Manifest Destiny and Israel

[bemildred]

Longish, you can't just read the excerpt.

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The Israeli version of "Manifest Destiny" is Moshe Dayan's slogan "We are fated". Dayan, a typical representative of the second generation, made two important speeches in his life. The first and better known was delivered in 1956 at the grave of Roy Rutenberg of Nahal Oz, a kibbutz facing Gaza: "Before their very eyes we turn into our homestead the land and villages in which they and their forefathers have lived This is the fate of our generation, the choice of our life - to be prepared and armed, strong and tough - or otherwise, the sword will slip from our fist, and our life will be snuffed out."

He did not mean only his own generation. The second, lesser known speech is more important. It was delivered in August 1968, after the occupation of the Golan Heights, before a rally of young Kibbutzniks. When I asked him about it in the Knesset, he inserted the entire speech into the Knesset record, a very unusual procedure in our parliament.

This is what he told the youth: "We are fated to live in a permanent state of fighting against the Arabs For the hundred years of the Return to Zion we are working for two things: the building of the land and the building of the people That is a process of expansion, of more Jews and more settlements That is a process that has not reached the end. We were born here and found our parents, who had come here before us It is not your duty to reach the end. Your duty is to add your layer to expand the settlement to the best of your ability, during your lifetime ... (and) not to say: this is the end, up to here, we have finished."

Dayan, who was well versed in the ancient texts, probably had in mind the phrase in the Chapter of the Fathers (a part of the Mishnah, which was finished 1800 years ago and formed the basis of the Talmud): "It is not up to you to finish the work, and you are not free to stop doing it."

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article19747.htm

[aquart]

1. And...?

How do you think the Arabs (you know, people from Arabia) wound up in Palestine? Took a wrong turn on the way to Mecca?

[bemildred]

2. So you would approve if they decided to take it back? nt

[ProgressiveMuslim]

3. Let's interrupt this program with a few facts.

The Arabs of Palestine are indigenous. They have been a continuous presence on the land.
During the time of Mohammad and beyond, when Arabs from Arabia swept the ME and North Africa, many Christians and pagans converted to Islam. Muslims in Palestine aren't "from" Arabia.

Many, many families in Palestine can trace their roots back for thousands of years living on that same land. Some Christian families can trace their Christian roots to the time of Christ.

I think you're confusing the indigenous Arab popuation with the Jewish settlers who arrived en masse from Europe.

[Phx_Dem]

5. Why do you always avoid the whole truth?

You know, like the fact that for thousands of years close to a million INDIGENOUS jews used to live in the levant.

[ProgressiveMuslim]

6. Small pockets remained in Palestine after the 66 AD. nt

[ProgressiveMuslim]

7. I think you've really hit something.

Romans sent first-century Palestinian Jews into exile. I'm sorry they didn't fight to stay. Can you seriously begrudge the Palestinians their struggle to stay on their land and preserve their culture? Doesn't part of you admire them for not quitting and giving up?

[azurnoir]

8. On avoidng the truth

There have been now a number of both mitochondrial and Y chromosome studies showing little difference between Jews, Palestinians, and in a few studies Syrians. How could this be, easy the indigenous Jews you mention later became thanks to the crusades both Muslim's and likely at times Christians, depending on who won last, this seems so obvious, but yet......


http://uanews.org/node/3082

http://www.khazaria.com/genetics/abstracts-jews.html

http://www.liebertonline.com/doi/abs/10.1089/109065703321560976

It is sort of the story of Cain and Abel playing out on a larger scale

[Phx_Dem]

9. The research in this area

so far shows that ashkenazi jews are most closely related to the Kurds as opposed to their eastern-european neighbors--something that some researchers found surprising.

[Vegasaurus]

4. The level of anti-semitism

in the comments section of this article is astounding, disgusting and outrageous.