Er, no. He was the one who said that he wanted Israel to be destroyed by its Arab neighbours. That's not "criticism of Israel" - it's advocating genocide against Israel. If I have invoked religious identity, it is because it is those Arab states which expressly identify themselves with fundamentalist Islam.
Brian Peacock wrote: ↑Wed Apr 17, 2019 10:40 am
Again, I'll grant that Svarty has a pretty low opinion of Israel but you'll not find him condemning the actions of Israel on the basis that it's a Jewish state - "the world's sole Jewish State" as you said - but because he strongly disagrees with what has been done in the name of the state. You all but called him a racist for expressing the strength of his disagreement. I feel that that was an overreaction.
It's not a matter of merely disagreeing with what has been done in the name of Israel. It's a matter of what the consequences would be if the course of action he advocates occurred, and Israel was destroyed.
Brian Peacock wrote: ↑Wed Apr 17, 2019 10:40 am
Again, that's appears to be a strawman that places a condition on the criticism of others, which indeed you are: one must demonstrate (presumably to your satisfaction) that one is equally critical of this-or-that other bad thing before you will allow criticism of some another bad thing. It is not a double standard to not conform to such conditions - it is just a failure to conform to the standards that have been placed on the expression of the views of others. Ultimately, this is a way to deflect or avoid addressing that "some other bad thing." It is overreaction which ramps up disagreement, perhaps even to a point where constructive discourse becomes impossible.
It's not a straw man though, is it? All of these states are players in the same game. It's absolutely appropriate to ask why their actions attract no criticism.
It's like a football match where the referee only awarded free kicks and red cards against the black players, but allowed white players to do what they liked. "Oh, but the black players fouled their opponents, so I was within my rights to send them off" - yes, that may be true, but that's NOT THE POINT.