My take on immediate post 9/11 and ditto the tube bombings was U.K.Muslim spokesmen didnt say
" these people are total and utter scum and there is absaloutly no justification for their sickminded actions"
,no it was always"
well yes we cannot condone their actions
BUT…"Always the but “You can understand that the Muslim population have reason to feel alienated”
BUT “In some quarters out of desperation some misguided individuals felt driven to …” BUT and so on.
Amongst the younger Muslim population the admiration felt for the terrorists was barely concealable even amongst those interviewed on national T.V.
"WOW youve got to admire their courage " etc.
A Pakistani corner shop owner told me that he was doing a thriving trade in vids of the atrocity to young and not so young Muslim lads .
Maybe that trend wasnt reflected nationally I wouldn t know.
Its good to know that though their parents and grandparents originally came from overseas
British born Muslims hearts are as one with all the other Britsh ethnic components in our new improved multi cultural nation .
No cheering on the Pakistani cricket team for them,or sending their kids to Madrassis and definitely not cheering when British troops are killed in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Does anyone else get that warm feeling when they think about it or have I just pissed down my leg again ?
In Luton after 7/7 young guys of Pakistani descent were driving round honking their horns and cheering. It was not reported, I only know because someone who lives there told me.
Fortunately everyone I know of Moslem descent is just fine, but I don’t live in a ghetto.
I am mainly staying out of this thread, as it mainly is serving the needs of those who want to see only which is consistent with their own preconcieved ideas, but some misstatements need at least some correction. While Zionists did not enter an empty land they also did not enter an area with “millions” who had been living there previously. Zionist settlement between 1880 and 1948 did not dispossess anyone; Arabs moved to where Jews were settling. The data can show that much at least.
As to the future:
The Israeli people will not accept any solution that ensures the destruction of a state with a Jewish identity. “One State” and “Right of Return” do that so will not occur. That is just reality.
They will also not accept any solution that does not ensure more security than the sataus quo. Return to pre-1967 borders is less security, not more, until no terrorists exist. It will not happen.
Any longterm solution must make for an economically viable Palestinian state.
Ideally cooperatiion between a Palestinian state and Israel on development issues (industries, tax base, water mangement, etc.) is in everyone’s best interests.
So long term the best answer for both parties will be a Palestinian state gradually working together with an Israel that has borders that are defensible and secure, with less need to expend resources on that defense as cooperation grows. The economic success of that neighboring Palestinian state would be in Israel’s interest as well.
Getting there is the issue. Until such seems feasible then Israel’s least poor option is the “snapping turtle”: disengage behing a defensible shell and snap briefly at anyone who pokes in; wait for the other side to be really willing to talk about solutions that are actually possible. I remain hopeful that the time may come.