"Hamas was orginally founded as a so called social welfare organization and flew under the radar for several years until the Oslo accords. Hamas decided it couldn't abide by Arafat's conciliation with Israel and took a different tack - suicide bus bombings between 1994 and 2000 that claimed the lives of about 900 Israelis."

Hamas may have flown under the international radar, but they were on the Israeli government's radar even back in their formative years. The Israeli government moreover recognized Hamas' potential to undermine the Arafat and the PLO's leadership in the West Bank and Gaza, which is why back in those days the Israeli government funded and thus helped Hamas become the organization they are today.

Details here:

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article10456.htm

pakistan itself broke up. and the bangladeshis have their own complaints as to how they were treated - after all, they are good moslems! (don't recognize israel any more than their more bellicose (now separated) conjoined twin.)

@ Electro Robot

You’ve posted at least times on this thread alone, and you seem to get all in a tizzy any time an article is posted to Salon regarding Israel.

You can save yourself some time in your next post by typing the following.

1) Israel cannot be wrong, and never has been.

2) Palestinians are entirely to blame for Israel’s troubles and deserve what they get.

3) By definition, any criticism of Israel is anti-Semitic, and anyone who criticizes Israel must have Nazi sympathies, or at the very least hate Jews, or Israel or both (even if they don’t realize it).

Just repeat this over and over. It will have the same effect on the debate as the thousands of words you have already posted about Israel. In other words, none. Reasonable people (of which you are not one) can debate this without hyperventilating.

It’s unfortunate that the “defense” of Israel that people like yourself robotically repeat actually helps ugly organizations like Hamas become more entrenched. The only obvious thing is that this “defense” of Israel is less and less accepted every passing year, and could conceivably endanger its existence. A little self-reflection on your position would probably help you see that, but then you don’t strike me as the self-reflective type. More like a reflexive Israel thread troll.

Have you considered Zoloft? I’m ready to be called whatever names you can think up now.

soon the oil-sheiks will line up to sponsor (ask the Carter Center for contacts). it can also be a center for self-extinguishing jews (longing to submerge themselves in common humanity). me? i guess i'm part of the problem, lampshade2(what a handle! was lampshade1 your grandma?) i think jews (avr IQ 117) are BETTER than gazans (avr IQ 80). this gained me LeCastor's "no better than a Nazi", but she didn't object when her OWN jew IQ got her 200 large in her entry level legal job.

"Jews are to blame for anti-semitism? Wow."

As anyone with a substantive understanding of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict is well aware, *some* Jews are to blame for *some* anti-Semitism - in fact they intentionally promote anti-Semitism.

Here's American Zionist Jew and Israeli/Palestinian expert Tom Friedman from his excellent book "From Beirut to Jerusalem" on the subject:

____________________

"How can you possibly expect immigration from Western liberal democrats when what you project through the [Israeli-occupied West Bank and Gaza] settlements is the kind of aggressive lack of consideration of minority rights and all kinds of other things which tarnish the image of Israel and can only encourage anti-Semitism abroad? Because the way you treat your minorities is how Jewish minorities will be treated. What right will we American Jews have to claim to be treated well as a minority?"

So this Gush Emunim [Jewish fundamentalist extremist settler organization] guy smiled from ear to ear.

"Sir," he said, "you don't understand what you're saying. Anti-Semitism is the means through which massive aliya [Jewish immigration to Israel] will come, so if we can contribute by enabling you in the West to see all the anti-Semites around you, it will encourage you to emigrate - and especially to the West Bank. That is what we want."

____________________

To J Street: Thank you for attempting to alter the framework of the Israeli/Palestinian debate in Washington for the better. I'm rooting for you and I'll support you. And best of luck to you, because as others here have observed you are going to need it.

Its sad to see so much reflexive hatred for Palastinians and Muslims. Its also odd since recent genetic research shows that Jews and Palastinians are very close genetically. In fact you could say they are cousins. Then there are those bloodthirsty muslims. Except that Jews lived in peace alongside muslims for hundreds of years prior to the foundation of Israel. At the time Jews didn't have such a peaceful time in Europe. But I suppose the world is less confusing a place when you can just dismiss a billion or so people with a bigoted remark.

pancho

I don't create history I just report on it. Spare me the personal attacks (and crying 'racist' in a crowded theater every time you're asked to respond specifically) if you have nothing material to say. Thank you.

You say that "Jews and Palastinians are very close genetically. In fact you could say they are cousins"

If you had some blood from a jew, and some blood from a palistinian, do you think you could actually tell them apart? I mean, do jews have little Stars of Davids floating around in their DNA, or something?

You allude to some research on this - Do you have a link? I am really curious

Yet another dogmatic content free posting from the left!

"You're a big fat stupid loser why don't you stop being a big fat stupid loser, nyah nyah!!!!"

Was there anything else or are you done? Now, I'll put the question to you since you've insinuated yourself as the go-to guy:

What, specifically does J-Street advocate, propose, warrant, lobby, express, think, want, do need or say? You love them, so tell me why, specifically, why?