# Ask the "crazy" settler **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 15, 2010, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-crazy-settler/553889 "2010-09-15T21:10:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2010, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-crazy-settler/553889/21 "2010-09-16T13:50:01Z")
> [@twickster](#): > > > [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > > > This isn’t really an answer to the question. > > > > One more time. Does it bother you that you’re a criminal, yes or no? > > **Dio** , enough is enough. We’re in MPSIMS. If you want to go after the OP, take it to the Pit. > > **twickster** , MPSIMS moderator If we’re not allowed to ask questions that go to the heart of the OP, why not just close the thread? ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2010, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-crazy-settler/553889/22 "2010-09-16T13:58:49Z")
We had this thread once before, but its been quite a few years. The whole situation completely disgusts me (yes, I am Jewish, and my parents have lived in Israel, and my grandparents were Holocaust survivors). OP. Have your backyard and your mall if its more important to you than peace… enjoy it. I don’t think you’re crazy. Just incredibly, and perhaps fatally, selfish. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2010, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-crazy-settler/553889/23 "2010-09-16T13:58:50Z")
> [@Contrapuntal](#): > > > [@twickster](#): > > > > **Dio** , enough is enough. We’re in MPSIMS. If you want to go after the OP, take it to the Pit. > > > > **twickster** , MPSIMS moderator > > If we’re not allowed to ask questions that go to the heart of the OP, why not just close the thread? Fair enough. I’ll move it to Great Debates. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2010, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-crazy-settler/553889/24 "2010-09-16T14:24:48Z")
Oh, this is going to be fun. ---
**Author:** ![Shinna\_Minna\_Ma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f08c70/32.png) [@Shinna\_Minna\_Ma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shinna_Minna_Ma)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2010, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-crazy-settler/553889/25 "2010-09-16T14:28:09Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > How would you react if (as a result of peace negotiations) you were told that you had to leave your home and move somewhere else? I wouldn’t be happy,but it’s a bit different for us as we’re renting an apartment; we don’t own a house or apartment here. I imagine it would be quite different if we bought or built a house. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2010, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-crazy-settler/553889/26 "2010-09-16T14:31:21Z")
> [@Shinna\_Minna\_Ma](#): > > So, all in all, we think we made the best choice. There is a great quality of life here, and we are happy with our decision. We did not move here to make a political statement, but our being here makes a statement nevertheless. Are you _happy_ about the statement you are making, or indifferent? ---
**Author:** ![Shinna\_Minna\_Ma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f08c70/32.png) [@Shinna\_Minna\_Ma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shinna_Minna_Ma)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2010, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-crazy-settler/553889/27 "2010-09-16T14:32:25Z")
> [@An\_Arky](#): > > Another dumb American here; I don’t know about the rules and not enough about the situation over there… > > Is moving to a settlement outside the green line incentivized? What I mean is, is it way cheaper or advantageous, financing-wise, to live over the green line? Or is it actually worse, financially? It used to be cheaper to buy a home here, but prices have gone up. They are still not as high as they are in Tel Aviv or Jerusalem. There are no financial incentives that I know of to live over the green line. The public transportation is partially subsidized by the government, so it’s cheaper to take buses from out here into the cities. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Excellent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f19dbf/32.png) [@Mr.Excellent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Excellent)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2010, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-crazy-settler/553889/28 "2010-09-16T14:33:51Z")
Are you concerned that, as a result of moving to Israel, your children will be required to serve in the military? ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Excellent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f19dbf/32.png) [@Mr.Excellent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Excellent)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2010, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-crazy-settler/553889/29 "2010-09-16T14:34:51Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Oh, this is going to be fun. Do you have popcorn? If not, I can put some in the microwave. ---
**Author:** ![Shinna\_Minna\_Ma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f08c70/32.png) [@Shinna\_Minna\_Ma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shinna_Minna_Ma)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2010, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-crazy-settler/553889/30 "2010-09-16T14:42:48Z")
> [@Furious\_Marmot](#): > > I assume you were an American citizen and have now changed your citizenship or are in the process of doing so. We actually have dual citizenship. We vote in American elections as well as Israeli elections. > [@](#): > > Why move to another country if you could have had the same quality of life in the one where you already lived? Because as Orthodox Jews, we feel we belong in Israel. It felt hypocritical, to me, to pray every day about returning to Israel without doing it. This is where we belong. We feel the quality of life is better here. I can go by my Hebrew name, and everyone can pronounce it and knows what it means. We live by a Hebrew calendar here, so we don’t worry about working on Shabbat or holidays. My kids are bilingual, and have much more freedom here than the could have in the U.S. > [@](#): > > Isn’t the term ‘settler’ a little over-dramatic? It sounds like you guys are suburbanites. Half the people in my office live more than 25km outside of the city, on land that was farms or wilderness before they built housing developments there. Nobody would call them settlers. The media seems to have deemed everyone living over the green line a settler. This is just how it is. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2010, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-crazy-settler/553889/31 "2010-09-16T14:44:01Z")
Could the OP plant a tree for me sometime? No rush. ---
**Author:** ![Shinna\_Minna\_Ma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f08c70/32.png) [@Shinna\_Minna\_Ma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shinna_Minna_Ma)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2010, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-crazy-settler/553889/32 "2010-09-16T14:45:10Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > This isn’t really an answer to the question. > > One more time. Does it bother you that you’re a criminal, yes or no? No. ---
**Author:** ![Baboonanza](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f475e1/32.png) [@Baboonanza](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baboonanza)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2010, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-crazy-settler/553889/33 "2010-09-16T14:50:55Z")
So, do you believe that settlements past the green line are legitimate parts of Isreal? If so, why? And more generally, are you happy for the Palestine ‘problem’ to continue indefinitely? If not, what would your solution be? ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Excellent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f19dbf/32.png) [@Mr.Excellent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Excellent)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2010, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-crazy-settler/553889/34 "2010-09-16T14:51:48Z")
> [@Shinna\_Minna\_Ma](#): > > My kids are bilingual, and have much more freedom here than the could have in the U.S. What freedoms do your kids enjoy in Israel that they would be denied in the US? ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2010, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-crazy-settler/553889/35 "2010-09-16T14:56:11Z")
> [@Shinna\_Minna\_Ma](#): > > Our _yishuv_ (settlement) is over the green line . . . That does not necessarily mean you are crazy . . . The determining factor is, is your yishuv east or west of the Wall? If it is to the east, you probably are . . . if not crazy, then lacking in foresight. Every Israeli east of the Wall probably will be forced to evacuate eventually. ---
**Author:** ![Furious\_Marmot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/dfb087/32.png) [@Furious\_Marmot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Furious_Marmot)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2010, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-crazy-settler/553889/36 "2010-09-16T14:57:01Z")
> [@Shinna\_Minna\_Ma](#): > > Because as Orthodox Jews, we feel we belong in Israel. It felt hypocritical, to me, to pray every day about returning to Israel without doing it. This is where we belong. We feel the quality of life is better here. I can go by my Hebrew name, and everyone can pronounce it and knows what it means. We live by a Hebrew calendar here, so we don’t worry about working on Shabbat or holidays. My kids are bilingual, and have much more freedom here than the could have in the U.S. OK, it’s a religious thing. I didn’t know that part about praying to go back to Israel. I take it that it’s more of a long term goal, considering that not everybody has packed up and gone. What freedoms don’t orthodox kids have in the US? ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2010, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-crazy-settler/553889/37 "2010-09-16T15:01:38Z")
> [@Mr.Excellent](#): > > > [@Alessan](#): > > > > Oh, this is going to be fun. > > Do you have popcorn? If not, I can put some in the microwave. Just put the bag on the screen, and step away. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2010, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-crazy-settler/553889/38 "2010-09-16T15:01:45Z")
> [@Shinna\_Minna\_Ma](#): > > Because as Orthodox Jews, we feel we belong in Israel. So why did you choose to live in a place that violates the law, instead of in a city in Israel that does not? ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Excellent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f19dbf/32.png) [@Mr.Excellent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Excellent)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2010, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-crazy-settler/553889/39 "2010-09-16T15:18:25Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > > [@Mr.Excellent](#): > > > > Do you have popcorn? If not, I can put some in the microwave. > > Just put the bag on the screen, and step away. Will do. Mind if I leave a box of Hot Pockets as well? What can I say, I like nerd food. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2010, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-crazy-settler/553889/40 "2010-09-16T15:20:00Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > > [@Shinna\_Minna\_Ma](#): > > > > Because as Orthodox Jews, we feel we belong in Israel. > > So why did you choose to live in a place that violates the law, instead of in a city in Israel that does not? Perhaps because according to Israeli law - at the moment, the law of the land - she is not violating any law. If any law was broken, it was by the Israeli government for allowing the settlements to be established, not by the settlers for taking them up on their offer. (I’m not a fan of the settler movement, to say the least, but I object to people being called criminals before they have been tried and convicted before a court of law). To the OP: would you consider yourself less Zionist if, instead of living in the Territories, you had immigrated to, say, Haifa or Rishon Letzion? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-crazy-settler/553889.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-crazy-settler/553889.md?page=3)