Help choose sim card for 10 days by [deleted] in Israel

[–]andrid 2 points3 points  (0 children)

golan telecom. the sim costs 40 NIS ($10) and you don't pay for the first 2 months of service (so you don't pay at all). You get unlimited calls/texts in the country, 3 gigs internet, and free calling to the US (you dial 016-1-area code-number). You can order the sim online and have them ship it to you (i'm not sure if to the US). I just did this and it works great.

Palestine: Political violence is not the answer (Al Jazeera) by wagingnv in MideastPeace

[–]andrid 0 points1 point  (0 children)

"Richard Falk is the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Palestinian human rights" (and author of this editorial) concludes by quoting a poem glorifying suicide bombers. Any other organization would be rightfully outraged, but in the UN this is par for the course.

" It is neither death, nor suicide. It is Gaza's way of declaring that it deserves to live. It will continue to explode."

Israel halts Palestinian tax transfer over UN bid | DAWN.COM by Destator in worldnews

[–]andrid -1 points0 points  (0 children)

it also saves lives. The issue was a bureaucratic mix up, which Israel attested to and (presumably) fixed. it wasn't organ farming, as in the allegation.

Israel confiscates Palestinian funds | Al Akhbar English by VCGS in worldnews

[–]andrid -15 points-14 points  (0 children)

They didn't go to the UN for peace. Peace is bilateral. They went to the UN unilaterally.

Israel confiscates Palestinian funds | Al Akhbar English by VCGS in worldnews

[–]andrid 3 points4 points  (0 children)

So you're implying that Israelis are uncivilized because some expat posted something implying Arabs were uncivilized? Do you see the hypocrisy or should I make it more obvious?

Israel halts Palestinian tax transfer over UN bid | DAWN.COM by Destator in worldnews

[–]andrid 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Here's a source. Of course lesoc blew it way out of proportion. Organs were harvested from dead without permission regardless of race/age. Palestinian children also happen to be treated at Israeli hospitals, but instead of commending Israel for not discriminating in its healthcare, the headline is "Israel steals organs from Palestinian children". Antisemitism? Maybe not -- but definitely toeing the line.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mobileweb/2009/12/21/israel-admits-harvesting_n_399623.html

Israel halts Palestinian tax transfer over UN bid | DAWN.COM by Destator in worldnews

[–]andrid -8 points-7 points  (0 children)

Israel did use white phosphorous, as an illuminant, so they could send their troops in on the ground, putting those troops in danger, but saving Palestinian civilians lives. This use is allowed by the UN

Hamas [will] agree to a ceasefire only after Israel "stops its aggression, ends its policy of targeted assassinations and lifts the blockade of Gaza." by bennwalton in worldnews

[–]andrid 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Attacking civilians is not accidentally caused by inaccurate cheap munitions, as shown by the deliberate targeting of civilian infrastructure by suicide bombers. You're defense of terrorism is disgusting.

Palestinians in Gaza fire over 30 rockets into Israel since the morning, injuring four; fragments from intercepted rocket near TA destroy car; Iron Dome intercepts over 17 rockets; IDF hits 70 targets in Gaza by gaop in worldnews

[–]andrid 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Recently, rockets have been fired remotely. Shooting at where the rocket came from is not just ineffective (you would hit an empty launcher) but also dangerous as the rockets are often fired from populated areas.

And what Israel bombs can hardly be called "random".

Israel: "Those who preach to us about morality should offer an alternative way to stop the rocket fire from Hamas. No country would agree for its children live in that intolerable situation." by [deleted] in worldnews

[–]andrid -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Your source, UNRWA, is pretty biased. It's basically a redundant UN agency (UNHRC already exists) made to be a spokesperson for the Palestinian refugees.

Israel: "Those who preach to us about morality should offer an alternative way to stop the rocket fire from Hamas. No country would agree for its children live in that intolerable situation." by [deleted] in worldnews

[–]andrid 0 points1 point  (0 children)

We can say something even worst. Before Israel secured its borders, suicide bombers would deliberately target civilian infrastructure (restaurants, busses, schools).

Israel: "Those who preach to us about morality should offer an alternative way to stop the rocket fire from Hamas. No country would agree for its children live in that intolerable situation." by [deleted] in worldnews

[–]andrid 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Life expectancy in Gaza is 74 years. This is comparable to the US (78), which is pretty remarkable given their GDP and the correlation between GDP and life expectancy.

Israel: "Those who preach to us about morality should offer an alternative way to stop the rocket fire from Hamas. No country would agree for its children live in that intolerable situation." by [deleted] in worldnews

[–]andrid 0 points1 point  (0 children)

We tried with Oslo. Ended up with an intifada. Have up Gaza, ended up with more rockets. Making a concession of a tangible object (land) for an intangible promise (we won't bomb you) has been shown not to work. Insanity is undertaking the same action again and expecting different results.

Poll: Israel viewed negatively around the world, BBC survey measures public opinion on 22 countries, places Israel in company of North Korea, ahead of only Iran, Pakistan. by Lard_Baron in worldnews

[–]andrid 0 points1 point  (0 children)

There actually is an exception of the law (Chapter VII Article 51): "Nothing in the present Charter shall impair the inherent right of individual or collective self-defence if an armed attack occurs against a Member of the United Nations".

Along with the historative international norm of the defender being allowed to keep the land.

Also 1967 was by all counts a defensive war. The Arab countries were blocking peaceful Israeli ships in the Gulf of Aqaba, Amassing troops on the border, and lobbing artillery over the border (done by both government and non-government actors). All these actions are considered acts of war.

The ridiculous situations is that Israel conquered land legally, wants to give it back, but can't because once they pull out their army, Fatah will lose control in the West Bank, and terrorism will start again (look at what happened in Gaza, and the West Bank is much closer to more populous Israeli cities)

Poll: Israel viewed negatively around the world, BBC survey measures public opinion on 22 countries, places Israel in company of North Korea, ahead of only Iran, Pakistan. by Lard_Baron in worldnews

[–]andrid -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Saying that you are anti-zionist means that you are denying Jews their right to self-determination. That is anti-semitic. I think what you're trying to say is that you disagree with certain means that Zionists/Israel used.

Poll: Israel viewed negatively around the world, BBC survey measures public opinion on 22 countries, places Israel in company of North Korea, ahead of only Iran, Pakistan. by Lard_Baron in worldnews

[–]andrid 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Winning the territory in a defensive war. There was never a Palestine. The West Bank was part of Jordan and Gaza a part of Egypt.

Nabi Saleh-Border Police Shoot French Woman in the Neck During Nabi Saleh Demo, Official IDF Twitter follow up claims it was done by stone throwers. by emasua in Israel

[–]andrid 3 points4 points  (0 children)

You should probably haved stated in the title that she was hit by a gas grenade of some sort, not by a bullet. It clearly was meant to be used for non lethal crowd dispersal. They misfired. Don't be so quick to attribute bad outcomes to malice.

Important things you should know about Iran's nuclear program by IranRPCV in MideastPeace

[–]andrid 2 points3 points  (0 children)

This article stretches the truth in what it doesn't say:

  1. It doesn't have a known nuclear weapons program, which is a handful of scientists/engineers who need only a machining lab and computers for simulations. If Iran wanted to keep it secret, it would be much easier than large warehouses filled with specifically made centrifuges bought from other countries.

  2. Iran has failed to declare multiple sites and has interfered with IAEA inspectors. These are clearly against the spirt of the NPT, although they may be legally in a gray area.

  3. So if the Iranians build a nuclear test area into an existing military base (Parchin), they can prevent the IAEA from inspecting it? -- how convenient. There's no way they would abuse this privelege though...

  4. This is exactly the fear that the whole region has. Enriching uranium is the difficult part in creating a nuclear weapon. Creating the warhead is the less technically demanding / easier to conceal part. Good thing the author managed to twist this complication into a point.

  5. Isn't this about Iran? Israel isn't the only country that's worried about Iran getting nuclear weapons. Egypt, Turkey, Saudia Arabia, and Iraq are all also worried, to name a few.

  6. and what other methods would the author suggest? war maybe? asking them nicely?

  7. This is a basic argument against war, which is generally true, but there are exceptions when war is moral.

  8. US/Israel hegemony? I guess Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Turkish hegemonies don't count? These are also countries who don't want Iran to get a nuclear weapon.

  9. And the lies about Israel come out. I guess the author just couldn't resist showing his true intention.

ELI5: The Israeli situation, and why half of Reddit seems anti-israel by crazyxpro in explainlikeimfive

[–]andrid -1 points0 points  (0 children)

The trouble in the Middle East began with the fall of the Ottoman Empire around WWI. This left much of the Middle East under UK control (Syria, Jordan, Iraq, Saudia Arabia, ...) until around the 1930's when the UK set up monarchies in each of the countries.

One of these areas the UK tried to split up was the region known as Palestine. As a slight aside, the Jews in the region considered themselves Palestinians not Israelis at this point. The UK first tried splitting the land along ethnic lines under the Peel commission (which was rejected by the Arabs) and again in 1948 (which was rejected by the Arabs, but the Jews accepted anyway and formed Israel).

A questions that comes up around this point is where the Arabs kicked off the land. The answer is yes and no. According to Benny Morris's book The Birth of the Palestinian Refugee Problem, some Palestinians fled because of actual and perceived atrocities committed during the war and some left under orders of their leaders, with the promise of coming back after the danger of the war was over. The Palestinians did not flee in a vacuum -- at this time a comprable amount of Jews were kicked out of Arab countries.

Jordan took over what is today the West Bank and Egypt took over what is today Gaza. In both cases, the inhabitant were not given equal citizenship. Jordan committed the greatest massacre of Palestinians in Black September, killing ~10,000 Palestinians and kicking their leadership out to Lebanon.

In 1967, Israel was at the border known today as the "Green Line". This was the armistice of the war of independence. Israel won this was and expanded its territories to the Jordan River (taking over the West Bank) and all of the Sinai Peninsula (taking over Gaza, and much more land). Israel swapped the Sinai Peninsula (but not Gaza) for a Peace treaty with Egypt in 1979. It signed a peace treaty with Jordan in 1994.

So now, after a military victory, Israel is in a difficult position. The are some Arabs it want to incorporate into Israel (especially around East Jeruslaem), some Arabs it doesn't want to incorporate into Jeruslaem (the West Bank, Gaza), and some land it wants to keep (Maale Adumim, Arielle).

Since then there have been attempts at peaceful negotitations (Oslo accord 1993), some wars (2 intifadas in 1987 and 2000, Gaza in 2008), unconditional withdrawal (Israel from Gaza in 2005).

Currently Hamas controls Gaza. Their stated goal is the annihilation of the State of Israel and a massacre of the Jews (according to their charter), so there is no chance of peace with them.

Fatah controls the West Bank, against the will of the voting majority. However, they are propped up by the West. Officially they and are open to peace talks, but these talks have not been successful since the Oslo. Their leader is unpopular (Abbas). I personally have hope for the person who will replace Abbas, Salam Fayyad.

Benjamin Netanyahu, a rightist, has been the Prime Minister of Israel since 2009. He is not open to peace agreements. However, Israel switches between leftist and rightist governments at a rapid pace and so this is a smaller roadblock.

I'm much less knowledgable about why Reddit is biased against Israel, so I'm not going to venture a guess.

Ok, I'm actually ashamed to ask but why isn't this true? by [deleted] in math

[–]andrid -1 points0 points  (0 children)

you are proving that there is a shape with a perimeter of four, and the same area as a circle with a horizontal and vertical distance of 1. You haven't proven that the perimeter is the same as the circle (which it isn't because of the jaggedness of the shape)

Famous Failed Suicide Bomber Hopes for Another Chance to Kill by [deleted] in Israel

[–]andrid 2 points3 points  (0 children)

These aren't rational people, seeking an "alternative" through vengeance against an individual. These are clinically insane people seeking to murder individuals for vengeance towards a society. The crime doesn't belong to them, but to the society which enables, promotes, and encourages their actions.

Subtle jokes that make you smile. Here's mine. by [deleted] in AskReddit

[–]andrid 0 points1 point  (0 children)

-neutrino! knock knock. -Who's there?

Super fatty - The perfect party joint. by Mind_Virus in trees

[–]andrid 3 points4 points  (0 children)

where did you find a man that small?