The slow ethnic cleansing of Palestine.

[Maryland]

That's a nice myth, but doesn't occur in practice.

Reality Check...

The UN ranks Israel among the 17 best countries to live in (out of 170 countries) in the world and with the highest qualities of life and human development, emphasizing political and cultural freedom and equality in education, healthcare, life expectancy and income, ahead of the United Kingdom, Spain, Greece, Italy, Finland, Belgium, Denmark, Luxembourg and Austria

Indices & Data | Human Development Reports (HDR) | United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)

Human Development is a development paradigm that is about much more than the rise or fall of national incomes. It is about creating an environment in which people can develop their full potential and lead productive, creative lives in accord with their needs and interests. People are the real wealth of nations. Development is thus about expanding the choices people have to lead lives that they value. And it is thus about much more than economic growth, which is only a means —if a very important one —of enlarging people’s choices.

Fundamental to enlarging these choices is building human capabilities —the range of things that people can do or be in life. The most basic capabilities for human development are to lead long and healthy lives, to be knowledgeable, to have access to the resources needed for a decent standard of living and to be able to participate in the life of the community. Without these, many choices are simply not available, and many opportunities in life remain inaccessible.

Reality Check: Did you check to see if those standards are equitable across Israel? For example, do the bulk of the Israeli Arabs enjoy the same standards as the bulk of Israeli Jews? I think you will find they do not. It's a bit like looking at the US as enjoying a high standard of living but, if you look at the ratings for Native Americans on reservations - they rank at horrible levels.

I only have 5 more minutes online so I'll expand on this later with links to sources.

The report on Israel being among the 17 best places to live speaks for itself

 

[Coyote]

Reality Check...

The UN ranks Israel among the 17 best countries to live in (out of 170 countries) in the world and with the highest qualities of life and human development, emphasizing political and cultural freedom and equality in education, healthcare, life expectancy and income, ahead of the United Kingdom, Spain, Greece, Italy, Finland, Belgium, Denmark, Luxembourg and Austria

Indices & Data | Human Development Reports (HDR) | United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)

Reality Check: Did you check to see if those standards are equitable across Israel? For example, do the bulk of the Israeli Arabs enjoy the same standards as the bulk of Israeli Jews? I think you will find they do not. It's a bit like looking at the US as enjoying a high standard of living but, if you look at the ratings for Native Americans on reservations - they rank at horrible levels.

I only have 5 more minutes online so I'll expand on this later with links to sources.

The report on Israel being among the 17 best places to live speaks for itself

Again - did you actually take the time to compare standards for different groups or standards for non-citizens Palestinians? Seriously.

 

[Maryland]

Reality Check: Did you check to see if those standards are equitable across Israel? For example, do the bulk of the Israeli Arabs enjoy the same standards as the bulk of Israeli Jews? I think you will find they do not. It's a bit like looking at the US as enjoying a high standard of living but, if you look at the ratings for Native Americans on reservations - they rank at horrible levels.

I only have 5 more minutes online so I'll expand on this later with links to sources.

The report on Israel being among the 17 best places to live speaks for itself

Again - did you actually take the time to compare standards for different groups or standards for non-citizens Palestinians? Seriously.

Israel is one of the 17 best countries to live in. Suck it up.

 

[Coyote]

The report on Israel being among the 17 best places to live speaks for itself

Again - did you actually take the time to compare standards for different groups or standards for non-citizens Palestinians? Seriously.

Israel is one of the 17 best countries to live in. Suck it up.

So you make no effort to research beyond talking points? I'll have to come back later.

 

[Maryland]

Again - did you actually take the time to compare standards for different groups or standards for non-citizens Palestinians? Seriously.

Israel is one of the 17 best countries to live in. Suck it up.

So you make no effort to research beyond talking points? I'll have to come back later.

Keep spinning those wheels.

 

[Maryland]

Again - did you actually take the time to compare standards for different groups or standards for non-citizens Palestinians? Seriously.

Israel is one of the 17 best countries to live in. Suck it up.

So you make no effort to research beyond talking points? I'll have to come back later.

Yah, I'm just advancing pro-Israel UN propaganda because we all know how pro-Israel the UN is

You're very funny. Thanks for the chuckle

 

[ima]

Israel is one of the 17 best countries to live in. Suck it up.

So you make no effort to research beyond talking points? I'll have to come back later.

Yah, I'm just advancing pro-Israel UN propaganda because we all know how pro-Israel the UN is

You're very funny. Thanks for the chuckle

It's a fucking war zone!!! With arabs in and around your country who want to slit your throat> Shit, I'd hate to see the countries that Israel beat out.

 

[Maryland]

So you make no effort to research beyond talking points? I'll have to come back later.

Yah, I'm just advancing pro-Israel UN propaganda because we all know how pro-Israel the UN is

You're very funny. Thanks for the chuckle

It's a fucking war zone!!! With arabs in and around your country who want to slit your throat> Shit, I'd hate to see the countries that Israel beat out.

Maybe, Walmart sells reputational points for cheap

 

[Hossfly]

Yah, I'm just advancing pro-Israel UN propaganda because we all know how pro-Israel the UN is

You're very funny. Thanks for the chuckle

It's a fucking war zone!!! With arabs in and around your country who want to slit your throat> Shit, I'd hate to see the countries that Israel beat out.

Maybe, Walmart sells reputational points for cheap

He can get double rep points using El Al.

 

[pbel]

Yoiu're allowed to be a moron.

Israel is a member of the prestigious Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, consisting of the 35 most powerful and successful countries in the world, most of which are European. The OECD is based in France.

China, Russia, India are also close Israeli allies.

Faryland, R U related to IRose? There is definately something very delussional about you.

You're a mental defective so you wouldn't know the OECD. It does suck to be you

By the way FaryLand, wipe your nose when you pull it out of your AH...

 

[Coyote]

Israel is one of the 17 best countries to live in. Suck it up.

So you make no effort to research beyond talking points? I'll have to come back later.

Yah, I'm just advancing pro-Israel UN propaganda because we all know how pro-Israel the UN is

You're very funny. Thanks for the chuckle

Well then, let's take a look at the UN Report on Human Development. There are two scale they use. One which is a composite statistic of life expectancy, education, and income indices to rank countries: Human Development Index - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The other is a list of countries by inequality-adjusted HDI: List of countries by inequality-adjusted HDI - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The index captures the HDI of the average person in society, which is less than the aggregate HDI when there is inequality in the distribution of health, education and income. Under perfect equality, the HDI and IHDI are equal; the greater the difference between the two, the greater the inequality." In that sense, "the IHDI is the actual level of human development (taking into account inequality), while the HDI can be viewed as an index of the potential human development that could be achieved if there is no inequality."[1]

Israel only ranks 21 - better than any other Middle Eastern for sure and ironicaly - better than the US which went from 4 to 23. But still - for Israel there is a drop of 5 places.

In addition, according to Wikipedia:

The standard of living in Israel is high and is constantly improving. In 2011 Israel ranked 17th out of 194 nations in the Human Development Index (HDI).[1] Israel also has one of the highest life expectancies at birth in the world. However, Israel still suffers from poverty with roughly 20.5% of Israeli families living below the poverty line in 2008, most of them Israeli Arab and Haredi Jewish families. According to a study by International Living, Israel has the 47th highest standard of living in the world.[2]

and

Data for the 2006-2007 NII survey indicates that 420,000 impoverished families resided in Israel (1.5 million people[18]), including some 805,000 children. Poverty indicators for families with a single wage-earner have risen from 22.6% during the last NII survey to 23.9% in the current one.[15] According to a March 2011 report by Adalah, over half of all Arab families in Israel lived in poverty.[19] Furthermore, of the 40 towns in Israel with the highest unemployment rates, 36 were Arab towns. The total employment rate for Arabs is 68% of the employment rate for Jews. Druze and Christian Arabs have a higher employment rate than do Muslims. Poverty is also high among Israel's Haredi population, which is isolated from the rest of Israeli society.

Israel is far and above it's ME neighbors - but that doesn't excuse it's very real inequities whether it's in ability to travel freely, building permits, unequal protections in the courts or police, or inequitable funding for schools.

 

[Maryland]

Israel is far and above it's ME neighbors - but that doesn't excuse it's very real inequities whether it's in ability to travel freely, building permits, unequal protections in the courts or police, or inequitable funding for schools.

You make this up as you go along?

Reality Check...

Tashbih Sayyed, Muslim Pakistani scholar, journalist, and author and former Editor in Chief of Our Times, Pakistan Today, and The Muslim World Today

A Muslim In A Jewish Land

I tried very hard to find any Muslim state that has true democracy and where religious minorities are accorded equal democratic rights, but failed. The map of the Muslim world is too crowded with kings, despots, dictators, sham democrats and theocratic autocrats and the persecution of minorities is an essential part of Islamist social behavior.

Here, protected by Israel's democratic principles, the Muslim Arab citizens of Israel are afforded all the rights and privileges of Israeli citizenship. When the first elections to the Knesset were held in February 1949, Israeli Arabs were given the right to vote and to be elected along with Israeli Jews. Today, Israel's Arab citizens are accorded full civil and political rights entitled to complete participation in Israeli society. They are active in Israeli social, political and civic life and enjoy representation in Israel's Parliament, Foreign Service and judicial system.

Large Arab residences, wide spread construction activity and big cars underlined the prosperity and affluence of Palestinians living under the Star of David. The big houses owned by Arab Israelis and the amount of construction that was going on in the Arab towns exposed the falsity of propaganda that Israel discriminates against Israeli Arabs from buying lands. The Arab Waqf owns land that is for the express use and benefit of Muslim Arabs. Government land can be leased by anyone, regardless of race, religion or sex. All Arab citizens of Israel are eligible to lease government land.

On my way from the city of David to the Royal Prima hotel in Jerusalem, I asked my Palestinian taxi driver how he feels about moving to the territories under Palestinian Authority. He said that he could never think of living outside Israel. His answer blasted the myth spread by anti-Semites that Israel's Arab citizens are not happy there. Another Israeli Arab informed me that Arabs in Israel have equal voting rights. In fact, Israel is one of the few countries in the Middle East where Arab women can vote. In contrast to the non-Israeli Arab world, Arab women in Israel enjoy the same status as men. Muslim women have the right to vote and to be elected to public office. Muslim women, in fact are more liberated in Israel than in any Muslim country. Israeli law prohibits polygamy, child marriage, and the barbarity of female sexual mutilation. Moreover, I found out that there are no incidences of honor killings in Israel. The status of Muslim women in Israel is far above that of any country in the region. Israeli health standards are by far the highest in the Middle East and Israeli health institutions are freely open to all Arabs, on the same basis as they are to Jews.

Israel's Arabic press is the most vibrant and independent of any country in the region. There are more than 20 Arabic periodicals. Today, there are hundreds of Arab schools. Israeli universities are renowned centers of learning in the history and literature of the Arab Middle East.

Aware of the constraints that a non-Wahhabi is faced with while performing religious rituals in Saudi Arabia, Kiran (my wife) could not hide her surprise at the freedoms and ease with which peoples of all religions and faiths were carrying out their religious obligations at the Church of the holy Sepulcher, Garden Tomb, Sea of Galilee, newly discovered Western Wall Tunnels, Western Wall, tomb of King David and all the other holy places we visited.

My first visit to Israel has not only consolidated my belief that Israel is vital for the stability of the region but has also convinced me that the existence of Israel will one day convince the Muslims of the necessity of reformation in their theology as well as sociology. Looking at the development and transformation that the land has gone through because of the Jewish innovative spirit, hard labor and commitment to freedoms for all times to come, I am convinced that it is true that God created this earth but it is also a fact that only an Israel can keep this earth from dying.
Muslim World Today: Front Page 1222005

 

[pbel]

So you make no effort to research beyond talking points? I'll have to come back later.

Yah, I'm just advancing pro-Israel UN propaganda because we all know how pro-Israel the UN is

You're very funny. Thanks for the chuckle

Well then, let's take a look at the UN Report on Human Development. There are two scale they use. One which is a composite statistic of life expectancy, education, and income indices to rank countries: Human Development Index - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The other is a list of countries by inequality-adjusted HDI: List of countries by inequality-adjusted HDI - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


Israel only ranks 21 - better than any other Middle Eastern for sure and ironicaly - better than the US which went from 4 to 23. But still - for Israel there is a drop of 5 places.

In addition, according to Wikipedia:

The standard of living in Israel is high and is constantly improving. In 2011 Israel ranked 17th out of 194 nations in the Human Development Index (HDI).[1] Israel also has one of the highest life expectancies at birth in the world. However, Israel still suffers from poverty with roughly 20.5% of Israeli families living below the poverty line in 2008, most of them Israeli Arab and Haredi Jewish families. According to a study by International Living, Israel has the 47th highest standard of living in the world.[2]

and

Data for the 2006-2007 NII survey indicates that 420,000 impoverished families resided in Israel (1.5 million people[18]), including some 805,000 children. Poverty indicators for families with a single wage-earner have risen from 22.6% during the last NII survey to 23.9% in the current one.[15] According to a March 2011 report by Adalah, over half of all Arab families in Israel lived in poverty.[19] Furthermore, of the 40 towns in Israel with the highest unemployment rates, 36 were Arab towns. The total employment rate for Arabs is 68% of the employment rate for Jews. Druze and Christian Arabs have a higher employment rate than do Muslims. Poverty is also high among Israel's Haredi population, which is isolated from the rest of Israeli society.

Israel is far and above it's ME neighbors - but that doesn't excuse it's very real inequities whether it's in ability to travel freely, building permits, unequal protections in the courts or police, or inequitable funding for schools.

I don't think that comparing a tiny state physically and population wise is good statistical validation...Israel's strenth and standard of living has been helped by World Jewry like no nation before...Israeli production of technology is dependant on world-wide consumption far from her borders...her products of tecnology would be useles if UN sanctions ever go into effect. This is not far-fetched when EU is already discussing tiny hints of sanctions if they do not withdraw from the West Bank...

 

[Maryland]

Yah, I'm just advancing pro-Israel UN propaganda because we all know how pro-Israel the UN is

You're very funny. Thanks for the chuckle

Well then, let's take a look at the UN Report on Human Development. There are two scale they use. One which is a composite statistic of life expectancy, education, and income indices to rank countries: Human Development Index - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The other is a list of countries by inequality-adjusted HDI: List of countries by inequality-adjusted HDI - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


Israel only ranks 21 - better than any other Middle Eastern for sure and ironicaly - better than the US which went from 4 to 23. But still - for Israel there is a drop of 5 places.

In addition, according to Wikipedia:



and

Data for the 2006-2007 NII survey indicates that 420,000 impoverished families resided in Israel (1.5 million people[18]), including some 805,000 children. Poverty indicators for families with a single wage-earner have risen from 22.6% during the last NII survey to 23.9% in the current one.[15] According to a March 2011 report by Adalah, over half of all Arab families in Israel lived in poverty.[19] Furthermore, of the 40 towns in Israel with the highest unemployment rates, 36 were Arab towns. The total employment rate for Arabs is 68% of the employment rate for Jews. Druze and Christian Arabs have a higher employment rate than do Muslims. Poverty is also high among Israel's Haredi population, which is isolated from the rest of Israeli society.

Israel is far and above it's ME neighbors - but that doesn't excuse it's very real inequities whether it's in ability to travel freely, building permits, unequal protections in the courts or police, or inequitable funding for schools.

I don't think that comparing a tiny state physically and population wise is good statistical validation...Israel's strenth and standard of living has been helped by World Jewry like no nation before...Israeli production of technology is dependant on world-wide consumption far from her borders...her products of tecnology would be useles if UN sanctions ever go into effect. This is not far-fetched when EU is already discussing tiny hints of sanctions if they do not withdraw from the West Bank...

You're allowed to be dumb.


Israel: $200 Billion Gross Domestic Product. 40th Largest Economy In The World. 30th Highest Per Capita Income In The World

Israel, sometimes referred to as "Startup Nation", is a hub of entrepreneurship...Located at the heart of the Middle East, right between Asia and Africa, it has close trade relations with both Europe and North America, which contribute to its success.

With a population of 7.6 million, yet roughly the world’s 40th largest economy, Israel enjoys a technologically advanced economy, brimming with entrepreneurial activity. The citizenry is highly educated and cosmopolitan, and serves as a valuable resource for advancements in high technology. Venture capital and startups are part of the local culture, and more Israeli companies are listed on NASDAQ than from any other country outside of North America, China following closely.

Israel prides itself in the high level of its universities, almost all of which hold entrepreneurship centers.
GEW / Israel: A Startup Nation | Global Entrepreneurship Week

KPMG: Israel Spreading Its Wings, Growing Internationally

Israel has a dynamic, technologically advanced market economy, with a GDP of approximately US$200 billion. Over the past five years, GDP has grown by an average of five percent annually, while inflation has been near zero and the Israeli Shekel has remained stable versus the US Dollar. The Bank of Israel's interest rate is at a record low, at 0.5 percent, and is among the lowest in the world. Raw materials (excluding diamonds and fuels), constitute 40 percent of total imports, while manufacturing (low-to-high technology products and services), constitutes 87 percent of total exports. In addition, there are more Israeli-domiciled companies traded on NASDAQ (currently 63) than in any country outside the US.

The country's entrepreneurial and competitive environment is underpinned by a number of cultural and social factors. Education is one of the key drivers with high numbers of science and engineering students graduating each year - Israel boasts a ratio of 135 scientists per 100,000 workers, the highest in the world

In the 1990s, following the successful establishment of Yozma, one of Israel's first venture capital (VC) programs, nearly 100 VC firms have been established, using foreign and local investment capital, to help catapult the creation and expansion of a large number of high technology companies. Approximately US$9.4 billion of capital was invested from these sources between 1993 and 2000. In all, approximately US$4.2 billion of capital has been invested in Israeli private equity firms KPMG - April 2011 - frontiers in finance: Spreading its wings

 

[pbel]

what a moron, you don't even understand the question.

 

[pbel]

BBC News - Former EU leaders urge sanctions for Israel settlements

10 December 2010 Last updated at 07:05 ET Share this pageEmail Print Share this page

ShareFacebookTwitter.Former EU leaders urge sanctions for Israel settlements Israel has occupied the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, since 1967 Continue reading the main story
Middle East crisisQ&A: UN bid
New Palestinian powers?
Conflict's legality
Palestinian territories

A group of 26 ex-EU leaders has urged the union to impose sanctions on Israel for continuing to build settlements on occupied Palestinian territory.

In a letter sent on Monday, they said Israel "like any other state" should be made to feel "the consequences" and pay a price for breaking international law.

The signatories include the former EU foreign affairs chief, Javier Solana.

But in a written response Mr Solana's successor, Catherine Ashton, said the bloc's approach would remain unchanged.

An Israeli foreign ministry official said the proposal represented "a giant leap of bad faith".

The exchange came shortly before the US announced it was abandoning efforts to persuade Israel to renew a partial settlement construction freeze so that direct peace talks with the Palestinian Authority could resume.

 

[Coyote]

Israel is far and above it's ME neighbors - but that doesn't excuse it's very real inequities whether it's in ability to travel freely, building permits, unequal protections in the courts or police, or inequitable funding for schools.

You make this up as you go along?

Umh...no, as far as I am aware providing statistics and info from the same UN reports you quoted is not "making this up as I go along".

Reality Check...

Yes...reality check...one man's testimonial

Yet, here are other opinions:

Netanyahu on inequality: Israel 'not doing badly', except with ultra-Orthodox and Arabs - Israel News | Haaretz Daily Newspaper

The State of Israel is doing "not badly" compared with other countries, and, "if you deduct the Arabs and ultra-Orthodox from inequality indexes, we're in great shape," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told TheMarker on Wednesday in a special interview for the Passover holiday.

Equal opportunity is key, in the prime minister's view. "Populism is dangerous. It contravenes the complex truth of managing a free economy," Netanyahu said. "The right combination is between a free economy and social policy that addresses the needs of society and creates equal opportunity. The State of Israel can be proud of what we're doing," he said, then qualified that if the ultra-Orthodox and Arab communities are set aside from the calculation of inequality, "we're in great shape."

The latest annual report on Israel from the International Monetary Fund, published at the start of the month, praised the state of the Israeli economy. But it also claimed that inequality has increased badly in Israel during the last 20 years, making Israel one of the three IMF members with the worst inequality problem. If Israel doesn't take steps to integrate the Arab and Haredi communities into the workforce, the IMF warned, Israeli growth will suffer over time.

Or, how about this? A disturbing look at some Israeli opinions towards Arab Israeli's and Palestinians:

With three months to go before a general election, a survey reported in the Haaretz newspaper shows further evidence of a sharp tilt towards nationalism in Israeli society.

More than two-thirds of those questioned by Dialog, an opinion pollster, said they would oppose suffrage for the 2.5 million Palestinians living in the West Bank were it to be annexed to Israel.

Nearly three-quarters -- 74 per cent -- say they also support a system of segregated roads for Palestinians and Israelis in the West Bank, although the majority say they would view such a policy as “necessary” rather than “good”.

Although favoured by some nationalist Jews, the prospect of Israel annexing the West Bank, which it has occupied since the Six-Day War of 1967, remains a distant one.

But with little progress being made in resurrecting the Middle East peace process, the possibility of annexation is viewed by some as increasingly likely.

Palestinians, as well as some liberal Israelis, warn that the growing Jewish settler population in the West Bank means that the creation of a Palestinian state -- the cornerstone of a “two-state solution” -- is looking increasingly unviable.

The survey found that a majority of the Jewish public -- 59 per cent -- say they want a system that gives preference to Jews applying for civil service jobs. Arabs, who constitute 20 per cent of the Israeli population, complain such a policy unofficially exists already.

Just under half of respondents, 49 per cent, said they want the state to treat Jewish citizens better than Arab ones, while 42 per cent said they did not want to live in the same building as Arabs and did not want their children to go to schools that also admit Arabs.

Tellingly, 58 per cent of those surveyed said Israel already practices a system of apartheid against Palestinians, an opinion normally only voiced by the Jewish state’s staunchest critics.

This finding in particular has already prompted soul-searching on the Israeli Left-wing.

“This [survey] lays bare an image of Israeli society, and the picture is a very, very sick one,” Gideon Levy, a prominent commentator, wrote in an opinion piece accompanying the poll.

“Now it is not just critics at home and abroad, but Israelis themselves who are openly, shamelessly, and guiltlessly defining themselves as nationalistic racists.

“We’re racists, the Israelis are saying, we practice apartheid and we even want to live in an apartheid state. Yes, this is Israel.”

The poll surveyed 503 people.

And please note - I am not arguing that Israel is all bad and I have pointed out it is by far better than it's ME neighbors - but that doesn't excuse it's inequities and prejudices.

 

[Maryland]

Israel is far and above it's ME neighbors - but that doesn't excuse it's very real inequities whether it's in ability to travel freely, building permits, unequal protections in the courts or police, or inequitable funding for schools.

You make this up as you go along?

Umh...no, as far as I am aware providing statistics and info from the same UN reports you quoted is not "making this up as I go along".



Yes...reality check...one man's testimonial

Yet, here are other opinions:

Netanyahu on inequality: Israel 'not doing badly', except with ultra-Orthodox and Arabs - Israel News | Haaretz Daily Newspaper

The State of Israel is doing "not badly" compared with other countries, and, "if you deduct the Arabs and ultra-Orthodox from inequality indexes, we're in great shape," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told TheMarker on Wednesday in a special interview for the Passover holiday.

Equal opportunity is key, in the prime minister's view. "Populism is dangerous. It contravenes the complex truth of managing a free economy," Netanyahu said. "The right combination is between a free economy and social policy that addresses the needs of society and creates equal opportunity. The State of Israel can be proud of what we're doing," he said, then qualified that if the ultra-Orthodox and Arab communities are set aside from the calculation of inequality, "we're in great shape."

The latest annual report on Israel from the International Monetary Fund, published at the start of the month, praised the state of the Israeli economy. But it also claimed that inequality has increased badly in Israel during the last 20 years, making Israel one of the three IMF members with the worst inequality problem. If Israel doesn't take steps to integrate the Arab and Haredi communities into the workforce, the IMF warned, Israeli growth will suffer over time.

Or, how about this? A disturbing look at some Israeli opinions towards Arab Israeli's and Palestinians:

With three months to go before a general election, a survey reported in the Haaretz newspaper shows further evidence of a sharp tilt towards nationalism in Israeli society.

More than two-thirds of those questioned by Dialog, an opinion pollster, said they would oppose suffrage for the 2.5 million Palestinians living in the West Bank were it to be annexed to Israel.

Nearly three-quarters -- 74 per cent -- say they also support a system of segregated roads for Palestinians and Israelis in the West Bank, although the majority say they would view such a policy as “necessary” rather than “good”.

Although favoured by some nationalist Jews, the prospect of Israel annexing the West Bank, which it has occupied since the Six-Day War of 1967, remains a distant one.

But with little progress being made in resurrecting the Middle East peace process, the possibility of annexation is viewed by some as increasingly likely.

Palestinians, as well as some liberal Israelis, warn that the growing Jewish settler population in the West Bank means that the creation of a Palestinian state -- the cornerstone of a “two-state solution” -- is looking increasingly unviable.

The survey found that a majority of the Jewish public -- 59 per cent -- say they want a system that gives preference to Jews applying for civil service jobs. Arabs, who constitute 20 per cent of the Israeli population, complain such a policy unofficially exists already.

Just under half of respondents, 49 per cent, said they want the state to treat Jewish citizens better than Arab ones, while 42 per cent said they did not want to live in the same building as Arabs and did not want their children to go to schools that also admit Arabs.

Tellingly, 58 per cent of those surveyed said Israel already practices a system of apartheid against Palestinians, an opinion normally only voiced by the Jewish state’s staunchest critics.

This finding in particular has already prompted soul-searching on the Israeli Left-wing.

“This [survey] lays bare an image of Israeli society, and the picture is a very, very sick one,” Gideon Levy, a prominent commentator, wrote in an opinion piece accompanying the poll.

“Now it is not just critics at home and abroad, but Israelis themselves who are openly, shamelessly, and guiltlessly defining themselves as nationalistic racists.

“We’re racists, the Israelis are saying, we practice apartheid and we even want to live in an apartheid state. Yes, this is Israel.”

The poll surveyed 503 people.

And please note - I am not arguing that Israel is all bad and I have pointed out it is by far better than it's ME neighbors - but that doesn't excuse it's inequities and prejudices.

Repeating the same mistakes doesn't actually make you correct, it shows your own self-defeat.

You've already been corrected: http://www.usmessageboard.com/6910349-post272.html

 

[Coyote]

Well then, let's take a look at the UN Report on Human Development. There are two scale they use. One which is a composite statistic of life expectancy, education, and income indices to rank countries: Human Development Index - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The other is a list of countries by inequality-adjusted HDI: List of countries by inequality-adjusted HDI - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


Israel only ranks 21 - better than any other Middle Eastern for sure and ironicaly - better than the US which went from 4 to 23. But still - for Israel there is a drop of 5 places.

In addition, according to Wikipedia:



and



Israel is far and above it's ME neighbors - but that doesn't excuse it's very real inequities whether it's in ability to travel freely, building permits, unequal protections in the courts or police, or inequitable funding for schools.

I don't think that comparing a tiny state physically and population wise is good statistical validation...Israel's strenth and standard of living has been helped by World Jewry like no nation before...Israeli production of technology is dependant on world-wide consumption far from her borders...her products of tecnology would be useles if UN sanctions ever go into effect. This is not far-fetched when EU is already discussing tiny hints of sanctions if they do not withdraw from the West Bank...

You're allowed to be dumb.


Israel: $200 Billion Gross Domestic Product. 40th Largest Economy In The World. 30th Highest Per Capita Income In The World

Israel, sometimes referred to as "Startup Nation", is a hub of entrepreneurship...Located at the heart of the Middle East, right between Asia and Africa, it has close trade relations with both Europe and North America, which contribute to its success.

With a population of 7.6 million, yet roughly the world’s 40th largest economy, Israel enjoys a technologically advanced economy, brimming with entrepreneurial activity. The citizenry is highly educated and cosmopolitan, and serves as a valuable resource for advancements in high technology. Venture capital and startups are part of the local culture, and more Israeli companies are listed on NASDAQ than from any other country outside of North America, China following closely.

Israel prides itself in the high level of its universities, almost all of which hold entrepreneurship centers.
GEW / Israel: A Startup Nation | Global Entrepreneurship Week

KPMG: Israel Spreading Its Wings, Growing Internationally

Israel has a dynamic, technologically advanced market economy, with a GDP of approximately US$200 billion. Over the past five years, GDP has grown by an average of five percent annually, while inflation has been near zero and the Israeli Shekel has remained stable versus the US Dollar. The Bank of Israel's interest rate is at a record low, at 0.5 percent, and is among the lowest in the world. Raw materials (excluding diamonds and fuels), constitute 40 percent of total imports, while manufacturing (low-to-high technology products and services), constitutes 87 percent of total exports. In addition, there are more Israeli-domiciled companies traded on NASDAQ (currently 63) than in any country outside the US.

The country's entrepreneurial and competitive environment is underpinned by a number of cultural and social factors. Education is one of the key drivers with high numbers of science and engineering students graduating each year - Israel boasts a ratio of 135 scientists per 100,000 workers, the highest in the world

In the 1990s, following the successful establishment of Yozma, one of Israel's first venture capital (VC) programs, nearly 100 VC firms have been established, using foreign and local investment capital, to help catapult the creation and expansion of a large number of high technology companies. Approximately US$9.4 billion of capital was invested from these sources between 1993 and 2000. In all, approximately US$4.2 billion of capital has been invested in Israeli private equity firms KPMG - April 2011 - frontiers in finance: Spreading its wings

Geezum - do you realize that nothing you just posted has a thing to do with what I said?

Please, reconsider your definition of "dumb" and see if you can post something that actually addresses the points made in the post.

Inequality - specifically income inequality as well as attitudes, building permits etc etc. that have NOTHING TO DO with Israels GDP.

 

[Coyote]

You make this up as you go along?

Umh...no, as far as I am aware providing statistics and info from the same UN reports you quoted is not "making this up as I go along".



Yes...reality check...one man's testimonial

Yet, here are other opinions:

Netanyahu on inequality: Israel 'not doing badly', except with ultra-Orthodox and Arabs - Israel News | Haaretz Daily Newspaper




Or, how about this? A disturbing look at some Israeli opinions towards Arab Israeli's and Palestinians:

With three months to go before a general election, a survey reported in the Haaretz newspaper shows further evidence of a sharp tilt towards nationalism in Israeli society.

More than two-thirds of those questioned by Dialog, an opinion pollster, said they would oppose suffrage for the 2.5 million Palestinians living in the West Bank were it to be annexed to Israel.

Nearly three-quarters -- 74 per cent -- say they also support a system of segregated roads for Palestinians and Israelis in the West Bank, although the majority say they would view such a policy as “necessary” rather than “good”.

Although favoured by some nationalist Jews, the prospect of Israel annexing the West Bank, which it has occupied since the Six-Day War of 1967, remains a distant one.

But with little progress being made in resurrecting the Middle East peace process, the possibility of annexation is viewed by some as increasingly likely.

Palestinians, as well as some liberal Israelis, warn that the growing Jewish settler population in the West Bank means that the creation of a Palestinian state -- the cornerstone of a “two-state solution” -- is looking increasingly unviable.

The survey found that a majority of the Jewish public -- 59 per cent -- say they want a system that gives preference to Jews applying for civil service jobs. Arabs, who constitute 20 per cent of the Israeli population, complain such a policy unofficially exists already.

Just under half of respondents, 49 per cent, said they want the state to treat Jewish citizens better than Arab ones, while 42 per cent said they did not want to live in the same building as Arabs and did not want their children to go to schools that also admit Arabs.

Tellingly, 58 per cent of those surveyed said Israel already practices a system of apartheid against Palestinians, an opinion normally only voiced by the Jewish state’s staunchest critics.

This finding in particular has already prompted soul-searching on the Israeli Left-wing.

“This [survey] lays bare an image of Israeli society, and the picture is a very, very sick one,” Gideon Levy, a prominent commentator, wrote in an opinion piece accompanying the poll.

“Now it is not just critics at home and abroad, but Israelis themselves who are openly, shamelessly, and guiltlessly defining themselves as nationalistic racists.

“We’re racists, the Israelis are saying, we practice apartheid and we even want to live in an apartheid state. Yes, this is Israel.”

The poll surveyed 503 people.

And please note - I am not arguing that Israel is all bad and I have pointed out it is by far better than it's ME neighbors - but that doesn't excuse it's inequities and prejudices.

Repeating the same mistakes doesn't actually make you correct, it shows your own self-defeat.

You've already been corrected: http://www.usmessageboard.com/6910349-post272.html

And, again you appear incapable of addressing the points made in the post beyond bumper sticker witticisms. Your idea of "correction" should at least include relevancy.