I wasn't aware of this issue, and as framed by the ACLU it's pretty alarming.
That said, experience tells me to always get both sides of a story. Can anyone suggest a good representation of the other sides' position?
That said, experience tells me to always get both sides of a story. Can anyone suggest a good representation of the other sides' position?
It’s not a very good argument imo.
I've never understood why this is seen as a good idea. In the spirit of your statement, can you suggest a good representation of why you think this is worthwhile?
There's no natural law that issues should have two sides, and I think forcing everything into that framing is part of why our media discourse is so broken. This also promotes the misconception the truth lies in the middle, which encourages people acting in bad faith to pick extreme positions and skew the average.
The proof comes when you ask them who else are they boycotting, and it's no one. You get even more proof when you start asking them detailed questions about what's going on in Israel and they have no clue. Or they say things that aren't actually true.
The 1% who are intellectually honest about it are easily dwarfed by the 99% who are doing it out of hate.
In all of my time online I've encountered actual criticism of Israel only a handful of times. Under 1%.
One easy way to tell: Are they criticizing all of Israel, or a specific policy?
This has more info: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_Ds_of_antisemitism
I've had plenty of arguments here on HN about Israel, and it doesn't seem like most people are just antisemites. Many people have concrete, legitimate criticisms of Israel (and frankly, there's plenty to criticize.)
Sure, some could be motivated by antisemitism, but 99% of people? That doesn't seem right to me. At all.
(E.g. in most arguments, anyone even a little knowledgeable will argue specifically against settlements or against certain actions of the IDF, not just blanket "against Israel existing.")
> and it's no one
Which means they don't boycott other jews owned business, which invalidates your mental gymnastics.
> when you start asking them detailed questions about what's going on in Israel and they have no clue
So it is okay to outlaw boycotting if X country if some of the boycotters deny to share their intent?
https://www.businessinsider.com/battle-armageddon-israel-eva...