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Thursday, December 29, 2011 | 12:15pm
Extremism is the Enemy
Malcolm rants for a few
Eight year old Naama Margolis is afraid to walk to school.
The second-grader has recently been subjected to groups of screaming men, who spit on her and call her a whore because they think she isn’t dressing modestly enough.
We’ve heard this story before, I know.
But this time it’s different. It isn’t a group of radical Muslims. It isn’t a people just far enough away from us to be strangers, and therefore, naturally suspicious.
It isn’t even happening in a country on our list of constant threats (Iran, Afghanistan, North Korea, Iran).
No, it’s happening right now on the streets of Israel. Here is the video.
To be fair, (and we must be fair), this story is causing outrage across Israel, and they are not afraid to make the comparison to similar radicals in Muslim nations.
But I’m concerned about two things: first, the fact that extremism is growing so strongly in what has traditionally been a democratic nation. And second: I’m concerned about the attempts by our media to minimize the size of the ultra-orthodox movement in Israel.
According to CNN, approximately 10% of Israel’s population are members of the ultra-orthodox sects. This is not a small number, despite the fact that CNN tried to use the phrase ‘only 10%’.
This and similar groups are claiming responsibility for the destruction of billboards deemed immodest, attempts to segregate schools, buses and public life by gender, as well as all of the other typical moves we see with any extremist groups.
Extremism is the enemy. At its root, extremism lives on the belief that someone has the right to dictate the life of someone else. It doesn’t matter if the extremist is Muslim, or Jewish, or Christian, or even atheist; it is the EXTREMEISM that is the root of the problem.
Already in the United States we are starting to fall victim to extremism. The anger tossed back and forth between the Democrats and the Republicans has gotten worse over the years. If it continues, it will only be a matter of time before this too falls into violence.
If left unchecked, the growing rise of extremism in Israel is going to create a nightmare situation for those who will be forced to defend actions which would otherwise not be tolerated in other nations.
FILED IN Editorials, News
Can someone, possibly Malcolm, explain something to me? Now this is kinda off topic, but besides being a nuclear super power, what is so special about Isreal? Why is it so important for the US to be its ally more than the oil rich, and extremely wealthy Arab nations, or the super-industrious Asian and Latin nations. Every time Isreal is mentioned on the news the media takes a stand as if the US needs to do all it can, up to and including getting on our knees and opening our mouths, to be a “friend” of Isreal. WHY? Why is Isreal so important. What important exports does Isreal serve besides Jewish people and Krav Maga? I need clarity.
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Now as for extremeism. Extremeism is good. Extremeism lets all know how bad things can be if certain aspects of society are left unchecked. As you will always have people on both sides of an arguement or ideology, you you always have people who see themselves as purist and think that what they do or believe should be delivered and distributed unadulterated from whatever source. That manner of thinking turns deadly or at least oppressive when implied and enforced within in a religon.
I think it’s a combination of things.
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Part of it is the feeling of collective guilt over what happened to the Jews in Europe during World War 2. It wasn’t practical to ask them to blend back in to a society that tried to systematically kill them, so support for a state of Israel was (I think), a consolation for what had happened as well as a way to separate them from the Europeans who, while defeated, were still not their friends.
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Second, and more important, I think the location of Israel made them important during the cold war. As many nations in the middle east sided with the Soviet Union, it was important that we had at least one ally in the region just in case we needed bases to land our planes.
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There is also the fact that historically, Israel was one of the few nations in the region with free elections.
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Psychologically, I think the evangelical Christians have supported Israel because Jesus and the Christian church founders were Jews, so there’s almost a paternal feeling toward Israel.
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You can also consider that the strength of the support in the United States (despite the relatively small numbers) is enough to carry an argument.
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For this last point, consider the recent story about the Islam in America show and the riff over Lowes dropping their ads. A small group of protesters were able to force Lowes hand because, as always, the squeaky wheel gets the oil.
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But politically, I think the power of the pro-Israel voting block is so strong that there isn’t a politician in the country who isn’t willing to kiss their ass in order to get their votes.
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But I hear what you’re saying, and I agree with you. The only nation I unconditionally support is The United States, so I often find it strange how far people will bend over backwards to defend Israel, or any other nation for that matter.
Oh, so it’s 70+ year old guilt, political bullshit, (false) sense of religion, and old washed out alliances. I see. But as Janet Jackson states, what have they done for us lately? Jewish people, Krav Maga, gefilte fish, latkes, and Maneschewitz wine, and that’s about IT.
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I support any relationship where there is an even reciprication of goods and services, or a outcry for humanitarian need. Isreal can stand on it’s own two feet, so to speak, and I think it needs to.
Wow, I agree with Malcolm. The US and Britain should have absorbed the European Jews much like we did with Vietnamese after the Vietnam war. Putting them in Palestine and creating an Israeli state when there was non and making the current population subservient to them is crazy. And the fact of even mentioning it is considered Anti-Semitic. But that is a different discussion altogether.
The Orthodox Jews have always been there and have had a big influence over there since its creation. It is horrible what happened to that little girl just like it was horrible what happened on 911, Oklahoma city bombing, cross burnings and we can go on and on. But what I like is what has happened here and happening over there is that folks are speaking against it. And are protesting to pull everything back to the center .
lol… don’t worry. We have Iowa in 4 days, so there will be plenty of time for you to disagree with me.
I agree that we need to let Israel fend for themselves and stop backing them up for things that they are doing wrong. But the fact that are where we put them weakens the Arab states and allows us to keep the oil in check.
I have made my feelings about Israel perfectly clear in the past, so I won’t rehash them….
I think that Zionism is a lot more dangerous than the Ultra-Orthodox sects because many moderates are Zionists. Hell, the nation of Israel was founded based on Zionism (which is Racist, at least, should be illegal and is definitely Immoral)…If one polled most Israelis, I think most would say they believe in Zionism. This is why they are compelled to serve in their armed forces and they continue to support expansion into Palestinian lands…
Oh, and this story about this little girl is “the tail wagging the dog.” Israelis are the masters of disinformation/manipulation.
You may have noticed that I don’t call people from the state of Israel “Jews.” this is because: Revelation 2:9 “I know your afflictions and your poverty—yet you are rich! I know about the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.”
The people being talked to here are the Real Children of Israel, not the “Jews” that populate the area. God didn’t put them there. The US and Britain did. That is why they will never find peace there.
This is extremism:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2012/jan/02/ndaa-historic-assault-american-liberty?newsfeed=true
It started with the Patriot Act and now this. This is another step into what will become a Military State. People should’nt be surprised if it happens this year, this being the paranoid “end of the world year”. Pretty soon it will be the end of the free world in the country that was created by thieves, false ideolagy, arrogance and democracy. All these laws that are comming into light, have been planned a long time ago.
Thankfully I don’t think the men and women currently serving in our military would turn on US citizens, probably due to the constant training and drumming it home that they are “fighting for our freedom”. When polled many have said they would side with the people in a martial law type situation. Unfortunately, that is why for the last few decades local law enforcement has been trained to have a “guilty until proven innocent, shoot (or taze) first ask questions later” mentality and as we have seen many times local police have very little if any respect for the citizenry. You are correct though, freedom as we know it is about to come crashing down around us unless we act to change things.
In politics, there’s something called ‘taking out the trash day’; where you drop bad news at 7pm on a friday so no one will notice.
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The President signed the NDAA in private. In Hawaii. At 5pm on New Years Eve.