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.

Well, you know, blatant generalities are almost always untrue.
But, in your case, deleting the prejudicial "absolutes" of your statements (all either/or statements are generally going to be untrue when applied to humans), your "myths" are pretty much reality, with the exception of 9 and 10.
The UN is a cesspool of corruption and deserves zero respect.
And, your "criticize Israel and you're a Nazi" is silly and stupid.

__________________
"There is no way this winter is ever going to end as long as that groundhog keeps seeing his shadow.... He's got to be stopped. And I have to stop him."

..... they just never die.

You, myself and others blew Point number 2 right out of the water a while back, yet you have weaseled it back into the "Truth" category. Do you understand my amazement? These "Truths" are like Peter Sellers in the movie The Party, they just keep on standing back up no matter how many times they've been shot down

Let me remind you of the point where you had no more facts or logic to refute the annihilation of the Immigration myth, and as a last resort fell back on sarcasm, irony and off-topic asides:
Moishe, so as to try to understand the continual reincarnations of the Top Myths, do you have an explanation for your reaction to "Truth" number 2 that might help to explain the other "won't fall down" cases? How do you, as a well-read person, explain that you revert to the Zionist mantra no matter that your quiver was totally empty and the arrows were still raining down on you? You had no place else to turn, and yet a month or two later, the Immigration myth is back in the Truth category.

I have always known that the tactic behind the Top Zionist Myths is to have followers continue to repeat them so that the world may come to believe that they are true, like TV commercials for cheap laundry powder. But don't feel alone. The ink on our Immigration match was hardly dry when Abu-Afak posted that Ms Peter's analysis had stood the test of time. Oy vey!!

I have a suugestion. Let us not revert back to Myth 2. It really is a lost cause that "the vast majority of Arabs emigrated to "Palestine" as a result of Jewish immigration". The "vast majority" is just So Dead.

Instead let us analyses Myth number 1 in a separated thread.
1) The Zionists never took anything from anyone. They bought the land legally and were therefore entitled to form a new country.

...... anyone who disagrees please contribute to its thread at:

http://www.politicalforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=24979

...... see the following thread for a summary:

http://www.politicalforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=25181, or the thread

http://www.politicalforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=20411

for a full description of the origin of the blood in the ring.

Anyone disagreeing that the Immigration Myth is dead and buried, please contribute to either of those two threads.

So far two of the "truths" purporting to "prove" that the creation of Israel did not displace Palestinians have been shown to be fabricated Myths.

Next one.

Myth number 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

Outcome: Trashed

Reason: When one understands that an ancestral homeland has just as many if not more rights as a valid concept to the boundaries drawn in the desert by western occupiers, then it becomes clear that there have been a people occupying the disputed territories for millenia, back to the days of Canaan and before. And they are still there.

http://www.politicalforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=25202
This myth was so patently absurd, even though it appears frequently in the Zionist press and sites, that it didn't even reach one page before the rebuttals ran out.

Myth 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."

Before Moishe says that I made up this myth, I offer to supply him with 7 zionist websites where the concept is promoted.

http://www.ajds.org.au/mendes.htm provides an interesting twist.

This myth imploded in less than two days. There are literally dozens of books written by relatively impartial Middle East correspondents who were there at the time, confirming the diaspora caused by factors related to Zionist actions. And then there is Benny Morris' studies and conclusions which at best receives weasel words.

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

Whereas the discussion revealed a large number of similarities between what was the essence of Apartheid and what has been happening in Israel over the past half century, there was one important difference which I cannot gloss over.

In estwhile Apartheid South Africa, the "not us" were not allowed to vote. In Israel the Palestinian Arabs who live in and are citizens of Israel DO have the vote.

But given the Knesset's massive preoccupation with the ethnic ratio (it should not rise below 70:30) this vote is relatively toothless. Still I must admit that the fact of eligibility is a noteworthy difference to Apartheid.

On the other hand, all the other important characteristics of the Israeli style and that of Apartheid are the same. For a list of these see
http://www.politicalforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=25285
which includes forced removal of peoples; restrictions on freedom of movement; pursuing the opposition into neighbouring sovereign states without permission; creations of walls and fences to keep "not us" out; justification of the use of overwhelming force because it is a fight against terrorism; sacrificing innocent civilians in the implementation of Separateness; detention without trial; the targeting and assassination of opposition leaders, dictating to the "not us" how their political system should work; etc.

In conclusion, other than for the relatively toothless vote, Isrel exhibits all the main characteristics of an Apartheid State.

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

Whereas the discussion revealed a large number of similarities between what was the essence of Apartheid and what has been happening in Israel over the past half century, there was one important difference which I cannot gloss over.

In estwhile Apartheid South Africa, the "not us" were not allowed to vote. In Israel the Palestinian Arabs who live in and are citizens of Israel DO have the vote.

But given the Knesset's massive preoccupation with the ethnic ratio (it should not rise below 70:30) this vote is relatively toothless. Still I must admit that the fact of vote eligibility is a noteworthy if practically impotent difference to Apartheid.

On the other hand, all the other important characteristics of the Israeli style and that of Apartheid are the same. For a list of these see
http://www.politicalforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=25285
which includes forced removal of peoples; restrictions on freedom of movement; pursuing the opposition into neighbouring sovereign states without permission; creations of walls and fences to keep "not us" out; invasion of neighbouring States; creation of walls and fences to "keep the murderers out"; use of overwhelming force against acts of far lesser impact; assassination of opposition political leaders; acts of violence against innocent civilians both in the Apartheid State and abroad; complete disrespect for political borders; detention without trial; etc.

In conclusion, other than for the toothless vote, Israel exhibits all the main characteristics of an Apartheid State.

What You're missing is the present absentees.

That's the Palestinians who never left what was to be come Israel yet still don't get Israeli citizenship, no rights no vote and there are between 150,00 to 400,000 of them. Why the big spread of about 250,000? Because they are non people living in unrecognised villages and as non-beings they do not form part of the Israeli census.

They are in a class of their own treated as Illegal immigrants who never immigrated. a real conundrum.

And then the old Citizenship/Nationality twist that Israel applies. Arabs have Citizenship but no Nationality, Jews of Israel get Nationality.