You are correct to point out that Israel is singled out by the international news media, in films and by the U.N. for scorn and scrutiny. You can find many articles addressing this on the internet. Statistically it cannot be denied, although sadly there are many who are so emotionally charged by the issue they would probably deny even this basic fact.
To answer why it is that the United Nations is silent about other situations that cry out for international investigations (North Korea, Sudan, Russian bombing in Chechnya, US and British killing indeterminate numbers of civilians while targeting Al Qaeda and Taliban, Christians and Muslims massacring each other in Lebanon) is very hard. Surely it's not because what Israel does is worse than what other member nations do. Nor it is because Israel lacks self-criticism or mechanisms for internal investigation. And it's not because Israeli actions are unprovoked - indeed where it's civilians are regularly targeted, it has every moral justification to search those entering its boarders, restrict the flow of arms to enemies that have vowed to destroy it and seek out and destroy those who are actively planning and executing violence against its citizens.
I think the reason is that it is considered a flash point for a larger regional conflict - first because the US backed Israel while the USSR backed the Arab states, and later because the Arab states used it as an excuse to deflect criticism by their own people for the huge disparity of wealth and power in their own country. Currently it is part of a larger conflict between an Iranian dominated middle east and one that is more friendly to the West.
I imagine that outside the Arab world, countries in the far flung corners of the Earth go along with the constant UN focus on Israel as a way of expressing both anti-US sentiment, taken out on Israel by proxy, since many nations do not wish to oppose the US directly, and anti-colonial sentiment, to the extent that they view Israel as a by-product of British colonial power (which is not really accurate historically, but again, serves as a proxy).
All of this is just my opinion, take it or leave it.
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about_elly
13 years ago
rlippman-2, while I respect your right to have an opinion, I do not respect your right to have an opinion that is limited in scope to one perspective.
"You are correct to point out that Israel is singled out by the international news media, in film and by the U.N for scorn and scrutiny."
Are they really? What news sources and Hollywood films do you listen to and watch? No, seriously. I'd like to know. Given that the U.S. is in complete support of Israel (the President very recently announced that he has "Israel's back"), it is ridiculous to claim that American media would portray Israel as the aggressor.
"[Israel] has every moral justification to search those entering its borders, restrict the flow . . . and destroy those who are actively planning and executing violence against its citizens."
Rewind 100 years. Who was planning and executing violence against which citizens? Palestinian actions are REactions (in contrast to unprovoked actions) to the terror and violence that was continuously inflicted on them from the late 1800's onwards by the people who exiled them from their home.
All this is based on fact, take it or leave it.
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13 years ago
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about_elly
11 years ago
Check out the works of Israel's own "New Historians," such as Ilan Pappe's. He uses primary sources to document the Palestinian Nakba. Please don't just take my word for it.
Evidence aside, we can also resort to common sense--why would millions of people abruptly leave a place they and their ancestors have lived in for thousands of years?
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11 years ago
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yusef-ghanima
11 years ago
ethnic cleansing is no longer a theory, it's a fact confessed by the current israeli gang in charge (government) they want all plestinians "israelis" to leave to the "west bank" and gaza. they want the plaestinians to accept israel as a jewish state, this is the most nazi fascist racist statement in history, and no wonder it's coming from the most ancient nazi religion.
of course there is deir yassin massacre that was done by the jewish gangs that worked with hitler through the german embassy in turkey (as documented by israeli neo historians) to displace jews from europe. these gangs provided israel with its prime ministers like shamair and sharon.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deir_Yassin_massacre
the displaced palestinian are millions NOW, with their children and grandchildren more than 3.5 millions.
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11 years ago
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yusef-ghanima
11 years ago
you chose perfect timing to answer when the murder of infants is in gaza, let us read from the nazi jewish book, psalm 137,
8 Daughter Babylon, doomed to destruction,
happy is the one who repays you
according to what you have done to us.
9 Happy is the one who seizes your infants
and dashes them against the rocks.
don't antisemite me, i'm a proud real semite, you're nothing but turkish khazars or slavs or whatever, you are hardly semites.
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11 years ago
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yusef-ghanima
11 years ago
my people are defending themselves against evil came from beyond the sea, against a nuclear evil that's protected by the american veto in the united nations.
if i had a sacred book with psalm 137 in it, i would fock my self and shut up, but you won't.
conspiracy theories like other scientific historical theories can be true or false, you are a stupid piece of crap.
the israeli neo historians are not conspiracy theorists, and they said historical news about their own crappy people. i would give you link to their books if you are half human, but you are not.
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11 years ago
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yusef-ghanima
11 years ago
you are a liar and you started the insults. and he can't be human who defend crashing infants heads to the rock, more stupid are christians who tell you that the rock is jesus! but it's how manianc jews and christian are raised, no wonder the israeli soldier in the link i gave you said, i don't care if she's 13 or 3 yers old, i kill her, this is quote from the brutal times of 2014. i critisise horrible and disgusting things about muslims, i actually think they are sometimes more jewish than jews, i don't care, i attack all evil, including my people.
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11 years ago
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yusef-ghanima
11 years ago
how is this different than saying that jews are responsible for what germans did to them in the second world war, they betrayed germany in the first world war!! liar liar liar
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11 years ago
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yusef-ghanima
11 years ago
hamas is not responsible for jews killing palestinian infants, you sound like ben laden, but he had a point, you don't. ben laden said that americans are reponsible for american killed in 9/11, he just wanted to attack american economy by the world trade center, but the americans used civilians as human sheilds, it's collateral damage, the americans terrorist officials are hiding behind civilians. i'm sure he was sarcastic.
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