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Originally Posted by flylock shox
I have no desire to wade waist-deep into this debate, but it should be pointed out that religious extremism and fanaticism exists, and is problematic, on both sides and in every religion.
Neither Islam nor Judaism, per se, are the problem. But if you think that Israel is a moderate country, populated by moderates, you're kidding yourself. There has been a steady flow of moderate and liberal Israelis out of Israel for the past 20 years, and an influx (and domestic growth) of extremist Israelis. Who do you think these folks are who are building settlements, and fighting not only international law and Palestinians in the process, but Israeli army forces trying to remove them? Some of these settlers are about as Israeli as the average Calgarian - they are extremists of various nationalities who see settlement as a religious imperative, and actually chose to move themselves (and their families) into a known warzone.
Religious extremism is rampant in much of the Middle East, and Israel is no exception. The fact that it is a democracy, and the fact that it is a Jewish state, don't change that one iota.
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Israeli extremists certainly exist, without a doubt. But they are certainly not the issue. A barrage of rockets is the issue, brainwashing of children is the issue, blowing up buses is the issue. If there was no violence, they would have been a part of a great country. Instead walls are used to keep fanatics out. We can keep finding things that are bad in Israel, but that has nothing to do with a bunch of random terrorist attacks and the terror network that feeds it.
And you made a major point, Israeli soldiers trying to stop the Israeli extremists. This point is one of the most important issues here - Israel is trying to police these wackos. Had Palestinians stopped or at least tried to stop the rocket launchers, then there would be no air strikes.