Tibetans rally in Tel Aviv in memory of brethren killed in blood riots

[oberliner]

Dozens of Tibetans rallied in Tel Aviv on Saturday in support of their brethren back in the homeland, who have been clashing with Tibet's security forces over the past few days.

The protestors said a silent prayer in memory of the 100 people who were reportedly killed during the weekend riots.

Ran Natanzon, of the Israeli Friends of the Tibetan People association (Yatib), told Ynet that most of those attending the Tel Aviv rally were children of Tibetans living in exile – mainly in India – who came to Israel as part of an agriculture training program; others were Tibetans living in Israel.

Lubsan Dundup, whose parents are exiled Tibetans living in India, told Ynet that "Tibetan exiles dream of returning to their homeland, just as the Jews did when they were in exile.

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3519462,00.html

[subsuelo]

1. Ah, yes. Right of Return to their homeland.

The right that everyone in the world seems to have, except in the case of Palestinians.

Palestinians, of course, can have no Right of Return for them. The reason is simple: Because they are Palestinians. On that basis alone, they are denied that right.

[Vegasaurus]

2. Are you kidding?

I was waiting for the sarcasm icon.

So "everyone in the world has right of return", except for the poor, pathetic Palestinians?

Do you READ? Do you know HISTORY? Are you aware of the millions and millions of people who have been displaced by war or internal strife or potential genocaide?

Currently there are close to 15 million people who are refugees in the world, and a good percentage of them (maybe most of them) cannot return to their homes, because their homes have been destroyed, repossessed, or it is too dangerous to enter their former countries, or they are no longer welcome.

It is disingenuous, at best, to pretend that the Palestinians are the only people who can't return to their homelands.

No matter what you feel about the plight of the Palestinians, they have it much better than most of the refugees, who cannot rely on nonstop global aid.

[subsuelo]

3. Are you? My point is obvious

You yourself are now making some kind of cry for all those in the world who have had their homes destroyed and been dispossessed of their homes and their land.

But do you make such a cry for the Palestinians? Do I hear you calling for Palestinian Right of Return to their homeland?

That's the point.


Edited to add:

You know what, let's hear you and anyone else here make the argument that Palestinians do have a Right to Return to their homes. To land they were dispossessed of by the Israeli side.

I argue they do have that right, as I would argue that any people's wrongly dispossessed have that right. There is no hypocrisy here.

The hypocrisy is when people call on everyone else's right of return, but then deny that same right of the Palestinians. That was the point being made in my first comment.

So let's hear it Vegasaurus. Do Palestinians have a Right of Return to their homeland?

[Vegasaurus]

4. Those who left originally

or them and all their millions of descendants?

Some of the prior (maybe), but not the latter.

No other refugee group in history has asked to have right of return for descendants. It is ridiculous.

So personally, no, I don't believe there should be unlimited right of return for the Palestinians, mainly because the one safe sanctuary for Jews in the world would be gone, replaced, most likely, by another anti-semitic Muslim state. You can understand why the Israelis would be opposed to that, can you not? No one is seeking their own suicide, at least not sane people.

Reparations should be made, just as they should to the equal number of Jews who lost their homes when they were expelled from Arab countries in 1948. You do care about their reparations, if not their right of return, do you not?

[LeftishBrit]

6. My view is that the actual refugees have the right of return..

but descendents don't. After all, NO country that I know of gives all descendants of refugees the right of return. I wouldn't expect automatic right of return to Lithuania or Poland, even though my ancestors were refugees from those countries.

I do believe in compensation, however.

[subsuelo]

7. That makes you and Vegasaurus at odds with Olmert

I know he's stated that not one single refugee has any right to return whatsoever. I could be wrong but I believe that has also been the position of all previous Israeli PMs?

[LeftishBrit]

9. I don't know Olmert's views on this...

but in any case, I have never claimed to be a strong supporter of Olmert (I would probably vote for Meretz if I lived in Israel).

[Vegasaurus]

10. I'm not particularly at odds with this

since I favor reparations more than return. Return would open up way too many problems.

But I do believe any Jew in the world should be able to emigrate to Israel.

[Shaktimaan]

12. No, there has already been limited return by Palestinians.

In the years directly following the Nakba a small number (a few hundred, maybe a few thousand?) did in fact return to Israel. After a little while they tightened restrictions and only did returns to reunite families, I believe you had to apply.

Israel also offered a more extensive right of return for 100,000 refugees as part of a larger UN resettlement program in 1949 but the Arab governments and Israel could not agree to the terms.

[ProgressiveMuslim]

8. Do you believe any Jew in the world has the right to "return" to Israel?

[breakaleg]

11. How can one "return" to a place they've never been? I'm fascinated by this concept. nt

[Shaktimaan]

13. fascinated? really?

It's not really a concept, it's just a simple metaphor.

[ProgressiveMuslim]

14. Yet ironic that one would deny the son of a refugee entrance, yet any person

in the world whose mother is Jewish is ushered "back" even though the family may have absolutely zero roots there...

A metaphor, is it?

[Vegasaurus]

15. All those millions of "sons" destroy Israel as a safe haven for Jews

which after all, is the purpose of the country. It's called the Jewish homeland, so anyone with a Jewish mother is welcome, because there needs to be one country in the world where Jews are safe from persecution and prejudice.

850.000 Jews were all kicked out of their former homes in Arab countries, and are not ushered back. Do you agree that they should be allowed to return to their former homes?

[Shaktimaan]

16. Not really ironic.

There is no such thing as an actual right of return in the world. It is just a domestic policy in Israel, think of it as affirmative action for Jews. The Palestinians can have a right of return as well eventually. It'll be their state, they can run it however they want. If they choose to offer their right of return exclusively to Palestinians and not to any of the Jews who lived in the west bank prior to 1948 then that's their business.

To my knowledge no state has ever enacted an actual right of return, whereby any of the people who were living there at some point in the past get to move back into the exact town they originally left for whatever reason. Saudi Arabia is welcome to offer an Arab right of return if they wish, it's their country after all. But no one expects a mandatory right of return like you're suggesting. I mean, who gets that ever? Has anyone ever gotten that?

Who would even want that? It's not like many of the Palestinians living in EJ choose to become Israeli citizens. Why would the son of this refugee want to become an Israeli instead of being a Palestinian anyway?

[Vegasaurus]

18. The point is that they want right of return to what is currently Israel

which will then become greater Palestine (and either all Muslim or a clear Muslim majority). Part of the old "occupation of all of greater Palestine" rhetoric.

[hifalutin]

17. Doesn't Israel

invite all Jews to come to Israel?

[ProgressiveMuslim]

5. How uncomfortable for the gov't of Israel. Ouch! nt