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0 pointsandrepd4y ago0 comments

> So it's easy to see Israel's interest in supplying technology to those regimes and assuring good relations;

It's easy to see that it's in my interest to kill a woman on an unlit street and nick her purse. What kind of argument is this??

It's especially aggravating since so much propaganda comes out touting Israel as a democracy and decrying the savage Palestinians for being a dictatorship.

0 comments

yuvalr14y ago

But Israel is a democracy and the Palestinians didn't have elections for 15 years already. These are facts, not propaganda.

andrepdOP4y ago

But apparently they (Nethanyahu and co) do not have problems with supporting dictatorships where it suits them, nor of subverting their own democracy. That is the point I'm making.

inglor_cz4y ago

Unfortunately that is the case with almost every significant democracy under the Sun.

Just count all the European countries that prop up Saudi Arabia and make business with Putin and Xi. Most of them are even afraid to call Taiwan by its name.

joelbluminator4y ago

It's probably not in your interest since you'd go to jail and the whole metaphor seems quite simplistic to me. Since you seem to be talking about ethics, not interests, If Israel supports Egypt's El-Sisi is that immoral? Yes he is a despot, but the opposition is worse. Same can be said about Israel's support to the Palestinian Authority. It's quite difficult to know what the right thing to do is. Israel wants good relation with these countries for obvious reasons.

pessimizer4y ago

> Yes he is a despot, but the opposition is worse.

As long as you're just willing to make things up, everything is justifiable.

ashtonkem4y ago

> Yes he is a despot, but the opposition is worse.

This is the exact mental process that has brought most dictators into power.

joelbluminator4y ago

It's either a true statement in the general case of that region of the middle east or it isn't. I'm not sure what you're trying to argue.

1 more reply

cmmeur014y ago

They support who they can control, that’s it.

Nothing to do with them thinking one is better for the citizens living under their selected rulers control.

Israel doesn’t care about half the people within its borders. Saying they choose who to support based on how that person will treat their citizens is laughable.

joelbluminator4y ago

> They support who they can control, that’s it.

Or they support who won't try to destroy them, see - I said it in a non demonizing way.

> Saying they choose who to support based on how that person will treat their citizens is laughable

I wasn't saying that. I was just saying, at least in the case of Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia (and also the Palestinian Authority), it's not clear at all that selling them tech/arms is immoral.

baud1472584y ago

because in Israël's case, they've been at war repeatedly with their neighbors, so maybe they want to have good relationship to avoid further conflicts?

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse

0 comments

yuvalr14y ago

But Israel is a democracy and the Palestinians didn't have elections for 15 years already. These are facts, not propaganda.

andrepdOP4y ago

But apparently they (Nethanyahu and co) do not have problems with supporting dictatorships where it suits them, nor of subverting their own democracy. That is the point I'm making.

inglor_cz4y ago

Unfortunately that is the case with almost every significant democracy under the Sun.

Just count all the European countries that prop up Saudi Arabia and make business with Putin and Xi. Most of them are even afraid to call Taiwan by its name.

joelbluminator4y ago

pessimizer4y ago

> Yes he is a despot, but the opposition is worse.

As long as you're just willing to make things up, everything is justifiable.

ashtonkem4y ago

> Yes he is a despot, but the opposition is worse.

This is the exact mental process that has brought most dictators into power.

joelbluminator4y ago

It's either a true statement in the general case of that region of the middle east or it isn't. I'm not sure what you're trying to argue.

1 more reply

cmmeur014y ago

They support who they can control, that’s it.

Nothing to do with them thinking one is better for the citizens living under their selected rulers control.

Israel doesn’t care about half the people within its borders. Saying they choose who to support based on how that person will treat their citizens is laughable.

joelbluminator4y ago

> They support who they can control, that’s it.

Or they support who won't try to destroy them, see - I said it in a non demonizing way.

> Saying they choose who to support based on how that person will treat their citizens is laughable

I wasn't saying that. I was just saying, at least in the case of Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia (and also the Palestinian Authority), it's not clear at all that selling them tech/arms is immoral.

baud1472584y ago

because in Israël's case, they've been at war repeatedly with their neighbors, so maybe they want to have good relationship to avoid further conflicts?

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse