# Rogue State in the Middle East



## elder999 (Jun 4, 2010)

Guess:

It has an active nuclear-weapons program but conducts it in secret; its security organs regularly kill perceived enemies of the
state, both at home and abroad; its political process has been hijacked by religious fundamentalists who believe they are doing God&#8217;s will; its
violent recklessness destabilizes the world&#8217;s most volatile region; and it seems as deaf to reason as it is impervious to pressure.


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## Sukerkin (Jun 4, 2010)

I would guess Israel if you mean a state actually present in the Middle East or the USA if you mean a persistent but non-resident interloper?

Of course, the description you gave us to work with would apply to a great many other nation-states in that region too .


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## Empty Hands (Jun 4, 2010)




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## elder999 (Jun 4, 2010)

Empty Hands said:


>


 

Okay, a hint: it starts with an "I" :lfao:


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## Tez3 (Jun 5, 2010)

*Iran*, most of Israel's politicians are secular and don't believe they are doing any ones will other than their own. Israel bends to American pressure, many Israelis disagree with their countries policies and aren't killed by their own side.


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## elder999 (Jun 5, 2010)

Tez3 said:


> *Iran*, most of Israel's politicians are secular and don't believe they are doing any ones will other than their own.


 
While Israeli politics are dominated by the Likud and Labour parties, both of the parties typically have to form coalitions with smaller, typically _religious_ parties to form an effective government.



Tez3 said:


> Israel bends to American pressure,


 
On occasion, perhaps, America also bends to Israeli pressure, though...:lol:



Tez3 said:


> * many* Israelis disagree with their countries policies and aren't killed by their own side.


 
Not _all_, though, so you're statement hardly disqualifies Israel from being the country I'm speaking of.........though, I'm really not saying...:lfao:


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## Tez3 (Jun 5, 2010)

elder999 said:


> While Israeli politics are dominated by the Likud and Labour parties, both of the parties typically have to form coalitions with smaller, typically _religious_ parties to form an effective government.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 
All Israelis disagree with their government, it's in the national character to do so even when they actually agree with it! You will never ever have a group of Jews agreeing with each other without an great deal of argument, unheard of!


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## Bob Hubbard (Jun 5, 2010)

I'll go with the nation that uses bulldozers on activists, and refuses to allow Red Cross access to towns they are occupying......


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## CanuckMA (Jun 6, 2010)

Tez3 said:


> All Israelis disagree with their government, it's in the national character to do so even when they actually agree with it! You will never ever have a group of Jews agreeing with each other without an great deal of argument, unheard of!


 
And some sort of food needs to be involved.


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## Big Don (Jun 6, 2010)




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## tellner (Jun 6, 2010)

elder999 said:


> While Israeli politics are dominated by the Likud and Labour parties, both of the parties typically have to form coalitions with smaller, typically _religious_ parties to form an effective government.



You're not going to get away with Charedism == Israeli foreign policy

The Charedim are mostly interested in two political things:
1) Getting as much money as possible to subsidize their parasitic lifestyle
2) Complete control over fundamental religious institutions like marriage, conversions, deciding who is a Jew and what Judaism is

Many are hawkish, moreso than the mainline parties. Many don't know or care about anything outside Mea Sharim. Neturei Karta actively supports Fatah, Hezbollah and anyone else who wants to destroy Israel.

About the only thing they agree on is that secular Jews, Modern Orthodox, Reform and Gentiles should serve in the IDF and work while they sit on their asses, have a dozen kids each and never leave their religious academies.


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## tellner (Jun 6, 2010)

CanuckMA said:


> And some sort of food needs to be involved.



Along with another argument about the hescher on the food, whether it's in everyone's minhag, is the milk cholov yisroel and whether the poor woman who cooked it checked carefully enough for bugs.

The one thing almost everyone can agree on is that the Mizraim and Sephardim are much better cooks than the Ashkenazim.


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## CanuckMA (Jun 6, 2010)

tellner said:


> The one thing almost everyone can agree on is that the Mizraim and Sephardim are much better cooks than the Ashkenazim.


 

But only after we've debated the meanings of 'much', 'better' and 'cook'.

Volumes can be written.

Pass the bagels.


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## tellner (Jun 6, 2010)

CanuckMA said:


> Volumes can be written.


And the very best one is Claudia Roden's _The Book of Jewish Food_. It's part cookbook, part history, part love affair and the result of her obsessively collecting recipes for decades. 



> Pass the bagels.


Certainly. But not the soft ham and cheese bagels. Even my (Gentile) wife calls them "Goyishe bagels".


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## tellner (Jun 6, 2010)

elder999 said:


> Guess:



I'll go with Iran, Israel, Syria, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, most of the Emirates, Lebanon and parts of Turkey except for the nuclear bit which excludes all but two to four of them. Iraq gets a bye because it hasn't been a country since 2003.


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