The best news I have heard in months

This story from the Jerusalem Post is the best news I have heard in months:

Arab Israelis Consider Elections Boycott

(IsraelNN.com) As the popularity of Yisrael Beiteinu (Israel Our Home) grows and debate rages on the degree of loyalty Arab citizens harbor for Israel, many of Israel's Arabs are considering avoiding the elections altogether. Many political debates between Arab parties now include a representative who argues that Arabs should not vote at all.
Mohammed Kanaaneh, one such representative, was quoted in Haaretz as arguing that voting in Israeli elections constitutes recognition of “the Zionist entity” built on what he claimed is rightfully Arab land.


By voting Arab parties into Knesset, voters allow Israel to project an image of equality and democracy, Kanaaneh argued. In reality, he said, the Arab MKs do not have significant influence.

Arab MKs argue that their presence in Knesset is necessary in order to support diplomatic agreements with the Palestinian Authority and Arab nations, and to fight discrimination.

Some Arab MKs have argued that many Arab Israelis who previously boycotted elections will vote this year in protest of the Cast Lead operation in Gaza, which ended last month. Other Arab voices claim the Gaza war will have the opposite effect -- alienating Arab voters and causing them to boycott the polls.

Recent polls predict unusually low voter turnout in the Arab sector, where turnout was already lagging behind the rest of the country, and some show the Balad and Ra'am Ta'al parties failing to enter Knesset.

If this prediction holds true, and if right-leaning voters do not carry out a boycott of their own, the Knesset next could become a relatively nationalistic one.

I really hope that they carry through with it. It is the next best thing to my proposal of taking voting rights away from all non-Jews.

Arabs don't have many Nobel Prize winners. But they do have something to be proud of...

What about Collateral Damage?

You might be surprised to find out that a fire-breathing, right wing, wacko extremist like myself is concerned with civilian deaths in Gaza. Well I am. Let me first reference two thoughtful post on this issue and then I will throw in my two cents.

DovBear: War (what is it good for?)(Absolutely nothing!)

The important quote here is:

Here's the thing: I agree that Israel should destroy the rockets, and the crews who launch them. I'm prepared to accept some collateral damage among ordinary Arabs in order to achieve this aim. I support the right of a sovereign nation to protect its citizens which is why I supported the war on Afghanistan, and also the war in Iraq before it became common knowledge that Bush had lied to the country about Iraq's capacity to harm us. My support for the war on Hamas only falters when I consider the likely results of Israel's action: More furious, impoverished Arabs; more anger; more intractibility; less international support; the increased liklihood that Hezbollah, Iran or Israel's own Arab citizens will throw in their lot with Hamas. If any of that happens, the war was a step backwards, not forward.

Mystical Paths: Gaza points-Gag me with a spoon.

His point is:

(AFP) At least 25% of Palestinians killed during Israel's massive offensive in the Gaza Strip have been civilians, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees said on Wednesday.

This is sad, but it means in "the most densely populated area in the world" where the bad guysplace their bases, ammunition, and firing positions inside civilian buildings (that's an international war crime by the way), the Israeli Air Force has successfully killed Hamas combantants75% right on target. That's got to be the most accurate bombing in world history! Seriously impressive.

Important housing hint for Gazans...when your neighbors are masked men loading missile launchers in their windows, it may be a good idea to move to a new apartment.

I have to say that they both make excellent points. (Although, every time I hear a Brooklyn Jew like DovBear say anything about Israel with such certainty, it makes me a bit sick in the stomach. )

As long as Israel continues to take half-measures, then no matter how accurate our bombing may be, we are acting immorally. We are acting immorally towards our boys and toward the Arab enemy.

The moral answer is to wage a moral war. A war who's goal is to SOLVE THE PROBLEM. That is to eject the Arab threat from our land altogether. Such a war will have a lot of casualties all at once and then will be finished. When all is said and done though, there will be less death an both sides. Also, and perhaps more importantly, we will not be in the position of being custodian to a people who want to destroy us. A position that is fraught with uncounted moral problems intrinsic to it.

We need transfer now!