would go a long way towards resolving the conflict, even if it would not actually be granted.
To get back to the initial point about immaterial values, it seems largely to me like a significant contributor to the failure of the peace process is the cultural gap, the inability to identify and consider the immaterial values of the other side. |
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Edited: 5/22/2008 8:06 AM by Konrad von Richtmark |  |  |
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Udderly ridiculous
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| I'd agree that many wars aren't over material things. Ideology, supposed "control", ideology, ethnicity, etc, etc.
Communism, Democracy, Islamic Republic, Monarchies, etc, etc are forms of ideology that people have found excuses to go to war over.
What about "respect?" How many disagreements have turned people, nations, etc into enemies over some perceived disrespect? |
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"For in the final analysis, our most basic common link, is that we all inhabit this small planet, we all breathe the same air, we all cherish our children's futures, and we are all mortal. "
-- John F. Kennedy
"Watch your thoughts; they become words. Watch your words; they become actions. Watch your actions; they become habits. Watch your habits; they become character. Watch your character; it becomes your destiny."
--Patrick Overton
"It doesn't matter where you are as much as where you are headed."
--Mike Shanahan | | | |
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Udderly ridiculous
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| Ideology, supposed "control", ideology, ethnicity, etc, etc. Pardon my schizophrenia by replying to myself, but I just realized I said "ideology" twice.
Must be twice as important as the other ones.  |
--
"For in the final analysis, our most basic common link, is that we all inhabit this small planet, we all breathe the same air, we all cherish our children's futures, and we are all mortal. "
-- John F. Kennedy
"Watch your thoughts; they become words. Watch your words; they become actions. Watch your actions; they become habits. Watch your habits; they become character. Watch your character; it becomes your destiny."
--Patrick Overton
"It doesn't matter where you are as much as where you are headed."
--Mike Shanahan | | | |
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Impeached by a patch
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| | lame duck
 
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Designated Norwegian
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First Lieutenant
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| | lame duck
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