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More than one billion, four hundred thirty-one million. In April, India surpassed China as the world's most populous country.

怎么可能? 等一下. 我知道该怎样.
 
Only two mentions of "Hamas" in the last 8 years. No mention of the current conflict, which may end up being the biggest news story of the year, decade or more. I assume there's a similar rule to "no politics" in regards to this, and that's why it isn't being discussed?


drcham.webp
 
It is politics. Other boards I frequent, any thread involving Jews or Palestinians or Hamas usually descends into name calling and the same crap you get when you discuss politics.
 
We haven't specifically chosen the Palestine / Hamas topic as being a political subject to avoid. If it doesn't devolve into arguments about American politics or religious bickering, it should be OK.
 
IdRatherBeSkiing said:
So the ban is only about American Politics? I can complain about Canada's current joke of a PM?
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If I can offer my 2 cents (and that's not a reference to Jewish stereotypes), Hamas is a terrorist group. We've discussed terrorists and mass murderers here, mostly in the "WTF is Going On in the World" thread. We talk about parents who slaughter their kids, and all kinds of gruesome stuff.

But I believe the rule we've instituted here (and on other forums) is "No politics and No religion". So a discussion about Hamas and how they relate to Palestinians, and the overall Palestine/ Israel situation, is one I would want to avoid. And I agree that discussing Netanyahu (or Trudeau) regarding his stance on nationalism is veering into politics and religion. And certainly it opens the door to talk about where the US administration and political parties stand and so forth.

sadchild said:
Only two mentions of "Hamas" in the last 8 years. No mention of the current conflict, which may end up being the biggest news story of the year, decade or more. I assume there's a similar rule to "no politics" in regards to this, and that's why it isn't being discussed?
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For Mrs. Scotch and I, we have actually changed our viewing habits, because it's all just too much to bear everyday. And so I wouldn't want to introduce it to this forum. And besides, what would I say? There aren't words to express it. We also have connections to the situation through people we know, and so that's where my energy goes.
 
The good news is all the times wasting on speaker votes means they can't be passing any laws to screw up the nation.
 
HecticArt said:
Generally, if it's something that's likely to cause arguments or tick someone off, or make people feel unwelcome, don't do it.
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With no intent to get into politics and religion, I'll simply post this below and ask if others think it's accurate (strictly from a historical/there's-a-war-going-on perspective)

I told a friend that my opinion on the Hamas terrorist attack and Israel's declaration of war against them is basically Israel's 9/11. They were attacked by a terrorist group and are reacting similar to how the US did after 9/11. The main difference is imagine it was the Native Americans who took down the towers in an effort to reclaim their land (and bring attention to the issue) through terrorist acts. Hamas feels it was wrong for the Allies (WW2) to relocate the Jewish holocaust survivors to their land and there has been unrest in the area ever since.

I don't say the above with authority, I say it wondering how accurate the people here (whose opinions here I respect) think this is.
 
Trying to be as neutral as possible, here it goes. After WW2 and the holocaust, the UN carved out a Jewish state of Israel from part of the British territory of Palestine. The land has long ties to both Jews and Arabs. In the Bible, it was the land of Canaan. Israel was established in 1948, and then several years later, a couple of wars led to Israel expanding to include Gaza, the West Bank, and the Golan Heights. Israel has since lost most of that expanded land.

There are Palestinians who want things to be like what was established in 1948, and then there are millions (billions?) who want no Jewish state, as well as no Jews. Hamas is a fringe terrorist organization who wants the Jewish territory to be further pushed back, or all-together obliterated. They don't represent the view of most Gazans, but that's how it goes with extremists. The same type of extremists masterminded 9/11. Israel would like to eliminate Hamas, but some Israelis are in favor of a 2-state solution, while some are not.
 
The actual proposal in 1947 was much different that what actually wound up with in 1948. Thanx to the general ineptitude of the UN and the British (who started this mess after WWI). Basically the area was then and still is a powderkeg.
 
Thank you both. Expanding the history, here's a very Cliff Notes version of what I could find over the course of about 15 minutes.

Pre-Iron Age: Canaanites

Iron Age (BC): Israel rules most of it, Canaanites a little of it

300 BC: Alexander The Great (Greek gods)

50BC: Romans vs Jews (culture is a mix of "Greek culture, Roman law, and the rights of Jews in the Empire"

4th century: "Roman Empire christened, Palestine became a center of Christianity"

5th century: "Muslim conquest of the Levant (Syria)" - rule the area for hundreds of years.

11th century: First Crusade (Christians) take the area from Islamic rule, establish Jerusalem.

12th century: Egypt (Muslims) take it back.

16th century: Ottoman Empire takes it.
In 1516, the Ottoman Turks invaded and occupied Palestine, an occupation that lasted for 402 years (1516-1918), except for the 9 years between 1831 and 1840, when the Egyptian Governor Muhammad Ali sent his troops to capture Palestine under the command of his son Ibrahim Pasha.

20th century: Britain takes it in 1920s, creates Jewish state in 1940s.
During World War I, it was captured by the United Kingdom as part of the Sinai and Palestine campaign. The League of Nations gave Britain mandatory power over Palestine in 1922. British colonial rule and Arab efforts to prevent Jewish migration into Palestine led to growing sectarian violence between Arabs and Jews, eventually causing the British government to announce its intention to terminate the Mandate in 1947. The United Nations General Assembly recommended partitioning Palestine into two states; one Arab and one Jewish. However, the situation in Palestine had deteriorated into a civil war between Arabs and Jews. The Arabs rejected the Partition Plan, the Jews ostensibly accepted it, declaring the independence of the State of Israel in May 1948 upon the termination of the British mandate. Nearby Arab countries invaded Palestine, but Israel not only prevailed but also conquered far more territory of the Mandate than envisioned by the Partition Plan. After the war, only two parts of Palestine remained in Arab control: the West Bank (and East-Jerusalem), annexed by Jordan, and the Gaza Strip (occupied by Egypt), which were conquered by Israel during the Six-Day War in 1967. Despite international objections, Israel started to establish settlements in these occupied territories.

Summary: What a mess!
 
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