Could Israel be considered a Crusader State for the 'modern' era?
>>501242
idk about that, but after spending a significant amount of time there I began to feel that its the closest thing that exists today to a modern day sparta
>>501252
Because of their military or mentality?
>>501258
>IR
what?
>>501242
It's losing in the same way Outremer did, so yeah
>>501256
both
its not unique in having universal conscription after high school, but its the only state with universal conscription that regularly goes to war and sees itself as existentially threatened. This creates a very macho culture.
Its also amazing just how omnipresent the military is. Its a small country but it has an extremely large military relative to its size, so you see soldiers everywhere, tanks drive on the highways, fighter pilots train over populated areas. I saw F-16s flying overhead every single day.
It also has a definite sense of permanent war that I've never experienced in any other country. I remember when I was there in 2004 all anyone would talk about was Syria. They'd say the Jordanians don't want to fight, the Egyptians wont break the treaty, the Lebanese are too small to worry about, but SYRIA they have a real military and they aren't afraid to use it so we always have to be ready to fight. If you went there now all anyone would talk about is IRAN they're building nukes so they can wipe us off the map. It seemed to me that there was something innate about Israeli culture that they always need to have an enemy.
>>501279
Many cultures have a Rival obsession, don't they?
Though I hadn't thought about how small the country was with its large military. Seeing military is really uncommon in the USA. I live somewhat near a military base even, and I never see ground equipment, just hear planes taking off often.
no because it's not christian and discriminates against christians
>>501295
yeah its pretty jarring, they don't even bother setting up military convoys to move soldiers around since the country is so small, so they just ride the bus to get between bases. Very common sight to see soldiers with their rifle waiting at bus stops.
>>501298
>implying Christianity wasnt just a cover story to secure economic control over the middle east
>>501309
The Saudis are a better cover story in that case.
No
>>501309
Well it wasn't. Religion was serious business back then.
>>501608
You are now aware that Assad bought oil from ISIS in the early stage of the conflict.
>USA
>directs and coordinates all of the above
Yep, the US totally has control over Israel rather than other way around.
>>501279
Israeli here.
First of all, to be fair 2004 was at the high time of the Second Intifada, which was one of the bloodiest terror campaigns in Israel ever. At any other time, even during low-intensity terrorist attacks (like nowadays) Israel is a rather normal society. This is actually one of the main creeds of secular Jews in Israel, maintaining 'normalcy' in the face of danger and all that. If anything, I think that Israeli society has become significantly less mobilized and militarist than it was in past decades (you can also compare the rates of defense budget to GDP for a decent quantitative indicator).
As for the OP, I would actually agree.
What holds Israel as a nation is not race or ethnicity (since Jews are an extremely diverse population), nor is it religion in the strict sense of belief or observation. Rather it is something that can be put in terms ideology or world view. Israel is an embassy (or rather a bastion) of the democratic west at the heart of Arab-Muslim world; as such it can be described as a "crusader" type of nation (I'm using the term "crusader" in lower case c sense since we know the historical Crusades were a different thing altogether). This is the cause of many of the weird complexes of Israeli society, that is almost hell bent on being considered 'western' or 'liberal', despite the complexity of the political situation. It is one of the ironies of history that at a time when Europe and North America shed their western identity it is up to their outcasts, the Jews, to pick it up and act as crusaders of sort.
>>501608
>cites forthcoming source
Is that bait or spiral marketing?
>>501645
>W-Well it wasn't
> Religion was serious business back then.
So was acquiring lands. Which was the primary temporal motivation of a lot of the poorfag nobles that went to crusade. Specifically the Norman Knights, to whom creating random Princedoms across Europe world is a hobby.
>>501871
Oil doesn't come with a name tag on it. They pump it and ship it to refineries in the Gulf or in Turkey, and from that point it mixes with oil of other origins. The US probably buys ISIS oil too without even knowing.
>>501887
The people who went on the first crusade bankrupted themselves and would often sell their European land.
>>501608
[citation needed]
>>501648
>USA
>Directs and coordinates Israel
Israel takes arms from the US then flies them the bird. If you think that Israel is just a US puppet state you're confused.
>>503049
>takes
Buys, rather.
