Israel is the Greatest!

alivegirl

Sorry yosi, Mohammed Ali is the greatest. Just wanna say Byrnzie you and pepe are absolute legends!

Cosmo

yosi wrote:

Israel is one of the best countries on earth. It is the only democracy in the Middle East. It is a modern, liberal state when it comes to the rights of women and gays, it is one of the most ethnically and racially diverse countries on earth. It has been a leader in the developement of medical, environmental, and digital technologies for years. It is truly a marvelous place!

...
I can see where you are coming from. I like the Israeli people I have met... and I know a lot of Jewish people... that I love very much.
But, even you have to admit... you got your problems. And it ain't just the Arabs. It's YOU and the Arabs.
You want to be considered a really great nation? How about your leaders sit down with the Arab leaders and have substantive talks with each other... like level headed, intelligent people... and discuss ways to stop your old people from sending out your young people to kill the other old people's young people and vice versa? Seriously. Hasn't that shit gone on long enough? Aren't you sick and tired of burying your young?
Here's an idea... how about you talk with Egypt and hand back the occupied territory of Gaza. Tell Egypt that they have to take on the authority and assume the responsibility for what goes on over there. And do the same with the West Bank and Jordan. Occupied lands are just that... occupied. It does not belong to you... your army can't keep the peace through deadly force. And you shouldn't be building houses for your people in their lands. That could be start.
As for Jeruselum... maybe make it an seperate nation/state since it is an important religious site for Jews, Arabs and Christians. Maybe make it sort of a religious Disneyland or something.
Anyway... what do I know, it's not up to me, but with all of the bloodshed... haven't y'all noticed that y'all bleed the same color?

unsung

Aside from the tennis match that people love to play between Israel and the Palestinians I'd really like to go to Israel some day. I hear the women are quite striking and uniquely beautiful.

Cosmo

unsung wrote:

Aside from the tennis match that people love to play between Israel and the Palestinians I'd really like to go to Israel some day. I hear the women are quite striking and uniquely beautiful.

...
Same here. I would love to visit Jeruselum... visit the great Pyramids of Giza in Egypt... all that stuff.

even flow - question mark

yosi wrote:

Israel is one of the best countries on earth. It is the only democracy in the Middle East. It is a modern, liberal state when it comes to the rights of women and gays, it is one of the most ethnically and racially diverse countries on earth. It has been a leader in the developement of medical, environmental, and digital technologies for years. It is truly a marvelous place!

I see your location has NYC in it. Israel must be a super place to live if you are not there full time.

Other than having to be seperated while praying at the wall. And a couple of other things. Israel may be a good country.

I wish that in Canada we were taught to hate at an early age and then tossed into the army at a young, impressionable age. That self taught, hate thing sure likes to be shown in the MIddle East. Poor fucking place for any rat to be raised!

ogre1213

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index ... 845AAJu6OU

I LOVE ISRAEL, and am amazed that how despite all the problems and wars it has HAD to face from aggressors, it has managed to have such a well balanced and successful society that not only honest with themselves and try and better themselves, but also contribute to the world in many different fields.Israel, the 100th smallest country, with less than 1/1000th of the world's population, can lay claim to the following:

Israel has the highest ratio of university degrees to the population in the world.

Israel produces more scientific papers per capita than any other nation by a large margin - 109 per 10,000 people - as well as one of the highest per capita rates of patents filed.

In proportion to its population, Israel has the largest number of startup companies in the world. In absolute terms, Israel has the largest number of startup companies than any other country in the world, except the US (3,500 companies mostly in hi-tech).

Israel is ranked #2 in the world for venture capital funds right behind the US.

Outside the United States and Canada, Israel has the largest number of NASDAQ listed companies.

Israel has the highest average living standards in the Middle East. The per capita income in 2000 was over $17,500, exceeding that of the UK.

With an aerial arsenal of over 250 F-16s, Israel has the largest fleet of the aircraft outside of the US.

Israel's $100 billion economy is larger than all of its immediate neighbors combined.

On a per capita basis, Israel has the largest number of biotech start-ups.

Twenty-four percent of Israel's workforce holds university degrees - ranking third in the industrialized world, after the United States and Holland - and 12 percent hold advanced degrees.

Israel is the only liberal democracy in the Middle East.

In 1984 and 1991, Israel airlifted a total of 22,000 Ethiopian Jews at risk in Ethiopia to safety in Israel.

When Golda Meir was elected Prime Minister of Israel in 1969, she became the world's second elected female leader in modern times.

When the U. S. Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya was bombed in 1998, Israeli rescue teams were on the scene within a day - and saved three victims from the rubble.

Israel has the third highest rate of entrepreneurship - and the highest rate among women and among people over 55 - in the world.

Relative to its population, Israel is the largest immigrant-absorbing nation on earth. Immigrants come in search of democracy, religious freedom, and economic opportunity.

Israel was the first nation in the world to adopt the Kimberly process, an international standard that certifies diamonds as "conflict free."

According to industry officials, Israel designed the airline industry's most impenetrable flight security. U. S. officials now look to Israel for advice on how to handle airborne security threats.

In 1991, during the Gulf War, the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra played a concert wearing gas masks as scud missiles fired by Saddam Hussein fell on Tel Aviv.

Israel has the world's second highest per capita of new books.

Israel is the only country in the world that entered the 21st century with a net gain in its number of trees, made more remarkable because this was achieved in an area considered mainly desert.

Israel has more museums per capita than any other country.

Medicine... Israeli scientists developed the first fully computerized,no-radiation, diagnostic instrumentation for breast cancer.

An Israeli company developed a computerized system for ensuring proper

administration of medications, thus removing human error from medical treatment. Every year in U. S. hospitals 7,000 patients die from treatment mistakes.

Israel's Givun imaging developed the first ingestible video camera, so small it fits inside a pill. Used to view the small intestine from the inside, the camera helps doctors diagnose cancer and digestive disorders.

Researchers in Israel developed a new device that directly helps the heart pump blood, an innovation with the potential to save lives among those with heart failure. The new device is synchronized with the heart's mechanical operations through a sophisticated system of sensors.

Technology... With more than 3,000 high-tech companies and start-ups, Israel has the highest concentration of hi-tech companies in the world (apart from the Silicon Valley).

In response to serious water shortages, Israeli engineers and agriculturalists developed a revolutionary drip irrigation system to minimize the amount of water used to grow crops.

Israel has the highest percentage in the world of home computers per capita.

Israel leads the world in the number of scientists and technicians in the workforce, with 145 per 10,000, as opposed to 85 in the U. S., over 70 in Japan, and less than 60 in Germany. With over 25% of its work force employed in technical professions. Israel places first in this category as well.

The cell phone was developed in Israel by Motorola, which has its largest development center in Israel.

Most of the Windows NT operating system was developed by Microsoft-Israel.

The Pentium MMX Chip technology was designed in Israel at Intel.

Voice mail technology was developed in Israel.

Both Microsoft and Cisco built their only R&D facilities outside the US in Israel.

The AOL Instant Messenger was developed in 1996 by four young Israelis.

A new acne treatment developed in Israel, the ClearLight device,produces a high-intensity, ultraviolet-light-free, narrow-band blue light that causes acne bacteria to self-destruct - all without damaging surroundings skin or tissue.

An Israeli company was the first to develop and install a large-scale solar-powered and fully functional electricity generating plant, in southern California's Mojave desert."

All the above while engaged in regular wars with an implacable enemy that seeks its destruction, and an economy continuously under strain by having to spend more per capita on its own protection than any other country on earth. This from a country just 60 years young having started off life on a very frontiers-like basis, whose population had mostly just emerged from the devastating World War II years.

I just hope one day that it is allowed to live in peace because that is all Israel has ever wanted.

polaris_x

all this proves is that israelis DO NOT live in the terror or seige some claim they do ... and that they have nothing to lose by negotiating a peace deal ... life IS indeed good in Israel ...

rebornFixer

polaris_x wrote:

all this proves is that israelis DO NOT live in the terror or seige some claim they do ... and that they have nothing to lose by negotiating a peace deal ... life IS indeed good in Israel ...

I don't think there's anyone here who thinks they shouldn't negotiate a peace deal. But yes, people in Israel do fear for their lives. Why pretend otherwise? There are people there who have lost relatives in bombings and rocket attacks. How is it accurate to say they aren't afraid on any level? I am all for not using fear as an excuse to oppress Palestinians, but pretending no one is scared is also unhelpful.

badbrains

Ok you've convinced me, israel is the greatest country in the world!!! :roll:

polaris_x

rebornFixer wrote:

I don't think there's anyone here who thinks they shouldn't negotiate a peace deal. But yes, people in Israel do fear for their lives. Why pretend otherwise? There are people there who have lost relatives in bombings and rocket attacks. How is it accurate to say they aren't afraid on any level? I am all for not using fear as an excuse to oppress Palestinians, but pretending no one is scared is also unhelpful.

how many israeli civilians have died due to rocket attacks, suicide bombings, and/or anything related to palestinian actions in the past decade? ... then compare it to how many have died in israel say due to heart disease ...

the issue isn't whether they should negotiate a peace deal - the issue is whether the powers that be want to negotiate a peace deal ... why would they? ... take away this supposed "fear" - what does israel have to gain? ... i know they have everything to lose ... they have to give back land they've stolen, they won't be able to continue to expand like they're doing now and they'll have to treat palestinians as equals ...

a peace deal can easily be reached - there is int'l consensus on a starting point ... yet, nothing is happening all the while - occupation, oppression and expansion continue ...

badbrains

Polaris gets it....it's so true. Peace can be reached and EASLY. They just want to have it. Unfortunitely the only peace Israel wants is a "piece" of land...I to apologize if the truth hurts, oh yeah, and I'm not an anti-Semite either

Byrnzie

Cosmo wrote:

unsung wrote:

Aside from the tennis match that people love to play between Israel and the Palestinians I'd really like to go to Israel some day. I hear the women are quite striking and uniquely beautiful.

...
Same here. I would love to visit Jeruselum... visit the great Pyramids of Giza in Egypt... all that stuff.

I'd like to visit the Palestinian territories. I plan to next year.

alivegirl

Good luck with that Byrnzie, and I know we can rely on you to keep us posted on your experiences when you do go.

Pepe Silvia

a nice lil video called Israel, We Love You!!! set to the Israeli national anthem....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QyKWNtmm5cg

alivegirl

So sad. The fact that these atrocities are allowed to take place in this day and age is unfathomable!

Byrnzie

Israel is the Greatest....violator of international law in the world today!


http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/ma ... -west-bank

Israel approves more construction in West Bank settlement

Approval for building of 112 new flats in Beitar Illit comes despite partial curbs on settlement construction announced by Israeli government


* Rory McCarthy in Jerusalem - guardian.co.uk, Monday 8 March 2010 09.42 GMT

'The Israeli defence ministry today authorised further construction in a Jewish settlement on the occupied West Bank.

The decision came prior to the arrival in Israel of the US vice-president, Joe Biden, who is expected to announce a new round of indirect peace talks.

Approval for 112 new flats in Beitar Illit, an ultra-Orthodox settlement near Bethlehem, was given despite a 10-month partial curb on settlement construction announced by the Israeli government under heavy US pressure in November.

The decision to approve the building work appeared to be an attempt to appease members of Israel's rightwing coalition government, but was greeted with dismay by Palestinian officials.

George Mitchell, the US special envoy, has spent months attempting to get Israelis and Palestinians to restart negotiations, and was hoping a new round of indirect so-called "proximity" talks would begin today.

"If the Israeli government wants to sabotage Mitchell's efforts by taking such steps, let's talk to Mitchell about maybe not doing this if the price is so high," Saeb Erekat, the chief Palestinian negotiator, said.

For many months, Palestinian officials had resisted any return to negotiations with Israel, saying all settlement construction should first be halted in line with the obligations of the US "road map" of 2003.

All settlements on occupied territory are illegal under international law.

Finally, under international pressure, the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, was persuaded to enter a four-month period of shuttle diplomacy, led by Mitchell and due to start in the coming days.

Although the US administration had last year demanded Israel halt all settlement building, it eventually welcomed the partial curbs imposed by the Israeli prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu.

The temporary curbs did not apply to east Jerusalem, public buildings or around 3,000 flats whose construction was already under way.

The Israeli defence ministry said the Beitar Illit flats had been approved under the previous Israeli government and that construction needed to happen now for unspecified security reasons.

However, Hagit Ofran, of the Israeli group Peace Now, which monitors and opposes settlements, said the construction was in direct contradiction to Netanyahu's settlement curbs which prevented building of any flats – even if already approved – on which work had not yet started.

"It is a very unfortunate welcome that the government of Israel is giving to the vice-president," she said.

"It's as if they want to make it look like they want peace but on the other hand to torpedo the chance for these talks to succeed."

Last week, another plan for 600 new flats in the east Jerusalem settlement of Pisgat Zeev passed through an initial stage of the approval process.

yosi

Excuse me. The purpose of this thread is to provide a forum for saying nice things about Israel. I'd like my thread back. I believe Pepe was the one sponsoring the idea of keeping threads tied down to their intended subjects. Can I get a second, Pepe?

redrock

yosi wrote:

Excuse me. The purpose of this thread is to provide a forum for saying nice things about Israel.

That wasn't specified with your first post. We're taking it as debating whether Israel is the greatest or not. Giving our opinion, whatever it may be.

Pepe Silvia

yosi wrote:

Excuse me. The purpose of this thread is to provide a forum for saying nice things about Israel. I'd like my thread back. I believe Pepe was the one sponsoring the idea of keeping threads tied down to their intended subjects. Can I get a second, Pepe?

it wasn't my idea, it is the forum rules, i'm sorry you are so unhappy with the rules someone else came up with, maybe they just have a deep seated hatred for jews and don't realize how anti-semitic their rules are?

anyway, there is a difference: in my thread about what the UN envoy said about Gaza you and some others kept wanting to bring up why don't i post about Cyprus, which you may be unaware of this fact but Cyprus has fuckall to do with what the UN said about Gaza being an open air prison. this is a thread about Israel and if they are the greatest....so far it seems like the replies are about Israel.

now, if i kept harassing you in this thread about why you only start threads about Israel and not Cyprus while implying this is done only because you 'possibly' have a deep seated hatred for muslims and just don't yet realize it the situation would be comparable but then we have reality....

yosi

My bad. I guess I wasn't clear when I started this thread. THE PURPOSE OF THIS THREAD IS TO PROVIDE A FORUM FOR POSITIVE STATEMENTS ABOUT ISRAEL. There, now it should be clear. Please stick to the subject of the thread from this point forward.