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Comment by mysecretaccount | Hacker News Reader

> I do not think the wikipedia article will change my mind much.

We agree on this point, but perhaps it will encourage good-faith research for someone reading this thread that has not bought into apartheid propaganda.

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Thanks for accusing me of that. In what way is at an apartheid? There is no systematic discrimination based on race in Israel. I cannot say the same for other countries, esp when it comes to Jews.

Half of the businesses there require "military service" for a job, which is conveniently 99% done by jews only.

Its known as the covert way to discriminate against arabs..

That’s complete nonsense. It wasn’t true even in the 70s-80s, at the height of the Israeli nationalism.

I guess my friends living in Israel lied to me then.

Edit: for precision they said it was like that for many small business who look for seasonal guys like waiters ..

Maybe not lied just exaggerated to impress you. There may be hidden bias but no army service is not mandatory in 50% of the economy. In fact 50% of Israelis dont finish the whole military service or even begin it.

Hey, neither of us is going to change the other's view here, so it is not useful to go back and forth like this. If you wanted an answer to that question you could look it up, like I have looked up the arguments and counter arguments to the apartheid question.

What is interesting is that the tide is turning and your view is becoming less common, especially among the youth in developed nations, particularly Ireland. This is good news, for the well-being of Israelis and Palestinians alike.

I am sad you are not open to being swayed, what is the value of coming to a discussion with no intent to change your own mind? How can you visit to offer opinions, with the intent to change others minds, but not be open to having your own changed? Perhaps this topic is near and dear to you, so it is difficult. I do recommend re-evaluating how you think about common discussion spaces like these, and the nature of disagreements in general.

Perhaps, as a start, let's find some common ground: I firmly believe that both Israelis and Palestinians deserve peace, prosperity, and full rights.

To be totally honest, I do not believe from your comments in other threads on this article that you are arguing from a place of good faith. I am more than happy to discuss Israeli apartheid with someone whom I disagree but you seem to just want to waste our time with tedium and nationalist rhetoric.

There is historic tie between USSR, IRA, and Palestine not sure what is the surprise. I highly doubt Ireland wields enough influence on the world stage to influence events one way or the other.

Perhaps not on its own, but as a sign of things to come. Ireland was proudly at the forefront of boycotting the South African apartheid, and is proudly at the forefront of boycotting the Israeli apartheid.

Ireland is always at the forefront of confronting bigotry in other places. Not so much at home. (((I))) am Irish. I live in Ireland. I like Ireland. But our social justice pretensions are no shinier than anyone else's.

Ask the travelers. Ask those on Direct Provision. Ask the people who got dumped in Ballymun with promises of parks and shops, only to be abandoned for decades.

FWIW, it seem clear to me that the Palestinians have got the nasty end of the stick and deserve better, as much as you or I do. If the only answer you have is one that means that all the Jews in Israel die (ala BSM though they don't yet have the guts to say so) then the Jews of Israel aren't gonna help you.

If they don't fight, what outcome do you see?

I live in Ireland and honestly the topic doesn't come up much if at all.

I live in Ireland and although (((I))) might be more sensitive to it than you, I think it comes up quite a lot. A week or two ago The Irish Times (IT) was agog at Sally Rooney's decision not to allow her newest book to be published in Hebrew. The opinion pieces, letters pages, and of course Reddit were alive with praise for her "bold and courageous stance".

This kind of thing comes up every few weeks, at least it does if you read the IT who's editorial policies have a pretty clear slant on this - as is completely their right - even if I don't much like it.

This week the attention was on the Minister of Foreign Affairs and his dislike of Israel's recent classification of several NGOs as terrorist organizations.

> A week or two ago The Irish Times (IT) was agog at Sally Rooney's decision not to allow her newest book to be published in Hebrew.

Sorry to be pedantic, but this was not Sally Rooney's decision. As part of the BDS movement, she did not want to patronize an Israeli company that would be handling the translation. Rooney has stated that she has no objection to the novel being translated into Hebrew.

I meant as a concern for the avg person I talk to. It def comes up in media

What do Irish people know about the situation in Israel? Sorry but that sounds ridiculous.

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