Stephen Hawking boycotts major Israel conference

[Coito ergo sum]

[Coito ergo sum]

LOL - Germany. Nice.

[MrJonno]

Who are the 34% in the UK who see Israel in favourable light?

[Xamonas Chegwé]

Who are the 34% in the UK who see Israel in favourable light?

They're probably the same 34% that elect conservative governments.

[Coito ergo sum]

Who are the 34% in the UK who see Israel in favourable light?

The sensible ones? The others are the ones that think the Jews poisoned the wells.

[Svartalf]

Or those who know what hypocrisy Israel deals in when it expropriates Palestinians to make room for their settlements, in contradiction with previous agreements, and then feigns to wonder why the Palestinians hate them and won't lay down their arms...

[Guy_Montag]

Who are the 34% in the UK who see Israel in favourable light?

The sensible ones? The others are the ones that think the Jews poisoned the wells.

You'll be conflating Jews & Israelis. I'd draw you a Venn diagram, but I'm too lazy instead:
Jew != Israeli, Israeli != Jew

[JacksSmirkingRevenge]

Maybe it's a wheelchair access issue.

[JimC]

Or those who know what hypocrisy Israel deals in when it expropriates Palestinians to make room for their settlements, in contradiction with previous agreements, and then feigns to wonder why the Palestinians hate them and won't lay down their arms...

Exactly. And one can make this argument while still recognising that the armed opposition to Israel involves some fairly murderous terrorists and Islamic lunatics.

A pox on all their houses...

[charlou]

Maybe it's a wheelchair access issue.

[Coito ergo sum]

Or those who know what hypocrisy Israel deals in when it expropriates Palestinians to make room for their settlements, in contradiction with previous agreements, and then feigns to wonder why the Palestinians hate them and won't lay down their arms...

Didn't we go through all this before on another thread?

Let me ask again -- please provide proof of the "expropriation" of Palestinians. People taking this position can never support that argument.

This is not about what Israel is doing now, anyway. The Arabs have NEVER wanted Israel to be there. The Arabs were perfectly happy to have the League of Nations, the British and French Mandates, etc., carve out Syria, Transjordan, and Iraq, etc., and make them "Muslim countries." That was all fine. But, let them carve out Lebanon as a primarily Christian country, and let them carve out Israel as a Jewish country, and what do the Arab Muslims so? Wage war against the Christian Arabs in Lebanon and drive them out (which they largely succeeded in doing, and yet the people who rail against Israel say not one word about the driving out of Christians from Lebanon).

The Israel-scoffers ask what gives Israel the right to exist as a Jewish state, but not a single word is uttered descrying Syria, Jordan, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, etc. being "Muslim" countries.

The original state of Israel was formed in the late 1940s by drawing a border around the mostly Jewish areas. The residents there agreed to it. The ones in Transjordan and Syria and Egypt and the Muslims in Lebanon did not agree to it. So, they promptly invaded and attacked the new country, trying to drive out the Jews. The Arabs lost. In losing, the Israelis pushed the Transjordanians back to the Jordan River. The Jordan River, obviously, has a West Bank and an East Bank. Transjordan later gave up its claim to the West Bank, and settled on its border being the Jordan River, and renamed itself Jordan instead of "Trans-"Jordan.

So, we were left with Israel which was formed in like 1947 under international law. And, then an area of land taken by Israel in a war that it won after being attacked (but Israel did not annex it), and the people in that stateless land never agreed to any borders that did not also include Israel. Since then, there were a couple more wars initiated by Arabs. And, Israel can't get a break from being attacked by Arab Muslim forces.

What do you expect them to do?

[Coito ergo sum]

Who are the 34% in the UK who see Israel in favourable light?

The sensible ones? The others are the ones that think the Jews poisoned the wells.

You'll be conflating Jews & Israelis. I'd draw you a Venn diagram, but I'm too lazy instead:
Jew != Israeli, Israeli != Jew

I never said it did, but I'll draw you another Venn Diagram showing the correlation between those who are anti-Israel and those who also have it in for Jews. Although not a total eclipse, it's close.

[Ian]

Jeez, who are the 1% in Lebanon with a favorable rating of Israel?

[Coito ergo sum]

Jeez, who are the 1% in Lebanon with a favorable rating of Israel?

The remaining Jews and Christians, no doubt.

[mistermack]

It's Israelis who are racist thieving shits. Not jews.

There are plenty of jews who think the same.

I think Hawking never intended to go. He just maximised the publicity effect of turning it down. Nice one !!