[tarheelswamprat]

If the Jewish race was persecuted so harshly in the early 40s as we all seem to believe, then why won't the ancestors fight? and

2) the state of Israel, where countless ancestors of the Holocaust call home

The short answer is, of course, that their ancestors are already dead. As Inigo Montoya said in the movie The Princess Bride, "You keep using that word, but it does not mean what you think it means".

With respect, I urge you to consult a dictionary if you wish to opine online, as the saying goes. The word you should be using is descendants. Our ancestors are the generations who lived before us; our descendants are those who come after.

With that minor "nit" being clarified, the points you both raise are valid issues for discussion. In my opinion two excellent comments in the thread so far on the origination and evolution of the current status quo are those of Wyrd bið ful aræd in post 34 and Netz in post 25. I would add that Israel is just like the US in one important respect: they are a nation divided. The conflict between their socialist/statist and capitalist/individualist freedom-oriented factions has crippled, paralyzed and rendered them increasingly vulnerable to destruction by their mortal enemies.

[SJackson]

Middle East and terrorism, occasional political and Jewish issues Ping List. High Volume

If you'd like to be on or off, please FR mail me.

..................

[Mr. Mojo]

Geez, relax man. I was copying the guy’s post and it was late. I know full well the difference between ancestors and descendants. I was going to subtly correct him by putting “ancestors” in quotes, but forgot. He probably knows the difference too, but just got sloppy due to the hour.

But grammar aside, no, the guy did NOT have a point. Israelis, as I said, have been fighting for their survival since Day 1.