No Democracy in the Middle East

For quite some time I have always held Israel in high regard for being the only "democratic" country in the Middle East. I had always hoped that they would influence that turbulent part of the world to accept the values of Western Philosophy that are rooted in Judeo-Christian thought. Those values are that, since YHWH created man and gave man the gift of self-determination, then no other man can use force to take that life or take that self-determination away from him to whom it was given. In other words, since life and liberty are God's gifts to individuals, any individual who takes those things away are putting themselves above God.

These values are the cornerstone of freedom and "democracy." A culture and society that values life and self-determination (liberty) and uses the power of government to protect those two values will succeed. That culture and society will become a haven for all who oppressed. It will be a place where people prosper. It will be a place where people flock to.

Anyway, up until recently Israel has been that kind of place. However, in the "spirit of compromise" Israel has decided to surrender its concrete values for the hope of peace. Israel is denying its citizenry the God-given right of self-determination and forcefully expelling people from their homes and their property, without even a vague and unenforceable promise that the Palestinians will behave now. Israel is giving up so much more than land, they are giving up part of their national character and it is sad. It tears my heart and conscience to see the Israeli government use force to remove fellow Jews from their homeland.

One of the principles of being a person/nation of character is knowing what your values are and making sure that you never betray them. While I believe in absolute moralitity (akin to absolute truth) even postmodern philosophers would have to agree that betrayal of your own values is what determines the morality of something. This, therefore, is an immoral act by the Israeli government. While I still support Israel over the her enemies, I have lost a great deal of respect for her. I no longer hold her in high regard and I can no longer see her as a "democracy." Because she is acting immorally and being contrarian to the desires of Jehovah, I see her as just slightly better than the countries that surround her.