102
submitted 2 weeks ago by floofloof@lemmy.ca to c/world@lemmy.world
top 50 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[-] Buffalox@lemmy.world 32 points 2 weeks ago

But it's OK because Israel is a democracy. /s

It's funny how rare this argument has become, a few years ago politicians used it all the time, as if it was some kind of free pass to genocide, war crimes and discrimination.

Just remember that "But it's a democracy", is not an argument for anything. USA is also a democracy, but that does not in any way justify their attacks on Iran either, or their blockade of Cuba, or all the dozens of other things they are doing that are against international law.

[-] xtr0n@sh.itjust.works 11 points 2 weeks ago

USA is also a democracy

Is it though?

[-] Hayduke@lemmy.world 13 points 2 weeks ago

It’s a plutocracy disguised as a democracy

[-] Madison420@lemmy.world 6 points 2 weeks ago
[-] wonderingwanderer@sopuli.xyz 4 points 2 weeks ago

Technokleptoplutokakistocracy

load more comments (4 replies)
load more comments (3 replies)
[-] cecilkorik@piefed.ca 4 points 2 weeks ago

It's a democracy where dollars are considered citizens and allowed to vote.

[-] backalleycoyote@lemmy.today 1 points 2 weeks ago

Where corporations are people and women are baby factories.

[-] Buffalox@lemmy.world 5 points 2 weeks ago

It's a dysfunctional democracy. So it's absolutely not a good democracy.

[-] samus12345@sh.itjust.works 5 points 2 weeks ago

USA claims to be a democracy.

[-] flandish@lemmy.world 3 points 2 weeks ago

american here: it is not a democracy. also, FUCK ISRAEL

[-] leoj@piefed.social 1 points 2 weeks ago

I think the term is "contested democracy"

[-] HubertManne@piefed.social 1 points 2 weeks ago

yeah its more like a democracy in process of facist takeover. Its a grey area.

load more comments (1 replies)
[-] elucubra@sopuli.xyz 1 points 2 weeks ago
[-] DaTingGoBrrr@lemmy.ml 5 points 2 weeks ago

Nothing can justify genocide or murdering random people at sea. Ever. It doesn't matter who is doing it. The breaking of international law needs to have consequences.

It seems like a lot of people today have a hard time to not justify atrocities.

[-] Buffalox@lemmy.world 2 points 2 weeks ago
[-] HugeNerd@lemmy.ca 2 points 2 weeks ago

But it’s OK because Israel is a democracy.

Exactly Citizen! Good to see that the Raytheon CorrectThink ^(TM)^ rays have been beneficial! Looks like we don't need to increase the beam strength after all.

[-] Hapankaali@lemmy.world 1 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

It requires a broad definition of democracy to consider either of those democracies. The V-Dem Institute puts both in the second tier of "electoral democracy" behind the "true" democracies, termed "liberal democracy."

From Wikipedia, the electoral democracies are those that:

Regimes that possess the bare minimum to be considered a democracy. They are "de-facto accountable to citizens through periodic elections", but are not liberal democracies and lack further entrenched individual and minority rights beyond the electoral sphere. Basic electoral democracies may not possess a fully developed rule of law, legislative and judicial oversight of the executive branch, protections against the "tyranny of the majority", and only minimal fulfillment of Robert Dahl's institutional prerequisites for democracy.[13]

Both countries are also considered to be backsliding toward autocracy.

[-] Buffalox@lemmy.world 2 points 2 weeks ago

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Economist_Democracy_Index

Israel and USA are both flawed democracies placed at 30 and 34.

But they are still democracies.

[-] Hapankaali@lemmy.world 3 points 2 weeks ago

Yes, by a broad definition. They can be considered democracies because elections, while not free and fair, are not directly rigged, opposition parties are allowed to contest them, and the press is partially free. Contrast this to a country like China or Russia, where elections are a sham, opposition is banned or controlled, and the press is tightly controlled by the government.

I will say though that both V-Dem and the Economist are being somewhat generous. Considering recent events in Hungary, one could argue both countries should really rank lower than Hungary.

[-] Buffalox@lemmy.world 2 points 2 weeks ago

I agree, and in Hungary Victor Orban had a lot of control of the media. That's a pretty big part of being a democracy, that the press (media) is free.

load more comments (1 replies)
[-] almost_genocide@lemmy.world 1 points 2 weeks ago

According to the scoring since 2006 the United States index has dropped by a whole 0.57

That seems highly suspect to me.

[-] Buffalox@lemmy.world 1 points 2 weeks ago

I'm not sure what you mean? It has been the trajectory led mostly by the Republicans for decades.
Gerrymandering, illegal surveillance by agencies and even the police, secret laws upheld in secret courts overseen by a tight group of political leaders that are used to silence the press. Sounds like a conspiracy, except Obama admitted it, and even called it a good balance! The Republican rigging of the supreme court.

But maybe you mean it has dropped more?
Because I think it has because of Trump, and I also think the score of 8.22 that places it as a full democracy is moronic, considering it's a 2 party system with fpp voting. And USA has the highest number of prisoners, and they are not allowed to vote.
Nixon actively made cannabis illegal to silence the peace movement. And it has been used since to also oppress minorities.

The score has been consistently way to high.

load more comments (1 replies)
[-] Jankatarch@lemmy.world 17 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

So they are keeping westerners hostages too now. Terrorists.

[-] bitjunkie@lemmy.world 4 points 2 weeks ago

A decade or so ago they murdered an unarmed 19-year-old American citizen in international waters with zero consequences.

[-] mattyroses@lemmy.today 5 points 2 weeks ago

Two decades ago they murdered Rachel Corrie

[-] kreskin@lemmy.world 4 points 2 weeks ago

in 1967 they attacked a US navy boat and killed 34 sailors and wounded 171.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Liberty_incident

[-] kurmudgeon@lemmy.world 16 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

Every day, Israel is proving more and more what a colossal fuck up it was to allow the creation of a Jewish state in the middle of a muslim area. Those who thought it was a great idea were fucking morons. The concept of a religiously run state never works, is always corrupt and tramples on freedom and basic human rights. Every damn time. Jews can live anywhere. Live somewhere else in peace. Fuck Israel and fuck people who support them.

[-] wpb@lemmy.world 4 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

Jewish state in the middle of a muslim area

The problem isn't really the muslims here, nor the jewish supremacy. If you kick 700,000 people of any religion, creed, race, whatever off of the land they've lived on for centuries so you can start living there, you're going to have a problem.

Jews can live anywhere

In the context where zionism was conceived (late 19th century Europe), this is false. Actual antisemitism was rampant in all of Europe. They were being lynched in the streets, and discriminated against on levels that are unimaginable today. And it was completely normal too! It is impossible to overstate what an awful place Europe was for the jews. And this is before the holocaust!

There were some brave jews who organized and armed themselves and fought back, with the motto "here, where I live, is my country". This was the bund, and they were like the jewish version of the black panthers before the black panthers were ever a thing. Organized schools and mutual aid and all that, too. Truly heroic people.

The other solution is to run away, to colonize some other place (maybe Uganda, maybe Argentina, maybe Palestine) and become the master race there. This is zionism. You know which solution the antisemitic western governments preferred. And it makes sense, right? Imagine you hate jews, imagine you're an actual antisemite, and a member of british parliament. And now the jews come to you to say, "hey we'll just move to another country, get out of your hair". That's cause for celebration! Not only are you getting rid of the jews, but they're volunteering to leave! And that's how you get the Balfour declaration.

Anyway fuck pissrael.

[-] 3abas@lemmy.world 4 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

creation of a Jewish state in the middle of a muslim area.

That is not the issue with Israel. Jews lived peacefully among Muslims and Christians in Palestine, the problems started when they started immigrating from Europe to displace indigenous Palestinians on the bases of religious superiority and exclusivity.

The problem with Israel is not that they wanted to create a Jewish only state (that's a different issue), it's that they wanted to colonize and ethnically cleanse Palestine to do it.

[-] Lucius_Sweet@lemmy.world 3 points 2 weeks ago

It's almost like that was the whole point of the operation. To quote the first British governor of Jerusalem, Sir Ronald Storrs, the plan was to create "a little loyal Jewish Ulster in a sea of potentially hostile Arabism".

It was always colonialism.

[-] nlgranger@lemmy.world 2 points 2 weeks ago

Those who thought it was a great idea were fucking morons.

They were not morons and perfectly conscious of the potential consequences.

load more comments (4 replies)
[-] bitjunkie@lemmy.world 14 points 2 weeks ago

Israel is a terrorist state.

[-] Wizard_Pope@lemmy.world 8 points 2 weeks ago

Always has been

[-] kreskin@lemmy.world 10 points 2 weeks ago

Intercepted 250 miles from the coast, in international waters. So it was illegal high seas piracy. A crime. Where is England and NATO in protecting their citizens from piracy, torture, abuse, and false imprisonment? What would these US and European governments say actually they do as a job?

[-] ArmchairAce1944@discuss.online 8 points 2 weeks ago

Are you fucking kidding me? This is some 90s movie/video game villain shit.

As far as I am concerned they need to take as many Israeli ambassadors hostage and keep them that way until they release that woman.

[-] jamesrandysghost@lemmy.zip 3 points 2 weeks ago

Until they stop the multiple genocides they are committing. This is bad, but it doesn't even cast a shadow next to the thousands and thousands of children they have murdered...

load more comments (1 replies)
[-] Clanket@lemmy.world 7 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

A video has come out of how some of the kidnapped people are being poorly treated, disgraceful. There's also some right wing Israeli politician acting like a cunt.

Ridiculous that these people were plucked out of international waters. And were trying to bring aid to help people. Fuck you Israel, I hope you're made pay for this in International Courts in the future.

Here's the story on our national news website in Ireland, and it shows some of the video.

https://www.rte.ie/news/middle-east/2026/0520/1574249-flotilla-gaza-israel/

[-] tirateimas@lemmy.pt 6 points 2 weeks ago
[-] Puddinghelmet@lemmy.world 4 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

Well what can we do if the president of the USA is protecting Israel despite everything and says F international law lol actually he hates international law and looks up to dictators lol americans can protect but they need to strike for days bring the economy to a standstill and demand justice, in Europe they strike for way less

[-] DillDough@lemmy.zip 1 points 2 weeks ago

US has been overly protective of and generous to Israel since the day they completed Nazi Germany's plan of moving "the Jews" to a new land. They even assassinated the first US president who called Israel out for having an unexplainable level of control over the US government.

load more comments (3 replies)
[-] DisasterTransport@startrek.website 1 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

stop all exports of kerrygold to the united states. I'm only half joking. hit us in the stomach. no more butter, no more cheese, no more beer. Those are our three favorite things in the whole world. Yes, more than oil. we can make all that stuff ourselves for way cheaper but holy shit do comfortable people love Irish dairy.

load more comments (1 replies)
[-] billwashere@lemmy.world 4 points 2 weeks ago

I've said this at least twice before now…

I’m starting to think these Israelis are just real shitbags….

[-] bitjunkie@lemmy.world 2 points 2 weeks ago
load more comments (1 replies)
load more comments
view more: next ›
this post was submitted on 19 May 2026
102 points (99.0% liked)

World News

56374 readers
355 users here now

A community for discussing events around the World

Rules:

Similarly, if you see posts along these lines, do not engage. Report them, block them, and live a happier life than they do. We see too many slapfights that boil down to "Mom! He's bugging me!" and "I'm not touching you!" Going forward, slapfights will result in removed comments and temp bans to cool off.

We ask that the users report any comment or post that violate the rules, to use critical thinking when reading, posting or commenting. Users that post off-topic spam, advocate violence, have multiple comments or posts removed, weaponize reports or violate the code of conduct will be banned.

All posts and comments will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. This means that some content that violates the rules may be allowed, while other content that does not violate the rules may be removed. The moderators retain the right to remove any content and ban users.


Lemmy World Partners

News !news@lemmy.world

Politics !politics@lemmy.world

World Politics !globalpolitics@lemmy.world


Recommendations

For Firefox users, there is media bias / propaganda / fact check plugin.

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/media-bias-fact-check/

founded 3 years ago
MODERATORS