What the Lamp Post Heard

Here's Greg (Jerusalem Prize) Sheridan, setting us right on the terribly misunderstood inhabitants of the Middle East's only democracy:

"That Israel of the Western mind (and indeed of the Arab mind) is a hateful place: right-wing, militaristic, authoritarian, racist, ultra-religious, neo-colonial, narrow-minded, undemocratic, indifferent to world opinion, indifferent especially to Palestinian suffering. Yet the Israel I know is mostly secular, raucously, almost wildly democratic, has a vibrant left wing, having founded in the kibbutz movement one of the only successful experiments in socialism in human history. It is intellectually disputatious; any two Israelis will have three opinions and be happy to argue them to a lamp post. It is multi-ethnic, there is a great stress on human solidarity, there is due process. And I've never heard an Israeli speak casually about the value of Palestinian life. I've heard Israelis voice a desire to neutralise Hezbollah or remove Hamas from leadership in Gaza, but I've never in any context heard an Israeli express the view that the value of a human life is determined by race." (Israel still looks good, warts & all, The Australian, 6/5/09)

Now that lamp post he mentioned intrigues me. I got to wondering just what sort of intellectual disputations it was soaking up these days?

Could it be, perhaps, something like the following discussion, taken from the comment thread on the Netanyahu speech (quoted in my last post) over at the Israpundit website?

Two of Greg's vibrant Israeli leftists, Yamit82 and Elliot, are taking a short break from Building Socialism on Kibbutz Karl Marx, to engage in deep intellectual disputation (in the vicinity of said lamp post) on the best way to achieve peace in the area and whether their prime minister should maybe go the extra mile to get there. Their opinions, of course, are naturally extraordinarily varied, and it goes without saying that they ooze compassion with, and solidarity for, suffering humanity, particularly the Palestinians:

yamit82: I feel like vomiting over BB, the groveling ass kisser. Italy as we have learned is the largest violator of sanctions against Iran, except Germany. Not a word about the rise of antisemitism and anti-Israel boycotts in Italy. No mention of Shalit and Pollard's release as a precondition to even sit down with the maggots...

Elliot: So, Yamit, what exactly should your idea of a PM of Israel do? ... With all of the talk, Israel has been taken in by the talkers. The boundaries of discussion are only the terms of Israel's 'piecemeal surrender for false peace'. If war is the only way to reset the dialogue, then what strategy would you endorse? It's like finding oneself on a dark street with a gang of thugs coming to kill you. They taunt and threaten. Strategy A - Go for the biggest thug or the leader of the wolfpack and utterly destroy him. (Would that be Iran or Obama?) The followers will back down. Strategy B - Take out the closest perps (Hamas & Hezbollah) so that those further away will keep their distance. Strategy C - Wait long enough and let them attack one another. Strategy D - Repent and call upon the Lord of Hosts. Praying Psalm 83 for Israel. With Bibi entertaining the babblers they'll never see it coming! Like David among the Philistines Samuel 1:21. I'm not sure how and when we'll get there, but Micah 4:13 will happen in our day! 'Arise and thresh, O daughter of Zion: for I will make thine horn iron, and I will make thy hoofs brass: and thou shalt beat in pieces many people: and I will consecrate their gain unto the L-RD, and their substance unto the L-RD of the whole earth'. Weakness incites the sons of Amalek. Weakness is lacking the means to destroy them, OR having the means, but lacking the will! Beware that Obama has been consistently inciting Israel's neighbours to expect land and ultimately all of a united Palestine sans Israel. It is a sad day for America when it falls into the hands of a wrathful G-d.

yamit82: My idea of a PM is one who is G-d fearing. He needn't be observant, but G-d fearing. That means he should fear G-d and not man. Diplomatically, he should accept negotiations, go to where they're held, say NO!!! and then return HOME!