# "Arafat Chips"—for the best in Jew-hating snacking pleasure! **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [May 28, 2002, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arafat-chips-for-the-best-in-jew-hating-snacking-pleasure/111219 "2002-05-28T18:23:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Efrem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d78d45/32.png) [@Efrem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Efrem)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2002, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arafat-chips-for-the-best-in-jew-hating-snacking-pleasure/111219/61 "2002-05-30T19:28:27Z")
> [@](#): > > Again, Arafat is a notorious murderer of Jews. His picture on a bag of chips is an endorsement of the murders of Jews. Arafat is also the current leader for an independent Palestinian state. He has also worked with/against the state of Israel to create an Palestinian home. These chips stand for Palestine, they are using Arafat’s image, but only to that extent, not for “the murders of Jews”. > [@](#): > > How would you feel if somebody sold “Mengistu Chips”? Don’t compare Mengistu to Arafat. That’s like comparing Stalin to Sharon, they don’t come close. I suggest you read about Ethiopia under his rule before we start this disscussion. ---
**Author:** ![Efrem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d78d45/32.png) [@Efrem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Efrem)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2002, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arafat-chips-for-the-best-in-jew-hating-snacking-pleasure/111219/62 "2002-05-30T19:30:22Z")
> [@](#): > > **Mojo** > Are you trying to delude us or just yourself? Take a look at the bag in the link above- By far the most prominent thing is Arafat. THE SNACK IS NAMED AFTER HIM, SPECIFICALLY HIS “NOM DU GUERRE” (war name). The company will not say specifically what organizations the profits will be donated to. Are you going to provide proof that they are funding Terrorists, or do you just expect that fear and hate of all-things-arab will carry you through this debate? ---
**Author:** ![Efrem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d78d45/32.png) [@Efrem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Efrem)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2002, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arafat-chips-for-the-best-in-jew-hating-snacking-pleasure/111219/63 "2002-05-30T19:31:26Z")
> [@](#): > > **Abe Babe** > For efrem, would you feel any different about the chips if they were Hamas chips, or PFLP (sp?) chips? So your comparing Arafat to Hamas? ---
**Author:** ![Efrem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d78d45/32.png) [@Efrem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Efrem)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2002, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arafat-chips-for-the-best-in-jew-hating-snacking-pleasure/111219/64 "2002-05-30T19:32:45Z")
> [@](#): > > **Daoloth** > So would you have no moral qualms about making “Reich Chips!”, the crispy crunch chip with the bag that has both the German flag and der Fuehrer? Oh, sure, they endorse Hitler, but they also endorse the natural German Lebensraum! Sig Heil! > > Still stand by your implied assertion that since it’s for a good cause having a terrorist on the cover is permissible? So, you are equating Arafat to Hitler? ---
**Author:** ![Efrem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d78d45/32.png) [@Efrem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Efrem)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2002, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arafat-chips-for-the-best-in-jew-hating-snacking-pleasure/111219/65 "2002-05-30T19:34:37Z")
> [@](#): > > **milroyj** > “The Hero” one is just as bad, if not worse. See, from a practical standpoint, throwing rocks at soldiers is almost never a good idea. It is likely to get you killed post haste, what with the soldiers being better armed, well-trained etc. > > To use your own children for this purpose is reprehensible People see those Kids as heros, if a country invaded the USA and Americans were protesting this way you would concider them heros too. You can say that doing this is stupid, but 1. Kids (all over the world) rarely think about their future. They get mad, they do rash things. 2. This fits exactly with Arab culture. From ancient times to today Arabian culture (even the religion of Islam) has followed the Muruwwah. The Muruwwah or “Arab code of virtue” is consists of: Bravery, patience, loyalty, hospitality, generosity to the poor, protection of the weak, defiance toward the strong, and persistence in revenge. This is the kind of justice that prevailed in the desert. It is a code for them kind of like in Japan with their culture of warriors. Few understand life and culture in this part of the world, which I fear contributes to all the confusions ---
**Author:** ![gobear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8dc957/32.png) [@gobear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gobear)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2002, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arafat-chips-for-the-best-in-jew-hating-snacking-pleasure/111219/66 "2002-05-30T19:38:28Z")
> [@](#): > > I suggest you read about Ethiopia under his rule before we start this disscussion. Actually, I had an Ethiopian roommate whose family was wiped out by the Mengistu regime, and I heard plenty about the crimes committed by the Dirgue, so don’t act so damn superior. Mengistu became leader of Ethiopia through slaughter of innocents. Arafat did the same. Their crimes differ only in quantity, not in kind. If Arafat were able to take all of Israel, trust me, his name would soon be listed next to Mengistu, Stalin, and Pol Pot. The only difference between the big league mass murderers and Arafat is that he has not yet accomplished his goal, the total destruction of the Jewish state of Israel. ---
**Author:** ![Daoloth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/82dd89/32.png) [@Daoloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daoloth)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2002, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arafat-chips-for-the-best-in-jew-hating-snacking-pleasure/111219/67 "2002-05-30T19:41:24Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by efrem \* > \*\* > So, you are equating Arafat to Hitler? \*\* In the regard that they’re both murderous anti-Semites, yes. Although Arafat is definitely the lesser of two evils, they’re beliefs and goals about Jews sometimes have common threads. Tangent: I bet if you gave Arafat’s al-Aqsa a gas camp and some armored transport vans, there’d be more dead Jewish settlers than you can count in the hundreds. Quoth efrem, “So your [sic] comparing Arafat to Hamas?” Why not? Arafat has formal ties (logistics support, monetary funds, indirect creator of) to the al-Aqsa Martry’s Brigade, which does such noble acts as bombing family venues and shooting up Jewish high schools. Oh, and ever heard of “Black September”, efrem? ---
**Author:** ![gobear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8dc957/32.png) [@gobear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gobear)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2002, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arafat-chips-for-the-best-in-jew-hating-snacking-pleasure/111219/68 "2002-05-30T19:42:08Z")
Sorry, bub, but while one can make a case for an independent Palestinian state, whitewashing an evil, murdering thug like Arafat isn’t the way to go about persuading anybody. ---
**Author:** ![Daoloth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/82dd89/32.png) [@Daoloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daoloth)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2002, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arafat-chips-for-the-best-in-jew-hating-snacking-pleasure/111219/69 "2002-05-30T19:44:06Z")
their\* ---
**Author:** ![Olentzero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/90ced4/32.png) [@Olentzero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Olentzero)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2002, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arafat-chips-for-the-best-in-jew-hating-snacking-pleasure/111219/70 "2002-05-30T19:48:50Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by pldennison \* > **I’d love to give you some cites, Olent, except there aren’t any. No why? Because there are no Jews in those countries anymore. For some odd reason, they must not feel very welcome or comfortable in them. Any speculation as to why that might be?** Well, it could be that they voluntarily moved to Israel. It could be that there weren’t very many Jews in those countries to begin with. It could also be that they were pushed out of the surrounding Arab countries like the Palestinians were pushed off their land. You’ve quoted numbers to show there aren’t many Jews there, now show me some evidence that they were terrorized into leaving. > [@](#): > > **You want me to go on? No, I didn’t think you did. See, it’s hard to ghettoize someone if there aren’t any within your borders. If you were to look at the United States, which shares a huge border with Mexico, and discover no Hispanics living there, what conclusion would you draw? You’d conclude that maybe there’s something inherent in U.S. culture that was unfriendly to Hispanics. I know it, and you know it, so don’t pretend otherwise.** Well, if careful research showed that the standard of living in Mexico was far higher than that of the United States (say around the level of Sweden), then I’d hardly be surprised that few Hispanics chose to emigrate to the United States. My point here is that your approach of automatically concluding “It is like _this_” merely by citing the surface appearance of a situation is a shoddy way of arguing your point. > [@](#): > > **Your question regarding Germany might have some relevance if: 1) Europe was composed of monarchies and crypto-fascist dictatorships instead of democracies, like the Middle East, and 2) Most of Europe was dominated by governments with, at best, leanings towards Muslim fundamentalism and fanaticism, and at worst, outright participation in terrorist funding. But Europe isn’t like that, and the Middle East is, so there is no relevance beyond, "Look! A big distracting thingy!"** Not at all. Germany has an obviously demonstrable proof of virulent anti-Semitic history, yet there seems to be still a significant population of Jews in the country today. (Unfortunately, the CIA World Factbook doesn’t list the specific percentage of the German population that is Jewish, but rather lumps them all under the 26% of “unaffiliated or other religion”). Assuming, say, a generous 20% of the German population is Jewish, that makes a pretty high retention rate for a country that killed four million of them. Therefore, the numbers you cite for the Arab countries must have one of two explanations: a) Those countries didn’t have a large Jewish population to begin with; or b) The Arab countries did things to their Jewish populations that make Hitler look like a piker by comparison. Your assertion is b). Please, therefore, provide every bit of evidence you can that the Arab countries have inflicted one of the worst crimes against humanity in the history of civilization against their former Jewish populations. > [@](#): > > **Why were there Jews in your little parade? Beats the hell out of me.** Well, because they were just as horrified by Israel’s conduct against the Palestinians as the rest of us were. Actually quite simple. > [@](#): > > **If I were a Jew and saw someone with a Star of David=Swastika sign, I’d proceed in no small manner to beat them within an inch of their lives. I might do it even though I’m _not_ a Jew.** You’ll pardon me for thinking, therefore, that those Jews who argued successfully with the carriers of those signs to either drop them or cover them with another pro-Palestinian sign are far better representatives of their religion than you could ever hope to be. > [@](#): > > **So why aren’t the Palestinians bombing Jordan or Syria or all their other Arab brethren who don’t seem to want to help them out too much? If your answer is, “Because the Jordanians aren’t Jewish,” you might be a winner.** Actually, a better answer would be “Because the Jordanians didn’t kick the Palestinians off their own land, slaughtering hundreds and thousands and destroying whole villages in the process.” > [@](#): > > **I don’t hold any spite for you personally, Olent. I think you’re a good guy and a good father. I’m not particularly smart or sharp when it comes to politics, and I’m not the most well-read guy in the world, and I have a tendency to get easily aggravated.** That, **Phil** , has become more than painfully obvious. > [@](#): > > \*\*But there are some things in the world, dammit, that are simply evident to anyone willing to see them. This is one of them. \*\* Don’t let your tendency to get aggravated easily get in the way of your ability to think critically. ---
**Author:** ![pldennison](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9fc29f/32.png) [@pldennison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pldennison)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2002, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arafat-chips-for-the-best-in-jew-hating-snacking-pleasure/111219/71 "2002-05-30T19:52:49Z")
> [@](#): > > Bravery, patience, loyalty, hospitality, generosity to the poor, protection of the weak . . . Yep, those are the things I think of when I read about some scumbag sneaking into a house and shooting a five-year-old child in the head in her sleep. Or some worthless waste of human flesh blowing themselves up and killing an elderly grandmother and a young child, and injuring a baby. Yeah, that’s some brave defense of the weak, there. If that kind of behavior is what this so-called “code of virtue” (Virtue!! Jesus Christ.) leads to, and you defend it . . . this kind of behavior is not something you strive to understand. It’s something you strive to _eliminate_. And I’ll sure equate Arafat with Hamas. Not only has he failed in all his years of Palestinian “leadership” to take them out of the loop (even though he could have done so), he’s actively encouraged links between his own Fatah organization and Hamas. ---
**Author:** ![gobear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8dc957/32.png) [@gobear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gobear)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2002, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arafat-chips-for-the-best-in-jew-hating-snacking-pleasure/111219/72 "2002-05-30T19:57:22Z")
[quote] You’ve quoted numbers to show there aren’t many Jews there, now show me some evidence that they were terrorized into leaving. [q/uote] Yo. what about my cites? If you like, I can dig up some truly heinous anti-Jewish rhetoric from the heads of Arab states, including what Assad the Younger of Syria said to the Pope. ---
**Author:** ![Daoloth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/82dd89/32.png) [@Daoloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daoloth)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2002, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arafat-chips-for-the-best-in-jew-hating-snacking-pleasure/111219/73 "2002-05-30T20:00:15Z")
There are roughly 60,000 Jews in Germany, out of a population of 80 million. They constitute roughly 1.3% of the population. Oh, and when did the Israeli’s slaughter hundreds of thousands of Palestinians, pray tell? ---
**Author:** ![pldennison](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9fc29f/32.png) [@pldennison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pldennison)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2002, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arafat-chips-for-the-best-in-jew-hating-snacking-pleasure/111219/74 "2002-05-30T20:06:58Z")
> [@](#): > > You’ve quoted numbers to show there aren’t many Jews there, now show me some evidence that they were terrorized into leaving. I never said that they were. I said that the Arab states were actively anti-Semitic, and they are. > [@](#): > > Therefore, the numbers you cite for the Arab countries must have one of two explanations: > > a) Those countries didn’t have a large Jewish population to begin with; or > > b) The Arab countries did things to their Jewish populations that make Hitler look like a piker by comparison. > > Your assertion is b). Please quote **e-x-a-c-t-l-y** where I asserted “b,” or immediately withdraw this assertion. I can’t believe that you would attempt to put words in my mouth after I’ve shared pizza with you, like that My assertion, spefically, was that Israel treats its Arab citizens far better than any Arab state treats Jews. No more, no less. This is an easily demonstrated fact, and in fact, as gobear’s links to Arab media have shown, _has been_ demonstrated. And you can ignore away the differences between Western European liberal democracies and Middle Eastern monarchial despotism if you want, but it bears heavily on your astuteness if you do. > [@](#): > > You’ll pardon me for thinking, therefore, that those Jews who argued successfully with the carriers of those signs to either drop them or cover them with another pro-Palestinian sign are far better representatives of their religion than you could ever hope to be. 1. Say, why did those people show up with those signs in the first place? Either they were prone to greater hyperbole than I could ever be capable of, they were egregiously stupid, or they actually were anti-Semitic. You pick. 2. What religion is that, by the way? ---
**Author:** ![pldennison](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9fc29f/32.png) [@pldennison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pldennison)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2002, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arafat-chips-for-the-best-in-jew-hating-snacking-pleasure/111219/75 "2002-05-30T20:20:36Z")
Oh, and 3) don’t you even **dare** , after you’ve proudly proclaimed how you would actively work to prevent other American citizens from exercising their free speech rights, to get up on a moral high horse over my expressing outrage towards some shithead who would equate my relatives with my relatives’ murderers. Someone’s going to hold up a sign telling me that my family is functionally equivalent to the people who killed them, and you want me to be calm about it? Riiiiiiiight. ---
**Author:** ![gobear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8dc957/32.png) [@gobear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gobear)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2002, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arafat-chips-for-the-best-in-jew-hating-snacking-pleasure/111219/76 "2002-05-30T20:26:24Z")
> [@](#): > > Either they were prone to greater hyperbole than I could ever be capable of, they were egregiously stupid, or they actually were anti-Semitic. You pick. Actually, I don’t think those choices are mutually exclusive, especially the last two. **Olentzero** , you’re totally ignoring evidence that the Palestinian cause is being used as a smokescreen by Arab nations, motivated by centuries of anti-Jewish hatred, to attack Israel’s existence. If Arab nations genuinely were concerned for the welfare of Palestinians, why won’t they let Palestinians settle in their countries? Kuwait, for example, employs tens of thousands of Palestinian guest workers who are ecluded from applying for citizenship. Sure, Palestinian and Israeli hate and bloodshed need to end in an equitable, fair, and above all, final peace settlement. Pretending the the Palestinians are motivated only by love of coutnry. or that they are willing to coexist with a Jewish state, is fatuous in the extreme. And I’m not impressed by the fact that you have leftist Jewish marchers in a pro-Palestinian demonstration. One of the marks of any leftist movement is often a rejection of one’s own ethnic or national group. Cetainly, we’ve seen any number of leftists in the US supporting anti-American causes. ---
**Author:** ![Efrem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d78d45/32.png) [@Efrem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Efrem)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2002, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arafat-chips-for-the-best-in-jew-hating-snacking-pleasure/111219/77 "2002-05-30T20:27:17Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by gobear \* > **Actually, I had an Ethiopian roommate whose family was wiped out by the Mengistu regime, and I heard plenty about the crimes committed by the Dirgue, so don’t act so damn superior.** It did strike me as silly that if you really were educated on things like “the Red Terror”, daily masscares, and the great fammine of the 80’s you can compare Mengistu/Derg to Arafat. \*\* > [@](#): > > Mengistu became leader of Ethiopia through slaughter of innocents. Arafat did the same. Their crimes differ only in quantity, not in kind.\*\* They differ in quantity? that is for damn sure! \*\* > [@](#): > > If Arafat were able to take all of Israel, trust me, his name would soon be listed next to Mengistu, Stalin, and Pol Pot.\*\* Trust you? Is that even a valid argument? ---
**Author:** ![Efrem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d78d45/32.png) [@Efrem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Efrem)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2002, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arafat-chips-for-the-best-in-jew-hating-snacking-pleasure/111219/78 "2002-05-30T20:30:35Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Daoloth \* > \*\* > > In the regard that they’re both murderous anti-Semites, yes. Although Arafat is definitely the lesser of two evils, they’re beliefs and goals about Jews sometimes have common threads. > > Tangent: I bet if you gave Arafat’s al-Aqsa a gas camp and some armored transport vans, there’d be more dead Jewish settlers than you can count in the hundreds. > > Quoth efrem, “So your [sic] comparing Arafat to Hamas?” > > Why not? Arafat has formal ties (logistics support, monetary funds, indirect creator of) to the al-Aqsa Martry’s Brigade, which does such noble acts as bombing family venues and shooting up Jewish high schools. > > Oh, and ever heard of “Black September”, efrem? \*\* I really don’t have the time to start this disscusion, so hopefully I’ll just say Godwin, and be done with it. ---
**Author:** ![Efrem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d78d45/32.png) [@Efrem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Efrem)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2002, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arafat-chips-for-the-best-in-jew-hating-snacking-pleasure/111219/79 "2002-05-30T20:36:25Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by gobear \* > \*\*Sorry, bub, but while one can make a case for an independent Palestinian state, whitewashing an evil, murdering thug like Arafat isn’t the way to go about persuading anybody. \*\* The chips do not depict Arafat as a Saint, or whitewash his past at all. ---
**Author:** ![Daoloth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/82dd89/32.png) [@Daoloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daoloth)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2002, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arafat-chips-for-the-best-in-jew-hating-snacking-pleasure/111219/80 "2002-05-30T20:42:45Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by efrem \* > \*\* > > I really don’t have the time to start this disscusion, so hopefully I’ll just say Godwin, and be done with it. \*\* My use of Godwin’s was on a specified tangent, so please do respond to the rest of it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arafat-chips-for-the-best-in-jew-hating-snacking-pleasure/111219.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arafat-chips-for-the-best-in-jew-hating-snacking-pleasure/111219.md?page=5)