And it is a propaganda word, because if a Gentile is an anti-Semite — synonomous with bigot, racist, Nazi — if they discriminate against Jews, then Jews should be given that same level if they discriminate against Gentiles. amren.com

I strongly believe that the reason for the hate that is directed towards the Jews and, increasingly, America is due to the unfair treatment of the Palestinian Arabs over the past 60 years.

Israeli needs to deal fairly, give land back and ensure that everyone has a decent quality of life. Otherwise I really fear for what is going to happen in the future.

I have been watching this unfold on my TV since I was a little kid and I would love to see everyone in that region living in peace.

I’m not sure Bittorrent was suggesting that Hezbollah is blameless, the point being that Israel’s response to the actions of “terrorist” group was to attack a soveriegn state (in the same as Russia’s was in Chechneya or China in Tibet). Again i draw the parallel of the UK in Northern Ireland, would the international communities response been the same had the Britain bombed Dublins suburbs?

How do you reconcile that with the fact that Hezbollah started this war? Not only did they kidnap the two soldiers unprovoked, but then they lobbed missiles at Haifa.

Can you please explain how that kidnapping was anything other than unprovoked aggression?

The amount of coverage given Gibson’s stupidass remarks while drunk is, well, disproportionate to the amount of coverage given an actual anti-semitic act at the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle. One dead; five wounded. Seems to me this is payback for “The Passion” rather than true moral outrage.

The wrong way round I’m afraid. It is Israel that has taken over parts of someone elses country, as it has done repeatedly since the late 1940’s and those people are fighting back. Right now Israel is bombing and invading a sovereign nation.

What would you do if Canada invaded various parts of the USA? Would you fight back? What if people called you terrorists for fighting back? Yes I think you would still fight back whatever they called you.

I think Jimmy raises the most valid point that criticism of Israel and anti-semitism are two distinct things that are often wrongly lumped together.

I can understand Bill Maher’s point that Israel does have the right to defend itself. Rather than considering the hypothetical terrorist Canada attacking the US surely a better metaphor would be to consider how the international community would have responded had the UK acted in the same heavy handed manner as Israel in Ireland?

You can count me as one of those who praised Mel Gibson for his film The Passion of the Christ. I thought it was a beautiful film, as did tens of millions of others. I also did not think it was anti-Semetic. And I also felt that much of the criticism was very unfair and an attempt to shut down production or an attempt to sabotage its success. I’ll still stand by that. In fact, I havent’ heard of any anti-Semetic incidents that happened as a direct result of its showing.

Having said that, read the third response to this post above.

I would, though, like to hear the reaction from the throngs of people who were praising Gibson about the film.

And here in the American South we have the old saying, “truth in wine.” People might confuse their thoughts when drunk but they don’t make things up.

Let’s get real here: Gibson blew a .12 B.A.C. That is, at worst, slightly impaired. Until a few years ago, .10 was the legal limit in most states. A real alcoholic (which Gibson apparently is) probably wouldn’t even feel a buzz.

Either Mel meant what he said, and is an anti-Semite, or he had something other than alcohol in his system.

A Latin phrase suggesting that people are more likely to say what they really feel under the influence of alcohol. It means, “There is truth in wine.”

Yes, we’ve all said stupid things when we’re drunk, but this is different.

“I’m being arrested for drinking and driving…therefore Jews are responsible for all the wars in history.”