Let me preface this by saying that I have not done any background reading on the subject; I am aware that a quick Google search will easily answer these questions but where's the fun in that? Seriously though, a discussion will likely be more interesting.

My understanding of the origins of the Israel-Palestine conflict:
-After WWII ended there were millions of displaced Jews across Europe who were essentially country-less
-The U.N. decided that the best thing to do would be to create a new area of land were the Jews could settle
-The U.N. decided to create this new land by taking a chunk out of Palestine and the state of Israel was formed
-Since then the Palestinians have resented the Jews since the former feel that the latter have unjustifiably stolen a part of Palestine

Is this basically correct?

Questions:

a) Most (all?) Palestinians are Muslim, right?
b) Most (all?) Israelis are Jews, right?
c) Is a part of the conflict between these two groups of people rooted in religious differences?
d) Why do some people say that Israelis are not 'real' Jews?
e) Why has there been so much conflict in the area of Gaza since WWII? Is it essentially because Gaza is the area of land which separates Israel from Palestine?
f) Does Jordan have anything to do with this conflict?
g) Who/what is Hamas?
h) Who/what is Hezbollah?

Finally, what exactly has been happening recently with all the violence going on in Gaza? Who is attacking whom and why?

Clearly I have very little idea about what has been happening in this part of the world.

LOL

www.google.com

Ps. Nice question. I think people have been struggling to answer some of those for the past 60 years, so good luck getting an objective, neutral answer. Also, this could've been posted in the Gaza Bombing thread.

enjoy..

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israel_palestine_conflict

___________________
Palm Trees > Pine Trees , Sand > Snow

Is the 10 page thread not a sufficient discussion on the topic?

I'll dumb it down to this....its like two people having a tug-o-war over a cupcake....ones person is a big tough guy and the other is a small weakling. Both people are fighting hard to win the cupcake but the big guy is slowly winning the battle.

___________________

quote:

Scott has been introduced to the rave scene, and Ecstasy, by Craig. The two of them go out on the weekends, with some of Craigs friends, and stay up all night, dancing in a drug-fueled trance.

Last edited by Moral Hazard on Apr-26-2011 at 07:48

quote:

Originally posted by Nick Cenik Let me preface this by saying that I have not done any background reading on the subject; I am aware that a quick Google search will easily answer these questions but where's the fun in that? Seriously though, a discussion will likely be more interesting. My understanding of the origins of the Israel-Palestine conflict: -After WWII ended there were millions of displaced Jews across Europe who were essentially country-less -The U.N. decided that the best thing to do would be to create a new area of land were the Jews could settle -The U.N. decided to create this new land by taking a chunk out of Palestine and the state of Israel was formed -Since then the Palestinians have resented the Jews since the former feel that the latter have unjustifiably stolen a part of Palestine Is this basically correct?

Basically correct is insufficient to understand the conflict. I'd love to help you out on the history but it takes more time then I care to give. You should read up on it if you actually want to understand the conflict.

quote:

Questions: a) Most Palestinians are Muslim, right?

yes; however, there are Christian and presumably atheist/agnostic minorities.

quote:

b) Most Israelis are Jews, right?

Yes; however, there are significant Muslim, Christian, atheist/agnostic minorities.

quote:

c) Is a part of the conflict between these two groups of people rooted in religious differences?

In propaganda, maybe, but in truth the conflict has far more to do with economics and the Israeli occupation of land that was once semi-autonomously controlled by Palestinians followed by Israeli military conquest of further lands and displacement of people. Essentially both sides believe they have right of ownership over the disputed land... both sides have valid arguments.

quote:

d) Why do some people say that Israelis are not 'real' Jews?

no idea, never actually heard that before... that said, Israeli is a nationality not a religion and there are Israelis of faiths and non-faith other then Judaism

quote:

e) Why has there been so much conflict in the area of Gaza since WWII? Is it essentially because Gaza is the area of land which separates Israel from Palestine?

Gaza does not separate anything from anything. It is a very small strip of land along the sea bordered by Israel proper and Egypt. Gaza has been a hot bed for conflict because it is home to many people that were displaced by the Israeli settlement of Palestinian lands and is economically depressed compared with Israel proper. This historical sense of being wronged coupled with economic disadvantage has created a revolutionary culture.

quote:

f) Does Jordan have anything to do with this conflict?

Jordan has a large Palestinian minority that tends to support more radical Islamist political movements... those movements (largely Salfist) would like to democratize Jordon... which is a threat to the Royal House. Given this reality it is presumable that Jordan will stay publicly quiet about this as to not upset their Palestinian minority while actually supporting Israel as Hamas is well connected with the Salfist Islamic movement in Jordan.

quote:

g) Who/what is Hamas?

a Shia Muslim political/terrorist group supported by Iran and operating in Gaza. They are presently the political authority in Gaza.

quote:

h) Who/what is Hezbollah?

a Shia Muslim political/terrorist group supported by Iran and operating in Lebanon (mainly in southern Lebanon). They have representation in the Lebanese legislature. They have no (direct) involvement in this conflict and no (official) ties to Hamas.

quote:

Finally, what exactly has been happening recently with all the violence going on in Gaza? Who is attacking whom and why?

a cease fire between Hamas and Israel expired recently. Hamas used this as opportunity to attack Israeli cities near the border with rockets (likely motivation was to force Israel to open the boarders between Gaza and Israel and Egypt, which have been largely sealed for some time now, which would have likely eased the economic troubles in Gaza). Israel is following a long standing policy of disproportionate retaliation by responding to Hamas' "negotiating tactics" with overwhelming force (part of Israel's strategy of constantly reminding would-be invaders that they have the strength to destroy them militarily).

___________________

quote:

Originally posted by RickyM you're just a shit version of Moral Hazard. At least he knows what he's talking about.

quote:

Originally posted by pkcRAISTLIN lol, i love it when moral feels the need to lay the smack down

i could go on and on about what i read on wikipedia with you like everybody else, which would be boring, or i could let my friend farfour explain everything:

This is really not the best place to look for answers,
It's always better to do your own research from established independent sources of information rather than asking people on message boards whose posts will inevitably contain some mistakes.

quote:

Originally posted by Moral Hazard a Shia Muslim political/terrorist group supported by Iran and operating in Gaza. They are presently the political authority in Gaza.

Hamas is not a Shia organisation, in fact Palestine has a very small percentage of Shia Muslims.

quote:

Originally posted by BrownBrown It's always better to do your own research

Yep, I agree. I'm going to read the wiki article

http://tinyurl.com/8sdxo7

Just click on

lol. as i heard on jon stewart last night: god promised land to one group of people, but he also promised the land to the other set of people. now they are both fighting for it.

quote:

Originally posted by BrownBrown Hamas is not a Shia organisation, in fact Palestine has a very small percentage of Shia Muslims.

Shit, I fucked up. Sorry. I think I may have just presumed it was Shia due to Iran's support. That will teach me.

___________________

quote:

Originally posted by RickyM you're just a shit version of Moral Hazard. At least he knows what he's talking about.

quote:

Originally posted by pkcRAISTLIN lol, i love it when moral feels the need to lay the smack down