Originally Posted by klipkap";p=&quot

In late-2002/early 2003 I watched and listened with slack jaw as lie after blatant lie was offered to me, a fly speck amongst the hundreds of millions who suffered the same indignity. I watched GWB II leapfrog lies so many times that he finally confused himself (a topic for another thread). They were such transparent untruths that I got to wondering - how many other lies had I been fed over the past half-century? So I started to dig.

And soon afterwards the United Nations was declared redundant, Europe was declared Old, and French fries became Freedom fries. I also watched 25% of Australia turn out onto the streets in demonstration - one of the most balanced nations on the planet saying "We don't believe ya mate". Oh yes, it was both a personal and a global turning point. I turned from being a middle-of-the-spectrum South African to being an annoyed European. The world turned from respecting the US to viewing it with grave suspicion.

Who the hell did these ego-bloated patronizers think they were to foist such patent untruths on us and jeopardise our safety? So I dug further, and after many side trips, dead ends, reversals, and sharing of views, I came to understand that there were many lies. And this is where I am currently, with the following transparent (in retrospect) manipulations of the truth:

The Top Zionist Myths

1) The Zionists never took anything from anyone. They bought the land legally and were therefore entitled to form a new country.

2) The formation of the State of Israel did not displace Palestinian people. The vast majority of the Palestinians in the southern Levant arrived there by immigration from surrounding areas about a century ago, following the hard-working Zionists. When Israel was formed they were only required to go back to whence they came from.

3) Israel never took someone else's land. There never was a Palestinian country, state or homeland, so there was nothing to take from anyone.

4) The formation of the State of Israel never caused a diaspora of the Palestinian people. The vast majority left of their own free will. Israel never caused the Palestinian refugee problem. That was caused by the neighboring Arab states when they refused to recognise Israel and attacked it.

5) Israel is a classic democracy. There are no similarities to the erstwhile Apartheid regime in South Africa.

6) Israel has always worked for peace and has grasped every reasonable opportunity to achieve this.

7) Israel is not the aggressor. It is the militant Arab states and Palestinian terrorists have been the instigators all along.

8 ) Israel has been subject to countless acts of terrorism ever since 1948, a fact which is attested to by the lists of Israeli fatalities that are widely published.

9) As a democracy Israel has full respect for the United Nations and for other international bodies such as the International Criminal Court and Court of Justice.

and then the most common one that makes my hackles rise most of all ....

10) Those who seek to point out the contrary are all antisemitic racists - Jew-haters of the worst kind, akin to Nazis.

So I turned from being an Israeli supporter to being a Zionist sceptic - all due to those stupid lies by the twice-elected president. Who knows where it will next lead, but Top Arab Myths, Top African Myths, or a scrutiny of central and South America all seem interesting.