Most of the US liberal outlets have been moving closer to pro-Palestinian sympathies, at least before September 11th.
Well, I guess we are both watching much the same media and coming to very different conclusions. But let's see what comes to mind.
CNN daily news regularly reports events in that area as if Israel was the only effected turf. Here I'm not talking about time given to spokesfolk but simple news reporting. There are, of course, as always a few events which run counter to that but the general run of things is what I have in mind.
I've grown disaffected from the Lehrer report with some rare exceptions so I can't say there. Usually they are more balanced but the general run of their commentators are afraid to say anything controversial. Too many ex-govt or govt types. And the genuine American left simply never appears. The farthest left they go is the Minnesota senator whose name escapes me right now, and he gets on only very rarely, or at least I see him quite rarely. Say, as compared to the right.
I read the NYT regularly and it's definitely the case with them. Though they, at least recently, tend to put news from that area on the second or third page whatever the spin put on it.
Excuse me, I would feel a little more confidence in Arab participation in such an experient if they had ever shown an interest in running it in any of their own countries.
Ah, my guess is that the category "Arab" might be one at which we might reach some disagreement. It's an interesting term since it ignores national histories and material circumstances. I don't see anything in the history of the Palestinians, to be a bit more concrete, that suggests they are "incapable of democratic government." I assume you really didn't mean that phrase because it's mine. Just my interpretation of the sentiment that floats around some time. I admit that Arafat is not a shining example of a democrat (you really should read Said on Arafat) but if I were to spend a bit of time digging around I don't doubt I could come with examples of countries that went to democratic forms with little history of them.
Seriously, the whole point of Zionism was that the promise of European enlightenment . . .
Very interesting paragraph. I have no serious knowledge of Zionism so I can do little more than listen when you hit these notes. But I do have convictions about the relative advantages of a secular state as opposed to a religious one. The first wins hands down. And I would guess there are moments in the Israeli/Palestine past when such might have been possible. But, I genuinely don't know.
As to the Palestinians always "ruled by thugs and terrorists," I'll just skip over that.
John |
