I find it supremely ironic that American Jews for the most part despise the one group that is most supportive of Israel, namely the Christian right or Evangelical movement. Of course, Evangelicals are not supporting Israel because they expect anything in return from their American Jewish countrymen. They are doing it because the Bible demands it, and because Jews and Christians have a far greater religious connection to the Holy Land than muslims. Still, it would be nice if Jews would cool it with their domestic jihad against the public display of Christian or even Jewish symbols. As for Israel being the cause of the great muslim discontent, I think this is confusing a symptom with the disease. If Israel vanished overnight, jihad and islamofascism would merely advance to the next target of opportunity. Those who doubt this need to read up on the history of islam. Those moorish temples in Spain were not built because the muslims of that day were annoyed by the existence of Israel. Like it or not, and the majority of liberals can't seem to grasp the concept, we are in a worldwide cultural and terrorist war with muslim aggression and islamofascism. Israel is the point of the spear, and we have no real choice but to do everything we can to ensure it triumphs over its enemies. Thankfully, the Bush administration does seem to understand this.
"Jews and Christians have a far greater religious connection to the Holy Land than muslims." Typical America Christian hubris...
Fair enough, I am not sure the word "fanaticism" correctly describes the Israeli state of mind but other than that I agree with everything you said. I am sorry and I really mean it.
I honestly and sincerely believe that this accusation is without merit but I have never researched this issue so if you have specific facts confirming that American Jews do indeed despise christians I would love to see those facts and would be more than happy to condemn this attitude.
Being a fanatic about something isn't necessarily bad. In many times, it's good. I'm a fanatic about my wife. I love her with every ounce of my soul. If someone kidnapped or hurt her there would be no boundary to contain my anger and reprisal. And rightly so! Israel is surrounded on all sides by countries that want or have wanted at one time to erase it's existance, and then it has it's back to the sea. If I were them, every time you threw a rock at me, I'd throw a boulder back too. If you told me "make sure it's a measured response!" I'd yell back "Kiss my ass!"
As one who grew up in a hi-rise condominium on Chicago's north side, who spent two decades trading on the floors of commodity exchanges and who has Jewish family, I've never witnessed, let alone experienced, an overt gesture of hostility from a Jew because of my religion. Jews and Catholics have been two peas in a political/social pod in big cities throughout the East and Mid-West. However I do detect a grain of truth in AAA's comments. You're a perfect example. Just recently you started a thread titled: "Republicans/Libertarians - dead wrong on education ", the crux of your point was a study showing public schools achieving higher test scores than specifically mentioned, "Christian" schools. Here's just a few of the "thoughts" you've had about the Israel defending Christian right:
LOL, did I actually say that? You know I am a commie so I am not really a good spokesman for the jewish community, besides I have absolutely no problem with Chrisitanity per se. I am not a big fan of excessive religiosity in any religion including Islam, Christianity and Judaism, it has never come up but I don't particularly like orthodox jews either although we probably will agree that excessive religiosity is much more dangerous in Islam than any other religion. Anyway my primary gripe is not with religions but with specific (and primarily economic) policies, show me a jew, a muslim, an agnostic or an atheist supporting free trade policies and I will dislike him/her just as much as I dislike Christian free traders.
That may be true. However, would you not agree that the one thing we have been missing since 9/11 is a widespread, organized and unequivocal condemnation of Islamic terrorism by this supposed peaceful majority? I know we haven't seen it here in Canada and I don't think anyone else has seen it. I have been waiting for a march up 5th Avenue by hundreds of thousands of Muslims who make it clear that they disavow completely the maniacs who are suiting up those 6 year old children in jihadist robes and posing them with AK-47s. There are what, 1.3 billion Muslims? Here in Canada, what we are hearing is not a condemnation of the extremists, but a condemnation of Canadians who are apparently tarring all Muslims with the same brush. How? By arresting 14 of them who ordered up 3 tons of ammonium nitrate.
I would be inclined to believe you are correct. Extreme Islam is worse than extreme Christianity or Judiasm. But I suspect this is due to the economic situation that most of the Islam world is in as well. You're not going to find a Jew with a nice mid town apartment and a hundred grand in the bank as willing to strap himself with an explosive belt as you would finding someone barely scraping a living in downtown Tikrit.