Re: Lebanon news from Juan Cole

["David B. Shemano" <dshemano@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Doug Henwood writes:

>> > If the imbalance of military power favors the Israelis, why do the
>> > Israelis have to give up so many more prisoners than what they
>> > receive in exchange?  Should it not be the opposite if military
>> > power determines the terms of the trade?
>>
>> There's no doubt about the balance of military power, so what's your
>> underlying point?

The argument that Jim Devine made ("that one (non-Arab) Israeli life is worth 20 or so Arab ones") is frequently made in anti-Israel critiques and is one I have never understood, and I thought I would ask a couple questions to see whether the statement as critique has any substance or is empty rhetoric.

Obviously, the Israelis value their lives more than Arab lives, just as the Arabs value their lives more than Israeli lives, just as every nationality values the lives of its nationals more than the lives of other nationalities, so what is the point?  That the Israelis act like a nation-state and prefer their own nationals?  I just don't understand the substantive point.

David Shemano