Israel defies US demands to stop building in Jerusalem

Land or religion are secondary causes of the Middle East conflict. The real reason is psychological, i. e. resentment of success. Anti-Zionism is driven by the same phenomena that have always promoted antisemitism: envy and ignorance of economics. This emotion manifests in the hatred of traders, entrepreneurs, bankers and other wealth creators that exists wherever a minority distinguishes itself economically. One of many examples is the Chinese community in Southeast Asia. Helmut Schoeck's Envy: A Theory of Social Behaviour provides an in-depth analysis. Ordinary people do not normally harbor this resentment; the intelligentsia does and often manages to spread it to society at large through the notions that poverty results from 'exploitation,' that resources are limited and that therefore the wealth of some is the cause of others' poverty.

That's why Israel divides the world. Its opponents in the West, concentrated at the UN, transnational bodies and the humanities departments of academia, are those who consider capitalism as a zero-sum game in which success is attained at the expense of the poor & the environment. On the other side are those who admire success and recognize that everyone benefits by the accomplishments of achievers. Antisemitism is similarly a zero-sum delusion. Collectivists and their apologists envy Jews since they're unable to emulate them; they therefore attempt to destroy that which shows up their own failure. Jewish entrepreneurs and scientists like Albert Einstein, Niels Bohr, Heinrich Hertz, John von Neumann and Richard Feynman helped to bring about the IT-revolution that provides the matrix of our modern prosperity.
Israel in fact leads the world in per-capita innovation as proved by a 2008 Deloitte & Touche survey indicating that the Jewish State outperformed all but the United States in software, telecoms, microchips, biopharmaceuticals, medical devices and clean energy. The country's growth since the 1990s is primarily due to (a) immigration of freedom-loving people from the former Soviet Union (b) immigration from the USA of people with business acumen and entrepreneurial skills (c) economic reforms that reduced taxes, regulations and state ownership, for which Benjamin Netanyahu deserves much credit.

After the 1967 war Israelis started settling in the Territories, establishing an infrastructure of education, electricity, water & medical care. During Israeli rule, the economy in these areas surged by about 25% annually; growth surpassed that of Israel itself which was still shackled by statist thought. Palestinian life expectancy increased significantly as did their numbers, while the median income tripled. All of this came to a halt when the West and the United Nations forced the return of Arafat and his terrorists. The Palestinian Authority became the globe's prime per capita consumer of foreign aid as billions of dollars were squandered on maintaining a culture of corruption, blame, victimhood and dependency.

Those who justify terrorism against a democracy that respects the rule of law and then condemn the inevitable retaliatory defense are supporters of barbarism and tyranny. There's a link between European antisemitism and Palestinianism. Haj Amin al-Husseini, the grand mufti of Jerusalem, was an ally of the Nazis and a participant in the Shoah/Holocaust. Unsurprisingly, Arafat was an ardent promoter of Mein Kampf.

Given the vicious and hateful intent of this post, I vote it down.

Why do you hate the mall.

also palastinians defy us and european demands to stop suicide bombings and rocket launchings.while israel continues to build housing in a territory known for the last 6 thousand yrs as judea (renamed west bank about 40 yrs ago) palastinians are building mosks in israel, not for worshiping but so that they have structures that israel cant bulldoze. israel builds to support its people palastinians build to hurt jews.
imagine if only fatah or hamas would use all the effort they have been putting into weapons smuggling and illegal mosk building into infrastructure building for schools roads and hospitals for thier people