Thread: 871: 4"Stud
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Old 01-07-2009, 05:36 AM   #51 (permalink)
DaveNJ
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mattman View Post
A good argument .... which is why we have the mess in this area. Israel and Palestine need to both have a recognised place to exist, limited by recognised borders such as those in previous resolutions.

History has given different people "residential rights" to various areas over the years. In some cases (like the British Empire) it was temporary, and the residents regained control. In others it is transient ... and previous residents are permanently displaced. In these cases, claiming a 2000+ year-old God-given right of return is quite a difficult story to defend. But most of the Western countries played a part in this bugger's muddle. Just as most of the Middle East has practiced religion-based residency rules as you point out.

I would personally like to visit the birthplace of Jesus, which logically (if we apply Biblical land rights) should be "owned" by the Christians. Instead it is treated by irreverence by both Muslims and Jews alike, and Christian pilgrims can be caught in the crossfire, literally.

The point about Russian jews (and some of them were not Jewish, but simply migrants from Russia claiming jewish faith to get a new life) was the irony of an immigrant seeking a higher lifestyle displacing a resident to a concentration camp (refugee camp). The further irony of Russia is that Israel was financing, or at least assisting Georgia in its tussle with Russia recently .... hard to choose friends these days, isn't it.
1. Show me the passage in the New Testament that lays claim to the land of Israel for Christianity. Jesus never makes claim to land, but rather the kingdom of heaven. He explicitly states his is not an earthly kingdom. Land theology really only belongs to two of the three Abrahamic faiths, and Islam appropriated a good degree of the idea from Judaism. Land theology only ever became important once Christians were powerful enough to conquer. You're confusing military power with scripture.

That said, even if the right is not given theologically why is a right of return for a people expelled 2000 years ago wrong? Is there a time limit for returning? If so, why can't Israel just stall until Palestinians lose all claim to their land?

2. Russian Jews immigrating to Israel didn't result in anyone getting SENT to Gaza. Displacement can occur in the West Bank, though.

As for Israel selling arms to Georgia, Georgia imported arms from many nations friendly with the US, Israel being one of those friends. Russian Jews weren't leaving Russia because Russia was such a great place to be a Jew. My ancestors are proof of that. You seem to think that all those Russian Jews make Israel have great ties with Russia. Not so. It's not like all those Jews left Russia because Russia was friendly with Israel, then Israel switched sides and backed Georgia.
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