Hasn't the Law of Return been the raison d'etre of Israel, thus not subject to contestation, a non-negotiable principle in Zionists' minds? In other words, don't Zionists think of the Law of Return not as an aberration that contradicts an otherwise democratic constitution and that might be or should be corrected later but the reason for and the main point of having Israel as an independent state?
>I think the Law of Return and the settlements are two separate issues.
I don't think that they are separate issues from a Zionist point of view.
>In what way is Israel different from the other Middle Eastern states like
>Saudi Arabia that also played a role in Iran-Contra and other arms sales?
>No one would deny that Israel has played a nasty role in all sorts of
>endeavors, but it has never been a unique role. Except possibly in the way
>that other Arab collaborators with the US could pretend that it was only
>Israel involved and thereby keep up a facade of Arab "anti-imperialist
>unity."
>
>As the Gulf War showed, when the shit hit the fan, the US had developed an
>extensive network of military bases and outposts throughout the region. All
>the Arab states pretended that Israel was the only US ally, but it was a
>joke and a sham.
You are not wrong, except that Arab states have to deal with Arab citizens who are opposed to their policies of collaboration, while the state of Israel has much less to contend with, in terms of citizen oppositions to US imperialism. Even the NYT reports this sort of difference.
>But let me make you a bet: when the Palestinians get a state,
Well, the way things have been going, I don't think that Palestinians will get their own state in the foreseeable future.
Yoshie