How being in Israel changed me.

[Hooahguy]

So I have two questions for you:

1) In the political compass thread you said something about the "Islamic" idea of honour and Jihad. What do you mean by that?
2) With the recent riots that culminated in the vandalisation of mosques, do you think that Palestinian (armed) resistance is understandable?

1) Well, lets use Saddam and Iraq as our example. Islamic ideas of honor means showing no tail to an enemy. You may show no weakness (at least according to the book I read on it). In addition, Saddam could not show weakness to his enemies in his country, or he risked being overthrown. A lot of his power hinged on the fact that he was very powerful, when in fact, he was not. So it made sense that he would go to lengths to make it look like he had WMDs to save his honor and the honor of his country, so much so that he gambled a war with a vastly superior enemy to save that.
Now lets apply that to this conflict. Israelis threw Palestinians out of their homes. There is no denying that. It was wrong of them to do that without permission or proper compensation. Because of that, they feel (and rightly so) wronged by the Israelis. They demand their honor be restored. So there is conflict, and there will always be, until, if my theory is correct, their honor is restored.

lol Hooahguy, I expected you to say that you heard gunfire for the first time and fainted (that happened to other Americans when my sister went to Israel...she was apparently the only one in her group who ever used a gun. There was fighting nearby and everyone panicked and freaked out).
Seriously though, thanks for posting. That is interesting. My sister had a much different experience in Israel, but she only spent two weeks there. Maybe it has to do with where you are?

Maybe. The area Im in is pretty modern-orthodox, so they try to embrace western values and Judaism. Though next door is one of the most ultra-orthodox centers of the world, so that isnt helping.
Also Ive fired a number of weapons so the sound of gunfire isnt new to me.

The good news is that you have the Land of the Free to come home to.

I seriously can not wait to come home. My flight is on the 28th of March, and Ill be home for 2 weeks, then I go back (sadly) for a month and a half, then my final flight home is on June 4th.

Whoa, what a long way you have come! I still remember the new Hooahguy vehemently defending Israel and everything the country did. Obviously now you should have a clearer picture of the everyday descrimination of being a Palestinian or an Arab/Muslim living in Israel.

So you are really feeling the differences between the American culture of tolerance and reason with which you have grown up with and the Israeli culture of compliance to Jewish religious socio-cultural norms and enforced pride of Israel and all things Jewish over and above any other connections that you might have towards non-Jewish things. Also, you now begin to see how one-sided the media can be (Especially the American one) in regards to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

Yes, I definitly see it. And I understand it. Though many Jews here are in poverty, it is worse for most Muslims. They are definitly descriminated against, I see it every day, and it is a horrible thing. While bombing innocent civilians is also very wrong, I cannot ignore what Israel has done to the Palestinians.

Though let me be clear: I am not anti-Israel- having a Jewish State is vital, and it needs to be upheld.