Israeli athletes in Rio endure ‘shocking’ hostility, taunting by Muslim nations

[Melkorr]

I generally avoid political debates but where I come from (Ireland) there's a clear faction vs faction thing regarding this, I'll try and explain my viewpoint -

Say your family as lived in a house, for generations, then you gain new neighbors whos house was destroyed for whatever reason, you take them in and let them stay in your shed out of the goodness of your heart until they get back on their feet, great.

However those neighbors start having kids and then their kids start having kids etc etc, and soon they out-number you and then all of a sudden decide the shed isn't good enough so they claim your house as their own and kick you out, damn.

However not only do they kick you out of your own home, but they start also claiming your new house that you have bought and kick you out of that as well, NOT ONLY that but they start arresting your friends and family for no apparent reason, or for when you try and get your house back. NOT ONLY that but they then use that as justification to start attacking and killing your friends and family. And all while pretending your house was their house all along due to some words in a book THEY wrote thousands of years before and so all some of your neighbors, especially the ones with the biggest houses (I.E USA/Britain) view them as having a legitimate view and therefore help them.

As a Lebanese I completely agree with that. We're experiencing it first hand with ~2 million Syrian refugees, but that's not the topic here.

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The Bible says a lot of things, and people will always pick and choose, or at least prioritize, whatever passages they like. Besides, I seriously doubt that he was trying to imply that being Christian made him better than anyone, only to try and ward off accusations that he only sympathized with the Palestinians because he was another one of those Jew-hating Arab Muslim terrorists.

Woah... Thanks?

[Macaquerie]

Woah... Thanks?

That last bit was meant to be a sarcastic strawman statement, obviously.

[Melkorr]

Are you Orthodox or Catholic? I've read about some Christian Arabs that have sold out and support their Islamist neighbors for political gains.

Either way, hiding behind the fact you're Christian doesn't really matter. Not sure about Lebanon nowadays, but in the West Bank the Christian Orthodox Arabs sold out to support the Palestinian Authority a long time ago.

Not the case in Lebanon. Look up 1975-1990 Lebanese Civil war, you'll understand the situation a little here even though it's very complicated and f'ed up for someone who's not Lebanese ^^.
I'm a Maronite Catholic by the way.

[Deleted]

As a Lebanese I completely agree with that. We're experiencing it first hand with ~2 million Syrian refugees, but that's not the topic here.

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Woah... Thanks?

I know, but just wanted to give a simpler point on why Israeli athletes are experiencing "hostility" for those that aren't sure

[TirielWoW]

I know, but just wanted to give a simpler point on why Israeli athletes are experiencing "hostility" for those that aren't sure

We understand that they're being used as whipping boys for the actions of their government.

That doesn't make it less shitty. And it doesn't make the countries that have bred such behavior look any better. If you can't be a good sport at the Olympics, of all places, then you shouldn't be there.

[Melkorr]

That last bit was meant to be a sarcastic strawman statement, obviously.

Thanks for defending me. It was surprising because most comments here towards me are pretty harsh.
Sadly there are people who think that anyone who sides with the Palestinians is a Jew-hating Arab Muslim terrorist (because also sadly there are Jew-hating Arabs who happen to be Muslims haha), even if they're left-wing Israelis.

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Idiot...
1. That is just stupid.
2. Yes, the English gave it, no Israeli conquered anything. They have been given everything so they can force theirselves upon everyone.
Israel is not a legitimate country. Now if only the middle eastern world could work together. But that's not likely to happen.

Ofcourse no Jew lives in Gaza, Israel keeps bombing it and made a concentration camp out of it. Probably worse, since they don't actually kill the people in it, they just let them starve. Now how many jews live in colonies? You know, the land that was stolen... Almost 100%.
Don't worry though, I won't be visiting.

https://bdsmovement.net/

Don't even try with Holas, seriously. He's the thickest person here, never willing to understand or look at other perspectives. Also, racism is like a sport to him.
Thanks for supporting BDS.

[PACOX]

The athlete was sent home for poor sportsmanship, case closed.

[TirielWoW]

The Bible says a lot of things, and people will always pick and choose, or at least prioritize, whatever passages they like.

Yup. But then there are the unequivocal statements. "If anyone says, 'I love God,' yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother."

This is not a statement that leaves wiggle room. You either agree with it, or you don't, but if you disagree, you are violating the tenets of the faith per one of the very first Saints of said faith (and per Christ Himself, since that's the person who gave the commandment in the first place). Paul also says elsewhere that if you lack love in your heart, that nothing else you do matters - no matter how awesome or charitable or amazing it is. He's irritating like that - he doesn't give you room to try to get out of the statement.

Besides, I seriously doubt that he was trying to imply that being Christian made him better than anyone, only to try and ward off accusations that he only sympathized with the Palestinians because he was another one of those Jew-hating Arab Muslim terrorists.

I'll repeat what I said before - the statement wasn't helpful. Telling people, "Well, I'm better than you because I'm this or that" just makes people turn their noses up and ignore your words.

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Yeah I know that's what I've been trying to say! There's something really wrong with our government! Exactly like you said . We dislike it too!
They did make it look horrible, but it's really not like that. Anyway, I just wish they shook hands. At least they could have saved me some time from typing all this here lol.

I've read over a couple of your posts, and it's possible that I simply misunderstood you. And, for that, I apologize. I don't know if it is a language barrier, or just the subject matter, but it seemed to me that you were defending the athletes' choice to be unsportsmanlike because they were around Israeli athletes. I'm glad to be wrong.

[Melkorr]

I've read over a couple of your posts, and it's possible that I simply misunderstood you. And, for that, I apologize. I don't know if it is a language barrier, or just the subject matter, but it seemed to me that you were defending the athletes' choice to be unsportsmanlike because they were around Israeli athletes. I'm glad to be wrong.

Thank you very much! <3

[Holofernes]

israel is beeing hated on by the arabic world for a reason. the main reason is palestine. The other is that arabic countries and societies are shown on their doorstep how worthless and backwards, how 3rd world they are- its mutilating for any arab to see how well the small Israel is doing in economy, military, and general living standards compared to their neighbors. it shows them that their society is underdeveloped and not on par with western civilisation, that whats make them hate it.
I mean comon, a 8 million people country defeat syria and egypt, together like 50 million + people at the same time, and border parts are in part still occupied by israel 30 years later.

And in addition, its very popular to hate jews for just being jews, but thats not an arabic / muslim merit.

[Macaquerie]

Yup. But then there are the unequivocal statements. "If anyone says, 'I love God,' yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother."

This is not a statement that leaves wiggle room. You either agree with it, or you don't, but if you disagree, you are violating the tenets of the faith per one of the very first Saints of said faith (and per Christ Himself, since that's the person who gave the commandment in the first place). Paul also says elsewhere that if you lack love in your heart, that nothing else you do matters - no matter how awesome or charitable or amazing it is. He's irritating like that - he doesn't give you room to try to get out of the statement.

The point I was trying to make was more that the tone of Christianity varies based on region and sect. I'm not exactly an expert on Eastern Christianity, but I imagine that it bears little resemblance to evangelical Protestantism in the US, with the focus on proselytization, Bible study, and sugary rhetoric on love, salvation, redemption, JESUS HALLELUJAH AMEN! If I were to take a stab at it, I imagine that Christianity in Lebanon is more of a cultural identity as distinct from that of the Muslim majority, with more weight given to establishing the historical roots of the community and Christianity in the region, and less emphasis on doctrine and morality.

Of course, the vast majority of people, Christian or otherwise, strive to be loving and kind toward their neighbors and don't strive to be explicitly hateful toward anyone. But there are always going to be conflicts in which you have to take sides, and sometimes it's not so easy to just get everybody together to group hug and bro out, no matter how many exhortations to scripture you throw out there.

[Draco-Onis]

Yup. But then there are the unequivocal statements. "If anyone says, 'I love God,' yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother."

This is not a statement that leaves wiggle room. You either agree with it, or you don't, but if you disagree, you are violating the tenets of the faith per one of the very first Saints of said faith (and per Christ Himself, since that's the person who gave the commandment in the first place). Paul also says elsewhere that if you lack love in your heart, that nothing else you do matters - no matter how awesome or charitable or amazing it is. He's irritating like that - he doesn't give you room to try to get out of the statement.

There is wiggle room because other text say if that brother is LGBT, fornicator, cheater or doesn't believe in the same faith they are an sinner / abomination and they are going to hell / need to be "converted", there are a lot of contradictions in the bible. There's also there whole chosen people thing and that people who don't believe are ignorant / savages that need to be made to see the light.

[Deletedaccount1]

People representing their country in the Olympics do not represent their country

Explain to me how an Israeli athlete who wants to compete and do what they do best in the world is responsible for the actions of their government which they might not agree with.

[Hawg]

Remember that Lebanon has always been on the defense against Israel, they're the ones who invade and threaten and violate our skies and maritime borders countless times a day.

That's because Lebanon has also given refuge to terrorist organizations fighting against Israel. It's disingenuous to say you were unfairly bombed when you allow these groups to safely operate in your country and fire rockets into Isreal and conduct other terrorist activities.

Neither party has clean hands in this and to claim Lebanon does is naive.

[TirielWoW]

There is wiggle room because other text say if that brother is LGBT, fornicator, cheater or doesn't believe in the same faith they are an sinner / abomination and they are going to hell / need to be "converted", there are a lot of contradictions in the bible. There's also there whole chosen people thing and that people who don't believe are ignorant / savages that need to be made to see the light.

It says everyone is a sinner - including Christians. That doesn't net you a "get out of jail free" card to ignore when Jesus said, "Love them, do not judge them." When Jesus encounters the woman caught in adultery, he doesn't throw stones at her or condemn her. He protects her from those who would have killed her, then tells her to go, and live a better life.

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The point I was trying to make was more that the tone of Christianity varies based on region and sect. I'm not exactly an expert on Eastern Christianity, but I imagine that it bears little resemblance to evangelical Protestantism in the US, with the focus on proselytization, Bible study, and sugary rhetoric on love, salvation, redemption, JESUS HALLELUJAH AMEN! If I were to take a stab at it, I imagine that Christianity in Lebanon is more of a cultural identity as distinct from that of the Muslim majority, with more weight given to establishing the historical roots of the community and Christianity in the region, and less emphasis on doctrine and morality.

That is precisely why I asked the questions I did. Because being born into a Christian culture doesn't actually make you a follower of Christ.

Of course, the vast majority of people, Christian or otherwise, strive to be loving and kind toward their neighbors and don't strive to be explicitly hateful toward anyone. But there are always going to be conflicts in which you have to take sides, and sometimes it's not so easy to just get everybody together to group hug and bro out, no matter how many exhortations to scripture you throw out there.

I never said it would be easy. I didn't post because I thought it would be easy. I posted to remind someone that they're claiming a banner that represents 2.2 billion people, and they need to remember what that banner actually means.

[Melkorr]

That's because Lebanon has also given refuge to terrorist organizations fighting against Israel. It's disingenuous to say you were unfairly bombed when you allow these groups to safely operate in your country and fire rockets into Isreal and conduct other terrorist activities.

Neither party has clean hands in this and to claim Lebanon does is naive.

Neither party has clean hands I agree. But when you have Israel as a neighbor and France as an 'ally' and then both call for the bombardment and eradication of the resistance (Hezbollah) you automatically know these people have no moral fiber. They want another civil war between Lebanese. Well you can all piss off and leave Lebanon alone once and for all.
Israel couldn't invade Lebanon in 2006 after the Lebanese President and Prime Minister refused 'orders' by France to attack their own people (the resistance, funny right?), so they wanted to do it themselves. They tried and failed, so they are using and doing everything they can to create trouble between different sects internally, just like the Arab Spring that happened.
The poor can't win a revolution, history will teach you that, there's always someone with power and money behind it supplying and enforcing it. In Lebanon's case it's Israel who's trying.
Israel is trying to cause another civil war in Lebanon, one we do not want and do not need at all! All it wants is destruction for us Lebanese.

I'm not saying Lebanon has clean hands at all, we had a civil war that lasted 15 years, but once that civil war ends the truth slowly starts to come out, and guess who had a large part in causing that civil war? Both Israel and the Palestinians. Israel just couldn't invade Lebanon and take care of the PLO (who they just kicked out of their homes and took their land) so they helped cause the civil war that actually lasted 15 years. Before that time, in the 70's, my father still had Lebanese Jewish friends at least living peacefully with Muslims, Christians, Druze etc...
The Lebanese aren't very fond of the Palestinians either, but once you see their suffering and understand that their homes have just been taken away from them, you can only blame the Zionist ideology that started all this.

We're really tired of conflict, all we do is try to survive in this God forsaken region.

[Holas]

Neither party has clean hands I agree. But when you have Israel as a neighbor and France as an 'ally' and then both call for the bombardment and eradication of the resistance (Hezbollah) you automatically know these people have no moral fiber. They want another civil war between Lebanese. Well you can all piss off and leave Lebanon alone once and for all.
Israel couldn't invade Lebanon in 2006 after the Lebanese President and Prime Minister refused 'orders' by France to attack their own people (the resistance, funny right?), so they wanted to do it themselves. They tried and failed, so they are using and doing everything they can to create trouble between different sects internally, just like the Arab Spring that happened.
The poor can't win a revolution, history will teach you that, there's always someone with power and money behind it supplying and enforcing it. In Lebanon's case it's Israel who's trying.
Israel is trying to cause another civil war in Lebanon, one we do not want and do not need at all! All it wants is destruction for us Lebanese.

I'm not saying Lebanon has clean hands at all, we had a civil war that lasted 15 years, but once that civil war ends the truth slowly starts to come out, and guess who had a large part in causing that civil war? Both Israel and the Palestinians. Israel just couldn't invade Lebanon and take care of the PLO (who they just kicked out of their homes and took their land) so they helped cause the civil war that actually lasted 15 years. Before that time, in the 70's, my father still had Lebanese Jewish friends at least living peacefully with Muslims, Christians, Druze etc...
The Lebanese aren't very fond of the Palestinians either, but once you see their suffering and understand that their homes have just been taken away from them, you can only blame the Zionist ideology that started all this.

We're really tired of conflict, all we do is try to survive in this God forsaken region.

Israel couldn't invade lebanon? really? Israel can conquer entire Lebanon in a day if it wanted. The only question is "what is the gain" and its not much.
Last war we kept our hands tied -next war your country will be even more 3rd world country than it is now. You can easily avoid though -don't let your "resistance" attack us, but I guess not attacking Jews is too much to ask from a fanatic "Christian".

[Melkorr]

Israel couldn't invade lebanon? really? Israel can conquer entire Lebanon in a day if it wanted. The only question is "what is the gain" and its not much.
Last war we kept our hands tied -next war your country will be even more 3rd world country than it is now. You can easily avoid though -don't let your "resistance" attack us, but I guess not attacking Jews is too much to ask from a fanatic "Christian".

You still don't realize that you're on my ignore list lol.
But yeah you couldn't invade Lebanon in 2006, even your politicians admitted defeat so stop being so proud and get off of your high horse already.

Also, stop blaming this on religion. The second you say that you're the fanatic "Jew". I couldn't care less about what you believe in.

You're the one still calling for war do you realize that? Israel is still bombarding convoys and outposts in Lebanon and Syria and retreating like cowards, Lebanon isn't. Here's just last years violations of our borders, you would have cried and caused massive media uproar if this happened on your side.

Mazraat Amal airstrike (18 January 2015) - Israeli airstrike in Quneitra against Hezbollah and Iranian operatives.
Qalamoun airstrike (25 April 2015) - Israeli airstrikes against Hezbollah camps and weapons convoys in two brigade bases of al-Qalamoun region.
Bekaa Valley airstrike (21 June 2015) - Israeli airstrike against targets in Lebanon's western Bekaa Valley.
Qalamoun airstrike (31 October 2015) - Israeli airstrike on Hezbollah targets in southern Syria, including a weapons convoy.
November 2015 Israeli airstrike (11 November 2015) - Israeli airstrike near Damascus airport against Hezbollah weapons warehouses

So stop saying don't let them attack us if you're just constantly bombing them and their operations while they're trying to defeat ISIS, the brigade that you and the Clintons apparently indirectly support through LaFarge 'cement' firm.

[Polyxo]

Lebanese-Israeli forum pissing contest aside, it really is a drama queen headline to call it 'shocking hostility'. It's more along the lines of casual dickishness. The US and USSR both said "fuck you, we're not even going" back and forth in the past. There have been dozens of full on boycotts of Olympics over political issues. Back in Beijing, some Taekwondo judge got kicked in the face for an arguable call. Tonya Harding had her boyfriend kneecap Nancy Kerrigan, and they're from the same country. So the bus standoff and the lack of a handshake is not a big deal.

[Holas]

You still don't realize that you're on my ignore list lol.
But yeah you couldn't invade Lebanon in 2006, even your politicians admitted defeat so stop being so proud and get off of your high horse already.

Also, stop blaming this on religion. The second you say that you're the fanatic "Jew". I couldn't care less about what you believe in.

You're the one still calling for war do you realize that? Israel is still bombarding convoys and outposts in Lebanon and Syria and retreating like cowards, Lebanon isn't. Here's just last years violations of our borders, you would have cried and caused massive media uproar if this happened on your side.

Mazraat Amal airstrike (18 January 2015) - Israeli airstrike in Quneitra against Hezbollah and Iranian operatives.
Qalamoun airstrike (25 April 2015) - Israeli airstrikes against Hezbollah camps and weapons convoys in two brigade bases of al-Qalamoun region.
Bekaa Valley airstrike (21 June 2015) - Israeli airstrike against targets in Lebanon's western Bekaa Valley.
Qalamoun airstrike (31 October 2015) - Israeli airstrike on Hezbollah targets in southern Syria, including a weapons convoy.
November 2015 Israeli airstrike (11 November 2015) - Israeli airstrike near Damascus airport against Hezbollah weapons warehouses

So stop saying don't let them attack us if you're just constantly bombing them and their operations while they're trying to defeat ISIS, the brigade that you and the Clintons apparently indirectly support through LaFarge 'cement' firm.

For a guy that have me on ignore -you sure seems to answer quite a lot. Hizbhalla made 8000 resolution violations since 2006. I am not sure you want to compare who is violating more.

If you seriously think Israel can't conquer Lebanon then you are delusional. Israel can conquer like half of the middle east. Would it make sense? hell no. Can Israel KEEP and control that land - not really. Who do you think would stop Israel? Mighty Hizbahlla? you might want to read a bit.
Do Israel WANTS to conquer Lebanon? no. The gains would be non-existent and will cost human lives (you see for Jews, lives actually matter -unlike your side beliefs who glorify death).

Yes, Israel bomb modern weapons that hizballah tries to put their hand on. Hizballah can't exist without hostility to Israel. It is not really part of lebanon but Iran (yes, you are under occupation and MUCH more than the palestinians). Israel knows that eventually Hizbahlla (through an order from Iran) will attack Israel, otherwise why its need to arms itself with over 100,000 missile in lebanon? Against Israel aggression? Did Israel even said it want the shithole you are living in? No. It arms itself because its aims are similar to Hamas - kick all Jews to sea. Well...think again.