Sat April 6

What is the difference between Hamas and Israel? Each side points fingers at the other and both miss the point,
1. Israel is a state built as a “homeland for the Jews” . Zionism is all about creating a place for Jews – and Jews alone – to live and Palestine is the preferred place because “God gave us the land”. So the first principle of Israel is Jewishness – The issue weather Jewishness is a religion or a race is obscured on purpose because a portion of the Israeli population, like every other population is secular and/or does not believe in the idea of a God.
2. Hamas too bases itself on a religion first and foremost and to some degree a Palestinian identity which they – just like the Israelis, like to merge with religion (in this case Islam) to give themselves a God validation. Unlike Israel Hamas wraps itself totally in religion and not race. Israel does not wrap itself totally in the Jewish religion which takes many forms AS LONG as one is ethnically Jewish.
3. Hamas is not kind to women and sees them as lesser to men. Some Israeli fundamentalist groups do the same thing but not the majority of Israelis. Women have played a big part in Israel, not so in Hamas.
The problem with both is this: True “Western Values” means open to ALL religions and ALL races and NOT limited to one group only. At the moment Western Values also sees equality between women and men – or at least says so in principle. The idea is ALL human beings are equal and politically its all about one person one vote. Thats the idea anyway.
So given the division based on race and religion it is virtually impossible for both groups to live together or next to each other as neither accepts the other and both think they are right and both think they are backed by “God”. Meanwhile neither wants to consider if God actually exists. To do so would pierce the very reason both exist in the first place.