Maggie's Farm

Non-essential employees are defined as those "who are not required to work when an office closing is authorized. Occasionally, non-essential employees may be required to work if skeleton crews must be maintained or if specific work must be performed to meet deadlines."

So-called non-essential employees include many custodians, gatekeepers to national parks and monuments, research scientists, many maritime workers, and occupations that might not cause life threatening ramifications if not functioning. NASA, EPA, IRS, and NIH have the highest proportion of non-essential workers. However, few would argue that having someone open the gates at public parks, or protecting the environment, or emptying the trash cans, or fighting disease, are non-essential over the long term.

While the article left out important information, the fact remains that Israeli law is often stacked against Palestinians, and that certain groups use the legal process against Palestinians in order to extend Israeli control in contested areas. One such problem is that Israelis can bring suit to recover property lost in 1948, but Palestinians can't.

mudbug: The fact remains there are Palestinians and other Muslims in Israel but there are no Jews in the Palestinian territories because they will be killed.

There are large numbers of Jews living in armed settlements within what is internationally recognized as Palestinian territory.

mudbug: Are the Palestinians and Muslims in Israel living in armed settlements?

No. However, Israel doesn't allow Palestinian migration from the occupied territories into Israel, and those who live in the occupied territories are under stringent control. You seem to be confused on the nature of occupation.

Many Jews consider Palestinian lands to be rightfully part of Israel. The Israeli government has allowed the continued expansion of Israeli settlements and displacement of Palestinians in occupied territories.

chasmatic: Death to Jews Papists Muslims sudden, overwhelming, final

You do realize there are advocating the death of over a billion people?

chasmatic: A billion? Papa Joe Stalin would consider that merely a statistic, but I digress.

So, you're Stalin.

chasmatic: Yes I do realize that I advocate the death of a billion people

You advocate genocide, and no one says a word — other than the "troll".

mudbug: Then there is no equivalence.

Never said there was. Israelis use their economic and security superiority to settle into occupied territories in contravention of international law, while many Muslim communities persecute minorities in their midst.

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Allāh does not forbid you from those who do not fight you because of religion and do not expel you from your homes – from being righteous toward them and acting justly toward them. Indeed, Allāh loves those who act justly.

mudbug: Especially if you are chopping off the heads of infidels, girls who go to school, homosexuals, and people who leave Islam.

You are conflating the acts of a few with those of the many. In particular, you overgeneralize from the most fundamentalist strains of a religion to every sect of that religion. Keep in mind that Christians used to persecute infidels, homosexuals, people who left the faith, and kept girls from school. Some still do. It's more a matter of an extreme conservative reaction to modernity.

CountryGirl: All of those 'armed settlements" are in Israel.

That is simply not correct. Settlements are found throughout the West Bank which is internationally recognized as Palestinian territory. Many of those settlements are smack-dab in the middle of Palestinian neighborhoods, usually on fenced-off hilltops.

CountryGirl: In the past Israel has offered land for peace and some of those settlements are in those lands.

There are internationally recognized borders. Israel occupied Palestianian lands after the 1967 war.

CountryGirl: The simple fact is that in every case the Arabs that call themselves Palestinians broke the treaty which of course negated the treaty and the lands remain part of Israels country.

Occupied territories don't become part of your country under international law. Nor can you expel people from occupied territory. Nor can you settle into occupied territory.

However, if, as you insist, the West Bank is part of Israel, then the Palestinians would have representation in the Israeli Knesset, but they don't. That's because if Israel incorporated the West Bank into Israel, Israel would no longer be a Jewish-majority state. That leaves the two-state solution as the only viable alternative.

CountryGirl: The reason that the Jews must be heavily armed is because the Arabs who call themselves Palestinians are in fact all terrorists whose only goal in life it to kill Jews.

The vast majority of Palestinians just want to live in peace and have a say in their own futures. However, if the U.S. were under occupation, there's little doubt you would support attacks on the occupiers.

CountryGirl: Imagine if you will where all those Arabs who call themselves Palestinians would be if they put all their energy into making a state in the lands they were given with the billions that have been given to them.

You just said the occupied territories are part of Israel. Palestinians can't make a state while under military occupation.

Here's a map of the West Bank. It's an untenable situation.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/03/Palestine_Map_2007_(Settlements).gif

Country Girl: When Israel was created in 1948 these lands were theirs.

The West Bank was never part of Israel, certainly not in 1948. They didn't occupy the West Bank until the 1967 war. There are two million Palestinians living in the West Bank, mostly Arab Muslims. If, as you insist, they are part of Israel, then they are being deprived of their humans rights, including representation. Are you actually saying these people should be incorporated into Israel? Israel would never allow it as it would then cease to be a majority Jewish state.

Country Girl: Israel did in fact agree to give lands to the Arabs in return for peace.

No final agreement has ever been reached. Meanwhile, Israel continues to displace Palestinians and settle in Palestinian territories. Again, look at the map, and try to figure out how to carve out a Palestinian state out of the bits-and-pieces that remain.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/03/Palestine_Map_2007_(Settlements).gif

Israel has a lot of legitimate issues with the Palestinians, but that doesn't mean the Israelis are blameless. The right-wing in Israel is intent on pushing the Palestinians out of their homeland and reclaiming what they see as their Biblical inheritance.