I received the following email (as opposed to a comment on the web site). Apparently, the person preferred anonymity, so while I will post the content of their email, I will not reveal their identity:
So you think it wrong that Arabs can't build houses in Jewish towns in Israel, now where was your protest when the Arab jurisdictions of Jordan, Syria, and Saudi Arabia impliment their version of the Nuremberg Laws!?? All your distain is held only for your brethern and so I quote you from an article in your own blog "The real rules of war"
"But when only one side follows these rules, they no longer elevate us. They create a very unlevel field and more than a little frustration. It is equally bizarre for any of us to judge someone's behavior in war by the rules we follow in our very peaceful universe."
Thats right there is no moral elevation in your position, because there is no level playing field and instead your apparent position aids and abets the enemies of Israel. XXXX has a point on the Islamic view of land ownership it has been clearly laid down in hundreds of sharia rulings that once an district has fallen under Moslem control during the actions of Jihad all that land falls under the ownership of the Wafq (a religious administrative trusteeship). If a Moslem had purchased a parcel in a district outside islamic jurisdiction the Wafq holds a partial ownership (because of Zakatt [Islamic charity rules]) and when the Islamics obtain control of that jurisdiction on the future that family will become the trustee to the Wafq for the whole district, and non-Moslems must submit and pay dihmma taxes to that said family, (its a way of encouraging Moslems to stay loyal to the "faith" even if they are not under the duress of Darr el Harb).
I do not mind criticism, though I was somewhat surprised at the suggestion that I aided and abetted the enemies of Israel, and to learn that "all my distain [sic] is reserved for my brethern [sic]"
So here's my response.
I have always respected the fact that Israel is founded on, among other things, the rule of law. That, together with freedom of religion, freedom of speech and other such basic freedoms that exist in Western democracies, is an essential difference between Israel and its neighbors.
If an Arab legally owns land in Israel, then in my opinion, he should be entitled to do whatever is legally permitted to be done on that land according to Israeli law. Anything else is, to me, blatant discrimination that would give ammunition for those true enemies of Israel who claim that Israel is an apartheid state. It is not up to individual citizens to take the law into their own hands to prevent a result they do not like.
By the way, I note that my critic assumes that the Arab is Muslim - the article does not say whether the "Arab" is Muslim, Maronite, Coptic, Druse, Baha'i or any other faith - not that, in my opinion, it should make a difference.
The other troubling thing to me is that if in the opinion of my critic, Israelis are free to disregard the rule of law when it comes to this issue, where would my critic draw the line? Should any Jew who sells land to a non-Jew be sanctioned - just like the Palestinians do? Can Israelis harass the Arab? Can they rough them up a little? Can they kill him as an example? Why stop there, why not rough up/kill all non-Jews in Israel? It's a very slippery slope.
To me, therefore, the bottom line is this. Arabs live in Israel, for better or worse. They are guaranteed certain rights under Israeli law. To freely abrogate these rights because the person is not Jewish will bring Israel down to the level of her enemies, and is simply the start of a long slippery slope.
And as for "aiding and abetting" Israel's enemies, that is patently absurd, as is criticism for not speaking out against Jordan, etc. for implementation of their version of the Nuremberg Laws - this is not any sort of an official blog on behalf of any organization and there is only so much I can post about. I think that my record of speaking out for Israel - and putting my name into the public eye when so many others are simply not prepared to do so - stands on its own. Being an advocate for Israel does not mean blindly accepting whatever Israel or Israelis do.
Shabbat Shalom.
