Damn it

Two U.S. Navy SEALs who went missing off the coast of Somalia during a mission that seized Iranian-made weapons bound for Yemen's Houthi rebels were declared dead today https://t.co/p4JakAT7V5

— Axios (@axios) January 22, 2024

Horrible news.

Such men are the best we have.

Redbrickbear said:

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It's impossible to overstate how the US, under Biden and Blinken, has done more than any other country -- by far -- to justify, defend, finance, and enable the Israeli war in Gaza.

And while most pro-Israel governments have retreated, the US remains firmer than ever: https://t.co/6uGRI2fhYX

— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) January 9, 2024

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Is Blinken a dual citizen?

Why is someone with dual citizenship allowed in charge of our foreign policy?

Esp when he is clearly using his position to benefit his *real* country

J.R. said:

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historian said:

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FLBear5630 said:

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Redbrickbear said:

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FLBear5630 said:

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Redbrickbear said:

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FLBear5630 said:

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Realitybites said:

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whiterock said:

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.
Geez, talk about gifts. What the heck are the mullah's thinking attacking a Chinese client state?

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"The missile strikes were part of Iran's sweeping reprisals across Syria, Iraqi Kurdistan and Pakistan, designed to exact revenge for a suicide bombing mounted by Isis-K, the Afghan branch of Islamic State, that killed 85 Iranians in the south-eastern city of Kerman on 3 January. Iran claims that Israeli intelligence has been working with Isis-K."

Oh, and there's this.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/jun/03/us-isis-syria-iraq

"A revealing light on how we got here has now been shone by a recently declassified secret US intelligence report, written in August 2012, which uncannily predicts and effectively welcomes the prospect of a "Salafist principality" in eastern Syria and an al-Qaida-controlled Islamic state in Syria and Iraq. In stark contrast to western claims at the time, the Defense Intelligence Agency document identifies al-Qaida in Iraq (which became Isis) and fellow Salafists as the "major forces driving the insurgency in Syria" and states that "western countries, the Gulf states and Turkey" were supporting the opposition's efforts to take control of eastern Syria."

So we use puppet forces to carry out a bombing in Iran and poke the bear, Iran strikes back and it isn't quite the random gift it might appear to be. Try and exploit the Sunni-Shia divide to prevent Islamic unity around opposition to Israel's actions in Gaza and if the deep state can get World War 3 kicked off before November, all the better.

Washington D.C. - "You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy."

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Huh? There are much worse. I would say DC is in top 10% of governments

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That is probably an indictment of how many crappy governments (and counties) are on earth…and not a ringing endorsement of our rulers

DC is sitting on a basically unbelievable position ruling over a vast continental spanning country of endless raw materials, human capital, the best river connected farm land on earth, and all of it protected by the massive oceans.

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Or, maybe your expectations of what is possible with Governments is unrealistic in practice.

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Go look at the Netherlands (size of Vermont) and you can see what a non-corrupt and serious government can do....and has to do to be successful.

Denmark is up there as well.

Two Germanic states that have basically nothing to work with and basically crap land.

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I have been to both for work. You would NEVER approve of the policies they have to achieve their goals. They both use economics, so if you are well off you still get to do what you want. Take public transportation. Everyone raves about Danish transit and bike usage. They price you out of driving. VAT, 100% car tax, $6 a liter fuel, insurance, camera enforcement, tolls. All that and they still have too many cars in Copenhagen and they had to triple parking fees.

By the way, true story. In Copenhagen we heard a traffic engineer tell us their safety stats. We called BS. So, asked him to go for a beer. 10 beers later, he filled us in on the economic constraints used by the Government. You think those people riding Bikes want to ride bikes to work in January? Hell, no. They can't afford not to. But, if you have enough money, you can live anyway you want.

Wife's friend, he stayed on their Dairy Farm when she was a kid. They denied a knee replacement at 82. Why? Too old. Better use of resources on the young. People are flying to the US to get cancer treatment because under the Danish Health System, they determine who to spend the resources on. You may get it, 6 months or 2 years later, depend on the formula.

You and this Board would NEVER stand for a Danish style of Government.

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I think that basically describes most of Europe in Canada as well. Probably Australia & New Zealand too. If you're rich, it's tolerable because you can afford to pay the extra fees gif everything. If you are not rich, like most people, than you have a raw deal. That's why the ratchet up the climate cult propaganda to keep the peasants in line. And yet the elites fly around on private jets to Davos & other places trying to figure out how to control of our lives. The fascists are evil hypocrites.

Rationed health care and a propaganda "educational system" lying to students every day about the climate cult, the trans cult, the economy, history, and almost everything else are a part of the mix.

Our fascists (aka the "Democrats" who don't want the people to decide) want the same for the US.
more of our lives.

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I alway find this argument a bit bogus. I have tons of European friends and they are all happy with their care and the relative cost. This "socialized medicine " Is just total BS. We are the only industrialized country in the world that relies on businesses to provide a significant contribution to healthcare. That came during WW2, where companies manufacturing war material offered healthcare to entice workers to fill the gap relative to speeding up production. I have studied this a lot. This whole "socialized medicine" is nothing more than the brilliant insurance and Pharma lobby raping all of us. I have been on the compensation committee in a $15B public company and am now self ensured, with a preexisting condition. What an effing racket.

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No. We spend as much on defense as the rest of our combined domestic spend. We have paid for western Europes defense and Israel's defense for the last 80 years. That is why those countries are able to afford such generous social welfare programs and free medical.

Real American tax payers are the most fcked over people on the face of the earth

Harrison Bergeron said:

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Redbrickbear said:

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Harrison Bergeron said:

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J.R. said:

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OsoCoreyell said:

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boognish_bear said:

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can’t remember the last time a strong ally of the united states as publicly and emphatically rebuked the us president as netanyahu’s refusal to consider a two state solution.

— ian bremmer (@ianbremmer) January 19, 2024

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You want to know who doesn't want a two state solution? The Palestinians. They have been offered a 2 state solution no less than 4 times and have solidly rejected it every time in favor of hanging on to their past grievances and desire to destory Israel. There is no two state solution - only two-state wishful thinking by the deeply unserious Biden Administration.

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BS. 100% on that idiot Bibi. He is just trying to stay out of jail, just like trumps

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Genuinely curious. Do you actually not realize the Arabs in Israel have rejected a so-called "two-state solution" multiple times or just like to pretend its Netanyahu's fault..

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Honestly I see what you are saying and agree in large parts.

Palestinian Arabs were foolish not to agree to peace in 1948 or 1967.

But since then the peace deals have not been great…basically Israel gets 10% more land and East Jerusalem plus control of Palestinian air space.

That's not a great deal…

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The Arabs started the problem.

The Arabs launched every attack on Israel.

The Arabs want Israel gone.

The Arabs have rejected every offer.

The Arabs generally have dysfunctional societies.

No other Arab countries want the Arabs living in Gaza or Judea and Samaria. They're a dysfunctional subgroup ruled by grifters that do little to better that culture but simply blame long-ago grievances on others and seek constant handouts from more functional groups ... sound familiar?

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Are you talking about the Palestinians here or the Jews?

🚨 SCOOP: Israel proposes 2-month ceasefire in Gaza for release of all hostageshttps://t.co/nKrRyfCVui

— Axios (@axios) January 22, 2024

highest recipients of aid from the united states since wwii (adjusted for inflation):

1. israel: $312.5b
2. vietnam: $184.5b
3. egypt: $183.7b
4. afghanistan: $158.9b
5. s korea: $120.7b

-usaid pic.twitter.com/Yazpfx3Tsj

— ian bremmer (@ianbremmer) January 22, 2024

boognish_bear said:

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highest recipients of aid from the united states since wwii (adjusted for inflation):

1. israel: $312.5b
2. vietnam: $184.5b
3. egypt: $183.7b
4. afghanistan: $158.9b
5. s korea: $120.7b

-usaid pic.twitter.com/Yazpfx3Tsj

— ian bremmer (@ianbremmer) January 22, 2024

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You could argue aid to Israel should include the aid to Jordan and Egypt since those are essentially bribes on behalf of Israel as that aid serves no American interest.

🚨BREAKING:

The U.S. has launched a strike against Iran-backed militias in Iraq in retaliation for ballistic missiles fired Sunday against Al-Assad airbase that left four U.S. personnel with traumatic brain injuries. 🇺🇸🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/jYQOKeQMYB

— Republicans against Trump (@RpsAgainstTrump) January 23, 2024

J.R. said:

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Let Israel stand on their own.

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There would be nothing left of Israel had that been our historic position.

The_barBEARian said:

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boognish_bear said:

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highest recipients of aid from the united states since wwii (adjusted for inflation):

1. israel: $312.5b
2. vietnam: $184.5b
3. egypt: $183.7b
4. afghanistan: $158.9b
5. s korea: $120.7b

-usaid pic.twitter.com/Yazpfx3Tsj

— ian bremmer (@ianbremmer) January 22, 2024

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You could argue aid to Israel should include the aid to Jordan and Egypt since those are essentially bribes on behalf of Israel as that aid serves no American interest.

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Absolutely 100% right.

Time to stop all much blackmail payments and put the money saved into border security and homeless shelters for our citizens

net favorability of israel: down globally by an avg 18.5% between september and december
decreasing in 42 of 43 countries polled

-morning consult

— ian bremmer (@ianbremmer) January 23, 2024

At @JoeBiden’s rally, protestors continue to interrupt his speech. Every couple minutes someone stands up to shout about his Israel policy. pic.twitter.com/EX3DbRx5ZP

— Weijia Jiang (@weijia) January 23, 2024

lol... its stupid posts like this that make me want to support Palestine even though they are equally awful.

I would LOVE to see aid to Israel, and foreign aid in general, put to a public vote all across the nation as would happen in a TRUE democracy. We have record, insurmountable levels of debt and yet you psychos still want us policing the world and giving away what little we left to parasitic countries that give nothing back in return.

Your feminine, emotional whining doesnt sway me either. I don't care if jews were kicked out of every country in human history... if they were so ubiquitously disliked, mb it's them who were the problem.

The_barBEARian said:

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sombear said:

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J.R. said:

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Let Israel stand on their own.

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There would be nothing left of Israel had that been our historic position.

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Why is this the American tax payer's problem?


The global Jewry has plenty of private capital to fund Israel. I have no problem with Israel's right to exist, just stop dragging Americans into it. If I never hear about Israel another day in my life, I will die a happy man!

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Actually, Israel is not asking for money. They just want everyone (including the U.S.) to stay the Hell out their way and let them finish doing what needs to be done (the elimination of Hamas).

This administration's solution to any problem is to throw mountains of U.S. dollars at it.

sombear said:

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The_barBEARian said:

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sombear said:

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The_barBEARian said:

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lol... its stupid posts like this that make me want to support Palestine even though they are equally awful.

I would LOVE to see aid to Israel, and foreign aid in general, put to a public vote all across the nation as would happen in a TRUE democracy. We have record, insurmountable levels of debt and yet you psychos still want us policing the world and giving away what little we left to parasitic countries that give nothing back in return.

Your feminine, emotional whining doesnt sway me either. I don't care if jews were kicked out of every country in human history... if they were so ubiquitously disliked, mb it's them who were the problem.

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And there it is . . . .

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There what is? All I see is vague, female behavior.

If you want to call me an -ist or a -phobe for putting my country and my people first, that tells me you lost the argument and it's all about emotional manipulation and trying to guilt trip people who have nothing to apologize for. It's sick!

Both Israel and the Palestinians do it,and I want nothing to do with either of them!

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No, you blamed the Jews for Nazis and militant muslims mass murdering them/forcibly removing them. That's all I needed to know.

And talk about weak argument . . . playing the "female card," really?

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You can either believe what the church fathers, saints, and kings said and taught about the Jews and their actions or you can believe the Jewish version of history. They belong to their father.

There's simply no justifying this, except with the view that Palestinian lives, including children, have no value, which is so clearly the basis -- the sometimes-explicit basis -- of this destruction of Gaza: https://t.co/rD629sHswg

— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) January 24, 2024

J.R. said:

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sombear said:

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J.R. said:

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Let Israel stand on their own.

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There would be nothing left of Israel had that been our historic position.

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so beit.

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Do you support other genocides as well?

sombear said:

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J.R. said:

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sombear said:

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J.R. said:

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Let Israel stand on their own.

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There would be nothing left of Israel had that been our historic position.

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so beit.

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Do you support other genocides as well?

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Do you work for AIPAC or one of the other numerous Israeli foreign lobbys?

Either you are getting paid to attack your fellow Americans or have the worst case of battered wife syndrome I have ever seen.

sombear said:

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The_barBEARian said:

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sombear said:

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The_barBEARian said:

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sombear said:

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The_barBEARian said:

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lol... its stupid posts like this that make me want to support Palestine even though they are equally awful.

I would LOVE to see aid to Israel, and foreign aid in general, put to a public vote all across the nation as would happen in a TRUE democracy. We have record, insurmountable levels of debt and yet you psychos still want us policing the world and giving away what little we left to parasitic countries that give nothing back in return.

Your feminine, emotional whining doesnt sway me either. I don't care if jews were kicked out of every country in human history... if they were so ubiquitously disliked, mb it's them who were the problem.

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And there it is . . . .

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There what is? All I see is vague, female behavior.

If you want to call me an -ist or a -phobe for putting my country and my people first, that tells me you lost the argument and it's all about emotional manipulation and trying to guilt trip people who have nothing to apologize for. It's sick!

Both Israel and the Palestinians do it,and I want nothing to do with either of them!

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No, you blamed the Jews for Nazis and militant muslims mass murdering them/forcibly removing them. That's all I needed to know.

And talk about weak argument . . . playing the "female card," really?

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You are a female.

You are putting words in my mouth and trying to emotionally blackmail me over things that happened before I was even born.

The Jews/Israelis seem to be doing a lot of mass murdering themselves these days.

So sincerely, go **** yourself!

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I'm a man.

You're the one who said maybe jews are the problem.

I won't stoop to your level on the F-off, but I do suggest anger management . . . and perhaps some diversity training . . . .

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If you aren't willing to slice your own wrists and sacrifice your first born child on behalf a foreign country that doesn't give a **** about you then you are racist and support genocide..... got it.

We support Israel because they are our allies. It's also in our interest to support the freest, most stable, most prosperous country in the region. The are the one country in that region most like us. Finally, it's the right thing to do for all kinds of moral and cultural reasons.

historian said:

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We support Israel because they are our allies. It's also in our interest to support the freest, most stable, most prosperous country in the region. The are the one country in that region most like us. Finally, it's the right thing to do gif all kinds of moral and cultural reasons.

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If it's a Democracy how many Christians are in the Knesset?

That is not what determines if a state is a democracy or some other political system. However, the fact that Israel has a multi-party parliamentary system with real power, regular free elections (the prime minister can, and has been, voted out of office), an independent judiciary, guarantees of basic civil liberties, etc means that their government is representative and free compared to the authoritarian regimes surrounding them. Over the years, some of the Arab states have initiated some reforms with some of these features but they are not nearly as extensive as what Israel has.

Put another way, Israel's government resembles those of European countries and the U.S. (with all our flaws) a lot more than any Arab state does. And there are Muslim members of the Knesset. I doubt there are many Jews with a real voice in those neighboring governments. Certainly there are none in the Palestinian governments.

historian said:

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We support Israel because they are our allies.

How so? Ally implies a symbiotic relationship. How does the average American tax payer receive any benefit from the hundreds of billions of foreign aid we have spent on Israel's behalf? All that spending has weakened the USD and our savings. The only people benefitting from this relationship are the Washington lobbyists, a handful of defense contractors, and the politicians receiving their kickbacks and campaign contributions.

It's also in our interest to support the freest, most stable, most prosperous country in the region.

The UAE? Even if this was true, its insane and complete illogical to think that bcs a country is stable and rich we should throw hard earned tax payer money at them.

The are the one country in that region most like us.

In what way exactly is Israel like the US? And again, even this were true why does it matter? Is there any other country on earth throwing money at the US bcs we look like them?

Finally, it's the right thing to do gif all kinds of moral and cultural reasons.

So destroying the value of the USD and forcing higher taxes on middle class Americans to support a foreign government is moral and cultural?

Israel is a rich country that has universal healthcare and a generous welfare state for its citizens. American citizens who are having their money stolen from them do not.

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historian said:

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That is not what determines if a state is a democracy or some other political system. However, the fact that Israel has a multi-party parliamentary system with real power, regular free elections (the prime minister can, and has been, voted out of office), an independent judiciary, guarantees of basic civil liberties, etc means that their government is representative and free compared to the authoritarian regimes surrounding them. Over the years, some of the Arab states have initiated some reforms with some of these features but they are not nearly as extensive as what Israel has.

Put another way, Israel's government resembles those of European countries and the U.S. (with all our flaws) a lot more than any Arab state does. And there are Muslim members of the Knesset. I doubt there are many Jews with a real voice in those neighboring governments. Certainly there are none in the Palestinian governments.

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In other words it's a democracy for a specific ethnic-religious class and no one else. We have been constantly lectured in America that a democracy must allow for
Minority rights and representation but Israel, who gives no representation to Christians gets a free pass.